A/N: And here's the next chapter! the next leg of the journey begins, and I have some fun with a random encounter table!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.
Chapter 62: Towards the Mountains
After a few days, the trio from the Emerald Enclave returned. They looked worried about something.
"What's going on?" I asked as they approached.
"We've sent word to our fellows in the north to look into rumors near the Spine of the World. However, we've gotten word on something you could look into for us," said the Elf.
"What exactly is it?" asked Krisyra.
"Quil, a scholar from an academy south of here has gone missing," said the Elf, "He was last seen heading towards the southern Greypeak Mountains. The academy wants him found… assuming he still lives.
"Don't worry, we'll look for him, and will do everything in our power to bring him back alive," said Narcrath.
"That's all we can ask," said the Elf, "and thank you for your aid so far. With luck, we can prevent the Shadow Triad from enacting their plans".
"What are they planning, anyway?" I asked.
"That is a very good question… and one we're still working out ourselves," said the human.
That got my attention. From what they said when we first met them, it sounded like they'd already been investigating firsr a while before we met them, and now it sounded like their investigation hadn't revealed much. But that was something to think on later. For now, we needed to get on our way.
As we continued away from town, some cackling alerteded us to the approach of others. I smelled them before I saw them: a small band of goblins, four of which were walking, and a fifth (likely their leader) was riding atop a large wolf. I didn't need to be able speak their languge to understand their intentions: they were headed straight towards the town we'd recently left. It was an easy decision what we should do… then again perhaps I could dissuade them from their actions. Sometimes, you just had to go for classic strategy.
"You, Goblins," I commanded firmly, "I suggest you turn sround: these lands are not yours to raid. Leave now, and your lives will be preserved!"
The goblin leader considered for a moment, and then laughed.
"You won't stop us!" said the goblin leader, "we can take you!"
"I warned you," I growled, "and now you will face our wrath".
Lydratir had had the foresight to ready his bow, and fired off two quick shots, and two of the goblins fell. I stepped forwards, inhaled deeply, and unleashed my fiery breath upon the remaining goblins and the wolf. One goblin dove desperately to attempt to escape, but was still roasted. All the goblins fell, and the wolf was badly burned. It ran away yelping, tail between its legs.
With this minor distraction out of the way, we continued down the road. Further on, we encountered a less hostile sight, but still a point of interest.
We came upon a 15 foot tall state of a dwarven warrior. At some point, the statue had fallen over and was now lying on its side. It had moss covering parts of it, but it was surprisingly still intact despite its apparent age. It was getting late at this point, so we made camp for the evening.
While I was on watch cor part of the night, the smell of rot filled warned me of approaching undead. There was a single figure approaching the camp. Its pallid complexion marked it as the source of the scent. Instead of the lifeless eyes I expected to see, it looked on with fierce resolve. It approached me, and I remained on guard.
"You," said the undead, "I see in you a burning passion. I seek one who has wronged me, the beast who slew me. Will you aid me in defeating it?"
I understood now: this was a revenant. It sought justice against something powerful.
"I hear you, and understand your plight," I said, "however, I am currently occupied. My companions and I have been tasked to locate a missing scholar. We hope to find him still alive, so that we may prevent his wrongful death. Thank you for your offer, and I wish you luck in your vengeance against whoever did this to you".
The revenant stared for a moment, before nodding and continuing on its way. I settled back down, and the rest of night passed without further incident.
The next morning we got back on the road. It was a bright pleasant day and I couldn't help smiling… though I wasn't sure what about. The birds were singing their songs, and further ahead the mountains loomed. Suddenly, I felt on edge. The ground trembled slightly, and my eyes went wide.
"SCATTER!" I roared.
We dove out of the way and the ground where I just way burst skywards, and large creature, plated like an armadillo and jaws filled with sharp teeth, emerged. It was a Bulette. It crouched and growled clearly ready to fight.
Krisyra pointed at the Bulette with her staff, and a icy wind blew towards it, but had no effect. I moved it to engage our foe. I tore into the bulette with my claws, penetrating deep as my claws slipped through a gap it its armor. I flowed up with a bite, wounding it further. Charles moved to my side, and slashed into the bulette with his new sword. The blade sliced through the air, and pierced the bulette's hide with ease. He reversed his momentum, and sent the bulette reeling. It was badly wounded, but stll coming after us. It trundled towards me, the ground shaking with each step it took. Its movements were clumsy, and I evaded its bite with ease. Lydratir was tracking its each movement with a practiced eye, and with a deft shot, planted an arrow right into the bulette's eye. It snarled, but Lydratir put another arrow into it, causing it to fall.
As we gathered ourselves after this battle, I noticed a sparrow sitting on a tree, looking at us with intrest. No, that couldn't be right, I must have been imagining things… or at least I thought until the sparrow spoke.
"That was exicting!" said the sparrow in Draconic, "the boss will love to hear about this!"
"I'm not having some strange dream… that sparrow just spoke, right?" I said.
"I heard it, too," said Narcrath, "what do yo mean? Who's the boss?"
"Oh, he's a great dragon!" said the sparrow, "big dragon! He's so shiny-shiny!"
'Metallic," I thought.
"I see," I said, "we were just passing through on our way to the Greypeak Moutains, and seek no confict with your boss. We're looking for someone, a human named Quil. Did you see him?"
I gave the description we'd received for Quil, and the sparrow cocked its head at me.
"Nope, didn't see him," said the sparrow, "anyway, I better get going".
"Thank you anyway, and thank your boss for allowing us to pass through their lands," I said.
"Bye now!" said the sparrow, flying away.
With this bizarre encounter over, we continued once more towards our destination, and hoping to avoid more delays.
A/N: And there we go! Like I said before, fun with a random encounter table. the encounters were the following: (1) 1 goblin boss with 1d4 dire wolves and 3d6 goblins, (2) A 15-foot tall statue of a dwarf warrior that has been tipped over on its side, (3) 1d4 revenants, (4) 1 Bulette.
The talking sparrow was simply a side effect of the fact the party was travelling past the lair of a Copper Dragon. One side effect of this variety of dragon's presence his that tiny beasts, such as rodents and birds magically gain the ability to speak and understand Draconic. said beast will also speak highly of the dragon, but can't reveal its location.