Eclipsed by a fallen star (first Thrree chapters)
by
Niall Mitchell
Approximately 13400 words
Niall Mitchell
104a Chesterfield road, Sheffield, S8 0RS
07789499697
niallmitchellbooks
[Chapter 1] — PrologueLorf, the wise, a moon of violet light, Jarg, th e regal a moon of emerald green, Turs, the sentinel, a moon of bronze, these three moons rest in the heavens above the world of Solter. Legends tell of times long past when fate used these moons to signify the coming of unprecedented catastrophe, of times when darkness threatened to conquer the light, turning the oceans red with blood, scorching the heavens with otherworldly fire, and rending the earth in a way where no life is spared. Legend or not, there is one man who still looks to the heavens for that signal, for the day when the moons gather to block the light of the twin suns, and the world is surrounded and veiled by an endless void for a fleeting moment before light is restored, and he is the last who remembers.
That man is the king of the Luna Isles, a man of great renown even among kings, his bloodline is largely responsible for ushering the world into this current age of peace and blessed with incredible longevity for humans, a divine boon bestowed for generations of selfless and unwaveringly just leadership, but this longevity means he is haunted by tales told to him by his grandfather more than a century ago, when he was but a boy. Those tales were recounts of the last time such an event happened, so long ago even the elves have forgotten. Tales of times so dark, angels and devils were forced to fight side by side along with the races of other realms and planes of existence, all fighting for survival on the material earth, against a foe so overwhelming, rivalries which have existed since the dawn of creation were forgotten, replaced by the will to survive.
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The king, a tall handsome man of a benevolent disposition, currently however is not in the observatory, looking to the heavens in search of signs that forebode an age of apocalyptic strife. He stands next to his wife surrounded by an army not equipped for war, but of scribes, vassals, and squires in the thick of planning an event of unprecedented scale, a tournament that will test all those who participate in every way imaginable. This event will be to honour the passing of his father, the last king of the Luna Isles who had retired from the throne fifty years prior after the death of his wife left him too bereaved to govern, as well as the birth of his third son, the one who will hopefully, eventually take the throne, after his first and second born decided to leave the Luna Isles in order to serve their own hearts and marry their loves and lead more simple lives. King Lunis and his beloved wife Gaelia outline their wishes for the event and one by one the gaggle of scribes, squires, and vassals scurry away to fulfil those wishes, sending invites, arranging caterers, taking the highly detailed coliseum designs to the wizard towers and artisans, brainstorming possible events to be held at the tournament, and scribing job postings to be handed to the nation's guilds.
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A tall, purple haired, tattooed very beautiful woman, (despite her best attempts to disguise that fact). Cradles her head with one hand as she stands cross-legged, leaning against the front door to a building that vaguely resembles some kind of miniature castle, occasionally drawing from a cigarette, when there is a bang from the gate that partitions the miniature castle's grounds from a street of dirt and cobblestone. "Hey kid! I'm nursing a hangover here; I don't need the banging." The purple haired woman says, somehow knowing it's a child approaching, despite the way the hand cradling her head covers her eyes.
"Sorry Tasha, forgot it's a workday for ya." Replies a small girl who comes to a stop just a foot away from the woman, then producing a bundle of papers which she hands over.
"Ooo! Looks like we got work, let's see what we have here" Tasha says, mostly talking to herself as she flicks through the papers awkwardly with one hand as she awkwardly pats herself in search of a coin to pay the messenger. Then she drops the papers, she begins to exclaim some curse until she notices a job posting titled "Beasts Wanted" bearing the royal seal and on pristine paper. "Well, what do we have here?" she asks herself, hangover disappearing in an instant, mouth curling into a smile. As she bends to pick up the paper, she stops patting herself down in search of loose coins and extends the hand to one side which disappears into a hole in space for a moment and reappears holding a cluster of silver coins, which she passes to the young girl. "Keep the change and treat you and your sister to something nice. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go be "Guild Master Tasha" for a spell" Before turning to open the door.
A shocking sight, given the grand appearance of the hall the entirety of the guild, all nine adventurers, are slumped over and around a large table with a couple of animated mannequins dressed as servant girls move around them, clearing up mess and setting the table for breakfast. Then Tasha puts two pinched fingers in her mouth and blows, creating a high-pitched whistle. Most of the passed-out adventurers do not stir, the ones that do, groan themselves awake. "Well, it appears you three are the lucky ones." Tasha says energetically as she slams the posting on the table.
The first of the three who stir is a short, flawless olive-skinned woman, with waist length curly blonde hair, and eyes like emeralds glittering in the light of a candle, as she stares at the guild master trying to decide if she is actually awake or just having a disturbing dream about being woken up, when it finally lands that this is in fact real, the woman blindly reaches for a mug, which in the mornings is typically filled with Tasha's personal hangover cure, but as she finds a mug and swigs, struggles to hold her stomach in check as the taste of ale fills her mouth. "Sorry, Aranmong." Tasha says, in a playful and energetic tone. "Some of us have been far too busy doing our jobs to make hangover cures for you lay abouts." Disappointed by the news, Aranmong resorts to taking a metal plate and using it as one would use a pillow, finding relief in the cool metal pressing against her head.
The second to stir is a mountain of a man, who stands close to eight feet tall, (when he can stand.) with jet black hair and eyes just as dark, with pale skin that is coarse and calloused, littered with scars from a life of battle and hardship, all traits which bolster his already intimidating visage. He had apparently fallen asleep whilst eating, landing face first on his bowl, and would have drowned had his mass not broken the bowl on impact, leaving a faint ring on his face. The man sits up arching backwards into a stretch for a fleeting moment before clumsily falling backwards and landing on one of his guild mates, a reptilian looking figure, with scales of various shades a green, two black gleaming black orbs for eyes and a strange formation of thick scalene growth on top of his head, who awakes startled. He hisses and begins pushing at the mountainous man, before realising where he is and what is happening. "Zusk, you lummox, get off of me!" he shouts in a deep, angry, reptilian voice, as he finally pushes the semi-conscious Zusk off from him, and pulls himself up to the table, seeking the same curative brew that Aranmong looked for and coming to the same result.
"Waiting on you Zusk." Tasha says as she taps a finger on her arm, beginning to lose her legendarily thin patience, which even in his current state he notes, clumsily rising to his feet and stepping on the lizardman's tail, who comically tries to pull it from beneath Zusk's mass. "Sorry about that Kaltish." Zusk says in a guttural voice and through a yawn, despite making no visible effort to remove himself from his comrade's appendage, then eventually finds a seat at the table grabbing a mug as the others did. (Though finding the taste of ale considerably more tolerable than his cohorts.)
"Now, do I have your attention?" Tasha asks bluntly, cutting through the overly relaxed attitudes of the three, making Kaltish and Aranmong sit up straight and face her, whilst Zusk merely makes the effort to glance in her direction as the bottom of his mug faces the ceiling. Realising this is as focused as they will get at this moment, she continues. "We have had a job posting come in… From the king." Pausing long enough so the phrase "From the king." Sinks in, showing, despite appearances, she knows how to manage her guild. "Thought that would get your attention, now listen up." She clears her throat, then draws smoke from her cigarette before continuing. "In preparation of an upcoming tournament the king requests that local adventurers capture and return beasts, and anything which could pose a challenge, to be used as obstacles in the aforementioned tournament. All beasts, monsters, shall be accepted, with the exception of thinking creatures (unless they agree to participate.) however the more challenging or exotic the beast the more the king shall pay. Please note that at this time there is no cap on potential payment however this may change depending on donations." As she finishes, Tasha runs a scanning glance over the three and can see they are lost in their own daydreams about capturing some mighty monster and earning the guilds weight in gold. "Well? Get moving." Tasha says, reminding them that they have yet to earn the gold they are already spending in their minds.
After that brief reminder they all return to their dorms to gather their gear, and each completing their own pre-mission ritual. Aranmong bathing and changing into fresh robes, and donning a belt with several small pouches, a small sheath (which she slides a dagger into) and an unusual four strap holding place which she places a thick, antique looking book, a grimoire, the weapon of a wizard, the instrumental half of their power and as necessary for their casting as the years of dedicated study and innate intellect involved in moulding the worlds magic to suit their purposes. The book itself, bound in black leather, edged in strips of a silvered metal to prevent wear soiling the tome, the face of the book is decorated with characters from various languages from various planes, a spell in itself designed to make the pages inside capture the essence of any spell etched inside and thus allowing an individual with no innate magical ability to use them. She then pulls on a backpack and heads out to the dining hall to grab food, whilst she waits for the others to be ready.
Zusk returns to his quarters only to perform a workout, another step towards the eternal goal of his race, to get stronger, no matter how physically daunting they become, they constantly strive for even greater physical strength. Once his workout is finished, he pulls on his fur clothes, which consist of, Pauldrons (joined by a circular fur cut.), thin fur trousers also overlayed in stitched together pelts connected to the pauldrons by a four point harness that is also connected to a brace with which he places his battle axe, a weapon forged primarily from heavy cast iron, almost disguising the master crafted and perfectly honed steel edge, ornate tribal markings cover the flat of the axe head and haft, with a leather-bound handle which is held in place by metal studs capped with wolfen teeth, taken from his first kill.
Kaltish retreats not to his quarters but to a small temple he erected himself behind the main building of the guildhall. A simple structure with timber lined mud walls and a thatched roof, yet despite the simplicity it's clear to see that Kaltish built the temple with the same dedication with which he serves the storm-God, inside are a few wooden pews with a thin walkway leading up the centre to an altar, upon which rests a gathering of copper-made candle sticks, gathered around a statuette of The storm god himself. In the corner sits an armour rack which dons Kaltish's leather armour which bares several marks of the storm god, a small fabric strap crosses the cuirass diagonally, upon which several bits of parchment are pinned, each etched with a choice teaching or principle associated with storm god worship. With his armour donned, including a shield (also etched with the primary emblem of his god, painted in gold melted by the god's own lightning during Kaltish's induction rites.) he kneels in front of the altar and speaks a prayer. "I go now, to bring the storm god's wrath to my enemies." After which, a section of the alter protrudes, revealing it as a weapon store, from which Kaltish retrieves his mace and crossbow.
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Having donned their arms and armour the group gather in the dining hall, and after a brief discussion decide that the best course of action begins with gathering some intel as none of the three particularly specialize in the art of hunting, nor do they possess much in the way of knowledge regarding local wildlife beyond the ferocious wolf packs, which pose a daily threat to merchants and anyone travelling along the roads. The search for information begins with Aranmong asking Tasha if she has any recommendations but she is quickly redirected towards her fellow guildmates. Impatient by nature Zusk had already made his way through the guildhall to the map room where Scion can usually be found when he is at the guildhall.
The map room, a small space found in the southeast corner with a table specifically designed for map reading sitting in the centre of the room, against the north and west walls are tessellating square shelves filled to the brim with parchment scrolls, carefully maintained and each depicting a map of a different area and most bare the signature of the very guildmate who Zusk seeks.
"Oh no, not again Zusk, the last time you took one of my maps, I never got it back again." The voice a mans but coming from one that could easily be mistaken for a child, standing less than five feet tall and with a set of iridescent wings that hang from is back, incredibly fair-skinned, with eyes like amber, and hazelnut hair, as he talks, he floats into the air until he is eye level with Zusk.
"I'm not here for one of your maps Scion. I just wanted to know what we can hunt and capture for this job Tasha gave us." Zusk replies, ignoring the fairy's scolding over the damage to his map.
Calming down once he knows his precious maps are safe from the muscle-bound barbarian yet keeping his position to stop Zusk wandering too close, he replies. "Well, you can't walk down a road without a wolf pack appearing, but I'm guessing everyone who gets the job will take the easy money, so if you want to make an impression, I have heard rumours that some mountain cats have been seen in the area, then there is the talk of a dragon from the fey kingdom."
Delighted by the word dragon, Zusk grins, from ear to ear. "Tell me more about this dragon." He says having already picked the target as images of bringing a dragon back to the city in chains after beating it into submission flash through his mind.
"Well before anything, you will need to get permission from the dryads to interfere with it, as I am sure even you don't want to start a war with the fey and messing with this dragon without asking them will cause just that." As Scion talks, he becomes increasingly aware of Zusk's ideas of glory, however knowing that whilst Zusk is indeed a man who seeks glory in battle, it is also among the customs of his people to honour the terms of any agreement, as long as those agreements don't affect the liberties of an unwilling third party, since the old days when his people were often taken as slaves so their physical strength could be abused. So, Scion decides that he will ask the dryads on the party's behalf. So, holding his chin he continues talking. "Of course, as a fairy I am by nature a member of the fey so they would be more likely to agree to a deal if I was the representative, which I would be happy to do for you whilst you go and buy the necessary supplies, speaking of which, I never knew you three had hunting experience, what is your plan?" After a momentary pause the fairy holds his head in exasperation. "Ok, I'll say this slowly Zusk, go to the market and get the following: a cage or something to restrain whatever you may capture , some kind of tranquilizer, bait to draw in whatever you're trying to catch and I'd recommend you guys buy a couple of horses and a cart to transport them with, by the time you get back I should have been able to come to an agreement with the dryads."
Grateful to his companion, Zusk slaps the fairy on his shoulder, with a hand almost as big as Scion's torso, pushing him almost back to the ground. "You're the best Sci'." Happy his idea to speak with Scion has paid off, he leaves the room and proudly heads back to the others.
Back in the main hall the party gathers, all having asked their fellow guildmates for information and advice, compiling their findings, which brings Zusk more pride when his appears most fruitful. Regardless of who discovered what however, the party now has a course of action and set off to buy the supplies and resources recommended by Scion, taking their first steps on this new adventure.
[Chapter 2] — First steps
Night has fallen and the guildhall is alive, as it is most nights, guild members, friends and locals just seeking enjoyment and good drink are gathered, and despite a long day of gathering supplies for their job and being granted permission by the dryads to capture a fey-dragon, the group is forced to wait, delayed by their requisition for some suitable and well-made cages to be built onto the cart they purchased to make it as secure as possible.
Suddenly Tasha bangs her mug on the table a few times. "Folk and… folkettes...Can you please put your hands together, for another enthralling performance by our very own. ARANMONG!" claps and whistles fill the hall as residents and patrons alike, cheer as the robed woman walks out on stage.
She walks to her stall prepared to play her flute, however as she does so, she catches her foot on a floorboard, falling forward hard and catching a servant's tray with an outstretched hand, resulting in her not only impacting harshly with the floor of the hall, but also being showered in the contents of the tray and landing on her flute, breaking it.
Embarrassed, Aranmong stands, grabbing the remains of her flute, then running from the stage as the silent audience look on, awkwardly, until Tasha speaks up again to try and curb some of the tension and Aranmong's embarrassment. "Well unfortunately it seems her new comedy routine, brought back some of her old stage fright, a pity she's a talented girl, why don't you all keep drinking and I'll try and get her back out." After she goes to the door of Aranmong's room and lets herself in. "I told them you were trying your hand at comedy, and they seemed to buy it." She talks in a sympathetic tone now, sounding almost motherly. "You've always had bad luck; I remember you telling me that once. When things quiet down around here we will see about making you some lucky charms."
Aranmong, hiding beneath layers of fabric, starts to appear but not as the woman she normally is, but as a being with pure white skin and hair, still humanoid in shape, but like a blank canvas, desperate to become a painting. "It's been getting worse lately, but that sounds good, thank you Tasha. I'll be ok, just need some time to put my face on." Tasha nods and leaves the girl, knowing that everyone in her guild is strong enough to take care of themselves and don't require coddling.
After a few minutes Aranmong returns to the festivities and finds people have accepted Tasha's comedy routine fib wholeheartedly, receiving praise for the shock performance and gently pulling her robes tighter out of secret embarrassment, but not letting it get the best of her. "When did you rehearse that, it was gold." Zusk says through drunken wonder. Aranmong plays along for the rest of the night, until all but the party have left or passed out, then the party retired of their own volition, careful not to go to wild when they have a job to do the next day.
As dawn breaks the party awakes to the sound of Tasha knocking on their doors and ushering them into the dining hall to eat and take drink before they leave. When they make it through to the hall, they find food, water and they hangover cure they sought the morning, waiting for them, which they take advantage of before heading to the blacksmith they hired to make the cages.
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Walking through the winding streets, they hear the blacksmith's hammer before they reach his residence, and fear he is still working on the cages and their goal of an early start has been thwarted already, however as they turn the corner they are greeted by the sight of their altered cart. It's a good omen when they see the results of their investment, the cart has been reinforced, with storage racks on the sides under a metal guard, a large solid cage with containment barbs that can be braced and secured to the cart when holding and released and slid down to the ground on struts and a smaller ornate cage one could mistake for an aviary on top, inlaid with gold on the interior, should they be lucky enough to catch the dragon, it will be more than happy with its accommodation.
While Zusk and Aranmong go to get the horses they purchased from the stable, Kaltish begins loading up a variety of traps, bait and other equipment onto the cart in the storage compartments and finally puts the ornate birdcage inside the larger one, so Zusk will be able to sit atop the cage whilst using what should be the seat as a foot platform, the only option since using the seat would result in his feet dragging across the ground.
When Zusk and Aranmong return with the horses they are immediately hitched up to the cart, which is then mounted by the party, eager to set off now their preparations are complete they make one last stop at the market place, so Aranmong can purchase a replacement flute and the party can acquire some healing supplies, then they head through the winding, cobblestone streets on the way to the city gate, the last remaining segment from the days when the city had walls, now used to monitor travellers coming and goings.
Eastward-bound, heading towards the massive forest that conquers a majority of the islands coast, from west-north-west to north-north-west. According to the rumours the fey dragon, or spriggan dragon was seen travelling along the edge of the forest flittering in and out between our plane and the plane belonging to the fey, as if completing some kind of slalom then passing through into our world and flew off leaving a trail of shimmering, luminous dust in its wake. For most of the journey the party is chased by distant sounds of wolves which have grown very numerous lately resulting in a scarcity of food and as a result the wolves hunting more openly during the day, luckily the wolves are reluctant to approach the trio, survival instincts overwriting desperation.
As the sky turns a mix of gold and red, the party spots something shimmering on the ground a small distance ahead, and upon investigating, determine it is the same kind of dust detailed by Scion, and the direction which the dragon was moving in, a trail they follow hastily, eager to catch up with their quarry before night fall.
Coming to a clump of trees detached from the main forest and not part of fey domain, they can see that the dust is much more present, and the lack of other wildlife tell the party that there is a good chance the dragon has made this grove a temporary nest. Realising this, the group decide to park the cart and horses and approach the clearing on foot, pulling the bait and sedatives out of the storage compartments as they dismount.
Approaching slowly, staying low to the ground they come to a stop behind some trees about twenty feet away from the clearing where they watch as a small brightly coloured creature flies in circles above a tree coating it in a shimmering dust, it's the dragon. A small and delicate creature, it's body a vibrant violet hue, its wings similar to Scion's except more rounded and insect like. Aranmong and Kaltish look on, enamoured by the creature's grace, Zusk looks on disappointed, thinking of the images of bringing back a ferocious dragon, like the mineral dragons found on Isla Draconis just of the south-eastern shore, with scales as hard boulders, teeth, and claws as hard and sharp as steel, or the fire scales from the volcanic island to the south, perpetually wreathed in flames that burn anything that stray too close. Those dreams of glory are broken in his mind and Zusk decides there is no need for his talents with this prey. "That's no dragon. I'm going back to the cart to have a drink, I'll come back if I'm needed." He whispers to the others before heading back to the cart, Kaltish and Aranmong stare at each other in momentary disbelief, before starting work on their plan, taking out a bowl of premium diced meat and coating a cube in carefully made sedative, then placing the bowl at the edge of the clearing and retreating back to their viewing position.
Hours pass, Aranmong and Kaltish keep watching, half asleep against the trees they hide behind, when the dragon flickers from sight as it becomes invisible to the party's eyes. Slumping in defeat Kaltish and Aranmong slide down the smooth silver bark of the trees they were hiding against, ready to let themselves fall asleep. Then through heavy eyes, Aranmong sees the bowl rock slightly, then some diced meat flicks into the air, then disappears. She makes gestures to Kaltish, then moves around to sneak up on the dragon. As she approaches, the dragon greedily eats up the meat, including the sedative, too distracted to notice Aranmong sneaking up on him, even as she throws a pouch of glowdust, which sticks to him rendering him visible, not until he finishes the last portion of meat does he react "Were you the ones who left that lovely food for me, many thanks." Sensing that Aranmong doesn't understand the meaning behind the guttural noises and harsh pronunciations of draconic he decides to fly onto her shoulder, then the sedatives take effect, and the small dragon falls asleep.
After the dragon falls asleep Aranmong returns to where Kaltish is slumping against a tree. "We should get him into his cage, then find somewhere to safer we can make camp." She says to the barely conscious lizard man. Whilst making their way back to the place they left the cart, however they become angry before the cart comes into view as the sound of the demi giant Zusk becomes audible, then the sight of him passed out across the top of the large cage comes into view, an empty bottle in hand, which the conscious pair recognise as Ulfric's favoured Vintage, a caustic brew that renders all but the long toothed sailor from whom Zusk acquired it and Zusk himself impotent after the first mouthful.
Zusk continues to snore, now joined by the lighter more courteous snoring of the dragon, now residing in the ornate birdcage to which Kaltish and Aranmong added a bed of gold coins and another bowl of meat to ensure its comfort. Even as the carriage bounces on to a well-trodden merchants' road, the pair keep sleeping and with the three moons in the sky Aranmong and Kaltish grow more heavy-eyed by the second, desperate to reach a place known as travellers rest, which is a favoured place to stop for the night, since there are two rooted caravans which the kingdom maintains due to them being close to a shrine which pilgrims visit often.
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The cart comes to a halt, just off the centre of the road, close to the caravans and Kaltish volunteers for first watch, since he rested a little on the way and wishes to pray at the shrine whilst they are here. With that decided, Aranmong retires to one of the caravans and they leave Zusk snoring atop the cage. "So much for coming to help if they need it." Kaltish thinks to himself as he kneels before the shrine, placing a few coins and lighting some incense.
He prays for about an hour, then he hears howling, the wolves will likely pass, however they are also too dangerous to assume, so he stops praying and, weapons drawn, does a visual scan over the camp, where he realises that between the two large caravans, several rock formations, and the darkness any chance of early warning is gone. As Kaltish scolds himself for not taking these factors in before letting his guard down, he hears an even greater howl, thundering from the top of one of the rock formations. Kaltish's eyes dart to find the source of the howl, finding it at the top of the formation. A massive wolf, backlit by the violet hue of Lorf.
"Wolves!" Kaltish roars, alerting his companions to the encroaching danger, as the rest of the wolf pack appears one by one, silver eyes glowing in the darkness before they step into view from all around; appearing between the caravans, from around the rock formations and out of the darkness, equipped with pitch black fur and teeth and fangs ready to cut through flesh.
Then Aranmong appears, opening the caravan door and stepping out briefly seeing the still passed out Zusk before her attention is ripped to her right by her instincts, too late, as a wolf lunges from behind the caravan, razor-toothed maw, aimed at her throat drool dripping from its fangs. Aranmong has her heart pounding in her ears, time slows to a crawl, as her grimoire flies out of its holder and breaks apart, pages fly around her urging her to read, the wolf still flying at her, but before she can defend herself an axe head drops from nowhere, attached to a roaring, mountain of a man, Aranmong twists to one side as a now lifeless wolf head flies passed her, Zusk was true to his word, coming to their aid if he was needed.
Unconscious only a second ago Zusk now stands shaft of his battle-axe in hand, axe-head buried in the ground coated in wolf blood, another wolf lunges at Zusk, and then a glow of energy builds from the refocused Aranmong as she makes a series of gestures, muttering unintelligible words, then that energy is released at the lunging wolf, a crackling ball of light collides with the right side of the wolf's face, burning away fur, flesh and bone, then Zusk grabs the still airborne corpse by what remains of its skull and crushes it against the wall of the caravan.
At the same time as his allies, Kaltish is also forced to defend himself against the wolves, as the massive wolf dexterously makes his way down the side of the rocks, staying low with the intent of crippling one of his legs, whilst at the same time, a wolf crawls out from behind the shrine, lunging at the back of Kaltish's neck, but his reptilian instincts are too keen. Kaltish drops to one knee, wraps his tail around the neck of the lunging wolf, and twists his body as the alpha gets close, smashing it with his shield and sending it tumbling, as he rips the smaller wolf from the air, crashing it into the ground, then following through with the twist, pinning the wolf by its neck with his shield then hammering it with his mace, transforming the shield into a guillotine.
As he does however, the alpha regains its ferocious composure and lunges back, catching Kaltish off-balance and clamps his powerful jaws down on his arm, which would have cost him the limb instantly if not for the thick reinforced leather his body is wrapped in. Luckily Zusk notices and rushes to Kaltish's aid, trusting in Aranmong's ability to look after herself. When he gets close enough, he grabs the alpha by its jaws and tries to pry them apart, but even after he rests his full weight on the wolf's back, it refuses to let go, and Kaltish hisses as its teeth finish penetrating the leather vambrace and begins to slowly pierce his scaly arm.
In desperation Kaltish reaches into a satchel hanging from Zusk's hip and finds a vial of sedative they had forgotten Zusk was carrying. After trying to find a gap to pour it in the wolfs mouth and failing, Kaltish instead pours it over his arm, the liquid burns as it seeps into the open wounds and mixes with his blood, which then flows straight down the wolf's throat. As Kaltish's body fights against the effects of the sedative, his natural resistance to such things being pushed to the limit, the wolf's jaws open as the beast starts trembling and choking, then it collapses as it falls into a deep slumber.
Zusk pulls Kaltish to his feet as the lizardman holds his wounded arm muttering a prayer, then the puncture marks begin to emit a dull glow and stitch themselves back together, the two then run towards Aranmong as they notice a wolf sneaking around the edge of the cage in an attempt to flank her, but as they approach the wolf, they are forced to come to a sudden halt. The now conscious dragon, whether acting in self-defence or in defence of Aranmong looks at the wolf for a second, then releases a cloud of shimmering gas which engulfs the wolf, it writhes for a moment then falls into an apparently blissful slumber as the multi-coloured gas diffuses. "Not as delicate as I thought apparently." Zusk thinks to himself as he and Kaltish resume their charge to Aranmong's side.
The last of the wolves are felled swiftly; either slashed, stabbed, pummelled, or rendered unconscious by the dragon's breath. When no wolves are standing, Aranmong retrieves the ornate birdcage from the larger cage, then opens the door, the dragon clambers out and goes to Aranmong's shoulder again, Aranmong thanks the dragon, who confirms he was protecting her as he considers the party his new friends because they gave him a nice bed and tasty food. The party then, explains why they want him and the deal with the dryads and he seems excited, although Aranmong is largely left out of the conversation as she discovers she is the only one not versed in the language of dragons and Zusk and Kaltish keep the conversation flowing.
Apparently having grown quite fond of her, Jivex, as the group now know him to be called rests with Aranmong as the group finish resting, having taken the opportunity to throw the unconscious wolves in the large cage, as they do Zusk identifies the large wolf as a dire wolf telling Kaltish he was lucky it had not fully grown, although confused as to how a dire wolf had become the alpha of a normal wolf pack.
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Now the sun is illuminating the sky and the party has successfully slept and regained their strength, they begin the journey back to the capital city. The journey is easy going, affording them the opportunity to continue relaxing as they travel. Aranmong spends this time petting Jivex and talking to him, using Kaltish as a translator, whilst he plays a card game of some kind on his own, using a board he folds into his backpack, as a table on the cage and occasionally glancing downward to check on the still unconscious wolves.
As they approach the gate however their journey comes to a lively end, as one of the guards sees Jivex through a spyglass and recognises them as adventurers of the kingdom. At a point roughly one-hundred and fifty feet away from the gate, the party see the garrison empty from the gatehouse and clear a path for the party. "I've been ordered to tell any adventurers, transporting tournament beasts, with exotic specimens, to head directly to the palace, we will send a runner ahead of you to clear the path as much as possible." One of the guards says to the party as he waves them through the gate.
As instructed, they start through the winding cobblestone streets of the city, which become alive with expressions of fear, shock, awe and wonder as the wolves awaken and begin snarling viciously at their situation; battering the barbed bars of the cage with their bodies, but regardless of how much they do so, the cage holds strong, unaffected by even the dire wolf's assault, again proving their investment a sound one.
After making their way through the city, they come to the palace limits where two soldiers stand; clad in ornate plate mail armour, carved with depictions of various magical creatures kneeling before the nations crest and wielding halberds made with golden shafts and platinum heads, which seem to hum as they shine in the intense sunlight, crossed to block anyone crossing the gold and silver lain marble bridge, which leads to the palace that stands even grander still. As the party approach, the halberds ceremoniously part, opening the way for them to pass, the moment they step on to the marble bridge they feel the gravity of where they stand, palace is just a word, but standing in the shadow of this marble monument they feel the true weight of the title king, and the authority which their's possesses.
The end of the bridge opens into a beautifully landscaped and maintained courtyard, decorated with carefully laid tiles, beautifully vibrant plant life and a grand water feature, a replica of mount Bel'arcel, the mountain that stands in the centre of the island and connects the ground to the world above the clouds. Aranmong and Kaltish look at themselves uncomfortably as they become increasingly aware of their unwashed persons, matted hair and crimson blood speckled across their faces, clothes soiled by both travel and battle, crimson stained cloth, and leather caked in dry blood that has begun to flake; they both consider using the water feature to quickly clear their faces, denying the action as ruder than presenting themselves in their current condition. Zusk, just as aware of his blood soaked being soiling the perfect visage of the palace grounds merely turns to the others, sensing their discomfort, and says something surprisingly comforting to the others. "Look at this place. The king knows every detail, if he cared about our condition, we would be in the bath house by now, or sent to the guildhall and escorted here later."
A moment later a vassal of some kind hurries to meet them. "You have something special to present to his majesty I hear. Please follow me, quickly now." He speaks in a tone of dutiful urgency, easily mistaken as rude if you overlook his position. Regardless as soon as he finishes talking the party follows him, astounded by how quickly he moves, for a man of his stature, especially through the labyrinthine halls of the palace, the travel weary and stiff from travel adventurers struggle to keep up as they are distracted by various artworks, luxuries and other sights.
They eventually come to a pair of immense doors, made in the same style as the bridge, except on the massive marble slabs before them, the veins of gold and silver have been used to depict something similar to what was displayed on the armour of the bridge guards with a couple of key differences, the magical beasts are all bowing to the same mountain the water feature mimics, and there is also a figure bearing the nations crest on his mantle and wearing a crown prostrated before it, thick clouds obscure the top of the mountain as well, but the gold and silver isn't as gracefully embossed, more like buckets of the liquid metal were carelessly poured over the marble, perhaps an attempt to give a false sense of depth to the image. The vassal places a hand on each slab and the doors slide open, garnering Zusk's curiosity. "Each slab must weigh several tonnes, how is it they open so smoothly? There should be damage to the floor from them scraping as it opens as well."
"Look closer." Aranmong says as she gestures to where the marble slabs join the frame. "No hinges either. Its some kind of persistent magic, although I can't tell what."
When the doors open fully, the vassal stands aside, bowing to the trio and gesturing for them to proceed into the throne room, a space that could easily be mistaken for a different plane of existence all together. The party makes careful notes on the room internally, as though it's a dream they are obligated to remember when they awake, continuing the theme of marble, gold and silver, the party measures the space at ten lengths of the guildhall, four widths, the height is difficult to judge, the polished marble seems to extend the ceiling into infinity and give the impression it's crashing down simultaneously.
They reach the half way mark and a set of stairs leading to an elevated area, encircled by statues, each with a plaque to identify the likeness, each one a legendary hero and several happen to be the current kings ancestors, the ones who accomplished feats that led to his family receiving the divine boon of hereditary longevity; some of the statues are depicted on foot, but several are depicted with their storied mounts, horses, a Griffin, a Pegasus, even a winged serpent of some kind, the statues also seem to represent heroes of almost every race that exists on this world; from the devil spawn who single-handedly pushed back a demon lords incursion, to the Adaptid, who freed his kind and brought an end to the last war between mortals to blight this world, more than six hundred years ago. To either side of the elevated level, there are doors leading to elsewhere in the palace, and before the party, is another set of stairs, leading up to the last elevation, where King Lunis sits upon his throne, a palpable air of benevolence encompasses the man, despite the feeling of inferiority being a guest here instils the closer the trio comes to the throne, the more at peace they feel, and in front of those stairs are eight guards, bearing the same equipment as the bridge guards, two of which cross their halberds as the group come to the stairs. "No need for theatrics, they are my guests. I know you wish to keep me safe, but please don't say Kendal has grown so suspicious as to deny me guests." The king says, chuckling cheerfully as he does, his voice has the effect of making you believe it belongs to your closest friend, he is regal in every way and yet seems to act in spite of his position and authority with every gesture, like a god posing as a mortal.
The halberds uncross. "Please come closer, I wish to thank and congratulate you, and meet our most esteemed guest of course." The party approach graciously until, much to everyone's amusement, Zusk does a handstand and, in that fashion, climbs the stairs. "Ah of course, it is your people's custom to greet a leader with a feat of physical prowess. You are an honoured guest; such formality was unnecessary." The king says, as though omniscient of every custom beneath the stars, regardless of obscurity.
"Thank you, although I must admit, I done it mainly to distract from your aura as we approached." Zusk speaks bluntly, almost suspicious of the king's nature, having never met a being of such charisma that wasn't something akin to a harpy that hypnotises with its song to feast on men.
Kaltish and Zusk kneel before him, Aranmong curtsies awkwardly. "Please, as I said, you are honoured guests here, I would have you think of me as you would a guildmate, such formalities are stifling, don't you think?" The adventurers relax immediately, falling into the cushioned stools placed before the throne, and as they do, the king notices the weighed down tension on Aranmong's robes, where the currently invisible Jivex hides bashfully from the strangers. The king stands and then bows to Jivex and, surprising not only the trio but Jivex as well, speaks perfectly in the Draconic language. "Honour and respect, I am king Lunis, and I am humbled by your selfless agreement to partake in my tournament when I am sure such things are beneath you. I have prepared an offering to thank you." When the king finishes speaking, he moves to something resting on the floor to the side of his throne and removes a sheet of cloth covering it revealing a silver tray, laden with many gold coins, precious gems, and fine jewellery. (A perfect miniature dragon horde.)
Jivex gleefully reveals himself and jumps onto the tray, rolling around in the coins, and as he does the king summons some vassals, and requests they bring him a table. "Make sure it is one that rests at the height of the throne, I will have no one look down on my new friend Jivex." When the table arrives, the king sets the tray down, and a slight creak sounds from added weight.
The group spends quite a while talking to the king, who delights in getting to know them personally as well, he regales them with a tale about his daughter, eloping with her commoner love, thinking he would never allow it and would be furious that she would marry a farmer, he took the place of the priest due to marry them and after a short lecture on not inviting him, married them himself, unfortunately as he reaches the final stretch of his tale, a vassal approaches and whispers in his ear. "Alas, it seems I will have to finish my tale another time, issues requiring my attention have arisen, your payment for the wolves and bringing Jivex is waiting for you on your cart. I look forward to seeing you again, maybe I can sneak out and see one of Aranmong's shows." The king looks at Aranmong as if waiting for an invitation.
"Of course, si… Lunis, it would be an honour, I just hope it's a musical performance you see." She replies with fake confidence, trying to hide her embarrassment over recent incidents leading to her being known as a comedic performer.
Then he says his final sentence, shouting back from the threshold of the door he leaves through. "I look forward to it. Oh, you said you had gotten used to having Jivex on you, not quite the same, but I hear a familiar shop in town has stocked some of our regions unique house dragons." Disappearing deeper into the palace labyrinth as he finishes.
"A house dragon might be a good call, they can be used as messengers, and evolve as they travel, it will help the group a lot, as well as you personally." Kaltish adds as they turn and make their way down the stairs, leaving the grand hall, and the palace in considerable disbelief over events at the palace. Outside the throne room, the vassal that led them is prepared to do so again, at a slower pace this time, pointing at various artworks and gifting insight into their illustrious provenance.
Once back at the cart, they see the promised reward waiting in the form of no small amount of gold, housed in an ornate well-made chest, which could be considered a reward in its own right and probably worth as much as the group had earned the past couple of months. The group mount up and begin making their way back to the guildhall. "I feel like we should stay teamed up." Aranmong breaks the silence by saying as they finish crossing the bridge. "I know we've teamed up on jobs before, but this time felt different, like we were working with purpose. You heard what the king said, with this one job; we earned a hefty reward, earned the guild a significant reputation boost, made friends with Jivex, as well as the king, and we didn't get injured."
"Do you two truly understand the significance of us befriending Jivex?" Kaltish says, rubbing the arm that was nearly lost, and continuing when the others seem confused by his words. "The truce between this plane and the Fey's is a delicate one, the fact is that even though Scion can visit and communicate with his home, he is never allowed to live there again, them granting us leave to capture Jivex was a test, one none of us recognised but fortunately still passed. If anything went wrong, the Fey would not have hesitated to attack, and that was likely their hope, but we have given them pause to reconsider their attitude towards us, that is the real reason the king was so pleased." The other two gawp as the truth dawns on them.
"Oh yeah, Scion said a war could happen." Zusk says, finally remembering pieces of the conversation he had with the fairy and dismissing it completely. "I agree though we are a formidable team, even having gone so long without pushing ourselves. What do you say Kalt?"
"I agree to, it appears this is the path the storm god has laid out." With that final agreement, and their renewed enthusiasm, they continue on their way.
#
Their arrival at the guild is strange, they see the building from a new perspective, its design is similar to the palace. The dim marble stonework, the regal towers staffed by animated mannequins equipped as the military's archers, even the long hall as the centre piece of the building; Then welcomed by Tasha standing at the tall, arched doorway on the far side of the courtyard, as they were welcomed by the vassal, it's a confusing, almost eerie carbon copy. "Come give me a hug you guys." Tasha says, smile beaming, arms outstretched as the group walk down the mosaic tile pathway. Tasha often gives out hugs at the front door if she happens to be smoking or clearing her head from hangover as they return, she had always been somewhat motherly to her guild, but in this instance, it seems that she is waiting for them specifically.
"Hey Tasha, what's the welcoming for?" Aranmong says as she gives the guild master a hug.
She has a look of pride on her face as she releases Aranmong and wraps her arms around Kaltish. "It's been a long time since this guild seemed so alive, we have you three to thank; since you were seen at the gate with the Spriggan dragon Kendal stopped by personally to inform us we have been granted elite status, he brought with him some job postings that motivated the others to get out in the field. I have also had several new applications to join already, I guess our family is going to be getting bigger." As she releases Kaltish, the tattoos running up her left arm glow and she levitates up to wrap her arms around Zusk, the three look at each other, as Tasha wraps her arms around his neck, coming to an agreement. Once released Zusk returns to the cart and retrieves the chest holding their payment, propping it down and scooping a large portion of the gold contents into a sack, before handing it to the guild master, a small token of appreciation for the years she has treated the others and themselves as family, giving them somewhere to stay, people they can trust, happy memories and, maybe most importantly, a purpose.
"I'll put this to good use, I promise." Tasha says. She looks like she is about to cry for a moment, touched by the thoughtfulness of her young adventurers.
#
When they enter the guildhall, they see first-hand what Tasha was talking about, for starters the job board is much more full than it has been in years direct requests from local business owners, and citizens looking for assistance with personal problems, all crowned by a set of job listings bearing the royal seal, three pieces of parchment each professionally scribed with bold headings to provide an initial understanding of the job's objectives and nature; Goblin hunt, Volcanic reagent, and Cult Investigation; even the titles portray a greater sense of urgency compared to the normal. (e.g., missing cat, badgers are destroying my cabbages, take food to my elderly in-laws so I don't have to.)
The guild members also match Tasha's description, each in possession of a pair of eyes burning with renewed purpose, Yavanna asking some of the animated mannequins to go to the market to gather components, Scion flitting around with various cartography tools, having been requisitioned to charter an area of Isla Draconis, Reverie prepared to go on a pilgrimage as an escort, Ulfric charting courses for maritime salvage operations, and Malek, well Malek is still drunk (baby steps.) "You three get first choices on the elite listings, it's only fair." The guild master says, stepping past and walking towards her place at the head of the table.
The three adventurers look proud, and rightfully so. "So what job are we taking first guys!" Aranmong exclaims, causing a sudden stillness to fall over the hall.
"Did she just say, "What job are we taking?" or do I need to quit drinking?" Ulfric says to the gawping Reverie.
"I guess they bonded on that last mission." The pale girl replies, stammering nervously though only because she is naturally bashful.
"I wish you could see the children like this, you would be so proud Lunayis." Tasha thinks, a silent prayer to the one who helped her start the guild, granting her wish to provide a home for misfits, "failures", and Wayward warriors, as well as being the previous king, and her adoptive father. As she reminisces about the day, she was allowed to start the guild, the group approach with their chosen job, the one entitled "Goblin Hunt".
"What can you tell us about this one?" Kaltish asks, breaking her moment of bliss with the question,
"Not much unfortunately, I haven't had time to gather information, but you should be able to find answers easily at any tavern; rumours and information often spread from those places. You can start in the morning though, tonight you enjoy a well-earned rest." The party nod, agreeing with her and not long after locals come to enjoy a night of revelry, stomachs are filled with good food, drinks quench thirst, and another accidental comedy routine, courtesy of Aranmong (along with Kaltish this time.) lifts spirits and in the morning the party begin preparing for the goblin hunt.
[Chapter 3] — Goblins, gore and (attempted) grand LarcenyThe market is bustling as normal, but with a more limited inventory than can usually be found, a situation explained to them when they attempt to replace the healing potions spent after the battle with the wolves. "Sorry guys, you won't find certain things as freely available as normal, you see one of the merchant vessels that transports imported goods from other continents to our region was wrecked by the storm wall that surrounds the isles. You had best take advantage of whatever the merchants have before their supplies are spent." Dorkutz (AKA Dean) the goblin merchant, and a fan of Aranmong's performances, informs them after explaining the raised prices and potion rationing.
After acquiring what he desires from the market, Kaltish decides to be proactive and go ahead of the other two, in order to gather information relevant to job, leaving Zusk and Aranmong to continue their shopping trip.
The remaining two soon discover the extent of the shortage caused by the merchant ship wrecking. Several items the two search stalls for, which are normally in plentiful supply, are nowhere to be seen, which is not a situation Zusk had encountered since leaving the tribe, leading to an event that had not been foreseen.
#
Aranmong jumps on a box and starts playing her newly acquired flute, desperate to provide a distraction, but still the guard approaches the market stall where Zusk is ordering a shop keep, with which they have enjoyed a friendly relationship with for some time, to hand over a magical glaive. In this moment though Zusk isn't actually aware he is in the wrong, it's an old custom of giant-kin, from Zusk's people to the true giants, that in times of short supply warriors can claim any weapon freely in defence of their lands, however humans are mostly ignorant about such customs, so in this moment Zusk is just a thief.
Aranmong plays desperately in an attempt to distract the guard closing in on her comrade, but to no avail, the guard moves in "What is the problem here, haggling is one thing, but threatening merchants is a crime." Unfortunately, Zusk is still oblivious to his wrongdoing, ignoring the guard. Aranmong tries explaining the situation, expressing her vague understanding of her teammate's obscure customs, however not before Zusk does something which changes the tone of the situation from cultural misunderstanding to criminal offence, in the form of grabbing the glaive and trying to wrench it from the merchant's hands, succeeding only in pulling the tight gripped merchant over his stall sending several items clanging onto the ground.
Several more guards appear in the marketplace, after being told about the situation by other shoppers, ready to come to the aid of the one who is talking to Zusk. Among those guards is a man wearing armour different to the other guards, instead of plate he wears a leather ensemble, black in colour pinstriped with red and yellow, to form an off centre overlapping cross, it also bears metal reinforced gauntlets and a metal collar which protects his neck.
#
The young man first appeared on a rooftop overlooking the marketplace, stepping out of thin air. "Well now, it seems the king's new friends are bad examples. No, I'm sure this is some kind of misunderstanding, even though I can't imagine what, the king would never be tricked by some vagabonds playing friendly." The young man says to himself, holding his head in thought. "I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt this time and help them out, but I better tell the king after."
The man steps forward, off the building and seemingly falls into thin air, disappearing for a fraction of a second and stepping out of thin air once again, but this time appearing behind Zusk, back-to-back, encircling the man who towers over him in his signature throwing knives, each decorated with the royal crest across the blade. "What seems to be the problem, guardsman?" he asks casually as a shocked Zusk and Aranmong turn to see the newcomer.
"Lieutenant Galos, I witnessed this man trying to steal from the merchant, a magical glaive at that, this is more than petty theft, this is grand larceny." The guardsman says, illuminating a now very worried Aranmong, and Zusk who is slowly becoming aware he has done something wrong, as to who has just appeared.
"Now I know this may be hard for us to see, but I believe this to be a misunderstanding." The man now known to be called Lieutenant Galos says, addressing the whole marketplace. "I trust and love our king, as I know you all do, for he is a wise king and adept at routing out evil and removing it from our lives." As he speaks the crowd nods in agreement, but Aranmong and even Zusk are stuck in awe of his proficiency, in both capturing the attention of people and his talents, despite being younger than Aranmong. "Well, I also know his majesty is fond of these two, so I will let them go on this occasion and give them the benefit of my doubt." He looks at the two awestruck adventurers. "Leave for now, reclaim your senses from whatever stole them, this is no way to repay the kings kindness or favour. When you're ready, I recommend that you return here and make amends, an apology and an explanation would be a good start, but later, when cooler heads prevail."
Incredibly, the crowd seem appeased and as the two adventurers make way to leave the market (and the city altogether to give people space to forgive.) not one person disagrees with the lieutenant's decision or tries to get in their way, however as the pair pass a particular stall, the merchant running it approaches. "Wait, the lieutenant said you were friends with the king, were you the one who was going to buy a house dragon?"
"I was, but I don't think now is the time, sorry, but I do look forward to obtaining one." Aranmong speaks regretfully, knowing that she should have done more to stop her guildmate.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but payment and selection has already been handled by his majesty." The small girl with feline characteristics, hands Aranmong a piece of paper and asks her to read it out loud, pouring magic into the words like a spell, and as she does; an ethereal, decorative chain appears round her wrist, like the delicate chain of a locket or charm bracelet. That chain stretches far into the distance even through buildings, then it jerks suddenly, pulling Aranmong's arm, and the chain leads into the sky. Moments later a young, but strong looking house dragon appears, a body covered in scales of varying shades of black, red leathery wings with bat like claws at the joint, a smooth almost glittery head, piercing golden eyes and a tail like a bladed mace, the creature about the size of a large house cat.
"I heard you call, the king asked me to help you, so I will, but I need you to give me a name before I can." The house dragon says, not speaking out loud but rather speaking directly into her mind.
"A name? Right now? Err, I don't know, I hate being put on the spot, err lemme see…" A brief pause in the rambling as Aranmong covers her mouth, straining to pull a suitable, elegant yet bestial name from her mind. "Your name is Tupknow." The moment she speaks the others don a look of disappointment at the odd name, though Tupknow himself seems pleased with it, though no one could say why, given the legendary pride of dragonkin, and house dragons have been known to refuse names and as a result the bond with the intended individual.
Regardless, the dragon… Tupknow, for whatever reason, accepts the name and mimics Jivex by making itself at home awkwardly on Aranmong's shoulders, and the two adventurers continue to make their way out of the city, becoming even more shamed with the addition of a gift from Lunis in the face of their wrongdoing. On their way they realise that they have no way of informing Kaltish of what happened, and discuss returning to the guildhall, but with that idea haunted by the nightmarish presence of a furious Tasha, they discuss alternatives. When they both hear an exasperated sigh in their heads as Tupknow reminds them. "You have me now; you never have to worry about getting your message across again. I'll go tell him." With that short statement he flies off on his own.
#
The Headless Horseman is not a place you will find men of faith, or good standing in general as a rule, however it is a place where a great deal of information flows, so on this rare occasion Kaltish can be counted amongst the patronage of this less than stellar establishment.
"Look, for the last time holy man, order a sodding drink, sit down, and shut your mouth, or clear out." The bartender shouts, frustrated by Kaltish's questioning.
"Fine a half of your best." Kaltish says, if only to give reason to place a hefty pouch of gold on the bar. As the bartender then passes him the ordered drink, the lizard man bounces the gold pouch on the bar. "How much was it for the drink?" Kaltish says, at which point the bartender leans and grabs the bag.
"The hobgoblins you're talking about were last seen in Rolark village, two hours due south the city gate." Kaltish releases the bag as the man finishes talking and leaves, ale untouched not for his faith, but the insect floating in it, and the filth on the flagon.
As he steps outside, he is taken by surprise when a small dragon lands on his shoulder. "I'm Tupknow, Aranmong's new friend. She wanted you to know Zusk and herself will be waiting outside the gate for you, they thought that was best after Zusk was nearly arrested. See ya later." As quickly as it came the dragon disappears, leaving a shocked and confused Kaltish standing in the shadows of the grime covered pub.
With the information on the hobgoblins' location, and what Kaltish was told about Zusk and Aranmong; Kaltish decides to make a quick pit stop at the guild hall to keep Tasha informed.
Tasha is furious at the news having had to use her power, for the first time in a long time, as a result of Zusk throwing a stool through the ceiling, as silly as it sounds the guild members had all but forgot her power, but were quickly reminded when the tattoos, which most assume are decorative, glowed bright blue and crackle with energy and accompanied by a single word, the unrelenting force of her magic sent him into a deep slumber, then she waved her hand and the damage to the stool and building was repaired in an instant. She sends Kaltish to meet Aranmong and Zusk, and to complete their mission, hoping that a successful completion along with the apology and explanation Galos recommended sees this event erased from people's memories.
#
Kaltish meets the pair, both adorned with expressions of guilt, and divulges the information he collected and also shares Tasha's reaction to the news of their blunder, which causes looks of guilt to turn to looks of supressed fear, deciding to share in Tasha's hope that they can erase the event. Eager to see it done, the group move out, heading south to the last known location of the hobgoblins.
Progress is smooth, the journey easy and before long the party make their approach to the destination. Although this job is not like the last and the party soon wish the journey had been longer.
The village is located in the middle of a dense woodland, quiet and peaceful, the path through the woods sees travellers serenaded by a river that cuts through the trees on its way to the sea; A pillar of smoke guides them through the dense flora to the town.
Kaltish prays as they exit the woods, Zusk stands tall and stoic, Aranmong just covers her mouth, holding in her breath eyes trembling at the sight that greets them. Blood marks the roadway and the sides of buildings, what they thought was chimney smoke was the still burning wreck of one building, limbs and corpses line the streets; a quick investigation of the area reveals that the villagers were killed by weapons, although with savagery that would make a rabid dog look tame, some of the corpses have had flesh cut from their bodies. "They're feral." Kaltish remarks. "The hob goblins we get in cities would never do something like this, and since no feral goblins live on this island, they must have come here from another."
"Then we should check the tavern, the feral ones always clean out the food stores." Zusk says bluntly as he moves through the soiled streets of Rolark.
The sights don't improve as they push on, and when they finally make it to the tavern they find the worst of it, the smell of burning flesh stains the air, congealed blood pools on the floorboards, and mutilated bodies are piled in the corner, some flayed completely. The three steel themselves and enter, searching the tavern for any sign of their numbers or clues to where they would have gone.
After more time than they wished to spend in the abattoir passes, Zusk hears a noise from behind a wooden panel and signals the others to be ready, he then carefully positions himself ready to open the panel and move out of the way in case his allies need a clean shot, but as he pulls, he catches a glimpse of a small, trembling girl.
Dark rings circle her bloodshot eyes, beneath specks of blood and a thick layer of dirt, her pale skin has begun to wrinkle and crack from dehydration, her hair is matted and greasy and her small body trembles violently, as she stares unseeing at the adventurers.
She flinches as a giant hand reaches towards her. "Come little one, we'll keep you safe." After a momentary struggle the girl relents, giving into whatever fate is in store. The hand closes, grasping the tattered, soiled clothing of the girl and Zusk gently pulls her out, holding her and reassuring her as he asks her to tell them what happened.
Sarah, as she introduces herself, tells her saviours how the Hobgoblins charged into the village from the western edge of the forest, killing everyone on the way, her dad and the owner of the tavern heard the commotion and hid her away, telling her to stay there, she then goes on to describe how she heard about twelve goblins laughing and talking about the "magic shooter" which burnt a family in their home.
The party discusses the girl's new information, and plans accordingly, deciding that the immediate problem is keeping Sarah safe, but they also need to deal with the goblins before they move on and cause this devastation elsewhere.
A brief discussion later and the group are breaking a couple of tables and chairs, taking the wood out to the cart and crafting an improvised false bottom for the cart's flatbed. Before Zusk lifts Sarah on and tells her to be quiet in case they are ambushed, then they set out, motivated by the brutal sights of the village.
#
The sky is on the verge of turning gold with sunset above the canopy, but below it a red mist has settled on the trio, eager to avenge the village, when they see a fiery glow through the trees and hear chattering in the same direction as the river, wishing to maintain the element of surprise and keep Sarah away from the fighting, they dismount the wagon and sneak closer on foot, using trees and foliage for cover until they come to the clearing where the river flows; on their side is a wagon surrounded by a few crates, which they use as cover to move even closer.
From this vantage point they see three of the hobgoblins sitting around a campfire, wearing armour heavily stained with blood, as are the crude short swords. Close by, sitting atop another wagon, is a smaller figure, only somewhat goblin in appearance and judging by how the light glints of exposed areas, his skin has somehow been replaced or reinforced with some kind of metallic substance.
The party take a moment to observe their surroundings, strategize, and using Aranmong's acute magic sense, determine the small figure is likely the spell caster that the girl mentioned. With that in mind the group decide that the best course of action is for Aranmong to cast the strongest spell she knows in an attempt to remove the enemy spellcaster from the battlefield quickly, in the confusion Zusk will wade through the raging river goading them into a head on attack and providing further distraction for Kaltish, who will head slightly further up river to a rock that protrudes from the water making for a good stepping stone; the expectation being that Aranmong can remove the spellcaster, allowing Zusk and Kaltish to catch the hobgoblins in a pincer attack whilst Aranmong continues to provide long range support.
As the group nod, signalling the start of the skirmish, however, they are immediately taught a lesson that all solid teams learn quickly, no plan survives contact with the enemy, a lesson that comes when Aranmong releases her spell, but the only thing it hits is a magical barrier erected by the unusual creature on the wagon, who then chuckles as the hobgoblins reveal bows and arrows, loosing several volleys upon Kaltish and Zusk as they fulfil their roles. The river is spotted with red as blood pours from several wounds, though luckily no life-threatening ones, the archers cause Zusk before he makes it to the opposite bank.
Pulling two arrows from his body as his eyes almost glow with bloodlust, Zusk charges at the hobgoblins with his battle axe, preventing them from firing upon Kaltish any further, although the slow swings of Zusk's battle axe are relatively easy for the nimble hobgoblins to dodge.
Kaltish eventually makes it across using Zusk's wrath-fuelled diversion to say another prayer, this time healing both himself and Zusk, causing the hobgoblins to hesitate as they watch Zusk's wounds stitch themselves, which in turn creates an opening for him to plant his axe into one of their chests, causing broken chainmail and blood to fly through the air accompanied by the sound of bones breaking and the goblins screams, as the goblin is raised into the air with Zusk's swing, remaining lodged onto the axe head until it is slammed into the ground and the axe head is forced deep enough to destroy its heart and spine, though whilst dramatic and manages to successfully end the hobgoblin, it leaves an opening which the spell caster takes advantage of, sending a ball of crackling energy towards the rampaging adventurer. The ball of magic suddenly changes a split second before impact however, becoming a ball of translucent liquid that splashes across him, initially it appears as though it was meant as a mere distraction, until steam starts billowing from the saturated areas and the flesh and leather strapping start bubbling.
In a few seconds Zusk's left side is hideously deformed by acidic burns, much to the spellcaster's dismay this only appears to achieve to make the legendary anger of Zusk's kin burn even more voraciously, making the walking mountain, a ravenous instrument of bloodlust, swinging his axe so relentlessly it forces the hobgoblins to focus purely on defence.
With the hobgoblins purely focused on defence, the spell caster tries to intervene and give them an opening but is forced instead to go on the defensive himself when Aranmong finally finishes gathering her strength to lay down a barrage of spells, erecting a barrier that is capable of absorbing all incoming attacks but leaves him unable to counterattack. Frustrated by this predicament, the stunted goblin decides to try and close the distance with Aranmong, a plan he puts into practice the moment Kaltish arrives to take advantage of the hobgoblins focus being pinned on Zusk. Swinging his mace as he utters words of faith, Causing the normal sounds to be replaced by something more like thunder, the goblin that was struck holds its ears as it coughs up blood, then the berserk Zusk's axe swings once more and the goblin's hands and head fall to the floor a few seconds before the rest of his body does.
The last of the standard hobgoblins is felled shortly after, when the follow through from the decapitating swing snags on the crude chain links of its armour and rip them apart giving Kaltish an opening to perform another feat of faith, calling a holy flame into life that immolates the wretched goblin-kin, searing its flesh in white hot holy fire leaving behind nothing but ash and armour glowing orange from heat.
Then a scream, Zusk and Kaltish turn, greeted by the sight of the spell casting goblin clutching Aranmong's neck in his hands, feet pushing into her stomach, her entire body being racked by an endless stream of electrical current. "Zusk! Throw something, break his concentration." Kaltish says, immediately regretting his suggestion as he is hoisted by Zusk and thrown across the raging river, spinning as he sails through the air, completely uncontrolled, luckily though Zusk's aim was true and Kaltish collides with the surprisingly adept goblin mage and the spell is broken.
Before any of the others can make another move, Aranmong recovers pulling herself to her feet. Her eyes burn, her rage comparable to Zusk's, but focused, a white-hot needle point in contrast to Zusk's raging inferno. She digs deep into her knowledge and magic reserve, and begins chanting and moving her hands, entranced by the need to make the creature who harmed her, who harmed her friends, who hurt the villagers, who burnt horrors into Sarah's young mind. The grimoire pages flying around her stop moving and return to the binding, and the patterns on the cover itself begin to glow brightly and are mirrored by a magic circle that appears on the ground. With four words, "Let the rotten rot." In a deceptively calm voice, the casting of the spell is complete, the ground inside the circle begins to die, disintegrating into a black mist that gathers into Aranmong's hand, she holds it for just a second before sending it streaming towards the one who earned her ire.
The goblin spellcaster chokes as the black mist coalesces around him and he breathes it in, in mere seconds, his metallic skin begins to rust, and as it does blood starts pouring from his eyes, ears and mouth, tainted black by the necrotic energy of Aranmong's spell, then finally he coughs up a large amount of porridge-like blood and collapses, and with that the battle is done.
Aranmong stumbles, the spell clearly having took a lot out of her, then rights herself. Breathing heavily through the backlash of casting a spell beyond the caster's normal limits, in the same way you suffer if you try to lift something far too heavy. "I think, we should rest a while." Aranmong says, straining her body as she walks out of the patch of dead ground and towards their cart, but determined to stand on her own. When she finally makes it to the cart, she decides that it would be wise to follow the goblin's lead and make camp at the river, her own strain aside, Zusk will start to feel his injuries when his anger subsides.
Proven right when she hears Zusk groaning, whilst Kaltish works relentlessly to make the acid burns not life threatening, but bad enough to leave a scar as to not rob Zusk of the memento of battle.