As the morning light hit the treetops, Olly felt herself awaken and opened her eyes groggily. How long had it been since she had such a restful sleep? Her bones complained and popped as she lifted her head and shifted, suddenly becoming very away of the fact that she was resting against the Cleric, who was thankfully still asleep. She felt her heart rate skyrocket and quickly tried to remember what had transpired last night. She didn't remember drinking anything, and nothing had been eaten between the two that could have been poisoned...
Ed moved with a snore, his body finally being released to shift around and curl into a different position, a sigh of content as he continued to sleep. Had she been on top of him the whole night? Olly's face grow hot as she stood and looked down still half asleep in her body. He had let her sleep like that on him practically all night...
"He really isn't like anyone is he?" she said half smiling and half confused. She decided the only way to proceed with this without it being awkward was to pretend it didn't happen. Better not to put a rift between them when they needed each other still. Olly turned from Ed's sleeping body, making quick work of taking down their shelter and going out to hunt for some breakfast. The Ranger took her bow and quiver, her boots silent against the morning dew along the mossy ground. The woods were alive with life so early in the morning, so it was easy to spot a couple squirrels that were taken down quickly, and she managed to snag some hefty bird's eggs that would do nicely.
By the time Ed awoke, he smelt the fresh scent of meat cooking in the air. Olly stood over the fire with a small pan, a hot plate of food already sitting out waiting beside her.
"Morning" she said flipping the meat with a dagger "Breakfast first, then we have to go. Sun's already high and Waterdeep isn't very far now that we passed Daggerford swamps."
"We walked that far?" Ed yawned and came closer to her, grabbing the plate of food with thanks to his companion.
"We must make some distance together" Olly smiled "That's good, makes the journey's shorter."
"Shorter with good company" he said smiling and taking a bite out of the squirrel bacon. It was chewy, but it was better than nothing as he scarfed it down.
Olly chuckled and nodded, scrambling her eggs till they blackened around the edges, just how she liked them. Oh what she wouldn't do though for some wild goose sauce to put over the eggs...
"What's your favorite food Ed?" Olly asked curious about the Cleric.
"That's a good question" Ed said smiling and closing his eyes "I've eaten so many things, so many flavors, it's hard to pick a favorite honestly. My guilty pleasure though has to be pickled things."
"Pickled?" Olly said scrunching up her nose.
"Pickled anything" Ed said shrugging with a smile "Pickled beets, Pickled fruit, I've even tried pickled meat once."
"That's disgusting" Olly laughed.
"You asked!" Ed said throwing his hands up "You asked me! I answered honestly. In yet I am ridiculed!"
Olly couldn't help but laugh, the Cleric certainly had some theater about him that was for sure.
"You should have been a Bard" Olly jested starting in on her eggs.
"And you should have been a cook" Ed said holding up the bacon "This is delicious."
"My thanks" Olly said standing up "I don't get to do it very often. Usually Peren would just magic us a meal, but I always thought it tasted a little too acidy when he did it."
"I've never had a meal magiked for me before" Ed said surprised "Was it just any meal?"
"Anything I desired" Olly said "Most of the time it was what he wanted though. He had a picky sense of taste, but most Elves I've found do. Not big meat eaters."
"Ah" Ed said lowering his gaze. He did not want to talk badly of the Elf in front of her, his own thoughts not very kind when he thought of Peren and his sneering gaze. He knew it would do no good though to Olly to bring it up, so he decided to help tear down their shelter and pack up his supplies. It wasn't long before they were on their way back on the Trade Way Road, merchants and travelers alike filling the roadside.
"Maybe we should start traveling a little more inconspicuously" Olly said feeling a tinge of fear in her stomach as more people started to travel on the road with them, their eyes focused on her as Ed and her passed by.
"Is there danger on the road?" Ed said looking around quickly. He hadn't sensed any danger, but Olly's stiff figure beside him sent him on alert.
"It's just always better to travel on a low profile" Olly said taking out her robes from her bag of holding "An Aasimar always draws unneeded attention, whether it's good or bad. One of the first lessons I learned as a child."
Olly put up a hood around her head, her short swords hidden underneath her traveler robes as Ed continued behind her. He had thrown a brown cloth that Olly had given him around his chest to hide his vestments, his shoulder armor and gauntlets still visible. To any passerby, they looked like a noble and her guard traveling along, not two warriors.
"Won't someone recognize me?" Ed said in Olly's ear when he started walking beside her again.
"People usually don't pay attention to hired guards" Olly said "Peren would be too specific in what he was looking for. This is good until we get to Waterdeep, the city is too big to be noticed."
"How do you know so much?" Ed smiled as he shook his head.
"I learned to get good at hiding" Olly said a little too seriously.
"I guess I've never been in that kind of danger" Ed said feeling bad he had struck a nerve.
"It's just-" Olly said trying to find her words now that more people had found their way and the road was clearing up of travelers.
"You don't need to explain" Ed said coming now to walk beside her "I get it."
Olly didn't feel like not talking to the Cleric though, she wanted to tell him things. She found it easy to say what was on her mind in front of him.
"When I was younger a lot of people wanted me, cultists, desperate villagers, powerful lords and ladies alike" Olly said looking up at Ed "An Aasimar carries within them divine light, divine power more accurately. Plenty of evil people would use that power for their own devices. My parents spent a good deal of their adventures helping people, and the other half rescuing us from the worst kinds of monsters."
"It doesn't sound like an easy life" Ed said hearing her words.
"It wasn't, but it's what made me, well...me" Olly shrugged.
The walked silently then for a while, the road turning and twisting through forests and swamps, then into long wheat fields where Ed could see villages scattered in the distance. Rooftops made of grass and mud started turning into houses of stone and wood as they approached civilization.
Olly found it soothing as the wind started to pick up, a nice spring breeze picking up the scent of earth in the air.
"I love days like this" Olly commented on it "I remember when I could sneak away and go riding when I was supposed to be studying. My mother would get so irritated, but by the time my sisters would rat me out, I would already be across the fields, my mother yelling from the Keep's windows."
"You had to sneak away?" Ed smiled.
"Oh, on my off seasons of course" Olly said with a smirk "My mother and siblings would just get to be too much, so I would take off in the morning before anyone could ask me anything. Then I would ride into the forests, sometimes go climbing the mountains, maybe take a swim, anything but stay inside and study ruins."
"I didn't mind studying" Ed said shrugging "I didn't mind most things. Training was fun with the others of my church, but learning was the real fun to me. I've always been pretty curious about the lands far off from my own. Maybe that's why I also snuck out too, to learn about the world."
"I can't imagine you as a child" Olly said "I can't imagine you being anything smaller than me" she said gesturing to his height.
"Oh I was a tiny thing" Ed said laughing as he put his hand way down to the ground "Sickly at first too."
"My mother thought I was sick too when I was born" Olly said pulling her long hair forward "Some people thought I was a ghoul child because my skin was so pale, and my hair wasn't dark or vibrant like my siblings. My father just said I took after him with my fairness. All of my siblings look a little bit Fey except me."
"Does that bother you?" Ed curiously looked at her.
"Maybe a little..."Olly fidgeted with her hair a bit "But it also makes me feel good I look the most like my father. He's always been isolated, even with my own family. I'm sure it's nice for him to have someone he can look at that resembles himself."
"Is he really like all the stories say he is? I know sometimes stories can be nothing but hot air and smoke, but did he really take down a family of Cloud giants?" Ed said enjoying the conversation. He love watching Olly's eyes light up as they walked along the merchant road.
"Oh he's even more" Olly said smiling softly "My father has never once claimed to be a demi-god or anything like that, but there is a reason he is talked about so much. When he fights, you just see his power, and then when he turns to you, your expecting this harsh terrible voice. Instead, it's so kind, a little gruff, but kind. He tries his best, and never likes to choose a side if both are a bad choice."
"I wish I had a father like that" Ed said smiling "He sounds like a real hero."
"He is" Olly said nodding "I wish someday I can be as good as him."
"Oh I think you are getting there" Ed said throwing his arms back around his head with a smile "It won't be long until stories of Allana Duer are sung about. And they will probably be sung far longer than your father's stories."
Olly slowed then, Ed taking a few steps before he noticed his companion wasn't beside him. He turned to find the girl looking at the ground, her body tight. Peren had never said that to her in their entire relationship, never once thought that she could compare to the great Kingmaker. In only a short amount of time though, this Cleric had said the words she had wanted to hear for such a long time, it had taken a lot for her not to cry just then.
"Oh hey I'm sorry" Ed said at first but Olly sprung forward then, giving the Cleric a big hug around his body, catching him off guard.
"Thank you" Olly breathed "I didn't know I needed to hear that until you said it" she shook for a second, holding back some tears, trying her hardest not to be such a weeping willow.
For so long she had to hold everything in, to be like still water, to not show weakness because emotions were weakness around the Elf. It was hard though, not to feel the emotions that welled up inside of her from Ed's words. She felt like a spring that could not stop bubbling up to the surface, each time a rock being taken away by him and his kindness...
"Hey it's not a problem" he said patting her shoulder with a grin as she let go of him quickly, stepping back "It's the truth, at least I hope it will be the truth. We have to get to Waterdeep first."
"Right!" Olly said nodding, her smile bright as she looked up at him. He felt his heart jump a bit at the smile, and was glad he could bring it around again.
They continued on, Olly a little embarrassed she had hugged the Cleric, but she had told herself not to regret it. He had been so kind to her, and she didn't know how else to express her gratitude. She was always so scared of not being perfect, of not living up to her name, but Ed made her feel like she was exactly the opposite. She would be as great as her father, she would make him and her mother proud one day, but first she had to save Nole from whatever trouble he had gotten himself into.
"Hey look!" Ed said pointing ahead "Isn't that the gates ?"
Olly sped up a bit to a peak in the hill, seeing the stone gates of the Southern Ward of Waterdeep. Stables and warehouses could be seen in the distance through the wooden houses and shops that led to the city Wall. The Ward was thriving, people hustling and bustling about on the cobbled roads, people working the vast fields that led up to the gates, tilling the land for the fall harvest.
"Finally" Olly breathed happy that they may be able to catch a room at an inn since the sun was still up in the sky. She turned to Ed and waved at him "Hurry Ed! We can hit the Trade Ward if we-" but before she could finish Olly felt the ground below her give and a net shoot up, sweeping her far up off the ground and into the air near the treetops.
"Allana!" Ed yelled running towards her but felt an arrow zoom past him, his hand whipping around and catching another two in his shield, his arm going for his longsword as he dashed to where Olly had been snagged.
He looked up quickly watching Olly wriggle in the net, her hand going for a dagger she kept fitted in her boot and began cutting the thick rope of the net.
"Keep an eye on your twelve!" Olly yelled as Ed dodged another arrow, his eyes going around the tree line to look for shadows.
"Come on" Ed said sheathing his long sword and shield, putting his palm up, a ball of light forming around his hand "Come on and show yourselves!"
Olly could feel the light warming her backside as she looked down at the Cleric, his hand holding a ball of radiant light now, it's burning heat making the grass around Ed's armored boots grow dark. She kept swiping at the rope, frustrated that it was nearly four inches thick and her dagger wasn't as sharp as she would have like it.
"Ed! Just keep them off for a few more minutes!" Olly yelled hearing the snap of more rope as she released herself more and more.
Ed watched as shadows came out from the forest, the attackers showing their faces to Ed. They were human, but that didn't bode well for them. Back in the Trollclaws, he had been able to reason with the Goblins, but these men that came forward, they were different. Where the Goblins were only looking for a new place to hide out, these thieves wanted nothing more than to harm. Ed could see the darkness in the men's hearts, their wicked smiles twisted as they unsheathed weapons. Pelor had no use for these souls, their hearts corrupted too far and liking their evil ways too much.
"Hey Angel!" Ed yelled "Just stay up there for a moment! I have to clean up a bit down here" he said concentrating even harder on his magic. He concentrated on a image of arrows, six burning hot arrows for each man that came forward towards Ed. The light within his hands began to shape and break apart, forming long splintered lines of energy.
"A little closer" Ed breathed out "Just a little..."
It wasn't until Ed heard the first cry of one of the thieves did he take his stance and yell "Divine Strike!" letting the bolts of light shoot out at his attackers, the light going straight through a limb of each thief. Cries of agony yelled out into the forest, Ed taking a step back and breathing deep, his body taking the hit of energy to perform the spell.
Olly had watched Ed from above, a little awed as Ed's divine strike sent each man to the ground in pain, the curses and cries filling the air as she snapped the final strand of net that allowed her to be released, her figure falling gently towards the ground beside Ed.
"Wow" Olly said looking around "That was something."
"See, I'm not just a healer" Ed said a little proud as he smirked, but then an arrow went straight into his shoulder, slamming him back against a tree.
"Ed!" Olly screamed picking up his shield and holding it up quickly to block another arrow from hitting him. She moved back as her other arm went for Findex, the blade's runes alright lit with a fiery glow. One of the thieves had decided to take his revenge instead of save his skin as he shot another arrow with the crossbow in his grasp. His comrades saw him attacking, and in a last ditch effort decided to join his crusade, a man with a bleeding leg coming forward to Olly with a rusty sword in hand. Ed's hiss of pain behind Olly made her back up further to him, taking a second to glance at his wound.
He had been struck thankfully in a non fatal spot, the arrow going straight through the top of his shoulder, the armor taking most of the blow.
Olly knew she didn't have time to help Ed and defend Ed at the same time, the wounded thieves coming at them. Yes, she could make quick work of them, but it would leave Ed open and vulnerable...
Olly heaved Ed's shield up further, the weight heavy in her hands as Findex lit up with fire, an intimidation tactic to try and get the thieves to leave them be. Olly could hear the grunts and curses from the thieves, their hardened and red faces looking at her with lust, greed, and revenge.
In the distance though, a twitter and a twill made Olly's glowing eyes grow wide and a smile spread across her face. The sound pierced the woods as the thieves looked around for where the sound had come from.
"Don't worry Cleric" Olly smirked "We are going to be just fine here in about three seconds."
"Not likely girly" a thief said, holding a dagger in his good arm as he lunged for her. The tip of his dagger barely made it far before an arrow shot through the thief's skull, knocking him to the ground dead. The thieves looked around, cries of a demon from one of their mouths as another arrow zipped through the air, hitting a thief in the chest, his boots flying up in the air as his back slammed to the earth. Now the thieves started to scatter, Olly dropping the shield and turning to Ed, her hands removing the arrow from his pinned body. Ed gave a cry but Olly's hands were already on him, her glowing white light filling his wound and healing it quickly, the brown cloak soaked in his blood as he tore it away, revealing his vestments to be unstained.
"Thank Pelor" he said looking up and then back down at Olly "Blood's a nightmare to try and get out of this fabric."
"Your welcome" Olly said smacking his arm in annoyance as he grimaced, knowing he deserved that.
Ed caught an image though of the thief that had struck him, the only one remaining as he loaded another bolt into his crossbow in the dense thick of the bushes. Without thinking, Ed grabbed Olly from around the waist, pulling her quickly against him as he turned them both around, hitting the ground as the arrow barely missed Olly's chest.
Ed's body sheltered Olly, the wind knocked out of her for a second from the movement, but felt Ed's arms squeeze into her as the thief had now come at the two from the bushes. Olly could make out from Ed's arms the thief grabbing a dagger, his arm raised high in the air about to stab her friend in the back. She felt herself grab Ed's arms and rolled them to her left , dodging the swipe of the dagger before an arrow shot out through the trees and go through the thief's neck.
"Fuck" Olly gasped, relieved to see the thief pinned at the neck to the tree.
"Are you alright?" Ed said above her as Olly looked up from underneath Ed, his arms pinned up at either side of her head. Olly felt it then, her heart racing, the thrill of Ed's warm body on top of her, the blush going to her face as she stared up at him. No she wasn't alright, she was feeling something yet she couldn't say what it was, the blood pumping through her veins and the parting of her lips involuntary as this young man looked down at her with his jade eyes...
Ed felt himself staring at Olly, his heart doing a drum solo as she looked up at him in a way she had never looked at him before. He realized suddenly the position they were in, his body on top of hers, pinning her in only a way lovers do...
"Ed?" Olly breathed out, those rosy lips glossy and so inviting.
"I um-" Ed said feeling his own face grow hot "I'm sorry" he said as he got up off of her, adjusting his clothes and feeling bashful for the first time in years. This would be hard to explain when he went to confessional next time he saw a temple.
Another call came out in the air then, making Olly twist around excitedly as Ed watched her concerned face light up. The sound was lighter, and sounded more like a real bird to Ed's ears. Olly brought her fists to her mouth and a trill little bird call came out, ringing in the air just as the first call came. The sound echoed through the trees, bouncing off the trunks until the ruffle of feathers sounded out in the air.
"What is that?" Ed asked picking up his shield.
"More like who is that" Olly laughed moving into the clearing where the trees parted "Remember the story of the Cloud Giants, how the daughter Iridessa showed me around?"
"I remember" Ed nodded shield still up.
"Well there was someone else I met that day" Olly said hearing the tell-tale swoop of feathers in the air before a figure came flying from the trees, landing nice and gentle on the ground in front of them. There, in Ranger clothing and beaked smile, or what Ed could assume was a smile, was an Aarakocra. He had seen a few in his day, the humanoid birds mostly eagles and hawks, but this one before them was a smaller species, her tan feathers pointed back to a tip, her feathers smooth and lined with black as she extended them out towards Olly.
Olly rushed forward, much as she had when she had hugged Ed, her arms wide and clasped as she embraced her friend, the Aarakocra twilling in what he guessed was laughter. The two spun around and Ed saw Olly's eyes literally beam with light as she looked at her friend. He had noticed the glow that surrounded her when she was feeling certain things, a trait he guessed all Aasimar's have.
In a language Ed didn't know, Olly and the other Ranger exchanged a few words that sounded like bird calls before Olly brought her friend over to him.
"Ed I would like to introduce Qila, my longest and dearest friend" Olly said as Qila came forward, Ed taking a feathered hand as he bowed to her.
"He has manners" the Ranger said in the Common tongue.
"I would hope so" Ed said smiling "My name is Edric Alphonse."
"Your traveling with a Cleric?" Qila said turning to Olly "Where is tall, dark, and annoying? Is the Elf meeting you in Waterdeep?"
"No" Olly said coming over to her friend "Peren and I...well" she said not knowing what she should say. If she told Qila the truth, she might reject Olly as a friend...
Ed remained silent, wondering himself truly what Olly felt towards Peren. She didn't speak very well of him when they were together, but he didn't know if that was just for his benefit...
"I left Peren" Olly said out loud, a relief strangely coming over Ed as he heard her words. Olly felt a thrill saying it those words, wanting to say them now for so long, and now she could without guilt...
"Finally!" Qila cried out "That Elf was such a snob Olly! I dreaded your visits when he was with you! And you look a little...what's the word?"
"Tired?" Olly jested.
"No..."Qila said trying to find the write common word "Brighter? I don't know, I haven't the words. But either way, it is good."
"Well thank you" Olly said shrugging " I guess."
"So how did you two meet?" Ed said trying to break up the moment to give Olly a second to collect herself. He could tell his companion was a bit overwhelmed at the moment, picking up on her body language as she shifted around, her eyes looking to the ground.
"Oh!" Olly said looking at him "That's right I was just about to tell you! When Iridessa the giant was showing me around, Qila was one of the people in the cages."
"That's right" the Aarakocra said nodding "I had been taken when I was a child by the Cloud Giants, and learned the Common tongue by the girl. When Olly saw me, we were just children wanting to play together, and when her father saw what the giants were doing, he rescued me."
"Qila came and lived with us at Arrowmoor Keep" Olly said smiling at her best friend, her arm wrapping around her tall feathered frame.
"I had to go my own way though" Qila said, her voice growing more bird like "I had had enough of the world and the people."
"I didn't know you had set up base here in Waterdeep though!" Olly said hitting her shoulder playfully.
"I'm not" Qila's feathers ruffled up "Your mother contacted me. Said you were heading for Waterdeep, at least that's what she saw in the moonwell. You know I didn't doubt her for a second you would make it here. I was just waiting for you to show up."
"Score to your mother" Ed said nodding to Olly. Olly just shrugged, that was how it was sometimes with her family. It was a wonder she got away with anything as a child with her all seeing mother.
"So where to now?" Olly turned to her friends.
"I have a few rooms at the Boar's Smile Inn" Qila tweeted "Although you two will have to share a room. Apologies, they only had one that was high enough for me, and it cost nearly three gold coins a night."
"That will be alright" Olly chimed in before Ed could "We will make it work Qila, thank you for doing that."
"It's the least I can do" Qila shrugged "Now, let's get going into the city. Only a fool would be caught out in South Ward late at night."
So the duo now became a trio as they entered into the city of Waterdeep.
