Chapter 2
(15) Charlene had been to Amity Hallow several times before on business, both before and after her early retirement. It was a small town with an equally modest population and a very tight-knit community. Everyone knew everyone else and got along fairly well. Despite this, her visits there had never been dull. Be it a festival, a competition or just a busy day at the market, there always seemed to be something going on. It may have just been by chance but, with all of the times Charlene had walked in on some crazy event, she'd always wondered how anything got done around there. Perhaps that was why, when she rode into town that evening, she found the silent, empty streets so disturbing.
(21) As Charlene looked for a safe place for the horse she'd rented, she noticed upturned carts, broken glass and bits of rubble scattered around. A few doors were hanging open, though it was likely they'd been left that way during the evacuation. Judging by the broken windows and crumbling walls of some of the buildings, Ambros had definitely been through this part of town. While the damage to the area suggested there had been some kind of confrontation, there didn't seem to be any bodies around. Whoever he had been fighting, they seemed to have gotten away.
Eventually, Charlene found a tavern with an area to tie up horses. (9) She got off the horse and tried to lead the it over. The horse resisted, apparently frightened by the unsettling atmosphere. (6) It reared back, pulling Charlene forward sharply. Charlene fell forward, causing her to let go of the reins and allowing her not-so-noble steed to run away. Charlene cursed and started chasing after it. (12) Unfortunately, in the time it had taken her to scramble to her feet, the horse had managed to put a bit of distance between the two of them. She chased it all the way out of town but was unable to catch up to it. Eventually, she lost sight of it and reluctantly made the trek back to town. She wasn't sure how she was going to afford it, but apparently she'd just bought a horse.
Making her way back into Amity Hallow, Charlene began to follow the path of destruction Ambros left behind. The sooner she found the guy, the sooner she could get payed. She'd worry about the stupid horse later. She walked up the street a little, avoiding all the shards of glass littering the ground. (12) As she did, she kept an eye out for any sign of Ambros. For a while, she didn't find anything. Then, breaking the town's eerie silence, a voice began to echo through the streets. It was faint but, in the distance, Charlene could hear someone shouting. She couldn't recognise the voice or tell what it was saying but it seemed to be coming from somewhere to the right.
She started making her way towards the voice, doing her best to stay quiet and out of sight. Rushing in wasn't a bright idea, especially after seeing the shape the place was in. Getting closer, she was able to identify the voice as Ambros. He seemed to be speaking to someone, though he was doing most of the talking. Listening in, Charlene tried to gauge what state of mind he was in. Her plan was to try and talk him down but she needed to know where he was mentally before she did so. Fortunately for her, he didn't sound too angry. It was possible she could reason with him.
(12) Peeking around a corner, Charlene found herself staring directly at him. Ambros stood on the steps of a large, ornate-looking church building. He seemed different than when she'd last seen him. He was paler, with dark circles under his eyes. His hair was more unkempt than normal. In spite of this, he gave off a very imposing aura, though Charlene couldn't quite say why that was. There was definitely something off about him.
She was about 30ft away but, from where she was, he could definitely have seen her. Fortunately, he was much too distracted to notice. Standing in front of him were three people, each with weapons drawn. One was a short, slightly chubby tiefling woman with a long, red cape and a lute strapped to her back. The second, who had positioned the tiefling woman a bit behind them, was a tall, lanky hooded figure. Judging by the tail, they were likely a tiefling as well. The third was a dwarven man with black hair and what appeared to be a guard's uniform.
Ducking back behind the corner, Charlene listened for a moment to see what was going on.
"Back to try again, huh?" He chuckled. "It'd be a shame, wouldn't it? We only just got here. We aren't even playing with all the pieces yet. It'd be tragic to end our little game so soon."
"What do you mean?" One of them asked. "And who's 'we'?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, shorty?" Ambros replied.
"Yes, he would." The woman said. "That's why he asked."
Charlene couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. It didn't sound like it.
Ambros sighed. "I don't know. Should we tell them or would that spoil the surprise?"
Who was he talking to? It couldn't have been one of the people she'd seen. There hadn't been anyone else around though. Curious, she hazarded another quick look around the corner. (13) There was no one else there, just him and the other three. This time however, she accidentally locked eyes with Ambros for a moment. Crap. A huge, unsettling grin spread across his face, sending a chill down Charlene's spine.
"Ah, there she is," he said, "the woman of the hour. We've been expecting you, Charlie. Come, join the party!"
The three strangers turned to see what was going on, allowing Charlene to see their faces. The dwarf and the tiefling woman were both pretty average looking. The taller figure was wearing a scarf over their nose and mouth, though their purple skin and bright red eyes confirmed they were also a tiefling. Noticing her, they tentativelywatched as Charlene stepped out of her hiding place and took a few steps forward. Ambros motioned for her to keep going.
"Come on, no need to be shy."
She moved closer, stopping just behind the others.
Ambros shrugged. "Close enough. Charlene, it's been ages!"
"It's been three weeks." Charlene pointed out.
"Ah, so it has…" He paused. "You'll have to pardon us; we've been busy lately. Anyway, we're guessing you're here for the same reason as this lot."
Charlene shook her head.
"Actually, no." She lied. "I came here on my own. I…I wanted to talk to you. (7)
Ambros was amused by this. He walked down the marble steps of the church, stopping a couple feet in front of the group. (13) His eyes were locked on hers, a sinister grin stretching ear to ear. Charlene was unfazed. She'd seen worse in her time. That combined with the fact that he now had to look up a little to make eye contact made it harder to find him intimidating. (14)
(18) "Nice try." He said. "We both know that's not your area of expertise."
"Ok, you caught me." Charlene replied. "Your boss sent me to come get you."
"Oh, did he?"
"I mean, yeah. One of his employees is out chucking Eldritch Blasts at civilians for no apparent reason. I'm sure he's worried; otherwise he wouldn't have sent me."
"Worried, is he?" He seemed skeptical. "That seems unlikely. In any case, could you give him our resignation for us? We feel it's time we moved on to greener pastures."
"Sure thing, if you don't mind explaining why." (19)
He thought for a moment, occasionally nodding his head.
"Now is probably as good a time as any." He agreed. "Can't tell you everything but…I think I can answer a few questions, if you have them."
The sudden change in pronouns caught Charlene off guard.
"I-uh, yeah, I have plenty of questions." She told him. "Why are you doing this? Is your patron making you?"
Ambros started laughing again. "The Seeker?! You really think that wimp could push me around? They're a pushover! Besides, I cut ties with them a while ago. I found someone better."
"And that would be who exactly?" Charlene pressed.
"We feel it best that they remain anonymous. For their safety and yours… Suffice to say, the powers they offered me were way better than anything I could get from The Seeker. Not to mention, the cost was way lower. You think I liked travelling all the time? It sucked! The Guild barely payed me enough for it! If you ask me, all The Seeker ever was to me was a pain in my-"
(11) An arrow whizzed by his head, cutting him off. Looking behind him, he and Charlene saw the hooded tiefling bolt away, cursing under his breath. Ambros sent a bolt of energy after him but the tiefling was too fast. Somehow, during the course of her and Ambros' conversation, she had almost forgotten the others were there. Looking behind her, she found that the dwarf and the tiefling woman hadn't moved much, and the tiefling woman looked mad.
"What the heck, Lucius?!" She shouted. "I thought you said 'alive'!"
Unfortunately, the other tiefling was already gone. Ambros turned back to Charlene, furious. Seeing this, the dwarf slowly backed away. (17) Snapping his fingers, Ambros produced a skeletal hand which wrapped itself tightly around Charlene's wrist. Charlene felt its cold, clammy grip on her arm and the sharp sting of it digging its nails into her skin. A small trickle of blood crawled down her wrist. She cringed.
(16) Next to her, the tiefling woman attempted to cast Charm Person but failed, making Ambros angrier in the process (Nat. 20 (Ad.)). Seeing that she'd only made things worse, the woman grabbed the lute on her back, started playing a song and danced away. Charlene was confused but didn't question her on it. She had more important things to worry about.
(17) Snapping her fingers, Charlene produced a skeletal hand of her own. The hand clawed at Ambros' face, covering it in cuts and scrapes. It then clung to his shoulder, lingering there for a while. (19) As this was happening, another arrow flew through the air, this time from behind one of the nearby buildings. This time it managed to hit Ambros, embedding itself in his shoulder. He screamed in pain, clutching at his wound. Then, behind her, Charlene heard someone shout:
"Watch out!"
(16) Charlene immediately ducked out of the way, just barely avoiding a hand axe to the back of the head. Unfortunately, the warning also gave Ambros enough time to dodge it. It fell to the ground just behind him with a loud metallic clank. Looking back, Charlene saw the dwarf duck behind a shield. (14) Ambros hurled an Eldritch blast at him, though his shield was able to deflect it. As he did, Charlene finally felt the hand's cold grip loosen as it disappeared. A bit of blood gushed from the wounds on her wrist but, aside from that, she was fine.
(Nat. 1) Meanwhile, the tiefling woman seemed to be attempting to ab-lib some hurtful lyrics for her battle tune. However, she was paying more attention to the lyrics than her surroundings and nearly tripped over a rock in the process. She was able to catch herself and keep playing but sheepishly decided to abstain from singing this time. Ambros raised an eyebrow at her. (18) Taking advantage of the distraction, Charlene shot out her hand, sending a bolt of fire flying into Ambros' chest. Since he was pretty close, it managed to hit him. Upon impact, the hand on his shoulder flew off, disappearing in mid-air. Ambros cried out in agony before falling to his knees, holding his chest. Seeing this, Charlene felt a twinge of guilt. Perhaps that wasn't the best spell to use…
(Nat 20.) A third arrow came streaking towards Ambros, once again hitting its target. This final shot seemed to be enough to finish the job. Ambros collapsed at Charlene's feet, defeated. She backed away warily as the others rushed up to the two of them. The tiefling woman had stopped playing and was now clumsily trying to flip the lute onto her back as she walked. After waiting a moment to make sure he was actually unconscious, the dwarf walked over and checked for a pulse.
"He's still alive," he announced, "somehow."
Despite everything that had just happened, Charlene was a bit relieved. She wasn't sure what was going on with him right now but she knew she didn't want the guy dead. Satisfied that everything was now fine, the tiefling woman smiled at Charlene.
"Hey, thanks for your help." She said cheerfully. "That was crazy! I'm Hope, by the way."
"No problem." Charlene responded. "I'm-"
"Charlie, right?" Hope interrupted.
"Um, it's Charlene actually." She corrected.
The hooded tiefling, Lucius, stepped towards Ambros, kneeling down beside him before looking up at Charlene.
"You weren't close, were you?" He asked.
Charlene shook her head. The moment she answered, Lucius began rummaging through the guy's pockets. The dwarf was disgusted by this.
"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.
Lucius didn't skip a beat. "Looking for evidence."
Somehow Charlene doubted that was the case. No one else seemed to buy it either. Well, nobody except…
"Anything I can do to help?" Hope asked. (9)
"Yeah, actually." He answered. "Why don't you go see if you can find some arrows lying around? I'm trying to conserve them. I think one went somewhere over there."
He pointed back in the direction Charlene had come from. Eager to help, Hope gleefully began her search. Lucius continued rooting through Ambros' pockets for a moment before pulling a small, gold amulet out of one of them. Though she couldn't see much of his face, Charlene noticed his eyes light up at the sight of it.
"Jackpot." He breathed.
(18) Then, as if triggered by the word, Ambros jolted awake. He reached out to grab Lucius by the wrist. (6) Lucius didn't even have time to react before Ambros gripped his arm and pulled him to his feet. Staring him down with bright, glowing eyes, he squeezed Lucius' wrist tightly. (11) Determination in his eyes, Lucius attempted to strengthen his grip on the amulet but in the end wound up dropping it. It fell at his feet, only to be swiftly plucked from the ground by the mad warlock.
Stuffing the trinket back in his pocket, he released Lucius from his grasp. Charlene couldn't see if his arm was seriously hurt but Lucius didn't seem to care either way. (12) He immediately went for his dagger, slashing blindly at Ambros. Unfortunately, Ambros seemed to expect this and was able to narrowly avoid being hit. The tip of the blade missed his arm by a hair. (8) He retaliated with one more Eldritch Blast but Lucius managed to duck out of the way, sending it soaring into the wall of a nearby building. The wall stayed strong but the blast left a large, dark scorch mark.
Ambros was furious now. As his eyes continued to glow, seemingly brighter now, his face contorted to a near-inhuman scowl. Directing his gaze to the entire party, he said a single word in a cold, powerful voice that was not quite his own.
"Kneel."
As his command echoed around them, Charlene felt herself being pulled to the ground. She saw Lucius and the dwarf both take a knee, bowing against their will before him. The two struggled against it but were unable to move more than an inch. Charlene tried as hard as she could to stay on her feet and, though she didn't dare try to walk, she just barely managed it. To her surprise, Hope came rushing over, seemingly unaffected by Ambros' command (Nat. 20). She slung Charlene's arm over her shoulder in an attempt to help her stay standing. Now a bit more steady on her feet, Charlene pulled out a dagger. Ambros was not amused.
"You've got to be kidding." He seethed. "I don't have time for this."
Then, Charlene heard him say something else. At least, she thought it was him. It was in his voice but, strangely enough, his mouth hadn't moved at all. Instead, it had seemed to come from inside her own head. However, if the small, surprised screech from Hope was anything to go by, it wasn't just her. The words reverberated in her mind and, though they definitely weren't Common, she was able to vaguely understand them.
"The Warden of Shadows sends his regards."
(2 (Dis.)) In that moment, everything around Charlene seemed to stop and she felt her chest go cold. Without warning, she got a headache worse than any she remembered. It was as if something had wrapped around her brain and started squeezing it. She fell to her knees, grabbing at her head tightly as tears formed in her eyes. A strong wave of anxiety came over her as she began to wonder why this was happening.
The world around her began to grow darker and, as the pain in her head started to subside, she found herself not in Amity Hallow but in a black stone prison. (17) There was very little light but, as she looked around she could see a small, barred window down the hall and a strange, whitish glow outside it. As she got up and walked down the hall, she got the feeling she wasn't alone but there didn't seem to be anyone there. As she passed by each cell, she found that they were all empty. Then, just as she reached the window, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Charlene turned around to find herself standing before a familiar, terrifying entity.
It was him.