Chapter 2
Deep within the Moonwood Forest, the death knight Amnaill kept a hand on his sword, making sure his skeleton minions were ready for battle. The stood at six feet tall. His rotting corpse was covered in black scale mail armor. His black helmet resembled a bull's head, with two small eye slits in the middle, and long white horns pointing towards the sky.
"Amnaill," Malice's sultry voice whispered in his mind. "Shadimir is coming for the King's Tear. Have your men ready." Amnaill laughed as he watched the skeletons stumble around. He would never call these pitiful creatures men.
"What about the King's Tear?" the death knight asked out loud. "Did you want me to grab it?"
"If you can," Malice responded. "Just bring Shadimir to me alive. If anyone tries to stop you, kill them!" Amnaill grinned from beneath his black helmet and turned to his men, ready to give the order to march.
Standing at Silverymoon's North Gate, Stephanie, Ophila, and Deidra waited for the guests from Cormyr to arrive. Dressed in silver chain mail armor, the cleric of Kelemvor looked down the road. Her holy symbol hung loosely around her neck and her sword Azrael was sheathed on her belt. "They should have arrived by now."
"It's early in the afternoon," Deidra the halfling said softly. She was dressed in her leather armor with her dark brown hair hanging past her shoulders. "They probably stopped to rest."
Stephanie turned and looked at the elven druid named Ophila, who wore brown hide armor over her slender body. She had olive skin and brown hair.
The doomguide had met Ophila when Shadimir had come back from his business trip in Sundabar. She had quickly taken a liking to the druid and was surprised to learn that she a was friend of Shadimir's father Alain.
"Do your eyes see anything?" Stephanie asked Ophila.
The druid looked out into the distance. She saw a large wooden carriage being drawn by two beautiful brown horses. The driver was a tall thing man with sandy brown hair. Her wore a silk white surcoat with a green tabard over it.
Ophila quickly described this to Stephanie, then added," On the front of his tabard appears to be a symbol of some sort. It looks like a green dragon with its wings spread out."
Stephanie bit her lip, unable to remember the symbol. She had been to Cormyr many times in her forty years of life. Most recently, she and Shadimir had visited the city of Suzail to help console Queen Filfaeril about losing her husband and her daughter in the war that had almost destroyed the kingdom.
Ophila quickly saw something else. "The carriage just stopped. It looks like seven orcs are going to attack."
Stephanie drew Azrael. She said the word Lyonsbane and blue flames sprouted from the bastard sword's crosspiece, engulfing the blade. Deidra quickly drew her daggers while Ophila closed her eyes, The elf's slender body shifted to the shape of a horse. The doomguide ran towards the carriage while Deidra climbed on Ophila's back.
The horse and her rider dashed forward, passing Stephanie. Two of the seven orcs drew their battle-axes, and waited for the halfling to get close.
When Ophila stopped within ten feet of the orcs, Deidra leapt from the druid's back and rolled past the two orcs. The halfling stood up, and stabbed an orc that was trying to climb on to the wagon. Deidra then swiped the dagger in her left hand across the neck of the orc.
The two orcs were ready to attack the halfling, but they heard a loud growl from behind them. They turned to see a large brown bear standing where the halfling's horse once stood.
The bear raked her claws hard across the face of one of the orcs. The other orc looked at the bear, then ran.
The driver of the carriage stood in awe as he watched the halfling take down two more orcs. "Giogi, what's going on out there?" asked a feminine voice from inside of the carriage.
"Nothing darling," Giogi responded, brushing back his purple cape. His right hand drew the foil on his belt. "Everything is fine Cat." One of the orcs stepped on to the driver's seat. The orc swung his battle-axe at Giogi's waist. Giogi stepped back to avoid the attack. He lightly swiped his foil across the orc's let eye. He then made another quick stab at the orc's neck. His brown eyes watched as the dying orc stepped backwards and fell off of the carriage.
"Giogi Wyrvenspur that didn't sound like nothing," Cat yelled from inside of the carriage. She peeked her head outside one of the carriage windows. She was a beautiful woman with long curly reddish blond hair and green eyes. Cat Wyrvenspur watched as a woman in chain mail armor, wielding a blue flaming bastard sword cut off the head of the last orc. "Stephanie Munoz, its good to see you again," Cat said as she stepped out of the carriage. She was wearing a beautiful red dress.
Giogi looked over, seeing the doomguide standing over the body of the headless orc. "Sweet Selune, it really is you, Stephanie."
After saying a silent prayer to her god Kelemvor to deliver the souls of the dead orcs to their god, Stephanie turned to the nobles. "Deidra, and Ophila, may I introduce you to Giogi and Cat Wyrvenspur." The halfling nodded while Ophila shifted back to her normal elven shape. "So I take it you are both the nobles of Cormyr who are staying with me and Shadimir?" Stephanie asked.
Giogi Wyrvenspur smiled. "Cat and I are on vacation, and we wanted to see what beautiful artworks the Gem of the North had to offer. So I thought, why not stay with Shadimir and Stephanie."
Cat nodded, and looked at Stephanie. "How are your children and husband doing?" she asked pleasantly.
"Well the twins are at home with my sister Aliyah," the cleric answered. "Dalla is still training at the Spirit Soaring, but she will be back for the Winter Holiday. As for Shadimir, he had some business to attend to in the Moonwood Forest, though he should be back later."
"Sounds splendid," Giogi commented with a smile. "I would like to discuss with Shadimir about making a statue for the Wyrvenspur family back home. I'm sure he could sculpt a beautiful stone statue of my Cat."
"From what I hear, Shadimir is a good sculptor and carver," an angelic voice said a few feet behind Stephanie. "Too bad he and his little friend won't make it back home."
The doomguide spotted the owner of the voice standing next to a tree. She was a beautiful woman with blue-green eyes, pale skin and long curly black hair. The woman wore a purple robe and carried a staff in her hands. "Who are you?" the cleric of Kelemvor asked.
"I am a member of the Cult, and a friend of Malice," the woman answered. "My name is Lucia, and now Stephanie Munoz, it is your time to die."