Eddard: Chapter 2 (Con't)

Decisions, Decisions

 

The knife he held to her throat was jewelled, and his sickly sweet perfume filled my nostrils.  The girl trembled in his grip.

 

"I leave with the girl," he repeated.

 

I had to think quickly.  I was never faced with this decision before.  As a paladin, I knew that I could not go back on my word.  I hoped he knew it, too.

 

"You leave.  The girl stays.  We let you live." I said in my most authoritative tone.

 

"You won't keep your word."

 

"I have to.  I'm a paladin." I replied. He smiled slightly when I said 'paladin'. Though his very presence made my flesh crawl and my stomach nauseous, I could not have him kill the girl, or take her into slavery.  I had to deal.

 

"I don't believe you.  The girl stays with me."

 

This was bad.  Stalemate.  "Just leave the girl and go," I said.

 

"You won't sacrifice her to get me, you can't.  You're a paladin." He sneered at me.  "I am impressed though.  You got through my guards.  I honestly didn't think you could. Still, touch me, and you deal with him.  I don't think you'll survive."

 

Through all of this, the big guy in the corner was still, waiting for orders.

 

I didn't know what to do.  I couldn't make a move.  His option was just as unacceptable as him killing her before we could kill him..  There had to be another option.  But I didn't see it.  I was bound by my word, and I would not give it.

 

Surprisingly, the other party members said nothing through all of this.  Until Logan said,"Clear a path.  You can go.  But the big guy stays."

 

I sheathed my swords even as the fat man sneered in triumph. 

 

We stepped aside, and he moved to the room's exit, the way we had come.

 

Logan must have given a signal, but I didn't see it.  Two of our mercenaries released their arrows, and the fat man, with the arrows in his back, fell like a sack of meat.

 

His bodyguard went nuts.  But I was mad, and my weapons quick.  I leaped at him, ignoring my injury, drawing and striking simultaneously.  My left blade snapped like a twig on his armour.  But my right hand blade found a gap and sank into his side, to the hilt.

 

He stopped, mid draw. "Urk.." The others cut him to pieces.  Literally.

 

We found 100 platinum pieces on the merchant's body along with that fancy dagger.  We collected the armour off the Big Guy.  And in a back room, we found 6 more people taken for slavery.

 

Logan saw the way out, and I didn't give my word.  He saved the girl, and my honour.  My respect for him grew immensely.

 

We took them back to the temple of Chauntea.

 

 

 



Eddard Chapter 2 (Con't)

The Slaver

 

We exchanged shots for a bit.  I was trying to give other members of our party cover while they too descended the ladder.  Seeing what I was doing, Ulf grabbed his bow and did the same.

 

On my third shot, I took a bolt in the shoulder.  Not a hard wound, but I was a little more cautious.  I checked first before jumping out and firing.

 

Then Wren came off the ladder.  When she saw what was happening she prepared her sleep spell. I also heard a grunt.

 

Checking behind me, Thoram had picked up the bench.  How he managed this, I do not know.  I knew he was strong, but this display of strength still surprised me.  Wren cast her spell and three of the four hobgoblins fell.  Thoram, using the bench as mobile cover, charged their improvised barricade.  I threw my bow down and charged after him, drawing my blades.

 

Thoram single handedly knocked their cover over using the bench as a ram, and we were through to the next room.  Five hobgoblins awaited us, though they were surprised at how quickly we broke their barricade.  We ran over their barricade and smashed into their line.  I had both shortswords drawn, attempting to overbear the hobgoblin in my path.

 

He withstood my charge and a desperate fight ensued.  My wounded shoulder wasn't allowing me to swing my right blade properly, and the fight was my most difficult yet.  I attacked and he parried, he attacked and I parried.  Steel rang on steel all over this little cavern. 

 

Only Thoram and Ulf made the melee look easy.  A giant swing of his axe cleaved a hobgoblin in two, and Ulf's weapon was shortly covered in blood as he severed the head of the first he encountered.  Those two overwhelmed their opponents easily.  They took two apiece for every one the rest of us killed.

 

I did, after some time, manage down mine.  I was breathing heavy, tired, and wounded.

 

Wren simply dispatched the sleeping humanoids.

 

With the hobgoblins dead, we charged into the next room.  What we saw gave us pause.

 

My eyes were drawn to very large man in heavy armour.  Heavily armed, he looked ready for us.  And then I saw him.  A rather fat man, dressed in the silks and style of an Amnite merchant, holding a knife to a girl's throat.

 

"I leave, with the girl,"  he said.

 



A Poem

No Respite

And what of Dreams?
The kind when the lights are out,
Feared images brought forth
Twisted memories given life
By the gnarled hand
Of Decayed Innocence.

Eddard Chapter 2 (Con't)

The Hole in the Floor

 

The farmhouse looked, empty, abandoned.  The grounds weren't kept, and the barn was little more than a ruin.  Windows were boarded up, and he whole place looked as though it hadn't been occupied in some time. 

 

Yet, Logan was positive.  This was the spot on the map.

 

The stillness of the scene almost had me believing there was nothing here, but for the map, I would have believed it. 

 

Wren went for a close inspection of the grounds.  There was no sign of recent activity outside the building.  She saw nothing, except a lock on the main door.  The lock on this place looked out of place.  If the place were abandoned, why a lock on the door?

 

The whole party approached the place cautiously, wary for any trick or ambush.  But none came.

 

"Can you pick it?" I asked Wren.

 

"I'll try," she sounded anything but confident.  "I suck at this."

 

She fiddled with the lock for a few moments.  And she looked at me and shook her head.

 

Thoram piped up.  "I'll open it." 

 

I thought, well he's a Dwarf, and Dwarves know about things like that.  "Go ahead."

 

He stood some distant away from the door, sizing it up.  Too late I realised what he was going to do.

 

The door crashed to bare splinters when his body, moving as fast as his legs could carry him, impacted the door.  The sudden noise sounded like a fireball in the near silence.

 

Weapons drawn, we charged in after him.  The house, naturally, was empty.  The dust of neglect covered everything, except a fairly obvious trail of disturbed dust on he floor.  We followed it to a part of the floor where the tracks disappeared.  A trapdoor.

 

We figured whoever was down there, knew we were in the building, and therefore even attempting such stealth as we could was a waste of time.  We smashed the trapdoor to bits.

 

A hole in the floor, deep and dark enough we couldn't see the bottom.  Logan threw a lit torch down there, and we were able to see a ladder leading to a lower level some 20 feet below the floor of the house.  There was no movement in our rather restricted field of vision.

 

"Who's first?" I asked, but then I probably didn't need to say anything.

 

Garrus had the best armour. "I am," he said, already reaching for the ladder.

 

I was third.  Behind Ulf.

 

Garrus reached the third last rung on the ladder and jumped the rest of the way.  As he hit the ground, quarrels shot past him, one ringing off his armour he dived out of the way.  Ulf did the same thing, and bolts went wide.

 

When I jumped off the ladder, I immediately dived to the side.  I was quick enough.  Two bolts would have hit me full in the head had I been just a touch slower.

 

To one side of this circular room was a heavy bench, near the ladder.  A short hall directly opposite the ladder led to some sort of barrier, possibly a heavy table turned on its side.  From behind it, I could hear the now familiar grunting of Hobgoblins, and the sounds of crowsbows reloading.

 

We were caught in a trap.  We were easy targets for the hobgoblins.  My first thought was to my companions descending the ladder.  I strung my shortbow, jumped into sight and let loose a shot.

 

It smacked into their cover.  This wasn't going to be easy.



Eddard Chapter 2 (Con't)

The Caravan

 

 

We decided to follow the caravan.  We wanted to determine where the stolen goods were going, as that caravan may well contain Thoram's weapons and armour.

 

We followed it through the hills as it skirted Redhand land.  There were very careful about not entering it, and we were careful not to be seen.  As it approached Arlos land- the neighbouring barony, we decided to attempt to elicit information.  Six o us got decked out as though we were a Redhand patrol, letting the Baron's own son take the lead and approached.

 

We accused them of trespass, but they, rightfully denied it.  The caravan guard captain was most cagey and would admit nothing.  Outnumbered as we were, we didn't dare push the issue.  It would have meant our deaths.  We let the caravan continue.

 

But we resumed following.  After the caravan cleared Redhand land, we followed it onto Baron Arlos'. It entered a village and unloaded at a warehouse.  I asked Garrus to blacken his shield, fearing that Arlos might take exception to his presence, especially given what we were about. 

 

The Caravan was, for the moment, a dead end.

 

That left one unaccounted for location on the map.  We would go there next, but first we rode back to the Troll and Maiden.

 

When we arrived there, Logan spoke up," We need more missile ability.  We can't take that compound without it."

 

I agreed." How do you propose we get it?"

 

"We'll have to hire some mercenaries.  There should be some looking for work."

 

I thought that this would stretch our gold, but I wanted to take that compound."I'll check around."

 

I went to speak to Tia.  When I first caught sight of her, my heart skipped a beat. That she had become to mean that much to me in such a short time worried me some. 

 

"Tia," I said, perhaps a little too breathlessly," It's good to be back."

 

"Eddard," She said smiling when she saw me.

 

"I'm sorry we won't be staying longer, but I'm wondering if you could tell me if you know of any mercenaries that might be looking for a short term contract?"

 

She frowned. "No, I'm sorry but I'll ask the innkeeper as soon as I get a chance." 

 

The next morning we were surprised at breakfast when a rather big human came and sat with us. "I hear you're looking for some mercenaries."

 

Garrus replied,"We are.  I am Sir Garrus Redhand, my companions and I find ourselves in need of some fighters.  What weapons do you favour?"

 

"My men and I are longbowmen."

 

We hired them, despite the 35 gold pieces or a share in the treasure, whichever was greater.  Four longbowmen to add to our strength.  We left as soon as we could.

 

Two days later we sat outside an abandoned farm house, a few miles of the main road, east of the inn.

 

"This is the place, I'm sure of it," said Logan.

 

It didn't look like anything much to me.  I couldn't have been more wrong.