"Are you ready yet?!" Balthasar called out, his voice somewhat muffled by the wooden door in the way.
"Just 'bout," Dayereth called back. "One final check-up."
Dayereth looked at his reflection upon the mirror, giving a light smile to himself. His long brown hair fell down to his shoulders with his pointed ears extending backwards from it. With a clean face and tanned skin, he thought he looked pretty standard for a wood elf. He wore a green tunic with darker shaded shoulders, brown trousers, and green belt. His belt kept his outfit together while keeping his dagger, holstered to his hip, closeby.
Dayereth was normally not concerned regarding how he looked, but whenever he had a meeting with his fellow adventurers, he had to put a little more effort into his appearances. As leader of the Viridian Guardians, it was to be expected that he at least look the part during important. His adventuring group was a small band with their base in Westbridge, a few miles away from Waterdeep. To him, those under his leadership were like the family he never had.
Finally agreeing that he was ready for the day, Dayereth walked over the door that led outside his chambers and opened it. Standing before him was a brute of a man, standing two feet above the tiny wood elf. He ginger hair fell down past his neck and he wore no tunic or anything to cover his bulky chest. He wore green and brown plaid trousers that only covered his knees and a pair of boots. Across his right arm ran a black ink tattoo of a wolf, going down from his shoulder to his forearm. Even though he looked defenseless, the wood elf knew he could trust Balthasar for protection.
Dayereth and Balthasar went way back with the latter being hired to kill the former. The battle was short with a surge of magic overcoming the wood elf, who unleashed fierce lightning upon the bounty hunter. The man survived the conflict thanks to the treatment of his victor. Once he was awake, the barbarian was changed by the sorcerer's mercy, and pledged himself to protect him. The two traveled together ever since despite their differences.
"Mornin', Bal," Dayereth greeted. "Ready for that meeting?"
"I am, Dayereth," Balthasar grunted, looking to the side.
"Still not goin' to look me in the eyes?" Dayereth asked. "And I'll keep telling you this, but call me Day."
"I don't want you reading my mind," Balthasar walked away. "Come on. The meeting hall awaits."
"There you go again, with that whole 'elves can read minds if you look 'em in the eyes' bit," Dayereth followed after the brute. "You know, I just thought of something. You can't look me in the eye because I am an elf, right?"
"Correct," Balthasar nodded. "The same can be said for Birel."
` "How about Jarsali?" Dayereth asked. "She's part elf."
"Yes, but I have to keep an eye on her," Balthasar informed him. "She tried to kill you."
"I didn't mind that at all," Dayereth shrugged.
"She attacked you three times and successfully poisoned you before attacking a fourth," Balthasar reminded him. "Why do you trust her?"
"Well, she's a friend now, so what does it matter what she did in her past?" Dayereth answered with another question. "Also, I think half of the Viridian Guardians have tried to kill me at one point. Her, you, Nora, Jabble, and Birel. Say, if you're keeping an eye on threats, shouldn't you be looking at Birel too, even though he's an elf?"
"I'm going to stop talking now," Balthasar announced, followed by a sigh.
Dayereth was not surprised that he was constantly being targeted by mercenaries and assassins. Apparently, while he was growing up in his home village, one of the elders unearthed an ancient tablet, speaking of a powerful sorcerer bringing a reign of terror upon the world, and for some reason, the elder believed he was the source of the prophecy. Banishment was not enough to put an end to his supposed threat, with an unknown source hiring various adventurers to kill him. The wood elf never saw himself as a villain and proved it to his attackers by showing them kindness.
Dayereth and Balthasar walked in silence down the wooden hallway until they reached a staircase that led upwards. The barbarian led the way up with his companion following close behind. At the top was an ornate door with weaving vines carved into the wood. The bounty hunter opened the door and the two entered the meeting hall. It was a small room with a large oak table placed right in the center. Ten chairs were positioned around it and the sun beamed down on it from a window higher up against the wall.
Other members of the Viridian Guardians were starting to gather in the meeting hall for their session. Towards the head of the table was Nora Jamjar, the resident scholar and astronomer of their group. She was short, even for a halfling, with long, curly black hair that fell down her back, almost touching the floor. She wore simple, plain robes, that almost resembled a dress. Her blue eyes showed kindness while she smiled at the two guests. Given how good of a friend she was, Dayereth still found it hard to believe she was a warlock who was once interested in harnessing his untapped power. That was in the past now and she played a crucial part in helping him understand his magical talents today.
Finally, there was Donall Marvina, a dark-skinned human with a slim build. His black hair was braided and fell down his back while partially covering his green eyes. He wore no tunic of the like, revealing his lean chest, and had a belt hold up the lower part of his black robes with a golden stripe. He kept his scimitar sheathed at his side in case any trouble breaks out. Dayereth and Donall went way back. When the wood elf was first banished, he was fortunate enough to stumble upon a druidic enclave, who took him in. Back then, Donall was a druid in training, but was unafraid of the sorcerer. The two became friends, and when it came time to leave, they left together.
"Ah, Day, my good friend!" Donall greeted, standing up from his chair. "How good is it to see you again!"
"You too!" Dayereth returned the sentiments. "Nora, how're you?"
"Well enough," Nora nodded, remaining seated. "Good to see that you've come early today. I've heard that Jabble had a mission for us. A serious offer this time."
"The last one was a pretty serious job," Dayerth took a seat at the center of the table. "Really tough work too."
"We were called in to remove a beehive," Balthasar reminded him, taking a seat next to him.
"And the only reason it was difficult was because you would not let me use one of my spells to destroy the hive," Nora joined in. "You wanted to move them to a forest!"
"Why kill bees for being bees?" Donall asked insightfully, returning to his seat. "If we kill a bee for existing, then why don't we kill man for that same reason?"
Dayereth smiled, listening to the debate his friends had regarding the quests they took. Truth be told, they were a small time band of adventurers, amateurs on a good day. All of the big problems went to the more powerful and iconic heroes. That just left the Viridian Guardians to handle the local problems of all sizes, whether that was protecting Westbridge from assault or answering a favor called upon by a citizen. Just seeing the smile of someone he helped was enough award for him. It was worth more than all the gold in the world.
The door opened once more, followed by the elegant sound of an all too familiar horn. Stepping into the room now were the resident dwarves of the Viridian Guardians. In the front of the two was Olunt Morigak. He was tall for a dwarf and wore silver armor with vines patterned into it. A holy symbol in shape of an eye hung from his neck, with a thick mane of brown hair covering his face. Unlike most dwarves, paladin preferred style over length when it came to his beard, and it matched him well enough.
Behind Olunt was Valida Holderheki, who played a silver horn while following after him. She was a bard who wore an assortment of colorful clothing: a blue headband, a sleeveless black tunic, green wrist guards, yellow leggings that covered only the lower part of her legs, green shorts, and a red cape that hung at her back. Her auburn hair flew freely behind her as she made her way to the table. Unlike her fellow dwarf, she was more slim than bulky, but still could throw a hit when it came to a battle.
Olunt took a seat across from Dayereth, taking a stern nod. Valida quickly took the open seat next to the paladin, dropping the horn from her lips as she looked at her fellow dwarf. Olunt was the third to join the sorcerer's band of adventurers, and proved himself as a capable man of faith, if not misguided. He witnessed one of the wood elf's magical surges, which, much to his embarrassment, turned him into a potted plant, and viewed it as an omen from Helm, saying that it was his duty to help him grow. He was always interpreting strange events like that.
Valida, on the other hand, had more physical reasons to join the Viridian Guardians. She was the sixth to join, right behind Balthasar and Nora respectively. While the others were inspired to join for friendship, duty, and strange interpretations of events, the bard joined for a single reason: love. When she first laid eyes on Olunt, she thought it was love at first sight, and followed him relentlessly since then. She wrote poetry from her heart and played ballads in an attempt to win him over. The paladin made no attempt to return her affection, saying his duty came first. Still, Dayereth hoped he would open up to her. He thought they would make for a cute couple.
"Good mornin' Olunt and Val!" Dayereth greeted. "Are you excited for today? We're going to have a new quest to go on!"
"Aye, I just hope that we're not dealin' with bees," Olunt shuddered. "I'm still tryin' te figure out how they stung me when I'm livin' an armor."
"Ye were brave when th' swarm started te stin' ye," Valida complimented. "Ye kept calm while th' rest o' us were screamin' in pain or terror or anger."
"I was screamin' just as much as everyone else," Olunt corrected her bluntly
"Except for Donall!" Dayereth pointed out. "He was calm throughout the whole thing."
"I still question how you were able to keep calm during that," Balthasar glanced towards the druid. "It was chaos."
"I expect chaos to be chaos," Donall told him. "I do not fear the consequences of our actions. Our failings make us wiser."
"Did we really fail though?" Valida asked.
"At the very least, we were embarrassed thoroughly," Nora sighed.
The door opened once more, as nearly the rest of the Viridian Guardians entered. Taking the lead was Yasira Prixethur, a green dragonborn and cleric to Chauntea. Her scales were a sickly green with her eyes being a dark brown. She wore gray chainmail which closely resembled her scales with her holy symbol being hung from her mace, which was sheathed on her hip. Yasira was once considered a threat to the town of Westbridge, who misunderstood her intentions based on her appearance. In reality, the cleric cleared out a cave of goblins and erected a shrine to her diety on behalf of the town. The rumors were what led to a conflict with Jabble that was only solved by Dayereth's intervention.
Behind Yasira was Jarsali Kenta, a half-elf assassin monk and one of Dayereth's closest friends. Her body was slim with slight muscles on her arms from years of training. Her brown hair was short except for one, long ponytail that went down across her back. She wore a set of yellow robes with a sword sheathed and hidden underneath it. Jarsali was the first of the assassins to target Dayereth, and the most persistent. They have fought multiple times with her having the intention to kill. She has tried to poison him on two occasions. Once, she even disguised herself and tried to seduce the sorcerer to get close. That was very awkward. During their last fight, she asked why he kept sparing her. He responded that he thought of her as a friend, and invited her to join the Viridian Guardians. She accepted, and was the last one of the ten to join.
Finally, covering the rear, was Birel Ostoroth, a wood elf just like Dayereth. Their race was the only thing they had in common however. Birel was a ranger who fought alongside his giant badger, Panader. He wielded a longbow in battle and wore dark leather armor. His silver hair was cut short and the lower half of his face was hidden by a dark blue scarf. Truth be told, the sorcerer did not know much about Birel. He attacked the Viridian Guardians with no explanation and was beaten. The next day, he was living in the attic of their base. He has not spoken a single word during his stay, but he was a friend.
"Welcome, friends!" Dayereth greeted.
"Good morning, sir," Yasira took a seat at the table. "What shall we be fighting today?"
"Jabble has a job for us," Donall informed her. "Could be fighting."
"Could be a waste of time like last time," Nora added.
"Why do we trust the gnome for finding us contracts?" Jarsali sighed, taking the open seat next to Dayereth.
"Technically, he is the only one from the region," Balthasar reminded her while Birel took a seat next to him.
"Who better for the job than the actual adventurer?" Dayereth asked with a smile. "Jabble hasn't let us down before and he won't let us down now."
"Didn't he try te kill ye th' first time ye met?" Valida questioned.
"Yasira as well," Olunt nodded.
"The gnome, despite his size, is a great warrior," Yasira grinned. "I would love to fight him once more!"
"Aha, but I do not fight friends!" a voice called from the door.
Rolling into the room was the man of the hour, Jabble Ninkle. Jabble was the shortest among the Viridian Guardians, although he bragged about being tall for a gnome. He also bragged about being the strongest of his kind, although even Dayereth could beat him in an arm wrestling competition. He wore chainmail that was dyed green to fit in with the theme of the adventurers. His head was shaped sharply with his red hair spiked back.
Jabble jumped up, and landed on the final open chair with ease, resulting in applause and praise from Dayereth. Truth of the matter was, they had fought each other before. The forest gnome was the guardian of Westbridge, and when he caught rumors of a possible dragon, he went to investigate. It brought him to blows with Yasira, who he overpowered rather quickly despite the dragonborn's battle prowess. Dayereth was investigating the claims, and saw the good in the cleric. This brought him to blows with the hero, where they fought to a standstill. By then, Jabble saw the error of his ways, and agreed to work with the Viridian Guardians, going so far as to invite them to his home in Westbridge.
"Jabble, what an entrance!" Dayereth complimented, clapping his hands.
"Too much showing off for me," Jarsali shook her head.
"You have a job for us, little one?" Donall asked.
"Do I have the job for you!" Jabble declared, stepping on the table. "My good friend, Valero Brokengulf, has contacted-"
"Valero Brokengulf?" Olunt interrupted. "He's a bloody noble o' Waterdeep. How do ye know him."
"We go way back," Jabble shrugged. "He wants us to head out to meet him at the edge of Kryptgarden Forest for a job."
"What mission does he offer?" Nora questioned.
"Well, uh, he didn't tell me," Jabble admitted. "But he said it was important, and that he needed adventurers for the job!"
"Kryptgarden is a good day's march away from here," Balthasar grunted. "Are we sure that this is a good idea?"
"If this Valero fellah is a noble of Waterdeep, he's bound to be rich," Valida predicted. "We could be paid well."
"If so, the job will be dangerous," Yasira added, with Birel nodding in agreement. "My kind of job."
"It's settled then!" Dayereth declared, bringing his hands together. "Let's be off to Kryptgarden at once!"
A/N: What's this? A new Dungeons and Dragons story from Archerlord.
That's right, folks. I decided to expand my Tyranny of Dragon series. Turns out there's a bunch of Adventure League material that a friend showed me. Said friend also told me how dull he thought of that material. I decided to take a new challenge and see what came from it. For timeline purposes, I will state now that this is taking place around the same time as the Defense of Greenest. I have no clue how successful this story will be, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I hope you enjoyed this introduction and if you feel the need to, go ahead and leave a review.
Until next time.