II The Dryad's Call for Help II
In the jail room inside his stone fortress, the drow warrior Bantanall Darkshadows watched as Daphne sat in her cell. She had not spoken since the drow male Dorizzen had brought her here a half an hour ago. The dryad 's skin now had a slight brown tint and her red hair had become ratty.
Bantanall sat quietly on a wooden chair, staring at the creature. He had heard rumors of someone guarding Druid's Grove at night. This evening he had sent some of his men to investigate. When some of his men returned, they had informed him that the dryad claimed to know secrets about Druid's Grove. "What are the secrets of the grove?" he asked the dryad. "Magical weapons, powerful rings, priceless artifacts."
"Milord, would you not like to go and rest while I watch her?" asked a quiet voice behind the drow warrior. Bantanall looked over, seeing Dorizzen standing there in his leather armor. He noticed Dorizzen looking over at the dryad, and remembered how he held the creature nervously when he had brought her to this cell.
"Now why would I to do that?" Bantanall asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well...I...I can't seemed to..." Dorizzen couldn't seem to get the words out, until Bantanall rise from his chair, and placed his arm on his shoulder.
"Dorizzen, it seems to me that you have been put under a spell by this creature," the drow warrior commented softly," If I left you in charge, she might get you to help her to escape, and I can't have that. We must learn what secrets she carries."
Dorizzen nodded, and looked over at Daphne. His stomach turned as he watched the small tears leak from her face. He longed to go into her cell and comfort her. He longed to hold her. Could she really be enchanting me? he wondered, or did he really love the dryad.
"My sacred oak, I must go to my sacred oak," Daphne said with deep sadness in her eyes. "Please, you must release me."
"I will release you when you tell me the secrets of the grove," Bantanall called back to the dryad, then he turned to Dorizzen and smiled," You see, even now she tries to entice you to help her escape. Her tears are nothing more than a rouse. Now Dorizzen go back downstairs, and forget about the dryad."
He looked over at Daphne one last time, then looked at Bantanall and nodded. I will help you get back to your sacred oak Daphne, Dorizzen vowed in his head as he turned away and walked downstairs.
Raza quietly walked inside the fortress with a smile on her face. She saw the surviving drow males who had accompanied her and Dorizzen into Druid's Grove. With her amber eyes, she saw the bug bites all over their faces and laughed.
The drow female quietly walked over to a small wooden table, stretching her limbs. "How I do hate this place," she muttered under her breath. Her eyes looked up to the staircase and saw Dorizzen with his head down, descending.
Raza quickly walked to the steps to meet him. "Cousin what is wrong?" she asked him, brushing his stringy white hair from his eyes.
Dorizzen looked up at Raza and shook his head. The drow female gently escorted him to the table she was sitting at. "What of the dryad?"
"Bantanall is with her now," he saw the glare on Raza's face when he mentioned the drow warrior's name, then added," He is asking her about secrets of Druid's Grove."
"What a filthy swine," Raza growled pulling out a dagger and sticking it into the table with a loud thud. "If we didn't have to work for him to pay off our debt..."
"What would you do?" Dorizzen asked his cousin," He has a small force of men, who are returning from Daggerdale, and at least twelve more men here. What would you do with the odds stacked against you."
Raza quickly gritted her teeth. "I know I could take him in a one on one fight."
Dorizzen sighed, not just thinking about Daphne, but about other things.
He and Raza had come from the outskirts of the Underdark, orphaned as children, and raised by a human cleric of Tempus named Scantanar. Scantanar had taught the older cousin Raza how to fight in combat , and he taught the younger cousin Dorizzen about the simplicity of having a carefree childhood he would have been deprived of, had he ended up in a female dominated drow city like Menzoberranzan. When Scantanar had died, there was nothing left for the cousins except for a large debt Scanatanar had owed to some people in Waterdeep.
The two cousins had spent the last year as mercenaries to pay off the cleric's debt.
A month ago, the drow named Bantanall hired them. Raza had hated the warrior since the first day they met, but the money he paid them was good, and they were within a few hundred coins away from clearing their debt.
"So did you finish off the human?" Dorizzen asked Raza curiously.
Raza giggled, thinking about the young man, then looked at her cousin. "No, we merely played with one another," she said in a playful tone," and before I could finish him, I saw a dwarf and a halfling."
The younger drow was about to ask his cousin if she could have taken the dwarf and the halfling, but a thought crossed Dorizzen's mind. "Do you think he and Daphne are lovers?" he asked in a choked voice.
Raza thought about that for a moment, then shook her head. "Dryads aren't known for taking humans for mates. Yet, It intrigues me that you are on first name basis with the dryad."
The younger cousin turned his face, and Raza laughed. " It is not wrong to fall in love with a fey creature Dorizzen. It's unusual, but not wrong."
Dorizzen shook his head. "I am not in love, Bantanall says Daphne put a spell on me, but it doesn't feel like that. I just don't understand."
"Bantanall is a sack of swine intestines," Raza spat when she heard the drow's name, then she gently put her hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You are not even a hundred seasons old yet. You will understand it in time. Who knows maybe this dryad will take you for a mate."
He nodded, feeling some comfort from his cousin's words Dorizzen sat up off of his chair and walked away.
Daphne sat silently in her cell. She waited until the drow who addressed as Bantanall had left, then she stretched out her arms and legs.
The tears she had wept earlier, had brought some moisture to her dry skin. The color in her skin had shifted to a dark shade of amber, and her hair was now a mess.
On the inside Daphne began to feel sick. Being away from her sacred tree for all these hours had weakened her body. The dryad sighed as she looked to the floor. She knew if she did not get back to her tree soon, she would die.
Daphne looked up, remembering her mother always telling her to never give up hope. Maybe the druid I met in the grove will come rescue me, or maybe even the dark elf who kept staring at her will help me.
She remembered Bantanall calling him Dorizzen.
"Dorizzen," Daphne said softly, liking how the name rolled off of her tongue. Butterflies fluttered inside of her stomach as she remembered the gentleness of his arms when he held her back in the grove.
Using any strength she could gather, Daphne stood up, and began to look around.
At the moment, there hadn't appeared to be anyone standing in front of her cell. Then she began to sing...
Deep inside the tower of stone, in my cell I dance,
Waiting for the one to rescue me from this jail.
My hands move and my feet twirl in a rhythmic stance,
Like a vessel in the sea with large sails.
Who will come and rescue me from this place,
And take me to my sacred oak to be healed.
Who will come and save me with their sword or mace,
And run with me to the grove where the staff if sealed.
Deep inside the tower of stone, in my cell I dance,
Waiting for the one to rescue me from this jail.
My hands move and my feet twirl in a rhythmic stance,
Like a vessel in the sea with large sails.
Who will come and rescue me from this place,
And take me to my sacred oak to be healed.
Who will come and save me with their sword or mace,
And run with me to the grove where the staff if sealed.
Sawyer's eyes snapped opened as he quickly sat up from the makeshift bed on the hard wooden floor he had been sleeping on . He looked around for Daphne, remembering hearing her voice in his sleep but then he remembered that he had failed to save Daphne. That she had vanished with the drow male, and that also he had to fight the female. He remembered getting stabbed in his side, his eyes getting heavy, the drow female cuddling up to him as he started to fall asleep. What he wondered is how did he exactly get here.
Three candles lighted the room he was in, but there were no furnishings. A single open window sat to the left above where the druid was sleeping.
Despite his back being sore from the wooden floor, Sawyer stood up, noticing that he was wearing new clothes. The cut where the female drow had stabbed him with the dagger was now healed.
He saw his armor, cloak, and long sword sitting in a small pile next to him. "Erilett," he called out as he strapped on his armor and placed the sword back in its sheath. When Erilett made no response of her master's call, Sawyer became worried, wondering if his companion was lost back at the grove.
A few seconds after he called the wolverine's name, he heard some scratching at the wooden door. Thinking it was Erilett, the druid was ready to open the door, but then he heard voices from the other side.
"What got her so riled up?" a gruff voice asked from behind the closed door.
"Well its probably because her master called her Rouric," another voice sounded. To Sawyer, this voice sounded like a street evangelist.
With his sword pointed forward, the druid flung the door open, ready to attack who was there.
Standing in the door, was a stout handsome halfling with brown hair, and a broad shouldered beefy looking dwarf with blond hair and blue eyes. Sawyer noticed both the dwarf and halfling were wearing studded leather armor.
"I see you're awake," the halfling said in a cheerful tone," Your little friend was worried about you."
Sawyer nodded and looked down. Erilett was running a couple of fast circles around his legs, then she stopped in front of him. The druid smiled and scratched the back of her ears, then looked up at the halfling and the dwarf. "Who are you two?"
The halfling smiled," I am Bowie Butterball, and this is my friend Rouric Balderk." The dwarf gave a proud nod, then Bowie politely added," We found you in Druid's Grove."
"We were lookin for some drow who were spotted in the area," Rouric stated in his gruff voice," and we came across one standin over your body. From the looks she was draggin you back into the forest."
"So who are you two, guardians of Druid's Grove as well?" the druid asked curiously.
Bowie shook his head," Not exactly. We are Harpers, a semi secret organization, who defend the realms for the greater good."
"You're part of the band of do-gooders who sometimes in the affairs of people all around Fauern?" the druid asked as Erilett looked up at the halfling and the dwarf.
"Yes, but ya should replace the word sometimes, with the word always," Rouric answered with a laugh in his voice. The dwarf reached around, holding his great axe forward for Sawyer to see.
The druid looked at the dwarf's weapon. The blade was shining, but the handle had small notches in it. He looked back at the dwarf and asked," So was it you who put these new clothes on me?"
"Actually it was me," came a soft beautiful voice behind Bowie and Rouric. The druid looked behind the two fellows, and saw a beautiful woman with long flowing silver hair. She had smooth skin and wore silver chain armor. At her side was a sheathed long sword with a golden pommel. "My name is Storm Silverhand, and I am actually one of the leader of the Harpers," she said in a proud voice.
Sawyer nodded, remembering hearing the name of Storm Silverhand. She was known as the Bard of Shadowdale, as well as one of the most powerful beings in all of the realms. He stole a gaze from her for just a moment, and blushed. "They say in Suzail you are a bard of great power," Sawyer said softly.
Storm shrugged her shoulders. " I am many different things, a teacher, a mid wife, a fighter, a sorcerer."
Rouric leaned over to Sawyer and whispered," She's also been known to appear as a man from time to time."
"I heard that," Storm snapped, walking up to Rouric, slapping him hard on the shoulder. The Bard of Shadowdale looked at the druid. "I also know some things about you as well Sawyer. You were raised in the court of Cormyr. Your father was a purple dragon, who they say died a traitor. However, I know that he did not. Your mother is the royal gamekeeper at the palace, and is good friends with Queen Faefaril. You traveled to Silverymoon, learning about animals and creatures. You trained as a ranger until you felt the stronger call of nature, and became a druid. You then traveled here to Shadowdale, so you could study the Druid's Grove."
The druid stood there in shock as Storm, Bowie, and Rouric all smiled. "That pretty much sums up my life story. You are as powerful as they say," the druid commented.
"I think there's more to your life story than you actually know. However, it was actually Bowie who gathered the knowledge on you," Storm said politely, looking over at Bowie with a proud smile on his face.
Bowie nodded at his teacher, then looked over at the druid. "Look, we heard you calling the name of Daphne in your sleep. Is she some one important to you, a lady of some sorts?"
Sawyer sighed," Not really, she was going give me some information about the grove. Then the drow elves attacked us. I was so close in saving her. but when I was sleeping, I heard a song. She sang of being held captive in a jail cell."
Storm looked at the druid. "It sounds liked there might be a clue in the song. Do you think you could sing this song for us?" she asked, her eyes looking up at him.
"I'm not much of a singer," Sawyer sighed, then he looked over at Bowie. "I'll whisper it to you."
The halfling bard leaned close and the druid whispered the words to the song in the ear. Bowie quickly reached into his bag of holding and pulled out a silver harp. He thought of the rhythm the words could go to, then be plucked seven strings of his harp and began to sing the song.
A feeling of peace filled the area where everyone was standing. Sawyer thought the halfling sang the Daphne's words beautifully.
When he was finished, Bowie saw tears in Storm's eyes, and a look of pride on her face. He also saw a few tears stream down Rouric's face as well.
Sawyer stood there for a moment, amazed at the halfling's singing, then began to wonder where the location of the stone fortress where drow warriors had taken Daphne.
"She has got to be in that stone fortress in the woods," Bowie said calmly," the one our elven Harper agents have been telling us about."
"What stone fortress?" Sawyer asked the halfling.
"Some of the agents we have in the forest have told about a fortress that suddenly appeared over night," Bowie answered the druid," They also said that some drow have been standing guard at the doors."
Rouric nodded, scratching his yellow beard. Sawyer looked at the halfling with a look of confusion on his face. "Agents around the forests, spotting drow at the gates, how do you know all of this?"
"We are meddlin Harpers after all," the dwarf said with a grin, then softly added," and it sounds to me you want to go and rescue this Daphne. If there are drow present, you are going to need some aid."
"Are you volunteering to go with me to rescue Daphne?" Sawyer asked the three Harper agents before him.
"Sure," Bowie nodded," its not like we've got anything better to do."
"I could think of a few chores to do," The Bard of Shadowdale interrupted with a giggle.
"Like he said," Rouric added," we don't have anything better to do. But if we might need some help if we are going to attack a fortress."
"I could maybe get some aid from around Shadowdale," Storm said softly, then turned to leave," Come on Rouric." The dwarf nodded as he turned and followed the silver haired bard down the steps.
"That will be good, we can scout ahead," Bowie said softly.
Sawyer nodded his head, then placed an arm on the halfling's shoulder. "I appreciate your help, but why are you doing this?" the druid asked Bowie curiously.
"Because Sawyer," the halfling answered, doing an almost perfect imitation of Rouric's voice," we are meddlin Harpers after all."