So due to that infamous Blue the Coat introducing quite a few Roleplay & Literary society members to the world of Dungeons & Dragons, I've grown rather fond of two things. One, playing the game itself. Two, creating characters.
Now, playing is all well and good when it actually happens. I've tried more and more to actually stick to the persona of characters I've created, taking particular pride in one Eladrin named Slaviss. However, unless allowed to use a new character every session, my imagination's capacity for creating heroes stretches far too wide to allow each of them to shine. Nor do some of the characters I create belong in a group of other heroes--some are simply loners, others based around something of a personal preference that would make things potentially 'odd' instead of simply 'interesting'.
So, this hopefully gives me a way to apply these characters and situations without risking anything more than showing my addiction to the D&D universe.
Don't expect it to be updated regularly, nor finished (as I have terrible habits of quitting 1/4 the way in). But for those who enjoy the world (whether in public or secret), or want to see if it's a world to be enjoyed, here's my attempt at some kind of Good-hero themed story in the Common realm.
P.S. Sorry if the format kills your eyes, indents don't transfer from Notepad to Runevillage.

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Main Protagonists


Secondary Heroes (Potential spoilers)

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It took a very gentle touch and lift upright for the delicate fingers to raise a drooping flower. I saw a lot of concentration in the face--applied to anything, that level of it would ensure success--and a little shine of joy at what seemed to be success. It took a little focus of my own to recognize the effects of her energies at work, but I could feel them. A desire from someone from the earth to help restore something of the earth to its full glory. The effect of her efforts left the little flower visibly more sturdy, but its color was still a shadow of its former glory. "I..." My eyes instantly snapped to the voice. It couldn't be helped, even with only a hint of the Elvish tone it was sweet to my ears. "I can't tell if it's enough. I hope it makes it."
Shana's devotion to that little garden was beyond nearly anything I'd seen in the village, that's for sure. It served both as a way to practice her talent for the Primal arts, and as a way to help make something beautiful out of this center of all battlefields. Goblins here, Kobolds there, a Dragon flying off to the north, and at the center of it all a little, bright patch of flowers owned by a lady daring the world to intrude on her paradise. The thought made me smile. "It looks better than before, but you still have to take care of the feeding and maintanence just the same."
Her face relaxed a bit as she looked up at me after a length of meditation. "At least I know I called on something to help aid me. It wasn't much, but it was something." Such emphasis on the word 'something', and for good reason. It wasn't often she could get a response from her efforts, but they have been showing more frequently with each passing week. For better or worse, I was one of the few who didn't have a fear of the power. Everyone in Karban knew Shana was as loyal a villager as any other, but they were oddly fearful of anything not done by one's own two hands.
It made the town pretty simple, but the kind of place you'd picture when you say "home". Centered in a group of small hills with woods to the south and a stream half a mile north before some mountains, a couple trees dotted between one-story buildings made of skillfully crafted wood. There were a couple patches of farm closer to the stream, with many a fencepost and unfinished or damaged fencing between the logs. Her house, smaller than most but not the tiniest, was nearest the woods and seemed to glow with pride under the high sun. Wood and metal alike gave a little shimmer under the sun, only barely outdone by the large shield and simple tools propped against is side wall.
I offered a hand, and she took it to help stand with. She swept dirt from her legs, turning left and right to ensure her leggings were cleansed. She took something from her belt and lifted it--her mace, which thank Bahamut she's started keeping it handy--to wipe it as well. The act of cleaning an instrument of war made me chuckle, earning a quick glare from her before her face returned to a mellow smile. I turned my back to her and walked away before spinning on my heel and unsheathing a short blade. "You know what's next, Shana."
"Yes... Isaac." She stepped closer, her free hand reaching to the wall for her shield, adjusting both ere taking a defensive stance before me. In the back of my mind I was thankful that her half-elven lineage didn't grant her the full Elven grace with weapons, since I was supposed to be the one teaching her. My blade's tip met her mace's point in a touch of respect before the next lesson started.
Too few people are willing to fight the dangers of the world. Even fewer are able. Shana had the gift to be both, just not the heart to be a natural fighter. So teaching her what to recognize approaching and how to react--"You can knock my blow aside with a simple flick of the wrist, yet you still don't strike upon opening my side?"--it was that she failed to want to harm what she knew would not harm her. It was... frustrating. To know a person has the ability but not the will to do something amazing can indeed be a heavy burden on the shoulders of the motivator.
The warm-up was a stalemate as always. A few eyes were visibly staring and a few were just as clearly making every attempt to look away as our weapons danced, adrenaline meeting instinct and training watching for a chance to teach by demonstration. Her shield-arm faltered for a moment from holding it too tight to her body, and she started to drop it an inch. My blade soon found her shoulder, stopping as soon as a small tear was placed in the clothing. My first actual damage since we started, and her first disappointed gasp.
The blows continued. A small dent in my shield was paid back with a few scratches upon hers, and soon her sleeves were almost neatly decorated in thin slits showing her skin beneath. With a risky and momentarily enraged attempt at payback, she smacked my blade aside with her shield and turned, bringing her mace down in a vertical arc aimed at my head. The blow would have knocked me unconscious if not for backstepping, but the weapon's imprint on the ground caused a tremor that pulsed outward, knocking me upon my knees.
It was small. But again, like the flower, it was enough. Her eyes came up to mine, then back to the garden, and the flowers she was tending to daily. "I think that's enough for now... Shana." My blade soon came to rest in its sheathe, and a sigh escaped my lips. I had trouble telling if I was pleased with the result or disappointed at its lack of luster.
And that's how it had been for nigh on five months now. I was Shana's mentor in combat and the martial arts. Isaac Saxon, not-very-renowned for leading groups in combat against local threats. I was stronger than the average person, for sure, but still had a lot to learn myself. Still, with the peace my home had known and the strife of areas such as Karban, I needed to make some use of my skills. I found it in quelling rebellions some places and helping halt annoyances from invading others. Karban was my most recent discovery, and thankfully I found it when I did lest the Kobolds and pet Drakes burn more than the fences.
Shana was never a clumsy fighter, even back then. As a half-elf, she keeps some of the natural Elf grace and poise with everything she does. Indeed, her race is the best of both worlds between her parents, though she ends up somewhat outcast by her family here. I suppose, though, being adopted adds a little strain to things. Through her life she's had fits of interaction with spirits and nature, and her docile approach to life ensured it was a protective sort of use. Should my predictions be accurate, she would end up what the world calls a "Warden". The title suits her, in my opinion.
Thankfully, where the town's welfare is concerned, it's not only us. Barst is nearly a savage with his axe, James holds his farming tools enough that he's just as good against beasts as he is crops with them, and Faye is at least brave enough to assist with arrows and stones from afar. From time to time a few brave men would grab a hammer or sickle and join the fray, but we five were the main group when anything happens.
Myself, a sword is not my weapon of choice. I lead, but I lead behind the safety of my allies, pointing out targets by pointing them with arrows and directing the teams when all the field is in my eye. I've been called a coward for it, of course, but the same people usually call me a savior when they end up alive at a fight's end. Still, it comes in handy from time to time. At the moment, I'd rather trust Shana's keen eye and swift hand to make the openings for me. She's quite good at that.
As for the current situation, I once again must point out the convenience of my timing. The fences were already being set ablaze post by post, kobold crashing through charred wood in a rush toward the town's crop silo. At the front were the villagers, visibly scared but standing fast. The Kobold, lizard faces grinning in delight, tossed as many a stone as possible before brandishing their crude spears at the feeble wall. I ran toward the fray, as did she at the same time.
Doesn't take an eagle eye to know she wasn't fully human. Her step, her figure, and speed with each stride stunned me for a mere moment before we ended in the group together, only after a few short blows were traded. It took a second for the villagers to trust me, and with only one casualty, the Kobold swarm was swiftly disbanded and felled. A shriek of fear pierced the victory cries and questions, however, as an opportunistic couple of Goblins hoped to raid us from behind after what I guessed was a scout realizing the Kobold's plan.
Shana and I were the only ones able to properly combat. Her unyielding defence and my powerful shots notwithstanding, the rushed entry into another fight so soon tipped the fight heavily into the brutes' favors. That fight brought out her talent for dealing with the Primal world which, after being saved by a surge of the earth rushing up under our foes, secured my interest in trying to teach her to control it.
And so we are now, with me tugging at my scarf for a little more room around my neck and her moving inside to disarm herself. Another couple rounds in a few hours, and once before bed. So the routine had been for a few months, with few complaints from me. She was certainly an able student, and it felt nice to be able to practice my skills without much fear of death from her blows.
Another day, another trio of sessions and meals, another practice run of decorating a fencepost with arrows, and another night's sleep. The tenth day of the sixth month of the year came before anything finally changed the routine. A couple horses tethered to a quaintly decorated carriage, one rider with a horse whip in one hand and spear in the other. He stopped at the road's center beside the farmhouse, calling out.
Shana and I were in the middle of our first training session's swordplay as he came. Everyone else was still making preparations for the work day, which meant many of us were free to join the small crowd gathering to inquire the visitor. Even being used to listening to many voices at once, I could barely pick out the children's babble among the serious questions from a few adults. At length, the driver waved a hand for silence.
"M'lady rests on her journey home from Fallcrest. Please, as few speaking as possible, else I risk her having a headache flare. I simply seek a trade for a few pieces of food, and if I may be so bold as to hope for a lower price from the source. Poor success in town left us with little to spare."
There was a very small debate among the farmers and mayor, Eli, before a few nods were made. Eli raised his hand for attention. "It's not a problem, good fellow. A few corn ears, meat strips, and bread loaves should tide you well. Are drinks required as well?" The driver shook his head and gave a barrel at his side a fond pat. "Then we could offer a week's worth of rations as a gift, it's not often we get to help a passerby."
The driver's face broke into relief and he gave an audible sigh to match. "Thank you, kind sir. I'm sure m'lady will be pleased to keep her coppers, as will I."
While it's far from me to doubt someone who seemed as genuinely honest as he was, I felt one oddity about the situation and couldn't help but voice it as the villagers started to disperse to gather the donation. "Fallcrest is a day's ride or so north and half a day west, and I'd imagine your mistress would fancy meeting ration donors or at least stretching her legs. Is she asleep?"
"I would assume so. There were a few Kobold to the north, as always, but when we got to their borders, they disbanded and I saw her still safe in her seat." He turned and pulled aside a little panel upon the front wall. A moment later, the color drained from his face and he dropped his horse whip. With a scramble, he tore open the door and looked inside. "Arania!" He backed up with a face clearly panicked and shouted the name again to the sky.
Well, my suspicion was confirmed. And he was the only lead to solving the problem. So I took his shoulder in one hand and gave his cheek a couple gentle taps for attention. "Calm yourself, driver. You know her better than us, so we can not have you going raving mad on us. How long ago did this incident happen, and how close to the road?"
"I-I-I think four hours, perhaps just shy of five, directly upon it. But they never got near the carriage as far as I--"
"Irrelevant, now answer me. Landmarks. What was around when the conflict ended? The stream, edge of their woods, boulders from the dwarves' mountain?" I gave him a small shake of urgency, my eyes glaring firmly upon his.
He stammered and stuttered some nonsense, trying to remember. He looked to his left and thought. "A-A couple boulders in the shade of an oak across from the woods."
"... Stay here. Shana, we get a test today. Let's go." I let go of the man and turned to the carriage, removing the straps and scowling a bit at the idea of riding with no saddle. Couldn't be helped, though. I jumped up and took a hold of the only handle left--the mane. Didn't feel right tugging the hair sideways to turn to face the crowd, but it was necessary. Shana gave both horses a stroke on their muzzles before mounting at my side. "Keep an eye on him, and expect us by sundown. Come on, Shana!"
We turned the horses and gave a slap on their flanks to set off. It took a minute to get a good grip on the steeds, but we found a good pace and position that hopefully kept us from too much soreness. "I've never kept time well; what did the driver say to look for?"
I kept my face on the road, still looking for the marks as I said them aloud. "Boulders under an oak. Probably an ambush point." One boulder, one maple. Loose rocks. Stream between the trees... Not there yet.
"An ambush? Why would you think that?" Shana's eyes were off the road, and she was veering a little.
"Keep your eyes on the road!" She saw her error and I heard the gasp before it drowned under the hooves falling. "You can't trust everyone. He went from a panic to knowing some pretty specific details, and looked to the left. If nothing else, I've at least learned people looking that way are usually working a lie."
"So that's how you knew--" She stopped herself before specifying which of a few small lies I caught her on. It wasn't in her nature to fib about anything, so even without her looking sideways, her skipping a few small errands was easy enough to tell. The thought made me smirk before a turn in the road demanded my attention. "I hope the trip back isn't so hard."
"Are you not used to this? I've seen you and a few taking the farm's horses around for a ride, but I never thought to see if full gear was used... Hm?" A couple small rocks under an oak. "Whoa, whoa." With a tug on the mane, the horse cried and bucked backward. "Gah!" My back hit the dirt, and the world spun for a moment. Maybe more.
When I got the sense to look around, Shana was on foot and leading both horses under the tree's shade. "Easy, boys. Just rest here." Whether they understood or not, I didn't know, but I was grateful for her keeping something from becoming of the steeds as I stood. "Forest is right across from us, Isaac. What do we do?"
Still rubbing my rear, I looked around at the dirt. Old tire tracks, and a few fresh hoof marks. No sign of blood, no shreds of cloth, no kicked up patches of anything. "...Hate to admit it, but he may have been--"
"Hold a moment." I looked to her, seeing her eyes transfixed on a single spot in the tall grass. I tried to trace the line down where she was looking, but saw nothing. So I waited, and she crouched and brushed the growth to and fro before plucking something, placing it within her palm to examine. "I've seen this... It's the shiny, tough cloth rich folk decorate and line their clothes with." She turned ot me and showed her find. It was a bit of cloth, shaped like a scale and giving a little silver shine when the light hit it right. "So if this is here..."
I racked my head a bit and tried to recall the driver's clothing. He had silver on, but none in the cloth itself. "There's only the slimmest of chances a monster would keep this as a treasure and drop it here. No, this must be part of her garment. And to be off the road, she had to have come here. And the driver must have known. He will be dealt with, for certain, but the lady's safety comes first."
Shana nodded curtly and looked at the road carefully, then to where she made her discovery. Her head looked back and forth before she slid from one to the other, hand moving in an imaginary line. "The tracks here... shift. A bump, perhaps, or a stop and start. And..." She moved towards the spot she found the cloth, towards the woods. "If they moved in one direction, we would follow the route that way. But I thought Kobold preferred mountains and stones?"
I dropped to a knee and examined the grass while answering. "These mountains are dwarf territory. They would be in danger there." The grass had definitely been bent in places from heavy footsteps. Large ones, too. "This woman stomped. Or kicked and screamed. Either way, we have a trail, and she was wise to leave it." I saw her shadow approach before her figure knelt by my side, trying to find what I was seeing. "Look here. A round figure crunched the earth down, it's bent. Here, here...", my hands pointed to each step's length of marks, "and there." I followed the line, and sure enough, signs of a heavy trooper were hidden amongst the grass blades.
"Why would Kobold want a human? I thought they were just like goblins, out for loot and treasure." She soon outstripped me in the following of the tracks, knowing what to look for as she followed the path.
"Yes and no. Kobold are notorious for dragon worship, so they know about magic and have a reason to gather for a dragon. Whether it's for her riches or her work, or if she's a sacrifice to a dragon they may have found..." I shuddered and tried to let the thought pass. The worst case would be an ambush of Kobold adding us to a dragon's menu. "If it's within the woods, expect it to be... a green one. Maybe black. Either way, pray it's not the case."
Her reaction was pretty panicked. Her careful tracking suddenly shifted into a near scramble forward, only seeming to glance at each step. A sudden stop nearly sent me crashing into her. "I've... lost it."
"It... The trail." I looked down, and indeed there was no footstep. My hand found the back of her head in a swat, the same gentle disciplinary tap I've used for months, but I tried to take my steps backward for a few feet. "Let's see." My eyes scanned the grass for any kind of turn or stop, but I only saw our recent steps. "We passed a turn or some such variation, I think..."
"Shh." I looked up to see Shana's eyes closed, turning her head a little. "I hear growls. Clicks. Multiple... They're that way." She pointed to the northwest--if I recalled a map right, it would be a straight line to the westernmost edge of the forest. I could hear nothing, but tried to connect the points between our path and the direction she was pointing. I backed up a bit more, and sure enough, a foreign turn next to a tree with a few scratches on it. Probably a mark to turn.
"Let's go. And this time no rushing, we may have to watch the trees for signs." She nodded and joined me in following the tracks, a long straight march save for a few dodges of bushes and trees. Once again we lost the trail, but only for a moment as she found another odd scratch on the tree. A turn south, then west again.
"It's louder. And a lot closer. I can follow it." I had my reservations about ignoring a marked trail--even Kobolds could dig a pit--but we had to hurry. She took the lead, drawing her mace just in case as she broke into a steady stride. Taking her lead I grasped... my sword. No bow, no arrows. The swordplay practice was interrupted, and we had no time to properly gear up. I cursed myself under my breath for carelessness and drew it anyway, readying myself with a deep breath for what anything ahead.
'Anything' came within a minute's jog. A quiet chant of Draconic grunts got louder, enough that I could recognize most of the few words of Draconic I'd learned. "Treasure", "victory", "give", and the last one concerned me. "They've won a treasure they're giving up. I think worst case is the actual case, Shana. Get ready to grab and run if it comes to that." Again I prayed it wasn't.
I stopped in my tracks at the sight of a bush quite close to the clearing. The air felt charged, and even Shana's lengthy hair was rising a little as if charged. The bush itself was ablaze, still smoldering down its wooden form and soaked some ways with a little blood. "Lightning magic, and she was struck. Do you suppose dead?"
My head shook. "She's valuable, they won't kill her outright. And she's still a treasure, after all. Continue, but quietly. We're close." Slowing my stride to a careful, crouched step, I continued. If not for our size, we probably would not catch up to the group, but our lengthier legs seemed to help us in the pursuit.
"Isaac." Shana's word was a whisper, but enough for me to stop. She pointed down beneath our feet, to something I had missed. A straight line of freshly tugged grass... no, two of them. The marks of a body being dragged. The path was clear, and we were back on it, but she was unconscious. That meant either reviving her or carrying the dead weight.
I nodded and motioned her forward. "If it comes to it, I'll carry her. I trust you to clear the path." My eyes on the path, and ears ignored her sigh in place of the continuing chant. Finally, their bodies were visible. Many feet away, but still visible. Were my bow in hand I could take out many of the lot in a minute, but as it stood, a slow approach was our best hope.
"Look up." Another whisper, and a glance upward showed my worst fear made true. A little clumsy with lack of experience, but there was a green reptile floating in circles above the treeline some ways away.
My eyes turned to meet hers and saw the worry. "Do you still want to do this?" She nodded. "Then we need to attack now while the dragon is separated from them." I turned back to the group and stood, hoping the chant would block the sound of my feet as I ran toward the party. Shana's were softer than mine as she kept pace, weapons and shields drawn as we approached. The picture became clearer with each step: two grunts dragging the body, two playing guard at the side, and one at the center leading the chorus.
It was the first proper look I got at the lady's body. Platinum hair, wavy down to her chin and matted with red streaks, surrounding a very thin face and frame. Hunched over I couldn't guess her height, but she was thin, as though not fond of eating or able to that often. Her dress was crimson, adorned with the same silver-laced scales of cloth that spiraled down her body into the hem of her torn dress. Oddly, she was barefoot.
With a motion of my sword, I pointed to the two guards at the sides. It was all I could to do to hope she understood the silent command as we approached. The time hit, and we were upon them as the two dragging finally saw us. Halfway into its cry, my sword met the neck of the shield toting lizard, watching it crumble to the expertly placed blow. Shana met slightly less luck, smashing the shield in against the Kobold's chest enough to crush in painfully. It held its ground, but definitely needed a gasp for air.
She followed up the blade with a quickly placed secondary swipe against its head, sending the creature sprawling. Both the ones dragging the lady dropped her and took out a spear at the same time, lunging forward with a rough stab at each of us. My blade deflected it easily enough, and Shana bounced her blow off her shield. The leader turned around, stunned, giving me a chance to look into the lady. She had a bloodstain on the back of her head, but she was okay otherwise. Breathing at least.
If I could get her conscious, it would help. My shield arm's hand pressed to her chest, right above the heart, and I gave a firm push. Her frame gave easily, and for sure the blood rushed through her. I heard a gasp from her, awakened, and I heaved a sigh of relief followed by a cry. "Stand, so you may flee for your life!" Roused by the words, her eyes snapped open before wincing in pain. She took her hands to the wound upon her head, but she was alive.
"Gah!" A spear struck me in the shoulder, held by the leader of the group. Its eyes were fixed on mine with a sadistic grin as it started to back away, proud of its blow. The two lesser before it turned to me, but one felt the strike of Shana's mace upon its back. A lifeless heap landed before me as she raised her mace and shield again.
"Come at me if you dare!" Shana's eyes darted from one Kobold to the other, begging to be defied. One scoffed her off and made a lunge at me, soon finding its back smashed cleanly with the mace. That left the leader. Our eyes turned to it, but it became rigid as if grasped. It flew to the left and into a tree, up into a branch. Down it fell upon the ground before hurtling back as if struck by a giant's fist. "What?"
My head immediately turned to Arania, who had one hand outrached in a fist as she watched her victim fly. "And stay dead, beast." With heavy breaths she stood, staggering a little while looking up. "The dragon approaches. Hide."
With wide eyes, I looked up to see the beast flying down, jaws open wide in search of my body. I steeled myself for the incoming blow, managing to bat away its jaws with my shield as it turned in midair and inhaled deeply. Before I could react, a great wave of green gas came out. The magician and I held our breath and stood through the vicious burst, but Shana staggered. Not good, she was the easiest prey.
"Shana! Shake it off and run!" With obedience she shuddered, seeming to immediately cough up what little she had taken in of the venom. But still she stood in a rigid combat position. "Stupid girl..." My sword couldn't do anything, so I knelt and swapped my sword for a fallen Kobold's spear. It was a fool's hope, but with all I could, the shaft hurled up, catching the dragon in its cheek with enough force to at least scratch it. Hoping to finalize the attention to me, I called upon a phrase taught to me by a Dragonborn in battle long ago, crying in the draconic tongue, "May Bahamut judge your soul!"
To my dismay, she followed suit, mace upon her belt and spear hurtling to the beast's back. It bounced off, but got its attention. "Face me! If I'm the weakest, you should have no trouble, foul beast!" If nothing else, her resolve was worthy of admiration.
"He won't get the chance!" The witch's arms pushed forward, concentration upon her face as the ground seemed to chill beneath the dragon. A hand erupted, grasping the tail of the beast immediately. With a few powerful tugs, the dragon was brought to the ground and encased in the hand. "Now!" With another wave, daggers seemed to appear at random areas around the beast, piercing into it as they twisted and rotated in the air.
I shook off the sight, a dragon being contained by a single person. "Shana, she's a witch! She deals in blasts over wide areas, so hide yourself until the beast is freed!" I slid about until ending safely behind a large tree. With some effort of a lagging body, she forced herself into the same position, watching with concerned eyes as the dragon struggled and writhed.
The hand seemed to chip to the efforts, but it held strong. "You will be doomed by the end of the day. Let this hand be your cradle. Trade the pain for blissful darkness... Sleep, beast." The dragon's violent twists slowed, eyes fluttering. It stiffened and gave a loud roar of defiance before starting to succumb to the numbness caused by the spell. With a final effort, it slammed back against the hand, flexing the fingers outward. But its eyes snapped shut and it curled, a baby within the hand's lethal cradle.
Her concentration remained, forcing the hand to steadily squeeze in, crunching the dragon's sleeping body. However the magic allowed the two feelings to coexist, I don't know, but I wasn't going to complain. There was finally a snap and a shudder of its body as it fell lifeless in the hand holding it.
Arania dropped to a knee after releasing the bond with the magic, breathing heavily with her hand back upon her head. The wound had opened again from the strain, and only just now did I see the drain of color in her face. "Hey, anyone who can slay a dragon is too strong to fall to a little blood loss." Her eyes fluttered to the words and she chuckled, but the inspiration was still trying to fade once more. "Shana, aid her."
She nodded and dropped her gear, tearing cloth and applying pressure to the soon-covered wound, carefully tending to it. The same devotion I saw to the flower was now in her eyes, giving me a little bit of relief. The witch was going to be okay. I took out my sword again, knowing there was just as much chance of another Kobold entry as there was another dragon baby.
A minute passed. Then two. The witch's breathing was steady, and it was the only changing sound in the area. Movement behind me. I turned, and the witch was sitting upright, massaging the rough bandage on the back of her head. "Thank you. I am Arania."
I waved a hand dismissively. "Isaac and Shana. Your driver shouted your name, so we know, and he claims to have lost you without knowledge. Load of dung, if I ventured a guess. Whatever he was paid to have you taken away, I'd like to see it stripped from him."
"Among other liberties." Shana stood and dusted herself again, sighing in relief at her success with administering aid. "How soon do we return?"
"As s--" My words were cut short by Arania. "As soon as I am able to lift that beast to take with us. A few minutes more." My eyes caught her face with an inquiring glance. "What? You would waste the body of a dragon, and all its useful parts? Hide as strong as metal, ivory rivalling the best weapons? It will take little physical strain on your part, I assure you." I gave a flustered sigh, knowing the driver was probably in a rage back at the village, but had more pressing matters.
"Just to confirm. You know for sure it was a deal that had you whisked away, not a random chance and amnesia of the driver?" A glare was my response, and once again, it didn't take a genuis to know the answer. She was conned as a slave. "I can't help but wonder. How did they manage to get you so far without casualties?"
Then she sighed. It wasn't an answer she was proud of, it seemed. "I was asleep and we stopped, which only made me a little more comfortable, and didn't really realize I was being bound. Blow number one didn't have me out cold, but for a while, I was kind of staggering blindly, just trying to shake off whatever had me. I didn't know it was a setup, so I withheld my power for fear of hurting the driver. We went a ways, and you probably saw the lightning as a result of when I thought I was far enough and in a position to fight back. Sadly, the bush was the only casualty."
"And then the second blow opened you up, knocked you down, and brought us here. Thank the gods those things were too weak to carry you much faster." She nodded a bit, testing the success of her first aid by standing. With a sigh of relief, she maintained her balance and started to walk to the dragon, sitting before its face and reaching up to its cheek, smearing some of the blood into her palm. "May I ask what you're doing?"
"Better yet, you two may try to help. This will be a clumsy effort without properly preparing this, but it should still work. 'Tis a ritual, in this case to help carry the beast's weight without strain on our parts. Shana obediently moved over and took a seat at Arania's left. I sighed and took to her right, unsure what to concentrate on but happily lending what little attunement with the arcane world I could as she muttered smoothly the seemingly endless chant.
The blood churned and dissipated steadily as she spoke, revealing a steadily growing disk under the dragon. Ten minutes later, it appeared, heaving the dragon upward by a foot. With a few waves of her hand, Arania directed the disk over and nudged it against trees, forcing the body to center itself atop the small disk. Satisfied with her work, she stood. "It can move as fast as I can."
Shana tilted her head. "Can it keep up with you on a horse?" Arania's head shook. "Then we could have them move slowly enough--"
"No, Shana. That driver still has to be brought to justice. Dividing the party is never wise, but it must be done. I trust you can ride upon that disk?" To my relief, a nod this time. "Then if you feel safe enough to ride alone, you could travel with the beast down the road as we lead the way on horse. And if you think you may fall, one of us can accompany you on the disk while the other rides ahead. Do you feel assistance may be needed on the return trip, Arania?"
A hand arose back to her head. "I... am not certain. The ritual was no trouble, but a long time it has been since I've been this hurt."
Shana looked from me to her and nodded. "Then Isaac will stay with you, I shall ride ahead. I'm faster with the steed, and know the villagers better, so they will respond faster with me."
Each of us nodded and looked back to the road at the east, despite its cover from the trees. "Off we go, then." With the plan in mind, we set off, not bothering to be subtle or retrace steps. All creatures seemed to vanish at the presence of the dragon, despite being dead, leaving us with little to fear. What took probably half an hour of following was five minutes returning to the road, and conveniently with the horses still by the tree some ways south of us, grazing idly upon the patches of grass.
"See you in Karban. Ride well!" I waved off Shana, watching her turn in response ot my call to wave before sprinting for the steeds as Arania and I continued at our pace. "I hope she will be okay. Nerves of steel still may fail under a silver tongue."
Arania hopped up and caught a foot on the edge of the disc, climbing aboard the back of the dragon as she mentally urged the disc forward at a steady pace. By the time she was seated, Shana was off in a cloud of dust with the first mare, leaving me to the second. However, once there, it reared back and backed into the boulder, turning to run.
"Oh, no you don't!" Once again reluctant to grab it by the hair, I dashed up and grasped the hair, heaving clumsily onto the horse's back. It took some tugging and surviving another buck backward, but I stayed attached to it and dug my heels into its sides to keep mounted. After a minute of twisting, it finally heeded my desire to be still, but still backed away from the oncoming corpse as it floated. "Easy, boy, it's not alive. You're not a meal."
Yet it still backed away, turning to run again. Arania's voice rang out, a jumble of words with no coherent meaning. Yet I felt a feeling in my mind that nothing was to fear. At the same time, the horse calmed itself, looking around as if confused. But at least calmed. My own head turned to Arania. "Supernal. Language of the gods and angels." That was probably all I would get from her, and both the horse and I only watched the dragon pass before starting a trot in pace behind it.
The trip to the landmark took probably an hour at a sprint, so our pace would probably take two. Looking up, the sun was past its high point, starting to dip down, but we would make it as setting would put the sky ablaze. With that as my relief and only Shana to worry for, but little to worry about, the ride suddenly became much more peaceful. "So how exactly did that blood help, and what all will be taken from the thing?"
"You might have seen rituals performed before, but each one requires a sacrifice of magical items, a cost of the power of the ingredients required. For rituals of a more magic nature than, say, holy or based off the earth, you would likely use reagents high in magical properties. Dragons, along with a few certain monsters, are notorious for this property. The blood wasn't treated for a proper attunement to use in magic, but with enough, it still served its purpose." I nodded in understanding, wondering just how many feats she could perform with the blood of this youngling.
"And you already know some of the obvious. Hide, teeth, claws, bones for gear and tools. The blood for me, the meat to be divided, and potentially some organs for food. Green dragons are venom-spitters, so the gland that makes it is a limited but valuable tool, and even the eyes have been treated and crafted into pieces of magical equipment." She thought for a moment. "The only leftovers would probably be the same as if you skinned any normal prey."
"The bits for digestion. Those one usually buries, fair for fertilizer." I suddenly barked a laugh at a mental image, a dragon's corpse piled under dirt and growing into wheat crops five times higher than man. An exaggerated idea, of course, but one could wonder. "I wonder if the village will appreciate their new gift."
"Aaaaaaaaaa--!!" Mine and Arania's eyes met for a moment at the start of the scream, seemingly cut short. The voice was that of the driver, faint from distance but assuredly close.
"You've made it this far alone, I trust you can last the rest. Hya!" With a slap to the horse's flank, I tucked myself into it and started the sprint back to Karban. Once again the sounds of battle hit my ears, this time with the grunting of goblins mixed among them. "Damn those stinking beasts!"
At the gate I saw a gift propped against the post, my bow and quiver. Either Shana or someone thought it would be needed, it seemed, and I was grateful for it. Hopping off the horse and leaving it to sprint away from the scene, I donned the familiar gear and examined the scene. The farm silo was heavily cracked and bending, with a charred hole about the size of a doorway. The corn and wheat inside was ablaze, probably doomed to spread the flame among that group of food. At the base was the farmer, his body a tad mangled.
Similar blast marks were shown around buildings and among a few writhing bodies, Shana seen taking cover behind a tree. An orange vial sailed and hit the tree, knocking the wood into Shana's back but otherwise missing her. My eyes followed the path back from where the blast was made, spotting a single goblin hanging itself from the carriage's door frame and tossing another little vial up and down as if waiting. It grumbled in its native tongue, a taunting tone coaxing Shana out to take the hit.
"Not today", I whispered and bent just barely enough over the fence to have a clear shot at the creature's body. It turned backand lobbed the vial up at a high arc, the motion exposing its entire backside and head to me. The arrow was loosed, and flew straight into the creature's spine. It fell in a heap, followed by an angry cohort bounding outward and looking at me with its hand raising another of the vials. "Just how did they get these weapons!?"
Shana took the cue and sprinted out, catching the Goblin off guard at its side. She wouldn't make it before it could react, but to my shock, she swung her weapon anyway. The ground seemed to tense under her as a vine shot from her weapon, shimmering and grasping it by the throat to tug it back before her. It balled its fist in reaction and slugged her, a solid punch to the jaw that knocked her back half a step.
Fatal mistake. She took the half a step back forward and brought her weapon up, a returned blow to the jaw that nearly toppled the creature. Left rigid in shock, another arrow was notched and flew, catching the beast in its gut. Somehow still alive, the beast groaned and double over, a motion that left Shana open to turn her mace over and slam it upon the goblin's head. It fell at last, and aside from the fire, all went quiet.
"What a chaotic day." My bow found its place in the clip on my back, and I looked about at the chaos. The silo's fire was coming to a halt, and the body at its base was still without a single twitch. Burn marks littered the ground, and glass shards were all over. Only as all this settled in my head did Arania come upon her prize. "And I can't be certain the ends are justified."
Arania climbed down from the corpse and disc, landing upon her feet with an uncertain wobble. As soon as her eyes saw the damage centered from her carriage, she smacked her brow with her palm and heaved a mighty sigh for her size. "Please do not tell me these beasts found my store of exploding potions... though I know it can not be denied." Her face seemed to age a year as her eyes fell upon the driver, walking forward without care of the dragon floating behind her. Shana had to sidestep it quite neatly to avoid getting knocked over.
"Kard, you foolish backstabber..." Her hands reached into his coat and shook. Even from my distance, the sound of riches couldn't be fully muffled. She yanked, and out poured a good number of fair sized pieces of color. Gems, I'd imagine. A couple of each of the common kinds among the gold and silver. "Was it worth it?"
"They offered those in exchange for you. What made you worth it to them?" This time, it was my hand and head that met--I was rubbing my temples in deep thought. "No sense comes of this. Kobold pillage, they ambush... when have they ever parlayed gems for people, and why would they take a person to a dragon? Let alone a magician, one able to fight back? Surely that driver... Kain? He would have been a better meal."
She was silent. From the angle, I could catch a glimpse of... something. A twitch, but aside from that, Arania's face was a stony sheet. What she felt, I could only assume. At length Shana finally broke the silence. "We likely will not know, as he is dead and the Kobold caravan and dragon are both slain. What do we do now, aside from distribute both treasure and dragon spoils?"
"You come with me. I may be able to answer some curiosities." Arania stood, twisting her hand at an angle as she walked. The disc holding the dragon turned the same, allowing the beast to drop. "That, can wait."
The villagers were in a confused uproar, but none of the words were sticking to me. There was still a lot to think over, to ask of Arania, and to deal with at the moment. I didn't really have it in me to try to choose which to tackle first (which, too, was odd considering my position as a decision maker), so her asking me to follow was a welcome change. The carriage door was opened, a corpse flung from the doorway, and in we three went.
There were a few compartments, one hidden under a seat and opened and one on the floor ajar with copper and silver coins hidden beneath. There were two seats upon each side, divided with three very plush armrests as comfortable looking as the seats themselves. The entire small room was coated in a velvet-like cloth of a reddish-purple. As Shana stepped in and closed the door, the lack of light dimmed us to a very solemn environment. Arania was seated across from me, motioning down. Shana and I both obediently sat. Arania's hand touched the armrest in her seat's middle, making a small click as a panel fell.
Out rolled a sphere of crystal. Even in the lack of light, there was a hazy vortex of luminescence within it. Arania's eyes closed and she took a deep breath, concentrating once more. A small hand appeared, almost a skeletal whisp as it grasped the orb and turned it upright to hover in the center of us three. "A fortune teller and her crystal ball." My eyes turned to Shana, who was transfixed more upon Arania than the orb.
"A long tested art with no clear results, but..." Arania dared to open a single eye to rest upon both of us before shutting again. "One I've learned to manifest. I suspected foul play from Kard some months ago. From time to time he would leave in a city for some hours and come back walking as if carrying a fragile treasure, and his guard of his inventory would grow for a time until out in the wilderness. This encounter may answer a..."
I wanted to finish her statement, but the orb's light became a little brighter. "I saw this..." The lights twisted, and different hues started to form into an image. Two hands exchanging a large gem, two more exchanging a dark, round item. "A trade, between hands." At the sound of 'hands', I looked a little harder at the ones making the trade. Normal skin, and normal... gloves? One of them was simply a black outline. "And then." The black hands changed to green and leathery, but the image remained unchanged otherwise. "Another trade."
"From a shady stranger to a shady green stranger. And our encounter may reveal..." I let the thought trail off, trusting Arania to answer it.
"The contents." The gem-trading hands disappeared. The ball remained in view, and flickered. Whatever magics she drew upon were beyond me, but there came a crack in a snake's shape. Wings upon its back and feet, or claws.
Shana's voice rang clear with the summary that seemed to be coming. "Kard was buying dragon eggs to sell off to Kobold, probably to be raised for personal worship and use, and your suspicion brought you to be taken away and made into a meal. Can you find where the trade may have started?"
The image vanished. Notwithstanding all concentration, labored breathing, and sweat beading upon her brow, nothing came back. Instead, the hand holding the orb faltered. It took a quick snap of both mine and Shana's feet to keep it from hitting the floor directly, instead rolling between them to a gentle thud as it landed. Arania fell back and breathed heavily, while Shana gingerly replaced the orb within the little trapdoor panel it came from.
And so we waited. Arania's strain seemed to become less and less by the minute, but they passed long. A knock came from the door. Eli's voice rang through. "Is all well, you three?"
Shana nodded and called out for me. "We are well, just discussing the reason of these events."
"Well, please don't tarry too much longer. Needless to say the presence of a dragon, even just a babe, is unsettling for us all." And so the steps receded, with Arania's eyes fluttering weakly. Yet it was not a fatal seeming one, but rather a fatigued look. Of that, I was sure. So I finally stood and placed a palm upon her cheek, tapping as lightly as I could. Her breathing became somewhat more audible as she seemed to return to the world.
"While you rest and think, we shall get to work on making use of the dragon's corpse. Come, Shana." She nodded once more and stood, opening the door for me to lead out, closing the door behind her as she exited. The villagers seemed onfused about what to do with the dragon's body, many a sharp tool handy but few daring to approach. "Well, men, there's little mystery here. Like any animal, we have many uses for its parts, just much stronger from the dragon than would be a normal beast."
Relief at a command to follow swept through the people, and they soon fell into the task of assigning themselves to treat the beast as a regular animal to use. The hide, while tough as metal, still gave to their blades and eventually was stripped from almost everywhere. The dragon's meat was nearly as green as the hide stripped from its body, a little unsettling to the townsfolk, but they continued to take section by section of skin.
And so the process continued, skin and meat leaving the body and taken immediately to be treated. As we started debating the safety of removing its bones and teeth, Arania came from the carriage with matierals in hand to safely drain away the poison and blood in manners that would be of use to her later. Her fare, after all, was just that. It took many assurances both that they were not already contaminated with poison and would not be before she could slice a knife into the dragon's figure, cutting a clumsy path through to its poisonous glands. Numerous vials were filled with green liquid, some obviously toxic and some a little less so.
Light vanished rapidly under the labor, having to be replaced both with fire and a small ethereal glowing orb from Arania's magical efforts. Some children, despite the dragon's presence, flocked to the magical glow and the air was filled with numerous questions. Shana, previously following Arania's instructions to assist with removal, giggled and took the task of answering as many as possible, despite little knowledge of the arcane world.
Not long after the poison threat was removed, vigor replaced itself in the hearts of the villagers at having little to worry about except the bones and teeth, leaving the entrails and organs to be gathered onto the floating disc Arania used to carry the beast. The pile was fairly high and large, but balanced well upon the disc. As the job of unraveling the dragon's body passed, in came the digging up of a new section of farmland, deep enough for the 'fertilizer' of the leftover parts to be dropped into the ground. What success would come of the land, nobody knew.
And so it came to pass that the dragon, probably a month out of its egg, became the first spoils of a long war against an enemy we didn't even know yet.

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Click Here to go to the next installment.

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Goten is dead!

A story by Jeff, eh? I don't even care if it's not finished, am so reading this.

EDIT: Wonderfully crafted tale, sir.

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Epic sprite by Goatbro
Penguinguy told me what a signshur was.

Click Here for the previous installment.

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Arania's stay in Karban lasted as long as it took for the villagers to work on repairing the silo and getting the newly dug farm patch plowed and prepared for the new harvest. With another ritual she was able to repair a great deal of the silo, leaving very little work for the villagers afterward. Granted they would have to remove any charred crops and replace the open spaces, but compared to what could have been a disaster, the reality wasn't terrible. The presence of a magic user was still a buzz for children for a day but soon died down to old news.
The dragon's spoils were divided as we expected. Arania kept much of the blood, venom, and eyes of the dragon (earning some disgusted looks among a few villagers). The meat was divided between all, after Arania and I both ate a cooked piece in demonstration of its safety. The hides were split among me, Shana, and the villagers' stock of hides for clothes. The majority went to Shana and me, given our use of armor. Even more was provided given our plans for the future.
Arania would return to her home town in the south, though she divulged not the name. Instead, she directed us to the trade city of Fallcrest, where she had come from before our encounter. "They may yet need a hero or two" was her encouragement. Shana's curiosity about why she and her strength didn't attempt to be the heroine met a sad smile. I took a stab that she made a failed attempt before, but that was all I could glean from her lack of response. Despite not being willing to take up the front lines, she still assured us she would return to look into the matter once her business at home was done.
So that left the goal as gearing up in hide, selling off the rest, and looking for a potential source of information about the dragon egg traders. The road would take us up King's Road and through Harken Forest and the Harkenwold town. Two days' of a trip at the most, and save for a few potentials for disruption from the 'wildlife', a fairly pleasant trip.
And so the trip was. Mounted atop a couple spare horses kept for trips or replacements for fallen work horses, our mounts were properly sadled (much to the relief of our loins) and loaded with our loot. To our relief, nary a vengeful Kobold nor opportunistic Orc raided us on the road bordering the mountains and forest. From our liesurely pace, Harkenwold's small series of villagers became visible on the horizon, as simple and old fashioned as Karban.
Their greeting was warm, though probably from recognizing Shana. The building that housed us was quiet and comfortable, and before the sun's light was fully faded, I had the luck of questioning Baron Stockmer's ability to still swing a blade. The spar was as relaxed as our ride to the village, but for an elderly man well past his prime whose age intefered with movement, his knowledge of fighting and ability to maneuver still showed. I couldn't see it well as the light faded, but I thought his face was a little happier at getting to swing the sword again.
It was a fun match that left me oddly at peace for the ride the next day, as if the expectation of combat had passed. The sounds of the forest and stream at our sides was a pleasant change of pace, and the road leading off to Kalton Manor gave the alert that we were about an hour from the city. The sun was high in the sky as the path took up one of Moon Hills' peaks, giving us a wide view of the cliff-torn city. A few manors, many buildings, farmlands scattered about the edges, and a high wall hiding the contents even from our elevated view. The gate we approached seemed to be in shambles, a wooden gate in the middle of some gaps and broken openings we could probably as simply walk through.
"Would you believe in all my trips around the lands I've managed to skip stepping foot here?" I turned to Shana, wondering what her reaction would be. As expected, shock. "I fool you not, I've passed around it thrice but avoided stepping foot in. And no particular reason, just always ended maneuvering around it."
"Then I'm to assume I'm your guide for the city?" Shana giggled at her thought and looked down, pointing to the different corners and larger structures. "The plain tower is an abandoned watch tower, the green one is said to harbor a wizard. The gate closest to us that we'll enter is "King's gate", with Wizard's gate to the east and a toll bridge to the west. At the back east corner atop the hill is the... um.. Moonstone hold, or something close. The Lord Warden resides there. I forget his name, but he's a busy, hard working leader."
Important places to commit, even if just from the outside. I tried to pick out a few certain landmarks, but there were too many buildings to try to get an important one to ask about. Instead, a different question came to mind. "The rift between the higher and lower halves, does it dictate social status?"
I saw her nod a little. "It's not terrible, like beggars to noblemen, but the "Lowtown" is still visibly a little more... well, not poor, because almost all business takes place there, but..." Her face twisted a bit as if trying to find a polite way to put it.
"Shady?" She sighed and nodded, looking ahead at the approaching gate. "How well are you known there?"
"Not very, but enough to have a couple contacts. I rode with Eli once while young and they discussed militia rations, and met an Elf family living up by the Tombwood, and another few visits delivering later. They always had me for tea, and once I met a Half-Elf couple in town, artists who had decorated part of the house we ate at." The daydream in her eyes was apparent. Odds are we'd be stopping by for her to catch up a bit. "And all visits had a few stops at certain merchants, though I never could pay attention for what exactly. A rare blonde Dwarf lady, black haired Halfling male with a really pretty braid and twisted hair, and... um, I'd have to see the Human to recognize him."
Well, we at least had some contacts, a somewhat straightforward objective, and a profit to make. So the looming gate didn't seem as imposing as we approached, met by a few armed guards with hands on sword pommels and waving a greeting. "Hallo, travellers, and what brings you to this city this fair day?"
My mouth opened to respond, but I was cut off. "A fair trade of hide brought by unfortunate circumstance that we seek counsel on." I was shocked at Shana's taking the lead on the answer. "A dragon was near Karban, and while we may have its remains to trade, we seek possible answers as to why we have it to sell to begin with."
"Pray tell, miss, how you survived such an encounter." The guard was obviously intrigured, and a few relaxed their grip on their weapons.
"We were quite lucky. The dragon was a babe, not much larger than the horse I ride, and we had the assistance of a third party, a lady magic-caster who bound it in ice long enough to bring its end. In all honesty my companion and I were more a distraction than responsible for the slaying." The honesty of the recount was a tad shocking, since it exposed our lack of strength and a questionable third party able to slay a dragon.
And again to my shock they nodded, allowing the gate to open. For the size and importance of the city, the guard was surprisingly trusting. "Behave yourself within the city, and good luck with your trade." I nodded back, looking around with controlled disbelief, finally finding my answer. Amid a turret, windows facing all four ways showed a man in better garments than the rest. He was battle-worn, and watching us as intently as I gazed at him. He was assuredly a leader, and an experienced one at that. Odds are it was he who made the decision.
Not knowing exactly where was where, I let Shana's horse take the lead while directing, "A good Inn and place to unload from the horse would do well. And probably one close to that family you befriended before, since I imagine you want to meet them." There was a little giggle and nod as she turned upon the path towards the cliffs. The slopes leading up weren't terrible, thankfully, and the crowds of people seemed oblivious to us.
My eyes tried to drink in the diversity. Many Humans and Halflings, a few Dwarves bustling as if on business, an uncommon Elf or relative race, and one sole golden Dragonborn standing obvious guard over a man. The ratio seemed the same between the lower and upper halves, and as I was told, with little difference between the quality of life on the surface. People seemed a bit more trimmed and tad more fat, but that was the only immediate difference.
A stable was soon upon us, a few horses freely trotting around and many more nibbling upon the grass or simply watching us approach. To a bit of surprise Shana dismounted and led the horse toward the gate where a middle-aged seeming Halfling was leaning into the fence, watching the horses approach. He finally turned to us and, upon seeing our mounts, swept to a bow. Shana inclined her head in return. "Shana Amphora and Isaac Saxon, at your service."
"Lannar Thistleton, at yours and your family's, though I dare say mine may need a few more eyes upon them." He laughed heartily and took the reins of hers. I dismounted and offered my own, following as he took them into the stables joined to his house. "I trust you'll need to borrow a few packs to carry the cargo while I take care of these?"
"Yes please," she answered as I looked about. Shoes for horses, mounts, food, wagon supplies, saddlebags, barding... the man seemed to live for the beasts. Or at least make his living from them quite well.
"How long do you think you'll care to stay, if I may ask? Likely it won't change the fare much--only a silver a week per steed." He walked up, holding two regular sized and clearly empty simple sacks with a sling to wear by, one for reach of us. I tried to hide a smirk at mentally picturing him dragging one along behind him.
"At our swiftest, a week at the most, and with poor luck gone within a month." He nodded at my prediction and looked at the steeds. "I don't suppose, being the one most travellers come across, you'd be willing to tell us of a specific kind of patron or cargo?"
"That all depends, my archer friend. I see a lot, a bit shady and a bit dark but good, but my customers aren't often to be ratted out. What's the nature?" His tone was at least sincere. If I had to guess, he'd been the source of a few bad men caught before, and knows the risk of being wrong.
"Eggs, particularly large ones. I ask you don't share this, but..." I moved to the horse's sack and unfastened it, opening to pull out a sheet of green hide. "We found a dragon in the forest, and its appearance was unexpectedly sudden. Add to that a traveler, a witch mind you, gave us information that egg trading was taking place, it's something that would need to stop if it happens."
"Hmm... Dragons, eh? Terrible beasts, I can see your urgency." The little man stroked his chin and into his hair, ruffling the already wild brown locks as he tried to recall. "Afraid to say, I tend not to look in the packs. The closest I can get is anyone with a very round bulge on the leather, but that could be a great number of things. Goodness knows I'd hate giving up a simple orb or crystal trader for an accident." I saw the strain on his face as he tried to recall any for-certain egg shapes, but finally his strain broke and he shook his head. "Afraid to say, Isaac, nothing clearly comes to mind."
I waved a hand dismissively. "It's no trouble. Just be sure to keep from raising an alert about this, if the act is truly happening it has to be stopped with the same level of secrecy in our approach. Thank you for your trouble." In thanks I offered two gold out, but his hand waved as mine had before and he only plucked one.
"I'll claim the other if I recall anything of use, but for now, this is plenty. Thanks much, friend." He pocketed it and walked to the corral's edge again, leaving Shana and I to transfer the hides from pony to sash. It was a tight fit but we managed, leaving the horses free of their burden and now in the care of the little man. As we passed by and out the gate, he waved a farewell, crying out, "Pray stop by now and then to see if time has helped!"
"We will, thank you!" Shana called out the reply and waved before turning, continuing down the path we had followed before the stop. "I forgot how pleasant he was."
"Most good Halflings are, it's not often you find a scoundrel among them." I cotinued down her lead, still drinking in details of the city. The road was carefully hewn stone surrounded by equally carefully cut grass, only the uncommon tree or bush dotting the sides and yards of the houses. Left we turned, with the small forest and the Moonstone Keep at our right, following the path as it soutlined the woods for a few minutes. Skip the fork, turn right, right again... Following the forest, it seemed pretty certain her first stop was going to be the Elf house she mentioned earlier.
Indeed she did point it out, the last of four buildings before a fair strip of trees, but she didn't stop walking as she motioned. "Emil and Shaendi live there. They're not far from anywhere we're likely to go." Her face turned back to the road before her, pointing ahead. "Were we a little more noble or needy, ahead would be the Silver Unicorn to stay at. However, across the stream is a pretty new place, far cheaper and just as pleasant. The, um.. Net..."
"The Nentir Inn, owned by one Erandil Zemoar?" A jolly lady's voice rang out as an Elf stepped forth, hair a rich moss-like green (though fading to grey at the roots) and eyes even more rich. A breastplate of wood-tinted leather and skirt of the same were her only clothes as she stepped forth with open arms towards Shana. "I hardly blame you for passing us by, those packs look so heavy, dear."
"Shaendi!" The excitement in Shana's voice was a childish one I'd never heard before, and she hurtled herself into the arms of her old friend. Despite a few signs of age, the affectionate tackle didn't seem to phase her. "I promise I was going to visit, as soon as I could once settled in!"
"I know, but if business does come first, a few more days will not disturb me. I've lived long, so I know the value of patience." The embrace was returned before she stepped back, hands upon Shana's shoulders and eyes absorbing every detail. "My, how strong. It's as though the young man you travel with has taught you the fighting arts. Why take up such a path?"
And so she began a recount of the situation of Karban--between Kobolds, Goblins, and worse scaled beasts, there needed protection after all--and in greater detail than I would have liked. There was a footstep behind me on the stone, and glad for a reason to distract myself, I turned to find an athletic Elf posing before me as if ready to strike, despite having no weapon. He placed a finger to his lips and approached, hand on my shoulder as he watched Shana's continued speech. With a whisper he said to my ear, "At least her teacher is a good one. I thank you for giving her strength... even if not the same awareness."
"Emil, I assume. Pleasure to meet you." I offered a hand, and he shook it with shocking strength for his race. His face seemed to be made of points: pointy chin, sharp eyes, thin nose, and lips smiling thin enough to seem sharp at the tips. But everything about him seemed as genuinely happy as Shaenda had.
Finally the lady's face turned to meet her husband's, smiling at the extended recount still taking place. Shana stopped in mid-word and turned confusedly to where Shaenda looked, and once more the near-squeal rang out. "Emil!" Another dash, a tight embrace, and a jovial laugh as he hugged her and spun twice in place before setting her upon her feet. "How long were you there?" There was a little pout upon her lips, as though childishly upset at not being told something good happened.
"Oh, somewhere between 'I had a hard time shaking his hand the first time' and 'At least he was kind enough to be patient about it'." I smirked at the memory of her first time shaking a stranger's hand like that being recalled so accurately. "I would happily ask you to continue, but your load seems to heavy, and if I am not mistaken, you do have matters to attend to. We will still be around for many years to come, and this visit has been joyful enough, however brief."
Emil released her and took his place at his wife's side, making a deep bow before waving. Shana returned it with an excited exaggeration, turned to wave as long as the Elves would return it before retiring to their home. Even still she watched them, at least until I plucked her by the sleeve and pulled her out of the way of a box-toting Dwarf. "Thank ye stranger."
Despite the beet red blush and my smirk at the near collision, her step very visibly had a renewed spring in it as we turned left and looked upon the bridge, a corner of the large inn already visible from our distance.It took but a couple minutes to come upon it, the building finely crafted and with many windows facing the brunt of the city. "Someone knows how to appeal to clients", I said to myself as I glanced at the different faces visible within the windows. Rather than following the path, Shana led us across the grass and into the doorway. Even before opening it, the crowd seemed active and lively.
And indeed it was when we came in. Numerous races, ages, faces, and folk were somehow able to keep from too much competition for volume to be heard. "Oh, bah on your fabled bad luck, Serim...", "I still say this silver doesn't seem as...", "Just barely avoided a picked pocket, I did, and...", "...waiting upon the Lord Warden to...", "...at least the size of a..." I had to abandon my attempt to tune into any single conversation as we walked to the front desk, seeing a jolly face of a somewhat young Half-Elf watching us intently. Assuring him we intended to do more than listen to the crowd, I waved a hello as we approached.
"Welcome to the Nentir Inn, my friends, and how many nights may I expect to have you resting well and comfortable? Five silvers a night for a fine room with two beds, if you please." His tone was as jolly as his face, and he seemed genuinely pleased at the prospect of another patron. Even more surprisingly, I didn't catch desire for money as the foremost longing. He seemed to enjoy his business. Lucky fellow.
"Afraid to say, sir, we have no clear answer to how long. I trust we can pay as each night passes until we know for certain?" He gave a curt nod, smile still plastered on his face. "Then for now, I can pay for two..." ...two nights or two rooms? A sudden thought just came to mind and I took Shana by the shoulder. "Um. One second, please."
Guiding her aside a moment, her head tilted in confusion. "I have spent months in a guest lodge, so I'm a little unsure if you're okay in the same room."
Her face melted into a relief, with a smirk as if looking upon a silly child. "Do grow up, Isaac, I trust you after all." Leaving me standing in place, a little dumbfounded at my attempt at courtesy being treated as tomfoolery, I heard her exchange a gold coin for two nights in a room. She passed by with a key dangling from her fingers, and I snapped from my stupor to follow. "I appreciate the concern", she called from before me.
I guess my face had been showing a little of the hurt at her reaction.
Rather than by letters or numbers, the rooms were labelled by a line over or under a decorated sigil. Suns within triangles, boxed pentagrams, a triforce within a triforce... She stopped at a room showing a cross with its center bevelled in above a line, and compared it to the key. "This should be it." The key slid in, turned without a hitch, and the room opened. Two beds made for one, a cabinet with a fairly large mirror, small room with a pipe visible to show the washroom, and a window pointing straight out to the Moonstone castle.
The marketplace was pretty obvious from this height and position as well. Down the cliff and at Lowtown's center, a heavily paved and building-clad circle with many a people and stalls in the middle. Enough movement that even my trained eyes were having trouble keeping up with more than a second's activity at a time. "I think... I'll avoid running that gauntlet until tomorrow." The sun dipped low enough to bore into my eyes, causing me to look away. It was getting late. Soon the sky would be ablaze with color once more, and it would be time for a dinner.
Well, it at least gave us convenient timing to do first what Shana was most excited for. "Do you suppose Emil and Shaendi would be open to your company tonight?" I looked back to Shana to find her face thoughtful.
"Well, I wouldn't want it to be rushed, but I would not mind at all visiting them early. If we stay for more than two weeks, though, expect us to visit again." Her pack was off and she was carefully sliding it within a dresser drawer, having to wedge it in from thickness.
"Us?"
"Well, yes. You have trained me and been a companion for months, are my friend, and are travelling with me. It would be an insult to not come with me, and nor would you impose." Every question I had was answered before it even came to my tongue. She moved to place her mace and shield upon the wall, to be rid of them for the social call.
"Pick those back up, vigilance before trust. And not trust of your friends, but of the rest of the city." Her eyes turned to mine and she took them back. Only after did I follow her lead of placing the pack hides securely in the dresser, across from hers. "Also, even once a week would not bother me long as we get our mission done. Odds are the earnings from our loot would cover a long stay here, so we will live with what we have."
She nodded as well and, having replaced her gear on her body, led the way through the door. I took a moment to check that the door would not open without the key, and that we actually had it still in her pocket, before setting off again. I looked back at the crowd in the Inn's lobby, still unable to latch onto nearly any single piece of conversation, and exited. With a lighter load and liesurely pace, we took the proper path of the road circling around the Inn back to the bridge over the water.
There was a booth upon the end of the bridge I didn't care to notice before. "Is that a guard post? Good place for one, but it's been empty all day."
Shana looked back at it. "I can not say. I never came across this bridge on my visits. We could ask while at dinner, though." Good idea. Path crosses an intersection, to the right, and we stopped before the home once more. "I wonder if they still have a--"
Glass shattered, and Emil's voice cried, "Enough!" Childish laughter, heavy footfalls, and I saw a... floating, shining stick cross the window before Shaendi attempted to grab it. The commotion continued for a moment before quieting. "Gah!" A thud against wood, loud couple of small voices whooping, and a bright flash of light hitting the other window facing us.
I took my bow pulled out one arrow, but considered. Were this a dangerous foe, there would have been bloodshed... This was a trickster, not a beast. I smashed the arrowhead against the pavement, very badly chipping the arrowhead but only driving it further into the shaft. With this new bludgeon-tip, I nocked the arrow and draw back. Shana donned her shield and moved to the doorway, carefully placing her hand on the knob and nodding at me with her eyes on my bow. I advanced into a position to shoot within and she popped the door open, giving me a view of the inside.
Thankfully it was fairly bare. The worst I could damage was the wall. The stick fluttered around and finally float in a single spot, seeming to spin with two pairs of wings at each end. I let the arrow fly and watched it smash into the bottom half, closer to the light. Three cries yelled out as the wings split and fluttered to the floor along with the somehow undamaged stick. Emil jumped to the doorway, hands waving outstretched. "Hold, hold! No need, please put them away!"
Shana and I shared a glance before replacing our weapons in sheathes, approching with cautious curiosity. I chose my words carefully, now curious if we interrupted something important. "We heard a crash and saw a floating pole, assuming some ghost or trickster was at work. Did I disturb something?"
He shook his head and his face was relieved. "Not anything that can not be worked out. Come, see for yourself." I stepped in tentatively after Shana, watching Shaendi support two small, winged objects in her hands. One was groaning in pain, the other shedding light and giggling a little.
Finally the one not giving light fluttered up from the hand and, on butterfly wings, floated up before my face. He was a very tiny human, like a fairy, and pointing at my face. "You better be glad you missed Juniper, else you'd be seeing a lot worse than a this!" He fluttered behind me pretty quickly and his foot came into contact with my bow. My eyes went wide as the weapon shrunk rapidly, slipping through the sheathe under its new size before ending on the floor, nearly the size of a children's toy. The glowing creature swooped down and picked it up, flying up to dangle it before me. I heard the fairy cry, "Want to stop the game now? It's your bow this time!"
My hand snapped for it, but the winged light dropped a foot and twirled it like a baton, female-toned giggle coming from the motions. Soon the two creatures and Elves were all laughing as I jumped and reached, only ever getting into contact with the shrunken bow once. Finally the two little creatures converged, and his hands fell upon the bow. It started to grow again, and was tossed through the air toward me. I made sure to catch it as if it were fragile as glass, watching its size restored. Carefully I sheathed it again, staring at the little floating things.
Shaendi finally stood and motioned to the two. "These two are Eucalyptus and Juniper. Eucalyptus, or Euca for short, is a Pixie. Pixies come from the feywild, though he fell too far in love with exploring to ever stay still, and he brings the Fey with him in his magics." The little man waved a wide hello. "The lady at his side is his familiar, who he has named Juniper. A sprite." She waved as well, dimming the light so I could see her properly. A petite lady with pointy wings, like a dragonfly almost, and covered in a simple dress.
"Um, hello Euca, and Juniper. Nice to meet you." Eucalyptus inclined his head in return, and Juniper spoke... something. It was a happy tone, but came out garbled, like every common language compiled into one. Euca laughed and turned, returning speech in the same language, sparking a rapid conversation of jumbled sounds.
I looked up to Shaendi confusedly, and noticed Shana's wonder matching mine. Emil was the one who answered. "A familiar can't speak to the world, not without some extensive effort and training. To anyone but who the familiar is attached to, it sounds like that."
Shana stepped over near the two and knelt, offering her hand palm-up. The two fluttered upon it and stood, all three gazing curiously at each other. Shana became curious and uttered a few words in the Elven tongue. The words were elegant, full of vowel sounds. But I couldn't really keep up as the two exchanged a few words. "So it's true, anything Fey can speak it with me..." Shana's face seemed relieved at the fact. She turned to look at me. "The two forgive you for the arrow, by the way."
Well, that was a relief. The feathers of the shot arrow came into my view, held by Emil by the shaft. "It's good you took care to damage its head first, Isaac." I took the broken weapon from his hand. "Still dangerous, but far less able to damage for certain. I dare say Eucalyptus' rod was left with naught but a scratch. With his other hand, the gem-tipped wooden pole was handed back to the two. Together they lifted with it, spinning the rod in circles as they seemed to dance in the air with it keeping them evenly spaced and facing each other.
Shaendi giggled. "The two were made for each other." Her head turned toward Shana and I. "So were you passing by to visit, or was this a chance encounter?"
Shana stood at my side and smiled happily. "We're visiting, if you'll have us, and just happened to appear at the climax of the commotion." Her eyes fell on the dancing couple. "How long have you known the two?"
Emil looked and stroked his chin in thought. "For nigh on three decades, though the addition of miss Juniper didn't happen until the visit before this. However, his appearances have been more sporadic than your own. As for the 'climax'... Euca, you shattered the china, you still have a responsibility.
"Oy, sorry about that, get right on it." The two flew immediately toward the entrance. Behind the still open door were the remains of a figurine, something like an elf doll, but shattered. He sat just outside the rubble and took out two things. A pouch of... something, and a small book. Even despite the size, the same concentration and solemn aura of a ritual was visible. I took an educated guess that it was a simple repairing ritual, like the one Arania used at Karban.
I took the chance to study the two. Eucalyptus was perhaps seven inches tall, and his golden hair waved back and forth under the magical effect. He turned to look at each piece of the doll, giving me a glimpse of his eyes, orbs of bright lavender. His skin was pale, and illuminated under the dim glow of Juniper as she fluttered around behind him. His clothes were simple, almost like leaves woven into a cloth tunic, boots, and gloves.
I turned my body back to the group, but kept my head on him a moment longer. "Arania was a Wizard, if I recall right. Do Wizards have the magic of... um, bringing the Fey with them?" I probably sounded foolish, but magic was still fairly new to me.
Emil's head shook. "There are a few branches of Arcane warriors, and he is a Warlock. They are magicians that borrow power from a source, whether by attachment or bargian. The Fey is his home, so his attachment allows him to borrow its power. Much to my relief, compared to some who agree to deliver the pains of hell or some such abomination." He motioned to the rest of the home, inviting us to explore. "Come. It's not the most elegant place, but we do try to keep to our roots."
Indeed they did. The building was wooden, but even so, the inside seemed decorated as if looking at a home built of natural trees. Wood seemed to have bark, marks of branches, even actual or painted patches of grass where the walls met the floor. Everything was wooden, save for metal and glass in the knobs, windows, and around some of the candles and torches. There were few, though, as many pieces of the wood seemed to dimly radiate light, making even the darkest shadow seem tame.
The stairs up revealed a similar theme, only the decorative walls seemed to imitate a treehouse build among the branches. Not only that, the floor was ridged in places and had actual branch-wood placed here and there, giving a very real feel of walking on natural wood. To have done this must have taken a while, and I was left to wonder if all Elves would do such a thing. A couple bedrooms and a personal room showed with open doors, but it was a simple kind of building. "Looks like a good home to have stayed at, Shana."
No response. I turned, and she wasn't there. It finally struck me that she'd seen the home, she would have no reason to explore it. Amused at myself, I went back downstairs. The stairway was fairly close to the entrance and on the left side, leaving me the rooms across from the entrance and from the stairs to explore. A kitchen and dining room, respectively, both joined by a back entrance and the main one leading to the lobby. "Not a noble's home, but by all means one of the nicest I've come across."
"'Tis a joy to hear you say so, Isaac." Emil clapped a hand to my shoulder. I immediately saw that Shana and Shaendi were gone, and Euca's magic had started to move the little doll. I watched it form, the chips and cracks visible even from my distance before vanishing in a small glint of light on each surface. The light left, and the little statue was whole. It was a female Half-Elf, much like Shana, bone-white but very detailed for its size and plain composition.
"Up we go!" Juniper and Euca took the statue by its shoulders and lifted it up upon a mantle above the window, next to a couple more statues. One Half-Elf sporting a small tool, two fairies holding both hands within a heart frame, and a very small man seeming to punch a tree. Curious, I stepped over and saw in a little more detail, it was a Dwarf using tools to craft a tree.
"Friends of yours, assored by statue?" The Half-Elf male seemed to be wielding a chisel as well. "Shana, a Dwarf and Half-Elf crafstman, Juniper and Euca?" I turned to Emil and he nodded. "They're very well done."
"Says you, my wings don't look so baisc." Euca fluttered up and stood on the mantle, poking the wings of his replica. "If I'm gonna have the wings bein' the first and last things people see about me, I at least want 'em seen right."
"And right they shall be seen when Gam visits. Until then, Eucalyptus, patience." With an amused chuckle, he shook his head. "I undstand that your wings are the most prominent sight of your body, but nigh on seven decades of life should have you past this."
Sensing a potential verbal scuffle, even if as harmless as the previous game, I looked at Juniper's half of the statue. "If I may interject with a curiosity, do all magical folk have a... familiar, she was called?"
The thought of her seemed to soften him up a fair bit. "Nay, a magical folk has to find an animal or being of some kind to give a magical connection to. I had already been a great deal attached to June before making the plunge into magic, and she was a good deal reluctant to let go. So together we are as long as I keep her from danger."
Her garbled words came again as she popped up out of literally nowhere behind him, shedding the corner in a good amount of light again. The sudden appearance made me wince a bit and back a step away. The two exchanged a few words once more before fluttering around in the air with each other as if dancing once more. Emil smirked and commented about "Made for each other" before turning toward the kitchen. "How goes the preparations, you two?"
Shana's voice rang out, "Almost, but it's not what you'll be used to. Five more minutes!" I blinked and looked at the kitchen doorway... Shana cooking. I never really considered the prospect, since Karban had its own cooks for visitors and group houses. Even still, my biggest relief came in the fact that Shaendi was there to assist. As for not something I'd expect, given the presence of two Elves and a Pixie, something very plant-based was on my mind. Nor could I smell any meat. Still, I had meals without it before.
Emil took to the dining room, spreading a few plates and pieces of silver. Eucalyptus and Juniper fluttered pretty quickly after, making a game of tossing small bits of something shiny among the tableware to cause it to hover. Upon it they leapt and danced, jumping from one to the other tumbling them slowly in the air. From my distance I could see the entire thing take place, ending up looking fairly festive and fun for the few minutes it happened. Most of them spun perfectly back into place, and two of them had to clatter and spin a little before they fell upon their bottoms properly. Only one knife escaped and fell on the floor, bouncing a bit towards me.
I lifted it and replaced it where I saw one was missing, careful to turn it as it was placed on the other settings of the table. As soon as I'd showed up, a couple large dishes were brought in balanced among Shaendi's and Shana's arms. The plates were set, and on them was probably the oddest but brightest assortment of fruits and vegetables I'd seen.
The peels of oranges surrounded a cherry-like substance, but was entirely white. Unpeeled bananas with an orange color. Something very close to a cob of corn, but round like a melon. Colors were warped, shapes were bent or bloated, and some were completely foreign to me. I cocked my head to the side and tried to ask, but no words came. Shaendi saved me with an answer, even without realizing it probably. "Thank you, Euca, for bringing us this sample of the Fey's culture. We long for it not, but such reminders are still pleasant."
A few thanks were muttered to the little Pixie before seats were taken. There was a lot of confusion on my part as to what to grab and how to eat it, but with Emil to my left, following suit was easy enough. The bloated corn was peeled like a banana, except with numerous more strips, and contained equally numerous seeds inside that could be eaten off. The flavor was rich, and much like grapes. Some seemed to have more edible peels than centers, where others you seemed to try to eat only the layer between skin and core, much like normal fruit. Everything from the Fey was rich, unexpectedly flavored, and juicy enough that I did not need to sip my mead for some time.
To my relief, despite the sweetness of the new cuisine, there were some standard fruits and breads among the food. My plate was filled twice, and stomach left surprisingly happy with the meal despite its simplicity. There was naught to worry about, only the setting of the sun's darkness against the windows and the sounds of night's fauna drowned by the merry talking at our table. Truly, a wonderful meal and a fair night to have had. It was easy to see, then and now, why Shana was glad for the couple's friendship.
Once Euca had finally finished the late bite of his biscuit (which amazed me, given his appetite for a man of his small size), he perched atop the table and fell upon his back, heaving a happy sigh. "Times like this I miss the Fey, rest assured o' that. Been away a couple years, I may give it a visit once business here is done."
My curiosity was piqued. "Business aside from the statue, Euca?"
He shook his head and responded, "Nay, there's not that much for me to do aside from travel and look into a few short things at a time. Keep my friends close, see the world, run down a few monsters with a bit o' magic as they come across our path. I don't wanna risk Juniper gettin' hurt, so I try to avoid being the hero in really big problems unless there's an even bigger good reason for it."
The little sprite gave an appreciative giggle, despite still being invisible. Shana and Shaendi both 'aw'd in the same manner. Emil looked over to me. "His stay will be for about a week, if the past is any bit accurate, so please feel free to visit again if you can. Just try not to shoot at him anymore."
I opened my mouth to protest, but all five voices laughing soon had me chuckling at my own mistake. Finally, Shana calmed and looked to the little man. "Eucalyptus, you don't suppose you could help us during your stay? I hate to be so blunt as to say your size would make you a great assistance, but the fact is there."
He sat up curiously and cocked his head while looking back. "I'm listenin', lassie."
And so Shana once again began the recount, this time briefly. A magical lady met upon the roads, a baby dragon in the forest after having been bought by Kobold for personal worship, and a trade of hands centered around the city of Fallcrest. With the black markets beyond either of the two's knowledge and the risk of being discovered much more likely for outsiders asking around, it was a great idea indeed to ask such a tiny man to play the spy. I was impressed with her ingenuity.
He stroked his chin and looked up at her face. He seemed to believe her, at least, about the problem being as genuinely possible at it seemed. "Not much on the lore o' dragons, but even I at least remember the ones getting traded around would be a fair menace to the world. Now I'm not totally sure where a market like that would be here, either, but in my free time I'll see if I can get at least a glimpse of info for ye."
Shana responded with a low bow, and I nodded my head as well. "Thank you, Euca." He brushed off my thanks with a little wave.
"Nothing better to do, unless some such dragon pops its head up here. I'll make sure we get to hear from each other before leavin' as well." It took me a moment to remember the flightiness of the Fey's creatures, so it was a polite gesture to be told he would wait upon us. With two very able and hopefully quite covert sets of eyes and ears added to our hunt, the prospect of getting at least something didn't seem so bleak now.
Emil finally stood and took a bow over the table. "Blessed be this food brought by and shared among friends, and that their nights be as merry as the times we've had. But time, I am afraid to say, we seem to be out of for this reunion. Light has vanished, and some guards do take scritctly to curfew for outsiders. We wish you luck on your quest, and bid thee good night." Shaendi giggled and bowed alongside her husband, seemingly amused at his formality. Customs were customs, I suppose.
I took a guess and stood to return it, earning a laugh from Euca as he fluttered up, Juniper materializing behind him with a dim twinkle. "And jolly be the dreams that find you tonight as your body enjoys the fine meal and fair relaxation of company." Shana stood and bowed with me, probably knowing the reply but choosing to stick by my side for response. Her smile certainly suggested it. And once again I couldn't bring myself to feel ashamed, there was just too much joy in the household to feel much else.
Together Shaendi and Emil took to the doorway, opening it and giving a graceful motion for us three guests to exit by. "Do stop by again, Shana and Isaac. See you upon morning's light, Eucalyptus." Shaendi's voice trailed off as the door closed on her final words, leaving us four outside.
I turned curiously to the little Pixie and tilted my head while asking, "If not in a bed, where are you staying? Surely not outside the town gates and in the wild."
He barked a laugh and shook his head. "June and I have a nice little spot in the woods we like to stay. Up on the Moonstone Keep's cliff (Moonstone 'Keep', it was called) at the edge of the forest, a good spot above and away from the Tombwood." He motioned off to the woods behind the house, suddenly making me curious what about the woods was "tomb"like. A cemetary, perhaps?
Footsteps started to approach from the side. An man only maybe a decade older than me, but balding and still strong in stature, was walking with a hand rubbing behind his head and face full of thought. "What a day, no sign of improvement in any direction." His ramblinbs to himself were fairly audible even from his distance, but as his eyes fell on us, he seemed to grow a little hopeful. "Odd, not many bands of adventurers gather themselves anymore. Greetings, fellows, I am Faren Markelhay." He offered a hand to each of us, seeming a little amused at Eucalyptus and Juniper shaking a finger each.
"Isaac, Shana, and Eucalyptus with Juniper, though we're not exactly a 'band' together..." Despite my assurance that we weren't exactly a team, his hopeful look never faded.
"Nevertheless, potentially just who I needed. You won't be forced, nor will declining have me thinking any less of you, as your own affairs are probably quite important. But our city, as always, is surrounded by much potential for trouble and as much of the real thing. Would you be able to meet me tomorrow at the Keep at high noon for lunch, I would be much obliged." I looked uncertainly from Euca to Shana and back again, particularly worried about if the Pixie would join us. He looked about as unsure while glancing back. "Of course I do not wish to rush the matter tomorrow, either. Time we have, as long as you do, and you need but arrange yourselves at the Keep should you decide to decline or meet at a later date."
With a bow and quick step he passed us by, once again mumbling about his next stop. Shana looked after him with a curious face. "He... was the Human I think I knew. A bit more bald, but he sounds and walks the same. It makes sense now, I knew of him but not exactly who he was, and thought the Lord Baron was a different person."
"Sounded like he wanted assistance with one of the safety risks around the city. I wonder which one, given the size of the city there are probably many that could be one for trouble." Euca nodded in agreement with my words and looked upon the Warden's figure as it walked toward the bridge.
"Don't like fightin' so much, but if something needs doing, maybe I'll accompany you two." Juniper once again materialized, shedding a fine glow upon the darkened ground as she rested her arms upon Euca's head and perched into place. Their jumbled words once again exchanged, this time thankfully only for a moment. "Long as she can stay hidden, she says she trusts you two to take care of us." The little Sprite nodded from over his head.
"That's still for tomorrow, though", I said as I looked back upon the bridge to the hotel. "We still have a load to lighten tomorrow, at the least. Probably in the morning before paying the Keep a visit."
Shana knelt by the two little people and offered a hand. "It was nice meeting you two. I hope we meet again tomorrow." The two bowed and took a finger to shake together before they fluttered up into the air, about belly height once more as they heaved the Rod up over their heads.
"Rest well, friends, and see you tomorrow!" In a glint of light the two sped off, surprisingly fast despite their size as the rod seemed to tumble and twist in their dancing flight.
"The two were indeed made for each other." I chuckled to Shana's remark and nodded. "I wonder how exactly they're associated. Lovers, it seems to be, but to be a familiar as well to a Fey magician confuses me."
I shrugged it off. "We may ask later, I doubt he'd be too secretive of the tale, but for now, rest and the potential mission come first." Her head nodded in agreement and we started off to the inn once more. Once more the bridge was passed, the empty opening at its end reminding me I forgot ot ask about the abandoned post. I made it a note to ask if I had a minute at the meeting tomorrow.
The lobby of the Inn was shockingly about as loud as when we left, though the room was as pleasantly quiet as could be. With a quick wash each, a lot of looking the other way, and a couple sighs heaved, sleep was soon upon us. Despite all the day's events, I surprisingly had no dreams to bring me unrest. A calm smile was upon my face as I awoke, rare for me and rarer when in a new environment.
I sat up in the bed and noticed Shana didn't seem as lucky. Her pillow was a little soaked in sweat, and the blankets were askew, as if she had struggled to find a good balance of the heat provided and the cool of the room. It was odd, given she had visited friends and knew a few more in town than I did. Double checking that I was properly covered, I reached over and gave her a gentle shake by the shoulder.
She gasped and bolted up, breathing heavily. "Promise!" She kept panting heavily, eyes a little wide and wild. I just watched as she caught her breath, looking ahead. She finally looked around and saw me examining her face with worry, then looked down as if guilty. "Spirits in my dreams, showed me bad visions... I can't remember them clearly, just lots of fire and ash, dark fog all around. I had to promise to help prevent it before they..." She looked at her own hands curiously, flexing her fingers one at a time. "Agreed to help me."
I could only hope these "Spirits" were benevolent enough to trust to assist, given it was Shana's lifestyle to try to be in touch with them. I could speculate why now and not before, but only guess that it had to do with either the location's need for a hero, larger amount of energy drawing such spirits, or her appreciation of the Fey lifestyle at dinner proving her worth as a caretaker of nature. Even then, it was only a guess. At the time my mind was more concerned with being glad she was okay. "Rest a little longer if you need to."
She shook her head and stood, walking toward the door to the small washing area. "Just to get this sweat off." I nodded and turned away as she entered, taking advantage of her time spent to cloth myself and wrestle the two bags of hides from their spot in the dresser drawer. The fit was tighter than I remembered, but they still came out. With clothes on, equipment adorned, and both sashes of hides held one on each shoulder, I turned around towards the door and closed my eyes while counting the minutes.
They were few, and Shana was quick to dry and dress. Taking my lead, she arrived at my side in armor, hand upon the handle of her mace and hair loosely tied behind her head. We opened the door and slid out, once again ensuring it was locked behind us as we took our exit. I placed the key on the desk before Eandil. At his inquisitive look I replied, "We may need it again tonight, but do not know for sure if we'll return in time to sleep. Your hospitality is appreciated, though I do hope we still have our breakfast paid for."
"Of course, friends, payment deals in providing from noon to noon. Come, enjoy your first meal." He motioned to the lobby, a few people bringing plates of simple bread and drink back and forth, a few additions and trimmings upon the plates. Knowing we didn't have time to dawdle, I asked if we could get journeybread and tea, soon ending with two slices of the cookie-like bread and cups of tea before us. It wouldn't give us an entire day's help, of course, but would definitely last us until what was hopefully a meal at the Keep.
The food was bland, but a full-feeling belly was definitely a bonus as we exited and I looked out at the town, a hand over my eyes to block the morning sun. "Do you know the best option for a person to craft us something from these?" My free hand patted the side of the bag holding half the hides.
Shana shook her head as she walked by but kept on down the path towards Lowtown. "The market is at the center of the area at the cliff's bottom, so likely anyone who does manual labor would be there as well. We could likely start our search within that area." With a nod I followed, southward along the path heading for the drop of the cliff. I looked down at the winding trail as Shana took to it, thankful for its twists left and right keeping us from moving too steeply. As we started, someone was already down near the bottom, jogging to a point a few feet from the slope's end to grab a handhold and heave upward. He was climbing the wall, I realized.
We met about halfway down. His clothes were soaked with sweat, hands scarred and dusty, and face determined. He was very young, but strong for his size. "Keep at it, son, your discipline is admirable." I saw his face falter into a smile, but his lack of a response was understandable. The strain of climbing was certainly more important. We continued down, each safe step I took spent glancing back at the young boy. He was going to be a tough one in time.
The slope ended, the path continued toward the markets, and the bustle and noise became quite difficult to track. Every race seemed to converge and many a cautious look was thrown as the crowds seemed to thicken, endors waving around samples from their stalls and doorways. The few people that seemed well equipped or dealing with equipment were willing to give the names of vendors or worksmen, and we ended with a name "Teldorthan" as a craftsman, and his armory being close to the south gate. It took another few minutes to reach the fork taking us to the building, and I soon wondered how I missed it upon our entry. The smoke stack from the furnace and sounds from within were quite overpowering up close.
A dwarf stood there, grumbling and smoking from an ornate pipe as he watched over a few people hidden behind a wall, numerous hammers falling upon metal and a few hisses of what I guessed were hot metal meeting cool water. As he saw us approach, a gloved hand rubbed across his chin, mussing up his beared as he examined the bags at my sides. "With that purpose in your step, I'd have to guess you've got somethin' you wan'us to make out of?"
The bluntness came as a bit of a shock to me, combined with how well he read the purpose of our visit. "Do you get such visitors often?" He nodded and reached an arm out, hand offering to be shaken. "Isaac is my name, and Shana my companion."
He shook both with a strong grip and hearty shake. His face seemed to admire when Shana greeted him. "Strong grip for a lass, and carrying a mace to boot. Give me a few moments in the smithy and I can have that turned to a proper hammer for you."
She giggled a little and shook her head. "Perhaps in the future, but for now I am happy with this. I have trained with it and grown used to its form."
Teldorthan nodded his head, despite seeming a little disappointed. "Well, you might know my name to have sought me out, but if not, 'tis Teldorthan. Teldor for short if you dislike formalities." His eyes fell upon my sashes again, the pondering look back in his eyes. "Nary a ring of metal within them, so I assume there are skins?"
I nodded as well, again startled by his expertise. Leave it to a dwarf to recognize metal from a mile away. "A beast with powerful hide was within the forest near Shana's home, and we had the luxury of skinning it in hopes of something." I opened a flap on the surface and withdrew one large square of the hide. Teldor's mouth gaped open a little, the pipe nearly falling loose.
"By Moradin, I am being teased." Admiration mixed with... anger? He took the hide and rubbed his thumbs along it, expression softening a little. "Nay, this is not mine, it could not be. Far too young, probably from a mere babe. Safe to say you had Bahamut's blessing to find one young enough to slay at this strength."
"Hold a moment." I couldn't let his odd comment go without a question. "You said you had a hide, but ours was a tease?"
A grumpy look certainly played across his face as he heaved a sigh. With a deep inhale on his pipe and release of a clumsy smoke ring, he collected his thoughts and handed the hide back to me. "I had a green hide from an adult, nearing its prime, hide harder than steel an' as light as yours there. Certainly a great deal valuable, it was soon to be in my hands and made into fine mail. But it was lost in transit." He shook his head a little and stroked through his beard. "Hopefully soon I may have it again, but until then, work needs doing. I must be gone by noon, I shall personally try to work on your hides. I assume you want body armor?"
We both nodded, imagining iron-hard armor as light as animal hide protecting us. A comforting prospect, but his words continued. "Well, afraid to say, yours may end a little lackluster compared t' normal dragon hides. See, you found it early enough in life that it had not fully hardened. It will be much akin to leather, squishy and still giving way to attackers. Of course it's stronger than even the hardest hides of a natural beast, save for older dragons. Think of it as a fine middleground."
"It's still a relief to improve from these." I motioned to our admittedly tattered hides, heavy fur coats upon thick skin with many scratches and marks, practically openings to strike for. "Dragonhide armor would probably consume how much of this stock, and run us how much in cost?"
He stroked his beard again as we emptied it out, spreading the large sheets along our arms and hanging within our hands. "I can assure you two things now. You've enough to equip an army o' rangers, and you'll prob'ly find a lot of people angry that your hide isn't matured into a proper strength. I have a good idea how to use every inch here and know its exact value, as well as how to help it help the people it helps the most."
"So you could provide us both the best use of this and the best price for it." Shana looked back and forth between me to him after my statement, finally seeming to catch up with the facts.
"Aye. It could fetch a fair price anywhere, and were you a blaggard you might have taken advantage of the softness of the hides, but here you stand honest before me. Strong enough to slay it and honest enough to not lie about it... If you tell me the story of winning these, I shall call it even for the work of tanning and crafting the armor for you. Its magic can be traded off for some of your hide, and the rest are certainly worth a few platinums." He beckoned us inward, immediately getting a vivid red in the face as he saw a sight before him behind the small opening to the anvils. "Richard, what madness is this, holding that so haphazard! With your wide swings you're looking at a busted thumb smashing a dent in the side!"
A loud apology was given and metal scraped for a moment before the hammering continued. The smith shook his head and grumbled as a couple sheets of hide were thrown on a table, cut with an expert knife. With a little free time and much curiosity, the apprentices gathered to watch the process while listening to the recount, Shana and I once more sharing the details of our encounter. Teldorthan chuckled as we admitted our lack of help past the initial distraction and Arania's work, but the pride was restored in the recount of the slaying of Goblins. Added to our Kobold ambush prior to the dragon, it was an even contribution, we all decided.
Between a needle and knife, metal rings and stitches combined, the tanned hides took shape of armor. Even without properly measuring us, it appeared to be a perfect fit as he fitted the hides into a proper armor. Coverings like a shirt and over the shoulders, vambraces just shy of the elbows, and bracers on the outsides of our legs were soon made full before us, matching in style but carefully pulled and turned into our different figures.
"Try them on, adjustments are best made before the hide gets used to its position." Obediently our gear was perched against a corner and out current armors were undone, revealing the plain clothing underneath before we pulled the green suits over ourselves. Mine was only a little loose, giving me about an inch of free space to wriggle in that my belt would assuredly take care of. The finger slots of the gloves were still a tad stiff, as with any armor not used to being bent, but didn't seem to scratch at my skin as I tested its flexibility. Same story for the strips around my legs, no uncomfortable brush at the joints but secure enough to not slide around.
Shana reached for her mace and shield, ensuring both were easy to grasp and maneuver around with their new coatings. Once satisfied, she said, "It feels good. With a little use the few tight spots should be worked out, same as any armor." Taking her lead I took my bow in hand, finding the wood made a smooth fit with the bevelled edge of the vambrace, nocking an invisible arrow to draw back and hold for a few seconds. No strain on my fingers to keep the position--the dragonhide's softness let it move as far as I could wriggle my fingers.
"It's a pleasure t' hear, always proud of the first try being right. As for the leftovers..." He gave a look over the hides, having used one strip of eight equal parts and some leftovers, murmuring to himself how many suits he could make before calling out, "Vista! Thirty-five platinum, please!"
There was the sound of metal clinking about and clinking together, undoubtedly coins in a stack before starting to jingle close to us. "I hope ye have a good sort o' reason for giving out this much." A blonde dwarf with short hair braided over to one side of her head walked up, immediately sighting the large sheets of hide stacked upon the table. "Oooh, no wonder. Certainly not what you prob'ly lost to the Kobold, but a good haul."
Shana nudged me and pointed her head toward the lady... Blonde dwarf? Probably the one she'd mentioned prior to entering the city. I nodded in return before stepping forward. "The business is much appreciated, this is a fine amount for so much hide." The weight and jingle of the coins felt good within my palm, and I pocketed it carefully.
Teldorthan took out his pipe and snuffed the embers, pocketing it carefully. "And it's gettin' on high noon, I should start for the Keep an' avoid being late. Gotta keep from being late for the Warden. If you'll excuse me, gents."
I stood for a moment and looked inquisitively. "At noon? He asked us to show as well, said he was happy to see an adventuring party and--"
"--that I was looking for one to see about winning back great hide I think has been stolen by the Kobold at the hall." Teldor finished my sentence and barked a laugh. "Have I just armored up the adventurers I plan to set off?" If he did, the irony was worth a chuckle. Gear us in dragonhide to win back a dragonhide.

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"Teldorthan Ironhews, Isaac Saxon, Shana Amphora, Eucalyptus, and... Juniper." The Lord Warden looked at each of us, knowing for sure (save for maybe Juniper) and simply fulfilling formality. "As you all arrived together, I am sure the dots have been connected as to the nature of why this gathering has been made. Even still, with some details a tad fuzzy, Teldorthan could please restate his wishes?" The man looked at the Dwarf, who was nibbling idly at a mutton joint.
He swallowed his mouthful and put it away upon the plate before clearing his throat. "As I'm sure is known, some fifty-odd miles westward lies Winterhaven, a fair town like our own with a fair share of problems from its environment. Yet I had arranged a trade, a pretty platinum for a fine green dragon's skin to make into a personal suit o' armor. Yet it was long lost in transit, and travelers reported seeing the rubble of what seemed some sort of ambush within a mile of that accursed Kobold Hall. Given the nature of my cargo and the location, there's little doubt in my eye the Kobold residing there took it."
Faren nodded and drummed his fingers along the table. "Even without a valuable hide being stolen, they are already a menace to any venturing between Winterhaven and Fallcrest. Anything taller them is an intruder to attack, anything smaller is a meal. It causes a problem for trade and keeping the world in even a relative state of peace. Numerous problems might be solved at once by the removal of the menace homed in there, but we have not the manpower within our own walls to do it."
Euca held up a hand for attention, needing the movement to attract our eyes. "Question. We're really the only 'adventurers' you've seen possibly capable of taking out this problem?"
Teldor nodded and looked at me. "Only one veteran like him showed before, but safe to say one lone swordsman against a potential tribe o' vermin would lose. Safety in numbers and experience, which I see here. So I asked for this gathering, in hopes of something near five platinums for its return alone or somethin' close."
A few jingles came from Faren's end of the table. I looked over to see his hand open, a cupped shape rolling around a small collection of something shiny. Gemstones. "And it wasn't many, but I'd have offered at least some of our spare stones from the treasury for assistance in the clearing of the road. There are numerous reasons for approaching this problem..."
Shana's voice piped up finally. "Our mission here already dealt with the dealing of Kobolds, so if I had to imagine, our quest might have taken us to the manor to start with. Given its description, I would feel safe only if Eucalyptus would join us, but our full interest is on the manor now. I assure you."
Their expressions softened in assurance that we were providing an ulterior motive for visiting. I felt it necessary to include, "However, we will still accept offered payment for treating this as two separate missions. Of course fairly, given we've already gained a good deal once already from a being present here."
Faren's eyes snapped to me and he nodded, if at all possible seeming more relieved. "I'm glad to hear you do not intend to force us to upturn our purse for you. With running a city, income is always an issue, and our hope is that this investment pays off quite soon."
Probably tired of sitting, Euca floated upon the table, with Juniper's light soon drawing attention to the two. "Look, if you're short on cash I won't take any. I don't like much in th' name of wealth, anyway. But come clean, Lord Warden, just how much trouble is the town in for money?"
The question made him look away, probably in some guilt. "Between dragons flying abound, thieves at Raven Roost, Kobold between us and Winterhaven... As it stands, we live on borrowed time. Without improvement, we shall soon end defaulting to a simple farm town known for its former ability for free trade." With honest eyes bearing upon us three, he heaved a sigh. "I would imagine you're the best hope, and last, we see for some time. Even if I was without money I would seek to ask this of you. I simply praise Avandra I had the fortune of having a way to pay you."
Hearing this, I took Eucalyptus' approach and softened up my own desire for reward. A town in decline due to faults not its own deserved better, at least when it seemed as fair as Fallcrest. "Once the Hall has been cleared and the hide hopefully recovered, we shall see if or not our reward is well deserved. Until then..." Wait. Wasn't there something I was forgetting? Shana tilted her head at me and made the motion of two fingers walking. Smirking, I looked back at the Lord Warden. "One curiosity I wish sated while I have the time. The small fortified room at the Inn-end of the bridge is left unguarded?"
Faren flashed a somewhat sad smile. "I haven't the heart to tax my people for crossing the bridge anymore. They should spend money on what they truly need to." His eyes turned to Teldorthan. "I trust you are content with this party's knowledge of their mission and that they can undertake it as you deem fit?"
"Aye, and I do wish you a safe return." Teldor's chair slid back, he stood, bowed, and replaced his pipe in his mouth. "A grand return it may be when you add the hides of both those wretched beasts and the skin I seek to your banner, for at least one road will again be safe. Until then, lads, fare well."
As he left, Faren shuffled a paper on the table before coming up with a fairly well drawn map of the area. I immediately recognized the path south we took coming up into the city. His turned the map to face us, his finger resting upon a house maybe thirty miles maximum to the west. "They are not very far, an hour or so away with a good horse. The only worry is what the keep itself holds, but to avoid dark you would still have some four or so hours to explore the place."
"Then that settles it. A castle in the woods not far west of here should be no challenge to find." I looked to Shana and grinned a little. "And if our past experience is accurate, no trouble." She giggled once and nodded with me.
Euca fluttered up into the air and landed upon my shoulder. "Then let's get riding. Waitin' on an adventure to start has me kind of anxious."
"Very fair enough." Faren rolled the map up and sighed, looking at our party solemnly. "With your missions told, I trust your success wil be swift and your safety kept well. Until then, fare well and good luck." As soon as the words were from his mouth, he hustled in a brisk walk toward the exit, muttering something about an unfair payment and a landowner.
The map was left out for us, so I took a second glance at it in curiosity as Shana and Euca helped themselves to a little leftover fruit and bread. There were a few spots marked seemingly as trouble points. Kobold Hall had a deep red circle around it, as did Raven Roost. A crude wall was drawn against such areas as the Witchlight Fens and Ogrefist Hills, and by Winterhaven the word "Shadowfell" was scribbled. Question marks were drawn by some areas probably questionable, including one patch of land around Fallcrest.
Taking an apple for my own, I beckoned the two to follow me. Euca took a perch on one of Shana's shoulders and Juniper, withholding her light, took to the other as they all ate. Once at the steps leading down from the Keep, I sighed. "I can see why that man is as stressed as he is. The entire surrounding area seems to be in chaos, save for the path to and area of Karban. Probably only because we were fortunate enough to stop it as soon as we did."
Before they could ask, I explained briefly the status of the map. Immediate threats were clear, though their danger compared to our strength was unclear. I made sure to finish the explanation before reaching the moving crowds in town, not wanting to worry the people. To my surprise, a few stood aside for us, some waving a hopeful farewell or bowing to us. Once again we arrived at the stables, Lanarr happy to see us and help see us off. "What I hear about the woods is unsafe. If you can park your horses a ways from it they'd be better off. And shamed to say, I've heard and seen naught to aid your original quest, heroes."
Shana mouthed the word "Heroes?" in disbelief as I smiled and inclined my head. "In time. For now, an immediate threat comes before a potential one. Thank you for caring for our steeds so carefully." With that, we returned and retraced the path across the bridge, circling around the Inn and out to the road westward. Even still a few farmers waved. It felt odd to be regarded like this. A couple more solemn watched curiously at the docks of the Lower Quays, a plump lady and greasy-haired thin man. I looked over to Shana and said in a hushed tone, "Has Fallcrest had any internal problems, of the gang related sort?"
She put a finger to her lips thoughtfully and furrowed her brow. "I can only remember being told to avoid the river area of Lowtown. Something about rats."
Euca barked a laugh. "River Rats, they are. They're a bunch of strongarms who try to bully people who have business on the river, pretty much, just a pain in the arse." From Shana's shoulder, he fluttered down onto the horse's head, securing himself within the mane between its ears. "Come on, then, an hour's ride and we're there." The horse gave a whinny and snorted. "Yeah, you've got a short trip this time, buddy." He patted the horse's ear as it shook its head a little, a grumbling sound coming from it. "As long as we park ye away from the woods. Stablemaster said keep away from trees around the manor."
"You can... talk with animals." I had to stare at Euca for a while before his conversation with the horse finished and he paid me mind again. Even from this distance I could see the childish smile on his face.
"Well, how else do you expect a little guy like me to avoid being a cat's toy? Speak their language and make a friend." He turned to the horse and gave it a little swat on the ear. "Off we go, Vinny!" As soon as he called that out, the horse reared back a little and darted forward. Euca was whooping and laughing from his perch on its head, and I had to recover from taking it in before encouraging my own mount to dash. The uses of an animal-speaker were running through my head as I followed, curious just how the words were translated. It was an answer I could probably never properly hope to learn, though.
I caught up within a minute, falling into a steady gallop. Even from the distance we were at, the forest was visible on the horizon, steadily approaching. I felt wary about following the path itself, as Kobold were infamous for trap placement, but given the nature of a building I figured it would be more likely to be guarded from within. The woods themselves were finally upon us, the castle's size only barely visible at a distance in a clearing of trees. Thankfully the path was still a few minutes from the treeline, but I decided to play it safe and lead us back a minute or two.
"Assuredly this is safe enough." I tied the horses to a single branch, a dead one that seemed fairly thick. "Euca, if they're under attack, they should be able to pull this branch into snapping. Tell them to run back east if they get threatened." The little fairy nodded and fluttered between the two beasts, relaying the message as I knotted the rope once more. With the horses left to graze, I took my bow in hand and looked upon the building's distant outline. "And once again... we're off."
Juniper's light vanished as she went into a safe state, leaving Euca to flutter up and perch atop my head, twisting this way and that to scan for movement. His motions were only a little distracting, but I still felt the urge to flick him off my head. Of course that was decided against as we got closer. I fluttered my eyes shut and listened for a moment, hearing sounds from within. Jolly ones. "Is there a... party in there? Definitely those cretins, but I can't imagine what their good time is."
"Give me a moment, fella." Euca jumped from my head and fluttered over, rod in hand--wasn't it taller than he was before?--and stood upon the nearest windowsill. He pushed his ear against the glass and focused before flying back, fluttering before me. "Sounds underground, it's really faint even to me. I think the inside of the place has been left for dead."
"That would explain how these things could make an ambush, hiding under the earth rather than in the walls." I looked down at the ground below me. "Either they left their door wide open or we're looking at a potentially large area. Safe to say, guard is to be kept up at all times." We looked to the windows of the castle while approaching the ruined gate, finding no movement as we slipped in. A few smoldering torches bathed us in a dim light, outdone by a bright one down a corridor to the west. We arrived at one single room, away from the noise but too brightly lit to ignore. "A trap?"
It seemed not, as we couldn't find any traces of anything out of the ordinary. No pressure plates under the rug showed an outline, nothing in the shadows of the boxes, and the walls and cieling showed no signs of being ready to impale us. With a little relief, we decided to follow the obvious underground route and upturn the rug. Sure enough was a trapdoor, easy to lift and giving only a little groan to show for it. Shana gave a thoughtful hum. "I understand few would travel in here to search, but still. Either they are clueless or confident in their strength."
"Or both", Euca chimed. "Aren't many beasts who let themselves get backstabbed." I waved my free hand downward in a quieting motion, stepping down into the ladder hole. The fit was a bit tight considering my bow, but I descended onto a lit clearing and stairway down. It went just enough that I couldn't see the next room, but that meant I could not be seen, either. I reached up and beckoned with my fingers. Eucalyptus soon descended after me, daring to flutter ahead as Shana carefully stepped down the rungs after me. Soon after Euca flew back up and looked back while whispering, "A few of them on guard and looking bored. But they can easily alert the whole place to us."
"Then we try to strike first and take them down before they can run. Which would they go?" I motioned left or right with my head as I asked, and Euca pointed toward what I think was east. They would turn to our right and run, if going further. With that in mind, I nocked an arrow and drew back, expecting to have to fire at first sight of anything. With that readied I took the lead in creeping down. I felt comfortable with my step, slower as the clearing became visible. A grunt of curiosity emnated from in front of me, and I decided to take the change and open the charge.
I leapt the last few steps, immediately seeing myself in a rectangular room with two openings. One in front of me, and one to the right. In the room's center was a pool, fairly deep and filled with something green. Across from me, a single sling-toting Kobold. I stepped once to the side and saw down the hall Euca mentioned, with one holding a spear looking me in the face. I took my chances with him, hoping the sling pellets would be easier to dodge, and raised the bow to shoot at the spear-holder's knee. It connected, leaving the thing to cry in pain. Shana soon leapt after me, dashing between the arrow-grazed creature and me while perched at the pool's edge. With a reckless lunge outward, her mace sprouted tendrils, earthen vines lashing out at the slinger across from me.
It took a step back to avoid them, grinning at realizing her limits. Yet as it took a hand to withdraw a bullet, Euca sailed in and pointed his rod at the creature. Off guard, its eyes erupted in a bright light for a moment and it let out a pained cry. It seemed to have trouble seeing, since its back hit the wall and it looked wildly for its attacker, to seemingly no avail. Despite its confusion, hissing came from us in three directions as many footsteps fell upon the tiles. The one to our right lunged out, hurling itself at Shana with a wild thrust of its spear. The motion left him falling upon his belly as he made the attack, unable to support his weight on the bad leg. Her shield deflected it swiftly, but left her open to another that had sped to her left, standing at the pool's corner.
The hide stopped much of the blow, but not all. The strike drew our first blood, leaving the creature flashing a nasty grin. Even worse, another was approaching from behind. As soon as I turned to track its movement closer, a slamming sound came from behind me. Another Kobold down the escape hall had pulled a lever, dropping iron bars in the way of the path. As soon as that was done, it unleashed a pellet aimed at Shana's head. She ducked it to the side and knocked aside one from the creature to our left, finally seeming to have recovered from its eye problem.
Enough was enough. I moved away from the one behind me, hugging the wall just next to the corner before the barred hallway. Picking my spot carefully, I aimed for the gut of the still standing creature and shot into it. As I'd hoped, it pierced. "Hit there! Drive it in further!" She took the cue and swung her mace upon its belly, shattering the shaft but digging the head deeper in as the blow crushed its gut. The creature was reeling in place, having trouble keeping on its feet.
Eucalyptus took advantage of the focus on Shana to flutter across the pool, crying out "Boo!" in front of the face of the Slinger he affected. The beast yelped in shock and shook before greeting a vicious , dark blast of energy in its face. The force of the blow sent it flying upon its back, lifeless. The little Fairy whooped a cheer and pointed at the spear-toter approaching me from the side.
The beast seemed to stagger as if affected but continued forward, ramming its weapon for my chest. I twisted my bow to deflect it at the handle, but it still grazed itself into my unprotected arm. Shana looked back to me for a moment before seeing her two attackers, both standing and trying to slide into place to surround her. They came just short but still both lunged together, another deflection with her shield and graze into her side. Twice she was hurt now, but still standing strong, to my relief. She looked up, and a pellet approached from the one behind the bars. With her mace she smacked it down from the air. Yet it detonated at her feet, covering them in a sap that formed between her and the floor like glue.
"Just get the one near death for me!" Euca cried out from his position, and I nodded before taking the shot. Arrow met forehead, and the creature fell back without a chance to cry a last word. Shana, trusting Euca's plan, waited for him to point at the second Kobold. Both now seemed to stagger under his glare, and he lunged his rod forward. Bright purple light streaked forward, glinting with a similar tone as his eyes as it landed upon the heart of the first and lunged toward the one near me. Shana's attacker fell in a heap, and mine clutched its heart in shock of the ray's power.
Shana struggled against the sap to move, but didn't seem to get progress enough to escape it in time. Instead, she pointed her mace toward my attacker and raised her shield to the ranger she could not reach, knowing she had to play it defensively until a better time. A bullet flew out and bounced off her ready shield, her eyes never leaving those of her assailant. Mine, however, was more lucky, vengeful in his stab and ready to go out with a hurrah. His spear head grazed off my deflecting hand and hit a rib, point digging in through hide and flesh. Were it not stronger stuff, the injury may have been fatal.
With a gasp for air I dropped my bow and took out the sword I kept, turning it to stab through the creature's throat. Nearly beheaded it fell, leaving me to whisper to myself, "Shake it off, damn it all. You can not fall this early in." Reassured by my own words, I took a breath and watched as my allies moved. Euca fluttered over as Shana broke one foot free at a time from the sap, moving towards the bars and swinging again. I heard the sound of vines lashing out again, a surprised cry from the Kobold, and a clang of metal as it hit portcullis before arriving before her. Euca gave a sadistic grin and took advantage of its grappled state, a small burst of light shining from where the creature was before it gasped what seemed to be a shaky breath.
Grabbing my bow in free hand and holding my blade steady, I looked around the corner. Between Shana and the bars was the wounded creature, hand moving for a dagger I saw at its side. "Not a chance." Lunging out to Shana's side, I pushed my blade into the gut of the creature, adding another corpse to the room. All seemed to go quiet, and we took a moment to catch our breath. Thankfully, no footsteps seemed to approach. "I think we're safe... for the moment. What about these, though?" I flicked the iron bars curiously. Metal indeed, and very heavy for it.
"We could force them up, but the lever over there..." Shana pointed to it. It was beyond our arm's reach, probably within that of whatever vines she may conjure but otherwise impossible to flick. As she looked at it, she smiled and turned to our resident Pixie. "Eucalyptus, you could pull it easily, yes?"
"I'll even scout ahead while I'm at it." He fluttered over our heads and in a carefree spiral down to the lever, kicking it up before flying off and turning righ. The bars indeed moved upward. Taking advantage of the time we had, though, I retrieved the arrow I shot into the knee of the first Kobold (the head was a tad crooked now, but a minuscule difference) and examined the pellets of the sling-shooter by the lever. Out of his pouch rolled many normal stones, but a few with an odd yellow color matching the glue that bound Shana. Deciding they may be useful, I pocketed the stones and looked forward to wait for Euca.
It didn't take long. "They heard somethin' of our fight, for sure. They were in a scramble. If we move, it should probably be fast." A safe idea, to be sure. We pushed forward, rushing down another flight of stairs, weapons raised and bow loaded with Euca at the lead again. We landed in a rush, seeing three more of the creatures adjusting tiles in a couple places. With a yelp of shock they backed away, but knowing them, traps were being set up. They seemed to line up with the suits of armor. Between the suits were a few coffins, open and seemingly empty. Very likely, if we were forced to, the coffins could provide a safe path forward.
Euca didn't seem to want to waste time. One hand pointed at the Kobold nearest him, behind the coffin in front of us. With a lash of his Rod, a brilliant white streak of flame leaped at the creature, searing into its body with a vicious blaze. It writhed and left itself open to a well placed shot to the throat, dropping it next to its ally.
The very same ally growled and took its fallen friend's pear, hurling it at me in an attempt at revenge. The shaft was easy enough to sidestep, but a distraction enough for the further away of the two to run further away towards and past a crude altar of some kind. That left one alive before us and a host of loud sounds in the room the runner was heading for.
"Shana, try to stop him!" She agreed and rushed forward, turning and sprinting in a run. I saw her stop just short of the line before the armor, coiling to jump. But as soon as she stepped foot near the coffin, a click rang and she had a dart pierce her calf, dropping her to one knee in an instant. Her pained cry met with my shout of "No", and a little laugh from the lizardlike scum as it slid itself toward her, crawling into the coffin for protection before making its lunge. Her mace swung and knocked aside the spear jab, but she was still unable to scramble away. Euca and I both took a shot at the creature, but it had but to duck our attacks from afar. We spread sideways, ready to surprise it from the front or behind if it showed itself again.
Shana readied her shield toward the wall with the armor, soon finding a dart bouncing off the shield. As soon as she could, she rolled over and off the pressure plate. Freed from worry of the device, she yanked the dart from her leg and held pressure upon it. The Kobold sensed the blood and stood, hopping out of the coffin towards her. She swiped her shield at its blow, just barely avoiding a gash to her uninjured leg. A blast of dark eldritch power met its side in response, turning it to face away from Shana... and right at the arrow piercing its face. Lifeless, it fell upon the wall in a slump.
With a frustrated sigh, Shana set down her mace and slid out a coil of cloth, tearing off a good length to wrap around her injury. I decided to take the mace for myself momentarily and slide up to the armor, watching my step for more stones to knock or plates to trigger. Safe, I looked at the suit with a little peek around the corner. Nothing. Poking the visor up with the mace head, I saw a small tube for firing and a few strings as if to pull where it was triggered from.
With a careful turn I held the visor open and crashed the mace clumsily upon the mechanism, ensuring its parts shattered and fell into the feet of the suit. Backing up, I triggered a 'click' from the plate, but the visor didn't even lift. Turning around, I saw Euca float by another suit, probably trapped as well. A little more confident, I walked up to it. Not finding a dart in my arm at my approach, I lifted the visor carefully with the weapon. No shot. And never would there be again, after a few crashes of the weapon upon its mechanics.
I let the busted visor drop back into place and stood back to admire the work before a little crash came from my left. I looked to find Euca floating away from the altar, grinning and carrying a sack too large for him. "I know my statue at Emil's home isn't perfect, but that Tiamat idol was just too crude to let survive. Here." He lobbed the sack at me, and out spilled a few gold pieces as it crumbled on the ground. Smirking at an early reward, I bent to pick it up as Shana came to take her mace back. "You okay, lassie?"
"I am. Not the first time I've been hurt." Her voice sounded a little steely, the same way she got a bit defensive when faced with conflict.
I gave a supportive pat on her shoulder and stepped past her. "Being a shieldbearer suits you." The walkway to the right loomed, the place where many gleeful sounds emanated earlier. No doubt one of the creatures rushed forward to warn everyone of our presence. Undoubtedly their numbers would be greater this time around, and prepared for us. I thought for a moment before motioning Euca to flutter over, whispering an idea to his ear.
He gave a playful grin and nodded, fluttering away just a bit and calling out in a very believable voice, "Alright, gents, we've got the Duke's money back. Let's get out now, ere those things rush after us!" On cue, Shana and I turned and ran with intentionally heavy footsteps while Euca hovered a few feet from the opening.
There was audible grunting after a minute, probably debate. I took an arrow and nocked it, aimed right at the doorway as Euca reared his rod back. Quiet footsteps approached, then from the hall, "No-o-o! Lady Tiamat!" The little creature dashed at the altar, soon finding itself sleeping facefirst against it with a bolt and arrow to the back.
A few had started to move at the sound of its cry, probably ready to investigate the altar as well. "No, no! Wait for return, you..." something. Some kind of Draconic curse. If they expected him to return, that meant we would only get that one. Another arrow readied, I took point once more, back to the wall as I slid sideways down the next hall. All I could see from my position was the edge of another pool, and two coffins with skulls balanced around their edges. That was assuring.
In a swift motion, I pivoted on my foot in front and swung around to stand just outside the door, arrow pointing at the center of the room as I surveyed. Another pool of green stuff, four skull-clad coffins. Above it all was a rope attached to a heavy rock that was held by two of the little creatures, a couple of sturdy looking Drakes atop the platform. Three were visible between open doors, but they were quickly tugged shut and one more Kobold hopped down the stairs, taking a guarding position at the door with a loud thunk against it. Everything I saw and movement made, I whispered to my allies in hopes they would
My first target was clear. I turned my bow just enough to shoot at the knot holding the rock steady, and let it fire. It hit the center of the rope and was stuck in, but the knot didn't unravel. It was a good start, though. Shana crept out to my side, eyes upon the rope. "If they throw it I'll finish it off, you get the beasts." I nodded and watched Euca sail between two coffins before fluttering still, slashing his Rod sideways through the air. Another brilliant beam of energy lashed out at one of the two holding the rock, piercing its heart and bouncing to the other. The stone fell between its two lifeless wielders. For the moment, nothing was visible but the Drakes.
That soon changed. Two slings started to swing in circles, momentum steadily gained before firing at me with startling accuracy. I raised my arms before my face and tucked to the wall, but it still crashed upon my elbow. "Yow!" I shook my arm once to try to get past the blow, still watching as the rock was picked up by another of the creatures, thrown down at Euca, who had but to land upon the ground and watch it fly over his head. Shana recklessly leapt at it as it passed by, mace catching the rope and sliding down against it, hitting atop the knot I had pierced. A few strands broke, but the rock only wobbled a bit--it would take one more blow.
The flurry continued. Another stone bounced off Shana's shield and her eyes stayed upon the swinging rock as a little Kobold caught it and hurled it directly at her. She waited for it, sidestepped, and smashed her made into the side of the stone. Undoubtedly the force jarred her arm--she dropped her mace on contact--but the blow hit rock and rope, tugging the strands against my lodged arrow and undoing it. The rock fell to the floor with a crash and rolled into the hall behind us.
That left the six on the platform. Shaha took her mace and retreated backward, perching in front of me and raising a shield to play the guardian as I readied another arrow to fire. The stone-throwing ones had spears they were readying, but the slingers were still just barely in view. It would be too risky to nail them from my position. Pointing across the hall, then, I shot at the one furthest from me, barely nicking it at the foot. It fell forward off the platform, landing flat on the ground. Seeing a chance for mischief, Euca flew to the space before the platform, at a coffin's edge as he shot a little energy outward, blinding the slinger before him.
That left two for Shana and I to worry about. Her shield crashed through a pellet that popped and released a nasty smell. I coughed and my eyes watered a little, only able to dodge the spear I didn't see as she cried, "Move!" I ducked right, felt a nick on my leg, and gasped. Sobered up by the blow, I took aim at the spear thrower and shot a missile through its sternum. With a final gasp it fell on its knees and faded.
Seeing their plight, the two slingers barked at each other and ran, growling what sounded like orders to the drakes as they retreated. They were probably ready to ambush us for opening the door. I looked at Euca and he nodded, muttering a few garbled words. Juniper? She seemed to respond, as a brilliant light showed up on the platform above him. With an unmistakeable "Eep!" of surprise, she vanished, leaving two confused drakes atop the platform.
That was a good cue for Euca and I to strike. A blast of purple energy shocked one as my arrow pierced another in the shoulder. The brutes grunted and spotted little Euca. Shana saw their plan, rushing to the space next to him and dropped on one knee, mace raised to strike as they jumped down from the platform, jaws wide open for what they saw as prey.
Fatal mistake for one. Her weapon fell upon it square between the eyes, shattering bone as the beast fell where it stood. That left a single one dropping its maw upon Shana, only getting its teeth on her shield. It shook and let go, backing away and finally realizing its situation. Dire, and soon over. Euca slid out from beside Shana and buried another shock of brilliant energy into its head, and it fell over in a daze before lying still.
With a relieved sigh I moved forward, plucking a couple arrows to examine from the corpses. I wasn't able to save either of the two on our level, sadly. With a push at the door, I found it crudely locked, and from the inside. "Oh, to hell with this. Shana, let's go." I backed up and she did with me, our bodies ramming through the wood and snapping its lock easily. With a loud burst it flew open, leaving me to examine the platforms.
As expected, my arrows were still snapped beyond use. Even worse, with the retreat of the slingers, I couldn't find a pellet bag to search for potentially useful bullets. From my side, though, Shana called out, "Look at Eucalyptus, Isaac." I turned around and saw him juggling three gems, standing atop a loosely scattered pile of gold. One ruby and two garnet were tumbling in the air before he held open a tiny bag, somehow holding all three of the rocks as they fell in. He grinned and replaced the sack on his belt before Shana scooped the gold into her own.
"Probably nigh on three hundred gold earned here so far. We may yet save Faren from emptying his coffers." With that in mind, the passage the slingers escaped to beckoned. Shana crept forward, shield raised for potential incoming bullets. They never came, though, and our footsteps were the only sound we met as the lit chamber before us loomed. All I could immediately see were the walls of a square-like structure before us in the center of a pretty large room. Sadly, that was all I could see of it from our angle. "Be ready to move. This is a good spot to be ambushed from the sides."
I looked left and right, but to my relief, nothing. I finally summoned the courage to look around the square wall in the middle, and saw another raised platform with a green-clad Kobold holding a staff. It cried out, and to our right a rock started rolling down a ramp and towards me. I only just realized, looking down, we were standing in a sort of rounded groove with numerous "steps" loosely angled downward. A trap to roll the boulder in circles.
"Scramble!" Shana backed into the entrance and Euca flew off to the left, but I was too close to the rock to avoid it. I had to try to jump it. Coiling down, I sprung up and tried to vault with my free hand. I got my hand down, but the roll threw me off, and I fell over top the rock, landing facefirst after a tumble. "Ahh... damn it all!"
"Isaac, above you!" Shana called me from behind and I looked up, seeing the top of the wall and a couple Kobold above it. The sling shooters. They were looking down at me with an angry growl and swung two rocks right at my exposed body. I rolled out of the way of one, but the other snapped onto my knee, coating me in the same glue-like substance. Given the boulder's speed, even if I broke free, I wouldn't have time to move. I'd have to try to jump it again, if I was lucky.
A streak of flame flew between them, blasting both with a faceful of white flame. With a growl they looked down at Euca, who turned and slapped his rear. "Hit me if you can, fellas!" Reckless, but it worked. They turned and growled in rage at him.
Shana took the opening to step forward, swinging her mace upward at the slinger closer to me. It was snagged by the vines reaching out, thorns piercing its ankle and body tugged down before plummeting down next to me. It fell on its back in a loud grunt of pain, glaring at Shana as she pointed up in a visible threat to the still-distracted Kobold. "You are mine!"
The boulder came, rolling rapidly and starting to become visible around the corner. I struggled and kicked at the glue, getting somewhat free... In wild desperation I slammed my fist into the Kobold lying next to me, winding it with my slam on its gut and using the blow as leverage to shove upward. I made it out of the glue and on my feet just in time to try to vault the rock again. This time I managed to get a foot on top and step forward, landing behind it and hearing the beast's cry beneath it. One mace 'thud' later, I could safely assume it was lifeless.
I slid out of the boulder's path and turned around, watching the Kobold loose a rock down at Eucalyptus, who bounced out of the way and blew a raspberry. Off to the side Shana cried, "I said you are mine!" As if responding to her call, the vines and moss within the wall seemed to erupt to life, shooting up and pushing the beast off the wall and down into the ground in front of Shana. Euca took the chance to send a beam of dark energy right at its head, piercing between its dazed eyes. The creature shook and glared, confused but obviously wanting to make its death count on a proper target.
It tried to stand up, but the boulder approached. I felt assured it would finish the job, giving me a chance to look around. To my right, the raised platform, the staff-wielder glaring at me with two Kobold head peeking out from above large shields at the leader's side. The staff pointed at me, and a burst of blue energy spiraled through the air quickly into my chest. The fact that it used magic caught me off guard, and a blast of icy cold energy assailed me, knocking the wind from me.
Gritting my teeth, I pointed my bow right at the beast and nocked an arrow, aimed right between the eyes. As soon as I let loose the shaft, a shield twisted just enough to catch it and send it tumbling into the wall. Alone this would be trouble. I looked to the left, watching the little Kobold roll out of the way of the boulder but into an awaiting mace brought down upon it. Soon Shana and Euca were at the left of the platform, moving up. I took my cue and joined them, the three of us seeing the leader retreat behind two shield toters with raised swords.
The stairs up to the platform seemed to be on Shana's side. As it stood, the shieldsmen would have to stay in place at the leader's sides to keep my arrows at bay, but doing so left their behind exposed. Waiting until another ball of blue appeared, I ran the ideas in my head. Finally it showed up, sailing neatly past where I was a moment before. "Shana, get up the stairs! Knock a shieldsman down below!" She nodded and dashed up the stairs with wild abandoned, shield tucked against her to bash against the body she could get the best leverage against in her ramming motion.
It worked, just enough. One of the two armor-clad beasts tumbled and fell, landing on its back with a grunt of pain at the fall. The boulder, slowing down but still making its move, trampled itself smoothly over his lying body, winding him viciously if not crushing much of his body. My next arrow found the back of the leg of the other guardian, who had turned to defend its leader, bringing it to a knee. Euca took a chance with another explosion of fire, setting ablaze the air above the lying and behind the two standing, all of them feeling a painful wave of heat.
Still they stood, the staff-holder barking something inspiring enough to lift them into action. Two shifted into a flank around Shana and the one near us stood, beating its sword pommel to its chest once before charging me. Well clad, but clumsy. I sidestepped and kicked the creature's foot, sending it facefirst into the floor and lowering an arrow into its back.
Shana was not so lucky. Confused at having two weapons on two sides, she tucked her shield against the leader and watched the shieldbearer to try to fence his blows, but ended up leaving her ankle to get cracked with the staff. Defense faltering, a blade slash found its way into her arm. Not good. I looked to Euca, hoping the little Pixie had a bright idea. He seemed to have something he wanted to do, but was struggling to do it. I took a guess what it may have involved. "Shana, get down!"
She nodded and, swinging her mace wildly at the Kobold she faced, hit the beast in the arm holding its shield before allowing herself to drop onto her legs. Above her, a ray of light jumped from the back of the hit creature and forward into the face of the leader, sending both creatures reeling in pain and some confusion.
The shieldbearer turned and spotted Euca, rushing down the stairs and brandishing its blade. With a lucky swipe it caught him in the gut. I heard June's cry of distress despite her invisibility, and Euca's flight faltered for a moment. He caught himself and fluttered back carefully, leaving me without him in my sights as I nocked an arrow and sent it into the back of the neck of his attacker. It froze up and grunted in pain, standing rigid. A quick jab of Euca's rod let loose a burst of light that shone off the beast's eyes, leaving it clutching its face confusedly and unable to strike at Euca as he flew away swiftly.
I nocked another arrow to try to finish off the creature, but the boulder rolled in the way. Its final revolutions knocked it into the beast and, bowling it over, rested on its legs. The sounds of its pained cries were unsettling for the few moments they lasted. Instead of it, then, I aimed my bow up to the platform where Shana was with the leader. Her shield was coated in frost, but she seemed well enough, a bruise on her mace-arm but deflecting a staff smack to counter with a smash to the Kobold's snout. It cracked, and he slumped halfway over the platform's edge, hide-tunic folding over his face as gravity pulled it down.
All went quiet for a moment. A bright light came from my left, drawing me to walk towards it. Juniper was fluttering around Euca, who was waving her off and holding a little cloth of some kind to his belly. "He got lucky, but it'll heal up soon enough." I nodded and passed by, ascending the stairs to find Shana sitting, seeming well but rubbing the pained spots where the staff had hit her. She flashed a smile before looking upon her wounds again.
That left the Kobold. Firstly, the makeshift hide armor made from the Teldor's stolen treasure. I took it and pulled it up, finding it to be a large square sheet of hide with a neck-hole already at least started. Hopefully the Kobold's presence wearing it wouldn't put Teldor out of crafting it as he had intended. I folded the sheet up and slid it into my pack, having to cram a little to get its size down enough to seal back up. As per my curious custom, I again examined the bullet pouches of the sling-wielders. Two more glue shots, and one brown that matched the gas from the noxious fumes from earlier. I pocketed them despite no clear purpose at the time.
While we were resting, I decided to test one. Taking out one of the handful, I held it between three fingers and tried to pierce an arrowhead upon it. It spurt a little across the arrowhead but otherwise stayed in place. "Now for something to aim at..." Circling back to the stairs and boulder, I looked to the left. A path to another door. Whatever was behind it, I don't know, but I took a moment to listen. Nothing. Raising my bow, I shot the arrow. It stuck, glue splattered across the wood, and the shaft stayed pointing out as if shot without an obstruction. "Well, that's handy." Just to be clear, I took another look at my pocket and pulled out all the bullets. Four glue, one stink.
Well, thankfully I could count on four shots to keep a pest at bay. However, the door loomed, somewhat ominous. If the staff-toter was the leader, what could be next? I carefully stepped to it and tried pulling it open. No success. Pushing had the same result--it was locked. I turned around and looked to my allies. "Did either of you two find a key of some kind?"
They shook their heads, but Shana looked curiously at the leader. "If I had to guess..." From its belt, she plucked a key and tossed it to me. I lunged forward to catch it, turned, and slid it into the lock. Perfect fit, and easy turn. Euca floated over and hovered behind me. "You guys think it'll be a treasure hoard?"
"We can only hope." I gave the door a gentle push, wincing to its creak as it opened slowly. A wave of cold air flew into my face, causing a little shiver. "C-cold... Wow." I rubbed an arm up and down for warmth while scooting forward carefully. More steps down, and another lit chamber. This time with a few bones, and an almost icy mist on the ground.
Even worse, there really was ice on a patch on the floor. With a gasp from Shana, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I stopped to look to her, and she said in a whisper, "I think it's another dragon. White or blue, whichever is the ice-dweller. Can we survive a dragon like this?"
If it was the case, we might be in trouble without another hand. But there was no sign or sound of it being aware of our presence yet. "We may have a chance if we surprise it. No holding back, though." Whatever that meant for us, no clue, but as I approached the room, I saw our chance at a good surprise shot. The room was loosely shaped like an eight, with the center of the two holes being a patch of ice. Assuredly the beast was behind one of the two columns of stone hiding us from its view, and it from ours. "Euca, peek and see if it's asleep, and behind which column."
Without a word he flew forward, making nary a sound nor sight as he hovered by the stonework nearest to us. Carefully he tilted before flying back to hover before me. "Far side, after the ice. There's room behind it, Shana could sneak on its tail. Thing's out like a light."
It gave me an idea. A reckless one, but an idea nonetheless. I turned to her as if asking permission, and she nodded. With a quiet scoot forward, she maneuvered herself around the column where it was sleeping. Halfway into her move, I started treading to the front, knowing I'd be in its sights but hopefully far away enough to not be a worry.
I saw Euca to my left and over the icy path, not having to worry about slipping as he hovered over it. I saw the creature finally, a young white dragon asleep with its head on its front paws and wings draped across its sides, tucked to the ground. The tail was probably curled behind it. The position gave me my idea for attack, but I would have to risk trying a trick more commonly performed by Rangers who specialize in bow use. I placed the four glue shots on the ground and pierced each with an arrowhead, and repeated the trick with the stink shot. Then two arrows at once found my bowstring, three fingers pulling them back and as carefully as I could aiming them at the wings, where they met the floor.
Shana's mace came up--she found where she would strike. Euca was winding up his rod-arm, almost visibly teeming with energy. When I finally felt my arrows were right, I shot. One pierced the bone of the wing, a splatter of glue sticking it to the ground. The other scratched off the side harmlessly, glue only splattering across hide. As soon as the beast's eyes opened and its pained cry shouted, Euca let burst a bright light that reflected its eyes. The dragon recoiled into Shana's waiting mace, a powerful blow leaving a thud that echoed through the chamber.
Well, that did it. It was mad. Plucking another glue shot, I aimed at the beast as it started to stand. One wing came up, exposing a foot on the ground. With a hard tug on my string for strength, I let loose the arrow. It connected, splashing blood and glue across the hand. For the moment, the beast was stuck, but I dare not end it there. As quick as I shot the first, I grabbed the stink arrow and shot a wild arrow towards the creature's snout. The head missed, only grazing the shaft across its scales. A puff of brown smoke emnated from the wall, too far to be of use.
Shana took her chance to continue the attack from behind, raising a hand--it seemed rough as wood from my distance--but in her surprise at the same thing, I imagine, the blow simply bounced off. "A Warden, Shana! You embody nature, now focus!"
Focus she had to, because the beast finally came to its full senses and let loose a loud, piercing cry. Everyone instantly covered their ears for the duration, but seemed to avoid letting the cry get to them. However, from the crying mouth came a torrent of white, frigid breath. It crashed into the ground to billow all around. Such a thing was an annoyance to Shana and I, more harmed by the cold's bite on our strength than our health, but Euca's smaller body seemed to suffer greatly to the ice.
In return, he let a vicious glow come from his body before brandishing his rod. "See if you can hit us again, pest." A dark glow overtook the dragon, which was looking for Euca again as if he were invisible. As soon as his eyes spotted the tiny little source of energy, it was too late. The beast flinched and recoiled as its mind was assailed, trying to stagger again but unable to move for its front side held firm to the ground. The ice encasing the glue only solidified it further.
Despite the short length of our attack, the beast was already in trouble. With its left wing covering the same side's hand and right hand both glued to the ground, a frontal assault seemed impossible for it. I tried to solidify the situation, taking another glue-tipped arrow and standing as if asking to be struck. The beast, confused by its mental stage, looked at me and found an arrow shot at its heart where it met the ground. I connected, laughing a little as a taunt. "Euca, you will see this through! Be strong! You too, Shana!" With his strength's return, mine seemed to join him.
"And I shall see to it!" Bravely she seemed to try to slam the creature's swinging tail, but missed and hit the ground instead. Despite this, a small crater formed around her blow, the floor appearing to try to engulf the dragon's feet. It hit me that those feet were its only chance at an attack at the moment.
"Shana, watch it hind feet!" With a gasp she realized what I did and seemed to dodge one, but another caught her. A gasp of pain met a retaliating blow, the dragon's feet feeling a mace pounding furiously. With an angry growl it repeated the two kicks, both legs extending at once. Shana seemed to duck both without any trouble.
Euca had stood by enough. Shaking off his cold fully, he lifted his rod high and thrust down as if stabbing the air below him. Another streak of purple appeared, energy dropping in a rain across the creature's back. Every bit of it fell upon the creature, amplifying its damage into a fearful cry. In its blind wrath, its cold breath streaking around wildly and again assailing me and Euca with a frigid blast. This time the breath stacked with the first blow caught up with me. I found myself gasping for air, my lungs stinging to the bite of the chill around us.
To my relief, Euca was still alive. His flutter was weak, but he was looking at the dragon as steady as before. The wheels were turning in his head, and I intended to make use of that mind's ideas. One glue shot left. Attempting to secure the grip on the ground, I aimed for the spot just above where the yellow glob had its chest pinned to the ground. My arrow bounced off its hide, and I cursed myself for a hasty shot. But the glue stacked upon the first, dripping down over the ice-coated adhesive.
Once again, the mace swung from behind. Then again. Two glancing blows against the tail, just enough to annoy the beast more. Its eyes finally fixed on Euca properly, and it reared its head back for a lunge. From behind it Shana's voice cried out. "No you don't!" Again her mace fell, a blow that caused a quiver in the beast's attack. In shock it stopped its bite well before Euca, and the mace fell once more in Shana's fury to defend our little friend. In her desperation, however, the mace met the floor once more.
Grinning at his avoided troubles, Euca lifted a hand to his lips and called out an odd sound. It seemed to vibrate from behind the dragon, like a battlecry just behind its head. Worried, the beast looked and saw a burst of light as Juniper appeared in front of its eye. The creature recoiled from the instant, blinding light, its face dropping towards Euca again as he loosed a ray of dark power.
The dragon's maw opened and it started to grunt in pain. Taking a new, plain arrow now, I took aim within its mouth and tried to fire a shot down its throat. Success met the risky shot, an arrow lodging at the opening to the beast's insides. Blood spurted from the wound as it gagged on the arrowhead, shaking its head wildly and struggling like mad against its glue bonds. Shana took a moment to place a well-aimed strike upon its spine in response, an audible crack coming from behind the creature.
It had one option left, still only seeing its most prominent attacker. Little Euca, chilled and hovering in the air, found teeth gnashing out at him once more. Teeth snatched into his side and the dragon got its grip on him, a little blood spurting as the color faded from his face. "Eucalyptus!" A shock went through the creature as I started my sprint towards Euca, only able to ball my free hand's fist and lunge at the creature's jaw. It wasn't enough to damage, but the dragon let go, and Euca was caught in my arm. "Don't die, damn you, it's almost gone!"
His eyes fluttered open, rod dropped and arms holding his wound tight. With a white crackle of lightning-like power around his body and steady gaze at the Dragon, he loosed a stray bolt of his eldritch power. As the dragon watched it sail by, his head tilted up to mine before back at the beast. Was he watching where my eyes looked to aim with me? If so, it worked. He grunted in effort and loosed another bright burst, this time catching the dragon in its jaw where I punched it fruitlessly.
A final roar of pain and a shudder through its whole body came before the fall, entire body slumping on the ground in a lifeless heap. Instantly both Shana and Juniper arrived at our sides, looking down at Eucalyptus as he breathed heavily. He waved them off once more, despite his little body seeming weaker than ever. "Just a scratch... I'll live."
Shana spoke, but for a moment, I couldn't catch her words. She indeed had taken on a tree-like form, hair seeming to be the willow's drooping branches and body a meld of wooden veins. They slowly disappeared as she looked into her backpack, still speaking, "--but it's nowhere permanent. I am just glad I've seen what to do for this before. Help me out, Juniper."
His body was set on Shana's lap and propped to be dabbed with medicine and wrapped up as I looked upon the dead dragon. Another one to skin, along with what we reclaimed for Teldorthan. As his wounds were treated, I took to the task of taking a knife through the hide of the beast. It was thicker and harder than the green one's, probably yet another step between what Shana and I wore and that which Teldor had purchased.
Shana finally finished mending Euca's wounds after a while and took a knife, helping me with my symmetry in cutting off the hide of its back. Being glued to the ground and pinned with ice, cutting any lower than the sides was likely out of the question. So, with a careful pair of incisions sawing downward, we worked. A single footstep came from the hallway, then a yell and the sound of someone falling down a few stairs. Wood and metal clattered for a moment.
I instinctively dropped the dagger and drew my bow once more, a single arrow aimed at the hallway. Shana slid down with her shield alone drawn, stepping with it before her to the point as a young voice gave a war cry, heavy footfalls coming. I nearly shot as the face appeared before recognizing it. The young boy who had scaled walls, his hair held back with a string tied around his forehead and clad in clumsily made leather armor, was holding a bundle of spears the Kobold previously had, one held in a position to throw. He stopped at the sight of us, eyes resting on the dragon before dropping his claim in a loud, long crash of parts hitting floor. Shana lowered her shield in response. "You followed us?"
"And didn't make it in time. Dammit!" He stomped the ground, childish side showing through what I could only read as a determination to prove himself. I put away my weapons once more and beckoned him over before taking the knife once more to continue the cut. "What is it?"
"Have you ever cut into a dragon, son?" I looked over towards the knife Shana left sticking from the corpse's body, and found relief in that he had a backpack nearly empty as he climbed up to join me. Despite the beast's lack of life, I could see the satisfaction in the young man's eyes as he probably imagined himself slaying his first dragon.

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Goten is dead!