Savior
Chapter 13
They had a plan of sorts. They just hoped it worked since they only had nine minutes. While Kate could cast it again, it was when they attacked that they would become visible.
They waited until it was very late at night. Kate cast Invisibility Sphere, and they walked together down to the gate, tried it, and found it was barred on the other side as expected. Kate cast Knock on the gate, and it opened wide, catching the attention of the Hill Giant in the tower, but he didn't see anything. There was no reason why it should open like that.
So he got down from his tower, closed it, and barred it again. That was when things went all wrong. Roy, Rick, Lanie, Kevin, and Gina attacked the Hill Giant. He died quickly, even if it wasn't painless.
They had locked up the Hill Giant that was outside; well, he was staying outside now. Now, they just needed to find the others but didn't know where to look or how many of them there were.
They looked around and saw three small tents, an opening into a building, and another gate off to the right side.
Rick studied the ground and saw footsteps leading in both directions – into the building and through the gate. He shook his head. "It's a toss-up. I can't tell you which way to go."
Roy wanted to go left through the opening and enter the building. But it looked so small, though there was a dome above it. "Right, we go right," Roy told them.
"If you're certain." Rick went to the gate and pushed it open. It wasn't even locked or barred from the inside.
Once on the other side, they saw three tents, a lot of rock, and a small domed building. They went to the first tent and saw three sleeping Hill Giants. "We do this my way," Rick told Roy, then went inside and slit their throats from ear to ear.
Rick watched as one of them woke up gurgling blood but didn't cry out since the only thing that came out was blood. Kate turned her head so she didn't have to watch but said nothing.
Gina prayed for his soul. Rick did the other two just like he did the first two. Then, Rick moved to the next tent and did those three the same. But the third one knocked over something while thrashing about as he tried to stop the inevitable.
"RICK!" Kate yelled when she saw a nearly naked Hill Giant step out of the other tent. He had no weapon and wore no armor. What the Hill Giant saw shocked him. There was a Dwarf, a pair of Humans, but he didn't know what it was standing there.
He immediately raised the alarm, attacking the closest one, which happened to be Lanie. He hit her with his fist and did some damage, but not much.
Lanie swung at him, and Kevin struck him hard, doing damage to him.
Still invisible, Kate saw two more half-naked Hill Giants coming out of the third tent, and she cast Fireball at them.
Gina and Roy attacked the two new ones just coming out of the tent. Gina took one while Roy took the other. They swung at them and did damage.
Flame didn't like those things threatening his human, so he breathed on those two, damaging them.
They swung and hit both of them, but the damage was minimal.
The three nearly-naked Hill Giants never did stand a chance; they died, not quickly and not painlessly, but they still died. They searched their tents and came up with gold, silver, and copper pieces. Kate cast Detect Magic but told them there was no magic.
From here, they went into the building and saw that it was an iron foundry. All kinds of weapons were made there, mostly sized for a Giant.
Then they went out to the smaller tents and where there were dried foods and furs.
They went to the door which led into the building and found a lot of crates and barrels. Above them, there was a smithy.
From there, they went out of the building and saw that they could either go up a set of steps or over to another enclosure. They heard dogs barking on the other side and decided to leave it alone.
So they went up the steps, and the first thing they saw through the door were naked humans. The door was locked, but not for long as Kate cast Knock and opened it.
Rick went inside and searched them, checking for a pulse; he turned and shook his head. All three were dead. It was probably a combination of being cold, starving, and dehydrated from not being fed or allowed to drink.
Rick came back out. "I'd guess they died just a few hours ago. Poor devils."
"I hate them. I hate them all." Kate turned her back on the dead.
The building next to them had more supplies. From there, they went up the stairs and looked inside. "It's mine."
They went down to the smithy and looked inside one of the crates. "There are weapons in there, probably waiting to be shipped," Roy told them.
Kate cast Invisibility Sphere before they went outside, and they blindsided the Hill Giant, who was still on guard. "Good. I hate them."
They got far enough away from there to feel safe and set up the tent.
Gina and Kevin each went up a level after that encounter. They were both eighth-level now, while everyone else was ninth-level.
Gina gained a third and a fourth-level spell, an ability score adjustment, and a few skill points. Kevin gained a tattoo and a few skill points. He got right to work on giving himself a tattoo, Chrysanthemum. Every hour with this tattoo when he was in direct sunlight, he healed some hit points equal to his level. A daylight spell did not provoke this fast healing; there must have been direct sunlight.
"You can gain all that just with a tattoo?" Kate asked as she watched him apply it.
Kevin nodded. "Yes, but you have to be a Tattooed Monk."
Kate sighed. "I just knew there had to be a catch."
oo0O0oo
Come the morning after they took care of business, Kevin had an announcement to make. "I am leaving you. My people live in this mountain somewhere, and I intend to find them. I thank you for saving my life. I know not how I will ever repay you for that. But I must find my people."
Gina chose to speak up then. "I'm leaving you too. I know Dwarves are in this mountain, and I will find them. I thank you for saving my life. As Kevin said, I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you. But I have to find my people."
"Are you two certain this is what you want? You could stay and search yet another mountain. We will be crossing the Starspire Mountains soon. You could look there," Roy offered them.
"No, thank you," they said together. "I'm going to miss you, but this is something I must do," Kevin told them. "Goodbye, my friends." With that, he walked off into the mountain.
"I'll miss you too. You, most of all, Rick. You saved me. You gave me weapons to fight with and clothing to wear. But I have to find my people. I will miss you all. Even you, Elf. Goodbye." Taking one last look, Gina walked into the mountain.
Roy looked at Lanie. "I suppose you want to leave as well."
Lanie shook her head. "Nope, you're stuck with me for however long we're together. Besides, I rather like you."
Roy smiled. "I like you, too."
"Well, I'm down to just five days of trail rations, and it took us three days to cross from the city to the hills," Kate told them. "Oh, and I'm not leaving either. Not ever." She smiled at Rick, who smiled back at her.
"Then I guess we head back the way we came," Roy told them. "We never did make it to the Forest of Mir."
"It's getting cold up here anyway. I would much rather be warm," Kate said.
"Let's go then." Roy sighed. "I'm going to miss them."
"Me, too," Rick told them.
"Me three," Kate said.
"Me four," Lanie added. And so they began walking and went past the dead Ogre camps, past the dead Orc camp, and out into the plains for a three-day hike. The moment they reached the city of Memnon, Kate would run out of trail rations.
They located the closest general store and purchased two weeks of trail rations. Then they found an inn, and each got a room. They had dinner and went to their rooms.
The second his backpack was off, Rick started kissing Kate, who kissed him back. Longing, they worked quickly at taking off each other's clothes and eventually made love.
Unbeknownst to them, Roy and Lanie were doing the same thing, and the sound of lovemaking came from both rooms. Not that any of them were paying attention.
After using the bathroom that morning, they paid for a hot bath, had their clothes cleaned, and ate breakfast.
"Kevin and Gina have no idea what they're missing. But I hope they find whatever they're looking for," Kate said.
"I hear that," Rick told them. They searched the city together, not really looking for anything in particular except perhaps a thicker coat. And they decided to stay one more night.
They made love to each other that night. Then they got up, used the bathroom, and met for breakfast. "So, what do we do? Do we head north for Myratama or go east in the Forest of Mir?" Roy queried.
Kate shrugged. "We can go north, for all I care. There will be another forest eventually."
"Two days to Myratama it is then," Roy declared and began walking.
oo0O0oo
Divided into six districts, Myratama became known as the Textiles City because of its high-quality canvases, silks, and other fine textiles.
The Kraljaom Distillery on the western side was known for its Purple Hills Cider. They found some in an inn, tried it, and decided they liked it. So they bought two bottles and brought them with them.
They found an inn, got two rooms, and made love to each other. Come the morning, they were downstairs eating breakfast.
"So now what?" Kate asked.
"Well, it's three days to Castle Tethyr and another two days to Zazesspur, a town. Just north of that is the Starspire Mountains with the Wealdath Forest beyond." Roy gestured with his hands. "After that, I don't know."
Kate sighed. "I suppose it's on to Castle Tethyr then."
oo0O0oo
Three days later, they reached the Castle. Or what remained of it, given that it was practically burned to the ground. All that was left was the ruins of the once mighty Castle.
"Great, this is just great." Kate didn't like it, not one bit.
The closer they got to it, the more they could see. "This is old," Rick said. "It didn't happen yesterday."
"Do we investigate it?" Roy asked them.
Rick stared at him in disbelief. "Why in the world would we? The only things we would find there are the Undead, ghosts, or worse, and we no longer have a Cleric."
"Good point, I suppose," Roy admitted grudgingly.
"Besides, many people have passed this way between then and now. They'll have looted anything and everything." Rick shook his head. "So if you think we'll find something in there, I'd say you're a few years too late."
"Let's just get out of here. I'd rather face a Dragon than Undead." And Lanie began backing up.
"Right, we're leaving," Roy declared, passing by the Castle without investigating the place.
Two days later, they entered the city of Zazesspur at about midday. The river divided the city into a southern Low City and a northern High City. The Low City was older, built over ancient ruins. The High City was larger and represented what most folks thought of when hearing "Zazesspur."
They found the closest general store and bought two weeks of trail rations, giving them three weeks of food. Then they located an inn, got two rooms, and ate dinner. Relaxed and feeling good, they retreated to their rooms, where they made love.
After using the bathroom in the morning, they paid for a hot bath, got their clothes cleaneded, and then had breakfast.
Roy got a new map that showed them a little more after the Wealdath Forest, so they knew what to expect. Their ultimate goal was to reach Waterdeep and maybe beyond that. But that was months from now.
First, they had to cross the Starspire mountains.
oo0O0oo
Roy swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and broke it to them. "We're lost."
"How did that happen?" Kate demanded. "We were on the road. Or at least the path."
"I don't know. We must have made a wrong turn somewhere," Roy told them.
Rick eyed his friend. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, it's like when we were lost in the desert. We know the sun rises in the east. All we have to do is go west. We'll know we've gone too far if we reach the coast. Hopefully, we'll find the road again before that," Roy told them.
Kate just stared at him. "But we're in the mountains. We'll only have the sun for just so long."
Roy shrugged a shoulder. "It's either that or we go north until we're in the Wealdath Forest, then go west."
"Fine," Kate grumbled while she walked.
"Don't worry, Kate, we've been lost before," Lanie reminded her.
oo0O0oo
They came across a wall made of wood with a wide-open gate. One gate was barely hanging there, and another had damage beyond repair.
They approached with weapons out. They stopped at the gate and looked inside where they saw barrels, more wood piled up, wooden carts, and a ramp. It went up to an outcrop of rock. There was another outcropping of rock to the left with empty space between.
It looked quiet, so they moved into the space and spread out a little. Kate went to the barrels, Rick and Roy chose the ramp, and Lanie went to the opening between the rocks.
"It's a mine," Roy realized. "This is a chute to handle the ore they dig out. These carts move it to somewhere."
Lanie stepped to the in-between rocks and saw more. There was a tattered tent, a few buildings, and another chute. Then she saw movement. "ORC!" she yelled and got the others to join her. All four of them confronted it.
The Orc came out of a building and froze when seeing them. "Those are symbols of Pelor. I recognize them."
The two sides looked at each other. The Orc had weapons but didn't reach for them just yet. "Who are you?" Roy called out.
The Orc shook its head. "You first."
"I am Roy, a Paladin of Lathander. You are displaying symbols of Pelor. Why?" Roy asked whomever it was.
"Because I am a Servant of Pelor. I am a sixth-level Cleric and a second-level Servant of Pelor," he or she said.
"But you're an Orc," Roy told him or her; ascertaining which one was difficult with Orcs.
"I am a Half-Orc. My name is Meredith." She approached them and stopped just a foot away. "A pleasure to meet you, Roy of Lathander."
"I've heard of Half-Orcs but never seen one." Roy stared at her. "There's something different about you."
"It's the teeth, isn't it? They're smaller than those of the average Orc, and my features are softer than an Orc. I despise Orcs so much. My mother was a human. Raped by an Orc, she gave birth to me. I dedicated my life to serving good and became a Servant of Pelor to achieve that dream."
"All right. So why are you here and alone?" Roy inquired.
"I was with a friend; she was also Paladin, but we were separated, and I found my way here. I was searching for her but have yet to find anything."
"You are welcome to join us if you want," Roy told her.
Meredith bowed her head in thanks. "I would like that. I have supplies I can share if you need food or water or something."
"We have plenty of trail rations, but thank you." He looked around. "We might as well set up camp here."
"So, what is a Servant of Pelor?" Kate asked her.
"The radiant servants of Pelor put the dogma of demonstrating strength through charity and modesty into living practice," she told her. "In my case, I am Neutral Good. I fight the Orc inside me every day. It's a curse, but I shall prevail."
"Interesting tent." She looked the little five-by-five over and decided it was a one-man tent. She saw dark clouds forming. "I'll sleep in the building since it looks like rain."
"It's bigger on the inside. Come on, I'll show you." Kate led her inside it.
"Why, it is bigger on the inside than the outside!" Meredith was amazed.
Later, after eating, she took out her own trail rations but was willing to share with the others. She took out her bedroll and got ready to sleep on the floor.
"What an interesting bedroll," Kate commented.
"It's magical. It keeps me warm when it's cold outside and cool when it's hot. It even helps me recover my strength if I'm hurt. You should try it." But Meredith didn't share her bedroll. There were limits to how nice she could be.