Chapter 7 – Company
"Bravo! Very well done adventurers," a tall cloaked figure standing on the balcony of the abandoned manor called out. "I congratulate you on your success. I knew if I let you, you'd do the work for me."
Captain Gavin drew his sword in one swift motion, putting himself between the adventurers and the perceived threat. "Hold there sir! Halt and be recognized!" he commanded.
"Come now, let's do this the easy way," the speaker said with a note of menace. "Surrender the orb to the Krakens and we may allow you to walk away."
With that the leader of the trio jumped nimbly from the balcony to the snowy ground and the group advanced menacingly.
"Protect the Orb!" Captain Gavin ordered, springing into action. With sword in one hand and torch in the other the Knight in Silver met the advancing Krakens. They attacked viciously but Gavin countered the onslaught parrying and thrusting expertly.
The other adventurers leapt into the fray, weapons singing in the clear night air. The leader of the Krakens struck like a scorpion, finally finding his mark on Captain Gavin who staggered back with the blow. The others filled the void aggressively moving forward to push the attackers back.
The Strongsword sisters stepped into the gap left by the Knight in Silver. They stopped the attackers dead in their tracks rhythmically swinging their axes in unison causing the Kraken's progress to be checked. Alariya matched blades with the leader of the attackers allowing the wounded Captain Gavin to fall back and protect himself. Sarah loosed an arrow then charged in with sword in hand while Skylah and Talindra displayed strength with the blade also keeping the attackers penned in.
Superior numbers coupled with an aggressive response devastated the confident foe and so they were overwhelmed after a short, sharp fight. One of the Krakens slammed into a pole planted in the ground, throwing himself off balance. The adventurers swarmed over him and soon he lay in the snow motionless. The third member of the party saw this and tried to flee into the darkness of the night. Instead, Alariya overtook and hacked him down, her blade a blur of motion.
Though now alone the leader of the Krakens fought hard and with skill, scoring several minor hits but nothing that would allow him to gain the upper hand. Fanaticism to the cause kept him there, desperately trying to get at the orb and it was that singular focus that allowed the killing blow to find its mark.
All the Krakens were down and motionless. The adventurers let rip a spontaneous roar of victory. But a groan from Captain Gavin soon brought them out of their revelry. The Knight in Silver staggered badly from his wound, valiantly trying to stay on his feet but the severity of it and loss of blood proved to be too much. He took two more steps then collapsed into the snow, sword falling to the ground and torch as well.
The others rushed to his side to bring aid.
"Skylah, quick, a healing potion, he's fading from this life to the next!" Alariya ordered crisply.
The bard searched in her colourful haversack, trying to find the right bottle. The severity of the situation caused her to panic a bit and so she fumbled around trying to find it.
"Hurry!" Talindra shouted, "We don't have time for you to take an inventory!"
"I'm trying, okay? I have a lot of important things in this satchel," Skylah shot back tensely.
"Tell the Lady Alustriel I did my best," Captain Gavin cried as life left him. The soldier's eyes fluttered then closed. Sarai cried out in anguish at the demise of the leader of their group.
But the bard finally found the bottle, broke the wax seal in one motion while kneeling beside the pale soldier and began to pour some into his mouth.
Gavin choked slightly but soon the color returned to his face and his shallow breathing became deep and regular. His eyes opened and he gave a slight shake of his head as if to clear it.
"Thank you," he said as he got to his feet, recovering his sword. "I thought I was finished there." Looking at the prone Krakens lying where they fell in the snow he nodded his head in approval. "Well done, I knew you could do it. Now, what about the Orb?"
The adrenaline of combat and elation of victory eventually gave way to a re-examination of the Orb. Suddenly something didn't seem right about it though none could put their finger on just what.
"This doesn't seem right," Alariya hesitantly declared.
"What do you mean?" Captain Gavin countered. "It's an orb and it's black. We followed Forfar's instructions. No, it has to be the right one."
"But it has no markings on it." The paladin replied thoughtfully. "How would Forfar, or anyone for that matter, know this was the Orb of Bera Shinar? Wasn't it supposed to have some sort of marking of Lady Alustriel's family on it?"
The thought hit the Knight in Silver harder then the Kraken's blade. "You're right! There is supposed to be the family crest on it." Looking more closely himself the soldier declared, "This can't be the one."
"Maybe not, but it still has value," Alariya replied thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Talindra spat out in frustration. "This has been one big waste of time, a fool's errand."
"I don't think so," the paladin countered. "The complexity of the clues and effort to hide it points to more."
"You're a dreamer. There's nothing here," the elf shot back in frustration.
Alariya said nothing but instead took the orb and examined it more closely. The paladin poked into the base and it broke open. "It's hollow," she declared.
"Hollow?" Talindra responded in shock. "See what I mean? Worthless! There goes our reward."
"We've been on a wild goose chase," Captain Gavin shouted in exasperation allowing his frustration and pain from the wound he suffered to take over.
"You're both wrong," Alariya countered doggedly, peeling back the seal and beginning to examine the hollow core of the fake orb. "There's something in here," she declared. Deftly she poked into the opening and pulled out a tightly folded piece of paper.
"It was a diversion!" Talindra exclaimed finally understanding what they were witnessing. "Oh Forfar, that's brilliant!"
The declaration of the elf princess was correct for within was revealed the last heroic act of Forfar Marzipan to ensure the precious object not be found by the wrong type of searcher.
Defend the right from here, but without these
It will be impossible.
-For Lady Alustriel,
Forfar
"Oh, another riddle!" Talindra groaned in exasperation.
"Yes, but this one will take us to the orb," Alariya countered.
"So where too?" Skylah asked.
Referencing the map anew, they realized the only place that could be defended would be the forsaken fort. Captain Gavin confirmed that the structure was the remnant from one of a domain that once held power in the area.
It had to be the location.
With renewed vigour the adventurers set out for the ruin of the log and earth enclosed fort beyond the abandoned manor. Torches twinkling in the night sky they made good progress through the crisp night to reach their destination. Though not large the run-down fortification possessed many places to hide a small object.
"This is impossible! Every time we get closer we seem to be pushed back," Skylah exclaimed in frustration.
"But we have these clues," Sarai countered patiently. "Forfar wants us to find it. We just need to look more closely."
"Okay, 'defend the right from here' means this fort. We all agree about that," Alariya brought them back to the task at hand. "So there's only one part left: 'without these it will be impossible'. So what does he mean?"
The group scanned the compound. But then instead of looking at what was there, they began to seek what wasn't.
"A forts no use without gates," Nikaela Strongsword commented matter of factly.
Like a great revelation the others turned to look at the gapping opening they'd walked through into the long-forgotten fortification.
"Over here," Kaitlym, the other Strongsword sister, called out.
In a corner where the enclosure turned, two weathered wooden gates stood propped against the wall in the corner.
Skylah nimbly moved around and looked into the natural gap behind where they stood while the Strongsword sisters, muscles straining, held them up to look behind.
"There's something back here!" the bard called out excitedly, reaching in to grab what she'd seen.
"Wait!" Talindra ordered, grabbing the slender woman by the arm and pulling her back.
"What? Why did you do that?" Skylah shot back with a note of irritation. "It's sitting right there."
"That's what's bothering me," the elf princess retorted. "It's too easy. Did you check for traps?"
The bard from Waterdeep opened her mouth to shoot back but her eyes caught something she'd missed in her haste. A thin, dark line in the shadows right where she had been reaching. Her heart beat and her mouth went suddenly dry.
There was a trap.
Skylah's silence was all the answer the rogue needed. Surprisingly she didn't exploit her moment of triumph with a witty declaration. Instead, Talindra stepped carefully into the void and began the job of working to disarm the lethal device. She deftly pulled her tools out and began to work in the cramped quarters but a short time later her patience was rewarded and she plucked out a small round package.
The others crowded around in excitement, forgetting all they had gone through this night, eager with anticipation to see if their quest was complete. She opened the package to reveal a solid orb of blue-green rock. But what caught their attention was the clearly etched symbol of the house of Lady Alustriel.
They'd found the Orb of Bera Shinar!
A great cheer spontaneously erupted from the mouths of the adventurers as they began to congratulate each other on their success.
Captain Gavin, who had been patrolling around the fringes of the fort, brought the revelry to an end. "Come, let's get back to St. Vincent, there still could be danger from attack here."
Fanning out in a defensive formation the adventurers moved back to where their horses had been left. The Knight in Silver's point was reinforced to them, causing the group to stop in their tracks and grip their weapons tighter.
The bodies of the Kraken Society attackers were gone.