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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 1261" data-attributes="member: 63"><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Chapter 15: Every Child Remembers His First Pet Fondly</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Previously, as the early morning sun rises over the burning Thornwood:</p><p></p><p><em>James, Bhur, and Vic rush back to where Roth and Harley are, filling each other in on the events of the fights and fire. Bhur tells the elemental to begin putting out the flames to stop at least part of the burn, so that Oleane’s grove will be safe. When they get to the clearing, Bhur uses the last of his healing magic to keep Roth from dying, and James tosses the dark Elf woman’s spear to Harley for safe-keeping. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>James shoulders Roth and carries him back to the general location of Oleane’s grove, escorted by Vic. Harley, Bhurisrava, and the elemental stay behind to manage the extinguishing of the fires. The whole time they do so, Bhur comments continually about how much he’s going to love having this water elemental for a pet. After about two hours, it begins to seriously disturb Harley. Likewise, Vic has begun to brag about how of course they used water, Vic’s favored element, to save the forest. James reminds him that the elemental is still a dangerous creature, but Vic shrugs off the concern, assuring James that his magic can control the elemental.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>A few hours later, a wearied, sleepless Bhurisrava and Harley find their way back to Oleane’s grove. James is still awake, watching over Vic and Allar while they doze. It’s all Bhurisrava can do to command the elemental to sit still and do nothing. And so Bhurisrava, Roth, Allar, Vic, and Harley sleep soundly, while James guards stoically, and the elemental stews motionlessly.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>And then in the early afternoon, true to form, James wakes Harley up before she can even get six hours of sleep.</em></p><p></p><p>“Time to go,” James says quietly. Harley notices that everyone else is still asleep, and that Oleane is still gone, probably trying to find the dark Elf woman that James, Bhur, and Vic saw. Shaking her head, Harley begins to lie back down.</p><p></p><p>James sees her reluctance, and continues. “You heard Bhur and Vic last night. They want to keep the elemental. Aside from that being against the word of our agreement with the dam Goblins, it’d also be stupid.”</p><p></p><p>Harley starts to whimper, but it turns into a yawn, and eventually she wearily nods her head. “What are we gonna do?”</p><p></p><p>James stands up, his chainmail clinking softly, the loudest noise in the whole grove. No one else even stirs.</p><p></p><p>“You did pretty well the last time we wanted to take something off the body of a sleeping person. You got the map before, so get the ring now.”</p><p></p><p>Harley groans and nods, then stands up to get to work.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p>Several hours later, James wakes Harley up again before she can fall off her horse. They are within site of the Eelhold dam, the elemental following fifty feet behind Harley, who boredly wears the ring. They’d chatted for the first few miles, but then the lack of sleep and the monotony of the ride put Harley to sleep. It has been on and off for the past few hours, but now Harley eagerly gets off her horse, wondering if the Goblins will let them stay overnight.</p><p></p><p>They guide their horses and the elemental into the circle of rocky beach surrounding the damwaters. The Goblins watch them return with some trepidation, and they get the feeling that the Goblins didn’t really want the elemental to come back all that much. A few Goblins run off toward the chieftan’s cave, and a few minutes later the chieftan comes striding toward them, followed by a retinue of Goblin warriors, one of whom carries the enchanted crossbow they had traded to the tribe for the right to borrow the elemental. The eight Goblins, with clubs and one crossbow, try to look imposing. Harley and James, with a finely-crafted dark Elven spear (a naginata, James informed her) and a magical longsword respectively, don’t need to try.</p><p></p><p>The Chieftan laughs and smiles as they approach, arms out wide to greet them again. In his own high-pitched, gibbering way, he asks if they did what they wanted with the elemental. James nods and says that it’s time to give the thing back. The chieftan seems nervous, but Harley doesn’t give him a chance to back down (she does not want Bhur or Vic to have the elemental as a pet). She pulls off her ring and begins to hand it to the Goblin, but immediately the water elemental lunges at them. Swinging a watery pseudopod, it knocks Harley aside, plucks the ring from her grasp, and leaps upon the chieftan.</p><p></p><p>The whole tribe panics, some running off for weapons, others just for cover, while their chieftan is being crushed and drowned in the elemental’s body. The chieftan’s personal retinue, close enough to see the expression of terror on their leader’s face, drop their weapons to the ground and bolt. Harley, however, spots the ring floating in the elemental’s ‘chest,’ and so she breaks into a run toward the creature, naginata in hand. The elemental turns toward her and tries to slam her with a tendril, but she tumbles underneath its blow and leaps forward, diving through the vertical pillar of water. As she splashes through it’s body, she shoves at the chieftan, and both of them fall out of the elemental’s ‘back.’</p><p></p><p>Harley pushes at the chieftan to run for safety, while simultaneously looking for the ring, hoping she managed to knock it free to. She jumps out of the way of another attack, then to her dismay sees that the ring still floats in the center of the elemental’s body. Harley pushes her wet hair out of her eyes and readies her naginata, preparing for another lunge, when a shout from James comes from behind the elemental. James has snatched up the crossbow that one of the guard’s dropped, and is aiming it at the elemental.</p><p></p><p>“Duck!” James shouts, taking aim as Harley leaps to the side for safety.</p><p></p><p>The twang of the crossbow string snaps through the air, and the bolt flies true into the elemental. A clinking noise bounces across the rocky shore of the dam. Harley and James both look to see the arrow come to a stop between two rocks, the ring jangling softly around the shaft. </p><p></p><p>The elemental gives of a loud gurgle of dismay and begins to splash toward the ring just as Harley and James break into a run for it as well. Harley jumps in the elemental’s way, slashing at it in wide arcs with the naginata’s blade, hoping to slow it down. A few of the Goblins even begin hurling rocks and spears at the creature, which impede it enough for James to burst ahead and snatch the crossbow bolt out of the rocks. The elemental has just begun to draw Harley into its body when James shoves the ring onto his finger and shouts at the elemental, “Stop.”</p><p></p><p>Enraged, the elemental seems almost about to resist the command, but then it relents, dropping Harley to the ground. James thinks for a second, then points toward the far end of the lake. The elemental must remain within 50 feet of either the ring, or of a large body of water, so James commands it to get into the lake.</p><p></p><p>“Go. Farther. Farther. End of the dam. Then go down. All the way to the bottom. Stay there and don’t do anything else until you’re told otherwise.”</p><p></p><p>James waits for the elemental to disappear into the surface of the lake, then waves the chieftan over. He grabs the chieftan’s hand, twists it uncomfortably so their fingertips touch, and then slips the ring directly off his finger onto the Goblin’s. For the fraction of a second that the ring isn’t on either of their hands, the elemental tries to hurl a boulder from the bottom of the lake at them, but it just splashes about ten feet out of the water, then falls back.</p><p></p><p>James suppresses a sneer as he looks down at the Goblin. “Keep that thing under control. Oh, and we’re taking back our crossbow. Payment for saving your life.”</p><p></p><p>The chieftan shrugs sheepishly, then mutters something in Goblin when James turns his back. James ignores him and walks back to Harley, who is thoroughly drenched. He asks if she wants to stay with the Goblins tonight, to which she replies a forceful, “NO.”</p><p></p><p>James offers to carry her naginata while she tries to squeeze some of the water out of her clothes, and they both get back onto their horses. As they ride off, Harley lightens the mood by joking about how she used to be disturbed that the Goblins smelled bad, but now she understands why they wouldn’t want to go bathing in the dam very often.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 1261, member: 63"] [size=3][b]Chapter 15: Every Child Remembers His First Pet Fondly[/b][/size] Previously, as the early morning sun rises over the burning Thornwood: [i]James, Bhur, and Vic rush back to where Roth and Harley are, filling each other in on the events of the fights and fire. Bhur tells the elemental to begin putting out the flames to stop at least part of the burn, so that Oleane’s grove will be safe. When they get to the clearing, Bhur uses the last of his healing magic to keep Roth from dying, and James tosses the dark Elf woman’s spear to Harley for safe-keeping. James shoulders Roth and carries him back to the general location of Oleane’s grove, escorted by Vic. Harley, Bhurisrava, and the elemental stay behind to manage the extinguishing of the fires. The whole time they do so, Bhur comments continually about how much he’s going to love having this water elemental for a pet. After about two hours, it begins to seriously disturb Harley. Likewise, Vic has begun to brag about how of course they used water, Vic’s favored element, to save the forest. James reminds him that the elemental is still a dangerous creature, but Vic shrugs off the concern, assuring James that his magic can control the elemental. A few hours later, a wearied, sleepless Bhurisrava and Harley find their way back to Oleane’s grove. James is still awake, watching over Vic and Allar while they doze. It’s all Bhurisrava can do to command the elemental to sit still and do nothing. And so Bhurisrava, Roth, Allar, Vic, and Harley sleep soundly, while James guards stoically, and the elemental stews motionlessly. And then in the early afternoon, true to form, James wakes Harley up before she can even get six hours of sleep.[/i] “Time to go,” James says quietly. Harley notices that everyone else is still asleep, and that Oleane is still gone, probably trying to find the dark Elf woman that James, Bhur, and Vic saw. Shaking her head, Harley begins to lie back down. James sees her reluctance, and continues. “You heard Bhur and Vic last night. They want to keep the elemental. Aside from that being against the word of our agreement with the dam Goblins, it’d also be stupid.” Harley starts to whimper, but it turns into a yawn, and eventually she wearily nods her head. “What are we gonna do?” James stands up, his chainmail clinking softly, the loudest noise in the whole grove. No one else even stirs. “You did pretty well the last time we wanted to take something off the body of a sleeping person. You got the map before, so get the ring now.” Harley groans and nods, then stands up to get to work. * * * Several hours later, James wakes Harley up again before she can fall off her horse. They are within site of the Eelhold dam, the elemental following fifty feet behind Harley, who boredly wears the ring. They’d chatted for the first few miles, but then the lack of sleep and the monotony of the ride put Harley to sleep. It has been on and off for the past few hours, but now Harley eagerly gets off her horse, wondering if the Goblins will let them stay overnight. They guide their horses and the elemental into the circle of rocky beach surrounding the damwaters. The Goblins watch them return with some trepidation, and they get the feeling that the Goblins didn’t really want the elemental to come back all that much. A few Goblins run off toward the chieftan’s cave, and a few minutes later the chieftan comes striding toward them, followed by a retinue of Goblin warriors, one of whom carries the enchanted crossbow they had traded to the tribe for the right to borrow the elemental. The eight Goblins, with clubs and one crossbow, try to look imposing. Harley and James, with a finely-crafted dark Elven spear (a naginata, James informed her) and a magical longsword respectively, don’t need to try. The Chieftan laughs and smiles as they approach, arms out wide to greet them again. In his own high-pitched, gibbering way, he asks if they did what they wanted with the elemental. James nods and says that it’s time to give the thing back. The chieftan seems nervous, but Harley doesn’t give him a chance to back down (she does not want Bhur or Vic to have the elemental as a pet). She pulls off her ring and begins to hand it to the Goblin, but immediately the water elemental lunges at them. Swinging a watery pseudopod, it knocks Harley aside, plucks the ring from her grasp, and leaps upon the chieftan. The whole tribe panics, some running off for weapons, others just for cover, while their chieftan is being crushed and drowned in the elemental’s body. The chieftan’s personal retinue, close enough to see the expression of terror on their leader’s face, drop their weapons to the ground and bolt. Harley, however, spots the ring floating in the elemental’s ‘chest,’ and so she breaks into a run toward the creature, naginata in hand. The elemental turns toward her and tries to slam her with a tendril, but she tumbles underneath its blow and leaps forward, diving through the vertical pillar of water. As she splashes through it’s body, she shoves at the chieftan, and both of them fall out of the elemental’s ‘back.’ Harley pushes at the chieftan to run for safety, while simultaneously looking for the ring, hoping she managed to knock it free to. She jumps out of the way of another attack, then to her dismay sees that the ring still floats in the center of the elemental’s body. Harley pushes her wet hair out of her eyes and readies her naginata, preparing for another lunge, when a shout from James comes from behind the elemental. James has snatched up the crossbow that one of the guard’s dropped, and is aiming it at the elemental. “Duck!” James shouts, taking aim as Harley leaps to the side for safety. The twang of the crossbow string snaps through the air, and the bolt flies true into the elemental. A clinking noise bounces across the rocky shore of the dam. Harley and James both look to see the arrow come to a stop between two rocks, the ring jangling softly around the shaft. The elemental gives of a loud gurgle of dismay and begins to splash toward the ring just as Harley and James break into a run for it as well. Harley jumps in the elemental’s way, slashing at it in wide arcs with the naginata’s blade, hoping to slow it down. A few of the Goblins even begin hurling rocks and spears at the creature, which impede it enough for James to burst ahead and snatch the crossbow bolt out of the rocks. The elemental has just begun to draw Harley into its body when James shoves the ring onto his finger and shouts at the elemental, “Stop.” Enraged, the elemental seems almost about to resist the command, but then it relents, dropping Harley to the ground. James thinks for a second, then points toward the far end of the lake. The elemental must remain within 50 feet of either the ring, or of a large body of water, so James commands it to get into the lake. “Go. Farther. Farther. End of the dam. Then go down. All the way to the bottom. Stay there and don’t do anything else until you’re told otherwise.” James waits for the elemental to disappear into the surface of the lake, then waves the chieftan over. He grabs the chieftan’s hand, twists it uncomfortably so their fingertips touch, and then slips the ring directly off his finger onto the Goblin’s. For the fraction of a second that the ring isn’t on either of their hands, the elemental tries to hurl a boulder from the bottom of the lake at them, but it just splashes about ten feet out of the water, then falls back. James suppresses a sneer as he looks down at the Goblin. “Keep that thing under control. Oh, and we’re taking back our crossbow. Payment for saving your life.” The chieftan shrugs sheepishly, then mutters something in Goblin when James turns his back. James ignores him and walks back to Harley, who is thoroughly drenched. He asks if she wants to stay with the Goblins tonight, to which she replies a forceful, “NO.” James offers to carry her naginata while she tries to squeeze some of the water out of her clothes, and they both get back onto their horses. As they ride off, Harley lightens the mood by joking about how she used to be disturbed that the Goblins smelled bad, but now she understands why they wouldn’t want to go bathing in the dam very often. [/QUOTE]
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