Fetch and his small group left McDunnalds without much fanfare. He half expected a going away party , but he knew it was for the better. Better for them to leave now, then go to a party and be convinced to stay. Frank's offer to join up with the Order of the Dragon was real tempting. It was every boy's dream wasn't it? To be a knight in shining armor and ride a mighty dragon, while it soared through the air. The only dragon he ever rode was the plodding sluggish Molly, and the only flying he had ever done was on Pixietrampler.
Clovis had given the group horses to make their journey easier. He provided them with 2 fine stallions. Even Trip was given a swift pony. Tyris examined them before they went , and they were met with her approval. Tyris was the best rider amongst them , she effortlessly commanded her mount and the two seemed to glide down the road. Fetch's daughter commented, that Tyris had almost a magical talent to ride beasts. The bard simply nodded and smiled at that observation. Surry was not as good as Tyris but she would have made a capable knight. Pixietrampler was the heaviest packed, a habit from her life as a mercenary. She seemed more comfortable with the legendary steed then her first encounters with him. Fetch had improved a fair bit at riding , but he thought he was a fair rider at best. He was more comfortable with handling horses then riding them. Simple traveling was easy, but he doubted he could command his mount in a combat situation. Baalphzon flew lazily around Fetch,although most of the time he stayed invisible to not draw stares and angry reactions from travelers. Trip had the most problems, his pony regarded him more as luggage then a rider. After awhile, Surry grabbed the reigns of his pony, and led it on her horse.
Fetch thought Surry looked different today. She always had a well groomed air about her, even while marching in the army or fighting tieflings. Today she was looking especially primped and noble.
Surry noticed his father's gaze and replied with a light laugh, " Its the hair. Calla did my hair up yesterday, before we went out on the town. "
Tyris smiled and remarked, " Oh you two all done up and out on the town , in a city full of victorious soldiers. I'm surprised you got to Clovis's mansion on time."
The two of them shared a laugh, while Fetch shifted uneasily on his horse. "Your daughter's over twice your age, she knows how to handle herself " he repeated to himself.
Fetch had three routes open to him. The long route was through Heldamar , then Tornic, then past the ruins of Upper Lueders. The shorter path would be through Xaber, then through the Devil's forest. The easiest way would be to take a raft through the Troll fens, and down the McDunnald River, however winter was approaching, and the river would soon freeze over.
Fetch remembered not too long ago, frozen rivers were the norm. Now he was plotting a course to avoid them.
He chose the long route. Not because he wanted to avoid the dangers of the forest, but because he wanted to see the towns and cities of Grom.
Surry thought the choice was wise, but the cleric could tell she would have preferred the more dangerous path. He wondered how long it would be till she got fed up with his boring life. Fetch thought she would have been better off following Frank or Ymir if she wished to pursue a life of adventure.
"Hey Fetch...careful", said Surry.
He imagined his house in Lower Lueders would be quite similar to the shack he had in Mammoth Keep. Probably slightly larger and sturdier. He thought a small garden would be nice, some place to raise chickens or a sheep or two. Similar to the set up on the plateau. He hadn't thought of his life on the plateau that much recently. He recalled the occasional lesson from Hunter, Cook and Lord, but he didn't think much of the others. Gardener, Shopkeeper, Maid, Bard... he wondered how they were doing. He wondered how much time had passed for them since he left. It was almost 4 years now for Fetch, but looking at the half elf he knew that was extremely relative. His daughter was pushing 45! for Rawk's sake.
"Hey Fetch ...Don't get too close to those strange rocks.", Surry warned.
Fetch smiled, so much had changed. When he left the plateau , he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He thought his moniker of berzerker would get him stuck fighting in dueling pits for a living. Fighting angry dogs, or savage gladiators didn't seem too appealing. He remembered Lord warning him of the sexual dangers encountered in dungeons. Evil nymphs and succubi stealing his manhood and putting a glamor on him. He sighed , "Nope ...didn't have any of that happen either." He didn't expect to become a cleric either, he was alright with the blade, but was pushed into his role by his fellows. Fetch wondered how life would be different if he practiced more with the sword. He wondered if his skill would have approached that of Franks.
"FETCH LOOK OUT!", screamed Surry.
A blur of grey surprised Fetch. A seemingly harmless looking rock , had suddenly transformed to a savage baboon. It leaped at the day dreaming cleric and easily knocked him off his horse. Fetch fell awkwardly and heavily on his side. His right foot was still in the stirrup. He briefly hoped he wouldn't be dragged , but his horse buckled as well. It fell on top of him , while madly thrashing. Fetch's lower body was trapped. He saw 3 rock colored baboons ripping at his horse madly. A baboon with a deep scar on his face stopped his attack and looked at the cleric.
Fetch had stared into the eyes of demons before. He even met the gaze of a demon lord, he recalled the pure malice and hatred in the eyes of Yeenoghu. The creature in front of him was not that much different. Raw rage and anger emanated from the beast's eyes. Fetch was at a disadvantage from his position, his hammer was under the horse. Baalphzon appeared and passed Fetch a dagger and he readied it for the creatures attack.
The scarred baboon gave a piercing howl before it sprang at Fetch. Baalphzon flew to meet it, but was knocked violently away. Fetch jabbed at the creature , but it fell on its side instead. Tyris's arrow had struck it in mid leap and knocked the beast aside. More arrows and crossbow bolts were fired from Fetch's companions. They found their mark and one of the apes fell from their fire . The scarred baboon was struck 2 more times , but it was braced for their impact. It snarled at Fetch , blood oozing from his fresh wounds, then scampered into the bushes with his fellows.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!", yelled Fetch as Trip and Baalphzon helped him out from under the dead horse.
"Weren't you listening! I told you to watch out like three times back there.", yelled Surry while examining the battlefield.
Trip began to examine the dead baboon , but Surry pushed him aside and quickly intoned a spell. A large web quickly grew and entwined itself on the surrounding vegetation and rocks. The "dead" baboon realized its deception had failed, and fought against its magical bonds. Despite the webs strength , they slowly snapped as the creature thrashed and bit them. Tyris calmly walked up to the edge of the web, and her rapier flashed into the creatures throat. It tried to howl one last time, but the hole in its throat only produced a bloody gurgle as it died.
"Was that some new form of demonic ape?", said a heavily breathing Baalphzon.
"Nah...I think its some form of southern Penguin or Squirrel.", asked Trip.
Surry nagged Fetch for the rest of the day. The wizard made him ride the pony with Trip, since the warforge couldn't handle the mount anyways. Trip sat in a saddle bag for journey. It looked uncomfortable to Fetch but the small wooden halfling didn't seem to mind.
"When I say look out...that means look out. Even though this is the "safe" route doesn't mean its not dangerous. Its just relatively safer. Why do you think everyone else travels in caravans. This area is called the Slay Plains for a reason, not the sleigh plains. There's no mythical fat red man handing out gifts here. How did you make it so long with senses so dull. No wonder Frank left you, he was tired of you being a burden. Im surprised...", his daughter kept going, but Fetch tuned her out. He began casting a silence prayer on her, but a cross look from Tyris stopped his plan. He was going to have to tough it out.
"When I say look out...that means look out. ", Baalphzon attempted to imitate Surry as he flew around the cleric. A grazing hammer blow, sent him back hiding invisibly.
Heldann or Helamaar as the locals called it , was a nice pastoral town. It was surrounded by rich farmland and vineyards. They seemed to use wine in almost everything they cooked, which suited Fetch fine. He noticed some of the guards in town went around unarmored and mostly unarmed. Some carried staffs, or agricultural instruments, but they seemed under dressed for the part.
"Monks...", said Surry with disdain in her voice."They help with the towns protection during the day , and go to their monasteries outside of town at night. They have regular militia during the evening here though. This place has a wall and some towers but doesn't see much action. McDunnalds and Tornic sees most of the action if raiders and monsters attack.
The town's defenses did seem lacking, but if there was no need then why divert resources towards it. Of course if the Darkriver Horde was smart, they would have struck here instead of their ill planned siege. Fetch made a note of this.
Tornic was like a smaller version of McDunnalds. It had strong stone walls, and a sturdy wooden gate. The town and the surrounding area's population was only a few thousand but it seemed very busy. Surry explained it was the gateway to the north. Caravans from Grom City had to go through the mountains and cross here, to journey to the other major cities. From the brief explanation Fetch knew if it had any real resources it could have grown into a real city instead of a busy crossroads. The land was mostly barren here but people still lived here mostly to do business with the towns frequent travelers. The main "industry" here was the town keep. Fetch assumed the mountains had its own share of dangers.
The group continued their journey. They passed a giant skull on a zigguart of rocks. Baalphzon told him it was a place of great power, and should be avoided. They passed Ravenwoods, and the ruins of Upper Lueders. Fetch knew to stay away from them from his brief history lessons from Sgt Hakon. The woods were protected from a dragon by a small enclave of elves called the Raven Knights and Upper Lueders was the sight of a necromantic rebellion a few years ago. The Warlord Lueders used dark magic to raise an army of the dead in an attempt to conqueror his neighbors. The city states had grown lax through the years, but the threat of a necromancer taking over , caused them to unite to defeat their foe. Their quick and brutal response to the necromancer was the first seeds of the United Grom movement . People saw what they could accomplish when working together instead of on their own interests. So the dream of a strong central government was once again revived.
Fetch wondered what was better? Strong regional governors or a strong central government. Corruption aside, regional governors could better micro manage their city states or fiefdoms, while a central government could enact beneficial national programs like an army, or help city states in trouble. More importantly they could patrol the roads and get rid of those damn rock baboons. Fetch knew then which he supported.
After almost 10 days. Fetch and his companions arrived at the outskirts of Lower Lueders. After the baboon attack, the journey was mostly uneventful. They passed some caravans that looked at the small group with curiosity. They wondered if they were dangerous people or just dumb. Tyris spotted some bandits and used her songs to lead them away from the group. Surry also spotted some raiders but quickly dispersed them with a fireball. Trip shot a massive 20lb rabbit and Fetch prepared a fine meal for the group. Trip pretended to eat , so he could fit in, but Fetch chuckled as the food constantly fell out of his mouth.
As they reached the outlying communities of Lower Lueders. Fetch noticed that their mounts were getting angry and violent. Tyris managed to control her steed, but Fetch and Trip both were both violently bucked off by their pony. Fetch had to lead the beast for the final leg of their trip. Pixietrampler was always angry and violent , so Fetch didn't notice a change in him.
Tyris raised her hand to signal them to stop. Fetch could not see an attacker but trusted his wife's senses. She rode up ahead into the forested path out of sight. The remaining companions waited tensely . Fetch noticed something was different. The woods were quiet, there were no birds. No animals at all. The bard returned with the body of an injured man on her horse. The man was conscious, but was not coherent and feverish . He had sustained many claw and bite wounds. It looked like he tried to apply his own bandages , but they were amateur at best. There was already festering puss on some of his wounds and his arm was clearly broken.
Surry had her bow out, and Trip readied his dragon golem. The wounds appeared fresh, and the group might still be in danger. Fetch said a prayer of healing, and all the man's injuries vanished. Even the yellow diseased puss, and his broken arm was healed. The man looked shocked at both his savior and his surroundings. . His fever was gone and he could finally comprehend his surroundings.
The man was clearly a warrior, he wore a simple scale mail shirt. His hair was dark with streaks of grey in it, and he had the pale skin of a northern knight. Fetch saw the man had traditional battle markings on his cheeks. Despite his graying hair, he had a rugged handsome look about him. "Thank you! I don't know who you are, but I thought I was done for. I journeyed into these woods , and was attacked by a pack of wolves. They were unlike any beasts I had ever met before, they weren't just maddened by disease, but something else. They kept attacking even after I inflicted mortal wounds on them. I defeated them, but I feared I would have succumbed to my injuries if your friend hadn't rescued me. ...Forgive me...my name is Dietrich , Knight of the Walrus."
Surry giggled at his introduction. Clearly she wasn't aware of the proud and noble reputation of the Walrus Knights. Fetch recalled they were in the center line of the Great Host. They had a reputation of being one of the more savage and primitive of the Knightly Orders. It was said they worshiped the old nature gods instead of Mirrodin and Nirrodin like the other Orders.
Fetch silenced his daughter with a stare, " I am ...Captain Fletcher...this is my aide Sgt Trip, that's Pixietrampler...yes we name our horses ...and...", he paused at his introduction to Surry. To his knowledge she had left the army after the siege. To cut payroll, the 3rd army released many soldiers honorably after the battle. It would be awkward to call her his daughter , especially to a stranger. Even though he thought of her as his daughter, they never referred to each other as father and daughter. They were happy referring to themselves as Fetch and Surry.
"I'm Surry , their scout. ", the half elf finally said.
"This is my familiar Baalphzon...do not mind his sinister appearance", Fetch continued then noticed the scaly imp was invisible. Fetch didn't like looking stupid twice.
"and...your rescuer is my beautiful wife...", Fetch stopped and realized Tyris was gone. He looked briefly, but she was nowhere to be found. He wasn't worried, he knew she would be safe, he was just annoyed he kept looking like a fool in front of the stranger.
Tyris stepped back into the clearing holding, a damaged shield, a slightly glowing broadsword, and pieces of a broken spear. Dietrch nodded as he accepted the weapons she had scavenged from the clearing ahead.
"..my beautiful wife ..Tyris.", Fetch finally finished.
The knight bowed to Tyris and took her hand and lightly kissed it. Tyris blushed at this attention. Despite Fetch's constant talk of her beauty, very few people other then her husband praised her for it. " You are most fortunate to have such a lovely and capable wife Captain Fletcher." The knight said to Fetch while still staring at the flustered Bard.
Fetch didn't think it was appropriate for Dietrich to flirt with his wife so obviously. Before he could say anything though , the knight spoke, " I have journeyed all the way from the Northern Realm, I guess you could say I am on a quest. I thought I was more then a match for anything these southern realms could throw at me, but as you can see I was mistaken. If you are heading towards Lower Lueders , may I humbly ask to accompany you. These lands are more dangerous then I anticipated."
"Of course you can !", said Surry . Fetch hadn't noticed till now but he saw his daughter was literally salivating at the handsome knight. Fetch sighed and agreed. Northerners were often described by Southerners as physically fit,ruggedly handsome, and generally attractive. They were a tall race, millennium of fighting had only allowed the strongest to survive. Despite their genetic advantages, both men and women often had scars, broken noses, and cauliflower ears to mar their beauty. Even Frank , which Fetch often considered the stereotypical northerner had scars and a slightly crooked nose. Fetch himself was missing a piece of his ear, and sported a permanent scar on his chin. Dietrich however had a flawless face and perfect physique. Fetch wondered if he was a favorite of some warrior queen of the Walrus, and kept out of battles. He chuckled to himself as he imagined the handsome Dietrch as a pet to some barbarian princess like Hero. As the group traveled into the next clearing, the sight of a half dozen dead horse sized wolves told Fetch otherwise. These creatures weren't regular dire wolves. They even had scales and small vestigial bat wings on them. Even without magic, Fetch could smell a dark taint about them.
Baalphzon flew invisibly to one , sniffed the air and tasted its blood. " It smells of Gehenna. The great pale...", he said mentally to Fetch.
Fetch wasn't sure what that meant, but assumed it was bad.
Dietrch said grimly, " I've fought wolves , I've fought demons, and I've even fought demon wolves before, but these creatures are something different. I heard there was a great battle fought recently in McDunnalds , but I thought it was just goblins and a few giants. I didn't realize the south was so dangerous. I would have deviated from my mission and lent them a hand if I knew the dangers they faced ."
Fetch laughed," Dietrch...have you met your first tax collector yet?"
Surry tracked the wolves to their lair. Fetch thought it prudent to eliminate them before they attacked other travelers. Dietrch seemed to be a skilled tracker as well, his skill wasn't as great as Surry's but he assisted the ranger in her task. Surry welcomed the help and attention, but for some reason Fetch was annoyed. She didn't need the knight's help to track these horse sized wolves. If she did, she could have taken Trip.
"I could sting his face a few times while he sleeps, his pretty looks would be replaced by an ugly swollen mass when he wakes up.", cackled the invisible Baalphzon as he sensed Fetch's annoyance.
"Any young woman likes the attention of a handsome stranger. It helps confirms herself of her own beauty. Remember, even though she's over twice your age, shes only in her mid 20s from a human perspective. In her mid 20's without a mate , she most likely yearns for male companionship. During the last half year, shes only been with soldiers, her father, and his rough and tumble friends. Not much couple material there. ", Tyris said unexpectedly.
"Too much information! Too much information!" , said Fetch covering his ears.
The pair returned 10 minutes later. They seemed relaxed and talking to each other. Surry pointed at Fetch from a distance, and the knight and her shared a laugh. Fetch thought of sending Baalphzon to spy on them, but they waved them forward to follow.
A half mile journey into the woods, revealed a grisly scene. A large hole was dug in the ground. Around it was the bones and skulls of the wolves victims. Trip shook his head, and noted that they were mostly humanoid bones, very few animal bones. The wolves were ruthless in their target selection . A large freshly slain wolf was dragged to the side. The elven arrows in the beast told Fetch what had happened. 3 dead wolf cubs were also set aside. Fetch noticed that the smaller wolfs did not have wings and scales. Surry shook her head sadly at her deed.
Fetch dismounted from his pony and readied his hammer. He finally decided a name for it. After 2 years of calling it Konrad's hammer, he finally named it the Fist of Rawk. He knew the weapon wasn't sentient like Galatea but it seemed to hum with power after he renamed it. Fetch briefly examined the wolf den but only found more skulls and hair. There was coins and trinkets littered throughout, but retrieving it would be an unpleasant job. The stench was similar to that of the Scar , so he ordered Trip to strip it of any treasure. Although the warforge had a sense of smell, he did not seem to mind his task.
As Trip was sorting the treasure. A low growl came from one of the bushes. Fetch readied his hammer, Surry her bow , and Dietrich his blade. Tyris walked towards the bush with her hand raised behind her. She paused a second and signaled them to lower their weapons. Dietrich looked at Surry and Fetch, not sure if he should trust the bard. Fetch shrugged and lowered his hammer, Surry followed suit, and Dietrich reluctantly did the same . The bard walked into the bush , and the growl got louder and more menacing. Then the growl turned into a soft whine. A short time later, Tyris walked out of the bush holding a wolf cub. It seemed completely docile in her hands.
"How did you do that?", asked Surry. Her voice was tinged in regret. She had recently slain 3 wolf cubs. Fetch knew it was a necessary task, but could sense her daughter's reluctance to slay such young animals.
Tyris lifted up its paw, and showed it to the group. Fetch didn't see anything at first, but then noticed a glint of metal on one of its toes. The ring of evil protection that Clovis had given her was slipped on it.
Surry thought about it, and replied. "Ahh...I understand...it makes sense now. These animals aren't inherently evil or berserk, but something dark is controlling them. Clovis's ring has broken whatever is controlling this poor creature. I'm guessing from the bodies, that the longer it controls the beasts, the more warped they become."
Fetch's own theory was that his wife just liked dressing up animals. Maid use to dress up the cats at the inn, when they were little. He thought for a second Tyris had similar tastes. After Surry's explanation he hastily agreed and was glad he didn't voice his thoughts.
Trip petted the cub and it barked happily. Fetch noticed most animals did not like the presence of the wood and metal halfling. Canines however were the exception. Clovis's show dogs, guard dogs, and even this wolf cub seemed to respond positively to his presence. It must be a halfling thing , Fetch thought.
The group spent an hour at the wolf's den. Trip recovered a few minor magical trinkets, and approximately 1500 gold and silver. Fetch offered the trinkets and a 5th of the coins to Dietrich but he refused. He said he would not be alive to collect any of it , if it wasn't for his rescuers. Trip also counted nearly 80 human skulls. The group shuddered at the atrocities these creatures had committed.
The party left and continued their way to Lower Lueders. Tyris still held onto the cub. No one protested, they knew it wouldn't have done any good.
Trip was the first to respond to the cub," So what are you going to name it?"
"Freiki...thats the name of Odin's wolf.", said Tyris.
Odin sounded familiar to Fetch, he thought it was the name of the cobbler at Mammoth Keep or maybe it was one of the sailors aboard the barge that took him to Baltar's Port. He didn't recall either of them with a pet wolf though.
The group journeyed through a few small towns . Fetch immediately noticed the lack of wild animals. The domesticated ones were all penned or corralled when not being used. There were no pet dogs and cats. Fetch asked a villager , and they all replied it was Arcturus's curse.
The name sound familiar , but Fetch couldn't quite remember where he heard it from.
Baalphzon whispered in his ear ,"Your lack of knowledge constantly disappoints me. I've only been in this plane for less then a year , and even I know who Arcturus is . Its the northern nature goddess. The crone, the bitch, and the maiden. The triple aspect goddess of beasts. "
Dietrch asked the villagers many questions and nodded his head at the information told to him. His flirting with Surry had stopped , and he seemed to be filled with a new resolve to finish his quest.
They knew their journey was almost at an end, so they bought few supplies. Instead of asking about the wildlife, Surry actually inquired more relevant matters, like directions and the local customs.
"A platoon of Grommish guards on foot , they bear the flag of Lower Lueders. Headed this way.", Trip said as the group prepared to leave the village.
Fetch waved his companions off the main road. He knew they weren't in trouble but didn't want to start any problems . He had been around the army long enough, to know that soldiers weren't just good at stopping trouble , they were also good at starting it. Fetch tried to blend into the sparse crowds and act inconspicuous. He hoped his companions would do the same.
The troop marched through the town. The leader of the platoon, marched towards a villager and asked him a few questions. The man pointed towards Fetch's group. Fetch cursed and hoped his companions had followed his lead and hidden themselves . The soldiers marched towards Fetch. The cleric noticed his companions where nowhere to be seen.
Their leader confronted the Fetch and saluted ,"Captain Fetch. I have orders to escort you to Royal Commander Governor Kerr. Please do not resist."