Savior
Chapter 1
"What do you think?" Rick asked his best friend in the entire world.
"I don't know. There are so many Goblins and just the two of us. We've lasted this long because we're careful," Roy reminded him. "We don't get in over our heads."
"Yes, but they're celebrating something. Most of them will be drunk and sleeping tonight," Rick asserted. "We sneak in, take what we want, and get out again. Quick and easy."
"And if I listen to you, I'll be dead in no time," Roy retorted. Then he sighed. "But you might be right."
Rick grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way. So we let them celebrate, sneak down nice and quiet-like, then take what we want and get out." They were on a rise, looking down on a sizable Goblin encampment. There had to be at least 50 of them down there. There was no way the two men could fight their way in. They had to be sneaky about it.
"I count 25 huts. So where do we start?" Roy asked him.
"We start with those six huts over there," Rick said and he pointed to them. "We search them and get out, killing them while they sleep."
Roy frowned. "Not very sporting of you."
"I'm a Ranger, not a Paladin like you, Roy. If you want to wake them up and then kill them, be my guest. Just don't expect me to save your ass."
Roy gave in. "Fine. They're evil enough for me. So we wait."
"We wait and watch and then try our luck," Rick corrected him.
Oo0O0oo
The two men watched them celebrate something, and the Goblins shared a drink. They were doing a lot of laughing. "That's right, laugh it up. Then go to sleep. We'll be right there to kill you," Rick muttered under his breath.
Roy rolled his eyes but said nothing. The plan was solid. He didn't doubt that there would be some fighting, but not nearly as much as there could be if they were all awake and sober.
They watched as the party slowly broke up. It appeared there would be guards, but not that many. He thought they could handle them. They both had bows, after all. They would shoot their way in and be out and gone before they woke up and found out what had happened. Roy just kept telling himself that.
It had to be close to 3 am by the time they decided to move down the hill. The two men had scouted it out and found a weak spot. It wasn't going to be easy, but they could do it.
They made it down to the ground. They both got out their composite longbows and nocked arrows ready to fire. "This way," Rick whispered and moved out cautiously and slowly.
It turned out there were eight huts along their chosen route. Rick slipped inside the first hut while Roy stood guard at a distance.
He put his bow and arrow away and took out his dagger. First, he covered the Goblin's mouth and gave him a new smile, ear to ear. Moving quickly, Rick stepped over to the other one and did the same to him. Then, he gave the hut a quick search. He found three scrolls, a little gold and silver, and a lot of copper pieces. Rick took the scrolls and the gold and silver pieces and put them all in his backpack. Then he carefully peered outside and saw Roy still standing guard.
"Next hut," Rick murmured without telling him what he found. That would come later after they were out of there.
Roy crept inside this time and killed its occupants with his dagger. He placed a hand over their mouths and then stabbed them in the stomach. They struggled a little, but not for long. He searched the hut and lucked out on some gold, silver, lots of copper, and a gem. He stowed the gold, silver, and gem in his backpack. Roy looked out and saw Rick waiting and watching, standing guard.
"Okay, third hut," Roy said quietly.
This time, Rick went inside and found two more of them. They died like the first two had. Then he searched the hut and found two potions, some gold, more silver, and many copper pieces. He took the potions and gold and silver, leaving the copper pieces. Ever vigilant, he looked out cautiously and saw Roy standing guard.
They raced across the opening one at a time, and Roy went into the next hut and found two of them. They died like the previous two, and he searched the hut. He located some gold, silver, and lots of copper pieces. That was all. Every bit of it went into his backpack. He poked his head outside and saw Rick blending into the shadows.
They moved to the next hut, and Rick slipped in. He saw two more Goblins who then died just like the others. He looked through the hut and found gold, silver, and lots more copper pieces.
They hurried to the sixth hut, and Roy stepped inside. He saw two Goblins and helped them die just like the others. Then he looked through the hut and stumbled on a box containing lots of gold this time, plus three gold rings and four exquisite-looking pearls. All of it went into his backpack. He looked out and saw Rick nod so Roy stole out silently.
So far, so good, but their luck was about to run out; Roy could feel it.
On their way to the next hut, they saw something they weren't expecting. It was a bound prisoner. She was practically naked, unconscious, and bound spread-eagle between two poles.
Rick crept up to her. She was still alive. He was relieved. "She's an Elf. You take the next hut, Roy. I've got her."
"You're sure? We'll have to carry her and she's dead weight. But I like the thought of saving her. Alright, I'll take the hut while you cut her down." Roy went to the next to last hut they had spotted.
Roy entered the hut and saw two Goblins, who ended up dying like the others. He stumbled on a large box marked in Goblin. Unable to read or speak Goblin, Roy ignored it and opened it. Inside was a short sword. He took it out and pulled it from its scabbard. It lit up with fire dancing along the blade!
"WOW!" He quickly put it back in its scabbard and attached it to his belt. Looking around, he saw a little gold, some silver, and lots of copper pieces. Roy put the gold and silver in his backpack and carefully looked out of the hut.
He saw that Rick had her down and was carrying her in both arms. He knew Rick was going to be slow and unable to fight like that.
Rick carried her to the next hut and waited outside while Roy went in. He saw two Goblins. Roy ended them, much like the others. He searched the place and saw just a little gold, some silver, and lots of copper pieces. He put the gold and silver in his backpack and peeked outside. He saw Rick standing there with the Elf in his arms.
"Let's go. Head out the same way we got in," Roy told him while he looked around. As luck would have it, they ran across a Goblin on patrol. Roy shot him and watched him drop without making a sound.
"Come on, up you go, Rick. I'll be right behind you."
Rick struggled up the hill, almost dropping her twice, but he made it.
"Now what?" Rick asked him.
"Those Goblins will be furious when they wake up and find those huts with dead Goblins inside. We must move far away into the Forest where we should be safe," Roy insisted.
Rick adjusted his hold on her and began walking into the Forest. He walked and walked until he was exhausted. "She's light as a feather, but I must stop before my arms fall off."
"Alright, but no fire. We can't risk it; we're too close," Roy said. And he watched as Rick put her down. "She's pretty."
"Noticed that, did you? She's practically naked, though," Rick pointed out.
They decided to look at their ill-gotten gains and count the coins. "I count 455 gold, 1,124 silver pieces, plus the box holding 263 gold pieces."
"I found these scrolls." Rick unrolled them and looked them over. "Two Fireballs, one Haste, and one Hold Person."
"Good. I found this short sword." Roy pulled it out of his scabbard, watching as it lit up with fire.
"Nice, really nice. Too bad it's not a long sword, but it is nice. I found these two potions. One is tagged Heroism, and the other as Bull's Strength," Rick mentioned.
"Overall, not bad at all," Roy said while he put the short sword back in its scabbard.
"Roy, you should keep the short sword since you can use it. I'll take the two potions. We can divide up the gold and silver pieces."
That meant they each got 359 gold and 562 silver.
"I left behind a lot of copper pieces," Rick admitted.
"You too? So did I. I didn't think it was worth the weight." Roy looked at the Elf. "What do we do with her?"
"We wait for her to wake up and see who she is. Maybe she's worth something to someone." Rick shrugged. "I'll keep watch and let you sleep."
Roy spread out his sleeping bag and got in after removing his armor and weapons, but didn't take off his clothes. He did take off his boots, though.
Rick watched the girl and stared at the Forest, worried the Goblins could find them.
She stirred a little, but otherwise, she slept until Roy woke up and went out to pee. He hurried back and put his boots back on, along with his armor and weapons.
"She still asleep?" Roy asked him.
"Kinda, but I think she's faking it, wondering who we are," Rick replied.
Found out, the Elf sat up and adjusted what little she was wearing to cover herself, though they had probably both seen her chest at least.
Rick watched her. "What's your name?"
"Kate. Who are you?"
"I'm Rick, and this is Roy, my best friend. I'm a Ranger, and Roy here, he's a Paladin. We rescued you from the Goblins."
"My thanks." Kate looked from one to the other. "What about my friends? The Goblins captured them at the same time I was."
"We only saw you, but didn't search the entire camp. There had to be 50 Goblins down there. We only searched maybe a third of it. I am sorry," Rick told her.
"Is it too late to go back and look?" she asked them.
"Most likely, yes. The sun's up, and they'll wake up and find several of them dead in their huts. If you're up to it, we must move farther away from them. If your friends are alive, they won't be for long. They'll take their vengeance out on them. I'm sorry, Kate. We didn't know. We only found you." Rick felt sad for her.
"Is there water and maybe something to eat?" Kate asked them.
"Of course, here's my waterskin, and we have some trail rations." Rick searched his backpack for the trail rations and handed them to her.
"I thank you." She ate the trail rations like she was starving and drank nearly half his water before returning it to him. "I don't suppose either of you have something I could wear?"
"I think I have a shirt." Rick fished it out of his backpack and handed it to her.
"My thanks." She got up slowly, turned her back to them, and removed what little she was wearing for a top, then discarding it. She put on the shirt, buttoned it, and turned around again.
"Do you have family or friends looking for you?" Rick asked her, hoping she would say yes and they would pay to get her back.
Kate shook her head. "No, there's no one. I'm alone now."
"Well, we better move farther away from the Goblins just to be safe." Rick and Roy began walking, forcing her to keep up with them.
The Forest wasn't all that thick yet. At least where they were, so she walked next to Rick. He was handsome for a human. His friend Roy was black and strikingly good looking.
"So what happened?" Rick asked.
"We were captured. The Goblins caught us by surprise. We had camped, and most of us didn't have our armor on or our weapons out. In a heartbeat, they overran us." Kate shook her head. "There were only four of us."
"I'm sorry about your friends. But we didn't see them. We only found you by accident," Rick tried to explain. "Do you have a skill?"
"I'm a Sorceress, second level," Kate replied. "I worship Corellon Larethian. He's an Elven god. And you?"
"I'm a third-level Ranger, and I worship Silvanus," Rick replied. "Roy here is a third-level Paladin, and he worships Lathander." Rick cocked his head and stared at her. "I suppose you need time to recover your spells?"
"Yes, I should be ready come tomorrow morning. I only know five zero-level spells and two first-level spells," Kate told him. For some reason, she felt safe with these two.
Roy finally spoke up. "You should stick with us then."
"Where are you going?" Kate inquired.
"For now, just far enough away from the Goblins to feel safe. We haven't discussed it further than that."
"I don't have any gold or any coins at all. I need clothes, supplies, and a weapon. Please?" Kate pleaded.
"We can find a town somewhere and set you up," Roy assured her.
"Thank you." Kate was silent as they walked.
oo0O0oo
Rick let her use his sleeping bag since it wasn't raining yet. Yet being the operative word here. That was the Black Jungle, and it wasn't a jungle. It didn't rain, because it did.
"Where exactly where are we going?" Kate queried.
"Toward Tashluta, the capital city of Tashalar," Rick replied. "It was erected on the edge of a volcano. An extinct volcano, naturally. We should be there in about four days."
"I've never been there. What's it like?"
"Let's see. The city was divided into several districts, including the wealthy districts of its mercantile families built atop the higher ridges of the Tashalar Basin, and the districts built beneath them that housed the city's lower and middle-class citizens.
"It was famous for beautiful weather, beautiful people, excellent crossbows, and the richest wine-producing region worldwide.
"Unfortunately, just about every type of reptile found in the city was killed on sight," Rick told her.
Kate frowned. "Why is that?"
"Conflict with the Yuan-Ti has made it that way. The Yuan-Ti are evil incarnate," Rick warned her.
oo0O0oo
They constructed a shelter – more of a lean-to – since it looked like it would rain. And rain it did. It poured rain, and their shelter leaked, but it was better than being caught out in the rain. Because it was raining, they couldn't make a fire, so they had a cold camp. Rick let Kate sleep in his sleeping bag again.
It even smelled like him, too. Kate breathed him in, unable to help it.
They eventually entered the city and stopped at the first general store they came across. They combined their gold and silver pieces and bought her something to wear and a backpack to put it in.
The backpack cost two gold. The bedroll was one silver piece. An empty flask cost two copper pieces. The hooded lantern cost seven gold. A small mirror cost ten gold. The parchment was two silver. A pouch cost two gold. One day of trail rations cost five silver; she got seven days. A waterskin cost one gold. The tent cost ten gold. Rick and Roy bought that one. The shirt cost two gold, her pants were two gold, the boots were three gold, and socks were one gold. A dagger was two gold.
"You have my thanks," Kate told them. "Both of you. Now what?"
"Now we find an inn, rent a room, and get something to eat," Rick replied, smiling at her.
The room cost them two gold, and the meal cost them seven silver pieces each.
Kate slept in her new clothes while Rick and Roy stripped down to their shorts, giving Kate a good look at them. They were both well-muscled with flat stomachs and male breasts. Even their legs were well-muscled. She liked what she saw.
Come the morning, it cost them seven silver pieces each to take a hot bath and get clean. Then they went downstairs to eat breakfast, costing them three silver each.
"And now?" Kate asked the men.
"Now we go out and find what we can," Rick told her. "I suggest we go west into the hills. Maybe into the Hazur Mountains even."
Roy was in. "Works for me."
Kate merely shrugged. She went where they went. She had long since recovered her spells but didn't have a spell book anymore and couldn't pick new ones.
"Here, maybe you can use this." Rick gave her the scroll.
Kate looked it over. Two Fireballs, one Haste, and one Hold Person. "Thank you." This time, she meant it. They were being awfully kind to her.
"So we walk?" Kate asked them.
Rick nodded. "Unfortunately, we can't afford horses. Those are expensive, too expensive."
She smiled. "Then it's a good thing I have new boots."
oo0O0oo
They walked for two days into the hills just outside the mountain range.
"This looks promising." Rick approached the cave entrance. "I see a pair of doors about 60 feet in. That's about the limit of my vision." Rick readied his bow, while Roy took out his new flaming short sword, and Kate took out her new dagger.