It began on a warm, spring morning in the infamous city of Neverwinter in the North Sword Coast
Not a year before, a vile plague, known as the Wailing Death, had swept the city and killed all but a small portion of the population and the betrayal of one of those closest to Lord Nasher saw the new recruits at the famous Neverwinter Academy, who were being trained to find the cause of the plague and put an end to it, lost with them
The plague was cured and those who sought to destroy the city were killed by the same man, now hailed as a hero by all those of Neverwinter and much of the remainder of the northern Sword Coast region of Faerûn
Two friends who had just left the newly re-built Neverwinter Academy, under the tuition of the same hero who saved the city the first time, met outside of the Halls Of Justice in the City Core to decide on where to begin their quest for the greater good of all those of the land of Faerûn…
"Riana, where are you?" muttered the young, dark-haired man as he watched at the deserted streets before him. Having turned 18 a few months before the academy was re-opened, Phoenix had decided to join the academy's number as soon as there was an academy to join!
His loose, black and red clothes swayed gently as he looked around to try and see his friend among the crowds that had been growing in size for over a year and were almost back to the way they were the day the Wailing Death struck. The black and red shirt and black trousers, combined with his black, wild hair affected the appearance of a rogue or thief that couldn't be much further than the truth – this young man was, after all, a wizard who had sworn to protect and uphold those who worked for the good of all and the clothes he wore were simply his preferred choice of armour (the shirt had the ability to block fire and the trousers went with his hair, so you couldn't really blame him…)
As he looked around, he spotted the tell-tale signs of his friend across the street – a large crowd had gathered around a man who had been begging for money so he could visit a healer to help him heal the leg he nearly lost when Luskan attacked Neverwinter when their plague had failed
There was a hushed silence from the crowd, followed by a huge cheer as onlookers began clapping and shouting praises to several of the Gods at the sight they had just born witness to
As the crowd parted and began to dissipate (the guards that had been sent to disperse them had finally remembered that they weren't there to watch the show), Phoenix made out the familiar face of his friend, Riana, crossing the street from the throng of people, clearly doing her level-best to keep a grin from her face
She failed, as usual…
"I take it that the crowd was watching you" said Phoenix as she drew nearer
"Are you implying that I, Riana Glitterdale, would ever, purposely, cause a spectacle by using Tyr's powers of healing on a sick, wounded man?" she replied in a voice of mock indignation
"I am a wizard of Neverwinter, I never imply, I flat out SAY it!" he joked, causing them both to chuckle. "Where have you been, young Paladin?"
"Well, my Mum wanted to wish me goodbye, then my Dad, then my Gran'ma, then Julius did something I'll never forgive him for – he said he'd miss me…" she said as a tear came to her eye
"Jules said he'd miss you?! Your younger brother actually cares about you?!" replied Phoenix, in surprise
"Uh-huh, the whole family broke down and cried at that" she said as her voice broke and a few more tears ran down her cheek. "I'm gonna miss them so much" she said as she grabbed Phoenix and hugged him, tightly
"You know, you could stay here if you want, with your family. I'm sure that the Temple of Tyr in the Beggar's Nest would be able to find a place for you in their order" he said, returning the hug
"No, no, it's right for me to go – we've both wanted this since before we joined the Academy, and now we're ready to go and our goodbyes are said, it's time" she said as she finally released him. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds – it was no secret that they had been found kissing on more than one occasion, but both didn't want their friendship ruined, so Phoenix had claimed that he was merely practicing a Charm Person spell ("He's getting really good at them" claimed Riana, each time) – before looking away and taking a step back, nervously
Riana cleared her throat and took a deep breath before turning to her friend and saying what he had been trying to say since she had come over from helping that man: "I think we should be going then"
Taking her, gauntleted hand in his, weapons slung on their belts or backs and backpacks on their shoulders, the two friends walked to the corner, turned and marched towards the large gate as a familiar face watched them from the Halls of Justice, behind them
"It seems like so long ago that I graduated the Academy, myself" muttered Josan, as he watched the pair leave under the gates of the city and march South, towards the city of Waterdeep and to the remainder of the Sword Coast, beyond that
"As I recall, you were the last person to graduate before them, over a year ago" said his friend, who was watching from the next window along
"Graduate? I was the last person to survive until they came along!"
"Yes, but there was a minor intervention by those false Clerics of Helm that resulted in a few casualties…"
"True, but it was only the beginning, as you know"
"How could I forget?"
Josan gave a heavy sigh before turning to his friend, Aribeth, another of the heroes who helped the city during the plague, though she almost turned traitor and ended Josan's valiant attempt so close to its completion "Come, my love, it is time we returned to the Academy: Just because they are out and fighting the good fight, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't see to it that there aren't more of them out there to help out"
Aribeth smiled and kissed the young Ranger before her before they both turned and left the room, as Phoenix and Riana finally disappeared into the throng of merchants moving towards the larger city of Waterdeep, along the Tradeway to the city of Baldur's Gate, beyond
[Wake up, animal-friend] came the warm, familiar voice in his head [Please awake, there is need for your assistance] it added, more instantly
The Elf's eyes slowly opened as he breathed deeply the air of the woods – it was a warm morning with not a hint of rain. He looked over to where the stag stood, proud and unafraid, before him. "How may I be of assistance?" he asked it
[There are Kobolds moving through the forest. They appear to be looking for something in particular. They keep muttering something about 'find the dark metal for master'] it replied, unmoving
"Dark metal? They must mean Adamantite, but what do Kobolds want with that? They lack the technology to work it"
[Whatever their cause, they are tearing apart any plants and murdering any animals that are unfortunate enough to be in their way]
"How many are they?"
[Only 10. Gillian is already on his way there but he has asked your assistance]
"Show me the way" Harbreth stood and stretched his arms then, taking a deep breath, he opened his mind to the earth below him, the trees around him and the air betwixt them and felt their energies flowing through him and, raising his arms, he called upon them to assist him this day. There was a roar of energy as a beam of light erupted in front of him. As the light faded, a creature remained in its place with the stature and appearance of a wolf, but red eyes and small, orange plated on parts of its back and as it turned to him, the Dire Wolf emitted a growl that was at once unearthly and similar to a wolfs cry
[I have come as you asked, Druid. How are we protecting the forest this day?] it asked
"We have a battle to fight, my friend" he replied as stag, elf and wolf left the clearing in the heart of Neverwinter Wood and moved East towards the beasts who would threaten the forest
These things don't have a clue! he thought, as he watched the small creatures tearing their way through the forest. Occasionally, they would stop and examine a small rock, sometimes looking at it, sometimes sniffing it, sometimes hitting it and sometimes - in rare cases - biting it (though this usually resulted in a few moments of pain and anger as the others stood and laughed, so they rarely did that. The creatures he was watching were a bit smaller than humans and greatly resembled dogs that stood on their hind legs, though the armour and weapons took away most of that similarity
Kobolds really are quite pointless he thought as another took a bite out of a small lump of clay and spent two minutes coughing it out while its friends rolled with laughter. One of the creatures suddenly seemed to get very excited at whatever it had found congratulations, you've found a rock…wait a minute… one of the others had just hit the rock in question with a sword, producing a metallic ring that could only mean one thing: they've found some adamantite…. As he watched, the others gathered round and began grabbing other chunks of it and putting them into bags, but at the moment, something else held his attention… "Took your time getting here, friend" he said without turning to look behind him
"We circled around from the other side while looking for you" replied Harbreth as he drew next to his friend. They didn't have to lower their voices much as the kobolds were making so much noise, they wouldn't hear the two friends
"We can't let them have the adamantite. What do you reckon: four for me, four for you, one for the forest and one to question?"
"Sounds good" replied Harbreth as his wolf growled in agreement and the stag bowed its horns
Gillian drew an arrow from his quiver and knocked the arrow in his bow which he held in his trademark, diagonal, angle as he took aim at the kobolds. "Arrow, be true this day" he muttered as he drew back the chord and took one last look at his foe and breathed in, calming himself
As he breathed out, he let his arrow fly…
