The Legacy of a Hero
Part Two: A Path is Chosen
Chapter Six
"How much further Twilly?" Raven asked as she and the little red moglin walked along a well worn path through the forest. The noises of the town had long since faded and replaced by the twittering of birds and the steady crunch crunch of their feet crushing dry leaves as they walked.
"Not far, we are almost there Waven." Twilly responded as he jumped over a small stick in the path.
Good. Raven thought. As soon as I get my dragon egg I can leave this place. Her eyes scanned the forest as she walked, half expecting a bunch of Darkwolf bandits or undead soldiers to jump out of the shadows any minute now. Hearing rusting in the bushes to her left, Raven signaled Twilly to a quiet standstill.
Staff raised she silently approached the bushes and peered through the foliage. Through the leaves she could see a small clearing with a stream running through the center and a raging waterfall at one end. Running parallel to the river was a sneevil with the black dragon box raised high above his head.
Raven tensed, and prepared to burst from her hiding place and confront the sneevil but before she could she heard a loud snap. The sneevil fall flat on his face, then was drug backwards and hauled up by a rope until he hung several feet in the air, the black and gold box falling from his grasp.
"Noooooo!" The little creature shouted. "My box! My beautiful box!" He struggled with all his might but the rope refused to release its grip on his foot and he succeeded only in swinging back and forth like a piñata. "My box! My box! My box! Gimme back my box!"
"I would think that you wouldn't fall for this same old trick again little sneevil." Said a voice. From behind the waterfall a young woman emerged. She looked to be a few years older than Raven and was dressed in the clothes of a forest archer. She wore brown leather boots that went up past her knees and a short green dress with a wide leather belt around her waist. The belt had a golden jewel in the center and underneath her armored golden shoulder plates, white ruffles from her dress poked out and danced in the gentle wind. Her hands were covered by elbow length leather gloves, and a leather chocker was worn around her neck. A green bandanna covered her head, but did nothing to stop her long brown hair from cascading down her back. In her hands was a simple bow, and a quiver full of arrows was strapped to her back.
"That's Robina." Twilly whispered to Raven. Robina placed one foot on top of the box and looked up at the sneevil triumphantly.
The sneevil snorted. "When I get down from here I'll… I'll…"
Robina laughed. "Bring me more boxes right?"
The sneevil looked at her wide eyed and mouth open in shock. "You! You the one who steals my boxes! Always using rope and stealing my precious!"
Twilly jumped out from the bushes and ran to greet Robina. "Hello Twilly!" Robina said with a smile, and then turning to Raven as she too emerged, Robina said. "And hello to you as well adventurer! I am Robina the Hood at your service."
"Raven. I have been searching for that box…" she pointed to the black dragon box. "…for over a week now."
"Oh this is yours?" Robina asked in surprise. At Raven's nod Robina said. "Well if you help me with a few quests I will give it to you." Robina smiled, but Raven scowled.
After all she had been through Raven was not in the mood to work for what was rightfully hers. I will just take the box and go, that pitiful archer is no match for my spells. Raven thought. She opened her mouth to refuse the offer, but closed it on a second thought. Sepulchure is a big enough threat, I cannot afford to create more enemies. Raven cocked her head and looked at Robina, sizing her up. She may not be worth much in a fight but what she lacks in battle skill she can make up for in information, easily sending work to Sepulchure. Not only that, but she is a friend of Twilly, who is a friend of the Priestess, who is the key to unlocking the true power of a dragonlord. Raven sighed and reluctantly nodded her head in acceptance. "What needs doing?" She asked.
Robina grinned. "Come on! I will explain along the way." She and Twilly turned west and started walking. Raven sighed again and followed them. "I need your help stealing from the rich! Specifically, Richard the Vile, one of the bandits who just robbed one of King Alteon's caravans!"
"Someone stole from the king?" Raven asked, intrigued despite herself.
Robina nodded. "A reliable source informed me that the gold was to be a birthday gift for one of the king's three daughters."
"Will you return the gold to the king?" Raven asked.
"No, I have something else planned for the gold."
Raven waited for her to continue but was only half surprised when she did not. To keep the conversation flowing, Raven asked. "So who are the Married women? And where are their husbands?"
"Oh, they are merry, not married." Robina laughed. "Actually they are all single, cute, and very well drawn. Lets see there is Little Joan, she is actually not that little and no one can beat her with a quarter-staff… or a nickel, dime, or penny staff!"
Raven blinked. "Penny staff?"
Robina continued as if she hadn't heard. "Then there is Fryer Tuck, originally a Friar, she unlocked her hidden Frying pan skills at level 25 and never went back." Robina sighed. "Then there is Butler Merrian. The only boy in the group… he is pretty much just there for eye candy and doing the laundry."
"Maybe someday you can show Waven the secret camp!" Twilly said excitedly.
"I'd love nothing more." Raven said dryly.
"Shhh." Robina whispered and suddenly stopped. She jumped behind a tree and hissed. "Get down!" To Raven and Twilly. Twilly dropped to the ground and pulled Raven down with him.
"What is going on?" She whispered. Robina jerked her head to the trail in front of them. A single bandit was guarding the entrance to a large hollowed out log, big enough for three people to walk side by side through it and still have enough room. The log stretched across a deep chasm, and Raven could hear the rushing of water come from it. She bandit stood with his back resting against the log, his mace held loosely in his hand. "There is only one, I can take him easily." Raven whispered.
"Quietly." Robina whispered. "There could be more."
Raven quietly murmured. "Saliekt gaismu, mani padarīt neredzamu." And vanished from sight. Twilly gasped at her sudden dissapearance but Robina shushed him to prevent any further noise lest the bandit hear. Raven slowly stood and quietly approached the bandit. Raising her staff she hit his temple with a satisfying thwak. The spell ended as the bandit's unconsious body slumped to the ground.
"Thats a nice trick Raven." Robina complemented as she and Twilly approached.
"Its a spell, not a trick." Raven said.
"Either way, it is still handy." Robina said as she continued on. Raven watched as the archer dissapeared into the log then with one final glance around, she followed.
It was dim inside the log, though visibility was not limited due to large holes letting in the sunlight every so often in the top of the log. Seeing the grassy land of the other side Raven moved ahead of Robina and Twilly and stepped out into the bright sunshine. „Hold it right there!" Called a voice.
The bandit guarding this side of the log bridge seemingly came out of nowhere. „I got him!" Raven called to Robina and Twilly. She heard to loud thumps behind her and when she glanced over her shoulder Raven saw that two more bandits had jumped into the log from one of the holes in it's top. They stood on either side of Robina and Twilly, who had her bow strung and his staff raised respectively. Turning back to the task at hand, Raven blocked an attack from the bandit in front of her with her staff and ducked to avoid his backswing. „Es pasaukšu ledains vējš!" Raven said as she pointed her palm at the bandit. An icy blast raced toward him, but he raised his mace in defence and the cold wind hit it instead. The mace turned a simi transparent light blue, and razor sharp ice shards formed on the flail. „Shoot!" Raven moaned has the bandit pressed the attack with his, thank to Raven, much deadlier weapon.
"Es pasaukšu firey blastu!" Raven called. A black fire roared from her palm and hit the tree next to the bandit in a clear miss. The bandit lunged for her head but his swing went wild and he collapsed at her feet, an arrow portruding from his shoulder. "Is he dead?" Raven asked in surprise.
"Of course not!" Robina said as she approached. "I aimed for his shoulder; my arrows are dipped in a sleeping serum. He will wake in a few hours." Raven looked back to the log and saw the other two bandits each lying on the ground with an arrow protruding from a non lethal place.
"Nice work." Raven commented. It seems I was wrong, this woman knows what she is doing. Raven thought.
"Thank you." Robina said with a crooked smile.
As the day wore on, the trio had several encounters with the Darkwolf bandits as they drew nearer to their hideout. During the battles that resulted from these encounters Raven's respect for the archer grew, no longer did she consider Robina as an obstacle between her and her dragon. Now she valued her as a resourceful ally.
Twilly knocked a bandit in the shin with his staff giving Robina the opportunity to shoot his thigh with an arrow. Raven sent a wind spell at a Darkwolf robber attempting to sneak up to Robina from behind and sent him crashing into the trees. Raven looked at Robina to see her with her bow pulled back, an arrow notched on the string and pointing directly at her. Robina loosed the arrow and Raven felt a slight breeze as the arrow sailed not inches from her left cheek. When she turned Raven she saw a bandit collapse to the ground with an arrow in his arm. The two girls nodded, each in thanks to the other and continued on.
Peeking out from behind a large rock Robina spotted the entrance to the camp. "What do you see?" Raven asked quietly.
"Their camp is surrounded on three sides by a natural rock wall. The entrance is narrow and guarded by two bandits. Judging from the sounds coming from the camp I would estimate that there are more than two bandits within but no more than five." Robina whispered back.
"So we are up against seven?"
"At the most."
"What's the plan?"
Robina thought for a moment before answering. "Twilly will distract the guards, you and I will climb up on the wall and I will attack the guards from behind while you take care of the others. Agreed?"
"Sounds simple enough." Raven said. "I'm in."
"Twillies is in too!" The moglin said excitedly.
"Good. Let's move." Robina said.
Twilly disappeared into the underbrush while Raven followed Robina to the rock wall. The archer climbed up a tree, nimbly hopping from branch to branch while Raven followed at a much slower pace. Her robe made it difficult to climb, constantly getting caught on branches and tripping up her feet. Not only that, but her staff was a hindrance as well. While Robina had her bow slung over her shoulder and thus could use both hands, Raven could due no such thing and was limited to holding her staff with one hand, and using the other to climb. Eventually though, she made it to the top and joined Robina above the camp. After brushing off small twigs and leaves from her clothing and hair, Raven nodded to Robina, signaling she was ready.
Robina ran hunched over to where a fallen tree covered the top of the entrance to the camp and Raven circled around back. Peeking over the edge, Raven saw three bandits laughing and jeering each other as they sat in a circle around a large chest of gold, counting the coins. Raven crouched, waiting for Robina and Twilly to make the first move. Shouting came from the entrance of the camp and Raven saw the two guards rush out, disappearing from sight. Startled by the sudden commotion the three bandits below Raven sat in stunned stillness. One jumped to his feet and prepared to run to the aide of his comrades but Raven chose that moment to leap down from her perch and tackled him to the ground. Another bandit leapt over the chest to confront her but she swung her staff at his feet, knocking him off balance as he sailed through the air and face planted in the dirt. Two arrows in quick succession came from somewhere above and behind Raven and pierced the shoulders of the bandit trying to stand after being tacked by Raven and the third Darkwolf who was trying to carry the chest of gold away to safety.
Spitting out dirt from his mouth the last conscious bandit reached for his mace, only to receive a blow to the head by Raven's staff. "Objective completed." Raven said triumphantly.
"Good work guys!" Robina complemented as she jumped down from the wall.
"Likewise Robina." Raven said with a grin.
That Night
In the dimness of twilight, Twilly scampered ahead of Robina and Raven who were carrying the chest of gold between the two of them. They set the chest down in front of the waterfall and Raven asked. "What are you planning on doing with all this gold?" Raven asked.
"I will explain it in the morning." Robina answered. "But for now we should get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Where will we sleep? Falconreach is a good two hours walk from here and I know of no other town closer." Raven asked.
"Come, I will show you." Robina said. Twilly jumped on top of the chest of gold while Raven and Robina each grabbed one end.
"You're going to love this Waven!" Twilly said excitedly.
Raven chuckled. "We will see." Robina directed her to the waterfall and slipped between the water and the rock, disappearing from view. As she was carrying the other end of the chest Raven was pulled in behind her. "Whoa!" She exclaimed.
"Told you you'd like it!" Twilly grinned.
Behind the waterfall was a glittering cave, the walls lined with sparkling crystals that caught the dancing light from the waterfall and lit the room in a glorious light blue glow. The cave was fairly small, about the size of the main room in the Falconreach inn with a simple wooden table and four wooden chairs in the center of the room, and against the far wall four cots rested. Near the entrance to the cave was a fire pit with smoldering coals giving off a faint red glow and a neat stack of wood resting several feet away. Crates, boxes and barrels were neatly stacked chest high against the south wall, the black dragon box among them. Raven and Robina set the chest of gold down with the other crates and Raven asked as she lightly touched one of the crystals protruding from the wall.
"This place is amazing… but couldn't you mine these crystals for jewelry and trade?"
"No, despite how pretty they look these crystals are granite, and are a fairly worthless stone. I'm sure if they were polished and cut right someone would buy them, but the profit would not be worth the cost of destroying the natural beauty of this cave." Robina explained.
"I see." Raven said as she continued to look around the cave in awe.
Robina knelt down by the fire pit and arranged tinder just so on the coals while gently blowing them, encouraging a flame. Soon a small fire blazed up and she quickly added a few logs to feed its hunger.
"Look at the far end of the waterfall; you will see a fish trap." Robina told Raven. Raven did as she was told and saw a wooden crate looking thing beneath the waterfall's onslaught. It had a solid bottom, and an open top, but the sides had open slats to allow water and smaller fish to escape the trap. Inside, she saw several yellow-green fish about the length of her arm swimming around in the small space. Raven got down on her belly and reached in the water, easily slipping her fingers into the gills of the nearest fish and hoisting the wiggling creature out of the water.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!" Raven shouted as the fish flopped back and forth, slapping her with its tail with surprising, and slightly painful force.
Robina laughed as she took the fish and said. "Go dump the trap and release the other fish. We don't need them so there is no use in keeping them captive."
Raven eagerly handed over the fish and walked back to the trap. Getting down on her belly once again she reached down and pulled a small lever that opened one of the sides and released the fish. Once sure they were all gone, Raven struggled against the current of the water to close the trap, but eventually succeeded in locking it back as it was before. No sooner had she done this, then a small red fish fell with the current of the waterfall and into the trap. Raven watched as the little fish easily swam through the slats of the trap and disappeared into the river. Smelling the scent of cooking fish Raven got up, brushed off her robes and joined Robina and Twilly by the fire.
A fascinated Raven listened to Robina tell tales of her adventures while they ate but Raven couldn't help but think that there was more to this woman that meets the eye. Something about her…seems familiar somehow. Raven thought. I know! She looks like the youngest of King Alteon's daughters! Raven shook her head and smiled. But that can't be her, there is no way a princess would be out doing the things Robina does.
Twilly yawned and seeing it Robina said. "We should turn in for the night; we will be getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow!"
Twilly and Raven groaned. "Do we have to?" Raven complained.
Robina laughed. "I thought you would be excited Raven, the sooner we finish these quests the sooner you get you box remember?"
"I'm just not much of a morning person is all."
Bidding each other goodnight, the three crawled in the cots. But despite her long day and tiredness Raven could not get to sleep. Her mind continued to race, thinking about the past… of Mark and meeting the other heroes in the battle to save Falconreach from Sepulchure's invading forces. She thought of her future, and of her dragon and how they would save Lore. Or destroy it. Whispered a thought in her mind. Raven rubbed her temples. Where did that thought come from? I am the hero; of course I will save Lore. Sighing, Raven rolled over on her side and eventually fell into a restless sleep.
Falconreach was burning. In her dream, Falconreach was burning. Shadows filled the corners of her mind, death was everywhere. Darkness prevailed. Destruction reined. In her dream Raven ran to the Falconreach guardian tower. It seemed to stretch in the distance, the faster she ran the farther it was. It was on fire. Everything was on fire. Death. Darkness. Destruction. By the light of the burning tower Raven saw a figure standing. A Doom Knight. He raised his blood stained blade and sinister laughter echoed across the smoldering town, ringing in her ears like the bells of death march.
"Ahh!" Raven woke suddenly and sat up in bed, panting hard and bathed with sweat. Her heart raced as the memories of her nightmare seemed to dance in her mind. Relax, it was only a dream. She thought to herself. Only a dream. Laying back in bed Raven tried to calm her breathing. She didn't even try to go back to sleep for fear of nightmare to return.