Magic

Chapter 17

Jim and Johanna were going with them. One, they could use the experience to gain levels. Two, it was an excellent time to close the store. It was early fall, so not many people thought of planting plants. They arranged for someone to come and water the plants so they wouldn't die.

Sprinkled around the store were hand-sewn dolls meant for Christmas decorations. They sold a few, but mostly they sold plants.

Aerial said she would go as well. She couldn't turn down ten thousand gold.
Each of them had potion bandoliers now. Still using a small lab, Rick made one potion a day, even though he could make four. Everyone had their bandoliers full of potions of all kinds.

Also, they now had Heward's Handy Haversack as a backpack so they could carry more stuff and would weigh less. It had only cost them two thousand gold. It took a few months, but that was fine.
They dropped off the kids at the Temple of Silver Stars. "You be good girls like I know you will." Kate hugged and kissed them. Each child had a mini backpack filled with clothes, toys, and other things to keep them occupied.

Alexis kissed her cheek. "I love you, Mommy." She walked away without looking back.
"That hurt more than you know," Kate said quietly.

Rick took hold of her hand. "They'll learn all there is about the God, Selûne, which won't be bad, Kate."
The Temple of Silver Stars, constructed of stone, was a beautiful structure shaped like a single-spired tiara. Its spire faced north and, combined with the roofline, formed the shape of a crescent moon that was noticeable to all on the nearby streets. The Temple sported many crystal-and-silver star windows inset within curving stones.

They made it out of the city. "So now what?" Kate inquired.

"We'll use Phantom Steeds to make it to the mountain," Rick began. "After that, we'll have to walk and look around. I'm not sure what we're looking for. A cave, something built, tents, could be anything."

"Let's get started," Kate told him, and Rick used a combination of spells and potions to create four Phantom Steeds: one for himself, one for Kate, one for Aerial, and one for Jim and Johanna, who had to double up. Johanna carried Bailey since he would never keep up with them.

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It took them three days to find a likely cave entrance. Kate cast Invisibility Sphere to make them all invisible again. They had done this twice already, and they went inside.

"Goblins above us on both sides," Rick whispered, liking this as a possibility. "I see more Goblins, lots of them. I count 14 just on the outside. There might be more in those huts."

"Hush, Bailey!" Johanna breathed, wanting Bailey to stay quiet.
"It looks like there's only one way up to the higher levels, and it's at the back," Aerial noted softly.

"I'll take the Goblins up high on the right," Jim said. He drank his potion, moved past all the Goblins at the bottom, and went up the ramp to the right.

"We could take them all out with a couple of Fireballs," Rick whispered.

Kate arched an eyebrow. "And give ourselves away to anyone in the back," she hissed.

This time, Aerial had something to say. "We work our way to the back and up the ramp and search the rear areas."

"We have 14 minutes. Less the longer we wait," Kate said.
"Jim has 14 minutes, he'll be fine. They're Goblins," Rick told them, and they made their way to the back where the ramp was located and went up it. They saw three passageways and took the first one, but didn't get far when they came across a locked gate. Not far away from this gate was another one.

"Good place to hide something, I'm thinking," Rick remarked.

"I have the Knock spell, but it'll make noise," Kate warned them.

Aerial shrugged. "So we keep looking."

They backed out and took the second passageway. It went up a ramp and ended in an altar of sorts. There sat someone along with two guards, both Ettins.

"I've got this." Kate cast Prismatic Spray. She hit both Ettins and the one sitting there. She watched as one Ettin took fire damage but lived. The other one took acid damage and also lived. The one sitting there turned to stone.

Of course, they lost the Invisibility Sphere because Kate attacked.

Aerial and Rick cast Magic Missile and hit both Ettins, who dropped dead.

Jim had no trouble killing all four Goblins. Now, he needed to figure out where they went. He decided to search inside the first tent and found a Goblin who looked odd. She was old, had a skull and bones, and a staff was close by.
He assumed she was important, so he killed her. She was alone in the tent, so he left it and moved to one larger. Inside it, he found someone else who looked important. His clothes were decent and much cleaner than the normal Goblins were. Jim got into a fight with him and stabbed him in the back, but that didn't kill him. The Goblin tried fighting back against someone invisible. Jim stood off to one side and stabbed him in the back again, killing him.
He noticed he'd become visible. So he looked outside to see if the noise attracted anyone. He didn't see anyone.

They found a door behind the guy turned to stone; they opened it and saw a hallway lit by braziers hanging on the walls.

"Hey, babe. This guy looks Elvish to me." Kate got closer and looked him over.
Rick took a look. "He does, doesn't he." But instead of searching the fellow, they moved on.

They saw an intersection, though the one that went straight ended in a cave-in blocking the hallway.

They went to the intersection and looked right and left. They saw two doors on the right, and the hallway opened up at the end into a room. The left ended in a door. They chose to go left and found the door locked. Kate cast Knock, and the door burst open, revealing three people sitting at a table. Those were not Goblins; whatever they were, they looked different.

One jumped up and went over to a wall, while the other two attacked.

Rick, Kate, and Aerial each cast Magic Missile and hit all three. The one at the wall managed to open a doorway before he collapsed and died. Two others crumpled, also dead.

"What are they?" Kate asked him. Rick could only shake his head since he didn't know. But he went over to the doorway that the one opened and looked down it. He saw a passageway that wasn't worked stone.
"I can send a Lion down it. See where it leads, or send Bailey," Johanna offered.

Rick shook his head. "It'll probably end in another door. Save your spell for when we truly need it."
Johanna looked around, concerned. "Where's Jim? He should have joined us by now. I think I'll go looking for him. I have an invisibility potion, the same as his, Rick, so don't worry."

Rick nodded. "Be careful, Johanna." He watched her leave, then he turned back to the others. "I like what's at the end of this secret passageway, but we have other doors to check, including the one in this room. What do you think?"
"I say we take the secret passageway. The doors can wait," Aerial told him.

"Alright, Kate if you please?" Rick asked her.

"One Invisibility Sphere coming up." She cast it and they headed down the passageway with Rick in the lead.

Meanwhile, Jim drank another potion and began walking around, stabbing Goblins in the back, causing a commotion. After the third of them dropped dead, they started running around.

Then a Lion suddenly showed up, killing them. They were already fighting something, but now they had something to fight. So they attacked it. But they lost members one by one. Then another Lion showed up trying to kill them, followed by a Leopard, which was even worse when the Lion showed up and started killing them.

Rick came to a door at the right, and it wasn't locked. He slowly opened it and stepped into the room. He saw someone wearing all black with long silver hair, standing at the cave opening. He also saw the Egg in the middle of the room.

The others joined him. "One… Two… Three." Rick cast Lightning Bolt, Aerial cast Disintegrate, and Kate cast Prismatic Spray.

Lighting Bolt didn't seem to hit him. Disintegrate didn't make him vanish, but he took damage. Prismatic Spray hit him, causing fire damage. All the other rays missed him. He staggered but didn't die. They were amazed at him as he drew two swords and defended himself.

Aerial cast another Disintegrate and Kate did the same thing. Again, he didn't up and vanish on them, but he did die, finally.

Meanwhile, one by one, Jim, Johanna, and Bailey ended all the Goblins.

Rick looked the Egg over. "This is it; this is the Egg."

"Babe, why is this Elf black?" Kate asked him. "And why didn't he simply disappear? I hit him with a Disintegrate spell."

"I hit him twice with Disintegrate and he didn't vanish. Just what is this guy?" Aerial asked them. "We need to search him, search this room. There has to be something that will tell us. And where are Jim and Johanna?"

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"I found a chest," Rick announced. "Where's Jim when you need him?"

"Right here. Who's the black guy?" Jim queried.

Rather than answering him, Rick said, "I found a chest requiring your expertise." And Jim got to work.
Johanna showed up with Bailey at her side, looking none the worse for wear. "We took care of the Goblins."

"All of them?" Aerial asked her.
"Yep," she nodded, "all of them. Who's the black guy?"

"Whoever he is, he's resistant to magic," Kate told her.
"Got it," Jim announced and opened the chest. "I've got a bag." He handed it over to Rick.

"A dagger." Rick handed it over to someone. "And a scroll." He handed that to Kate.
Rick picked up a bag and hefted it. "There's a lot of gold in this bag."

"I can't read this scroll. Hang on a minute." She cast Comprehend Languages and read it. "This talks about stealing an egg for some family. If they do that they will get back in good with the family. It doesn't tell me who this family is but it seems important."

"His armor, weapons, and cape are magical and he has a potion bottle of something," Rick told them. "And a hand crossbow and six bolts."
"We need to search the Ettins and the guy I turned to stone," Kate said.

"This guy is an Elf. Look at the ears," Aerial pointed out. "But why is he black? And how did he resist our spells?"
"These weapons and his armor are also black," Rick added.

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They found some gold on the Ettins. The armor, weapons, and cape were all magical on the one turned to stone. Only the Ettin's flesh was turned to stone. He also had a bag with some gold in it.
They found the staff the old lady had was magical as well and she and the man had some gold, silver, and copper pieces on them.

"We need to get this Egg back before the week is out, it cracks open, and a baby Dragon falls out," Rick told them. So they made it out of the mountains. Rick cast and used potions to create Phantom Steed and they made it home.

They waited for Lady Alustriel Silverhand patiently. While waiting, they found the magical weapons and armor which were all black had turned to dust on them.

It wasn't long before Lady Alustriel Silverhand arrived and thanked them for bringing the egg back to her.
"We found something." Kate handed the scroll to the Lady. "I don't know what it means."

She stood there and read it. "I was afraid of this. The family it refers to is a Drow family name."
"Is that what the black Elf was, a Drow?" Rick asked her.

The Lady nodded. "Yes, the Drow live deep underground. They only rise when they want something. In this case, it was a Gold Dragon Egg. Their armor and weapons, though magical, turn to dust in daylight. They specialize in using sleep potions and dip their crossbow bolts in it. They do not want to kill you. They want prisoners so they can torture you. They do not care what you know. They torture you for amusement. How many of them were there, do you know?"

"There were two of them. Two Ettins and a group of Goblins, and three of something else. We killed everyone," Rick told her.
"Two, that is good then. Here is your ten thousand gold, as promised. I thank you for your service." She turned and escorted the Egg to its rightful owners.

"I guess we go home, then," Aerial said.
Kate sighed. "All I want is to get my girls and open the store again."

Rick distributed the gold, silver, and copper pieces evenly, told them what the capes were once they found out, and compensated them if they didn't sell them.

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Jim and Johanna made it to the 7th level. They gained one feat and some skill points. She gained access to another 0-level spell, another first-level spell, and she gained access to her first 4th-level spell. Jim gained access to additional damage when sneak attacking.

Now they could do the Prestige Class they were thinking about doing.

Kate and Aerial made it to the 15th level and gained one feat. They could cast six fifth-level spells and four sixth-level spells now, and they gained a few skill points. Kate put all she could into her Skill to make Beer. They could know two 7th-level spells.

The cape was a 4 Cloak of Charisma that either Kate or Aerial could use. Kate gave it to Aerial. The other cape was a Cape of Mountebank, allowing you to cast Dimension Door once a day. They sold it for ten thousand gold, and they split it evenly. The dagger turned out to be 2, and it went to Jim.

The ten thousand gold came in Bags of Holding, and the bag with the gold was a Bag of Holding. The bag itself went to Aerial.

Kate heard her children yell, "MOMMY!" the second they saw her. She got down on her knees and hugged them and kissed them. Even Rick got in a hug and a kiss.
"We learned about Selûne," Alexis told her.

"Did you, now?" She wasn't surprised by that. "Thank you for taking such good care of them," Kate told the cleric who delivered her babies to her.
"It was a pleasure, Mistress Castle. Your daughters both have quick minds. They are welcome in the Temple of the Silver Stars any time," she told them.

Kate didn't doubt that they were. Maybe she had a pair of budding Clerics in her midst. They could do worse than be Clerics of Selûne.
They went home and put everything away. Kate went to start a new batch of Beer using her new skill points. She would pay her workers for the days that they missed, of course. It wasn't their fault that they missed days of work.

Rick and Kate were on the sofa, and the kids were in bed. "So what do you think?"
"I'm assuming you mean the Drow. First, I've never heard of them, and those three creatures at the table? I still don't know what they are. But you heard her; she said they live deep underground and only come up when they want something. Still, I wonder why our spells didn't affect him. Some form of natural immunity, I'm guessing," Rick said, continuing to think about it.

"I hope I never see them again." Kate shuddered. "Immune to spells doesn't sound like anyone I want to meet."
"Me, neither," Rick agreed.
"Make love to me." Kate kissed him and kept kissing him until he carried her upstairs and made love to her.

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Things returned to normal for a while. Then Aerial came over for a visit. "I think I love him."
"Your Wood Elf?" Kate smiled. "I'm happy for you. Are you planning on moving to his place, or is he coming here? Or are you just going to keep going with the way things are?"

"We haven't decided yet. I'm not sure I want to go there, but I don't think he wants to come here. He fought the Trolls and lived. He fought the Ettins and lived, so he's a 10th-level Ranger. Can you believe it? He's 10th level. But he doesn't have a single Magical item. Not one, Kate."
"What about the gold we gave you?" Kate asked her.

"I still have it. Most of it, anyway, all the way back to the Trolls. I haven't spent any of it yet. I've been saving it. Is there any chance Lady Alustriel Silverhand will have another mission for us?" Aerial inquired. "I want to have him come with us next time."
"I don't know when or if she'll ask us for anything again, but if she does, I'll tell you," Kate promised. "Do you think he'll come? I mean, he's a Wood Elf. From what I can tell, they don't leave their home much, if ever."

"I think I can convince him to come. He's specializing in a Bow. He had first and second-level spells, but I don't know how many he has or what they are. But I know he has three favorite enemies. One is Giant, like Ogres or Hill Giants or whatever. The second is Elf, specifically the Drow. The third is Undead, like Zombies," Aerial told her.
"Drow, interesting choice. Any reason why them?" Kate queried.

"Yeah, all Elves hate the Drow; that's why them," Aerial answered. "So are we good, or am I barking up the wrong tree here?"
"No, we're good, Aerial, and I'm happy for you." Kate leaned forward and touched her hand. "But he's two days out at best. If Lady Alustriel Silverhand gives us another assignment and wants us to go immediately, we may not have time to pick him up. Unless he's along the way."

"Yeah, I know, but he can come, can't he?" Aerial asked her.
"Yes, he can come. He's more than welcome. Tenth-level, huh, and he fought the Trolls. He's brave, I'll give him that," Kate said. "Yes, he can come, Aerial, he can come."