Chapter Three: Lessons Learned

Conner

Conner slowly opens his eyes to see his recent lover tiptoe over to his clothing. She bends to pick up his coat, offering him an enticing view.

Swiftly, he moves to stand behind her. "Was it my money you were after then?" Conner says softly. She spins around, and he snatches his coin purse from her. He had to admit while not all that surprised, his pride hurt. He opens the pouch and takes out a few coins. "Be satisfied with this." He takes her hand and thrusts the coins into it. "I should give you what you were worth, but you seem desperate, and I was taught to be generous."

She scoffs, "Maybe I should go there if they're so generous. But if they're the same as you in bed, I'd be bored out of my mind." She moves to dress quickly.

Now that definitely hurt his pride and something deep in him he couldn't put a name to. "You got your money, and I learned a valuable lesson." He walks to the door, opens it, and waits for her to leave. He dresses and makes his way downstairs. Scramsax spreads whale fat over wood chunks and tosses them in the hearth, intensifying the flames. Ice crystals mar the vision of the windows, and the only thing Conner could tell was that it was morning time. The door flings open, and a gust of wind blows in with such a force that it knocks over a few chairs closest to the door. Three strangers walk in, and Scramsax greets them with a hearty hello.

Conner sits at a long table near the fire, as do the three newcomers. "Breakfast." He says to Scramsax, who is now straightening the knocked-over chairs. "Anything good is fine."

A few others arrive, and by the time he gets his food, The Northlook Tavern is decently crowded. Some of the patrons he recognizes from last night. Conner listens to the talk of the bar. The energy is less boisterous the previous night as people look at each other with worry and panic.

"They found another body last night," whispers a dwarven male.

"I heard it was Horndred Sandbender." a young woman says at another table.

Next to him, a dwarven woman sits silently eating her food, a battleaxe sheathed to her back. He leans sideways, close to her. "What are they all talking about?"

The woman finishes her bite. She stands up with her plate to join his table. "Hlin Trollbane."

"Conner Trimace."

She nods. "I came here to get away from bounty hunting. Too many years of it, and it catches up with you if you don't know when to retire." she takes another bite full. "I've been here about a year since the murders started. The Council of Speakers hasn't even tried to investigate. They have enough problems with the supernatural winter."

Hlin sits back. Her axe clinks against the wooden chair. The three strangers that came in earlier must have overheard their conversation and moved closer to join Conner and Hlin. He is awestruck by the gorgeous woman with the two males. There was a radiance about her. He couldn't help but stare.

A man, a warrior by the looks at him and the fact that he carries with him a large sword strapped to his back, sits closest to him. "You have any suspects?" the man asks.

Hlin eyes them for a moment before continuing with a shrug. "Sephek Kaltro. He works for a merchant company named Torg's. Bastard has everyone wrapped around his finger. Charismatic that one is. Torg's moves around, and they were in every town when the murders happened." She adjusts herself in the seat. "The interesting part? He wears regular clothes. Like the cold doesn't bother him."

"Do you think he is working with the Frostmaiden everyone is talking about?" The beautiful woman asks.

Hlin shrugs, "So many questions with no answers. I'm willing to pay for those answers if you're interested."

"What would you want us to do?" the other male asks softly. It wasn't until he spoke that Conner noticed a creature stirring beside him on the floor.

"Find out the truth and deal with him accordingly. I may have retired from bounty hunting, but I can't just sit idly by while he kills people and gets away with it." She leans forward. "I'll pay you a hundred gold coins for his apprehension or whatever justice you deem necessary."

Conner nods his head. "I'm in." He looks at the others. Catching a murder wasn't going to be an easy task, and with no worldly knowledge, he could use the help.

The warrior nods, as do the others. Hlin then departs after telling them where to meet after the job is done and that Sephek was last headed to Bremen, two towns over to the west. Introductions between the adventurers are meted out, and Conner goes to pay his tab.

Scramsax holds up his hand, "Been paid for."

He looks at him questioningly.

"Selene gave me money before she left. Something about her owing you for a lie she said to you this morning."

Conner smiles and shakes his head. Women were confusing.


Sophia

She, Wren, and Conner stay at the tavern to chit chat while Nyxian walks down to the local outfitter to see if his armor could get repaired.

"How long have you been out of the monastery, Conner?" she asks.

"A day now. I left early yesterday morning."

"You've lived there your whole life?" Wren asks casually, stroking his pet, Jaeda.

"Yes, sir. This is my first time in town."

Sophia couldn't imagine being cooped up in one place for that long. Her mother and her would often travel, exploring caves and ancient temples. However, she is interested in the monks' knowledge and the artifacts that most monasteries guarded.

"How was your first night then?" Sophia asks.

Conner hesitates, looking around and avoiding eye contact with her.

"It's his first time in a tavern surrounded by women. How do you think his night went, Sophia?" Nyxian says, rejoining them.

Sophia's face feels flush as she realizes what he was referring to.

Nyxian grabs his things. "Let's move out. The day is wasting."

Sophia studies her champion companion as they walk out into the winter. His previous cloak is different than the one he wore before.

"They couldn't repair your old cloak?" She shouts from behind him. His long strides and the fierce winds make it hard for her to move forward quickly.

"Not in time. I traded the furs for a new one." As they get to the edge of the town, where the snow begins to thicken, a dwarf meets up with them. He hands her and the others snowshoes and hastily walks back toward the center of the city.

Her hands were already freezing, and working the lacings of the shoes was hard to do with the thick gloves. She moves to take them off, but Nyxian places his hands over hers. He bends to tie up the laces. "Thank you."

Sophia didn't know what to make of Nyxian. He held himself like the elites of Waterdeep. Confident, charismatic... authoritative. But, he was also warm and considerate. As are Wren and Conner. The group sticks to the main road that leads to Targos, where they decide to stop and rest for an hour or two before completing their journey to Bremen. The city is significant but not as big as Bryn Shander. Many people eye them curiously as they make their way through the town. Large ships can be seen in the distance. Parts of the sails frozen as others clink against the masts.

Sophia points out a sign from across the way. "Three Flags Sailing Tavern." The tavern is clean, warm, and dry, everyone looking tired and rundown. The place was quiet except for a stout woman with long gray hair. She flits about asking after the men and women before spotting them. "Come, children." She says, ushering them to an open table. "Warm yourselves up." As if on cue, someone adds another log to the hearth in the center of the tavern. The adventurers order drinks and hearty bowls of stew.

After some time, Sophia overhears some of the locals talking about an aggressive monster lurking in Maer Dualdon.

One male responds, "No one else is getting harassed."

"Maybe their tribute isn't enough—penance for the Frostmaiden." another says.

"A lot is going on in Ten Towns," Wren says to the others.

"No kidding," Nyxian says.

Sophia was always fascinated by how much one could learn in the tavern. She'd heard every dirty, vulgar joke there was. Fishermen definitely had some colorful language.


Conner

Conner didn't care for this tavern as he did The Northlook. He appreciated the music and liveliness, despite the bad weather it had. This place was depressing, and he felt terrible for the people of Targos.

They made their way down the Bremen trail when the trail disappeared beneath the snow.

"Great," Nyxian says with a sigh.

They continue walking, now having to rely entirely on their map of the Ten Towns.

Something whizzes towards Wren, and Conner tackles him to the ground. A javelin wedged into the snow next to them. Nyxian readies his Rhoka sword as three orcs run at them. Another spear is thrown at Nyxian. He swings his sword upwards, cutting it in half.

Wren extends his hand. A giant ball of fire lands atop the orcs, and they fall to the ground rolling in the snow. One of them shouts something in orcish.

Conner leaps in the air and slams his fist into one of the downed orcs.

Jaeda races towards the same one and claws at its face.

The other two orcs try to get to their feet, but Nyxian stabs his sword into the shoulder of one of them, slowing his ascension.

The orc grabs the impaled sword shoving it deeper, causing Nyxian to be pulled closer. The creature grabs Nyxian by the neck and squeezes.

Three force missiles hit the orc, grabbing Nyxian, forcing the creature to let go of him. The orc shouts something in orcish again.

"Right back at you, orc," Nyxian says, snatching his blade as the orc steps back.

Vines whip out from the ground to lash at the other creature that has managed to get back to his feet. This orc is the largest of them all. His bulky armor does nothing to lessen his intimidating size. Pieces snap and crunch away as it fights against the vines.

Conner breaths deep. He knows his opponent is nearing its end. He'd never killed anything other than animals before. His hesitation gives the creature a chance to rush him and knocks Conner to the snowy ground. The breath is knocked out of the monk as he manages to lift his foot and kick the orc off. The orc stumbles backward, falls, and impales itself on a javelin.

Conner catches his breath. He glimpses Wren and the orcs he is fighting, breaking free of its confinement. Dashing forward, he punches the giant orc once, stunning it. The orc staggers about, trying to regain its balance.

Nyxian and his orc circle each other as they block and parry each other's moves. The orc punches forward, catching Nyxian's chin. He retaliates, cutting the orc's neck, blood spraying in the air. The orc lies on the ground unmoving. Blood spilling out from his wounds to sully the snow.

Jaeda pounces on the giant orc Wren is fighting with, clawing furiously at the back of the creature's head. The orc reaches behind him and throws the Pangolin to the ground.

"No!" Wren shouts. Fire bursts from his hand. Pain etched on his face.

The orc screams, roaring in its native tongue. Its clothing singeing off even more from the first time it was hit by flames. At the same time, a piece of heavy rock slams into the orc's chest. The creature falls to his knees, and his head slumps forward. Conner looks in the direction the rock came from to see Sophia's outward hands. Her eyes are bright, unnaturally so. The smell of burning flesh and blood permeates the air as the scent is blown in Conner's direction. Wren runs to Jaeda and where she gets up and shakes bits of snow from her plated body.

Conner's hands shake as he looks around at the three lifeless orcs. He looks at his hands. Crimson smeared over them. Crunching snow interrupts his thoughts as Nyxian reaches down to grab a handful of snow and puts it in Conner's hands. Nyx rubs the snow around Conner's palms and grabs more to do it again. Slowly the blood drips off, and Conner falls to his knees to bury his hands and madly scrubs off the remainder of the blood. His body continues to shake as the others look at him. He closes his eyes and stills himself, focusing on his breathing. In, out, in, out. The freezing air burning the back of his throat. These weren't the wonders he wanted to experience. His training, everything he had learned up to this point, didn't prepare him for this feeling. His mind knew that he would have died if he didn't kill them, but his heart was a different matter entirely. For the first time, he thought maybe he'd been a fool to want to venture out of the safety of the monastery. He took for granted the elders and all they'd done for him.

A touch on his shoulder snaps him back to reality. Warmth spread throughout his body, and tears roll down his face. "It's never easy taking a life, Conner," Wren says softly behind him. "And it doesn't get any easier."

"Just know that you protected your companions and yourself," Nyxian comments as well. He makes a sweeping gesture with his hand. "They would have attacked someone else. Someone who possibly doesn't have the same strength and skill as we do."

Sophia moves to stand before him and offers her hand. Her tender smile soothes his heart, as does his comrade's words. He takes her hand and stands, kissing it before he lets go. He nods to the others. Another lesson. "We should hurry. We have a murderer to stop."