Savior
Chapter 2
They entered the passage way. It soon changed into wood walls, smooth to the touch. They stopped at the door and listened first. Then Roy tried the door and found it wasn't locked. "Interesting," he commented, and opened it. Inside, they saw a large, lit room with rows of pews for seating. "A temple of some sort."
Roy stepped into the space and looked around. He didn't see anyone anywhere but two statues in the shape of snakes just inside the door. There were four more just like them across the way. At the far end was a set of double doors behind an altar of sorts.
Roy, Rick, and Kate moved slowly toward the altar and the doors to the rear of it. Roy saw a red splotch on the altar. "Blood." He put a finger in it. "Fresh, too." He taste-tested it. "Human blood."
"That's bad, isn't it?" Kate asked them.
"It's not good," Roy said grimly.
He moved to the door and listened first. He didn't hear anything, so he tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. "Interesting," Roy said again as he cracked it open and took a peek. He saw another set of doors just five feet into the space. So Roy went to that door and listened. He didn't hear anything, so he tried the door and found it unlocked, too.
"Interesting," Roy told them, repeating himself. Rick wanted to ask why he found it interesting, but he didn't, not just yet.
Roy opened the door slightly, and he saw a small room with two more statues in the far corners, and front and center was a fountain with water in it. He opened the door wider, walked in, and went to the fountain while Rick went to the far door. Kate hadn't entered the room yet. Rick listened at the door but didn't hear anything. But he waited for Roy to join him.
Roy splashed the water, checking it out. It looked fresh, but he didn't try it. He joined Rick at the door and tried it. To his surprise, it wasn't locked.
"Let me guess – you find it interesting. Why is that?" Rick inquired
"Because there are clearly locks on the doors. But none of them are locked. With fresh blood at the altar, I find it interesting," Roy explained.
Rick hummed his response and waved for Kate to come closer; she did. She was right behind him. Roy cracked the door open and saw a lit corridor five feet deep. It teed with a door at the tee. He didn't see anyone, though. So he entered the corridor and moved forward slowly with his sword at the ready. Rick was ready with his bow, as was Kate with her dagger.
Roy came to the corner and looked left and right. To the left, he saw it ended in a door about five feet down. To the right, he saw two doors across from each other and a door at the end roughly 30 feet down.
Rick took a peek, too. "Where to now, Roy?"
"Left first," Roy replied. He went to the door and listened but didn't hear anything.
Roy opened the door without listening first and saw someone standing there with a book open in their hands. She had seriously long black hair, and her face was snake-like. She wore a tunic covering her neck and reaching down to her feet.
He didn't waste any time and attacked her. Roy charged her, swinging his new sword. Rick stepped into the room and saw what Roy saw; he raised his bow and waited for an opening to take a shot.
Roy hit her with ease. Far easier than he thought was possible. He did considerable damage, too. Much, much more than just a short sword could do.
She dropped her book and did the only thing she could; she swung at him with her claws but missed him. Roy swung again and did considerable damage to her, much more than a simple short sword should do.
Rick spotted an opening, fired an arrow, and then another, hitting her both times. She was seriously hurting now and bleeding profusely.
She tried to call out, but all that came out was blood. She made a weak swing at Roy and missed him cleanly. Roy swung again and killed her. He stood over her dead body. "Yuan-Ti half-blood."
"Yuan-Ti. That means we stumbled into a temple, explaining the statues," Rick said and entered the room. "Close the door, would you please," Rick asked Kate, who shut it.
"Let's search this place," Roy said.
"I can cast Detect Magic," Kate offered.
"Good, do so now, please," Roy requested. "If there's anything magical, it will be in this room." Together, they searched the room.
Kate told them that the bag was Magical, as was the necklace with little red balls attached to it.
They found a box containing 1,003 gold, 566 silver pieces, and two gems.
The room had lots of books, and Kate looked them over. One stood out, so she pulled it down and opened it. "Jackpot!" It was a wizard's book with up to the third level of spells. She put it in her backpack and would look at it closely later.
"Now what?" Kate asked them.
Roy spoke up first. "We have four more doors to open." He went to the door, listened first, then opened it. He didn't see anything, so he went down to the first door on the left. He waited for the others and opened it. There wasn't even a lock on that door.
Inside the room, Roy saw a male standing there, getting ready for bed. Roy stepped five feet into the room, swung at him, and hit him. He damn near killed him with just one swing.
The male did the only thing open to him. He swung with his fist but missed him, and Roy's next swing killed him.
"Yuan-Ti pureblood," Roy said. He took a deep breath, then did a quick search. Roy found some gold and silver and put it into his backpack. He left the weapon right where it was.
He went down to the next door and door on the left, opened it, and saw another Yuan-Ti pureblood just getting into bed. Roy stepped five feet into the room, swung, and struck him. He damn near killed him, too. The pureblood attempted to swing his fist from his position but missed Roy, who swung at him and ended him.
Roy did a fast search. He was lucky and found some gold and silver pieces that he stowed in his backpack.
He crossed the hall, opened the door, and found a Yuan-Ti in bed. Roy stepped a few feet into the room, swung at him, and hit him. He ended this one in just one swing. Roy was beginning to like this new sword.
He quickly looked around, found more gold and silver, and put it into his backpack with the rest, without counting it.
Then Roy went to the last door and listened. This time, he heard something. "Someone is in this room. Be ready." Roy opened the door. Inside this room, which was about 30 by 20, he saw a Yuan-Ti Abomination. The creature looked like a serpent, except its eyes betrayed a baleful intelligence; it had two burly humanoid arms.
It had a nasty-looking scimitar nearby. Roy stepped several feet into the room, swung, and hit it, doing damage. Rick fired two arrows, and Kate cast Magic Missile. Combined, they did considerable damage, but they didn't kill it.
It reached out to pick up its scimitar, giving Roy an opening to hit it again, and he did so, doing considerable damage. Still, that didn't kill it.
It swung at Roy and hit him, causing Roy to cry out. He swung at it and hit it. Rick fired two more arrows, hitting it both times. But he didn't kill it.
It swung at Roy again and was able to strike him again. Roy screamed in pain. He was seriously hurting now. Roy swiped at it as best as he possibly could and hit it. He didn't kill it, which was terrible for him. He knew he wouldn't survive another hit.
Rick fired two arrows and hit the Abomination both times. Kate cast Magic Missile, and she killed it. Roy breathed a sigh of relief since this could have been his end.
Roy managed to search the room, came upon more gold and silver, and put it all into his backpack. He'd count it later.
"Can you do another Detect Magic?" Roy asked her.
"Yes." Kate did so and said the scimitar was Magical.
"Figures, it really hurt," Roy said. "It was sure tough to kill."
"I noticed," Kate told him. "You're bleeding, Roy."
"Damn." Roy took out one of his two potions of Cure Light Wounds and drank it. It wasn't enough, but it helped. He was going to need to rest for a while.
They left the Temple and got far enough away from it to set up the tent. They ate trail rations. Kate went over and touched Roy's shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I need to rest for a couple of days, but yeah, I'll be fine," Roy replied. "I do love this new sword. I don't know what it can do, but the flaming part of it is nice."
"It's new? Where did you get it?" Kate asked, curious.
"I got it back at the Goblins along with that scroll Rick gave you, a couple of potions, and this sword," Roy told her. "A pity it's only a short sword. I would dearly love for it to be a long sword, but a short sword will do."
oo0O0oo
They were all fourth-level now. Roy could turn the undead, and he gained a first-level spell in addition to a few skill points.
Rick could call for an Animal Companion if he wanted one and he gained a first-level spell. He also gained a few skill points.
Kate could know six zero-level spells, three first-level spells, and one second-level spell. She gained a few skill points as well.
Kate chose to learn Mending for her zero-level spell, Identify for her first-level spell, and Mirror Image for her second-level spell. It was in her new book, so she could learn it.
Roy chose Cure Light Wounds for his first-level spell, while Rick's choice for his first-level spell was Longstrider.
Roy laid hands on himself to cure his body of all its damage. It was a good thing he could do that, or he would be resting for days to recover from his battle.
oo0O0oo
They broke camp after taking care of some business. The guys went one way, and Kate went another.
"What now? Keep walking?" Kate asked them.
"Yes. Something will come up somewhere," Rick told her.
"If I may ask, what kind of Elf are you?" Rick inquired. "I know that there are various factions."
"I'm a High Elf."
"And you have no one waiting for you at home?" Rick shook his head. "I find that hard to believe."
"Believe it because it's true." She studied him and frowned. "Why are you being so kind to me?"
"It's in our nature to be kind. I'm Lawful Neutral, and Roy is Lawful Good. Besides, I like rescuing damsels in distress." For a moment Rick stood up straighter than he was.
"Damsels in distress, yeah, that's me. Distress... I don't know what those Goblins would have done to me, but I know it wouldn't be good. So, thank you, Rick."
"You're welcome," Rick said and smiled. "Besides, we could use another traveling partner. It was a little lonely with just the two of us."
oo0O0oo
They traveled for two days. "I need to take care of some business. Do you have any wipes I could use?" Kate asked him.
Rick just looked at her for a moment. "You didn't buy any in the city?"
She shrugged. "It didn't occur to me then."
Without another word, Rick fished out some wipes out of his backpack and handed them to her.
"Thanks, I'll be back." Kate hurried out of sight.
"You've been talking to her a lot lately," Roy pointed out.
"It's just talk, so don't go thinking what I think you're thinking," Rick told him.
"Who me? I'm not thinking anything at all." He smiled at him and went off to relieve himself. Rick joined him but went in a different direction.
They were taking down the tent when Kate returned and handed Rick his wipes. He gave them back to her. "You keep them. I have more."
"Thanks." She tucked them in her backpack and drank some water. Then she put on her backpack, all set to keep walking.
oo0O0oo
Later that day, they ran across another cave entrance that looked promising. They entered it but soon lost the light. So out came a torch that Roy carried. It went way back, a good 100 feet. Then, it abruptly ended in a worked set of stairs going up. And at the top were nice, big, heavy-looking double doors.
Roy and Rick went up to it. They both listened, but heard nothing. So, they cracked open the door and realized it wasn't locked. It couldn't be since there was no lock.
They opened the door, and light flooded out of the room beyond, so Roy put out his torch and stored it away to be used again later.
It was a huge room, easily 80 by 80 feet. In the center was a paved walkway that wound its way up to the giant head of a snake.
"Great, more Yuan-Ti, I'm guessing," Rick whispered. They saw six doors. There were two on the left, two on the right, and two in front of them just beyond the very large snake head.
Roy went left, taking the first door and cracking it open. He saw a lighted corridor about 10 feet wide and 15 feet deep with doors on both sides. So, he opened the door and went through it.
Again, he took the door on the left. Inside, he saw four medium-sized iron cages without anyone in them. Roy saw all kinds of torture equipment in the center of the room.
Rick picked one up and dropped it since there was dried blood on it. "Lovely."
So they went to the other door and opened it. Inside, they spotted a naked Yuan-Ti half-blood getting ready to go into the pool in the center of the room. Her armor and weapons were way over there. And she had her back to them.
Roy charged at her, swung, and struck her, causing damage. Rick fired off two arrows, and they both hit, also causing damage. Kate cast Magic Missile and did still more damage.
Combined, they did considerable damage to her, but she still lived, though she was hurt.
She turned, looked at her weapons on the far side of the room, and did the only thing she could. She swung her claws at Roy and missed him.
Roy swung again while Rick fired off another two arrows. That killed her.
They searched the room, finding a chest, a scimitar, and a breastplate meant for a woman. They came across clothing and a bag filled with gold and silver coins in the chest. Roy put it in his backpack without counting it.
Then they went to the next door, opened it, and saw it was a kitchen and dining room. It was empty save for some food and cooking utensils.
They moved to the left door at the back of the room and listened, not hearing anything. They cracked it open and saw it was dark. They gave their eyes time to adjust to the light, then noticed ten sleeping Yuan-Ti purebloods.
Roy put his finger to his mouth to caution Rick that he should be quiet. Roy put his short sword away and drew out his dagger. Rick did the same thing while Kate watched at the door.
Together, they killed all the Yuan-Ti purebloods just like they had killed all those Goblins. Kate couldn't look for long, but she took peeks and saw they were done.
They saw ten small boxes up against the wall and went through them. Combined, they found gold, silver, and copper pieces. They put the gold and silver pieces in their backpacks and would count them later.
Then they moved to the far door across the room. They could smell it from there. It was a latrine, and they didn't open it.
So, they went to the first door on the right and listened but didn't hear anything. They cracked it open. Inside, they saw that it was an armory with weapons everywhere. There was also one Abomination that was hunched down, sharpening a weapon.
Roy charged at him, hitting him in the back, causing damage. Rick fired off two arrows and hit him, also causing damage. Kate cast Magic Missile, causing yet more damage. But he still lived.
The Abomination rose to his full height, taking the weapon he was busy sharpening and swung it, striking Roy, who cried out in pain.
Roy swung and hit him. Rick fired one arrow after another and they both hit. Kate cast Magic Missile a second time and hit him. Still, he lived.
He swung at Roy and hit him, causing him to scream in agony. Another hit like that one and he was done for.
Pulling himself together, Roy swung and hit him. Rick fired off two more arrows, both hitting him. Kate fired off another Magic Missile and struck him. Finally, he collapsed and died.
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. They searched his dead body and came up with some gold, silver, and copper coins, which went into their backpacks to be counted later.
Kate cast Detect Magic. She looked around the room and spotted a scimitar that was Magical, much like the last time.
Rick found quiver after quiver full of arrows, so he took one to replace his. Then they left and got far away from there. Far enough away that they felt safe and could set up the tent.
Roy laid hands on himself, curing his damage, then they got busy counting coins. They came up with 1,556 gold and 1,902 silver which was divided evenly, meaning they each got 518 gold plus one gold and 634 silver.
"Not bad, not bad at all. Plus, we gained a magical weapon again. I think you should switch out your long sword for one of these," Roy suggested.
All three of them made it to the fifth level.
Rick gained a second favored enemy and some skill points. Roy gained the ability to Smite Evil twice daily, some skill points, and if he so chose, a war horse loyal to him until the day it died.
Kate's new ability was to know a fourth first-level spell and a second second-level spell, and some skill points. She could now cast six zero-level spells, six first-level spells, and four second-level spells. In addition to that were some skill points.
She looked through her new book and chose to know Color Spray in addition to her Magic Missile and Identify spells at first-level. She chose Knock in addition to her Mirror Image spell for her second-level spells.
Kate was happy. She was gaining levels and had her very own gold.