The Crow and The Deer
Prologue: Hello, My Name is Effrain
When Effrain came to, he found himself staring down at a ring with a pale, pudgy finger crammed into it. The ring seemed to be made of gold and in the center was a white and black symbol shaped like a… crying deer…? The symbol felt familiar to the warlock. It was on the edge of his consciousness like something he should remember but just couldn't quite…
"Are you going to give me my change or what?" The owner of the pudgy, ringed finger huffed at Effrain from across a beat-up wooden counter. He seemed to be looking impatiently at something in Effrain's hand.
That's when the warlock noticed that his palm contained a small group of coins he had never seen before and two green, rectangular pieces of paper with drawings of old men on them. Hesitantly, Effrain handed the coins and paper to the bulbous man in front of him. The man took the coins and paper. Then he lowered his head to study what he had just accepted. "Yup, $6.66," he muttered. When he lifted his head again, his face had changed. His nose appeared flattened and elongated and his ears started to grow and stretch from his head.
"How about a 'thank you,' kid?" The man snorted. "Guys like me are the reason you have your paycheck."
This was followed by a beat where Effrain was trying to wrap his mind around where he was and what was happening. Then, meekly, he said, "Thank you."
The man shook his head at this, sighed heavily, and picked something up from the counter. It was wrapped in brown paper and something seemed to be… dripping from it. The drip trailed after the man as he walked away from the counter and right out a door situated to the right of the counter. When the door opened the sound of the wind burst into the room like it was being driven by the wings of a thousand dragons. Then it ceased when the door closed behind the man.
This was followed by a buzzing that filled the room and the back of Effrain's skull like nails to the brain. Then a voice from the void rang out: "Effrain to the back for ring assistance. Effrain to the back to ring." This was followed by three more seconds of agonizing buzzing then dead silence.
Effrain looked around for someone to direct him to do something, but the voice seemed to be all he would get. He walked out from behind the counter and then in the direction of where he felt the back would be. He walked down a hallway narrowed by multicolored objects hanging from hooks and shelves. When he reached the end of the hallway, he found himself face to face with… a Chimera! He reflexively leapt back and focused to summon an Eldritch Blast. Then, he noticed the beast didn't seem to be moving or even… breathing.
He leaned in to confirm that the beast was dead and stuffed… poorly. There were lumps all around the chimera's body where lumps were not supposed to be. Walking further into this room, Effrain found more sad parodies of hunting trophies. There was a dire wolf leaking sand, a badger doll so ancient it was grey with dust, and a rabbit with… human teeth…? Feeling vaguely nauseous and unsettled, Effrain bolted from the room and into another with a small counter positioned at the end.
Behind the tiny counter stood a 6'7" elf with salt and cinnamon colored hair, a goatee, and outrageously furrowed eyebrows. He wore a short-sleeved, green shirt with a badge pinned on it that read: Hello, My Name is Shae. The elf seemed to be in pain. As Effrain drew closer to him, he caught the scent of smoke in the air.
"Are you here to help me?" The elf asked.
Suddenly, Effrain felt a hand grasp his shoulder from behind just as the elf burst into flame.
"Effrain, the manager would like to speak with you," a voice said from behind.
The elf was now scorched down to the bone. He cocked his skull and said, "Does anyone even remember my name?" Then everything went black.
The next thing the warlock saw was Belphegor, in terrible horned and bearded glory, peering at him from atop his throne of filth. The Demon Lord spoke:
"I have never understood…mortals…and all the work they put into death. Always rushing to seek it…to cause it. Stay still children. Death will find you. I promise." It held up an index finger with a long, dirty nail that wormed and twisted to the ceiling. "Oh, Effrain, I forgot you were there." The finger pointed at the warlock. "Death will next find you with the Wicked Witch of the Woods. She has a ring I want. Fetch it for me."
Beneath them were the abyssal damned. Tormented dreamless, their screams are discordant melodious and unending.
Part One: Hansel and Gretel A-Go-Go
Effrain woke up, still drunk and yet not quite drunk enough, with the knowledge that there was somewhere he needed to be. Luckily, he found himself fully clothed in the bed he'd passed out in. See, there's a reason for everything, he thought as he swung himself from the wretchedly firm inn bed. He patted himself down and found his flasks fastened to his belt where he'd left them, and they were pleasantly full. There's a boy, Effrain. He looked out the window and saw that it was late. Good. That would make it easier to sneak out without the others noticing.
Fumbling around the room, he found his Wings of Flying cloak crumpled in the corner by the door. He struggled to put it on, got his arm caught at one point, cursed under his breath, and then eased as it settled around his shoulders. His Wand of Lightning Bolts then fell from the cloak and clattered to the floor behind him. Another muttered expletive, a scoop to pick up the wand, and then there was one last thing…Ah! His Goggles of Night were hanging from a hook on his room's door. He slid them over his eyes enabling darkvision. Then he tip-toed from his room and gingerly closed the door.
Leaving Mulmaster wasn't difficult for him these days. His reluctant affiliation with The Cloaks afforded him smooth passage through what was left of the city gates. A casual nod to a guard here, a salute there and he was on his way out of the city and into the woods. He wasn't sure where he was going in the traditional sense, but when he was on missions for Belphegor he always seemed to end up where he needed to be. It wasn't long before this led him off the road proper and into the vast expanse of bushes and trees. It was a few miles trudging, stumbling, and nearly tripping through this when Effrain got the sense that he was being followed.
Hurrying his pace, the warlock ducked behind a tree and willed himself to meld with the shadows, turning himself invisible. Then he doubled back toward the bushes he had just run through, squatted down into one, and waited. For a little while, he felt like maybe he was being paranoid because nothing seemed to be anywhere near the clearing. Then a figure seemed to appear in the middle of it from out of nowhere. This was pretty impressive considering this figure was a striking, 7' tall elf with shock white hair. It was Rovidia.
Effrain groaned and turned visible. "So, what, now you're following me?"
For a split second, it appeared as though the elf was going to reach for her bow, and then stopped as she recognized the figure. "You woke me up with all of your fumbling and cursing," she said in the thick accent Effrain just couldn't place. "What are you doing out here?"
"Appreciating nature," Effrain grinned. "Being a ranger, I'd have figured you'd get that."
Rovidia shivered with disgust. "I have never seen you appreciate much of anything. Except, maybe, drinking." As she said that Effrain was taking a big swig from one of his flasks. Then the warlock lit one of his cigarettes causing the elf to wretch. "You really shouldn't do that in the forest."
"What? I ain't gonna burn it down," Effrain exhaled. After saying that, he noticed an expression cross the ranger's face that looked like… guilt…? "Anyway, thanks for checking up on me. I'm fine. You can go back to the Inn now." He turned to leave.
"Are you running away again?" Rovidia asked. She still hadn't forgiven him for his unplanned jaunt to Waterdeep.
Effrain sighed and turned to face her. "No, and I didn't run before. I just took a little break." The elf stood with her arms crossed looking unimpressed. "Fine. If you must know, I'm on a personal errand."
"What kind of errand?"
"Personal."
"Then I'll come with you."
Effrain made a face and shook his head. "What about 'personal' don't you understand? This is my thing and I'm doing it alone. Go back to the Inn. I'll see you and the others tomorrow." He turned to leave again.
"Fine. Have fun dying alone with your weak, toothpick arms," Rovidia called after him.
That- that- was the last straw. Effrain stomped back around and yelled, "You know what-" Effrain turned to find Rovidia drawing her bow. She pointed it at him. "Whoa, now, hey there- Let's use our words."
Rovidia let her arrow fly. It whizzed toward Effrain. He closed his eyes, braced for impact, and then opened them as he heard a loud thump behind him. Looking down, Effrain saw the body of a large orc with an arrow sticking out of its right eye. He looked back up to see Rovidia leaning on her bow with a smug look on her face. The warlock bent down to put his cigarette out on the orc's corpse. He straightened back up, refastened his flask, and then said, "Alright, let's get going. I don't have all night."
They walked through the forest in relative silence. Occasionally, the elf ranger would disappear from his side presumably to scout out ahead or to investigate a sound or just for fun- as far as Effrain knew. Inevitably, she would appear back by his side. The warlock was never quite sure what to say to Rovidia outside a taunt here or there. He liked Rovidia and her habit of stealing things from people he didn't care for. However, he had the feeling the elf still held a grudge over the times he wandered off from the group and did other things. That kind of drove a wedge between their friendship.
At the end of the day, that was fine by Effrain. There were a lot of things that he had wanted to say to Rovidia, but they would be very difficult. Like, he wanted to say that he was sorry about Cassyt. He wanted to tell her that it was his fault for being too drunk to do anything about it when she died. That he knew that the same thing would probably happen to Rovidia and their friends if they hung around him for too long. Yet, those are difficult things to say, so the fact that Rovidia was usually just vaguely angry at him made it easier not to say them.
However, walking through the forest with his friend, it struck Effrain that it wasn't exactly fair that he didn't say them. She should know why he wandered off every now and then. He really should just be honest with his adventuring companion. Yup… he really should…
It was about then Effrain noticed that the plants in the area were all withered and dying. They held no foliage. Their brittle leaves and branches crumbled into black ash under his feet on the ground. They were now entering cursed ground.
Effrain turned to Rovidia and said, "The plants are all-"
"They have been that way for the past five minutes," Rovidia shot back at him. "You are just now noticing?"
Walking a bit further, they spied a place where the withered bushes gave way and smoke was drifting off in the distance. Slowly, they crept up to the opening to see what was beyond. There sat a charred black cabin. There were dark curtains in the windows, but red light could be seen peeking through their edges. Big puffs of noxious smoke belched from the chimney. Animal bones and broken carts were scattered about the perimeter of the little house. Well, this must be the place.
Effrain stood up and said to Rovidia, "Alright, I'm going in there to get something. You stay here and make sure nothing comes in after me."
Rovidia stood to face him, "Oh no! I came all the way out here. I'm going in with you."
"No, you are not." Effrain said. "There's a witch in there. A witch at full power could blast you to pieces or turn you into a snail."
"How do you know that?" Rovidia sneered.
"My mother was a witch," Effrain replied. "Now, I'm going invisible, sneaking in, getting what I need, and getting out. You stay here, wait, and we leave when I get back. Got it?"
"You are going to go in, get caught, and die, you mean. Fine, have fun."
"Listen, why are you always-''
That's when they both noticed the squadron of harpies descending on them
Part Two, A Blue Bird Of Truth:
At this point, Rovidia should know not to get herself involved.
Her involvement in any situation always met her and her counterparts with catastrophe.
But watching her frail, alcoholic friend stumble out of the Inn in the middle of the night
not only piqued her curiosity but also made her grow concerned.
Quietly she slipped out if her bed and snuck across the room without waking up any of
her other counterparts. She followed up behind Effrain as he snuck out of Mulmaster.
The strange part about following behind her friend was that he was seemingly going
nowhere. He was walking aimlessly until he turned his head and follow down another trail.
Perhaps he is sleepwalking?
It was easy enough for her to follow the man, she followed in his own footsteps
actually, and the man seemingly didn't notice for a good couple of miles as he wandered deeper into the forest. He would certainly get himself lost if she didn't reveal herself soon.
She ended up purposely stepping on a twig to get the man's attention, and reluctantly
the man came out of hiding and finally talked to her. Explaining that he needed to get personal business done, she didn't want her friend to get hurt. Despite how she acts towards him. As they were walking Rovidia began to notice something.
The forest is alive. It was alive, it had a heartbeat, a wild thrumming in its very roots.
Most people would call it quiet, likely eerily so. It lived and breathed. Animals lived and died here, and it was peaceful. Plants grew in abundance, herbivores thrived on the plants, and carnivores fed their families on the herbivores.
But this, this was no longer the same. What was once beautiful bushes and what
seemingly were tall pine trees that were older than her clan's home itself, were all rotted. As if the life force; the green and all the pigments that had once littered the forest have been sucked away into nothing but a gray, ashy color.
There was no life here. Rovidia understood the balance that life needed to be able to
sustain; however, she could feel that the balance had been disrupted here. There was no scampering of small animals, no tracks of any larger animal, and not even the faintest suggestions of a passing sparrow... There was however, one blue feather. She picked up the feather and examined it. Not only was it an unusually large but it was a shade of blue she had never seen any native bird. She put it in her pocket and supposed she would give it to Cricket later.
When they finally got to the charred black cabin, Rovidia sensed something terribly
wrong. But she didn't want to panic her friend, she also didn't want him to go in alone so of course the two bickered about it.
And following their racket, a shrill shriek came from the air; and above were four
ravenous looking harpies droning above them and one already diving its ugly head down.
As quickly as she could, she pulled out her bow and nocked an arrow. "Stay down,
Effrain!" She called as she blocked the man with her body. It wasn't as if it was self-sacrifice on her part, it was more as if she didn't want him getting hurt and inevitably needing her to carry him back to Mulmaster.
She fired her arrow and shot up at the diving harpy, hitting the foul creature in its wings
and she watched in delight as the creature fell to the ground not too far away from her. But then she realized the creature was definitely not dead.
It tried to get off the ground again, but its wing was most definitely broken and it
screeched in pain as a burn mark appeared on its crown.
"Now..." Rovidia spoke as she continued to fire up at their airborne attackers. "Would be
a really good time for some magic tricks." She stammered before shooting the harpy that had already fallen to the ground in the head so that it didn't get closer to the two of them. Its body twitched and convulsed until it stopped moving all together.
Effrain, could not feel anymore worse about the situation. He's putting Rovidia in
danger and she is willing to take the blows for it. He felt his hand get hot and dark sparks formed from his fingertips. "Here we go again. " Effrain mumbled to himself before aiming his hand to the sky, specifically at the arrow Rovidia shot up.
Effrain cursed and shot the arrow, and two of the harpies with an Eldritch Blast.
The dark purple color filled up the sky and made a thunderous crack as two of the harpies fell to the ground.
Rovidia under her masked smirked. "Lucky Shot." She said before aiming another
arrow at the remaining Harpies.
"It wasn't luck." he said before blasting another one down.
Meanwhile, Rovidia watched as the last harpy got ensnared in her Arrow and plummeted to the ground.
"Well there goes the element of surprise... " She said simply as she looked at the
corpses of the dead demonic like birds.
Though frankly she felt a little nervous about all the harpies with the same insignia on
them as her mask. And he dared to have the audacity to stare at her out of the corner of his eye. "You didn't have to cover me Rovidia… I can handle myself, I always have." He muttered.
At that comment, Rovidia felt anger rise to her stomach. She stalked over to the man
and took off her mask. She tossed it to the ground where it chipped slightly on its crown. Her thin burnt face showed a wild, angry expression.
"How dare you!" She exploded.
"What do you mean how dare I?" Effrain bickered back.
"You could've gotten hurt, if we didn't notice those harpies sooner you could've been killed!" She cried.
"You could've too!" He mimicked. "You covered me before I could even do anything and
you could've gotten hurt because of me!"
"And If I wasn't here you could've been killed!" She shrieked. "This is why I hate when
you leave, if I had let you go on by yourself, by tomorrow's dawn none of us would have known where you were, and you would have died alone out here. We wouldn't even be able to find your body…" She croaked. "What if you go off on those other adventures and end up getting hurt… I would never know, and I wouldn't be there to protect you…"
Effrain stopped for a second and let her continue. "You can't…" She stammered. "You
can't trust magic to save you all the time… and if I can't be there, I would never know if you were to die-" She was cut off by Effrain giving her a hug. The tension seemed to dwindle away as he held her.
"I am not going to die Rovidia, trust me." He started. "But I have to face my own
demons and not get anyone else involved, that's why I do this stuff alone." He confessed. "I dug my own grave for this, I am not going to drag anyone else with me."
The tension between the two seemed to die down she backed away from him And
quietly reached down for her mask. The chipped mark was now filled with what looked like gold strangely enough, it must have been magical.
"I'm sorry for my outburst." She said simply. "I just need… I need to protect my home."
She explained.
"I understand, but your home can also fend for itself." Effrain added.
"I'm going into the house with you." She insisted, her tone was quite recognizable as
the tone that Effrain should not argue with, if he liked to keep his body intact.
Part Three, The Witch, The Outlaw and The Warlock:
Rovidia thought it would be best that they scout the house first. Patsy might be able to
see the witch before she had left the house. she grew brambles around the both of them only to have them sort of wilt away in the couple of hours that they were watching the house. It was near dawnbreak that a ghastly creature stepped out of the house of dark, ashen color. She was vulgar in her appearance, singing quietly with her horrid smile of sharp fangs. Her back was hunched, and her hair was hay like and fell in the same way as twine. As the two watched her from a distance, Effrain could now tell that; what she was singing was not just a wretched old song, but actually a spell. She dropped small plants onto the ground, plants that looked much livelier, unlike the other plants in the area. A beautiful water lily, a hydrangea, and a branch of dogwood. She circled around them and continued singing her song, louder and louder till her voice was booming across the area. The item that she was circling started to levitate off the ground and swirled around her before she burst into a cauldron of green light. She cackled wickedly before the hideous laughter turned into what sounded like a much more beautiful chuckle. Her body changed in the light, from the hunched-over figure to a sculpted figure. The short and hay like hair began to grow and seemingly turned into luscious curls. Before their eyes the hag transformed into a beautiful woman.
The two would have both been baffled by her beauty if they had not seen what once was
not even moments ago. She was now wearing a long white dress, her face was now much more elegant and regal, and her hair was a dark red that went all the way down her back. But her eyes, her eyes were still vulpine like and bright green. The two, even though they were staring at her from a good distance, they both got the sneaking suspicion that she knew that they were there.
"No time like the present?" Effrain said before watching her walk back into her keep.
The plants that she had used for her spell were now grey and dead just like everything else in the area. The man rose from the brambles and pulled his way out. Rovidia followed behind him. "I am very much uncomfortable by her magic." She said nervously as she looked at the plants as they made their way closer to the keep.
"You would've loved my mother." Effrain quipped sarcastically before taking a swig
from his canteen. Rovidia chuckled in nervous amusement.
"We should not grab her attention, but I sense she already knows we're here." Rovidia
said quietly to Effrain who looked unphased. "Killing a shit ton of harpies can do that." He said simply.
"I can distract her…" Rovidia started. "I heard witches like to make deals?" She asked.
Effrain stiffened, and looked to her, he knew he couldn't tell her no, but could he let her
go in without explaining the danger? "Rovidia, these aren't the type of deals you should make. I don't want you getting hurt-"
"But you're saying she can bargain?" Rovidia asked.
"Yes but-"
"Thanks that's all I needed to hear." She said with an audible smile before skipping away to the door of the witch's hut. Effrain watches and takes another swig of his drink.
Despite how cheerful she looked, she was quite nervous on the inside. She didn't like
that everything around here was dead. No life no nothing. This evil witch was killing everything. Did Effrain know this? is this why he's here? Why was he here? What did he need from the witch? And if he needed it so badly, why didn't he just approach her? All of these questions were running through her mind until she reached the door.
The windows were horrifyingly blacked out and she could not see in from them. But
she felt like she was being watched. She knocked on the door and it opened as it seemingly wasn't closed properly when the witch had come back in. Rovidia turned back and Effrain must've been invisible because she could no longer see her friend, which only stirred her anxiety more.
"Come in Sweetie," Said a sickeningly sweet, but alluring voice. She swallowed her fears
and walked inside. She expected horrors, but it looks simply like a shop. The walls were lined with shelves of unique and rare looking items. Some looking rather antique and some looking rather alien-like to her. There was an abundance of life in this room. Vines wrapped around the walls and collected over top of the ceiling to make a branchy looking Chandelier. There were different colored candles laid on top, but simply did not catch on fire. On the far corner of the store there was a little trickle of water, a small but lively little water spring filled up into a small stone pond that had water lilies growing.
It was dark, but the light from the chandelier helped give everything a softer shade.
Rovidia's own words would have described the room as beautiful. But the woman behind the counter was even more beautiful. Unfortunately, Rovidia knew the true identity of the ungodly beautiful woman. Behind the witch, was a shelf of what looked like herbs and tea leaves.
"Sweet darling…" Said the Witch as she combed her beautiful red hair. "What a
beautiful mask." She said, pulling a hand away from her hair and raised a finger, and pulling the mask off with some sort of mage hand.
Rovidia was not only startled but her face went pale as she no longer had her mask, the witch eyed her and smiled. "Come closer darling, I promise I don't bite." She purred.
Rovidia, without thinking walked closer to the beautiful woman.
The Witch sighed with delight as she looked at the marking on Rovidia's forehead. "Such a beautiful symbol, a daughter of Cernunnos, I have not seen such a gift in maybe over a hundred years." She effused.
Rovidia felt naked, but did this witch know what the marking was?
Not even Lawrence was able to figure out what it was, and he had studied for years with a similar marking of his own.
"But…" The witch paused and frowned, pulling the mask closer to inspect it. "You broke the seal with him… Why my dear child?" Asked the witch.
"What do you mean?" Rovidia cried. "I don't know that this is, and I don't know who Cern- unnos is!" She exclaimed.
"My child, let me enlighten you... " Said the witch before turning to her herbs and
grabbing a handful of what looked to be calendula. She spread it across the table and then with a snap of a finger she set it on fire. After she was finished, the burn mark on the table showed a spiral leading to twelve stars, they all formed into a large spiral shape, and a square in the center with four circles at each corner, one corner, had her marking on it. The others were blank. "Some gods have been long gone for centuries. All that's left of them are remanence, symbols that bound them to this universe." Rovidia felt a breath of wind by her shoulder but she took no direct notice of it.
"You have one of the symbols of a god, and not just any god, Cernunnos, the great
horned one." She explained. "He is a God that defends nature, sort of like you, young Ranger."
"You're telling me that this a mark of a god and not a curse?" Rovidia asked. The information so important to her, information that she has needed to confirm for the last 50 years.
"Gods no! Child, he is a great god. But, he is a horned one and you have broken his
pact. Perhaps you had hunted the wrong animal." She asked, almost as if she knew what Rovidia has done.
Rovidia went pale, and pulled out her bow, pointing it at the witch. This was just a mind
game, could the information she had just received even be trusted? The witch looked at her and began to cackle oh, it wasn't as beautiful as a chuckling she heard before, it sounded like the old hag. It was almost like the illusion had faded away from her. That's when Effrain appeared behind the witch, unveiling himself to blast her with an Eldritch Blast.
"Now!" He cried.
Without hesitation, she shot an arrow at the witch and watched as the vines covered
and tangled her.
Throughout the entanglement, she could hear the witch screaming in pain as the vines
squeezed her body.
Effrain smiled at Rovidia, "Thanks, she was really nosey." He said before ducking under
the counter to start searching for something. "Effrain…" Rovidia said as she ran over to him. "Do you know Cernunnos…?" She asked quietly. When she said the name, she felt like something burned in the back of her throat.
"The name rings a bell, but I need help finding a ring Rovidia…" He said as he searched
under the counter.
She looked over to the witch and felt a bit of doubt. If she never found out, what could
happen?
The witch looked up to her, "My child, I could help you reconnect to Cernunnos…" She
offered.
But instead of listening Rovidia ran over to the shelves and began looking for a ring,
she found three on one shelf and five on the other, she ran back over to Effrain and held them out. "Are one of these yours?" She asked.
"They might be, put them in my bag." He said, gesturing his head over to the hide
backpack.
"But is it yours?" She asked.
"They could be! Why are you asking?" He demanded as he continued to search around the room.
"Because this witch might be able to help me, she knows what this marking is!" Rovidia
started. "Maybe we shouldn't steal from her?"
"Rovidia!" Effrain snapped. "Witches get into your head, they mess with you…" He
explained. "She just wants you to get her free so that I can't get the ring!" He said.
"What ring!? We went all this way at least you could tell me what it looks like."
"I can't!" Effrain exclaimed.
"Why can't you?"
"Because I don't know! I will know it when I see it Rovidia!" He cried. "This is a warlock
thing!"
"My uncle would never steal!" She cried.
"This isn't stealing, I need this Rovidia and no matter what the witch stole it first!" He
reasoned before tripping over a latch.
"Serves you right…" Rovidia said as she looked over the now fallen man.
"That's it! I can't believe-" He started, before looking down at what he tripped over. It
was a latch to an upturned piece of wood. He lifted the latch and inside was a pile full of gold, rubies and other precious gems. But more specifically a ring he felt the need to grab. It was a silver ring with a gemstone that look like it was a combined mesh of ruby and sapphire. While certainly it was elegant, it retained a power beyond his imagination. He pocketed it and quickly close the latch, making sure not to take anything else from the horde. He rose and told her, he had what he needed and began to make his way to the door, treading carefully away from the witch as he remembered Belphegor's warning: "Death will next find you with the Wicked Witch of the Woods." That's when an arrow flew past him. He looked behind him to see Rovidia, a terrifying scowl on her face.
"I cannot let you leave!" She shrieked, almost as if she were possessed.
Effrain was quick to notice that was not his friend and dashed out of the witch's hut.
Dashing as fast as he could to make it back to the brambles to hide.
He was almost there, before an arrow shot him in the back it had frayed into a shoulder
blade and smashed through bone. He most definitely could no longer run. He turned his head around to see his friend's lifeless eyes standing in the archway of the witch's hut.
Rovidia didn't know what she was doing. She felt like she had full control, but as soon
as she fired the arrow, it was like her soul screamed. It was a horrifying feeling a buzzing in her head. "Get out!" She cried and stomped on the witch's body, using all
her will to break from the possession. When she was able to think clearly, she grabbed her mask and quickly dashed out of the hut to run to Effrain's side.
"Effrain!" She cried as she felt her knees dip into a small, but growing puddle of blood.
"Please, Effrain I'm so so sorry I don't know what happened!" She cried, immediately putting her knowledge of medicine to use. She wasn't going to remove the arrow, not yet. They had to find somewhere safe where she would be sure he would be able to stabilize without the witch getting to them. "Rovidia… Shhh shhh." He slurred as if he was drunk. "S'alright. Just an arm…" He said lazily. "I didn't… Drop my flask, did I?" He asked.
She chuckled bitterly and shook her head, lifting the man up and darting away from the witch in the direction they came.
About a mile or two away, Rovidia decided to pull up the brambles and begin to tend to
her friend's wounds. "Dammit Effrain…" She cried. "I am so, so sorry." She cried quietly. She used nettle around the area to numb the skin while she pulled out the lodged arrow. Quickly packing the wound with Narcissus to stop the immediate bleeding. But she needed to get him back to Mulmaster and quickly, as her temporary stabilization could only prove to be so effective.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side again…" He slurred, before popping a
cigarette in his mouth and taking a long draw from it.
After she attended to basic wounds, she carried the man all the way from the witch's
hut all the way back to Mulmaster, when they had gotten there, it was almost evening, and their party had been out looking for them apparently as the guards told them they were requested back at the Inn. They couldn't even get all the way back to the Inn before Cricket and Morg could be heard calling their names. She ran to the voices.
When they finally caught glimpse of Rovidia, relief started to grow on their faces, but as
she got closer and they could see Effrain dangling in her arms the two rushed over to her. Her legs were weak, and she fell to the ground with Effrain in hand the two finished their mission and were exhausted.
Epilogue: Nothing Yet to Lose
Effrain sat behind the Inn picking at his freshly wrapped shoulder. He took hardy swigs from his flask and watched for any signs of movement in the alley ahead of him. Finally, he spotted what he had been waiting for: A green and white centipede with hundreds of legs was crawling from the alley toward him. The centipede stopped about a yard from the fence that Effrain was resting upon. Then the centipede grew, warped, and changed into a green and white creature with a bat-like face and long, pointed tail. The warlock knew this to be the Quasit, Buzu. The demon was Belphegor's intermediary on the Material Plane.
"You're late, bug-face," Effrain said.
Buzu extended a clawed hand toward him. "The ring, slave."
"I have it." Effrain grinned. "I want something in return."
The Quasit put its hand down. "That is not how this works."
Effrain produced the ruby/sapphire ring from his cloak pocket. He held the thing in the flat of his palm. Then he drew up Eldritch energy to crackle around it. "That's how it's going to work today."
Buzu briefly regarded the warlock's expression, then said, "And what does the slave want?"
"A ring for a ring." Effrain answered. "I remember… I remember the Abyss and a ring… with the symbol of a crying deer."
At this, Buzu's sharp teeth flashed at Effrain in… a smile…? "Curious. You are not supposed to remember."
"I want that ring." Effrain stood from the fence. "I get it and Belphegor gets this one in one piece."
"One moment," the Quasit replied. Then it seemed to go into a sort of trance where it stared into infinity. After a few moments, it shook its head and looked back at Effrain. It closed the distance between them, raised its claws, and flashed its teeth. "Look, kid, you have something behind your ear." Then its claws tore into Effrain's fresh wound.
The warlock stifled a sharp cry in his throat. He choked it back down into his chest and rode the white, hot pain. He stumbled back into the fence nearly passing out. He held it together long enough to see the demon produce the ring he had asked for from his reopened arrow wound.
Buzu laughed. "You really need to wash behind there, kid." He held the deer ring in Effrain's face. "Well, this is what you asked for, right?"
Effrain nodded. He held the Witch of the Wood's ring up allowing the Quasit to take it. In its place, Buzu left the ring of Cernunnos. The Quasit turned away laughing.
"This is not over, slave. The Unmoved Exalted has a message for you: That will cost you dearly."
Effrain stood back up and took a few steps toward the demon. "There's nothing Belphegor can take from me that I can't live without. Not anymore."
"No." Buzu turned its head back to face the warlock. "Not yet." With that, it Polymorphed back into a centipede and crawled down the alley.
Effrain poured the last of what his flask held over his shoulder. He struggled back into the Inn, crept up the stairs, stopped in front of Rovidia's room, and put his ear to the door. No sound. He bent down to the crack between the door and the floor. Then the warlock slid the ring of Cernunnos into Rovidia's room. Quietly, he made his way back to his own room. Effrain shuffled inside, threw off his cloak, and collapsed on his bed.
Outside his window, a blue bird flew through the sky and into the rising sun.