Hitting The Road

Author's Note: This chapter is a little short. I really couldn't figure out what was going to happen between this point and their next stop. I want to thank Winding warpath for my giving me my first review. It was really helpful, since i realized that someone actually took time reading this, plus the actual criticism in the review.

I looked back at what had been our home for five days. The Friendly Arm Inn looked over the landscape like some kind of guardian of these lands. A lot of things had happened while we were resting in the inn. We had helped out an old lady, getting back a ring of some sentimental value, from a petty hobgoblin gang just north of the inn. We had also moved back south where me and Imoen came from to get a girdle from an ogre who had robbed it from a dwarf at the inn. It had gotten us some pretty good coin, but the dwarf had been rude.

I had gotten myself a new set of armour. A splint mail. It was a bit heavier than my old chainmail, but offered more protection, especially against arrows and bolts. My sword had broke as I was practicing in the yard earlier, so I had also bought a new longsword. I didn't want to use a shield. It would just be an obstacle for me, when I fought. I could live with the armour, since it didn't hinder my arms that much. Imoen had gotten a bunch of new arrows, her own stock was running out, and I gave Jaheira my old chainmail, since it had fit her perfectly. Khalid got a new shield as well.

On the last days of resting there, I learned that Jaheira was a druid, who once decided that she couldn't just sit and watch as a lot of druids did. She decided to take the fight to her enemies and ended up becoming experienced in combat, as well as druidic magic. Khalid and her had apparently been married for some time, it sounded like it was before they left Jaheiras home. Now we were all stocked up and ready to go to Nashkel.

Now we were on the road once more, but this time it seemed like it would be a little more peaceful. Birds were singing in the trees, and there were no gibberlings to be seen. It just seemed like a normal and peaceful summer day in Faerun.

Me and Imoen walked down the hill, towards the clear stream of water. We were getting water, since we were running out quickly. I sat down next to the small stream and began filling our waterskins. I looked at Imoen. This was the first time me and her had been alone. I looked at her and began talking. "What do you think about them?"

Imoen looked up. "They are good people I think. I believe them, when they say that they are Gorions friends. But there is something fishy about them. I think there is something they aren't telling us. I don't know if it can harm us, but we should be careful nonetheless"

"Maybe. I honestly don't know. Maybe we are getting paranoid, after Gorion? I remember when we could trust almost anyone. Now it seems that we can only trust a small lot of people"

Imoen looked at me, looking sad. "A lot of things have changed, Than. Candlekeep was our small world. Our home. Its gone now. Those trusting kids we were in there, cant survive out here. I think we have to change as well". I embraced her into a hug. I knew what she said was true. We had to be less trusting and more at guard, all the time"

Imoen looked down, clearly not glad with the situation. She nodded and we gathered the rest of the water in silence. As we came back a smile spread on my face. Khalid sat besides a dead deer. He looked at it in hidden disgust and pushed it towards me. "I thi-think you should-d skin this d-deer Thantalas". I shook my head and sat down next to the dear. Khalid gave me his knife and I began skinning our future meal. Khalid quickly looked at me. "You know Th-Thantalas, its not that I'm scared, or do-dont like blood. I just thought you would suit the-the job better than I would. I can be rather clu-clumsy".

It was a petty lie, but I knew he wouldn't like that I knew that he wasnt as fearless as he wanted me to think. I played along and nodded as I began to skin the deer slowly. I had always enjoyed work like this, since it allowed me to think about the current situation at hand. Except at that point my situation was a bit more complicated than it had ever been before.

The brush lightly ruffled as Jaheira strode out of the woods, looking around before eyeing us and moving towards us. She seemed startled and more serious than she was normally. She noted that we all were present around the camp and as Jaheira finally got to the camp she began talking.

"Khalid, Imoen and Thantalas. We have all heard the rumours right? About the brigands raiding the Sword Coast and the tense relationship between the dukes of Baldur's Gate and Amn. Well, from what I just experienced the rumours are true. I've just seen a family of six, being murdered by a group of bandits. What was most unsettling was not the actual murder. Among the bandits, only seven of them were human. A couple of hobgoblins were partaking in the action as well. Whatever is able to bring creatures such as hobgoblins to join human bandits is beyond me, but there is indeed something dire going on in this country indeed"

Khalid looked shocked and so did Imoen. I thought about it. I had only read about a couple of occasions where hobgoblins had felt the need to join forces with humans, and it had almost ended up with the two forces nearly tearing each other apart.

The news clearly halted Imoens squeals of joy the rest of the evening. It ended up with me and Jaheira sitting around the campfire discussing what we were going to do now. "Jaheira, are we still going to the Nashkel mines? Shouldn't we be looking into this case?"

"Thantalas, did it ever hit you that the iron problems may be linked to the brigand attacks and probably also the hobgoblins. If we dig deep enough in that dusty old mine we might just find some clues which can lead us on. We might even find someone who can tell us personally what all this is about" Jaheira looked directly at me now.

"Look, me and Khalid haven't been telling you and Imoen everything about us. We are, how do I say this, part of an organization. Your foster father was part of it as well. This organization, the Harpers, are a secret group of people who fights for the greater good and balance. We were sent to look into these mines so that the problems here could be stopped… Look Thantalas, I'm sorry I didn't inform you earlier, but I simply was not able to fully trust you, even though you were Gorions ward. But I think I can trust you now, so I hope that we now can talk a bit more open"

Jaheira smiled weakly as she finished her sentence. She excused herself, and went to sleep in her bedroll. I sat awake for some time, thinking about what I had heard. All these stories about Harpers and secret organizations made my head spin. To consider that there might be even more intrigues going on that I just hadn't realized yet was confusing, yet something told me that I shouldn't just let the suspicion go. Some time later when the fire was naught but charcoal, I fell asleep.