Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 14
The shot in the dark
Jaheira sipped her tea, mentally cursing hot-headed elves.
She'd known of the other hunter not returning after patrol. It was something of a concern in her discussion with Vai and Kagain this morning, since Aoln was an asset for their group. But for Kivan to go look for him without telling her, with Elene in tow, was thoughtless in the extreme. The poor sentry she interrogated also mentioned Sorrel took Ajantis and one of the Fists on watch with them. Small blessing there. At least they could withstand a few extra minutes in a fight rather than be immediately annihilated.
"They'll be back soon, dear. Kivan should know not to stray too far," comforted Khalid.
She glared at him over the rim of her cup, memories of Tranzig's interrogation flashing through her mind. "That elf's judgment has been questionable of late. He would stop at nothing if Tazok was within reach. Even if it means getting everyone killed."
"You don't really believe that," he replied. "We can both see he looks out for Elene, in his own way."
"That girl looks up to him far too much," groused the druid, implicitly conceding the point.
Khalid cracked a small smile. "She has a good head on her shoulders. If anything, I'd say she'll be the one to temper him when the time comes. She can have that effect on people."
"Hmm. We will have to see about that."
Most of the camp was already awake to welcome the first streaks of light in the sky. Heavy mist hung in the air that morning. Despite the reduced visibility, they were going to move their base very soon. Vai sensed that they were getting close to their target and may need to break into smaller groups, splinter off into a few platoons. Their resources would be more difficult to coordinate but doing so reduced the likelihood that they would be discovered. If the bandits figured out the size of the force pursuing them, they will scatter to the four winds once more, bringing their efforts back to square one.
Jaheira cast her gaze around the camp for the two other members of her group. Xan had been up for hours, equally annoyed at Kivan and Elene for their impulsiveness, having missed their departure by mere minutes. Despite his expressionless face, the druid could tell the enchanter was still fuming about it. Imoen was bent over her pack, looking unusually withdrawn. Worried about her friend, perhaps. The past months have shown her the real dangers of "hero-ing" work, that worse things than death awaited those who could not defend themselves.
Xan stood abruptly at the edge of the camp, tilting his head slightly before calling out, "There are people running, coming this way."
A hush fell over the camp, followed by jostling and clattering as all present scrambled for their weapons or armour. Vai shouted for a vanguard to head off the possible attack. Jaheira grabbed her staff and strode over to join Xan, rattling off some quick prayers to Silvanus in her head. Khalid was close behind.
Near Xan, the dwarf Kagain had also jumped to his feet, hefting his axe. "Which way?"
Xan pointed north. Kagain and two nearby Fists stormed ahead in that direction to act as the vanguard. Imoen winked at Xan as she ran past with her bow. As Jaheira moved past, he gave her a grim look before following her and Khalid.
In the end, there was no real need for so many to rush to the camp's defence. The actual encounter happened and ended in seconds.
A man in distinct Fist armour came barrelling through the trees, sword in one hand while the other cradled his right side, where an arrow protruded. The Fist solider made a relieved sound when he caught sight of Kagain and his comrades. Further behind him, there were men in pursuit, but they hadn't caught sight of the welcoming party yet, thanks to the mist that hung heavy over the forest.
Kagain didn't give them a chance. He rushed forward while manoeuvring his axe, then threw the weapon at the first pursuer coming into his line of sight. Even at quite a range, the dwarf didn't miss, the momentum of the axe sending the unsuspecting man almost flying back. Another Fist stepped up with a longbow and sent an arrow into the skull of another pursuer. The third person wised up, skidding to a halt before turning tail in the other direction.
"The bastard doesn't get away with his life, lads!" Kagain growled as he gave chase with the Fists.
"Imoen, go with them!" Jaheira barked.
Imoen nodded, taking out a wand of Magic Missile as she ran. Khalid and Xan went with her. Trusting that they will catch the third man, Jaheira approached the Fist with the arrow in his side. He was bent over, sword forgotten on the ground as he tried to catch his breath against a tree.
"Let me see," she told him, firm but gentle.
The man nodded, then turned so that she could see his wounded side. She helped seat him against the tree and began probing the wound. He pulled off his helmet with a grunt, revealing a flustered half-elven man with tawny hair.
"Name's Godric, maam. I went with Corporal Sorrel and the others to look for Aoln."
Jaheira's hands froze, her eyes whipped up to stare at him. "Where are the others?"
"Still standing when I left them. We found a drow, she said was running from a big group of Talons. The Corporal told me to get back to camp to warn you, to be ready for an attack." He winced, grasping his side. "The Talons are a lot closer than we thought, maam. I ran into those three barely minutes after I left the others and I've been trying to lose them in the mist since. Didn't mean to lead them back to camp, I swear it."
"Sorrel and the others, where did they go?" she prompted him.
"I don't know, maam. I'd think they would have gone to look for that big group, since the drow said Aoln might be on the run from them, too."
The druid paused for a moment, thinking. Then she refocused on Godric's wound. "I'm going to pull this arrow out.
"Should I bite down on something…"
The rest of Godric's sentence erupted in a shout as Jaheira pulled the offending arrow from his body, noting detachedly that it managed to miss all his vitals by some uncommon luck. As the man hissed in pain, she poured a healing spell into the wound, causing the bleeding to peter out.
"Doesn't look like the arrow was poisoned. Come, take off your chestpiece, I need to bind it."
Godric shot her an incredulous look, but obediently began to unlace the straps of his chestpiece. "I thought you're supposed to count to three or something."
"Doesn't make it hurt less, from my experience," she answered drily. "We are heading out as soon as you can walk."
"Yes, maam," Godric sighed.
Vai appeared at that moment in full regalia, flanked by ten Fists and Garrick. "Godric. Report."
By the time Godric rattled off his report and answered his superior's questions, Jaheira was already tying off the ends of his bandage. She helped him strap his armour on, got him back to his feet when she was done, then stood to face Vai.
"We should pursue. Once the Talon group knows we're here…" she trailed off meaningfully.
Vai gave a curt nod, glancing at Garrick. "Who should we speak to? Sorrel's group or Kagain's?"
"Kagain's." Jaheira paused, watching Garrick. "Reach out to Xan."
Garrick took out a piece of wire from his pouch. "Xan's the elf mage, right? I ask him for directions, that's it? Alright, here we go." His hand moved in a quick set of motions while he uttered a few words. It sounded like gibberish to Jaheira, but once he was done, he asked out loud, "Xan, a platoon is coming after you. How far are you and how do we find you?"
A few tense seconds lapsed, with Vai and Jaheira staring at Garrick intently, waiting for an answer. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Er, we have to give him some time to reply."
"We are waiting," Vai replied coolly.
"Hang on," the bard started. "He says not far, go north from our spot until some standing stones, then east until we find them. They got their man."
Vai jerked her head north. "Let's move."
The group jogged forward in formation, the Fists taking the lead in a rough U-shape, shielding Jaheira, Garrick and Godric behind them. Along the way, Jaheira asked Godric about the drow, trying to figure out where the drow could have come from. She had never heard of Underdark routes through the Wood of Sharp Teeth, but then again, stranger things have been found in the wild. Godric could offer nothing more than what he saw and heard, only that the drow was easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever set eyes on.
They found the standing stones Xan mentioned quickly enough, then headed east. Jaheira wondered at the stone structures, struck by the formation done in perfect harmony with the surrounding trees and foliage. To her, it seemed very much like the handiwork of a druid circle. And yet she had seen no sign of any druids since they'd entered the woods. Had they been killed by the bandits? Yet another crime these monsters would pay for if that were true, she thought.
Eventually they reached a glade littered with large rocks. Kagain and the two Fists with him were standing to one side having a discussion while Khalid, Imoen and Xan were huddled on another side. The man they were pursuing was no more than a bloody smear on the ground between the two groups. Likely put out of his misery once he'd outlived his usefulness. They all looked towards the approaching platoon with Vai at the head. Jaheira saw Imoen steal a furtive glance at the corpse, then shuddered as she looked away.
"Officer Vai," one of the Fists with Kagain snapped off a salute. "We know where their group is based."
"Close?" the captain raised an eyebrow at him.
"Past some ponds over there, camped along a dell. Half an hour's march."
"How many?"
"More than 20, he said," the Fist gestured to the dead man. "There's a Talon commander among them, named Raiken."
Vai nodded, satisfied. "We can handle that. But we need that commander alive."
"And make him squeal like this pig here. I wanna know what happened to my caravan," Kagain's eyes glinted with malice.
"What about Kivan and his group?" Jaheira cut in.
"No word," Xan answered. "These scouts never caught sight of them."
"We can't afford to wait." Vai shook her head. "We must hit them before they realise their scouts are missing. The others will have to catch up."
Jaheira exchanged a worried glance with Khalid, but there was nothing else to be said. Vai had voiced their own thoughts.
They went past a set of large ponds, with ground in between them covered in moss and leaves. The terrain became uneven from there, making the trek slightly challenging for the men in full armour. These woods were majestic, Jaheira thought, nature as untouched as Silvanus would have wished it. It was no wonder that it's been so difficult to track the bandits to their source, if they hid themselves so deeply in the wilderness. No one would think to go this deep into the Wood of Sharp Teeth unless they were a druid. Or a criminal.
Xan abruptly went bolt still when they had barely travelled a scant quarter of an hour, his eyes scanning the horizon. Everyone held their positions even as their hands hovered over their weapons. The only sound the rest could hear was the chirping of insects and birds, and the minute creaks of armour as they waited tensely for some kind of signal from the elf.
"They're coming this way," Xan hissed suddenly.
"We're fighting in the open," Khalid pointed out.
Vai nodded, making up her mind. "Move down this way, men, to the copse of pines. Bows ready."
Jaheira moved ahead of the others, finding a suitable tree to crouch behind. She glanced at the terrain, estimating that they could make a decent kill zone if they struck just as the bandits cleared the treeline and into the open. An entanglement spell would do well here. But if the bandits had more archers on hand, it could be disadvantageous for her group to persist with a ranged battle, they would get picked off one by one, cover or no.
There was no time, though. Even she could hear the beginnings of footsteps from where she was hiding. Khalid flashed her a grim smile as he drew his bow. On the other side of him, Imoen's brows were furrowed in concentration as her knuckles grew white over her bow while Xan stood calmly with a hand in his pouch of spell components.
Their quarry stepped out of the treeline, a cruel-looking bunch of men in armours of deep black. Like the Fists, they also walked in a loose formation, with swordsmen at the fore and bowmen at the back. She quickly estimated over 20 men, against their group of 20. It would be an even fight – the Talons were as well-trained as the Fists, from what she'd seen.
"Aim for ones on the right," Xan said quietly, fingering a piece of metal.
Imoen nodded as both she and Khalid nocked arrows to their bows. It was a strategy they'd executed before. Likewise, the Fist all had their bows drawn and their targets selected.
Terse seconds ticked by as the Talons crossed the open terrain, then Vai said, "Loose."
Jaheira cast her entanglement spell right in the middle of the Talon formation the same time Xan's Holding spell went off, causing shouts of surprise to erupt. The shouts turned to screams when the arrows met their marks, with a few paralysed Talons on the right toppling over dead immediately as they were unable to evade the arrows. It was a good sweep, easily five downed in the first volley, Jaheira estimated, holding herself in reserve for melee combat or healing.
"Back to the treeline!" one of the Talons at the back roared, a broad man in heavy armour.
That must be Raiken.
The Talons backpedalled to the safety of the trees, except for the unlucky few still trapped in the twisting vines sprouting from the ground. Another volley of arrows put paid to the stragglers, nearly halving the numbers of the Talons within a minute.
"Officer, do we pursue?" asked one of the Fists.
"Not when they're dug in. Another volley!"
Imoen groaned in frustration as the rest loosed another round of arrows into the opposite treeline. Her shortbow didn't have the range for it. The arrows didn't meet the intended targets, anyway. Jaheira frowned in concern. They needed to close before Raiken got it in his head to make a run for it. Then their risky foray would have been in vain.
Before she could voice out her concern, more shouts rang out from the Talons. Bizarrely, a handful of them seemed to bolt out from cover and out in the open, shouting and pointing at the ground as though something was erupting from the earth. Jaheira could hear Raiken screaming at the men to come back, but the Fists made quick work of them. In the midst of the chaos, one of the bandits toppled forward, struck by an arrow that came from behind the Talons.
"What's happening over there?" Imoen cried out.
As if on cue, a sphere of pure inky darkness engulfed the remaining Talons. The Talons that stepped out of the darkness were quickly despatched by a rapidly closing trio of assailants, consisting of two men in shining plate armour and a woman shimmering blue with the Weave. Jaheira exhaled in relief. It seemed they converged with Kivan and the rest, after all, even if in a roundabout way.
"Men, move up!" Vai shouted.
They didn't need to be told twice. To a man, they charged across the terrain, like the whips of Asmodeus were behind them. As they approached their adversaries, the blot of darkness suddenly disappeared, giving them full visibility of the battlefield. Battle cries on their lips, the Fists cut through the remaining Talons' line like butter. What started out as an even fight ended up becoming a massacre.
Once she checked Khalid was unharmed, Jaheira went to Elene as the Fists finished off the battle. The young elf gave her a smile, the magical armour casting a bluish sheen on her sweaty skin. "Great strategy, hitting them as they went out in the open."
"You were prepared to ambush them all along?" asked the druid with suspicion.
Elene exchanged an uneasy glance with Ajantis nearby before she spoke. "Some of us were. The rest of us just wanted to see where they were going."
"Oh, thank Tymora you're alright, Lene," Imoen caught up, clapping her friend on the shoulder. "Where have you been?"
"Doesn't matter." The girl dropped her gaze. "We were too late to save Aoln from the Talons."
Jaheira's jaw tightened. "Dead?"
"Yes." Elene nodded, looking around distractedly. "Very dead."
"There was nothing we could have done, my lady," Ajantis said gently.
Jaheira exhaled slowly through her nose. She'd suspected these bandits must have had some kind of information for their scouts to skim so close to the Fist encampment. At least this confirmed it. They likely tortured it out of Vai's prize tracker.
"Where is Kivan?" the druid asked instead.
"Uh, about that. I need to tell you something," Elene gave her an anxious look.
"Which one is their commander?" barked Vai suddenly as she scanned the carnage.
"I think you're looking for this one here, Officer."
Jaheira waved off her ward, moving instead to join Vai. Sorrel was crouched over a heavy-armoured man who lay panting on the ground. His sword was evenly aimed for the prone man's throat. The Talon commander had suffered a blow to the head, which was bleeding heavily, but seemed otherwise lucid. He was a surprisingly affable-looking man, given his profession. Despite the precarious position he was in, he seemed unafraid.
Vai stood over Sorrel. "Corporal, you left the camp this morning without orders to do so."
He looked up at her, his face unreadable. "I did, Officer." He waved a hand at his captive. "To get you this."
She levelled a cool look at him. "We will discuss this later." Then she turned to the Talon commander. "You are Raiken, I presume?"
"Who's asking?" the man rasped.
"Your executioner if you don't cooperate."
"Women these days, already with the threats," he sighed.
Sorrel smirked at that but smothered the expression quickly when he saw Vai look his way.
"Just take his fingers off one at a time, he'll start talking," Kagain remarked, tone deceptively mild. "What happened to my caravan, fool?"
The man squinted at him. "Which caravan?"
"Oh, for Corellon's sake," Xan groaned, pulling a hand down his face in agitation. "Can I handle this?"
Vai sent a questioning look at Jaheira, which she responded to with a nod. "He is good with…interrogations."
"Go ahead then."
Despite what she said, Jaheira tried not to think about Tranzig. But Xan told her he now had the right spell for this sort of situation, something he picked up from Thalantyr, a local mage of some power, before they left Beregost. She hoped his effort this time would be a lot less…messy than their last interrogation.
Xan stood over the Talon commander, his features contemplative. "We will have one hour to get what we need."
"Do what you must," Jaheira told him.
The elf raised his hand to weave a complicated pattern even as he uttered a melodic chant. When he was done, the Talon commander's face became unnaturally still, before he looked up at Xan, as if waiting for instructions.
"Is your name Raiken?" Xan asked.
"Yes," the man replied automatically.
Vai straightened, eyebrows raised. "That's a handy ability. Now ask him where his base is."
Raiken turned out to be a key person in the Talon hierarchy. He not only knew where the base was, he also knew the patterns for bandit raids and the key routes they targeted. When asked who his group worked for, to his knowledge, the Talons were being paid by Tazok, just like the Chill mercenaries. As for who was paying Tazok, now that was anyone's guess. There was a betting pool going at camp that he was either working for the Zhentarim or one of the less scrupulous merchant guilds in the region. The bandits and the mercenaries didn't care as long as the money and ale kept flowing.
"Ask him about my caravan," Kagain prodded Xan.
"Really, you're gonna have to tell me which caravan. We've sacked so many I've lost count," Raiken replied, his tone still oddly without inflection as he spoke.
"As if you'd forget the caravan with Eddard Silvershield in it," the dwarf growled.
Vai and the nearby Fists turned to stare at Kagain in shock.
"You'll have to ask Teven. He was bragging about some Silvershield heirloom a few tendays back. Was none of my concern."
"You lost Duke Silvershield's caravan?" Vai rounded on Kagain, indignance loud in her voice.
"I didn't 'lose' it, woman. I'd spent a fortune on guards for that route and these bastards took it out from under my nose!"
"Can we please focus here, we only have one hour with him," Xan spoke up tersely.
Vai snapped back to attention. "Tell him to lead us to the camp, safest route he can think of."
The group got ready to move out again, picking off what they could from the remains of the Talons. Garrick reached out with his spell to the other dozen or so Fists they'd left behind, to coordinate their catch-up. As Jaheira turned away, Elene tugged at her arm urgently.
"Jaheira, I really need to tell you something."
The druid paused at the unease in her tone. "Lead on then."
Swiftly, Elene led her to a nearby thicket of trees. Even under the morning light, the area was somewhat obscured from the main battlefield. An excellent archer's nest, Jaheira mused. Sure enough, their ranger companion was behind the thicket, counting the arrows in his quiver. What she didn't expect, however, was a heavily cloaked and hooded figure resting at the foot of a tree. She had a good idea who this person was, however.
"The drow, I presume," she remarked.
Elene started at that. "How did you…? Right. You found Godric, of course."
"She led you to this band?"
"Yes. She also helped in the battle. Her name's Viconia."
"I can speak for myself, jalil," Viconia remarked, raising her head to reveal her dusky skin and snowy hair. Her crimson eyes flashed with defiance. "I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. When can I expect better 'treatment' from you and your kind?"
"I…was thinking of letting you go," Elene confessed.
Viconia whipped her head toward her at that, the same time Kivan did. "Elene! You can't just set this creature loose. There's no telling what evil she will get up to."
"She's done nothing wrong, Kivan. If anything, she's the one wronged by those men," Elene replied reasonably, flicking a sympathetic look at Viconia. "And she's right, she's met her end of the bargain. We have no reason to hold her."
"Vai would want to question her," cautioned Jaheira.
"I am not in league with those men. Is it too much to ask to pass through these lands unmolested? I only wish to be left alone!" snapped Viconia.
"Hold your tongue!" Kivan hissed, his hand on his hunting knife. Viconia leaned back, startled.
"I don't know, Jaheira." Elene rubbed the back of her neck as she glanced apprehensively at Kivan. "The way the Fists treat their prisoners. I don't think I want to put her through that, drow or no."
Jaheira studied Viconia carefully as she considered their options. The girl made valid points, but as Kivan said, it would be unwise to set an unknown drow loose. This went beyond his evident prejudice against drow. There was no telling if this drow used to be an accomplice of the Talons until their deal soured. Or worse, what if this drow ran off to the bandit camp to warn the brigands in return for safe haven there? Too much uncertainty in the current situation.
And yet, she sensed that this decision was important to Elene. A drop of fairness in the ugly, brutal days they'd lived through since their meeting at the Friendly Arm Inn. She felt heartened that Gorion's compassion lived on in his daughter.
"If Vai asks, she escaped," the druid spoke, at last.
Kivan shot her a betrayed look, but Elene's pleased smile more than counterbalanced his effect.
Viconia stared at all of them in undisguised astonishment. "I…can go?"
"You heard the woman. Here, take this for the road," Elene handed her a healing potion. "Head south if you can. You don't want to be close by for what will come."
Still in a state of astonishment, Viconia pocketed the potion and got to her feet. "Thank you, abbil. You are the first surfacer to show me kindness. I will pray to Shar for your victory." She paused, then tilted her head slightly. "Failing that, a swift death."
A slight smile lingered on Elene's lips as the drow departed, her green eyes brightened for the first time in days. The girl then turned to give Kivan a placating look. Jaheira observed the tension seep out almost in small drips from Kivan's shoulders. Despite his obvious displeasure, he allowed the decision to stand. It felt like days ago, but the druid harked back to her conversation with Khalid earlier in the morning, about their ward's ability to sway people.
Once again, her husband was right in these matters.
Author's note:
Hope you're still enjoying the story!
One more chapter after this to build the final set-piece, then off we go. Quite excited to write the culmination of this plot, do expect a few characters to hit turning points by the end of the Bandit Camp arc. I do struggle with writing action scenes as I worry it gets too chaotic for people to follow, so do give feedback on areas you think can be improved as I go along. :)