The Druid of Methwood Forest
It was in the middle of the night when Shadimir and Deidra from exited the temple of Osiris, carrying what gear and weapons they had brought with them, and a few items the temple had donated to help them with their mission. In return for their gracious hospitality and generosity, the hunter gave the temple the necklaces, rings, and other jewelry he and Deidra had taken from the aftermath of the earlier confrontation that resulted in the large bruised slave owner being knocked through Deidra's wooden merchant stand.
It surprised Shadimir that the halfling had taken to giving the jewels so well. He had expected her to whine, moan, and pitch a little fit, but when he told her of his mission from Kelemvor, and how the god said the hunter should take her with him, Deidra went along with the idea of donating the valuable trinkets. Deidra just smiled and nodded, saying how it was an honor traveling with the man who saved her from a life of slavery.
The dark haired halfling and the silver haired hunter walked slowly through the dark regions of Unther, with their only guide being the moonlight. They felt a cool calm breeze flow in front of them, and Shadimir could swear he heard a soft word of prayer coming from Deidra calling to her goddess Yondalla.
Hearing the halfling goddess' name brought a small vision of the three-year-old Dalla to Shadimir's mind. He thought about her beautiful smile, and dark brown hair that seemed to be growing longer by the day. Her eyes that matched the same color of his dark blue, and her elvish ears she inherited from her mother.
Thinking about Dalla's mother brought a chill down the undead hunter's spine. She was a powerful and beautiful elven priestess named Lylith who worshipped the vile god Cyric, sworn enemy to Kelevmor, Mystra, and perhaps every other deity in the world of Fauern. About four years ago, Lylith had seduced the young hunter in an attempt to gain some information on the church of Mystra in Cimbar. Shadimir remembered her having long dark hair, just like Dalla's, but her eyes and skin was dark, just like her heart. After what seemed like a night of unending passion, Lylith vanished the next morning without a trace.
It would be a year later when Shadimir found that he had an infant daughter. The child was brought to his doorstep in the late Midwinter night, personally by the woman who had slain the child's mother, The Simbul, the Witch Queen of Aglarond, and one of the Seven Sisters. Shadimir felt no anger towards The Simbul, and watched her fly away, leaving the young man to take care of his infant daughter.
Having thought himself unworthy of Mystra's love and not really interested in donning the itchy robes of a cleric, Shadimir decided instead of going into the priesthood like his mother, he would go into the services of Kelevmor who then had just achieved godhood. The hunter used the Lord of the Damned's dogma of resting the souls of the undead as a motivation to help those who souls haven't been put to rest.
With the aid of a generous wizard casting a teleport spell on them, Deidra and Shadimir reached Methwood in little time.
When they reached the outer edges of Methwood, Shadimir put on a brown hat to cover his glowing silver hair, Shadimir cautiously scouted ahead of Deidra, making sure that neither he, nor his dark haired companion ran into any hostile guests who would just love to have him and Deidra for dinner.
Two hours after moving around the outside of the Methwood forest, Shadimir and Deidra stumbled onto an abandoned campsite, with two large tents and a large mound used for a campfire. The hunter stepped over to the mound, smelling the soft scent of sulfur. This fire has been used recently he thought, which meant that more and likely those who had set up the camp were out in Methwood, and more and likely returning to their camp…or not.
Deidra and Shadimir waited for another hour, seeing no signs of life coming towards their campsite. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed," commented Deidra quietly, then followed it up with a loud yawn.
The silver haired hunter watched Deidra climb into the first tent. The halfling lit a small hooded lantern, allowing her to see a small silhouette of her body where the hunter could see.
She is pretty for a halfling, Shadimir thought, but immediately he turned his head as he saw Deidra's shadow beginning to undress herself. "Maybe it's time I get to bed," he said softly, making his way over to the other tent, and slowly climbing inside.
Shadimir lit a hooded lantern of his own, then stretched out a his woolen bedroll and lay on it, staring at the blue ceiling of the tent.
After what seemed like two hours, the hunter's eyes continued to stare at the cieling. "Damn, for just some reason, I can't sleep," he whispered softly, pulling his blanket over him. The hunter couldn't remember the last time he couldn't sleep like this.
Just as it seemed his eyes were good and closed, Shadimir was awaken a loud growl came from outside the tent. The hunter jumped from his bed, grabbing his bastard sword and mace. Someone, or something was trying to get inside his tent, he thought, ready to attack whoever it was trying to get into his tent.
"Jinzoo, what have I told you about scaring people, get away from the tent," scolded a sweet, but angered voice from outside.
Shadimir walked to the entrance of his tent, and peeked his head outside. The silver haired hunter was astonished, seeing the bright sunshine through the green and brown treetops of Methwood. He also looked to see Deidra and a beautiful blond haired elven woman wearing leather armor sitting around the campfire eating eggs and sausage for breakfast. The elven woman smiled at the hunter, as did the halfling.
"I'm sorry if Jinzoo scared you," the elven woman softly apologized. A loud grunt came from the hunter's left. Turning his head, Shadimir saw a large brown furry bear sitting on his rear and smiling at the hunter.
Deidra finished a bite of a large piece of sausage. "Shadimir, you should try some of this breakfast," she said merrily, pointing to the elf," This druid can cook pretty well."
"Druid?" Shadimir remarked curiously. Turning to the elf, he asked," Your name wouldn't be Carmenea Greensilk, would it?"
The elven druid tilted her small chin. "Well last time I went around town, that's the name I used."
Smiling Deidra looked from Carmenea to Shadimir. "I was just telling her how we were looking for her to lead us to the temple of ruins."
Shadimir smiled at the halfling. He both liked how Deidra took the initiative, telling this mysterious druid of their mission. "So, can you help us find the ruins my halfling friend spoke of?" he asked Carmenea.
The druid bit her lip before she gave the silver haired hunter a response. "Well, I don't any temple ruins, but I do know where there is a temple to the god Set."
The hunter nodded. "That is good, we've been assigned to retrieve the Scepter of Osiris."
Carmenea's green eyes widened at Shadimir's words, almost causing her to drop her plate. "You never told me you both were going after the Scepter of Osiris," she furiously said to the halfling. Standing up in front of Shadimir and Deidra, she said, "The Scepter…it has been years since anyone has tried to find it. No one has dared go to that temple. You know what's in there, don't you?. The Minions of Set?" After Shadimir and Deidra gave the elf a quick silent nod, she smirked and commented," You both are very brave, or very foolish."
The hunter nodded. "Yes, but you wouldn't be surprised how often those two are in the same meaning."
"All right," Carmenea giggled, but became serious once again," I will lead you to the temple of Set, but how ever you two choose to die, is strictly up to you both."
Deidra's head turned from her empty plate and looked up to the elf and ," All right, but can I have seconds before we leave?"
It didn't take long for Carmenea Greensilk and Jinzoo to lead Shadimir and Deidra to the temple of Set. Along their way, the druid had pointed out some of the minor sites of Methwood. Rotting troll corpses, fallen and broken trees, and even a wolf mother playing happily with her cubs. Though the beautiful sites and sounds of Methwood calmed his nerves, Shadimir only truly wanted to find the temple and leave with the scepter and the lives of himself and his halfling companion.
Upon their first site of the temple, Deidra noted how it was only a little smaller than the Osiris temple back in Messemprar, except that large golden statues of jackals were lined in front of the temple stairs.
The halfling admitted to herself that she was a little afraid that the statues might spring to life and attack her and her friends. Deidra kept a firm hand on the short sword given to her by the priestess Jess, as a gift.
"Here you are, I will leave you both to your journey, and I wish you the best of luck," Carmenea said softly to Shadimir and Deidra. The elven druid leaned close to Shadimir, and whispered," If you don't make it out of this, don't be afraid to look me up in the Fugue Plane." The druid kissed Shadimir gently on the lips, then vanished into thin air.
To Shadimir, the kiss felt like a cool breeze brushing his lips. He looked down at Deidra, who gave the hunter a wicked smirk.
Shadimir looked at the dark temple entrance. No light could be seen from the inside, and though he could use his dark vision, Deidra's sight would still be limited by her halfling eyes.
Reaching into his backpack, Shadimir pulled out a torch, and struck it against one of the golden jackal statues. The bright orange and red flames flickered across the top of the stick and Shadimir pointed it towards the entrance. The darkness beckoned him and his halfling companion like a seductive demon, drawing willing and unwilling men with the promises of wealth and power, but secretly demanding a lifetime of servitude.
Like the men seduced by a vile demon, Shadimir and Deidra went to their certain doom.
Into the Temple
Taking the lead, Shadimir held the torch and slowly walked in front of Deidra, who stayed back, turning her head every other moment back at the temple entrance to see if anyone was behind them.
As he walked into the lead, Shadimir took special note of the hieroglyphs on the beautiful maintained temple walls. The design of the hieroglyphs were the same as the ones back in the Osiris temple, with the exception that they depicted Set as some sort of marvelous figure who murdered his thieving adversary and how the rest of the Mulhurdoni gods conspired against him, and Osiris being resurrected to continue the battle with his rival Set.
"Now, where have I heard this story before," muttered Shadimir quietly, thinking about all the clerics of Cyric who called his god Kelevmor a thieving bastard, who had stolen the power of death from the One and All.
"Did you say something Shadimir?" asked Deidra quietly, looking up at the hunter.
"Just commenting to myself Deidra," he responded quickly, looking at the detail of the stone carvings on the walls. The hunter wondered how such a temple as large as this in the middle of the woods could be so well cared. No dust, no cobwebs, no rats, no bony skeletons lying on the floor. It was too damn clean. "Kibyo would love this place", Shadimir said with a mocking tone in his voice. Turning to Deidra, he quietly remarked," You know, for being a temple which no one has been to in years, the Father of Jackals sure has a way of keeping his churches clean."
"Maybe that's how the minions serve their master, by cleaning up the dead bones of adventurers and the dusty webs left by spiders," remarked Deidra sarcastically.
About fifteen more steps, Shadimir and Deidra passed a sharp corner. No sign of dust or rats he thought, trying to get a good look ahead. In the distance, Shadimir saw a tall altar with a black base and a white marble at the top. In the middle was something that grabbed the hunter's full attention.
Sitting in the middle of the white marble top, was a long black and white stripped rod. "There it is, the scepter," he said softly, his eyes lighting up. The Scepter of Osiris. Now, he could introduce Deidra to his daughter Dalla back home.
Shadimir handed the torch to the quiet Deidra, then cautiously tiptoed his way towards the altar.
Getting closer and closer, Shadimir expected whatever manner of creatures the Minions of Set were, they would jump out at him, slashing their large claws into his skin.
He stopped at the altar, slipping his left hand into his belt, and extending his right hand towards the scepter.
A cool breeze brushed the silver hairs on the back, causing Shadimir's left hand to grab his mace, and with lightning reflexes, turn around and deflect the blade that was coming fast at his neck.
Shadimir drew his mace back, seeing a tall human with purple scaly skin, stand in front of him. The hunter slowly circled around the human looking creature, keeping his mace drawn while slowly drawing his bastard sword.
As he did this, three more forms emerged from the shadows, exactly like the one that tried to attack him. It's them, the Minions of Set Shadimir said in his mind, worried, but not afraid. The Minions of Set, the beasts Kelevmor warned him amount. Shadimir had began to step back a few steps more, but stopped as the minions drew closer towards him.
Each of the four minions held curved blades in front of them pointing them straight at the hunter's lower midsection. The minion in front of Shadimir, brought his curved blade up, thrusting it at the hunter's left arm.
Shadimir brought his bastard sword up, blocking the minion's attack, then swiped his mace against the minion's shoulder. The hunter could hear the force of the blow cracking few bones, but the minion stood tall, unphased by the attack.
The undead hunter brought his bastard sword in an upper right slash, cutting deeply into his foe's face.
The minion of Set staggered back, then grunted to his fellow warriors, commanding them attack the intruder. The three roared an unintelligible battle cry and darted for the hunter.
I'll be seeing Kelevmor and Carmenea in the Fugue Plane if I stay here and fight them all at once thought Shadimir, knowing there was little chance in surviving an attack from all four at once. There was also Deidra's safety, and he would never forgive himself if he let her die in his unholy sanctum.
Down the hall, Deidra's eyes witnessed the brief battle between Shadimir and the four purple skinned humans that were attacking him. "I hope you make it out of there okay Shadimir," the dark haired halfling whispered worriedly.
Her worries slowly diminished as she saw the hunter run down the hall towards her. Deidra was about to ask Shadimir if he grabbed the scepter, but she was quickly scooped from her feet and found herself in the silver haired hunter's strong arms, a place she had never thought she would be.
Shadimir ran down the hall, opposite from where they entered, with the halfling and the burning torch she carried in his arms, the undead hunter could hear the footsteps of one of the minions a few feet behind him. He quickly turned another corner, gently setting Deidra on the ground and stood up against the wall, trying to catch his breath.
"What happened!" shrieked the halfling, almost dropping the torch that still burned.
The hunter took a moment to catch his breath, looking down at the halfling. "Well, take a..guess," he said, slowly sitting on the cold floor.
Deidra looked down, thinking she hit a soft sensitive spot, then looked back up at him. "Were those the Minions of Set?"
The silver haired hunter removed his hat and gave her a nod, then scooted himself closer to the dark haired Deidra holding the torch. "Yes, they appeared to be normal looking humans, but when I broke one of the minion's shoulders, then cut his face, it was like he wasn't even hurt."
Deidra nodded holding the burning torch forward and, looking down at the end of the hall. The halfling didn't see any sign of the minions coming forward, but she heard a soft slithering sound moving towards her and the hunter. She pointed her torch down, catching a glimpse of a large snake. The snake recoiled as the light from the torch blinded it for a moment.
"What do you suppose a snake is doing down here?" Deidra asked Shadimir curiously.
"I don't know," Shadimir responded dully as he stood up, moving closer to the snake. At first, the snake looked up at him, then in an instant, the snake wrapped itself tightly around Shadimir's arm, then sinking its fangs into the hunter's skin.
Shadimir felt the snake's fang's break through his skin, clinging on to him tightly. The hunter growled in pain, trying to force the snake off his arm, but the reptile's fangs had penetrated too deeply into the skin. He gave a painful cry as the snake retracted his fangs, then sank them in once again.
Reacting to her friend's cries of pain, Deidra grabbed her torch and brought it close enough to the snake to singe it and not burn Shadimir's arm. Remembering how the snake recoiled away from its brief encounter with the torch a few moments ago, Deidra hoped the snake would be frightened of the halfling's torch.
The snake popped it's fangs out of Shadimir and fell to the floor. The hunter drew both of his weapons, while Deidra drew her shortsword. They watched the snake slither on the floor for a few more seconds, then saw the snake begin to grow large arms and legs, transforming itself into what Shadimir guessed was its true form, one of the minions of Set.
The silverhaired hunter brought his sword into the minion's midsection. Deidra watched the minion stagger a little, then plunged her own blade deeper into the minion's side.
His facial expressions showing no sign of pain, the minion brought his curved blade up, bringing it down on the halfling with tremendous force, but Deidra quickly dodged her foe's attack, and countered it with a hard low slash across the right legs.
Shadimir watched the minion fall to one knee, look back up at him. The hunter bashed his mace hard across the jaw of the minion of Set, causing its head to snap all the way around and it's body to fall to the floor.
They waited a few seconds, making sure the minion was dead. "He didn't cry out in pain, not once," whispered the worried Deidra, who looked back to Shadimir.
"No he didn't, and he's not the only one," the hunter quietly answered. "Deidra, I didn't ask you to come along, so you can leave while I try to finish these beasts."
The halfling pushed away any feeling of fear, and smiled up to the hunter. "Actually you did Shadimir, you just don't remember. Even if you didn't, I would still go with you. I would rather fight and die by your side, then have to spend another day selling jewelry."
Shadimir smiled bent down next to the halfling and shook his head. "Even if you did leave, you couldn't go back to selling your jewelry. Your merchant's stand is broken."
Deidra leaned up and kissed the hunter's cheek. "You worship Kelevmor, yet you have such a good sense of humor. Are you always this funny around others, or is this the side no one rarely ever sees of you?" she asked sweetly.
"Well I'm not this funny around fat priests who try and rip me off," he said with a big smirk. Standing back up, he continued," Even Kelevmor has a sense of humor. If we don't make it out of here and we can meet him in the Fugue Plane, and he can tell you about the time he got drunk and beaten up by Purple Dragons, or the time he tried to sneak an avatar into the baths of Brightwater and catch Sune and the other goddess bathing."
Deidra laughed as she took the lead in front of Shadimir. " Maybe I'll let you tell me the story, after we make it out of here alive."
If we make it out of here alive, Shadimir thought gravely.