Midnight Meeting
From the bushes Etholden watched his prey in the moonlight. He was wearing leather breeches accompanied by a leather vest with a forest green cloak and a gnarled short-staff with a knot at the top, his favored weapon when his magic was not enough. He watched and knew that he had made a mistake coming alone. There in the clearing was not one, not two, but three lycanthropes. He had sought them out after hearing they had ambushed a woman and child killing both horribly. His blood boiled at the cowardices of these beasts, servants of Malar the beast-lord no doubt. Being an acolyte to Silvanus god of nature made it his duty to put down such creatures, not that he needed a reason to fight evil it ran in his blood. His elven mother had been a high-priestess of Silvanus and his father he was told had been a human ranger, though he'd never met the man, they'd met while fighting off the same creatures Etholden now watched. His mother was killed fighting off a black dragon that had tried to make its home in the mountain above the temple. Though she succeeded in killing the dragon its breath had sapped away to much of her strength and she died soon after in the care of the other priests, right in front of Etholden. One of the creatures began to mutter and with Etholden's keen ears he made out the words beast-lord.
"Nothing for it." he mumbled to himself, reciting a prayer for the favor of Silvanus before stepping from the bushes. "Halt vile beasts! You trespass in woods under the protection of Silvanus Treefather!" The largest of the beasts raised his large muzzle dripping with blood of his most recent victim and laughed.
"Ah another morsel come to offer himself to the Beast-lord!" The other were-wolves looked up and laughed dripping blood from their muzzles all the while.
"Let me 'ave this one Graul!" the smallest of the three asked looking up at the large one. The large one obviously the leader gave what must have been a smile for the creatures before speaking in a cold tone.
"Make it slow..." venom dripping from every word.
"'ere I come boy!" the beast launched himself in Etholden's direction he would reach him in a matter of moments. Or he would have if Etholden had not been expecting such a direct approach from the stupid creature. He extended his right hand a knotted short-staff in his left and quickly whispered the words to a spell from the Treefather. A burst of white hot energy surged from his hand and took the small lycan in the chest, knocking him away like an insect.
"So the boy has some bite to him." Graul said still laughing and dripping blood. "Drun approach him on the left I'll take him on the right." The silent lycan nodded his head and began to move slowing to Etholden's right and he knew he was in trouble. He wasn't even sure he'd killed the small one but he had at least taken it out of the battle.
"Halt!" he cried once again raising his right hand and uttering a prayer given to him by his god. White hot energy streaked toward Graul, but the lycan was much faster than Etholden had expected and easily avoided it. That's when the two beasts burst into motion closing on the acolyte in a heartbeat.
"Now you're mine boy!" Graul growled as he tried to maul Etholden's left arm but met with an invisible force stopping him short. Etholden let out a breath of relief his wards had held, but for how long he didn't know. The two clawed and snapped at the invisible force inches from where Etholden stood trying to think of a way out he only had 3 spells left and a wand of minor power he should have known better than to attempt this without a full-fledged priest. That was when he noticed the smaller lycan regaining its feet. Graul called to him.
"Gren come help us rend this fool you can have his throat!" Laughing and slobbering as he tried to force his maw through the ward. The small lycan began to bound over but then stopped suddenly, the other two seemed to take notice. "Gren?" he called. They both looked two there smaller companion and saw him lurch and then fall to the ground with three arrows buried deep in his back. Two through the lungs and one through his heart. "Who is there! show yourself and I will make your death quick!" the two remaining lycan's began to growl and sniff the air hunched low in the tall grass of the field.
"Step away from the boy and I will spare you both." a voice called from some where off to the right. Drun burst into motion running to the source of the sound with his wolf-like hearing but found nothing. But an arrow found him just below the left shoulder blade. "Last chance!" The voice said now coming from an area directly in front of Etholden. And he took this moment of distraction to cast another burst of white hot energy just as Graul turned to look at him sending him head over heels through the air to land 10 feet away.
"Drun! Kill the whelp then we'll find the archer!" Graul called trying to push himself back up. The silent lycan looked in Etholden's direction and hunched low preparing to rush Etholden as fast as he could. He never took a step, an arrow burrowed right into his right temple lolling his head to the side awkwardly. Stupidly the wolf reached up with a shaking claw to touch the arrow before falling dead. Graul prepared to lunge at Etholden one last time when another arrow streaked in and dug into his right calf.
"I warned you. Now you pay for your evil, monster!" As he spoke a man a head taller than Etholden stepped out of the tree line far to the left wearing a leather jerkin over a long sleeve shirt with leather gloves and boots and a cloak pulled tight around his shoulders and low over his eyes, how he had moved so quickly and quietly amazed him. The man stood with bow in hand an arrow knocked pointed at Graul. "Last words?" the archer asked.
"Just this: die!" the lycan said his clawed fingers waggling, Graul was a spell-caster! The man had noticed even faster than Etholden and dove to the side before a bolt of negative energy streaked past striking a tree killing it instantly. "Rise my brothers!" the beast laughed as the fallen lycan's rose to their feet at his call.
"Wasn't expecting that..." the man said as he rose to his feet. He looked from lycan to lycan surveying his options Etholden shuffled slowly in his direction wanting to maybe increase any chances they had.
"Get him my fallen brothers feast on man-flesh once more!" he cackled as he pointed in the mans direction. The undead lycans seemed to wobble at first as though on unsure footing but then began bounding toward the archer as fast as they had when alive. The man dropped his bow and had his hand to the hilt of his sword in a fraction of a heart beat just as Drun closed on him. He whipped the blade out and across in a slash gutting the monster before reversing the slash and taking Drun's head. The smaller lycan jumped right in not an ounce of hesitation and met the blade of the mans sword as it drove through his chest once, twice and then he too was decapitated.
"Next." the man said holding his sword at the ready. Graul seemed at a loss for words he had expected his brethren to at least wound the man, but they hadn't stood a chance even being undead. The man leveled his sword and charged Graul but the large lycan dodged to the side avoiding the attack, the man had been waiting for that, Graul was off balance now and the man shifted his weight and brought his sword in a cross cut into Graul, almost gutting him. Graul growled and brought his right claw down at the mans left shoulder, he took the hit and rolled across the ground back on his feet and came at Graul with an overhand cut. The lycan jumped back taking a nick in the shoulder, the man was to fast for Graul and it was obvious who was going to win this exchange. The man closed on Graul only a few feet away.
"I can not believe I will have to use magic to take care of you fools!" he growled and pointed one hand at Etholden who had been trying to get behind the lycan for a surprise attack was only about ten feet to the lycans right. Etholden saw him as he began to recite the words to a spell and knew that his wards wouldn't be able to hold up to a necromancers power. A large bolt of negative energy burst from his fingertips in Etholden's direction, and he knew he was dead.
"Look out!" the man said rushing toward him as fast as he could throwing a knife as he went, it dug into Graul's neck, blood bursting immediately from the wound his eyes went wide unable to comprehend that he'd been beaten by a mere acolyte and an archer. All this happen in the span of six heartbeats as Etholden stood stock still awaiting his death, but just as it was about to hit him a blur blocked it from his vision. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, the man had jumped in the spells path. It launched him head over heels to land behind Etholden unmoving. The young acolyte just stared, this man had saved him from three lycan's one of which had been a necromancer and servant of the beast-lord Malar. And he had died taking a blast of negative energy, in order to spare Etholden, why?
"Ugh..." came a groan from behind Etholden and he turned to see the man trying to push himself up.
"How...? That spell should have killed you." Etholden breathed at a loss for words. The man turned over leaning back heavily.
"Yea and it still might my ring here protects me from necromantic magic but seems it could only lessen that bolt." he said as he removed a glove from his right hand revealing a slightly glowing ring.
"Hold, I am an acolyte of the treefather, I will heal you." he knelt beside the wounded man as he recited the healing spell he'd always kept with him since his mother had been killed having had her life-force drained in a similar manner.
"An acolyte trying to face three lycans alone? What were you thinking?" he said as he laid back and accepted the healing energy that flowed over him.
"The reports stated it was only a single lycan, and it is my duty as a servant of Silvanus to hunt down such beasts and put them down." he said in a matter of fact tone.
"Well you're lucky I had already been tracking them or you would be dinner right now." he sighed and sat up as the healing glow faded. "Thank you for the spell." He began to stand up.
"You're welcome, but why did you help me and how did you move so quickly across the field?" Etholden asked standing up and brushing himself off. "Not that I am ungrateful, but most would have snuck away quietly." he asked a questioning look.
"I am a ranger of Mielikki, it is my duty and I didn't when I was growing up I learned how to throw my voice to get away from pursuers." he said laughing as he went to collect his arrows and dagger.
"What is your name ranger? I am Etholden Lanvaryn." he stated following the ranger as he walked.
"Its Sparrow." He said quickly.
"Sparrow...?" he asked trying to press for a surname.
"Just Sparrow, Var or V if you like." He said giving a short laugh.
"Sparrow I see..., where are you from? Not to offend but it is an odd name." Etholden asked trying to think of where the name may have originated.
"Heh I never knew my parents so I don't know where i'm from the man who raised me gave it to me when I first met him. And after that it just stuck." He said as he wiped his dagger off on the dead Lycan's fur.
"I never knew my father and my mother died when I was very young we have quite a bit in common." he said respecting this ranger more for how he at terms he seemed to be with his past something Etholden had been unable to grasp so far. Just then his stomach growled and he laughed nervously.
"Looks like we have one more thing in common." the ranger laughed and stood up. "My camp isn't far if you'd like to come have something to eat." he motioned for Etholden to follow.
"It is a long way back to the temple, so if your sure you won't mind, I would be more than happy to share a meal." He said following the ranger into the dark of the woods.
Etholden was glad he'd come out here alone now he'd been able to meet someone with similar view and together they'd put down three lycan servants of Malar. He couldn't wait to brag to his fellows back at the temple. As the sat in front of the fire the ranger had fixed up they talked the man was not as old as Etholden had guess he'd only seen maybe twenty-two winters he wasn't sure himself while Etholden had only seen maybe sixteen.
"You're a half elf aren't you?" the ranger asked suddenly. Etholden looked at him and then slowly nodded his head. "I meant no insult I was just curious your features just seemed less sharp than the elves I have met.
"It's fine I have no problem with being only half elf or half human, it is only that when I think about it I am reminded that my father left when I was born, had he been around maybe my mother still would be." He said revealing the contempt he held for whoever his father was. "But enough about me, tell me where did you learn to fight like that? Were you trained by elves? I've seen some with archery skills like that but your sword skills would put theirs to shame." he said always eager for a story.
"Well the farthest back I remember I was little I had seen no more than eight winters, I was living in the cloak wood just to the south of Baldur's Gate." This is where it began but not where it would end.
End