13 - The White Stag

Kythorn 7th, Lakehead Tavern, morning…

Lathander was the last to wake in the morning, joining the others for breakfast they nibbled an oatcake while Griffin spoke of the plan for the day. They had started looking up, ironically, to the dwarf. He was a natural leader and looked out for each of the others in turn, something Lathander appreciated.

"So I think it is best if we start making our way to Elràise as it could be close to a week's journey." he surmised, finishing his coffee and putting the mug on the table with a soft thud.

"Reverend, what about the news of possible vampires in Pinedale? What if that person Sioda was tracking was also who sent us the letter?" Nevon spoke up, he always seemed the most comfortable to question Griffin's decisions, most likely because of their shared history together.

"You make a good point, Nevon," the dwarf said, stroking his beard, "let's have the group decide. Should we go investigate Pinedale or head straight to Elràise?"

Lathander gulped, they didn't like the thought of going back to Pinedale, back home, back to their parents, back to…They got lost in thought as Shalia exclaimed "I think Tao is more than capable enough to deal with any vampires up there. We should probably get going to Elràise so we have time to investigate things properly before the Solstice Gala."

"I agree!" stammered Lathander, "I agree with Shalia, we should go to Elràise."

"Listen, I think vampires are out here doing bad shit and causing ruckuses. Me and Baeblade want in on the action of killing some vamps. I say Pinedale" Nimreth said, finishing her second ale of the morning.

"I would quite like to see this Pinedale Sioda spoke of. It could also help our investigation," Hawke added.

"Hmm, a gods damned tie," Griffin said to himself, "Alright, we will go to Pinedale to investigate the town. Maybe it'll turn something up."

The decision was made, they paid their tab and left town, headed up the hill and into the sunrise.

Kythorn 7th, wilderness, evening…

It was when they stopped for dinner, just shortly after the sun had begun to set in the sky, that Lathander began to feel troubled. Their stomach did flips in their torso as they thought of the best way to say what they had to say. They had run through the conversations a million times in their head but overthought what everyone's reaction would be to the news that they had been lying to them. Had any of them had suspicions? Had they done a good enough job deflecting questions?

Suddenly a voice came from behind him, "Whatcha thinkin' about Wilmer?"

It was Hawke, he pulled up a seat on the log beside Lathander, a piece of bread in one hand and some sliced pork in the other.

"Nothing, I-" Lathander started

"Oh come now, what's a worry between friends" he said, slapping the paladin on the back with a grin.

Thinking quickly, Lathander replied "It's just, this town Pinedale, has anyone been there? Do we know what we're walking into?"

"I get your worries, but we will be fine. Besides Sioda's probably already killed the vampire" Hawke said reassuringly.

Lathander wasn't so sure. What if there really was a vampire problem in Pinedale, would their family be safe, would Bran? They shook their head and carried on with their meal.

That night they set a watch, Lathander and Shalia would be on first watch, then Hawke and Nevon on second.

While the others lay down to sleep in their cots, Shalia and Lathander took positions around the campfire. Shalia quietly whittled at a piece of wood in her hands while Lathander wrote in their journal. When they had finished they looked up and saw Shalia meeting their gaze. She looked away and apologized "sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

"It's alright," Lathander said, putting away their journal, "what are you making there?" they asked.

"Just a carving" she responded casually, showing it to him. It was a rather well detailed miniature of a baby dragon.

"What was the inspiration?" Lathander mused, looking at the intricate details on the scales and wings.

"I dunno, I had a dream about finding a dragon's egg with my moms and opening it up. Something told me I had to remember it so I made this to do just that," she answered, reflecting back a few nights to her dream.

Lathander stared at the object, thinking of their dreams of late, how they had been about their home burning, and Bran… They shook their head, dismissing any further intrusive thoughts. "That's really cool" they finally said, resuming their watch.

At one point during their watch Nimreth woke up with a start, "Family!" she shot up yelling.

"You alright Nimreth? You lose somebody close to you?" Shalia asked concernedly.

"No, nobody to lose," Nimreth said looking down at the ground, "how has the watch been?"

"Slow so far, nothing to report" Lathander replied, scanning the treeline carefully.

"That's a sick ass reptile carving Shalia" Nimreth commented, pointing to the wood dragon.

"Thanks" Shalia said, unsure if she had made the dragon look enough like a dragon.

The three stopped when they heard something not far off from their campsite. It sounded like voices. They grabbed their weapons and decided to investigate. Moving through the brush they eventually came upon a hill in a clearing at the top of which were many large stones placed in a circular formation. Around the stones danced several druids and dryads1 in ceremonial garb playing instruments. "Come hither, and do not fear, we sensed you at your camp some time ago."

A voice cut through the foliage and guided them out into the clearing. Once there they were adorned with necklaces and headpieces of flowers and stems. They enjoyed the revelry for a bit before it came to a stop. An elder druid stood in the centre of the clearing holding a large staff up above his head.

"Tonight we honour Eraldin with the hunt of the White Stag. Those that bring this beast before the altar tonight shall receive the blessing of the god of the hunt, as well as a bow of solid yew, blessed by priestesses of Eraldin. Do we have any who would enter the hunt of the White Stag?"

"I could really use a new bow guys, mine broke in the last battle" Shalia said to the others, "maybe we enter this hunt and kill this White Stag?"

"I could be down for a hunt, Baeblade and I are always looking for worthy combatants." Nimreth grinned, pulling out her axe raising it high "We volunteer for the hunt!"

"Step forward and choose your ceremonial weapon of the hunt"

Before the three were various daggers, slings, spears, javelins, and a recurve bow. Shalia took the bow, it felt small in her hands compared to her standard longbow, Lathander took the spear, and Nimreth took the javelins. They were brought to the edge of the wood where the elder druid continued.

"Within this forest you will find the White Stag. Look near a silver lake where the moon's light shines bright. For it is there that you will find the great beast. Go with the blessing of Eraldin and be safe."

With that he stepped back to be with his people and watched expectantly for the group to head into the woods.

Kythorn 7th, camp, night…

Nevon meditated as best he could in this new land. The weave felt off here, different than it did back in Moradin. He tapped into it, hoping to find what he was looking for, an answer to a question he had long asked.

'Whatcha up to there, Nevon?" Hawke bemused.

"Trying to meditate, it's really hard, something is going on tonight that's making the weave unsteady."

"What could that mean?" Hawke asked, now getting more serious "something we might need to look into?"

"No, at least, I don't think so," Nevon said with uncertainty, changing subjects he asked 'Hawke, I've been wondering since all the stuff that went down in Laketon, are you doing okay? Like, since the stuff with your mom?"

Hawke's upbeat demeanor deflated in an instant. He was brought back crashing down to the all too recent reality of his mother being dead and his reconnecting with his father.

"Yeah, I mean, like no because my parents sold me to a skiff gang and I never got a chance at a normal childhood and now my mom who fought to keep me is dead while my dad who sold me happily lives in Laketon. I don't know how okay I can be with that situation but I am okay. Thank you for asking."

Nevon felt a little embarrassed about asking and changed subjects again "So uhh look at this worm" he said, pointing to a yellow and orange spotted worm.

"Ahh, Nevon I think that is actually a caterpillar, and it looks like it's going to be cocooning soon."

"What should we name it?" Nevon asked, putting his finger in front of the inching caterpillar.

"Hmm, that is a good question, what could be a fitting name for a caterpillar so fine."

The two thought for a long moment.

"Fred," one of them suggested.

They both agreed.

Kythorn 7th, Grenwood Forest, night…

Racing through the underbrush they followed a set of tracks that Shalia had identified as belonging to a stag, but larger than any normal stag she'd tracked. They leapt over fallen branches and ducked under leaves as they finally broke out into a clearing. They were bathed in moonlight, and looked around to see a small pond that looked as though the waters in it were silver.

There, in front of the three of them, drinking from the silver pool was the White Stag. It was marvelous, nothing the druids said could have prepared them for the awe and wonder of this magnificent beast. It stood about twelve feet high, and its antlers looked to be about six feet in length each. The beast was powerful and commanded a presence.

"Shit what the fuck, how are we going to kill that thing with these?" Shalia panicked momentarily, looking around at their simple weapons, two of which were nearly identical except for their difference in length. She was thankful for the bow at least, even though it felt like a child's. She wasn't used to a bow so short and curved so hitting her mark was going to be difficult.

"Okay, so here's the plan. I have these mini spears right?" Nimreth started, holding up her javelins and eyeing them down to sus out whether they could pierce the beast deep enough. "I figure I run up and just start jabbing him with them!"

"I mean, I've definitely heard worse plans than that." Shalia said, nodding.

"Shalia, why don't you take the first shot then Nimreth and I can charge it and do our best to cripple it or something?" Wilmer suggested, gripping their spear tightly.

"I mean, I'm not so sure, this bow isn't like my old one, but I'll try." She stood up from behind the log they were crouched behind and drew an arrow from its quiver. Nocking it, she drew the bowstring back and pulled her arm up to bring the stag into her sights. Exhaling, she paused for only a moment. Release.

The arrow soared through the air with a whistle, striking its target true and deep. "HOLY SHIT!" Shalia exclaimed, while Wilmer and Nimreth charged forward. Shalia readied another arrow, taking care with her aim now that her comrades were in the frey. She released and again the arrow hit true, this time in the flank of the beast. "Maybe I like this thing!" She said, before reposition to a better spot.

Lathander charged in with their spear, jabbing at the beast's chest and missing as it leapt back into a defensive stance with its antler's out ready to swipe. Nimreth flanked the creature and jabbed one of its hind quarters with a javelin, failing to pull it back out as it bucked and knocked her over.

Now one javelin down, the barbarian was pissed "Aye fucker gimme back that stabby stick!" She shouted as she got back up and ran at the stag attempting to grab her javelin out of its back leg. She managed to get a grip on it, and yanked, pulling out sinew and tendon with it. The beast leaped and limped defensively and erratically, hoping to prevent its attackers from landing any more hits.

In the chaos, Lathander was scooped up by one of the beast's antlers and thrown into a nearby tree. They hit the ground with a heavy thud that sounded squishy without their armour on to protect them.

Shalia winced, hoping that her new friend was okay. She nocked two arrows at once, ran towards the creature whilst striding up some nearby rocks and giving a fierce cry. She released the arrows midair and they plunged deep into the heart of the stag. It let out a cry and fell to the ground, dead.

Shalia and Nimreth ran to Wilmer's side to check on them. When they rolled them over they gave a soft groan, blood was coming out of their mouth. "I think I might need a bit of healing when we get back to camp," they struggled to get out between wheezes.

"No shit, Nimreth, can you carry them while we make our way back?" Shalia asked, looking at the barbarians' massive muscular arms.

"Eyy I got this, come here Wilmer!" She said throwing them over her shoulder like one does a sack of potatoes.

"Ahh fuck! Shit fuck arrgh!" Wilmer protested as they flew through the air. As they settled he started to slip in and out of consciousness.

Kythorn 8th, Wilderness, Morning…

"AAAAUUUGH FUCK" Wilmer woke screaming, their ribs had been broken the night before and much of what happened after the fight with the stag had been a blur. Presently, someone was administering a healing draught to them which was speeding the recovery process, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Steady lad, you took a bit of a blow," Griffin placed a reassuring hand on Wilmer's chest "If all goes well this should help deal with the worst of it till we get to Pinedale and can get you to a temple."

"No..Can't go.." Wilmer said wearily, feeling themself slipping back to unconsciousness.

"Why lad, what's the matter? Stay with me Will"

"Not Wilmer…my name…"

"Yes son?"

"My name … is Lathander."

1 Possibly members of the Children of Eraldin, a cult of druidic worshippers of the God of Hunts, Eraldin.