Rionus's Tale
"Sorry, composing my thoughts. Wouldn't want to get all the details wrong. Well, in any event, here are some events I came upon earlier in my travels..."
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At the Shrine of Hallas-Torath
Rionus rode his horse at a leisurely pace, unconcerned with the setting sun even though he was unfamiliar with the rural countryside through which he traveled. The summer evening was still warm, and if he didn't find an inn he felt sure he could at least find a decent spot to camp. He wasn't exactly traveling to anywhere, and he saw no reason to rush when one place was as good as any other. The sounds of crickets chirping filled the air around him as the horse's hooves beat a slow and steady rhythm down the cobblestone path.
A thread of smoke drifted into the sky ahead, and Rionus perked up a little at this sign of life. Sitting tall in his saddle, he soon caught sight of a man building a campfire by what appeared to be some sort of roadside shrine. Benches made of stone surrounded a fire pit, and a well tended path led up the hillside to a monument. A wagon hitched to a pair of horses stood beside a horse hitch. The stranger looked up as Rionus road toward the hitch, and Rionus gave him a friendly wave and dismounted.
“Would you allow a fellow traveler to share your fire?” Rionus asked as he dismounted. “It grows dim, and whatever shrine this is seems a decent place to stop for the night.”
“This is the Shrine of Hallas-Torath, and it is open to all. I should tell you though, this might not be the best night for a pilgrim to stop here. If you are such, of course....”
“Pilgrim? Not I. Though I suppose prayer couldn't hurt. My lord has sent me forth to travel, that I might broaden my experiences. I think he finds the number of incipient Knights a bit burdensome now that peace is upon us. Other than no longer being underfoot, I'm not sure that aimless wandering will do myself or my order any good. I'm called Rionus el'Aundair.”
“James Therrot, journeyman wizard at your service.”
“A wizard, eh? I'd ask for a lesson, but I'm afraid my instructors among the Knights Arcane have begun to despair of awakening any talents I might have.”
Jim chuckled at that.
“I'm hardly ready to teach.” He replied. “I've given my own master enough headaches and my powers remain slight. There, that should provide enough heat and light for my purposes tonight.”
“Are you attempting some spell?” Rionus asked.
“Hardly. Just conducting some business. I'm to meet with some people this evening, they are a bit on the disreputable side and I want enough light to see clearly when they get here.”
Rionus considered this for a moment, but decided it would be impolite to inquire too much into the other man's business.
“What shrine is this?” he asked instead.
“It's dedicated to some hero who died in the Last War, Hallas-Torath. Apparently he fought some battle here and died for his troubles.” Jim waved generally toward the path. “There's a plaque up the hill over there if you care to read about it.”
“All right, I think I shall have a look, and perhaps say a brief prayer at the shrine.”
“Well enough, say a brief prayer for me while you do.”
Rionus nodded, and followed the path up the hill. While he was gone, Jim tended the fire and got out some cooking supplies from his wagon. When Rionus returned to the campfire, the sun had set and the pleasant odor of cooked food wafted through the air.
“You're welcome to share my meal, but you might want to eat quickly.” Jim said as the knight returned to the fire. “The people I'm meeting are extremely unpleasant, and I'd hate to get a stranger tied up with them.”
“Is there some danger then?” Rionus asked.
“If things go badly, it could get pretty exciting. Possibly fatally so.”
“Sounds like you might need some help. I'm accounted a fair swordsman... perhaps I could assist you. I take it your cause is just?”
“It is.” Jim confirmed. “Whatever you do, though, don't let on about that to the folks I'm meeting with. I don't know how much help a sword will be against these men, and my plan mostly involved talking really fast. Things will go smoother if we let them assume our motivation is the same as theirs: greed.”
“I see.” Rionus said, and fell silent for a few moments as he ate and considered Jim's words.
“Who is it you'll be meeting with, exactly?” Rionus asked.
Jim looked up as he said this, hearing the sound of several men approaching in the distance.
“Too late to answer any more questions.” Jim said in a low voice. “Let me do the talking, and try not to look surprised by anything I say. If fortune smiles, I'll explain later.”
Rionus nodded, and examined the approaching parties. In front, a trio of inhuman creatures in mail came forward in an aggressive looking march. Behind them, another was holding a rope from which he pulled a group of bound prisoners. Two of the creatures were mounted, one on each side of the main force.
Hobgoblin slavers. Rionus thought. What could this be about?
“Gentlemen!” Jim called out in eager tones. “I see you are prompt. A quality always to be valued in a business associate.”
“Being late would be a lapse of discipline.” The hobgoblin growled. “My people value discipline. Do you have the weapons you promised?”
“Of course.” Jim said, walking over to his wagon and gesturing toward the the chests loaded into it. “A mere sample of what I can provide you with, of course, and I see you've brought your sample as well?”
“As agreed, a one for one exchange. Bring up the slaves!”
At the hobgoblin's command, a group of five of his fellows began to march forward hauling behind them fifteen slaves bound together in chains. Jim flipped open the lids of the chests, revealing a variety of weapons. Pushing Jim aside to examine the contents, the hobgoblin grunted.
“These don't seem to be of any extraordinary quality.” The hobgoblin noted suspiciously.
“Of course not. As I told you, my organization prefers to maintain a low profile. That's harder to do if you display a lot of wealth. Our craftsmen go to a lot of effort to make the qualities of these weapons hard to detect. You said you would bring an expert, yes?”
“If you're trying to trick me, I'll dine on your liver tonight, human." The hobgoblin growled, calling forward his spellcaster, who cast a simple spell. After carefully examining each of the weapons the hobgoblin adept announced that the weapons were in fact enchanted.
“Then the next step is to deliver the goods to our superiors.” Jim said, referring to the slaves dispassionately. “If they are as pleased as I expect they will be, we can set up plans for higher volume exchanges soon.”
The hobgoblin agreed, and had his men unload the crates from the cart, placing the slaves in it instead.
“You and one guard intend to handle all fifteen slaves yourself?” The Hobgoblin leader handed Jim a set of keys. “Don't blame me if you have trouble with them.”
“We've got methods beyond the ordinary, fifteen slaves shouldn't be a problem.”
Shrugging, the hobgoblin turned to supervise his men, who were going through the chests each selecting an enchanted weapon to wield.
“Let's get moving.” Jim said to Rionus. “There are some details I'll need to explain.”
“An explanation would be interesting.” Rionus said.
Getting up in the cart, Jim flicked the reins and got the horses moving. Rionus unhitched his horse and rode alongside. The wagon slowly put distance between the slaves and the hobgoblin slavers. Jim turned to the slaves.
“Everyone, please try not to react visibly to what I am about to tell you. Keep in mind the slavers are only about 50 yards away, and we're all still in quite a bit of danger. I've been hired by your loved ones to rescue you. I'm going to be passing around the key ring, and I want you to quietly take off the manacles. Please try to sit the same way you are sitting now, so the Hobgoblins can't tell you are loose.”
The prisoners looked at him dubiously for a minute, wondering if this was some new trick or torment. Then Jim handed over the keys to the nearest slave.
“Good.” Rio said as the former slaves began to free themselves of their bonds. “I had been beginning to think my initial good impression of you had led me astray.”
Just then, a howl of outrage arose from the Hobgoblins.
“Get down in the cart as low as you can.” Jim said in a commanding tone. “They'll probably start shooting at us in a moment or two. And throw those manacles off the wagon, no use having the horses haul them with us.”
“What happened?” Rio asked.
“I imagine the slavers just discovered some of the defects amongst the theoretically enchanted weaponry I sold them.” Jim replied.
“'Theoretically' enchanted?”.
“Do they count as enchanted if the only enchantment on them is to make them seem enchanted?”
“Not really.”
“Then I suppose we should probably call them cheap surplus weapons rather than enchanted weapons. If I had more cash I would have at least gotten some swords to trade that had blades firmly attached to the hilts. As it is, I think the slavers are on to us.”
Indeed, several of the Hobgoblins were now pursuing the wagon. They had enough of a lead that hobgoblins on foot seemed unlikely to catch them, but the hobgoblin leader was signaling to his two mounted outriders frantically.
“There are a pair of tower shields stored underneath this bench.” Jim said, catching the attention of one of the braver looking slaves. “Climb up here and pass them to the back, they may be needed shortly.”
The former slave he addressed, a tall thin man who had been a farmer before being abducted by slavers, climbed up into the front of the wagon. Jim stood up in the wagon, and the farmer did as requested, explaining to his fellows to pass the shields back to those at the rear of the wagon. Once in place, the shields formed a protective wall against arrows.
“Whats your name?” Jim asked the farmer.
“I'm called Allan, sir.”
“Allan, I want you to hold these reigns for me. Just be calm and don't frighten the horses.”
“Those outriders are gaining on us.” Rionus warned.
“We'll have to see what we can do to discourage that.” Jim said grimly, turning the reigns over to Allan and pulling out a shortbow and quiver from under the bench.
Rio drew forth a morningstar hanging from his belt. The two-handed sword hanging from his back would be somewhat awkward from horseback, and he wasn't carrying with him the lance he would have preferred. He encouraged his mount to greater speed, pulling ahead of the wagon before turning around to face the approaching hobgoblin horsemen.
Seeing Rio turn to face the pursuers, Jim began to pelt one of the horsemen with arrows. He did little damage, his shots deflected by the hobgoblins armor and shield, but the first hobgoblin swerved to avoid the hail of arrows. Rionus charged in and quickly struck down the second of the Hobgoblin outriders and then turned his attention toward the hobgoblin dodging the hail of arrows.
Seeing himself outnumbered, the remaining hobgoblin fled. Rio once more brought his horse alongside the wagon, and looked over the passengers. No one had been hurt. In the distance, Rionus could even see the Hobgoblin he had knocked from his horse rising to his feet. He congratulated his new acquaintance.
“It looks like you've gotten away with your little theft, friend. Well done.”
“Your assistance was quite timely. Now let's see if we can get these people home...”
