III Escape III
During his two-hour revery, Dorizzen had heard Daphne's song.
Since he had awakened from his revery, the song continued to play with each passing moment inside the young dark elf's mind.
An hour after his revery, he went to check on the dryad.
He quickly entered the jail area where Daphne was being captive. When he looked at Daphne, he felt his stomach turn inside of him.
The robe she wore was now on the floor on the other side of the cell. Her smooth golden skin was now a withered with shade of dark brown. Her hair, or what was left of it, was a light brown color. Clumps of it were lying on the floor under her now withered feet.
Her emerald eyes looked upon him, filled with sadness. "Please do not look at me" Daphne whimpered once she saw the young drow slowly approaching her cell.
Filled with anger, Dorizzen quickly grabbed the cell key Bantanall foolishly left on the chair he was sitting on earlier, opened the door, and walked inside. In a quick sweep, he took the dryad in his arms.
Before, her skin felt smooth and warm. Now Dorizzen felt as if he was holding a large frail tree branch.
He could feel Daphne's salty tears on his brow. The young drow kissed her dry lips. To Dorizzen, it felt like kissing a small pile of dry leaves, but it didn't matter to him. What really mattered was that she was kissing him back.
Raza stood by, watching her cousin and the dryad kiss each other. She wasn't exactly sure why she was helping her cousin with his plan to escape the fortress with Daphne. All the money Bantanall was going to pay them would be gone, but Razadorla's hatred for the man overshadowed the promise of gold. The drow female also know if Daphne did die, her cousin would be devastated. He was young, and had already a few people he had come to love in his life. Raza believed that losing this dryad that he had now come to love would leave an open wound in Dorizzen's gentle heart that would not close for many years.
She smiled, knowing she would find another way to make the money to pay off their debts. "I don't want to interrupt this lovely moment, but we need to hurry up."
Dorizzen softly pulled his lips away from Daphne's, then he nodded to his cousin. "We're going to help you escape," he said softly to her, stroking her dry skin," but we do not know where you're sacred tree is."
"Its in the grove," Daphne whispered back him, falling into his arms. Dorizzen felt as if he was going to fall over, but then he looked over at his cousin, remembering the very small time frame they had to do this.
Raza looked down the stairs, making sure no one was coming up. "Lets move quickly," the drow female said softly, throwing a large cloak over to her cousin.
"You'll have to keep this on." Dorizzen said softly he helped Daphne fasten the cloak around her naked body.
"Thank you," Daphne said softly as she kissed him.
Dorizzen smiled, melting into the kiss, then sadly pulled away. "Don't thank me just yet, we still have to get you out of here."
As the cousins helped the dryad escape the stone fortress, Bantanall watched them from the shadows.
"Not a bad idea Dorizzen. Take the dryad back to the grove while my men and I follow you."
Dawn's light was approaching as Bowie, Sawyer, and Erilett ran through the quiet forest. The halfling took the lead, trying to remember the directions of the tower, while Sawyer looked at the ground. The druid found a few sets of fresh footprints imbedded in the grass. He looked around the grass, trying to find more tracks, then the voices came back to him.
She flees from danger...
She is with two drow...
They are helping her...
They are being followed...
"Is everything all right?" asked the halfling, who now looked at Sawyer.
Sawyer shook his head, remembering the voices back at the grove. " Something isn't right," the druid answered with a soft voice," The grass and the trees are telling me to go back to the grove."
Bowie stood there with a confused look on his face and repeated," The trees are telling you to go back to the grove."
"They say she is with two drow, and that they are being followed. I really don't get it myself," Sawyer said, scratching his head.
The halfling bard looked down at Erilett, who was sniffing the air. The wolverine moved her head forward, staring into the distance. Bowie and Sawyer followed Erilett's eyes, and they now saw what she her eyes and nose had found.
In the distance, they watched three figures in black cloaks run across the woods. .
"That has to be them," Sawyer whispered softly, loud enough for Bowie to hear.
"Looks like they have some friends," Bowie remarked as he saw five drow walking several feet behind the cloaked figures. He quickly unsheathed his short sword Vithril. "Let's move behind them quiet like."
The halfling turned his head to look at Sawyer, but the druid and his animal companion were already gone.
Several minutes after Bowie and Sawyer left to chase after the drow who were following Daphne and her two rescuers, Rouric, Storm, and the ranger known as Florin Falconhand quietly walked up to the stone fortress..
"Thank ya for helpin us Florin," Rouric said quietly as he walked side by side with the ranger.
"Its always an honor to fight along side you Rouric," the broad shouldered ranger responded quietly. He ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, then looked ahead. "Storm, any idea where Bowie and Sawyer might be."
In the lead, Storm shook her head. She looked around, trying to find any sign of the halfling or the druid. "I can't find them anywhere Florin. Maybe they went inside," she responded loudly.
The fortress appeared only to be ten feet tall. It had only a few windows that were scattered across the top of the fortress, and a large wooden door at the front.
"I can tell ya one thing," Rouric commented loudly," If they did go inside, the battle is probably over."
As soon Rouric had finished speaking, the wooden door slowly opened. Storm stopped walking as her eyes spotted in the doorway, several drow elves dressed in chain mail, and armed with short swords.
The Bard of Shadowdale turned to the Rouric and Florin with a smile on her face. "Actually, I fear the battle is about to begin."
Inside Druid's Grove, Raza carefully walked ahead of Dorizzen, who now carried Daphne in his arms.
She is dying, the drow male thought as he held the sick dryad close to him. Dorizzen looked ahead, seeing his older cousin scanning the area.
Razadorla turned her head back to Dorizzen. "Is she awake?" she asked with a concern in her voice.
" I don't know Raza, I think she fainted from exhaustion," the younger drow responded, placing her on the ground. Dorizzen gently shook the dryad. "Daphne, we're here in the grove."
Daphne's emerald eyes fluttered open, smiling as she saw Dorizzen standing above her. The drow male gently helped the dryad sit up, she drew slow deep breaths. She began to look at each of the stones, trying to remember which of the menhirs led her back home. " I think I see it," she whispered softly. Daphne took another deep breath," I must sing for the portal to open."
"Yes Daphne, sing for us," came a loud arrogant voice from several feet away.
Raza and Dorizzen spotted Bantanall and five of his men marching towards them. Raza cursed in drow tongue as she reached to her sides, pulling both of her short swords. Dorizzen shielded Daphne as he quickly drew a short sword from the belt around his waist.
Bantanall and his drow soldiers quickly walked up to the cousins and the dryad. The drow warrior smiled at Dorizzen, and quietly said," Step aside, so I can hear this creature's song, so that the secrets of Druid's Grove may be revealed." The drow soldiers who had accompanied him surrounded Raza in a circle.
"She is not a creature," Dorizzen spat at Bantanall, and thrusted his weapon forward.
Bantanall quickly unsheathed his bastard sword, and with strong swing, he batted the younger drow's short sword out of his hands. Before Dorizzen could step back, Bantanall stabbed his weapon into Dorizzen's side.
Dorizzen clutched his side and dropped to his knees. Bantanall brought his sword above his head, then saw the dryad crawl forward and throw herself onto Dorizzen's body.
"So, you want to protect him?" Bantanall Darkshadows asked the dryad. "If you sing for me and show me the secrets of the grove, I will spare his life and yours."
Daphne was ready to sing for the drow warrior, but Dorizzen wrapped his arms around the frail dryad's body. "Don't sing for him Daphne. I would gladly die to defend the secrets of this grove, if it meant that you would always remember me after I died."
The dryad's brittle fingers held on to Dorizzen's and his kissed his lips one last time.
"This display of romantic sacrifice is killing me," Bantanall said coldly," If you both want to die together than so be it."
Bantanall Darkshadows quickly drove the blade of his bastard down. He expected it to cleave through the dryad's thin body, then slice through the young drow's skull.
However as the drow warrior's blade came down, a stout halfling ran in and stepped in front of Bantanall. The halfling swiftly brought his short sword upward, deflecting the drow's blade.
"Who in the nine hells are you?" Bantanall asked, drawing his bastard sword back.
The halfling smiled as he made a polite bow, letting a small amulet that sat around his neck fall out of his shirt. "My name is Bowie Butterball, and I will give you once chance to leave this grove."
"And if I don't?" Bantanall snapped at the brown haired halfling.
Bowie smiled as he held Vithril out in front of him. "Then I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to finish you."