Chapter 17 – Damsel in distress? – Day 30
First light found the five on the road heading north from Beregost in search of the bandit camp. Ajantis proudly showed off his new great shield. He had purchased it from the Thunderhammer Smithy in Beregost. The shield was lightly enchanted to provide additional protection in melee combat. Due to the great size of the shield as well as some additional enchantments it was incredibly effective against missile weapons.
Combined with the paladin's enchanted boots, enchanted bracers, and ankheg plate mail the Helmite was now almost impervious to missile weapons; and well protected from all other threats.
Dynaheir contentedly read through her spell book organizing her new spells. She had purchased quite a few spells using her funds as well as those from her ranger companion. Minsc stated that he needed very little so long as he had hamster food and a witch to protect. For her part Imoen gleefully carried her new enchanted short bow and wore a garish necklace of large pearls with an inlay of gold and silver.
Jeral still carried a purse heavy with coin as he could yet afford an enchanted long bow or another wand. His purchases the previous days left him over 500 gold on hand. As had become standard while on the march, Ajantis led the way, Minsc prowled in the woods switching back from one flank to the other and Jeral brought up the rear covering all with his long bow. Imoen and Dynaheir remained in the middle of the column enjoying their walk north.
The party followed the road and reached the Friendly Arm Inn by early afternoon. They encountered little traffic on the road. Casual travelers feared attack from the bandits that prowled the woods; so only heavily protected merchant caravans braved the roads of late. The party reserved three rooms for the evening. Imoen and Dynaheir shared a room. Jeral volunteered to room with Minsc, leaving Ajantis the luxury of some privacy for the evening. After a simple dinner of venison stew and a very nice ale the party retired to their rooms for some badly needed rest. On the morrow they would resuming their search for the bandit camp.
Day 31
Based on a suggestion from Bently Mirrorshade the party left the road and set off north east through the forests. The woods got progressively thicker and thicker as Ajantis followed a narrow winding game trail deeper into the woods. The entire group realized that they were entering an area regularly patrolled by ruthless bandits and that success or death were the only likely outcomes from their current course of action. Dynaheir carried her wand of missiles at the ready while Imoen held her new bow with an arrow in her off hand. The pair's reverie on the trail from previous days was not in evidence today. The group moved in silence, making an attempt to be as quiet as possible. The sun slowly rose in the sky as the morning gave way to mid day.
The quiet of the forest was shattered by a woman's scream. The piercing shriek caused birds to take flight from every tree in view as the party quickly readied their weapons. The sound of someone crashing through the undergrowth drew the group's attention as the sound quickly approached. Jeral knocked an arrow and waited for a clear target.
The arrow never left his bow.
"Help me! If you don't help me they'll kill me" The party watched as a cloaked woman emerged between a pair of trees. Clad in dark chain main and holding a mace and small shield the woman was of average height, thin, and quite shapely.
Jeral and Ajantis quickly moved forward and stood in front of the woman. Smiling Ajantis spoke as calmly as he could. "Calm down good lady. We will help you, do not fear. Just tell us who you are. Who is trying to kill you?"
She bent forward slightly and took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She quickly straightened up and spoke in a melodious, almost sultry, voice. The fearful, helpless victim voice was no longer in evidence.
"My name is Viconia. Safe to say I am not from around here. I thank you so much for helping."
She pulled back her hood to reveal dark skin of an inky blue/black hue and long shimmering silky white hair that hung down to just past her shoulders.
Jeral sucked in his breath while he realized he was looking at a dark elf – a very beautiful dark elf, but still a dark elf. Jeral recalled from his studies that the drow are an evil race noted for their brutality, treachery, and dedication to the spider goddess Lloth.
"Step away Jeral. I must deal with this foul creature before we are all overcome!" Jeral looked over to see Ajantis drawing his long sword. Jeral stepped between the paladin and the drow and placed a firm hand on the paladin's sword arm.
"Hold on Ajantis. We know nothing about her; let's not rush to judge. She appears to be alone."
"Fool! Do not interfere. She is drow and as such must be destroyed in the name of Helm! All worshippers of the spider queen must die!" Ajantis was shaking with rage and straining to draw his sword. Jeral tightened his grasp on the paladin's arm and leaned forward, matching the larger man him strength for strength, and refused to move. The two men glared at one another and Ajantis struggled to draw his sword.
"The archer is not the fool Helmite, you are," Viconia sneered at the enraged Ajantis, every word dripping with disdain. I am no longer a follower of the spider queen. I am exiled from my home and my people. I merely wish to make my own way on the surface and build a new life. I am sure that your watcher God can see as much himself."
"Do not speak of my God fowl creature!"
Smiling sweetly she stared directly at the paladin and twirled her mace in an intricate series of combat forms, the likes of which Jeral had never seen before. "I have no cause to quarrel with you pious one, however I will grant your wish for death should you so choose. Viconia DeVir retreats from no pathetic male and is not easily overcome."
"STOP IT!" Dynaheir's shout startled all the parties into staring at her. Pointing at the paladin she continued. "We are after the bandits threatening the countryside. We are moving farther and farther away from the temple at the Friendly Arm Inn. And we have need of a healer. Look at her. She is clearly a cleric, and as such could aid us in our quest. At a time such as this you must focus on the greater good and our commitments to aid the people against this menace!"
"Who do you follow if not Lloth?"
"For now just know I follow another." Dynaheir nodded in reluctant acceptance at the drow's response.
"Boo says the pretty dark one will be a good companion. Dynaheir is as smart as Boo to see that she can help us overcome evil in these lands." Dynaheir grimaced at the comment but maintained her fierce glare at Ajantis.
Ajantis nodded and reluctantly let go of his sword hilt. Shaking off Jeral's restraining hand he turned to face the drow. Glaring at Viconia he spoke through gritted teeth as he pointed a gauntleted finger in front of her face.
"Very well, she may join un for now in order to aid the greater good. But know this fiend. I am watching you for any signs of evil. And once we dispose of the bandits we will reconsider this unholy alliance."
The sounds of sticks breaking and leaves rustling drew everyone's attention back to the tree line where they first viewed the drow cleric.
"Ahhhhhh, here comes my pursuer," purred Viconia "how the tables have turned." Bursting from the woods came a plate clad man walking quickly and deliberately towards Viconia. He wore the scarlet and gold livery of the Flaming Fist and carried a long sword and shield at the ready.
"I am the law! Step aside travelers. I am a member of the Flaming Fist. The woman you are harboring is wanted for murder of the foulest sort. She is a dark elf; it should be obvious that she is evil."
"He lies, I've done nothing wrong!" cried Viconia, using what Jeral had already labeled as her helpless voice again.
Jeral stepped in front on Viconia and glared at the Flaming Fist mercenary. "What do you intend to do once you have her?"
"Why kill her, of course."
"We cannot allow that. Is there no other way?"
"Enough talk, for harboring a murderer I sentence you to death! All of you!"
Undeterred by his clear numerical disadvantage the Flaming Fist mercenary attacked.
He slashed at Jeral, forcing the bard to roll out of the way. Minsc waded in and started dueling with the plate clad mercenary. Ajantis hung back, clearly ambivalent about fighting a representative of the Baldur's Gate militia to aid the drow. Imoen and Dynaheir also hung back worried that their missile weapons would accidently strike the large ranger. Leaving his long bow on the ground Jeral drew his whistling short sword and charged the mercenary. He and Minsc slowly forced the mercenary on the defensive as he focused on defending himself against a two handed great sword and an enchanted short sword.
This keen focus allowed the mercenary to parry each and every attack from the two. However, that same focus ensured that the mercenary lost complete track of Viconia. The drow calmly circled around behind the mercenary and struck him with her mace between his shoulder blades. The rusty mace shattered against the place armor as the mercenary whirled around to face the new threat.
"Now you die foul temptress!" The mercenary swung at Viconia and she managed to push the blow to the side with her small shield. Jeral stabbed up through the lightly protected shoulder joint and was rewarded as his sword sank in, almost to the hilt. He quickly pulled the blade back out and a geyser of blight red blood pulsed out in waves. The mercenary groaned and fell to his knees as his life blood poured out onto the forest floor. With one last gasp he released his sword and fell forward onto his stomach. Jeral watched impassively as the flow of blood slowed to a trickle and then stopped entirely as the man died on the ground.
Viconia nodded quickly to Minsc and Jeral. "I thank you both for your assistance. As the mage noticed, I am a cleric of no small skill. Seeing as I find myself in dangerous and unfamiliar lands without allies I have need of your assistance. Therefore, I, Viconia the last of the great House DeVir, offer my services to you archer for as long as you will have them."
Smiling Jeral nodded his acceptance of the offer. I welcome you to join with us Viconia of House DeVir, I am Jeral. This is my sister Imoen, the lady Dynaheir, her protector Minsc and his furry friend Boo. And the unhappy looking gentleman over there is Ajantis, a squire in service of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. Viconia made eye contact with each in turn before speaking again.
"It is a pleasure to meet most of you. I am very pleased to see members of the stronger sex amongst you. I trust that Imoen, Dynaheir and I can keep you lowly males from making too many errors. So why are you wandering deep in the woods anyway? From what little I have learned roaming these lands, there is a band of bandits making their home in the woods somewhere to the northeast."
"If you must know drow, we are searching for that very bandit camp to put an end to the raids plaguing these lands."
"Well that is very well and noble Helmite. And exactly how did the five of you expect to take out an entire camp of what are likely well organized, heavily armed bandits?" Smugly the paladin twisted his handsome face into a scowl and sneered at the drow, "do not worry drow, Helm shall provide."
"Ahhhh so Helm shall provide. I have heard much about the watcher God. He is one of the most powerful surface Gods. I cannot wait to see his will aid this venture."
"Speak not of my God, fiend!"
"Eh, you bore me Helmite." Turning she fixed Jeral with a stern gaze.
"Archer, you lead this party, do you not? I have pledged my service to you and this group; keep your pet squire in line." Viconia turned with a sneer to face the paladin, "And I will only say this once more fool so listen well. I no longer worship the Spider Queen. I willingly cast aside my faith, rejected the Spider Queen and fled from her realm. I now follow the Lady of Loss."
"A Sharran priestess! That is little different than serving as a devotee of Lloth!"
"Enough! She is right Ajantis. We need her assistance if we hope to defeat the bandits and survive. So you must put aside your hatred for her race and judge her on her actions alone. Just pretend she is Drizzit."
"Jeral, I do not believe there are any drow who are not consumed by evil and I for one do not believe that this Drizzit even exists. A heroic drow doing good deeds? Why the entire idea is preposterous."
"Ajantis, regardless of how you feel she will be with us for a while; and as for Drizzit many of his adventures are well chronicled and corroborated from reputable sources. When next we are in Candlekeep I will show you the tomes personally."
Ajantis shook his head angrily, took a deep breath, and stared at the ground for a long time. Jeral was starting to wonder if the paladin had fallen asleep when he finally spoke.
"Very well Jeral. It is true we need allies, and we have need of a healer as well if we are to overcome the dangers ahead. I will reluctantly agree to this temporary alliance. But understand this, all of you. When the bandit threat is ended we will continue this discussion and you may not like where it leads."
Shouldering his way past Jeral he resumed his position at the head of the group and continued deep into the woods.
"I apologize for the squire's behavior. His thinking can be quite rigid at times."
"I thank you all for your assistance. I am generally capable of protecting myself, however I am still learning about your surface ways and dangers. And right now I find myself in an unfamiliar area without a weapon." Viconia held up her mace handle and tossed it disdainfully into the underbrush. "Your surface arms and armors are pathetic."
Smiling Jeral lowered his pack and started rummaging through it. "I have been carrying this since we took it off an evil cleric. That should make it a perfect fit for you if Ajantis is right about you." Smiling Jeral tossed the war hammer to Viconia. She deftly snatched it out of the air and took a few practice swings.
"To a drow the greatest gift is one taken by force or guile, not something freely given. Therefore, I prefer a weapon that I take from my enemies, and not one handed to me. However, given my current predicament I will accept and put this weapon to good use until I find something more suitable and appropriately gained."
"I supposed that is what passed for thanks among the drow so I will let the lack of gratitude pass. By the way the weapon is heavily enchanted and shocks any it strikes." Viconia smiled and strode off after the paladin taking practice swings with the weapon as she walked. Dynaheir and Imoen fell in behind the drow and Jeral resumed his position bringing up the back of the line.
Jeral walked along and spent some time pondering his new ally. Jeral was as familiar with the drow as any surfacer could be. The great library of Candlekeep had some dozen tomes on the dark elves, which was more than any other known collection in the realms. In each and every book the author focused on the darkness of the drow and their blood lust for power. Gorion also regaled Jeral with tales of Drizzit the drow ranger when he was little so apparently the drow had the capability for good, even if only in rare cases.
As Jeral walked he took in the drow. She was taller than Dynaheir and Imoen but smaller framed than both. She had the lithe graceful lines of an elf and from Jeral's view she had curves in all the right places. She was not a rogue but she walked as smoothly as Imoen, with her feet making almost no sound on the forest floor. Jeral could not help himself, he was definitely intrigued by the newcomer and recognized that could cause issues with Ajantis down the road.
The twang of multiple bow strings shocked Jeral out of his day dreaming. He looked up and saw about a half dozen bandits attacking Ajantis. Jeral knocked an arrow and took a snap shot at one of the bandits. Jeral smiled grimly as his arrow buried into the bandit's chest and he crumpled to the ground. Minsc roared out of the underbrush and joined Ajantis in close combat with their enemies. Minsc and Ajantis were holding their own.
Even though the two warriors were outnumbered they were able to cut through the leather clad bandits with ease, relying on their heavier armor and greater skill at arms. Before Viconia and Jeral could close with the bandits Ajantis and Minsc were standing over a pile of bloody corpses with nary a scratch between the two.
Imoen looted the bodies and found a handful of gold coins and little else of value. "Well we got a little gold and we can restock our arrows but nothing else interesting. So what is all the fuss about a bandit menace? These guys do not seem so tough."
"They are likely just new recruits and weaker members of the group. I would expect that the stronger bandits are either out raiding caravans or patrolling closer to the camp. As we get closer I suspect the enemy will get stronger."
"Boo says Dynaheir is very smart and we should be ready for more danger."
"Do not fear good ranger, Helm shall protect us on our noble quest." Ajantis cleaned his sword on a bandit's tunic and continued his way deeper into the woods. Sobered by the thought of more dangerous opponents the group spread out and moved forward quietly.
Late morning gave way to mid day and mid day yielded to afternoon. The party stopped only briefly to drink water from their skins and eat some dried meat and hard cheese.
"It's your choice which hits the ground first, your swords or your heads. Be smart now and you'll all live to grow wiser!"
A battle scarred, chain clad bandit swaggered his way towards Ajantis. Behind him a half dozen bandit archers drew down on the paladin. The lead bandit slowly drew his bastard sword and held it in a low guard position as he closed with Ajantis.
"By Helm I will drop my sword for no mere brigand."
"As you like it, fools! Your children be orphans tonight." Ajantis crossed swords with the brigand while Minsc charged the archers. All six bandits calmly aimed at the charging ranger and loosed arrows. Minsc staggered from arrows striking his leg, arm and stomach.
Roaring in rage Minsc shook off the strikes and closed with the leather clad bandits. His two handed sword tore through their ranks aided by arrows from Imoen and Jeral. Ajantis felled the lead bandit and quickly joined Minsc in close combat. The two heavily armed fighters soon dispatched the last bandits.
Minsc, breathing heavily, dropped his great blade and sat down heavily.
"Minsc must rest. Pointy arrows of evil make Minsc weak." Jeral watched as blood continued to seep out of his wounds. The arrow in the ranger's stomach clearly had done significant damage. With a moan Minsc slid to the ground and passed out. His hamster crawled out of the large man's pocket and sat on his chest squeaking sadly.
"Minsc! He is dying! We must stop the bleeding and heal him." Dynaheir raced to her companion and sat down cradling his head.
"Mage, I can save your male if you wish." Dynaheir looked up at Viconia through tear streaked eyes and nodded. "Then do so and quickly! Minsc must live." Viconia stepped up and knelt down by the ranger and started barking orders. "Helmite, thief, you two watch for other bandits while I tend to this unwashed mountain of a man. Archer come here. When I command it remove one arrow at a time." Jeral quickly came over and squatted next to the cleric.
"You must pull the arrows out one at a time when told to do so. You cannot push them through since they are sitting on bone. If the one in his stomach is pushed out his back it would likely kill him. After you rip one out I will close that wound. We will then move onto the next wound. The stomach wound is the one that will kill him if left unattended so we will start with that one."
Jeral grasped the shaft of the arrow as close to the wound as possible and looked at Viconia. She nodded and Jeral pulled the arrow smoothly out of the ranger's body. Blood, muscle and bits of intestine clung to the arrow head as it tore out of the man's body with a sucking sound. With the arrow removed the blood streamed out of the wound more quickly. Viconia spread her hands over the wound and started chanting under her breath, invoking the power of Shar.
A dark purple haze emanated from her hands and spread over the wound. Jeral watched in amazement as the injured muscle knitted together before his eyes, followed by the skin. When the cleric was done a pale patch of skin was the only evidence of any wound to the ranger's torso. Color also returned to the ranger's face and his chest slowly rose and fell.
"My protector lives. You have my thanks Viconia." Nodding wearily the drow directed Jeral to remove the arrow in his leg followed by the one in his shoulder. After she healed the other two wounds she stood and stretched. "The large one will be fine. He needs sleep, as do I. We can move no further today so make camp here. Archer, I require food and rest. So prepare a meal so I can restore my strength before I sleep."
Putting a hand up to stifle a protest from Ajantis Jeral replied with a chuckle. "Camping here makes a lot of sense. We would have a hard time moving Minsc anywhere ourselves. Ajantis will you take the watch while Imoen and I gather firewood and prepare dinner? Dynaheir, please go through my pack and find suitable bedding for Viconia."
The paladin nodded grimly and stalked off into the woods while Dynaheir dug through Jeral's pack. Imoen and Jeral worked to start a small campfire and prepare a meal. Once the stew was cooking Imoen and Dynaheir walked around the perimeter of the camp. As they walked Dynaheir set up minor warning cantrips while Imoen set some crude snares.
"Well done you two. Those should help warn us should another enemy approach." Both women nodded appreciatively at Jeral as he continued to make dinner. Once dinner was prepared Jeral ladled out bowls of stew to Dynaheir, Imoen and Viconia. He prepared two additional bowls for himself and Ajantis and set off in search of the paladin. He found Ajantis about 30 yards from the camp perched on a large rock. He was polishing his sword with a rag.
Jeral walked up to stand next to the paladin and wordlessly handed him a bowl and spoon. "Better get it while it is warm. I make pretty good stew but it tastes terrible cold." Ajantis nodded grimly and started eating. Jeral started on his stew and the two men ate in silence. Once finished Ajantis handed the bowl back to Jeral and resumed polishing his sword.
"I thank you for the meal Jeral. And know that I have thought deeply about your words and I prayed on it. Viconia must leave the group as soon as we have vanquished the bandits, else I will kill her. There is no other option. Merely being in her presence may pull me away from my faith. I cannot take such a chance."
A number of responses raced through Jeral's mind and they ranged from sarcastic to deep and philosophical. None seemed appropriate. Instead he patted the paladin on the shoulder and walked away.
Before he was out of earshot Jeral called out "If we live through the morrow we can discuss her fate at that time. You have first watch. Wake me for my shift."