Gifts from the Forestmaster. Another Gift in the Citadel.
Dorm's eyes fluttered opened as the sound of birds chirping filled the air around him. Taking a breath of the morning air, he found himself laying in a shallow grove, surrounded by short bushes and open space. "Where am I?" Dorm asked while stretching his limbs. He noticed his armor (which seemed to be repaired) and short sword were lying on his green cloak, along with a long sword, a bow crafted from strong redwood, and a leather quiver filled with arrows. He also noticed that he was wearing a new white shirt.
"You are in a small area near Castle Eastwatch Dorm Silverfalcon," bellowed a deep voice from the ranger's left. He looked over, seeing a pegasus similar in height and stature to the ones that had carried his friends into the air the night before.
Dorm stood up and looked at the pegasus. "But Darken Wood...the centaurs. I remember fighting, but then everything went black..."
"After you fell, the Forestmaster had Demetria; the centaur who you helped in battle, carried you out of the fray. Once the battle was over, Demetria stripped you naked and healed your wounds. You started to get back up as she was putting your pants back on, but then you fell back to sleep."
"So you flew me here, but I thought the other pegasi left."
The pegasus tilted his head towards the cloak. "I was just leaving Ergoth when my brethren delivered your friends to this area. They told me you had foolishly jumped into battle. I then arrived back in Darken Wood just as the battle was getting over. After having some friendly words with the Forestmaster, I decided to take you back along with the gifts you received from the Forestmaster. The sword and bow came from one of her fallen warriors. She thought it would be fitting for you to have it."
Dorm walked over and examined the long sword, staring at the images of leaves and roses carved in the pommel and crosspiece. He then glanced at the bow and shook his head. It had been so long since he had shot a bow, but he knew better than to refuse a gift from the Forestmaster.
"Farewell Dorm Silverfalcon," the pegasus said in a loud voice. "May Habbakuk smile upon you on your journey."
Dorm smiled as he watched the pegasus take to the air and flap his angel-like wings. As the steed flew away, the ranger closed his eyes, wishing that he had been awake during the flight from Darken Wood to Eastwatch.
"He has to arrive sometime Timber. I just don't know what could be keeping him. I always thought pegasi were fast."
"He'll come Roxi. I mean, the only thing that could really stop him would be death."
Roxilandra turned to Timber, her eyes fixed deeply on his. "If Dorm had died during the battle, Mishakal would have come to us. She would have at least let him say goodbye to us before continuing onto the afterlife."
Timber glanced uneasily at the cleric, then stared up at the clear sky. Neither he nor Roxi had seen their friend jump from his pegasi's back, yet they could hear the flying steed complaining about the reckless idiot who jumped off of his back. Could it be possible...
No, he said to himself. Dorm was still alive. He's still out there and once he arrives, we can go inside and join the others.
"Timber look!" Roxi shouted, pointing to a figure several feet away. Timber smiled, and together he and Roxi ran to the ranger.
"I wasn't expecting this kind of reception," Dorm remarked when Roxi wrapped her arms around him. She held onto him for another moment, then punched him hard in the shoulder.
"Don't you ever worry us like that again!" she yelled. "You had us worried sick!"
Dorm apologized to the cleric, then looked at Timber. "Did I really worry you that much?" The elf shrugged then walked back at the tower.
The ranger looked up at Castle Eastwatch. It was a vast stone structure that seemed like it could touch the clouds. Dorm counted at least seven open windows along the front of the tower.
Roxi beamed up at the ranger. "Lynsey, Melinda, and Ash are all waiting inside. Lynsey and Ash look about the same, but Melinda is...different."
Dorm nodded, noticing the half-kender's voice grew a little quite as she added that last part about Melinda being different.
The main lobby of Castle Eastwatch was filled with tapestries and banners depicting the various symbols of the Knighthood of Solamnia; the Rose, the Sword, and the Crown. Tables were lined along the center while a large wooden staircase at the other end of the lobby ascended to the next floor.
Dorm and Roxi entered the lobby to find Timber talking to a red haired woman donned in green plate armor and a man with short black hair, garbed in dark colored hunting leathers. The woman turned to Dorm and smiled. "Dorm, it's been so long."
"It's nice to see you too Lynsey," Dorm said he looked her over. Lynsey Greensteel stood just inches below the elf's five and a half foot height. Her fiery red hair went down to her shoulders while her almond shaped green eyes sparkled like her armor.
Dorm's eyes shifted to the man next to Lynsey. Like Dorm, Ash Werewood was a ranger. He carried two battle axes on his belt and wore a chain shirt underneath his leathers. He greeted the brown haired ranger with a nod. "Dorm my friend, it's been forever. Timber was just telling us that you and he had just gotten out of rough times back in Solace."
"It's nice to see you too Ash," Dorm said, his eyes looking over at Timber. "But Timber and I are doing pretty well."
"Yet Dorm you no longer have Silverwind," said a musical voice from a dark corner. From the darkness stepped a very slender and pale skinned half-elven woman wearing blood red robes. Her eyes, which had no color to them, stared at everyone, and then focused on Dorm. "No doubt my eyes startle you. I assure you that I am not blind. Far from it, I see better than before."
Dorm continued to stare at the half-elf, seeing that her left hand, which was holding her spellbook with the dark green canvas cover, was missing two fingers between her index and pinkie. "You must have taken the test Melinda. You are now a true wizard of High Sorcery. Congratulations."
Melinda Nestar nodded. "Thank you. Though I started my arcane pursuits as a sorcerer, I quickly converted to the teachings and arcane techniques of a wizard. The dabbler you knew when we were adventuring together as Legionnaires is has grown into a powerful spell caster."
"More like a power hungry spell caster," Lynsey said as she stepped away from Ash and Timber, who was now listening to Roxi's story about becoming a cleric.
Melinda glared at Lynsey. "Even after telling you what I have gained and lost in taking the Test, you still don't trust me."
"The distrust of magic has been around for hundred of years Melinda," Lynsey said in a cold voice as she came face to face with the wizard. "All the time there are wicked magic users who roam the world, using their magic for their own purposes."
Melinda shook her head. "And yet the Solamnics have been using War Mages in their ranks. There are good wizards, just like there are evil knights. Tell me Lynsey, did you have any wizards in your Jade Brigade, or did they start coming after you left."
The red haired woman put a hand on her sword, but Dorm stopped her. He looked back and forth between the wizard and the warrior woman. There had always been a hidden conflict between the two women. He remembered when Mason would be talking to Dorm and Timber about a new combat technique, but then have to drop what he was doing because Melinda and Lynsey had gotten into an argument. One thing Dorm had always remembered was that they had always seemed to argue whenever he was around.
Lynsey stepped back and took her hand off of her weapon. "What I do is my own business." She walked back over to where the other three former Steel Legionnaires were gathered. Dorm wondered what Melinda meant by Lynsey leaving the Jade Brigade, yet he decided that was an issue for another day.
For the next fifth-teen minutes, the six former Steel Legionnaires were entertained by Timber's tale of how Dorm foolishly leapt from the back of his pegasus and dropped into battle. Once the elf was done with his story, a young robust brown haired woman entered the room, dressed in chain mail armor. Over her armor the woman wore a dark blue tabard with the image of a sword woven into the middle of the garment. The armor and tabard marked her a one of the Knights of Solamnia, a knight of the Sword. Dorm, Timber, and Roxi looked at each other, remembering this woman from Mason's funeral.
The woman looked at each person in the lobby. After a brief moment of silence, she introduced herself. "My name is Riva Silverblade and I am sure you all know why you are here." Silverblade reached into her pocket and produced a large piece of paper. "This paper reads that Mason Aaronsin, formerly of the Legion of Steel, has left a sword for his former charges. The sword is named Redcrosse and lies in the Ghostly Citadel on the other side of the Last Gaard Mountains."
"The other side of the mountains?" questioned Timber as he looked at Dorm.
"Right into Frost's domain," muttered Ash as he looked at Melinda and Roxi. Everyone knew the white dragon overlord Gellidus (or Frost as he was known to the people of Ergoth) ruled the northern regions of the island.
Riva Silverblade nodded. "In the territory is overseen by the dragon overlord, which means you will have to watch your backs. I do know of a guide who can take you through the mountains. She is a dwarf and she knows the area really well."
Silverblade's gray eyes looked over at the stars, just as a female beardless dwarf with dark and curly hair reached the bottom. She wore tight leathers over her stout form and carried a short sword at her side.
"Ladies and gentlemen this is Cicily Steeltoes," announced the knight as the dwarf walked over.
Before anyone could introduce themselves, Cicily took a deep breath and said," I hope you all brought your winter coats because it's cold in the mountains."