Chapter 1
The undead hunter Shadimir gazed up a the clear sky. He parted his lips in a smile as he turned his head, watching his friends Jepetto, Deidra, and Aliyah pack up their camp. After making sure that no one was looking, he put on a white cotton shirt and leather breeches.
"Are you going to stand there just looking at the sky, or are you going to help us?" asked Aliyah asked with a smile as she finished packing her tent. She was tall and slender with long blond hair. Her right eye was a hazel color, but her left eye had no color.
Shadimir turned to his sister in law, running his fingers through his silver hair that was at ear length. He heard a soft buzzing sound coming from Aliyah's left eye as it was moving around in a circle.
Before she said anything more to Shadimir, Aliyah turned to the deep gnome Jepetto, who was wearing his green-lense goggles and a brown leather overcoat. "Jepetto, it's doing it again."
Jepetto looked over at Aliyah, quickly seeing her left eye moving in fast circles. He had made the eyes for Aliyah after she had lost her original eye in a fight against a monk named Karin. When she had placed her newly made eye in her skull, not only could she see better out of her left eye than before, but she also noticed that she could see through invisibility, and secret doors.
The svirfneblin chanted a word and tapped the left eye. The eye quickly stopped and Aliyah smiled.
She thanked Jepetto, then turned her attention back other her brother in law. "Do you want to help out or not?"
"Oh leave him alone Aliyah," the halfling Deidra, who wore brown leather armor, called out from behind a pile of dry firewood. She had tied her dark brown hair up in a bun and smiled. "Let Shadimir enjoy the sun. After all while we were shopping and laughing it up in Sundabar, he was cooped up inside of a hot and dark building."
Shadimir laughed as he felt a cool breeze brush up against his back.
For the past two weeks, he and his companions had been in the city of Sundabar on business. While his fellow travelers were walking around the city, soaking up the sites and sun, Shadimir had stayed at the palace, carving a large marble statue of Mielikki for the town's ruler Helm Dwarffriend. Each day Shadimir would wake up, eat breakfast, then go to work alone inside of a quiet room. Each night when he went to bed, he would think about his wife Stephanie and his three children. His oldest daughter Dalla was now studying under the tutelage under Lady Danica Bonaduce. Then there were the twins Jacen and Andreya, who where just over a year old.
Helm Dwarffriend had thanked the undead hunter for the statue, paying him a small sack of gold. Shadimir had tried to refuse, but the ruler of Sundabar had made sure the man who carved the beautiful statue left town with his payment.
Shadimir and his friends had left Sundabar three days ago, traveling down the Moon Pass through the mountains. They had just made camp along the outskirts of the small town known as Jalanthar.
"If we travel far enough, we can make it to Everlund by nightfall," Shadimir said calmly as he placed on his elven chain armor over his shirt and pants then went to help Aliyah with some of the packing.
Aliyah smiled, but her magical eye moved slightly left, detecting movement several feet away from the camp. "Looks like we have some company," she said in a quiet voice that was a little bit over a whisper. She quickly strapped on her studded leather over her body and drew her scimitars.
Shadimir picked up his magical bastard sword Gabriel and his enchanted light mace.
"You might as well come out of hiding," the undead hunter called out in a loud voice.
From behind a large group of rocks left of the camp, three muscular drow elves dressed in grey armor. Two of them were male and one of them male, and they began walking towards the camp. The female's grey eyes were looking straight at Jepetto.
A shiver went through the deep gnome's skin. He had back experiences with dark elves in the past. "I think she wants to talk to you Shadimir," Jepetto remarked in a nervous voice, taking off his goggles.
"You gnome, come here," The female drow demanded in a loud voice," I will not deal with filthy humans or runt halflings."
Shadimir noticed the white spider painted on the female's chest piece. He quickly identified it as a symbol of Lolth, the Queen of Spiders. "Don't worry Jepetto, I'll back you up," Shadimir whispered as he and his deep gnome companion walked towards the drow.
"Can...can we help you?" Jepetto asked nervously.
The drow female eyed Shadimir once more, but only for a second, then looked at Jepetto. "I am Izabella. We have been tracking some riders in grey armor who have come through this area. They came into our city and took something very important to us."
Jepetto bit his lip, then looked up at Shadimir, who shrugged his shoulders. The gnome looked back at the drow. "We haven't seen any riders coming through here. If you want..." he stopped talking when he saw a small black spider crawling towards his feet.
Since he was a small child, Jepetto had hated spiders.
When he saw the black arachnid crawling on the ground, all thoughts of diplomacy left the deep gnome's mind.
He quickly jumped on the spider, crushing it with his leather boots.
"KILL THEM!" the drow female shouted as she drew her two long swords. She swung both blades at the deep gnome's head, but Shadimir stepped forward, swinging Gabriel at her right side. Using her quick reflexes, Izabella brought her blades down, parrying Gabriel's strike. She then stabbed Shadimir's left shoulder with one of her swords, piercing through his armor.
Aliyah and Deidra ran forward, each taking on one of the males. Aliyah snapped her scimitars forward. stabbing both of her weapons deeply into her foe's sides, then pulled them out, watching him drop.
Deidra moved left then sprang forward with her daggers upward. The drow male sword dodged both daggers and stepped back.
The halfling quickly moved right, avoiding a slash attack by the drow she was fighting. She then dipped left, and snapped her wrist forward, her dagger flying from her hand and soaring into the drow's windpipe. He cursed the halfling before he fell.
Shadimir and Izabella's blade's continued to dance. Jepetto had moved out of the way, but tripped on a rock and fell to the ground.
The silver hair hunter felt blood seep from the small shoulder wound the drow female had given him.
Izabella moved left, bringing her swords down in a cross-cut at almost blinding speed, but Shadimir had moved just as fast, the sharp blade of Gabriel deflecting both of the drow female's attacks.
Izabella stepped back, but her eyes caught the undead hunter bringing his sword in from the right. The drow female snapped her left hand forward, the long sword making a loud clang upon impact with Gabriel's edge.
The force of Izabella's parry caused Shadimir to spin in a circle. The hunter used his momentum to bring his mace hard across the drow female's jaw. He then drove Gabriel deeply through her stomach and pulled it out in one quick motion.
The blow from the hunter's mace shattered parts of Izabella's jaw. She dropped her weapons and dropped to her knees, holding her bleeding stomach. "Finish it," she cried in drow tongue.
Shadimir stood there holding his weapons. He walked up to the drow female, then once again drove Gabriel through her stomach, ending her life.
After he pulled Gabriel from her body, Shadimir turned away.
He didn't like killing, but we wouldn't just stand there while someone was going to murder his friend.
"Well I guess that was good exercise," commented Aliyah as she brought the bodies of the two male drow over by the female drow. Shadimir nodded, then looked at Jepetto, who was being helped by Deidra.
Normally Jepetto wouldn't just stand still in a fight, but something about drow just scared the deep gnome to death.
He started to walk over to his friend when he heard a noise coming from around the camp. "Not again," the undead hunter spat as he held his weapons at his side.
"Please we mean no hard," answered a soft voice," we just wanted to see who you are."
The owner of the voice was a beautiful little blond girl with slightly pointed ears, wearing a plum sundress. Behind the little girl were two young looking half orcs who appeared to be identical twins. They wore the same dark leather pants, and blue cotton shirts. They were relatively handsome-for half orcs.
"You must come to our village," the little girl said softly," everyone is waiting for you."
Shadimir, Jepetto, Aliyah, and Deidra all exchanged glances, then looked at the little girl. "What do you mean dear?" Aliyah asked the little girl.
"The druidess said that she saw you in a vision," she answered, pointing to Shadimir," and that you would help us fight the Wolves."
One of the half orcs stepped forward. Shadimir noticed that he and his twin had the same blue eyes as the little girl. "Our people sent us out here to look for you. I know it sounds strange, but you will have your questions answered if you come with us."
Shadimir nodded and they all began walking to Jalanthar.
Deidra looked at the little girl, then up at the half orcs, also noticing that they had the same color of eyes. "Are you all related?" she asked curiously.
"I am Ansil," answered the half orc standing next to Aliyah," and this is my brother Hansil. The little girl is our niece Lorlei. Her parents died a few months ago at the hands of orcs, as did ours. My brother and I work at the school house to help take care of her."
The halfling bowed her head. "I see."
Aliyah walked next to Ansil, her left eye moving up and down as she looked at him. "So who are these Wolves anyways?"
Ansil didn't answer, but Hansil responded in a calm voice," They are monsters, and they kidnap children and take them away. When they came to Jalanthar twenty years ago, they took our uncle Jansil and injured our mother Mollie."
"I'm sorry," Aliyah said in a quiet voice.
A few feet in the back, Shadimir walked side by side with Jepetto. He noticed the sorrowful look on the deep gnome's face. "Are you going to be all right? If it's about the spiders, don't worry about it. You want to know how many I had to kill for Alustriel?" He patted Jepetto's back. "Help me Shadimir, I'm the all powerful mage of Silverymoon. I can fight Princes of Shade and Sammaster, but I can't even stand up to a little spider," he added in his impression of Alustriel's voice.
Jepetto smiled at his friend's attempt to cheer him up. "You're going to pay for that."
Shadimir nodded," Oh I know I am, but cheering you up makes it worth the punishment."