Chapter 9: The Weeping Willow
Gareth was tired as he neared the Weeping Willow Inn, and he looked forward to a good night's rest before heading towards Fort Locke the following day. It did not pay to rest for too long on the Mere road, for lizardlings and swamp beetles often strayed towards it from their holes in the Mere, and this year their incursions were worse than usual. It was a good day's walk to the inn from West Harbor, and Gareth had only stopped a couple of times for a few minutes in his journey. If he had gotten some rest before leaving the village, then perhaps he would not be so tired now. However, Daeghun had instilled in him a sense of urgency regarding the shard he now carried in his pack, and so he had left immediately upon retrieving it from the Illefarn ruins in the Mere. Since he had already been going to Neverwinter, taking the shard seemed to be no big deal, except for the fact that now he would have to hurry himself along faster than he had anticipated.
As he walked, he allowed his mind to drift back over all that had happened just hours ago. Had it really only been yesterday that his friends Bevil and Amie had won all four of the Harvest Fair events? It seemed like another lifetime now. He had awoken in the wee hours this morning to the sounds and cries of battle coming through his window. He was up and dressed even before Bevil had come charging up the steps to tell him the village was under attack. Poor Bevil, his militia training had not prepared him for the ugly truth of a real battle, and the boy was very rattled by it all. In fact, he was thrown off balance so much, that during their journey to the ruins, Bevil had more than once stated that he was going to turn back. The whole situation made Gareth realize that Bevil was not suited for life outside of West Harbor, and thus he had been very relieved when Daeghun had told him he would be going alone to Neverwinter. As he had already been travelling alone, it was no problem for him. Although, something inside told him that perhaps he would be better off with some kind of company along the way, even if it was only so he could sleep without worrying about someone or something sneaking up on him. Georg had said he had heard that the road was worse this year than normal, what with the patrols having been stopped. Apparently, bandits had become more of a problem in recent months.
As he neared the inn, Gareth became aware of a group of people arguing and silently crept closer to observe. He couldn't afford to get into a senseless fight at the moment. As he hid in the shadow of a maple tree, he saw that what he had heard was three humans threatening a dwarf. As Gareth detested such one sided affairs, he decided to intervene and hopefully diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.
"What seems to be the problem here?" he asked in a reasonable voice as he stepped from the shadows.
"Nothing that concerns you, so get lost before you get hurt," snarled their leader. "This is between us and the dwarf."
"Ah come on, stop yer yammerring and fight already," the dwarf growled, his fists held up in front of him while he kept shifting his feet.
"This fight is hardly fair seeing as how there are three of you and one of him," Gareth pointed out, still hoping to keep the situation from escalating.
"Fair? Well, I guess I could wait for them to bring some more friends into it," the dwarf laughed.
"That's it, you and your new friend here are gonna get your asses kicked," the leader took a swing at the dwarf.
Gareth found himself faced with one of the other men, but found him to be a pathetically easy opponent, despite the appearance of a dagger in the man's hand. In no time at all, all three of the would be robbers were moaning and groaning on the ground. He shook his head at the idiocy of some people. He looked over to see that the dwarf appeared unhurt, in fact, he appeared to be quite pumped up.
"Didn't expect anyone to come along out of the blue like that," the dwarf said. "Name's Khelgar by the way, of the clan Ironfist. Stopped in the Willow here for a couple of drinks and ran into these knuckle heads."
"I'm Gareth Tanner," Gareth introduced himself. "You seem rather calm despite the fact that these men were looking to kill you for whatever coin you had."
"Yeah, shame ain't it?" Khelgar scratched his head. "I was just looking to trade a few blows and then buy them some beers afterwards. There was no call to be bringing weapons into it." He stared at the men on the ground for a moment before shrugging. "Anyway, what brings you out here? Roads ain't exactly safe these days."
"I'm travelling to Neverwinter on personal business," Gareth answered. Even though the dwarf seemed friendly, he wasn't about to reveal any more until he had gotten to know him better.
"Well, seems our luck is changing, I'm headed to Neverwinter too," Khelgar said jovially. "Let's go inside and talk over a few pints, what d'ya say?"
Gareth nodded and followed Khelgar inside, then waited while the dwarf grabbed a couple mugs and a table. He accepted the mug of ale offered him and sipped at it as the dwarf began telling him about how he was travelling up and down the sword coast perfecting his fighting skills. Apparently, Khelgar considered himself to be rather good at the 'sport' of brawling, something he was very fond of. As he went on, Gareth wondered exactly where the story was going. When he heard the dwarf say he was going to the city to join the monks of Tyr and learn their ways, he was delighted, at least until the dwarf clarified that it was only their fighting abilities he was interested in.
"Khelgar, being a monk is not just about fighting, there's a lot more to it," Gareth told him.
"Eh, well ya could've fooled me what with the way those skinny humans was tossing me about," Khelgar grumbled. "They sure handed me a beating, that's why I got to learn how they did it. It was the first time I didn't come out a winner. You just don't know what you're talking 'bout."
"Actually I do, I lived and trained with the monks at a monastery devoted to Lathander for the past six years," Gareth said quietly.
"You're a monk?" Khelgar sputtered in surprise. "Seriously?"
"Yes, and believe me, there's more to it than just fighting," Gareth nodded. "It is about balance and harmony, about bringing the mind and body together so that they work as one during battle. Not only that, each order of monks has their own tenents and beliefs that they adhere to, those that are laid down by the god or goddess served. Tyr is the god of Justice and Lathander is the god of rebirth and renewal. While there are similarities between them, there are just as many differences. However, the one thing they all seem to have in common is the fact that physical violence should be the last resort, only to be used when all other avenues prove futile."
"Seems cowardly to me, not to fight back when someone's in yer face and all, tryin' to push you 'round," Khelgar scowled into his mug, his voice a low grumble.
"Though it may seem that way, make no mistake," Gareth warned. "Monks may not go looking to start fights, but they are more than capable of finishing them, and they will not back down nor will they give in to aggressors. Those who see monks as pacifists are often rudely enlightened, just as you were that day in that tavern."
"Well, we'll just see what those at the Temple of Tyr have to say about it," Khelgar said stubbornly, not convinced that the boy knew any more about it than he did. He was about to say more on the subject, when the inn door suddenly slammed open and strange creatures came rushing in.
Gareth saw the bladeling looking right at him and knew they had come for him and what he carried. He also knew that the patrons would be hurt or killed without thought by the creatures. "Everyone get back and stay out of the way!" he yelled before jumping to his feet and preparing to meet the charge head on. There were a lot fewer this time, and Khelgar was doing a great job handling his opponents, however, Gareth had no easier time killing the bladeling leader than he had in the village. The creature had extremely tough skin and seemed almost impervious to all but the sharpest blows. Finally, he was able to snap the creature's neck and, dropping the body, turned to help the dwarf finish off the last duergar.
"Help, help, there's more upstairs!" a woman cried as she ran down the stairs.
Without hesitation, Gareth charged for the steps, pushing the woman back when she attempted to follow. "Stay here where it's safe!" he yelled at her, shaking his head. What did she think she was going to accomplish by following them, except get herself killed?
No sooner had he and Khelgar reached the second floor hallway than they were set upon by more duergar. There was no time to wonder how so many had gotten up here, for they were encircled almost immediately. Dodging blows, striking without thinking, Gareth moved through them like a wind through the trees. Khelgar caught glimpses out of the corner of his eyes and marvelled at how easy the boy made it look. He thought that just maybe the kid did know what he was talking about. Felling the last duergar, he heard a clash of blades coming from behind a closed door and ran to it.
Gareth followed the dwarf into the room and saw three more enemies all of whom turned to face the new threat. However, they had already been wounded and so died easily. Pausing only long enough to make sure the three men in the room were okay, Gareth whirled and headed for the last room at the opposite end of the hall, from which he had heard the gravelly voice of a bladeling. Shoving the door open wide, he came face to face with two of the creatures. both of whom turned from the cowering man in the corner to face him. With Khelgar's help, the bladelings were soon lying in bloodied heaps on the floor. Looking at the man he had rescued, he told him it was safe to leave and, after watching the man do so, he sank to the bed, his thoughts consumed with how and why the creatures had come here.
"I've seen deugar before, but never met any creature like these ones," Khelgar said, giving the body at his feet a kick.
"I have, they are bladelings, creatures from another plane," Gareth said quietly. "They came looking for me, although how they knew I was here I don't know. I could have sworn I wasn't followed. So either I was wrong, or they have some other means of tracking me."
"That one downstairs, he called you somethin'," Khelgar puzzled. "Sounded like kalakta, kachata, or something like that. Know what it means?" he asked and then shrugged when the boy shook his head. "So, you think they're after you?"
"They attacked my home village of West Harbor, in the wee hours of the morning," Gareth began after a long pause. The dwarf had pitched into help with the creatures without asking, and he seemed to be honest enough, so Gareth felt comfortable sharing his story. "They tore apart homes and killed any who got in their way. After we finally drove them out, my foster father, Daeghun, sent me into the Mere to retrieve a silver shard. Daeghun believed that the shard was what they were after, although he didn't know why. He deemed it too dangerous for the shard to be kept in the village and asked me to take it to Neverwinter to have it examined. As I was already going there, it was no hardship to do him this favor."
"So these creatures are after you and this shard then?" Khelgar asked. Seeing Gareth nod he said firmly, "Well then, I think we should get your butt to the city as fast as possible and keep these creatures from getting their hands on you or this shard of yours. Whatever the duergar and these creatures want it and you for can't be anything good, that much I know."
"I think maybe it was fate more than luck that had us meet here in this time and place Khelgar," Gareth smiled as he stood up. "However, I think we should leave this inn and soon. I would not want to draw another attack on this place, there are too many innocent people who could get hurt."
"Yeah, yeah, yer right," Khelgar agreed. "Let's see about supplies and get our butts out of here and to Neverwinter."
Getting up, Gareth headed back downstairs, only to be stopped by the woman he had met earlier. She thanked him for his help in saving her husband, the man the bladelings had threatened, and offered him a small reward. After assuring her that the money was not necessary, he went to the inn keeper and checked the supplies available. After purchasing what they would need from the limited supply, he left the inn and started down the road once more.
"Lad, I hope yer not one of them do gooding people who never accept rewards," Khelgar ventured after a while. "Adventuring has its expenses, not least of which is repairing yer equipment, and that takes gold. Also, while some can live off the land, I ain't one of those, and provisions cost gold too."
Gareth laughed and shook his head, "No worries Khelgar. I will not refuse a reward or payment for services rendered, if they merit it. However, those creatures attacked the inn, and threatened that woman's husband, because of me. It wouldn't have been right to take her money for something that was my responsibility to take care of in the first place."
"Just checkin'," Khelgar grinned. "Yer a good man Gareth and honorable too. Couldn't have asked for a better companion on the road."
Gareth laughed and turned the conversation to places the dwarf had been and the things he had seen. He too was happy for the company, for it made life seem a little less lonely than before. He had left much he cared for behind, in the hopes he would find what he sought in Neverwinter. Hopefully, Webb wouldn't be too hard to track down when he got there.
