peteyfrogboy
Explorer
The Road To Haven
I am glad to be on the road to Haven, but I regret missing out on a night in a good bed. Hopefully the rest of the trip will be uneventful.
Somehow I doubt that will be the case.
***
Auresh woke to the sounds of shouting. He sat up and looked around. They had set up their camp at a crossroads a few miles west of Solace, between the boles of two vallenwoods the size of houses. It was still the middle of the night, but Solinari was at its peak, so there was some light to see by aside from the small campfire. He could see Raelyn reaching to her quiver for arrows, while Gildas already had his sword and shield at the ready. The knight had stayed up to keep an eye on Auresh during the first watch, so now he was without the heavy plate armor he had removed when he bedded down. Across the fire from Auresh, Glupin was reaching for his own sword. His coat of mail was light enough that he could sleep in it if necessary.
Peering through the darkness, the wizard tried to determine what was causing all the commotion. He could see humanoid forms entering the tiny circle of light made by the fire. They were taller than the average human, and as they grew nearer he could see the firelight reflecting off of their shiny scales. Leathery wings loomed behind them, and steel swords were held forth in their hands. Wolfsong took one look at them and ran off screaming. Auresh got up and followed him.
After putting a little distance between himself and the growing melee, he looked back and took stock of the situation. More and more of the things were appearing, gliding down out of the trees. Glupin was engaged with several of them on one side, with Raelyn just behind him plying her bow, while Gildas was on the other side of the camp defending himself against a handful more. Dreya stood between the two, gripping her staff with both hands.
Auresh saw four of the creatures coming forward toward Gildas. he quickly calculated their speed and distance, then began reciting the formulae to call forth the element of fire. The entire area was lit by a bright orange glow as the fireball exploded over the four lizard-men. As it faded, they continued staggering forward, their wings smoldering.
Dreya quickly came up behind Gildas, touching him with the staff. With a bright flash of blue light, the knight's wounds began to heal. One of the creatures took that opportunity to deliver a slash with its sword, and the healer recoiled, bleeding. Auresh came forward and wove an illusion over Dreya, causing her to appear as though she was several feet away from her actual location. If the warriors fell, the wizard would not be far behind; keeping the unarmored healer alive improved everyone's chances of survival.
Now that the initial surprise of the attack had passed, the creatures were beginning to fall beneath the blades and arrows held against them. Another surprise was in store, though; as the first of the lizard-men fell, Gildas shouted in surprise. As he struck a mortal blow to his opponent, the thing had turned to stone, trapping his sword deep inside its chest. Suddenly disarmed, the knight drew a dagger and continued to fight. Glupin lost his own sword similarly, and raced to retrieve another sword from Gildas's pile of gear.
Even with this bizarre turn of events, the creatures slowly began to lose the fight. The swordsmen began to learn the trick of yanking their swords back before they became trapped, while Raelyn and Auresh simply kept up a barrage of arrow and mage-bolt. Dreya ran back and forth healing those who needed it. Soon enough there was silence. A dozen stone statues stood about them in postures of death, and in several minutes they all crumbled to dust.
Gildas winced as Dreya bound one of the several wounds he had sustained during the fight. "What were those things?" he looked toward Auresh. "Wizard, did you recognize them?"
Auresh shook his head. "I haven't the faintest Idea." He stooped and shook stone dust out of his bedroll. "Wake me if anything else interesting happens."
***
The 16th day of Autumn's Harvest, 351 AC
Aside from the ambush at the crossroads, the journey around the mountains to Haven was fairly boring. As we drew nearer to the city itself, however, we began to see more traffic on the road. We were passed by a farmer bound for Haven, with what seemed to be all of his worldly possessions in a wagon. When we inquired about his destination, he said that he was seeking the safety of the city because the North was burning. Indeed, as we looked that way, we could see thin columns of smoke far in the distance. The farmer spoke of winged, reptilian creatures that were on the move, bringing death and destruction with them. It was a worrisome tale, and our worries were only to grow as we continued.
***
As they came over the crest of a hill, the six companions caught their first glimpse of the spires of Haven in the distance. Of more immediate interest, however, was a band of brown-robed monks walking alongside a tarp-covered wagon. The monks, unlike most of the people they had seen lately, were traveling away from the city. Gildas led the group off to the side of the road to let the wagon pass. One of the monks stopped and addressed him: "Traveler, have you heard any rumors of a staff made of blue crystal? It is a holy relic that was stolen from our temple in Xak Tsaroth." He gestured toward the wagon. "One of our brothers lies within, mortally wounded. We seek the staff that we may heal his wounds."
Auresh tried to see the face beneath the brown hood, but there was only shadow. Gildas shook his head. "We have seen no such staff." The monks continued on, soon disappearing over the hill to the east. After they were out of sight, Gildas frowned. "That was another one of those lizard things. They seem to be everywhere."
Continuing on toward the city, the traffic on the road continued to increase. Refugees from the North were streaming toward the relative safety of Haven. Auresh supposed that the sprawling city could probably support the sudden population increase, but there were no walls save the one around the city center. If an army marched against Haven, it was likely that the only benefit for the refugees would be not dying alone.
They began to see patrols of soldiers coming from the city, riding up and down the road. Rumor came quickly that they were questioning all travelers with staves. Auresh looked at Dreya's staff. It looked like a simple wooden staff now, but it seemed best to not have it come under closer inspection. He began weaving an illusion to hide it from view. "This will only last about an hour," he said, "but that should at least get us past the first patrol." He reached out to place the enchantment on the staff, but as he touched it he could feel a strong surge of electricity jump up his arm. He jerked his tingling hand away. The brief contact seemed to have been sufficient; the staff was now invisible. "It seems like that thing can protect itself pretty well."
When they finally came abreast of one of the patrols, Auresh was somewhat surprised by the cursory inspection they received. The soldiers said that the High Seekers were looking for a blue crystal staff, or any information about it. They glanced briefly at Auresh's staff, but made no closer inspection before moving on. Still, just to be safe Auresh used one of his minor spells to help fix a broken harness on a farmer's wagon, in return for a hoe that would be seeing no use in the city. he removed the head from the tool and gave it to Dreya to affix to the top of her staff. "not much of a disguise," he said, "but better than nothing."
I am glad to be on the road to Haven, but I regret missing out on a night in a good bed. Hopefully the rest of the trip will be uneventful.
Somehow I doubt that will be the case.
***
Auresh woke to the sounds of shouting. He sat up and looked around. They had set up their camp at a crossroads a few miles west of Solace, between the boles of two vallenwoods the size of houses. It was still the middle of the night, but Solinari was at its peak, so there was some light to see by aside from the small campfire. He could see Raelyn reaching to her quiver for arrows, while Gildas already had his sword and shield at the ready. The knight had stayed up to keep an eye on Auresh during the first watch, so now he was without the heavy plate armor he had removed when he bedded down. Across the fire from Auresh, Glupin was reaching for his own sword. His coat of mail was light enough that he could sleep in it if necessary.
Peering through the darkness, the wizard tried to determine what was causing all the commotion. He could see humanoid forms entering the tiny circle of light made by the fire. They were taller than the average human, and as they grew nearer he could see the firelight reflecting off of their shiny scales. Leathery wings loomed behind them, and steel swords were held forth in their hands. Wolfsong took one look at them and ran off screaming. Auresh got up and followed him.
After putting a little distance between himself and the growing melee, he looked back and took stock of the situation. More and more of the things were appearing, gliding down out of the trees. Glupin was engaged with several of them on one side, with Raelyn just behind him plying her bow, while Gildas was on the other side of the camp defending himself against a handful more. Dreya stood between the two, gripping her staff with both hands.
Auresh saw four of the creatures coming forward toward Gildas. he quickly calculated their speed and distance, then began reciting the formulae to call forth the element of fire. The entire area was lit by a bright orange glow as the fireball exploded over the four lizard-men. As it faded, they continued staggering forward, their wings smoldering.
Dreya quickly came up behind Gildas, touching him with the staff. With a bright flash of blue light, the knight's wounds began to heal. One of the creatures took that opportunity to deliver a slash with its sword, and the healer recoiled, bleeding. Auresh came forward and wove an illusion over Dreya, causing her to appear as though she was several feet away from her actual location. If the warriors fell, the wizard would not be far behind; keeping the unarmored healer alive improved everyone's chances of survival.
Now that the initial surprise of the attack had passed, the creatures were beginning to fall beneath the blades and arrows held against them. Another surprise was in store, though; as the first of the lizard-men fell, Gildas shouted in surprise. As he struck a mortal blow to his opponent, the thing had turned to stone, trapping his sword deep inside its chest. Suddenly disarmed, the knight drew a dagger and continued to fight. Glupin lost his own sword similarly, and raced to retrieve another sword from Gildas's pile of gear.
Even with this bizarre turn of events, the creatures slowly began to lose the fight. The swordsmen began to learn the trick of yanking their swords back before they became trapped, while Raelyn and Auresh simply kept up a barrage of arrow and mage-bolt. Dreya ran back and forth healing those who needed it. Soon enough there was silence. A dozen stone statues stood about them in postures of death, and in several minutes they all crumbled to dust.
Gildas winced as Dreya bound one of the several wounds he had sustained during the fight. "What were those things?" he looked toward Auresh. "Wizard, did you recognize them?"
Auresh shook his head. "I haven't the faintest Idea." He stooped and shook stone dust out of his bedroll. "Wake me if anything else interesting happens."
***
The 16th day of Autumn's Harvest, 351 AC
Aside from the ambush at the crossroads, the journey around the mountains to Haven was fairly boring. As we drew nearer to the city itself, however, we began to see more traffic on the road. We were passed by a farmer bound for Haven, with what seemed to be all of his worldly possessions in a wagon. When we inquired about his destination, he said that he was seeking the safety of the city because the North was burning. Indeed, as we looked that way, we could see thin columns of smoke far in the distance. The farmer spoke of winged, reptilian creatures that were on the move, bringing death and destruction with them. It was a worrisome tale, and our worries were only to grow as we continued.
***
As they came over the crest of a hill, the six companions caught their first glimpse of the spires of Haven in the distance. Of more immediate interest, however, was a band of brown-robed monks walking alongside a tarp-covered wagon. The monks, unlike most of the people they had seen lately, were traveling away from the city. Gildas led the group off to the side of the road to let the wagon pass. One of the monks stopped and addressed him: "Traveler, have you heard any rumors of a staff made of blue crystal? It is a holy relic that was stolen from our temple in Xak Tsaroth." He gestured toward the wagon. "One of our brothers lies within, mortally wounded. We seek the staff that we may heal his wounds."
Auresh tried to see the face beneath the brown hood, but there was only shadow. Gildas shook his head. "We have seen no such staff." The monks continued on, soon disappearing over the hill to the east. After they were out of sight, Gildas frowned. "That was another one of those lizard things. They seem to be everywhere."
Continuing on toward the city, the traffic on the road continued to increase. Refugees from the North were streaming toward the relative safety of Haven. Auresh supposed that the sprawling city could probably support the sudden population increase, but there were no walls save the one around the city center. If an army marched against Haven, it was likely that the only benefit for the refugees would be not dying alone.
They began to see patrols of soldiers coming from the city, riding up and down the road. Rumor came quickly that they were questioning all travelers with staves. Auresh looked at Dreya's staff. It looked like a simple wooden staff now, but it seemed best to not have it come under closer inspection. He began weaving an illusion to hide it from view. "This will only last about an hour," he said, "but that should at least get us past the first patrol." He reached out to place the enchantment on the staff, but as he touched it he could feel a strong surge of electricity jump up his arm. He jerked his tingling hand away. The brief contact seemed to have been sufficient; the staff was now invisible. "It seems like that thing can protect itself pretty well."
When they finally came abreast of one of the patrols, Auresh was somewhat surprised by the cursory inspection they received. The soldiers said that the High Seekers were looking for a blue crystal staff, or any information about it. They glanced briefly at Auresh's staff, but made no closer inspection before moving on. Still, just to be safe Auresh used one of his minor spells to help fix a broken harness on a farmer's wagon, in return for a hoe that would be seeing no use in the city. he removed the head from the tool and gave it to Dreya to affix to the top of her staff. "not much of a disguise," he said, "but better than nothing."
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