Allana Duer and Peren Xiolescent traveled together for a few years, growing themselves in reputation, Olly's family name always being of use when regal trouble would arrive. Olly had learned through their journey's that although Peren was a high elf, his family was low on the totem pole of fame. He left to seek his own fortune, and the subject of family usually stayed with Olly when she tried to press him about it. Peren was a tall, serious elf, not the frolicking ones Olly had grown up with when they traveled through the forests of High Moor. He had the wit and the hardness to go through most adventures, but Olly found that hardness also extended past his fighting abilities. He had charmed her that Midsummer night, that was for sure, but that charm faded the farther she got away from her family, her home, and the people she had grown up with. Now her companion traveled beside her silently, the conversations now down to what was needed to be said and left at that.
They found themselves asked to travel to Trollclaw Ford, a settlement in the mountain region, known for you guessed it, Trolls. Olly was riding horseback beside Peren as they asked a couple of farmers to the side for directions and were pointed into the path of a upcoming dense thicket of forest.
"Well, at least the Wicker Woods live up to it's name" Olly joked as they came up to the forest, the leaves far gone as fall approached. Peren's steed neighed below him, unsettled by the wooded path, the thick brush pressing against the horses. Olly's own pony, a cream colored mare she had saved up enough coin from Peren to have, she had named her Rosebud. Olly patted softly to calm the animal as the crunch of branches and leaves echoed out through the barren woods.
"Eye's up All" Peren pointed at her as she looked up to see a cliff side coming into view. The forest just seemed to end as the cliffs opened up around them, the path now rocky and steep as it led downwards. A swirl of mist coated the ground, and cool air wafted up from the rocks hitting her face with a shiver.
"We may need to get off and walk the horses down" Olly said rearing Rosebud to the left away from a crumbling part of the cliff.
"Just keep control and you will be fine" Peren sighed, his brow furrowing in frustration at his own ride, a black stallion he hadn't taken the time to name that reared away from the wall of the cliffs "We were already delayed once for this trip, I don't need another."
Olly tried her best with Rosebud, trying to communicate with the animal that if they moved together, they would get by the passage without fear. A good ranger knew the difference between a creature that wanted to fight you, and a creature that was just scared. Her Rosebud grew calm beneath her, walking steady and slow along the cliffs as they descended downward. But Peren, barking orders at his own horse, began to stir the cliffside, making it unsteady as rocks above them began to crumble.
"Peren calm down" Olly said in a low voice. Peren whipped himself around and gave her a belittling look.
"Don't even start Allana" he snapped "I just want to make it to the Ford and I cannot be distracted with your every anxious outburst."
"I'm just saying you pulling on the stud like that makes him nervous, you just just try to not rush and-" she started.
"I am not making him nervous" Peren shook his head "You don't know the first thing about trail riding. I've been trail riding longer than you and I know when the horse is nervous. This horse is just a shitty stud I picked because last job we did you didn't charge the amount I told you to. We could have been riding Kings horse's if you hadn't gone soft."
"I'm sorry Peren" Olly said deflating a bit "I didn't think it was right to charge them when it wasn't a ghost at all, it was just a-"
"I know what it was" Peren interrupted "You don't have to keep explaining it. But we are not going to make good coin if you keep feeling sorry for people."
"Fine" Olly sighed just wanting him to stop "Next job we do whatever price you say and I'll stand by it..."
"Good" Peren said smiling at the top of the Trollclaw Ford came into view "Funny how they call it the Trollclaws and we haven't seen any signs of them. Maybe it's just all just blown up to scare travelers away, there's probably some good soil underneath these mountains-" Peren started off as Olly tuned him out, knowing he would go on like this for some time. Peren loved explaining and speculating things, he had become such a gossip as of late, gaining pleasure from hearing of others disadvantages because they were not as smart as him. He grasped at talking about his intelligence or knowledge at every chance he had lately, and it had grown repetitive to the Ranger.
Olly knew why they hadn't seen any Trolls, the sun was still high in the sky and Trolls dare not come out for fear of turning to stone. When the sun set over the mountain hills though, the forest would be alive with dangers. The whole reason they had come to the Ford in the first place was because the captain was having trouble with a rouge male Bulltroll.
Bulltrolls were like animals in heat, angry and hungry and easily agitated by the slightest things. And a rouge one meant that his usual hunting grounds had been taken over, meaning he was looking for food, a fight, and then a nice fuck once the females migrated back to the hills. The male would have a nice cozy spot with lots of rocks and food to entice a few females to come along, then spend the rest of the season gorging himself away on the rocks and people of the Ford castle. A medium size one could be a problem, but from the notice she received this one was a lot bigger, hence the call for a Duer ranger.
"If the danger grows too large, a Duer will take the charge."
That was the saying through the Sword Coast at least.
"Where would you like to stop first?" Olly asked Peren as they neared the settlement outside the Trollclaw Ford.
"The Longtooth Tavern has a nice spot to rest and eat. I think they have lodging as well, so we need not stay in the Ford" Peren answered back, checking his belongings beside him once more before they entered the village.
Stopping before the gate, Peren held up a dark coin on a wire that had been sent with the summons for help. The guards saw the flash of light that came from the coin, and without words opened up the big wooden gates covered in deep gashes that were inches thick. Olly admired the workmanship on the gates, knowing they must have taken many damages over the yeards from the comings and goings of the Trolls outside.
Olly noticed the people around her as they rode on, the villager's eyes staring wide at the new comers. Sooted faces were hard pressed and wrinkled, many of the villagers having lived in the Trollclaws most of their lives. These people were hardened, jaded by watching people they loved and knew die nightly from the Trolls of the hills.
Olly felt for them, knowing that stories of creatures of evil at bedtime were not just stories to these people. She would do what she could for them, hopefully relieving them of some terror at least until next season. She would write to her older brother Kirwin when she could, asking him to maybe travel here when the warm seasons started again.
"Over here" Peren said heading for a large three story building, a large wooden deck outside of it filled with patrons sipping beer and mead, the quiet sounds of a bard playing inside.
"This doesn't seem bad at all" Olly smiled at the inviting tavern "Maybe we can get some good food while we are inside, or are we going to the Ford after we settle the horses?"
"We can eat first" Peren nodded looking pleased at the warmth coming from the building "But don't go overboard on the ale, I don't need you embarrassing me in front of the captain and guard."
"You don't have to be such an ass" Olly breathed as she got down from Rosebud in the Longtooth Inn stables. The stables were ripe with smells of horses and hay as she led Rosebud into a free spot, a young boy walking past to tend to some other horses.
Peren probably heard her remark, but chose not to fight if he wanted anything to do with her later that night in bed. She at least had some control over whether she bed him or not, and lately it had been a lot of not. She found his touch cold along with the air around her, and shifted away from his touch like a cold breeze. She felt of no use to him other than a hand to hold a sword, so the extra benefits of traveling with her had stopped.
"Nine Hells! Is that you Peren you pointy eared bastard!" a voice called out from the stable doors, Olly quickly turning to look. Peren twisted to sneer at whoever had spoken to him in such a manner, but his face relaxed seeing the figures inside the doorway.
There in the light of the growing torches were four people, three of which she recognized. A raven black kenku Ranger by the name of Enki came forward with Jeet a half-orc Monk, a new scar plastered down his cheek. Olly had known the two since she was a young girl, Enki once being a trainee at Arrowmoor.
The third was a tiefling Bard that Olly had met through Peren named Cuiro, his red skin like a devil as his smile was wide and white. Olly knew him to be a trickster as well, but a harmless trickster.
The fourth was a human Olly hadn't met before, but his green speckled eyes went well with his warm smile, and his snow white hair reminded her of her father's at that age. She looked at his vestments, a piece of pointed cloth that fell over his chest like a big red diamond, royal blue trimming around it as it ended near his hips, where she saw a mace and longsword at his left and right. A light yellow scarf hung around his neck, while she could see a large wooden shield only Northerners carried on them, the shields heavy and dense to take a lot of damage. The thing that gave the human away though, was the golden band he used to keep that fair white hair out of his eyes around his head.
"He's a Cleric" she thought to herself with a smirk as the party approached.
"What are you all doing here?" Peren said smirking once he too realized who they were "And who is your friend here?" nodding towards the human.
"I got a notice about the Bulltroll" Enki said holding up a piece of paper with the same coin on a wire around it from his dark robes, his feathered body dark with those stalky legs pointed out, the clawed feet of a bird walking towards him stiffly.
"So we thought we might swing by, have a little fun, do some fighting, and get paid" Jeet said shrugging his shoulders, always so laid back about even the biggest dangers. He twiddled a hand axe as the crew joined together in the stable, the tiefling and human hanging back a bit near the door.
"Also Longtooth Inn has great pear ale" Curio said nudging the human "And my man Edric here has never tasted such a sweet nectar that even the gods themselves have stopped by here for it."
"That good huh?" Olly giggled but quickly quieted with a look from Peren. She bit the bottom of the inside of her lip to stop from saying anything more.
"So I take it that you all will be trying to get the reward as well?" Peren said in a smooth tone but Olly knew what he meant. Peren wanted to make sure that there was going to be no competition. He would gladly go against these four for the coin, Peren's idea of "friends" was very loose if they weren't doing anything for him at the time. Olly didn't feel like fighting the few friends she still had hanging around, especially after the long journey alone with Peren.
"Oh ho you hear that Jeet?" Enki said teasing "The pinchy elf is worried we are going to take his gold."
"If he was shorter I might think him for a leprechaun" Jeet snorted as Curio snickered behind him "No my good friend, we are not here for the coin, only to help hone our skills to get our names as great as you're own."
"Very well" Peren said giving a tight smile that would fool anyone other than Olly "Would you want to join us then? We are to leave for the Ford after getting something in our stomachs."
"That sounds lovely" Olly heard the Cleric speak finally, his eyes closing at the thought of food. Olly liked his humor for such an awkward situation, she could appreciate something trying to liven things up. Peren always had to make it too serious for fear someone would slight his honor.
Olly put away her bow and arrow in the stable with Rosebud, knowing it would be safe. Her bow was handcrafted by her mother, Jen taking great care in making the weapon. The upper and lower limbs of the bow were made from the finest darkwood, the tips of the limbs encased in dragonbone Jen had carved by hand. The bow string was durable, flexible when it needed to be, and enchanted so that it may never break from Olly's hand. She loved her bow, and treated it with more care than most things, leaving it covered in elven silk in the stable with Rosebud.
Catching up to the others, Olly quietly listened in on their stories of late. Curio seemed to be engaging his audience more frequently, the tales of the mighty four being sung all the way to Baldur's Gate.
"But none is so mighty a tale as of our heroic healer The Cleric" Curio jested as ales were brought to them inside the tavern itself. The group taking a nice table in the corner, ordering hot bread and meat for the group before they started the next phase of the quest. "His mighty deeds I have heard of before, but none so great as the ones I witnessed with my own eyes" Curio began getting out his minstrel, strumming a tune.
"Oh great here he goes" Enki said rolling his eyes and cupping his beak as Jeet watched happily.
The red tiefling jumped up over the table to another one, strumming the song as he jigged around, the crowd around him getting into the music as they clapped along. Olly found herself clapping and watching as the Cleric put his hands against his face, amused but also embarrassed. Olly had to hand it to Curio, he really did know how to get even the most toughest crowds going.
"I'll tell you now the tale of tales, of hearty laughs and strong brewed ales" Curio sang " A young boy, who was raised in light, who uses his smile to win his fights!
A lad I say, who is fair as his hair, a man that can and will be your thrill.
He comes from a land of cold winter's day,
and through the mountains did he stray.
To find young lost souls that his village had mourned,
but defeated the evil that was forewarned!
He battled the vampires that had plagued the night,
with his mace's power of daylight, so say huzzah for The Cleric!
The one that has a golden merit! Say Huzzah for The Cleric!" Olly nearly cried from her laughter as the crowd cheered and banged their ales on the tables, the crowd of the tavern singing along as Curio sang the verses again, his hands strumming mad on his instrument.
The Cleric himself though, grew pink in the face as his smile strained, trying to keep up that he thought it was funny, his sips getting bigger the more people cheered on. Olly felt for him a bit, and as he looked over at her finally, she gave him a reassuring smile. She hadn't paid him any mind most of the time in the tavern, but smiling at him in that moment, you would have thought they had known each other for years. And like that, he smiled wide back at her. A warm light seemed to flood within her chest, a wave of warmth that felt like the cold winds of the Trollclaw's had been but a spring breeze.
Suddenly she felt something in her chest tighten, her breathing grew rapid as she felt her heartbeat speed up. A flush came to her cheeks as she watched his smile spread, and she could feel a fluttering beneath her skin she hadn't felt in ages. It made her panic at first, her eyes darting down as she thought maybe the ale had been spiked with headspice, but she felt nothing until her eyes rested back on the Cleric.
"Everything alright?" Peren said beside her "Do you want to go upstairs to get away from this noise?"
"No I'm fine!" Olly said quickly taking a large drink from her ale, avoiding the Cleric's eyes as Curio continued on with his song and dance. The distraction was enough for Peren to go back to the performance, Olly gave a small burp not having chugged ale as strong as the one in her cup.
"So I say huzzah to The Cleric,
the man with that golden merit.
He wanders this land from Neverwinter till no more,
his deeds are sure to make the ancient lore,
his title is not just the bronze
for his name is Edric Alphonse!" the Bard bellowed with a crazy ending solo, the crowd cheering and holding up their ales to the Cleric who waved sheepishly, he himself thinking about how he was going to ring the tieflings neck the moment they were alone in the rooms.
Edric, or "Ed" as the group had been calling him lately, was not one to get serious from the teasings of Curio. He had been traveling with the Bard long enough to know when he was just trying to get a rise out of Ed, or to watch Ed join the fun and make it ten times more spectacular than Curio could imagine.
Ed was known for his theatrics, his humor and wit, a favorite for many who he had met. The song had been true, his name now known as The Cleric in the south, but was getting that reputation called out to him even in the Northern lands nowadays.
Edric was a cleric of Pelor, the god of the sun, of light and strength, and had a particular knack for healing. He was praised as The Shining One, the Sun Father, and Ed practiced under his image with pride. Ed even wore his holy symbol, two suns of gold and bronze on his gauntlets, his vestments the colors to represent his god, the yellow of the light, the red of the sun, and the blue of the magic that healed.
Curio would often jest at Ed, knowing that Pelor was a rare god for a Cleric to follow, the usual god of light Lathandar being the golden boy temple goers usually prayed to. Ed would simply shake his head, knowing that the two were one in the same in some sense. Lathandar was described as a young man, while Pelor was older. Only those that truly followed them knew that the two have the same message "Justice and Freedom come from Charity, Modesty, and Perseverance. That the truly strong, may never need show their power."
Ed followed that message, he believed in it. That's why instead of finding Curio disrespectful as he danced and sang about the Cleric, he simply smiled and clapped along, cheering his friend to make a fool of himself. It also helped he did have a great sense of humor, his smile wide as he looked over at the only female in their party. Olly was still drinking deep from her cup, her glowing eyes seeming to be miles away now from the cheering and laughing.
Ed had noticed her immediately when they entered the stable, I mean, how could he have not? She was petite, about five foot nothing, but the way she looked right through him made him think she was a lot wiser than people thought. That long blue grayish hair was back in a thick braid that settled just at the tail end of her ass, one that he had only glanced at briefly, taking in it's perfect upside down heart shape into his mind for later. He was a Cleric, not a priest, and his earthly desires were still there, although he rarely had a chance to act out on them, least of all with a beauty like the one that sat across from him.
Ed had noticed her silence, the exchange of looks between her and the elf. It was obvious something was off about the two, a tense feeling that he knew wasn't any of his business, but couldn't help being curious.
Instead, he decided to just enjoy their company, happily listening to the girl's voice when she spoke up. Her eyes interested him, but he had studied enough to guess what she was, Jeet had even mentioned once before of knowing a Aasimar. He just had no clue it was one of the Duer Aasimar's, the blessed three that he had heard stories about. If Curio felt the need to exploit who she was for the entertainment, he might break out in another song and dance. Although Ed himself could handle such a display, he had no clue how the girl might act.
"So Peren" Ed listened as the dreaded question came to be once bread and wine arrived, the tiefling consuming both with urgency "Why haven't I heard from your little bird hmmm? Allana my love, you are a Duer, surely you have some great tale to tell us of late!"
Before Peren could answer for her Olly took her moment "Nothing exciting has happened" she shrugged "Except a Oni that we killed a few nights ago in Southwood."
"An Oni! Ooooh a boogeyman as the children say" Curio leaned in closer ready to hear her story "Come tell us everything!"
"They thought it was a ghost at first, but the children told me that-" Olly started but Peren cut in. "We really need to be heading to the Ford Curio, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to tell this story, but not when we are in the middle of a job" he said lastly looking at Olly.
Ed watched as the girl grew stiff as the elf talked, her eyes darting down and staring at the table until nodding quietly in agreement when he finished. It left a bad feeling in Ed's chest, but he tried to stay out of it by letting the elf take the lead, the group following Peren out of the Longtooth towards the Trollclaw Ford.
It was now growing a bit later, the sun setting over the hills as they made their way inside the castle. The walls were significantly older, the stone cold and mossy as the clanking of metal could be heard, the guards gearing up for the night and the horrors that may await them. Peren requested an audience with the captain, announcing they were here to help with the Bulltroll that had been reported.
The captain came to them quickly, a older man about Olly's father's age that gave a short nod to the group before getting down to brass tacks.
"I won't sugarcoat it for you, this one is nasty" the captain said adjusting his gloves "The past years, nothing, not even a stray youngling had crossed our borders of the settlement, now for the past six weeks, this male has been trampling over our defenses and killing livestock and people alike. I cannot have it anymore."
"Captain that is why we have come" Peren said "I give you my oath as a Xiolescent elf that we will take matters into our own. We only request a small sum of a thousand gold pieces for our service."
"A thousand gold dragons?!" the captain gaffed "You really think a small settlement even makes half of that? Who do you take us for?"
"I have a Duer Ranger in my service, surely that is enough for the price to be warranted" Peren said holding back a sneer that Olly could just make out. Suddenly the captain actually took a look around the group, coming up to Ed with a steady gaze.
"Well I heard that a Duer was in town, but I wasn't so sure. I'm thankful for your service boy. Your family is well known in these parts."
"Oh not me" Ed laughed "No my good man the Duer you are looking for is that young lady right there behind you. I'm sure though that she is just as pleased as me to be helping" Ed said giving Olly a wink and a smile. Olly smiled back, a chuckle escaping her as the captain turned flustered as he looked down at the petite woman.
"My apologies my lady" the captain said bowing "I have no doubt that you will do just as fine of a job as your brothe-"
"That's quite alright" Olly said stepping in "And I can assure you captain, I will handle this Troll so that you and the people here can get back to their lives."
The captain nodded, pleased with her words as he grabbed his gear, strapping on a thick metal helmet that closed with a loud clunk!
"Well then my lady and young gentlemen, I do believe the sun has set and we are now in the real danger" the captain said, staring out the window as the sun went behind the mountains. Olly could feel a slight chill escape her, knowing that his words were about to ring true.