Author's note: An Imoen and Haer'Dalis romance? Well… I'm not saying anything. It may or may not happen, and Harrian may or may not disapprove of the idea of it, and such a thing may or may not end up rather… erratically. Don't take that as a yes – I do indeed have something planned, but it won't necessarily be what you have in mind. I work to keep you people surprised, of course!
Sorry for the late addition. I'm getting… tired with the current part of the plotline. Trademeet, right now, does not promise to be too exciting. Directly after Trademeet, now, that… that I can't wait to get to. So I'll try to trundle through the comparatively dull yet important bits to get to the real action which is lined up for after this quest.
Chapter 56: Quite Unnatural
Evalir, captain of the Trademeet militia, was most perturbed by the goings-on in the town. He had never before witnessed a phenomenon as odd as this one, and he had crammed all of his forty-three years with as much experience as a retired adventurer could manage.
He fired off his crossbow, aiming for the throat of an approaching bear, and was rewarded by the great beast moving, getting hit in the thigh instead, and hurtling towards him, incensed in its mysterious bloodlust.
Evalir backed off, tripping over a stone by his ankle and sprawling backwards to the floor. His crossbow fell from his hand and slid across the finely polished cobblestones bearing Waukeen's image.
The bear launched itself towards him, and Evalir only just managed to roll out of the way, unhooking his axe from his belt and swinging it uselessly at the enraged and highly dangerous animal.
It clawed at him, catching him across the face and sending him in a spinning sprawl to the floor. The beast took a step forward, evidently about to pounce on and maul him. Evalir froze, fear in his throat images of his wife and his family coming to the forefront of his mind, even as he swiped futilely with his axe.
But the bear never reached him as three arrows, a crossbow bolt and a throwing knife thudded into the animal. They were quickly followed by a pair of sling bullets, pelted into the sensitive areas of the bear's face. It dropped like a stone.
As Evalir rolled to his feet, dispatching a large spider with a hard swing – which made him feel a little better about his skills – he could see the source of the missiles leaping into the fray as the eight adventurers appeared on the scene.
As they cleaved through the animals like a hot knife through butter, Evalir gave a quick prayer of thanks to whatever deity had brought them their way. The fight was over exceedingly quickly with their contribution.
Harrian pulled his cloak further around him. He had cast it aside during the battle, but now, when it wouldn't impede him, he valued the protection and privacy it offered. Dusting it down, he glanced around him and spotted Evalir as he approached them.
He extended his hand towards the militia captain, pasting a cheery smile onto his face. "Greetings. My name is Harrian Corias. I hear you've been having a bit of trouble with the local wildlife?"
The elder and far gruffer man glared slightly at having to be thankful to such a smart-arse rogue. "Trouble? You could say that. I am Captain Evalir of the Trademeet militia," he introduced himself briefly. "I'm presuming you heard our plea for help?"
Corias nodded briefly. "We have travelled from Athkatla to get here," he explained. "All we have been told is that animals have been attacking the town and that local druids might somehow be involved." He glanced briefly at Jaheira. "This is something that interests us… professionally. We may be able to help."
Evalir smiled tightly. "Any help would be welcome, but I'm not too sure what you can do," he confessed, shrugging. "Go to the High Merchant Lord Logan Coprith; he runs the town. I'm sure he'll be able to tell you more. I'm just the militia captain, I don't get told the important things." He turned and gestured to one of the larger, grander buildings of Trademeet. "He lives there."
Corias thanked him briefly, then gestured to the others to follow him as he walked across the large square at the entrance of Trademeet, the cobblestones bearing Waukeen's image. "We shall find what this Lord Logan has to say, then we'd probably to best to rest for the night and work in the morning." It was only late afternoon, but they had travelled hard for the past few days and an evening of relaxation would do them good.
"Harrian…"
They all turned to look inquisitively at Keldorn, who was leading Edumar. "Perhaps we would do best to get rooms at the inn first?" the Inquisitor suggested lightly. "Then I can stable my horse and we can leave our belongings. It will probably not take much more than a half-hour."
Harrian paused a moment, considering the paladin's words, a slight frown on his face. "That's exactly what I was going to say," he said at length with absolute certainty in his voice and on his expression.
* *
High Merchant Lord Logan Coprith sighed slightly, a frown on his face as he looked at the eight adventurers in front of him. "I'm not sure how much more I can tell you," he confessed, folding his arms across his chest and giving the guard standing by the doorway a wary glance. "There's only so much we've learnt."
Harrian mirrored his expression unintentionally. "If you start from the beginning, when these attacks happened, we might be able to piece it together," he pointed out lightly. Although investigative work was hardly his place or area of expertise, he could think things through logically enough to know where to start. If this became a full blown investigation, he'd hand it over to Keldorn.
Coprith nodded, then glanced once more at the guard, who was standing to attention a little too diligently. "Warren; go and fetch me the records from the upper office. If Mr Evans has been doing his work, then there should be a full account of everything that has taken place, when." He looked apologetically at the adventurers. "My job has many duties, and whilst the current crisis is of paramount importance, I have not quite committed all of the facts to memory."
Warren, the guard, nodded attentively before bowing briefly and hurrying out the door. The eight adventurers stood in silence for a moment. Yoshimo moved over to idly study a few paintings on the wall, which were obviously of great value, as Keldorn examined some of the chinaware on the table – exquisite, but not too expensive. Harrian gave the bounty hunter swift looks, worried he might swipe a small valuable.
Coprith said nothing until Warren's footsteps had finished echoing around the corridor, then he stood and marched to the door, closing it smoothly. "That was just a pretext so we could be alone," he said quickly. "This is my town; I know everything I can possibly know about the threat."
Harrian frowned. "Why…" He stared silently, gaping a little before recovering and continuing. "If there is something secret, why did you not simply order him to leave?" he asked finally.
Coprith shook his head. "The matter is a sensitive one, and he would know for sure what I would want to talk of in his absence. The man talks, then the whole town is in uproar." He returned to his seat. "We have many reasons to believe that the attacks are the result of some recent changes in the local druid grove."
Jaheira's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched slightly as she gave Coprith an appraising look. "What… what has happened in the nearby grove?" she asked in a tone as light as she could make it.
"I believe a change in leadership which has changed the way they… work," Lord Logan replied hesitantly. "I am not too sure. We have always enjoyed a harmonious equilibrium with the druids, until now."
"What makes you think it's a change in leadership?" Imoen asked.
"We have had an emissary from whatever passes for a universal druidic leadership. He was sent to investigate what was taking place, but he was captured by our townspeople who thought him responsible for the attacks," Coprith explained. "I imprisoned him myself, for his safety, but as you can see I believe his story. He insisted that there were… Shadow Druids running the grove."
Jaheira's grip on the hilt of her scimitar increased tenfold. "Shadow Druids?" she repeated, in a voice oddly devoid of emotion. "Who is this emissary from the leaders? What is his name?"
"He calls himself Cernd," Lord Logan said quietly. "I think, if you were to escort him out of Trademeet so he is not set upon by the mob, he might be able to settle matters at the druid grove…"
Coprith came to a halt as the door swung open and Warren, the guard, marched in. He was red-faced, puffing but trying not to show it, and clasping a large, leather-bound volume, which he passed to the High Merchant officiously. "The records, milord."
Lord Logan nodded his thanks before turning to the adventurers. "I suggest you go get some rest tonight then return in the morning. I should have, ah, compiled all of the records for your perusal by then. Maybe you can shed some light on the matter."
"Aye, but if you want real answers then I reckon you should go ask that mangy druid we got down in the cells," Warren slurred, shaking his head as if in despair of the common sense of his lord.
Harrian gave him a careful look, glad Jaheira didn't rise up to the 'mangy druid' comment. "We'll do that," he said at length, smiling falsely, if convincingly. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow we shall go and save the town, if possible."