Savior
Chapter 14
Meredith got up with the others and went outside to relieve herself, except she did it inside a building. She and others packed up, and she watched as they took down the tent. It became nothing more than a tiny bit of cloth.
She walked next to Kate and talked to her about things. Roy and Rick were in front, with Lanie taking up the middle.
"You don't know where your friend went?" Kate asked her.
Meredith shook her head. "We got separated when Orcs attacked us. I ran in one direction, and she ran another. It's all right. I think she got away. Perhaps we'll run across her while we travel. She worships Heironeous which was fine. I didn't hold it against her."
"I worship Corellon Larethian," Kate told her.
"You're an Elf; it only makes sense that you would. What can you tell me about Roy?" Meredith asked her, changing the subject.
"I'm pretty sure he and Lanie are an item, much like myself and Rick."
Meredith sighed. "Then I shan't pursue him."
oo0O0oo
Later in the afternoon, they noticed a cave entrance that Rick said had seen lots of activity passing through it.
"That sounds like it's worth investigating," Roy told Rick. Roy pulled out his weapon, getting Rick ready with his bow. Lanie was prepared, with her Greatsword at the ready. Meredith got her mace and shield set while Kate took out her dagger.
They entered the cave and caught sight of two Orcs. One of them was ready to begin sounding a horn. Rick put four arrows into him, killing him before he could blow it. Roy charged at the other one and killed him.
"Orcs, I hate Orcs. If not for them, I wouldn't be a Half-Orc," Meredith said bitterly. "I would have been born a human."
They could go left or right. The way to the left had braziers hanging on the wall, lighting the way, so they went left. Roy wanted to go left anyway. They walked straight into a group of a dozen Orcs. Some ran away to escape, but the braver ones stood their ground and waited for the attack that was to come.
Rick put four arrows into one of them and killed him. Meredith screamed at them, then charged one of them, and swinging her mace, killed him. Roy moved into attack position. He brandished his weapon, hit, and killed one of them. Lanie did the same, swinging her Greatsword, and killing another one.
Roy, Meredith, and Lanie were each swung at, and all of them missed.
Shortly after that, Roy, Meredith, and Lanie swung their weapons and hit and killed three more of them. The area was now clear of Orcs, but the ones who escaped were a concern. Roy and Meredith moved side by side into the next room. There, they spotted the four that ran for it and three others. One had a shield at the ready, and he was behind the other seven.
Meredith screamed at them and charged at the one protecting the one in the back. She wanted him. She swung her mace and hit him, killing him.
Roy charged at another of them, swung his weapon, hit, and killed him. Rick stepped into the room, fired four arrows at another one, and ended him.
That brought the number of them protecting the one in the back to just four. Those four swung weapons at anyone in front of them, and all four missed.
Roy swung his blade at one of them, hitting him and killing him. Meredith screamed and charged the one in the back, hitting him and doing damage, but didn't kill him.
Rick fired four arrows at one of them, hitting and ending him. That reduced the number to just two of them.
They swung and missed, and Roy swung his weapon at him, hit and killed him. Rick put four arrows into the other and ended him.
The one with the shield swung at Meredith and missed. Meredith smiled wide at him. Swinging her mace, she struck and killed him, then stood over his dead body.
Roy searched the dead bodies and came across a few gold, some silver, and mostly copper pieces on them. Kate didn't bother with Detecting Magic on any of them.
From there, they could go left or right. Naturally, Roy went left and entered a room filled with fungus. He avoided the fungus as did the others, and he went left, of course. Doing so, he found four Orcs and one Ogre. Roy charged the Ogre and hit him but didn't kill him. Meredith was right behind him, and she charged the Orcs, swung her mace, and struck and killed one.
The Ogre swung and hit Roy, damaging him. One of the Orcs swung at Meredith and missed her by hitting her shield. She hit the Orc and put an end to him.
Roy swung and hit the Ogre, doing damage. Then Rick came forward and put four arrows into the Ogre, killing him, leaving just a single Orc. He tried to flee, but that opened him up to being hit by Meredith; she did and killed him.
Looking around, they saw that this room looked worked. The floor was smooth, as were the walls, while the ceiling, which was ten feet tall, also looked worked. Plus, at the far end, there was a door.
Roy searched the bodies and discovered a few gold, a little more silver, and mostly copper pieces. Then he went to the door and found it locked. "Kate, I need you," he called out. "The door is locked."
Kate cast Knock, and the door smashed open to reveal a corridor with braziers on the walls. After 40 feet, they saw that corridor turn into stairs leading down and ending in a door. Roy and Meredith got ready with Rick right behind them. Roy tried the door and found it unlocked. So he opened it and saw five Orcs. He charged one of them, swung his weapon, and hit and killed him.
Meredith did the same and killed hers. Rick looked through the door and put four arrows into him, but it failed to kill him. He shook his head and thought, "Tough Orc."
The two remaining Orcs swung weapons, and both missed. But Roy and Meredith succeeded in killing them. Roy searched their dead bodies and found some gold and silver, but mostly copper pieces.
From there, they saw the wide-open space with 12 columns holding up the ceiling. There were doors everywhere. They realized the first one was open, and the room had been ransacked and was empty except for a few tattered papers and an abandoned scroll or two.
The next one opened into a series of doors. There was an abandoned room, and all that remained was dust. The attached rooms were all ransacked and empty save for a few broken vials that had contained potions at one time.
The following door opened onto an empty room save for a pair of empty barrels of ale at the bottom and two broken crates that once held who knew what.
Then there was a room with a locked door. Kate cast Knock that opened the door, and they found two chests filled with gold and silver pieces. They put all of it into their backpacks and moved on.
Another room had an Orc and his three concubines engaged in having sex. Meredith screamed at him, charged him, swung her mace, and struck him. He swung back and hit her, causing damage. Roy joined the fight, struck him with his weapon, and did damage to him. Meredith swung her mace and did damage, but he remained alive.
The Orc swung and hit her, causing her to scream because that hit hurt. But she hit him with her mace, and Roy struck him and killed him. Meredith also killed the concubines, her deep-seated hatred of all Orcs not allowing them to live.
Roy searched the room and found some gold and silver. Startled when he realized that the weapon he was using looked too good to be his, he had Kate cast Detect Magic on it, and she found it to be Magical.
The next room held four Orcs who were sitting there gambling. Meredith charged toward them and hit and killed one of them. Roy charged at one of them, hit and killed him.
The other two jumped up, swung and hit Meredith, but missed Roy. She and Roy hit them and killed both of them. Then Meredith cast Cure Serious Wounds on herself and healed most of the damage.
They saw ten Orcs and one Ogre in a group near a door. Kate cast Fireball and killed most of them, save for an Orc and the Ogre. Both of them died without trouble.
They saw a door behind the Orcs and the Ogre. It was locked, however. Kate cast Knock, and the door swung open, revealing a set of stairs going downward.
They ignored the hallway to the right and went down the stairs. It ended in a locked door. Kate cast Knock on the door and opened it to reveal a corridor. Along the corridor, they saw a statue of a Dwarf. He was in armor and held a hammer as a weapon.
"Gina would love this room," Rick mentioned as he walked and saw it ended in another door. It, too, was locked. Kate cast Knock on it, and the door swung open wide. Roy and Meredith stepped into the room, expecting to find more Orcs. Instead, they found two very live Dwarves in armor and carrying weapons.
Roy and Meredith instantly relaxed a little. This was not what they expected to find. Meredith, who spoke Dwarven, asked who they were. They replied that they were Clerics dedicated to Moradin.
She and Roy learned the Orcs attacked, and the Dwarves retreated down there behind a locked door. They asked who they were, and they told them. Then the Dwarves noticed Kate and suddenly ceased talking.
"I don't think I'm welcome here," Kate told the others.
The Dwarves were short on food and water, and all of them, including Kate, shared their trail rations and water. Rick inquired if there was a way out of there. The Dwarves told him that yes, there was, but down there was a Dragon. That one was too much for them. Roy asked what color it was and were told it was a Red Dragon.
"Red Dragon? How old?" Lanie asked. "Never mind. So long as that one is at least a Juvenile, I can use the scales to make myself a set of Platinum Armor, replacing the ones I lost. How do we get there?" she asked and was taken there.
"It is a Labyrinth down there," the Dwarves warned.
"I don't expect you to go with me, but I'm going," Lanie said stubbornly. "I'm a Vassal of Bahamut, and I need to kill the evil Dragon."
Rick laid a hand on her shoulder. "We are going with you, Lanie."
The Dwarves unlocked the door and allowed them entrance, informing them that most of the Orcs were dead. They didn't go everywhere, but those they hadn't killed they should be able to handle. Or the people could wait for them to come back and help them.
They entered with Lanie in the lead for a change. It was dark, so Roy lit a torch and held it high.
oo0O0oo
"No wonder they call this a Labyrinth. Except, this is full of long-dead Dwarves," Lanie mentioned. "So I've noticed. Most look like mummies without actually being a mummy, Roy said."
"STOP!" Roy called out. "This has got to stop. Does anyone have a piece of chalk? That way, we'll know whether we've ever been this way." He waited for everyone to check. "Anyone?" But nobody had one. "All right, then we'll do this the old-fashioned way." Roy took out his dagger and began carving something.
"What are you carving?" Rick asked him. "Just so I know what we're looking at."
"I'm making a diamond," Roy replied absently while he focused on it.
"There, all done," Roy told them. They moved on and he carved a different one. "This one is done," Roy said, satisfied. It wasn't too far before he carved another. "This is all done as well," Roy announced. They walked for a while, then waited on him. "The last one, finally," Roy told them. He turned his head and looked around. "We've been this way before. We need to go back and turn."
Suddenly, and out of nowhere, they found themselves in front of a Red Dragon. Lanie and Roy charged, attacked, and hit it, causing damage.
The Red Dragon bit at them and struck Roy with his bite. It hurt, but not that bad.
Meredith charged at it and attacked, doing damage to it. Kate cast Magic Missile and did damage.
Roy and Lanie swung their weapons again, and they both hit it. Rick fired four shots and hit it twice.
The Dragon decided to breathe on these three. It attacked them and did damage.
Roy knew if it breathed on him again, that it was all over for him. The others were just slightly hurt, but they knew the same thing. If it breathed on them again, their lives would be done.
Lanie, Roy, and Meredith swung at it and each struck it. Rick shot four arrows and watched as every one of them bounced off of its scales, while Kate cast Magic Missile.
The Dragon attacked five times, every one of them aimed at Roy. It bit him, hit him with both claws, but missed with both wings. Roy fell to the ground and was slowly dying while he bled out.
Lanie and Meredith swung their weapons at it, and they both hit and did damage. Kate cast Magic Missile and killed it. Rick hurried forward, knelt, lifted his friend's head, and attempted to pour a potion of Cure Light Wounds down his throat.
At least it stopped the bleeding. Meredith cast Cure Serious Wounds and cured some of his damage, but he remained unconscious. So Meredith cast Cure Moderate Wounds while Kate came forward and used her wand of Cure Light Wounds and touched him twice. They looked him over and saw his wounds were healed, but he remained unresponsive. They were getting even more worried about him.
Meanwhile, Lanie took the Scales off the Dragon, planning to make her Armor with them. While Rick, Meredith, and Kate each started counting coins and everything else the Dragon had in its hoard.
Roy woke before any of them finished. He helped them count coins. "I thought you'd had it, my friend," Rick told him.
"So did I," Roy admitted. "I think it was the Dragon's Breath hurt the most," he said. "Anyone know how old it is…was?"
"You would have to ask our resident Dragon expert, but Lanie's busy removing its Scales," Rick told him.
The total was 1,677 gold, 4,556 silver, and 6,889 copper pieces. In addition, they came across one Magic item and three gems that they estimated were worth 300 gold pieces each.
Kate cast Identify on it and learned it was a Bracers of Archery, Greater. "You gain +2 to hit and +1 on damage," she told him. Rick put them on, but he felt no different. Yet.
Everyone, including Meredith and Lanie, went up a level. Kate was now tenth-level and knew a fifth-level spell and a few skill points. Rick gained a third-favored enemy and a few skill points. He had Giant and Undead, and now he added Dragon.
Meredith gained another fourth-level and fifth-level spell and a few skill points. She also gained Aura of Warding, which was Radiant Servant, and all allies within ten feet of him gain a +2 morale bonus on all Will saving throws.
Roy gained Smite Evil three times a day and a few skill points. Lanie gained Dragon Sense and Shared Trove. She found 200 platinum pieces had arrived next to her come the morning. Lanie knew that it needed spending on a good cause. She also gained a few skill points.
Kate looked through her three spell books and chose Cone of Cold for those times when she couldn't use Fireball, like this case. The Red Dragon wouldn't have been at all affected by her Fireball.
Now, they had to find a way out since doing that wasn't something they could do like the Dragon had.
They gained 335 gold each plus one and 912 silver each plus one.
oo0O0oo
They cleaned out the remaining Orcs that they missed the first time and were thanked by the Dwarves. They wished they had something to give them to show their thanks, but they didn't. Kate was also thanked even though she was an Elf.
They left the cave complex and realized that night had fallen. So they moved a little ways away and set up the tent. It was Meredith's and Lanie's turn to use the bed.
They ate trail rations, then went to bed and slept. In the morning, they went outside to do their business. They came back in then, packed up, took down the tent, and moved out. They went west so they could find the road again. But before they got there, they ran across an old abandoned mine. There were two ladders down to a lower level and another two sets of stairs going down into the hole. There was even a winch to haul up the oar.
It was what they thought they saw at the bottom of the hole that stopped them. It was a person. He seemed tied up, but he had his weapons and backpack, of all things.
"Why would they leave the weapons and the backpack?" Roy questioned them.
"Pure Evil," Rick replied grimly. "They leave him all of his stuff, but he knows none of that will help him, that he would still die. I can't tell from here what race he is or whether he's alive.
"There's only one way to find out. I'll go down there," Rick told them, and the others surrounded him while on his way down. "The fellow is unconscious," Rick called up. "I think he is a Half-Elf; he has two whips on him and is badly hurt, alive but just barely."
Rick picked him up, carefully put him over his shoulder, and carried him up the stairs. He made it up, laid him on the ground, and Meredith cast Cure Moderate Wounds. They waited for him to wake. They were full of questions for him. Not the least of which was what was he doing down there?