Chapter 7: Divine Intervention

The four nervously glanced amongst themselves, before pressing on. At the end of the tunnel, everyone could see that dawn had broken, sunlight playing through the narrow mouth of the cave. The tunnel opened above a wide open area, like the commons before. From above, they could see dozens of bandits charging into battle. The sun reflected off of the armor of their targets, thirteen paladins, wearing a symbol with a set of scales balancing on a hammer.

Rinn gasped, and the others turned to her. "Paladins of Tyr," she breathed out, eyes wide. They turned back to the battle at hand, and saw the paladins decimating the bandit horde. They smiled and watched the impressive warriors at work. The bandit's attacks glanced off the shining armor as they brought swords swinging through the crowd, bringing down swaths of bandits with a single blow.

Rinn was admiring their ability when her attention was suddenly brought to an outcropping above the tunnel's mouth. There she saw four bandits, readying a trap! Long lines of rope hung across the roof, and they were tying barrels to it. Whatever was in those barrels, she was sure it wasn't good. She caught the others' attention and pointed out the bandits. Without a word, Diath nocked an arrow in his bow and let it fly across the cave. It flew into the leg of a bandit, who cried out and fell to the ground far below. The others jumped in surprise, and started to search for the source of the arrow.

Pacai was confused to all hell. One second, he was setting up a trap to get a dent on the paladins below. The next second, his friend had an arrow in his knee and went tumbling off the side. He grabbed his own bow, and looked around, trying to find where the arrow came from. As soon as he had an idea of where to shoot, another arrow came off from his right and took out another of his friends. Now he was really panicking. Frantically, he searched the shadowy walls of the cavern. Another arrow spit out of the wall, and this time, he saw where it came from. He watched its trajectory end in Stath's neck. That was fine with him, Stath couldn't die quickly enough as far as Pacai was concerned. He smiled as he nocked an arrow and turned to the source of the arrows. As he took his aim, he was suddenly greeted with a ball of fire flying straight towards him.

"Perfect shot!" Oda said gleefully, pulling back her staff.

Diath shook his head, "Sure, but now we have some attention."

Below, bandits had turned to the mouth of their tunnel, and a group had begun climbing up towards them. Diath pulled rope from his back, and tied it around a thick stalagmite on the edge of the path.

"We can't well fight up here. Down the rope, ladies first, let's go." Oda pranced to the rope and took hold, sliding her way down with a broad smile on her face. Rinn followed her quickly, the bandits fast approaching. As she hit the ground, she glanced up to see Urag's massive body sliding towards her. She scrambled out of the way to see Oda taking shots at the bandits with her staff. Urag crashed to the ground behind her, and as he got up, she saw Diath sliding his way toward the ground, lithely landing on his feet. He gave the rope a sharp tug, and the knot at the top came undone.

"Watch out," cried Rinn, as a bandit fell towards them. He'd been trying to follow them down the rope when it came undone, and his momentum led him screaming over the edge. With a sickening splat, he landed on a ragged stalagmite. He gasped for air as Rinn turned away. Diath, with a pained expression, stabbed through his neck, letting him go quickly. He took a deep breath, then focused on the situation at hand. The bandits who hadn't chased them up the path were focused on the paladins ripping their way through the crowd. The bandits were getting smarter though, and the paladins were beginning to be overwhelmed.

"They need help!" Urag exclaimed, ready to jump in at any time.

"Let's give it to them then," Diath said. "Oda, throw them whatever you've got, Urag, lead the charge and I'll clean up behind you. Rinn, watch our backs and take care of any stragglers. This is no different than any other battle and we've got thirteen paladins on our side, let's do it!" With that, he leapt over the natural wall dividing them from the fight, and Urag followed, overtaking him and charging. Oda let off an explosive fireball, sending bandits sliding across the worn floor.

As Urag plowed through the crowd, Diath danced behind him, stabbing and swinging anyone trying to flank Urag. Oda laughed gleefully as she sent one lightning bolt after another into the crowd, watching them arc through the bandits. Rinn watched the bandits fall one by one as the paladins' shining swords swung through their frail armor.

Suddenly, a crack rang through the air. Everyone froze as they stared at the source, where slowly the sounds of horns were heard. A deep, reverberating sound bounced around the cave, growing to a deafening roar, as hundreds of soldiers marched up the mountain side. Huge fluttering banners bearing the symbol of Tyr. The army seemed to stretch on forever, stepping in near-perfect unison.

One by one, the bandits dropped their weapons in surrender. First, the more cowardly of them quickly threw out their weapons. The second wave of surrender came when the braver bandits realized the numbers against them, dropping their weapons carelessly and knitting their hands behind their heads. The final few who were ready to fight knew it was even more hopeless without the help of their compatriots, and reluctantly hurled their blades at the ground, hoping to break them in a sign of continued resistance.

The apparent leader of the paladins strode to the head of the army. He removed his helmet, revealing dark skin and shining teeth. He laughed, saying "We thought you'd never get here!" His voice was melodious, and rang confidently through the cave. He turned, and stepped around the waiting bandits, towards the four at the back of the cave. "I saw what the four of you did. You saved our necks out there, those barrels, I don't even want to know what's in them."

Rinn perked up, realizing something. "I know you…" she wondered aloud. "The temple!" she exclaimed to him. "You were working in the temple of Lanthander! What are you doing in Tyr's armor?"

He smiled. "Sharp one. I am Mennorth Mannul, and yes, I was in Lathander's temple, but in service for Tyr. We have suspected for some time that sect was twisting Lord Lathander's wishes, and your intended sacrifice gave me the ability to send Tyr's army after both these bandits and the false priests. I should thank you. It could have taken many more months to find evidence enough for an attack of this scale."

Diath interjected, "So what will you do now?"

"We will sweep the rest of the cave, round up any more bandits, and take them to a place where they can be appropriately punished for their misdeeds."

"But Creshton is such a small town, why would you spend so much time there?"

"Why, no injustice is too sm-"

Oda interrupted him. "Oi, that's a cop-out, what's the real reason?"

Mennorth blinked, surprised at Oda. "Very well, the reason is that Creshton was the epicenter of a large, spreading trend. That old man who sent you here was starting a massive, evil movement, twisting Lathander's words and corrupting the very earth we stand on."

"So it's not the massive bounty on Keamyar Kwarluethil?"

"Kwarluethil? Isn't that some old legend."

"Yeah, sure. Well, we've got a prisoner, we're going to take him too, yeah?"

"I'm… uncomfortable, where will you send him?"

Rinn stepped in, "Our prisoner is an elven criminal, and he has been wanted for several centuries now. We're taking him to his old home, to be put on trial by his own laws."

"Now that sets me at ease. You serve Eldath, young one?" Mennorth said, noting Rinn's pendant

Rinn smiled, "Yes, for my whole life."

"Well, I count you among my friends, then. Until we meet again." He straightened up, addressing the whole party. "You all are always welcome in the realm of Tyr, let his justice guide you, and Lady Eldath's peace find you," he said, nodding to Rinn. With that, he turned away, helping to corral the bandits for the long journey ahead.

Diath turned to Urag, who was beaming at the pleasant conversation. Diath tapped him, and asked, "So, Urag, where's Kwarluethil?"

Urag's eyes bolted open, and he looked up the wall they had slid down. Diath sighed, and jogged over to the path up. Rinn followed him close behind, and at the top, he was still laying on the ground just inside the tunnel. By now, though, he had awoken, and was furiously thrashing to try to escape his binds. Diath shook his head, and hoisted the prince up.

"That's not going to do you any good. Come quietly, and you can be awake for the trip." The prince gave him a deathly glare, relaxing and complying with Diath. With a sharp tug, his feet were unbound, so that he could walk. "Let's go, Rinn. I bet we can catch a ride with this army." Rinn followed Diath again, down the path and joining everyone else. Oda was already pestering Mennorth for a ride, and he was happily obliging her. She pranced back with a wide smile.

"We get our own cart, he'll ride with the rest of the bandits, and then we can go wherever with the army. I can't wait to not walk for a few days!"

Over the next hour, the cave was scoured and preparations for the journey were made. The party made themselves comfortable in their cart. They rode for hours, and as night fell, the army stopped, making camp for the night. As everyone set down for the night, Rinn pulled out a candle and her pen, and got back to her uninterrupted nightly routine.