Wooh I blitzed this chapter! Right, so with all the main characters introduced its off to the adventure. I'm kind of confused why it took me so long to get to it but hey you live and learn. So right I'll stop delaying you and get on with the show.
Day 12
Pith yawns and walks outside, stretching in the sunlight as he quickly glances around.
"Snow Drift?"
The horse trots over to him and Pith removes the lasso and leads the horse to the entrance. Whitewolf comes out wearing his sword at his hip and a large backpack on his back.
"What's all that for?"
"You know the essentials, torches, arrows, flint and iron,"
"Flint?"
"You'd be surprised how often I use that, a spare sword, a bow, pick ax, spare pick ax, and a dozen baked potatoes,"
"How'll you carry anything?"
"I figure that'll be your job," Whitewolf says shoving a bag into Pith's hands.
"Let's get going,"
The two arrive at the hall in a few minutes, and Pith is surprised when Whitewolf keeps up with his horse surprisingly well. He taps the horse as if checking if he has defects, and the horse bites at his hand for his trouble.
The building is a Nordic style hall, with a stepped roof laden with snow. The foundations and lower walls are built of cobble stone, while the upper walls and roof is made of pine wood. Two twin doors stand at the front at the front and a massive hole stands out at the end of the roof where spiders could easily climb in.
To one side a small frozen lake feeds ice water into a small pumpkin field warmed by torches.
"What are the pumpkins for?"
"Security," is all Pith says.
As the two walk past the trio of trees in front of the hall Pith slides off his horse and waves towards the hall.
"Welcome to White Stone Hall," Pith says.
"Nice, but do you usually leave the door open?"
Pith's head snaps forward and indeed of the two sets of double doors one is wide open, and a set of snowy footprints track inside.
"This can't be good," says Pith and he runs through the door, sword in his hand with Whitewolf right behind him.
Inside the hall is fairly wide with thick wooden beams holding up the ceiling that arches above them. The middle of the floor is made of wood save for a hearth at the center where a block of wood burns. Several empty chairs line the walls and at the head of the hall another seat stands on a raised platform. To the left a narrow passage in the wall leads out into a
"Whoever's out there come out! There are two of us and you ca-,"
A figure stands up at the head of the hall, and Pith makes out what looks like a girl wearing a simple white shirt and light blue pants and hiking boots with a backpack in one hand and a stone sword in the other.
"Thief," Pith snarls and points his sword forward.
"Stay back, stay back I don't mean you any harm," says the girl.
Pith hesitates and Whitewolf takes a step forward and bends over to look at her.
"You don't look too good," says Whitewolf.
"Look I just need some food and I'll be out of your way, I just need to heal,"
Pith notices that the hand that holds her side, her clothes stained red. Pith sighs and puts away his sword.
"Why am I helping a thief?" he whispers to himself.
"Hold on a second I'll see what I have in the stores," Pith says and goes down to the cellar.
Whitewolf watches the girl, who nervously fidgets in place and keeps her eyes on the cellar entrance.
"Will you stop watching me," she says.
"Hm? You says something?" Whitewolf says shaking his head as if he were asleep.
Pith returns and hands her a few slices of cooked beef.
"So how did you get like that?"
"Oh oh, let me guess. Zombie right? No they're not that fast, um skeleton! No you'd have an arrow,"
"It was some bandits," she says, more than a little annoyed.
"Damn it, that was my next guess,"
"You don't say,"
"Yea, they almost got me, just over a hill past that forest to the north, they've been chasing me for a while but I finally managed to give them the slip."
"You didn't do that good a job at that," says Whitewolf.
"Thanks," she says sarcastically.
She eats the beef in a minute, and the wound starts to close.
"The name's Jett by the way, though my friends call me Raven. Thanks for helping me,"
"Isn't that a guy's na- ow," Whitewolf tries to say when he's interrupted by Raven punching him in the shoulder.
"Not a problem, you can stay here for a while, though we still need to go into the caves," says Pith.
"Caves?"
"Yea we're going spelunking to get ready for the trip,"
"Not we I'm staying here. But now that you mention it I did think of a way you can pay me back for the food,"
"Pay you back?"
Pith pulls out a pick axe from his backpack and tosses it to her.
"Come on, we'll need the extra hand,"
"Uh, wait I'm not a miner,"
"That's alright I don't think this place has drinks," says Pith pushing past her and to the door.
"That's terrible," says Jett.
"If you think that's bad wait till he start telling jokes," says Whitewolf.
Before Pith walks to the cave he runs to the farm and returns with a pumpkin head in his hands. He scoops up the snow and builds a two block tall body with twigs for arms. He places the pumpkin on top and the creature comes to life, looking around and sliding on the snow.
"Alright there friend, just stay here and make sure nothing walks inside, got it?" says Pith.
The snow golem looks at Pith for a moment and then continues sliding on the snow.
"Ugh fine just stay here,"
The thee walk into the cave up to the point where Pith had found the dungeon. The cave honeycombs further in, and every corner holds promises of arrows and pain. For a second each swears they see something moving in the darkness.
"You first, you'll probably want the XP," Pith says and he and Jett take a step back.
"Eh, sure," Whitewolf says and walks forward.
No monsters jump at them from the shadows. No arrows, explosions or even slimes bar their way as they tread deeper and deeper into the caverns.
As the air becomes to get stale and warmer. The cavern opens up to a large room filled with lava. Along the walls veins of iron, red stone, coal and lapis lazui glimmer at them. Above the lava lake another tunnel forms a balcony overlooking the lake and the entrance they came from.
"Let me handle this," Pith says.
He leaves his bag next to the entrance and starts mining around the lava and covering its edges with cobblestone.
As Pith works at the lava Whitewolf spots something shinning in the corner of the room. A vein of diamond calls to him from the opposite side of the lava lake. He unslings his pick axe and walks to the edge of the lake. He lays down a couple of cobblestone over the lava, and starts building a bridge when he hears something scuffling in the dark. It takes him a moment to realize someone's missing.
"Hey Jett where'd you go?"
Pith emerges from his trench covered in sweat and sulfur, and looks around for their guest. His eyes goes to where he had left his bag and sees its missing.
"Damn it she ran off with our materials!" he says and runs down the way they came.
"Hey slow down Pith," Whitewolf says and hefts his own bag.
The two run up the myriad of rooms and Whitewolf manages to outpace Pith even with his heavy load. As they draw closer to the surface Whitewolf notices a figure in the shadows.
"Hey Jett what are you doing? Rav- agh!"
An arrow flies into Whitewolf's chest, and in the darkness someone barks an order. Another figures walk into the torch light. Revealing a man with a short black beard and wearing leather armor and sporting an iron sword that glimmers in the dark, and a woman .
"So which of you idiots is going to talk?"
Pith helps Whitewolf up and draws his sword.
"Humph, fine they aren't the ones with the map, get 'em,"
The figure draws back its bow, and takes aim but doesn't hear the footsteps coming behind her. With a loud thwack another figure hits the archer over the head. When the swordsman turns an arrow finds his shoulder
Pith spots Jett standing over the archer, with a bow in her hands.
The archer stands up, and draws a sword to run Raven through but Pith drops his bag and loses an arrow that skits past her. Instead of staying to fight she makes a run for the door, as dose her companion pulling out the arrow and leaving it behind.
"And don't come back!" Raven yells after them.
She jumps down from her perch and throws Pith's bag at him.
"Thanks for the distraction," she says.
"Thanks for running off with my bag," Pith says opening his bag and checking to make sure nothing was broken.
"Your welcome,"
"Hey do you smell smoke? Or is that just me again?" Whitewolf says.
The three head back up to the surface, and the crackling of wood burning gets louder and louder. Pith runs ahead of the other two, and when he comes to the surface his jaw drops. His hall burns, sending smoke and ash high into the sky. A trio of figures are running into the distance, and he hears a laugh echo back to him.
A hand falls on his shoulder and Pith looks back to see Whitewolf standing there.
"Hey don't worry it's not that bad, I mean you can rebuild it. I bet you that it'll be mostly intact,"
Pith looks at his hall and already most of the roof is gone.
"Mostly. Awe dose someone need a hug?"
"Maybe later," Pith says without sarcasm.
He looks around and to his surprise sees Snow Drift ridding towards them in a hurry.
"See, you haven't lost that much,"
"Well what do I do now? Those idiots will be back when they realize that I'm alone, and there's no way I'm going back,"
"You can come with me, find the treasure in the Fallen Kingdom. We'll make a road trip out of it!"
"Yea, sure, road trip for a mystical treasure with no way of knowing how to get there,"
Jett sighs and walks over to the two, and pulls out a piece of paper from her pack.
"What is this?" asks Pith.
"Well I guess I do still want to pay you back for helping me, and if you're going after the same treasure I'm after…"
Pith looks at the paper, and realized what he's holding is a map.
"There's a reason they were after me," she says cheekily.
"Well there we go, come on you've got no reason to say no now,"
Pith takes another look at his hall, and shrugs his shoulders.
"You know what? Let's do it,"
And with that our band of outcasts and rouges have finally found an adventure far out in the wilderness.
"Did you guys hear that?" asks Whitewolf.
"Look I swear I don't talk to trees or anything like that," says Pith.
Yes, quite the band of heroes.
"What have I agreed to," Jett sighs to herself.
And with that the main cast is together and the adventure begins. I had run into a real block trying to figure out how to introduce the last part of the trine but after that was sorted out the rest flowed like butter. Great now I'm hungry. So I'll try to get the next chapter out before the weekend's done and school eats up my time. Till then.