30. A Boy And His...?

"A sad little boy," Xan drawled, elven eyes seeing further than those of his company, "Ahead of us, wandering, lost. 'Tis truly a disparaging sight, more so for it reflects our own aimless, endless journeying..."

The elf could hear the boy too. He was crying and calling, "Here wittle doggie. Awww, why won't you come home…"

"Shut yer whinin' lips, fairy-boy," Montaron spat, perking his ears, "Ye right though, he does sound a mite pathetic...perhaps he have lunch-money to share though, eh?"

Within a few minutes they had traversed the wooden fieldland to the boy. As soon as he saw the adventurers, he came bounding up to them, a redheaded boy of about ten with tears streaming down his freckly face. "'Scuse me!" he called. "I ever so sowwy to bother, but could you help me? I've lost my little dog and I can't find him. He's probably ever so scared right now!" With that he resumed his crying.

"Where are your parents?" Jade asked the boy with impatient compassin. "It's dangerous out here alone, you know." I know best of all, kiddo. Most of my encounters involve people trying to kill me.

"Parents?" the boy pronounced the word as if he'd never heard it before, but then his face lit up. "Yes, I'm here with some rewatives, but they away for a moment and I'm lost. We are thinking of moving here someday, but I don't know my way awound yet. I can get home ok, but I just gotta get Rufie back! Please, could you help?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Jade rolled her eyes.

"Oh!" the boy hopped up and down, "Thank you vewy much! I know he'll be awright now! Poor Rufie isn't used to strange places an' people! You'll know him, cuz he's just the cutest li'l thing! Here," the boy reached into a pocket on his scruffy little tunic, "Take this as well. His favorite chew toy. Thank you kind adult-people!"

He tossed an object Jade reflexively caught. She nearly dropped the object in surprise after an inspection. At first glance, it was an ordinary canine chew toy, but beneath the grisle, she swore she could see the glean of some unearthly metal.

She was about to toss it and tell the kid to scram, when Xzar piped up, asking to see the grisly bauble. She shrugged, and tossed it over, and the party continued on their way.

"Well played," Edwin gingerly patted the lambchop sideburns that now flanked his jutting slimed-gelled do, "The quickest way to dispose of such a brat. (Outside the magic missile, one supposes, but even my exceptional repertoire must be conserved for the gnolls. And the Wychalarn.)"

The boy had barely disappeared in the trees behind them when a heavily armed party of five appeared ahead.

"Travelers, halt!" called the one in the center of the chevron-formation they made, with the deep voice of a woman used to commanding those around her, and a funny accent. She had an undelicate face that might have still been beautiful were it not creased with arrogance, held a glowing sword, and wore bright, obviously-also-magical yellowish leather armor which smugly contoured her large, athletic body. "You trespass quite deeply into Amnish territory. Perhaps you have come to spy upon our supposed troop build-up. It's quite funny, the stupid notions you northern barbarians can get stuck in your heads!"

Every day, Jade sighed inwardly, I realize more and more just how sheltered Candlekeep was. Is the real world really this dangerous, or am I unusually ugly or something? Does my chainmail have 'fight me' painted across the back?

"Blow off," was her outward reply.

The woman scoffed. "Very well, barbarians. Know that I am Sendai, my entourage is Delog, Alexander," she nodded dismissively at the two medium-build longbowmen flanking her, "and Vax and Zal," she named the two scrawnier fellows at the left and right of her chevron, one of whom like her carried a sword, the other wore bracers and held several darts.

'Zal' grinned and in a high, nasal, whiny voice proclaimed, "Yep, I'm Zal, the fastest dart thrower ever in the west!"

Jade laughed disdainfully, " The fastest dart thrower in the west ! That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" All but Xan snickered. The elf whimpered, sensing the pessimistic inevitable.

"Why," Sendai snarled indignantly, lifting her sword. "It seems that we have stumbled upon some berserkers. I had suspected as much when I caught your scent a few moments ago, but your behavior clinches it. Delog! Alexander! Vax and Zal! Let us make short work of these peasants! Kiyaaa!"

There was no more time on need for words. Sendai charged with her glowing longsword held aloft, and Jade dashed forward to meet it with her golden bastard sword, calling her strange power again with raw emotion, only half-aware of it. Delgod and Alexander flanking Sandai were quick and shot arrows at her, two were deflected as her Shield shimmered, but four punctured her chainmail with ease. As hot, sharp pain screamed from between her ribs, she was barely able to parry Sendai's powerful overhead blow, and vaguely aware of and grateful for Kagain and Branwen rushing up on her flanks to force the two longbowmen to melee.

Vax charged Montaron with his sword held high, screaming a nasal battle-cry that sounded more like a child's temper tantrum, and the halfling charged back, and darted right through the man's legs before his sword came down, hamstrining him with the enchanted shortsword from Mulahey's chest. The man toppled forth over his useless leg, howling, and the halfling hairpinned his dash, leaping atop the prone man's back and stabbing the man with murderous glee.

On the other flank, Vax perforated Edwin's robes with half a dozen darts before an acid arrow and a jet of flame screamed from the hands of Xan and Xzar. "Oh Agannazar, you shouldn't have," Xzar giggled as Vax burned, screamed horribly, and fell. Edwin sneered, annoyed more at the darts' damage to his robes than his flesh.

Delgod and Alexander had switched to swords just in time to meet Branwen and Kagain. The cleric's spiritual hammer shattered Delgod's tainted blade and then his shoulder, and she rammed her shield into his face. When he fell, she curtailed his spasms with a blow that squished his skull like a grape. Kagain raised his shield to catch the mundane overhead swing of Alexander, amputated his left leg beneath the knee, and when the man toppled left, a second axe-chop cut off his sword-hand, then a third cleft open his chest.

Jade, with a quartet of their enchanted arrow bristling from her body, was weakening and barely able to keep Sendai's sword from finding purchase. Weapons crossed, the arrogant Amnish woman sensed the weakness and knocked Jade prone with a kick to the gut. She circled to behead the fallen young lady, barely noticing Xan's charm spell and Xzar's magic missiles. Montaron intercepted her, guarding Jade's upper body and stabbing at Sendai's kneecaps, and as Sendai stopped and reeled back. It bought Branwen the time to turn from the departed Delgod, and crack Sendai in the side of the head. The woman nearly lost her balance, and before regaining initiative hacks from Montaron and Kagain had her down. The bloodthirsty duo didn't stop until the tall woman was mutilated beyond recognition.

Jade was dimly aware of the battle's end, and Branwen kneeling over her, the healing spells pushing the arrowheads up like splinters as the flesh mended behind.

"Uncoordinated steel-monkeys," Edwin harrumpfed, glaring over the party's warriors and lastly Jade, "You drew all their fire yourself."

"So did you, General Odesseiron," Jade snickered, taking obvious notice of the vain Red Wizard's punctured robes as Branwen healed him.

Xzar lucidly appraised the equipment. Sendai's longsword was indeed magical, but Jade liked her hand-and-a-half blade and none of her companions were proficient with large swords. Her enchanted, golden-studded leather armor had apparently once been the property of a rogue Telbar, but now the rogue Montaron would wear it, as well as Zal's bracers, which apparently had been contributing to his still-feeble claim of being 'the best dart-thrower in the west.' Delgod's and Alexander's enchanted arrows found their way into Jade's quivers, and their composite longbows were nonmagical but still superior to that she possessed.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

Before they could be on their way, a spotted brown-and-white dog of nondescript breeding came bounding out of a pushing, large ears flopping and pink tongue wagging, scampering up to Xzar. The necromancer, giggling, held out the grisly 'chew-toy' and the dog drooled all over the hem of his robe, looking up at it and whining hungrily.

"Ditch the toy..." Jade ordered, but then the boy appeared. Jade raised a scarlet eyebrow. The battle had only taken a few minutes; the small boy couldn't reasonably have trekked nearly as fast as they and caught up.

"RUFIE!!!" the freckled kid coddled his dog. "Whose a fuzzy Rufie? Whooooo's a fuzzy little guy?" He grinned up at the party, and Jade could swear his brown eyes flashed red for a moment. "Thank you ever so much! I better take this lost little puppy home right away. Here, take this," he kid flung another unidentifiable object to the grass. "It's another of his chew things, but we can get more where we're going. Thanks again."

The party looked down at this new object. A human skull, with two large fanglike holes in it. They shuddered (except for Xzar, who laughed merrily), and when they glanced up again, the boy and Rufie were gone. Rather, before them stood a hobgoblin from hell: an ogre-sized bipdel creature with a blood-red robe, large, clawed arms and legs with black, leathery skin, and a hideous face, full of dripping fangs and beady fire-red eyes. Next to it was a chimeraesque, horse-sized 'dog' with three heads, flame-red fur, and a snake for a tail. Little jets of flame escaped from its six total nostrils as it exhaled, and its six eyes gleamed fiery orange.

"What the..." Jade's jaw nearly hit the grass. She had a vauge feeling that if her brother had been present, he would have been blown off his feet with overloaded evil-vision. Even she would swear she felt it.

"TIME TO GO HOME, RUFIE," the bipedal monster bellowed to the others, "YOU'LL LIKE THE NINE HELLS MUCH BETTER THAN THESE COLD CLIMES."

A portal appeared just behind the pair and swallowed them. Just before it closed, Jade peered through it, to see a horrific landscape of black, burnt, jagged land, a sky of fire and swirling ash, and twisted, shadowy shapes scampering about. Overpowering evil radiated out, and she felt like she was standing with her face in a furnace.

Branwen prayed, crossing her hands over herself. Kagain swore. Montaron chuckled, but nervously. Edwin mumbled studiously, something about 'gating'. Xzar laughed hysterically. Xan fainted.

I'm staring into the Hells, Jade gaped, Oh. My. Gods.

While a blue-haired humanoid danced across the landscape juggling a harp and two shortswords, the portal closed as quickly as it'd opened.

"If I wake tomorrow and never remember this again," Jade whispered, "I shall die a happier lady."