-Chapter Four-
She was fascinating; he caught himself running behind her so he could watch as she charged forward. He had never seen a woman so self assured and unafraid. Her step was light and quick, making barely a sound even in her haste. He felt like an oaf in his heavy armor as he tried to keep to himself and the others eyed him suspiciously. The tiefling seemed especially ill-at-ease and kept her distance. He had inwardly chuckled when he had overheard her less then subtle comment that he must be a paladin because he made her skin itch. He let the remark drop, it was better to leave that alone and he had a duty to fulfill.
His humor was quickly replaced the closer they came to the entrance to the Eyegouger lair. He prepared for what he was sure would be his last battle. Casavir prayed Tyr would accept his sacrifice and finally forgive him. The little band paused to regroup and prepare to charge headfirst into the orcs guarding the entrance. The band had already fought their way through several small guard parties of orcs with surprising ease.
Casavir was willing to admit he was impressed with what he had seen of the small band. They worked well together and were more formidable then many larger groups of fighters. He didn't know how they were able to plow through their enemies with such seemingly little effort but he was almost enjoying fighting with such talented warriors. Casavir kept silent and followed the leader whose name he learned was Lana. She still had not introduced herself, but the others had called her name occasionally. That was fine with him; he did not need formal introductions to die with them. He only sought a great battle to prove his faith and willingness to Tyr. The way they charged in, that time seemed inevitable.
He clenched his jaw as they rounded the final bend, finally reaching the entry to Logram's cave. There was a huge blade spider and several orcs guarding the entry. Before Casavir could pause to think, Khelgar charged in yelling dwarven battle cries at the top of his impressive lungs. The orcs only had a moment to register surprise as Casavir's party charged into their midst. Lana hung back; arrows zinging into orc hide after orc hide, her speed with the bow almost a blur. They charged into the caves, slaying orc after orc that dared to stand in the way. They twisted and turned through the maze of caverns, only slowing long enough to dispatch their enemies.
At what seemed to be a never ending cave they finally found Logram at the end of the second level. He was a true orc, threatening and blustering. Lana took charge of the situation and Casavir was content to let her negotiate. He was not surprised though when battle ensued. This was not the battle of glory he had in mind as they faced the orc leader. At Lana's hands, Logram met his end quickly. Casavir surprised himself when he emitted a sigh of relief when the fight concluded He had been sure releasing Old Owl Well from the orc threat would have been the atonement he sought and now it went by as a footnote in his mind. He hoped for more battles at Lana's side.
They forged onwards, encountering a Shadow Priest and finally finding the emissary, but not before finding several of the corpses of his fellow soldiers lying in what could only be intended for necromancy rituals. This did not bode well and Casavir intended to find out more. There was a greater power at work then Logram could ever have hoped to have been and it was evil.
Casavir had not previously heard anything concerning Shadow Priests or their leader. This was a new and much bigger threat then the orcs ever could be. He wanted to stick around to learn more. Maybe this is what Tyr had in mind for him, only time would tell. He planned to stay with Lana and find out all he could since it appeared Lana had a part in the story.
After reporting to Callum the fall of the orc tribes, Lana and her band returned to Neverwinter. No one questioned if Casavir was staying with them. He just did and no one objected (or at least not openly in Neeshka's case).