Elsewhere in Tal'Dorei
Prologue
Sharpe's Party
It was mid-day (or so the height of the sun would seem to indicate). On a hillock, a figure wearing leather armor stood studying the ground in the distance.
"Where are we, Sharpe?" a pale, giant of a man asked from his position sitting on the ground.
The armored warrior turned from his watch and walked to a small fire. He picked up a copper mug and dipped it into the cauldron warming over the fire. He stood and sipped at a dark, steaming liquid.
"The Feywild," Sharpe said.
"Does it look safe?" the big man inquired.
A tiny, dark haired dwarven boy was busy picking up the huge man's possessions lying around the camp fire. At best, the boy was simply moving or knocking over things.
"Of course it doesn't look safe, Krutos!" Sharpe replied. There was a deeply sarcastic tone in his voice.
"Very dangerous!" added a wizard in grey robes.
"You have heard of this place, Brion?" asked a rotund, bearded man. Next to him a horse stood still with her head drooped towards the ground.
"Oh yes! Very strong with magic, fairies, strange creatures…" the wizard continued to describe the Feywild.
The warrior turned to a woman poking at the fire. She was older, stout, wearing leather pants and breastplate over a loose shirt.
"Carruhlia, how much food do we have?" Sharpe asked.
"Oh, ten days," she said.
"Good! That's more than enough to get us back to the nearest hamlet."
The warrior started to turn away from the fire, but the huge man began to stir himself.
"We're not continuing?" Krutos asked.
Sharpe looked at Krutos, ambling towards him. "The hairless giant wants to continue on! I'm sorry I'm not full of patience at the moment: it's been a hard morning digging a hole for the pieces of a dead, foul-tempered dwarf woman. The last 30 days haven't been particularly full of joy and success either…
Sharpe pointed his finger at Krutos.
"You nearly incinerated yourself playing with that old lunatic's 'fire powder'. You, Elmario…" he turned to the olive skinned, rotund man, "almost get trampled to death by a werehorse."
The horse started to raise her head, but Sharpe turned quickly, pointing his finger in her direction.
"No, not now!" he cut off any protestations from the mare.
Sharpe faced a deformed creature rooting around behind the mare. "This idiot tries to steal from an Archmage, and now he has the head of a cockroach."
The creature with the body of a halfling and the head of a cockroach looked at him blankly then returned to sniffing around in horse droppings.
Sharpe faced Brion, the wizard. "You fill every camp with the lovely smell of someone urinating on a fire."
"It's a belief of my people!" Brion blurted out with a high-pitched voice.
"Brion!" the warrior cut him off. There was a wild look in his blue eyes.
"What about our employer?" Carruhlia asked.
"'Employer?' He didn't advance us any money. He can find someone else to do his job."
Sharpe walked some paces away from the rest and sat down.
Brion came and crouched next to him.
"What do you think happened to the she-dwarf?" he asked.
"Who knows? She had lots of enemies," Sharpe said.
"Do you think she was cursed?" Brion asked.
"Probably. I cursed at her many times. Only some arcane power would make a person explode like that."
"I guess that's true, Sharpe," Brion had to stifle a grin. He walked back to his blanket to sleep for the night.
"You know Sharpe. Have you seen him like this?" Carruhlia whispered to Krutos.
The huge man was still lounging on his blanket by the fire.
"From time to time. I think he's probably right: there's no point going on," Krutos said.
(Days Later)
The party gingerly stepped on stones across a small running stream. Straw thatched roofs were visible nearby. It was the last hamlet they passed on their way to the Feywild. Just a few farmers' cottages and a gathering area behind the head man's house.
"At least there are no water snakes in the stream!" Elmario said.
"That's the last thing we need," Sharpe quipped. They had passed no one on the path back from the Feywild and encountered nothing of interest.
At this hour, the farmers were out in the fields working. The party made their way to the village gathering point where a few benches and a small table were sitting under an awning made of logs and pine branches. Sharpe sat astride a rough wooden bench. He had the bag of party funds in front of him and began counting out shares into different piles.
"Are you setting aside a share for the dwarf?" Elmario asked.
Sharpe looked up. "Do you know who her people are or where she came from?"
Elmario shrugged.
"No, I'm not figuring a share for her."
"How about Jeyloaf?" Elmario ventured.
"Your werehorse lady that you've known for a week? No."
"She's not an agreed member of the party anyway!" Brion said.
The piles of money were pretty small.
"Ok, gather round!" Sharpe said loudly. "Starting with Brion, everyone come up and take the share of your choice."
If he didn't let Brion go first, they would be arguing about the choice all day. Brion looked over the piles, which were stacked neatly and easily counted. Sharpe had made no mistake in dividing up the spoils. Brion grabbed up a pile he judged to be mostly gold. The rest seemed to have more silver.
"What about the loot?" Brion asked.
"You were with us the whole time. What loot do we have besides this money!?" Sharpe replied. Brion shuffled off looking at his handful of coins.
Sharpe waved for Toburd to come forward. "Your takings for being camp boy."
The dwarf held out his money bag. Sharpe let coins cascade into it. Brion heard the sound and looked. Toburd's pay was all in copper pieces. Not that much at all.
Sharpe picked up a share and put it in the money bag hanging from the halfling's belt. He wondered if the spell that gave the thief a cockroach's head would wear off eventually.
"Safe journeys!" Brion said formally. He turn on his heel and began walking down the path south.
Sharpe watched Elmario and the mare wander from house to house in the village. The bard seemed to have the intention of staying in the village for the night.
"Krutos, what will you do now?" Sharpe asked.
The large man scratched his cheek. "I know an old man named Flazier. He owns a farm well to the south of here. I may see how he's doing."
"I'm thinking of visiting Emon. See if there's a money making opportunity there. I'll try to stop by and visit you soon," Sharpe said.
Carruhlia walked up to Krutos. "I'm going south, too. Do you mind if I travel with you and Toburd for a while?"
"You're welcome to!" Krutos said.
"Well, safe travels!" Sharpe said. He adjusted his rucksack on his back and started along the path that eventually became the high road to Emon.
Krutos and Carruhlia both thought their former leader's farewell was more sincere than the wizard's.
And with that, the party separated.