It may have been coincidence that the four heroes met outside the gates of Hawkshire, a village sitting below Dragon Tower. Or, it may have been fate.
Gorbash glanced suspiciously at the three men with him. Of course, suspicion came easily to a hobgoblin.
The closest to him was an elf with a book- a spell book. Gorbash remembered eating elf stew in the Hobgoblin Armies. But that was before his reformation.
Then there was the muscular man with a symbol of… Kord- the god of athletes. A cleric, most likely.
Lastly was a man with both gleaming armor and a gleaming bald head. Around his neck swung a symbol of Heironeous. The man would be a threat if it weren’t for the same symbol that Gorbash possessed.
And there was Gorbash himself- 7 feet of hobgoblin muscle. Glowing red eyes. Leathery black skin. Dirty white hair. And yet a devotee of Heironeous.
The four adventurers nodded to each other and made the appropriate introductions. The elf was named Caibre, the cleric- Devin Steeps, and the paladin Glynvan.
While they talked, a guard at the gates spoke up. “Adventurers, aye? Say, ye ent ere teh take on,” the guards voice lowered to a shaky whisper, “Dragon….. Tower…..”
Thunder roared.
“Eh?”
Caibre narrowed his eyes and sniffed as if the guard’s odor offended him. “’Tis not my task to tell you, guard.”
The guard grumbled something about elves and returned to his post.
"Is there a place a guy could get an ale in this town. Who knows when we might get a chance again? Or should we just haul ourselves on over to the Tower and commence with the slaying?" Glynvan asked.
“Well, there’s Hungry Harry’s Happy Hangout. That’s were lotta ‘venturers can beh found.”
"I see no reason to dull my wits with drink before I put my life at risk. One would think it...unwise." Caibre retorted.
Glynvan shared in the guard’s grumblings. “Oh, great, a serious elf…”
Caibre raised an eyebrow. "Do you find putting yourself in danger of countless and painful deaths every moment a laughing matter?"
"I take joy in doing Hieroneous' work" Gorbash rasped.
Caibre shrugged.
Glynvan’s eyes narrowed. "Listen to me elf, and you listen real good. I take two things in this world seriously. First there is my relationship with my god. That comes before everything and everyone; and if you don't like that it is just too bad. Secondly, you see this sword that I have in my hand. That, my friend, is the only other thing in this world that I take seriously.
"Life is too short to take a grim approach to everything. I celebrate the time I have here, I serve my god and I have fun. Get it? I like killing the evil that courses through this land. That to me is the ultimate fun.
"Now we can stand here and chew the fat or argue until the sun goes down. However, I would rather spend my time doing something a bit more productive.
"Let's go drink an ale or let's go kick some butt. Either way, keep your snide comments to yourself and the two of us will get along just fine."
Caibre’s cold expression suddenly burst open into laughter. “Very well. I’m impressed, Glynvan! I never expected such fire!”
Glynvan himself relaxed and chuckled.
Gorbash growled. ”Shall we be off?”
“Caution, good sir!” the guard suddenly cried. “There’s been some trouble with a gang of Hobgoblins who call themselves Kyton’s Fist. They reside in the Tower and occasionally come to town to cause trouble. With a man of your… appearance… I’d be careful.”
Gorbash snarled, ”Blasted filth… Heironeous should… grr…”
Devin spoke up. “We should discuss religion one of these days. But first we should prove our strength by fighting this evil this tower represents. I see no reason to delay. Let us travel to Dragon Tower!”
