Two Days Travel
The next morning at dawn Drexel, Doc, and Ziona met Dent, Venus and Lox in the common room of the tavern. After a brief reintroduction for Dent, they went to the stables and got their wagon. Then, the newly formed party left Waterdeep and began their two day walk to Rappan Athuk.
Just outside town, Dent halted the group.
“There are a few things that need to be explained,” he began.
Drexel and Ziona exchanged glances, wondering if they knew about Drexel’s past.
“First, let me introduce you to a creature that we picked up as an ally in during our last adventure,” said Dent walking towards the back of the cart. “I don’t know how to explain him, really. I’ve never met anything like him.”
The group went around to the back of the cart and out came the spleckle, speaking his usual banter. The creature stood 7 feet tall and was covered in brown fur with purplish spots here and there. He had dark eyes, but no limbs that any of them could see.
“He’s our hair guy,” said Lox lovingly. “He follows us everywhere we go.”
“For good or bad,” said Venus with a smirk.
“The thing is,” said Dent, “we can’t seem to communicate with it, so we’re not exactly sure what he wants, but he’s been quite friendly. He has never been hostile.”
“Well, except that one time when he tried to pull Prynne over the edge of the cliff,” Lox chimed in. “Remember? That’s when Nuttin used his magical webs to make a bridge for us…”
Lox fell silent for a moment, reliving the memory of his dear friend.
Doc cleared his throat to break the awkward silence, then said “Well, he sure looks like a cute fellow. You’re just neat, aren’t you Puddin’ Head?”
At the sound of the phrase ‘Puddin’ Head,’ Rossal appeared from Ziona’s bag.
“What have we here?” asked Dent. “Seems you have an interesting companion yourself.”
“I’m Rossal,” he communicated to the group. “I’m a pseudodragon.”
“Hey, there you are dragon!” exclaimed Lox. “Can you come down here & sit on my shoulder? I can tell you some interesting stories, and you can talk inside my head…that’s so amazing!”
Rossal glided down to Lox and sat on the halfling’s shoulder. Everyone smiled at the site, especially Doc.
“Puddin’ Head and Roundy, now isn’t that funny.”
“You say you haven’t been able to communicate with this creature?” asked Drexel, looking at the spleckle.
“No, we haven’t.”
Drexel rubbed his chin for a moment, then recited a few enchanted words. He looked thoughtful as he listened to the ramblings of the spleckle. He then nodded and turned to the group.
“He says that he is a spleckle. He says he is in need of more water,” Drexel said.
“How did you understand him?” asked Venus.
“I cast a spell to comprehend his language,” said Drexel. “I cannot pronounce his name, so I suggest we just call him Spleckle.”
“Can you speak with the Spleckle?” asked Lox.
“I cannot. I can only understand what he is saying for the duration of my spell,” Drexel explained. “I suggest we get him some water soon…he mentioned filtering water from someone if needed.”
“Filtering water? That explains why the water on our cart is ‘evaporating’ so quickly,” said Venus.
“According to the map, there is a river not far from here,” said Dent. “But there are still a few things we need to talk about.”
“Let’s discuss them as we walk,” said Ziona. “We don’t want to wait too long to get started. It is a two day trip.”
“And we don’t want Spleckle filtering one of us,” said Drexel.
Dent looked to Venus, who had a solemn look in his eyes. They knew this would not be an easy thing to explain.
“Introduce them to Haley,” said Venus. “I can explain the rest later.”
“Oh, Haley! She’s a tiger,” said Lox to Rossal. “She came out of a painting and she follows Dent around, and she roars really loud, like this….ROOOAAAAARRRRR!”
“Lox, settle down,” said Venus. “They can see for themselves.”
Leaping gracefully from the cart, Haley sauntered over to Dent’s side and growled affectionately.
“I see you are not without your own interesting companions,” said Ziona. “She is beautiful.”
As they continued walking, Ziona explained how Rossal came to travel at her side, while Dent told the story of the maze and how they found Spleckle and Haley. Lox, of course, was there to add to and embellish much of Dent’s tale.
As the day wore on and the sun began it’s descent, the party found a place to stop and eat. It was then that Venus decided to tell them his story. They sat together not far from the road beneath the trees. Spleckle and Haley stayed with the cart while the party sat and ate. Everyone but Venus took out their rations and waterskins.
“My friends, I have something to tell you. But it is important that you listen to my entire story, and that I am not interrupted,” said Venus, with a glance at Lox. “It is an odd story, but I hope it is one that you will understand and accept.”
“Well, we’ve seen many odd sights and heard many odd stories, friend,” said Doc with enthusiasm. “You need’nt worry about our judgment. Why, Ziona is part drow, and Drexel…well…we all have our stories.”
“Thank you,” said Venus. “But please hear me out. I am a Fire Genasi from Calimshan. I grew up near the Calim Desert, under the sun’s hot rays. I am a creature who loves the light and the sun, but that was almost taken from me recently. I know Dent and Lox have told you much about the maze that we defeated, and how we were given wishes as our prize for completing the maze.”
It was here that Venus paused, looking at Drexel, then Doc, and finally at Ziona. Would she understand his plight? Would she feel empathy, knowing how it is to be misunderstood, or would she feel compelled to turn on him for being undead?
“I had so many ideas and thoughts about what to do with my wish…but in the end, there was only one thing I could do. You see, while in the maze we met many prisoners who had either entered as adventurers, or had been captured and used in the maze. One such prisoner was a woman named Veerdra. She was…very attractive and persuasive…and because of her, I had to use my wish in a way I would never have imagined possible.
We helped her, and the other prisoners, escape, and when we had defeated the maze, it was revealed to us that Veerdra was actually a vampress. By that time, it had been several days since we had met her, and…I had been infected.”
The group waited in shocked silence for Venus to continue. He looked at each of them, but could read nothing but shock in their faces.
“She tried to attack Lord Korvish, who ran the maze, and I defended him. She would have killed him, after all. But this did not help my situation. It seemed there was no way to reverse what the evil wench had begun…but then, I thought about my wish. I couldn’t bear to think that I would never again be able to feel the warmth of the sun or see the radiance of it’s light. I used my wish to rid myself of the vampirism…but it did not work exactly as I had hoped. Lord Korvish said that there was really no way to reverse what had already been done, but the wish would stop me from transforming completely into a vampire. As a result, I am…a day walker.”
He looked at each of them. Doc’s eyes seemed vacant and distressed, while Drexel looked solemn. Rossal sat looking sadly on Ziona’s lap, while Ziona looked sympathetic.
“You are unaffected by the sun?” she asked.
“Yes, milady. However, I still must still have blood, and I must sleep in my coffin, which we keep on the cart. Before we left Lord Korvish’s Keep, I came to a decision. I thought of the sun, and wondered what it would be like to be blessed by Lathander. He is a sun god, The Morning Lord, and as a vampire, I would have lost my ability to continue adventuring with my friends. I would have been doomed to darkness. With Lathander’s blessing, I have vowed to become an undead hunter. I will show the world that I am not an evil being, I am a soldier of Lathander.”
“I see why you hesitated telling us your story, Venus,” began Ziona. “But the fact that you saw only one way to use your wish shows your good intentions. Your burden seems heavy, and I know from experience that there are those who will not believe you, despite your good deeds, but you must prevail against the darkness.”
“I am sorry to hear about your misfortune,” said Drexel. “You are brave, Venus.”
“Damn the rancid vampress who burdened you with such a curse,” said Doc, suddenly jumping to his feet. “May she rot in hell!”
“Maybe that’s where she’s at right now,” said Lox. “You should have seen it! We were all standing about looking shocked, and then she said she was gonna rip out Lord Korvish’s throat, and then Venus pulled out his scimitar and SHOOOMP! Off came her head! It was amazing!”
“Enough, Lox. We don’t need the gory details,” said Dent. “Venus has been through enough detail.”
“I thank you for your understanding,” said Venus with a thoughtful look. “I was unsure how you would react; especially you, Ziona.”
“I must admit I was worried at the start of your story,” she said. “But it is clear to me that you are on the path to righteousness.”
“Thank you for your faith in me, milady. Thank you all.”
With that, Venus got up and walked deeper into the forest. He felt renewed and thankful for his newly found allies. He stood alone watching the sky until the last sliver of the sun disappeared, then he returned to camp and rejoined the party.
The Adventure Continues…
