Chapter 4

Serosa'ruth pulled out the triggers for the mechanical trap as Saeola stepped through, rendering them harmless. He followed the half-elf into a chamber lined with bookshelves, cabinets, and various spell components. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he noticed tables supporting scattered body parts of various creatures, from orc to giant to panther to human.

"This must be the necromancer's lair." He growled in a low whisper, scanning the area for any more traps or foes.

Her face showed disgust as she scanned the room. "Yeah... What else would it be?" Saeola hissed, voicing her disgust to match her face. She stepped over a twitching arm before poking it carefully with her sword tip.

Ky'itae jerked her head to the left, "Did you--?"

"Yes. Have your arms ready," Serosa'ruth growled, his two blades poised to attack. From around the corner trudged an awkwardly deformed flesh golem, its parts apparently made from the skin of demons. It stopped, staring at the trio, waiting. A moment later, a pale, blonde-haired elven man walked out in front on the construct, his black and gray robes flowing around him. He stopped and turned to the adventurers, a bored look upon his face.

"So, it seems another band of would-be heroes has come to interrupt my projects once again. Tell me: why can't you damn quest-hunters leave a mage to his work in peace?"

Saeola jumped, obviously startled and so interested in poking at the arm that she hadn't noticed the man until he had spoke. She whirled around quickly and held her sword at ready, mentally kicking herself for being caught off guard. "Because your work is sick!" She snapped, anger obviously getting the better of her.

The necromancer rolled his eyes, "Oh please, spare me your tree-hugging speeches, ranger. It's not like I killed these creatures being used. They were already dead when I found them. It's not my fault they weren't properly equipped to handle to passage traps and wards... Or my creations."

The half-elf's eyes narrowed dangerously and she held her blade up more, as if to dare him to attack. But she had no more words. She would say something stupid for sure, blinded by anger as she was. So she merely waited, itching for the perfect time to attack.

The death-dealing mage shrugged, indifferent. "I'll release you all back into the woods, if you promise to leave me be. I'm really tired of the whole dealing-with-intruders ordeal. It runs down my golem supply quite quickly, and they take so long to repair and create."

"You're really pissing me off..." Saeola growled lowly, tightening her grip on her sword's hilt.

The necromancer shrugged, "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn if I'm angering you. I made you quite a gracious offer, so you can take it or leave it. Be warned, though... At the first hostile action, my demon skin golem here will act in my defense. He's not been tested in combat, so I don't know exactly how much damage he can do. Or, rather, I don't know his maximum strength. I'm sure it's rather deadly, though."

Saeola clenched her teeth together in frustration and her hands tightened into fists at her sides. She wanted to attack regardless and had she been alone, she probably would have. While she had no doubt her companions could hold themselves fine if there was a battle, she would feel to guilty if they got hurt in something she had started. But what now? She had to stop this sicko --somehow.

Serosa'ruth narrowed his eyes at the mage, "Regardless of whether you're using these golems to attack others or not, you still took parts from unwilling corpses, denying them the natural course of the earth. It's an abomination to all that I stand for. You must stop."

"I will do as I please, druid," the necromancer replied icily, turning around with a dismissive wave of his hand, "and you can do what you will, but be prepared for the consequences of it." He walked past the massive demon skin golem and back to his desks filled with body parts, parchments, and various magical components.

Finally fed up, Saeola drew an arrow back on her bow, aiming it at the necromancer. "We'll see," She growled and let the arrow fly.

The arrow bounced off the necromancer and rebounded back at its shooter. Ky'itae, acting swiftly, unsheathed her bastard sword and deflected the arrow in one smooth motion. At the hostile action aimed at its master, the fiendish golem roared loudly and charged towards the trio. Serosa'ruth, his twin longswords already drawn, took on a defensive stance, ready to move into action at a millisecond's notice.

Saeola quickly pulled another arrow free and also too a defensive stand, firing the arrow at the charging beast.

That arrow too bounced off, though it didn't rebound back at its origin.

"It's got magical protection! Stop using arrows, they'll only bounce off!" Ky'itae cried as she ducked from the monster's larger arm.

Saeola muttered a curse underneath her breath and leapt backwards, unfortunately losing her bow as she did so to avoid a swing. The bow was sadly crushed underneath the golem's foot. She quickly drew her sword once her feet touched the ground. If her arrows didn't work, then her sword would.

Ky'itae swung her blade at the golem, but it left no marks. She cursed under her breath while Serosa'ruth leapt forward, stabbing his red-glowing blade into the thing's thigh. It ripped through, causing the construct to screech in pain. The concealed elf's eyes twinkled in a smile.

"Imagine that. Looks like this blade works on demonflesh golems as well as true demons and devils. Handy, that."

The necromancer, realizing for once there was a true threat to his creations, snarled and whirled around, quickly weaving his fingers and lips in an incantation.

"Oh no you don't!" She snapped, bolting toward him with surprising speed. She could at least distract him, right? She swung her blade at him swiftly once she was in range, aiming to hit him but not expecting to. Unsurprisingly, the blade hit nothing but air, a good two feet away from the mage, who smirked.

"Never enter a fight with a wizard, ranger," he gloated, "unless you're well prepared beforehand."

"And you shouldn't underestimate me!" She snarled, crouching down and kicking his feet out from underneath him.

Laughing, the Necromancer suddenly appeared behind Saeola, green blasts of magical energy slamming into her back. "Why is it you nature folk always seems to miss displacement spells?"

She cried out in pain as the energy blasts slammed hard into her back, throwing her forward. She rolled a ways before rolling onto her feet in a crouched position, sword tightly clutched in her hands as she winced. Damn. No, she had no experience fighting wizards. Her field of experience wasn't that big yet. She hadn't been traveling out like this for very long.

"Use this!" Serosa'ruth tossed his glowing-white sword to the ranger while simultaneously slicing through the golem with his other blade.

Saeola snatched the sword with her free hand from the air with a "Thanks!" and swung it hard upwards at the necromancer.

The wizard hissed in pain as the enchanted blade struck his shoulder, sending a short burst of white glowing energy out upon impact.

"That divine damage thing comes in handy, doesn't it?" Ky'itae asked, deftly ducking from the golem's claws again. Serosa'ruth chuckled, half-pulling, half-leaping up the monster's back to get in close to its head.

Saeola agreed with Ky'itae silently, taking several more quick swings at the evil wizard with the enchanted blade, though still tightly clutching her own. She managed to get him in the leg and across the forearm. If this guy goes down, the monsters die, right? Or at least become less powerful.

A loud rumbling, bestial roar shook the cavern walls. Serosa'ruth managed to yank his blade out from the golem's skull and leap away, letting the demonflesh monster to fall forward, landing harshly on the ground with a satisfying THUNK that shook the cave once more. He turned around, his black cape billowing behind him from the movement. The elf twirled his longsword in his hand once before closing in on the wizard with Ky'itae. "Still not willing to relent, necromancer?"

Saeola backed away to join her two companions, both blades held at the ready. She smirked at him. "Might be a good idea."

Licking a small amount of blood away from his lips, the necromancer snorted, muttering, "Fucking tree-huggers." before vanishing. Ky'itae growled in frustration, but Serosa'ruth placed a calming gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go. Right now, let's just look for a way out."

Saeola also made a soft noise in annoyance before sheathing her own blade, turning and tossing the other back to Serosa'ruth. He deftly caught it and sheathed it in one smooth motion. "Thanks for that. Probably would have lost my head without it," She chucked dryly, clearly peeved about the necromancer's comment and escape.

The covered elven male clapped a hand on her shoulder as well, "Don't worry about it. We'll speak of it more once we're out of his territory. I'm sure he was serious when he said he wished to be left alone, but I also wouldn't doubt he left the way out trapped and guarded. So, let's remain alert while we go out, hm? This way, I can feel a change in the air current." Serosa'ruth ushered the two women onward.

- - -

The sharp edge of her blade sliced through three skeletons at once and she didn't even bother with the fourth one, jumping over it and yanking off its head in the process. Saeola landed with ease in a crouched position on the other side before hurriedly continuing her run toward the exit. She could just see it ahead.

Ky'itae helped the young half-elf out by pulling her up through the sloping entranceway. Serosa'ruth quickly slid the stone door back into place, taking a moment to breathe before continuing. Once the trio were a few hundred yards from the lair, the druid spoke, "Well, that's over for now. However... I'm going to look into seeing if there's a local druid grove nearby. I'll inform them of the necromancer if there is one. They should be able to take care of the situation. You two head to the nearest town." He handed Ky'itae a map and pointed to a location on it, "This is the general area I'd guess we're in, so the nearest town should be right around here."

Saeola stretched her arms over her head before bringing them behind her back with a shrug at Ky'itae. "I'm not familiar with this area, so lead the way."

Ky'itae grinned sheepishly, "Well, neither am I, but we have a map, ne? And both elves and rangers are very good trackers... We'll be fine. See you later, Serosa'ruth." She waved at her companion, who nodded and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Saeola too waved him off and headed away with Ky'itae. Her face showed her thinking about something seriously before she finally turned to look at the fellow female. "Does he always hide himself in those clothes? Serosa'ruth, I mean."

Ky'itae tilted her head in thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

Saeola made a face and scratched the back of her head. "Huh. Weird. I wonder why..."

"Serosa'ruth is a weird character, so why not? I mean, think about it: He's a druid that fights with two longswords. That's pretty odd in and of itself. Though I guess it makes sense if you understand he was a warrior long before he became a druid..." The young elf shook her head at the thought, brushing a few of her brown locks away from her face.

Saeola dropped her hand and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, but who honestly knows? I guess... It really isn't any of my business to question it, either." But that didn't really help her curiosity. It was a bad trait she had, always being curious about people. She always had to tell herself curiosity killed the cat and move on, but in this case it was harder to do for some reason.

"So..." Ky'itae looked at the skies and trees above after a moment of awkward silence, "What brought you to Triboar? Were you just visiting, or were you preparing to go all-out adventuring?"

Saeola blinked before she grinned sheepishly. "Curiosity." Her eyes scanned the surroundings with half interest as she bent her arms back behind her head. "I was just curious about what's beyond my forest or the few acres around it. No real purpose. And as you clearly saw, I'm still very new and inexperienced at this. Heh... I embarrass myself in front of two experienced adventurers, of all people. Go figure."

"Hon, I wouldn't exactly call Serosa'ruth and myself very experienced in adventuring in and of itself. We've only done it for about a year ourselves. Though, we both do have a fairly advanced military background, which helps, I suppose. Still, I guess we could help your out in your own ventures, if you wish. You're welcome to join us for the long run, as long as Sero says it's okay, and I doubt he'll object." The moon elf smiled warmly at the wild half-elf, pushing a few branches aside to step out of the woods and onto a dirt path.

Saeola returned the smile and followed, managing to duck under the branch before it was released. She joined Ky'itae on the path. "I'd like that very much, as long as you think I won't be a burden or anything."

"I'm sure you won't be any more of burden than Sero or myself, Saeola," the elf maiden chuckled, "We all have our talents and our screw-ups. And I'm sure your archery skills will come in handy... once we get that bow of yours replaced. C'mon, I can see a town up ahead. I'm sure they'll at least have something basic." Ky'itae urged the ranger on with her, and the duo quickly strode into the small settlement.

- - -

The two women browsed the shop, finding little of true interest aside from restocking on their food supplies. Eventually, Ky'itae found a skilled half-orc smith. The gray, hairy and burly hybrid listened to Saeola as the ranger requested a new longbow, and a sharper blade. Her short sword had already dulled and looked ready to snap in two. He nodded, rubbing his small beard in thought.

"I can make you a bow made out of oak, and… Hm, well… if you're more one to fight with finesse, I can forge you a pretty strong rapier. They're more for slashing and minor piercings than cleaving, but they're great if you fight with speed, not muscle. I can even add a few minor enchantments to the blade to make it sharper and stronger than it naturally could achieve. And I could enchant the bow to be more durable and shoot farther and faster, but the whole lot will cost you about a thousand silver if I do."

Saeola rubbed her chin in thought, weighing her bag of coins, unsure if she had enough money.

"I can lend you some money." Ky'itae offered. Saeola shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'd really rather not spend your money."

"You know," the half-orc inspected Saeola's short sword, "This would actually be pretty good to melt down and make into some simple bullets. If you sell this to me, I'll knock down the price of your commission to seven hundred silver."

"I'm still not sure if I can afford that…" the ranger sighed.

"Then I'll pitch in the rest, whether you like it or not." Ky'itae grinned, turning to the smith. "When can you finish making the bow and blade?"

"Stop by tomorrow around midday, and they should be ready. All right?" He raised a thick, dark blue eyebrow at Saeola.

"All right, that sounds good." The ranger handed him a bag of a few hundred silver coins. "That's in advance."

"Thank you, ladies." The half-orc bowed his head, turning back into his shop. "See you tomorrow."

The two women waved and went back to searching through the market. Saeola looked down at her hands, furrowing her narrow, yet semi-thick, black eyebrows.

"Think I have enough money to buy some leather gloves? It would probably make archery a bit more comfortable for me, not to mention the little extra protection."

"I'm sure we can find some decent ones that don't cost much." Ky'itae assured, reaching up to pat the half-elf on her shoulder.

- - -

True enough, they managed to find a good pair of gloves for Saeola, who slipped them on the minute she finished purchasing them. Afterward, they paid for a room in the only tavern in town, the Grinning Goblin Inn. Ky'itae ordered three tankards of ale as the two women sat down.

"Serosa'ruth always meets me at taverns when we split up like this." The moon elf explained to Saeola, "And he always seems to know exactly which inn to find me… It's so odd. Well, this is the only tavern around, so that only helps, eh?" Ky'itae grinned, taking an ale from the barmaid.

Saeola took another glass, sipping the alcohol slowly as the barmaid set the third one down at the table. The ranger looked down at her drink, wrinkling her nose in mild disgust.

"Ugh. Really watered it down, didn't they?" She asked, an eyebrow arched. Ky'itae shrugged, gulping her own ale.

"Yeah, but it's a drink, and I don't feel like having pure water right now." The elven fighter looked up as she raised her glass again, noticing her druid friend walk into the building. "Oh! Hey! Sero! Over here!" She waved the male elf over. Serosa'ruth walked over and seated himself between the two woman, pulling his ale over. He didn't drink it, nor make a move to remove the cloth on his face so that he could.

"So, you ladies get a room or two?" He asked.

"Yeah, just one. We spent a lot of money on supplies and new weapons for Saeola." Ky'itae explained, finishing her drink. "Hey! Barkeep! Can I have another round? A bit more 'zing' in it would be nice too, ya know."

The stick-like human grumbled from behind his counter, preparing another drink. Serosa'ruth rubbed his hooded neck.

"You really shouldn't drink too much, Ky…"

"Pssh. As Saeola said before you entered, it's all watered down." His friend retorted.

"It's true." Saeola confirmed with a nod. Serosa'ruth rolled his azure eyes.

"Whatever…" He swirled his tankard around slightly, causing the liquid inside to stir. "Anyway, I managed to find a druid grove some miles away from where we left. They're taking care of the matter."

"Well, that's good to know." Saeola gulped down more of the mediocre alcohol, "That guy really pissed me off…"

"Well, now that the matter is settled," Serosa'ruth tapped the table to gain the ranger's attention before she got herself into a temper, "What do you plan to do, Saeola?"

"Well… Ky'itae and I were talking about it before…" The half-elf bit her lip, "…Would it…. Would it be okay if I came along with you guys? I really have no experience at real adventuring, and I'll probably fare better with companions than on my own, right? I've nowhere else to go, and… well… You two seem like pleasant company." She smiled slightly, "Though I'm not sure if you'll be able to put up with me."

The druid laughed, clapping a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Saeola, I only hope you can put up with our own antics. Welcome aboard, my friend." He used his other arm to shake her hand.

She returned the gesture, grinning, "Glad to be along."