"Sure you don’t want that sausage?”
Two long hours passed before the three adventurers saw the outskirts of Darmshall before them. Fully dark now, Torious led the party with a blazing torch in one hand and
Freedom’s Edge in the other. Thalin followed with
Erifeci, and Milo tried to keep pace with
Vampire in one hand and using his other hand to balance as he ran with all his halfling might. Sighting a number of still smoking ruins, the three companions saw the perimeter posts, but no glowing line.
Their fears were confirmed as Torious drew to a halt in the market square. With enough light emanating from the smouldering houses, the toppled tower of Noristour lay strewn across the market square, the tip of the tower having smashed through the roof of the town hall.
“Every house is burnt through. Nothing is left,” said Thalin, his voice small.
He slowly turned in a circle, taking in the utter devastation of the trading town. The scorched houses. The cracked and scalded bodies. The air heavy with death and smoke. Milo crumpled to the floor. His eyes were closed and he hugged his knees as the reality of what happened here began to fully sink in.
“This is it,” said Torious quietly as he stared into the ruins of the charred tower, “I now know what I must do. This is why I have been led here. You have shown me the true path father, I thank you”
Thalin turned on Torious, his eyes flaring in anger, “You damned fool! These people are dead!” he motioned around them, “Do not dare to trivialise this as some sign of your accursed god!”
Torious and Thalin stood unmoving as neither refused to back down, only the soft sobs of Milo breaking the silence. Torious's gauntlet flexed on
Freedom's Edge.
The deadlock was broken by an aching cry from a nearby building. Torious turned immediately away and headed for the sound. Thalin gently squeezed Milo’s shoulder, then jogged after the Aasimar.
We must discard our differences for now, thought Thalin, though the narrow mindedness of Torious had scratched deep into the mage's mind.
Milo looked up as the mage ran off. Wiping his tears away, Milo sat cross-legged as he stared into the dying flames of the tower. Milo started as he saw the hazy image of an armour-clad man gazing back, his body wreathed in broiling embers.
Torious pushed aside a fallen doorway, and seeing a clutching hand waving desperately, grabbed hold and dragged the person to safety. Thalin pulled burnt debris away as the small figure crawled into the night air.
Coughing, and wiping his eyes, Mikka stood unsteadily. His clothes and face were caked black and his right arm was badly broken. Torious recognised the thief, and suddenly became unsure.
Should he bring the vagrant to justice now or help the wounded man recover? Running the conundrum through in his mind, Torious reluctantly helped Mikka away from the building, healed his broken hand, and then led him towards Milo.
“Hey! HEY! Quickly! There's a man in the flames!” shouted Milo into the air, not wanting to turn away from the visage. The flaming man turned as Torious, Thalin and Mikka approached. The man swung his gaze over the companions, then the image faded as the embers containing him burnt to orange, then grey, then nothing.
“There was someone in the flames! He saw me and you and you and… Mikka?!?” cried Milo, suddenly distracted.
“Greetings Milo. Although not in the greatest of settings,” Mikka replied, dabbing at his soot-heavy face with a silk handkerchief.
Milo looked back at the strange thief and despite everything, laughed.
- - - - - - - - - -
After Milo persuaded Torious not to hurt Mikka, the three companions moved outside of the town to set up camp. As the fire and tents were being made, Mikka explained what happened, although the three companions doubted some of the more favourable aspects of the story.
The attack had begun when the sun was setting. It had started when a man called Robar had led a group of knights into the Town Hall and promptly begun to murder every man, woman and child in there. After this, the burnings began. Mikka explained he had defeated a red-robed knight in single combat as he returned to douse flames that had started in a house full of children. As he helped pull the children to safety, a seven-foot tall knight with a snarling bear-mask had attacked and (Mikka’s face suddenly falls at this point in the recounting) begun to slaughter the townsfolk that were attempting to put out the flames. "The Bear", as the red-robed knights had called him, ordered his men to kill the children. And they obeyed out of fear. Mikka then proceeded to tell of his epic duel with this mighty foe and how he wrestled The Bear to the ground, but lost the pin because his opponent used dirty tactics.
At this point, Torious informed Mikka that if he lied again he would be forced to exact Tyr’s justice right there and then. Mikka gulped, then continued.
After running from The Bear, Mikka had hid in the house the three companions had pulled him from and using an arcane protection, endured the heat of the fire. But he got trapped because beams fell onto him. And that was that.
Thalin was interested to know that Mikka could use the Art, but Mikka informed Thalin (whilst Torious was off collecting more firewood) that his arcane skills really came from his heritage. Thalin didn’t seem to understand and Mikka explained that he was a tiefling. Born of a human and a devil and stuck on this plane of existence.
Mikka went to sleep, but not before making sure the rather confused Thalin and Milo didn’t tell Torious of his birthright. He produced a small seal of parchment and wrote a hasty contract, binding them to an oath. Thalin was wary of magic, but detected none. Mikka had let a secret slip, and he was backtracking, that was all.
- - - - - - - - - -
The night passed uneventfully, and the morning came with the lingering stench of smoke. A hulking ceiling of clouds hung low and pregnant.
Torious awakened at the meagre dawn light and prayed to Tyr for guidance. After coming to a decision, Torious joined Thalin, Milo and Mikka who sat around a small fire. Mikka was cooking a batch of red sausages, and offered Torious a portion, but he waved them away.
“Thalin. Milo.” said Torious, not looking at Mikka as he talked, “I have come to a decision. I am going to travel westwards to bring this Robar to justice. He shall not escape Tyr’s wrath for long. I am sorry to leave you in a time like this, but my god has shown me the way.”
Torious stood for a moment, posed how he considered a hero should.
Milo stuffed a sausage in his mouth, then answered, “Yeah, well, I’m going with you,” chomped Milo, “So are Thalin and Mikka.”
Mikka looked up at the dumbfounded aasimar and grinned disarmingly.
“Sure you don’t want that sausage?”
Torious finally agreed to accompany the other three westwards, but only after making each swear that they wouldn’t prevent him dealing justice to Robar. Thalin needed safe passage to Tilverton, which lay westwards anyway. Milo and Mikka had flipped a coin.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the companions packed up and began westwards, following the heavy hoof prints and burnt offerings scattered behind Robar’s forces.
- - - - - - - - - -
However, tragedy occured only minutes into the journey when Milo, already thoroughly bored, began to sift through the items he found in the mines. Searching through his backpack, Milo decided to rein in his curiosity and test the blandest items first (although he really wanted to investigate a small mechanical spider).
With this thought in mind, Milo withdrew a small bronze ring with a set of dwarven numerals on the side.
Boring, thought Milo. Turning it over in his hand, his little face scrunched up with concentration, then remarked boldly, “One. Two. One.”
Milo grinned in victory as his companions looked at him. Seeing them start to turn back, and desperately not wanting to lose their attention, Milo pushed the ring on his finger (which shrank to fit him) and shouted out, “One. Two. One.”
With not so much as a sound, Milo blinked out of existence...
