The Band of Four (The Village of Oester)

[Hairy Minotaur]

Do your players actually have whole dialogue scenes amongst themselves like that? If so, that is pretty amazing.

So they've met Drogy, eh?

A little of both OOC and in game conversation. They like to have fun, sometimes at each others expense, but they all get along so well that sometimes it's more fun to put in the stuff they don't want in the story.

Yep, they're still trying to figure him out.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Tharhack leers over both Alriand and Drogy, daring one of them to confess, unfortunately both of them just stare at each other.

"Well, I don't have it." Alriand tells Tharhack "Search dodgy other there, and let me go!"

Drogy just sits there dejected staring at the ground by Tharhack's feet. While Alriand is trying to get out of the bonds on her own power.

"I know why you want it." Tharhack says pointing to Alriand, "What I want to know is why our little friend here wants it so badly."

Minuets pass before the halfling speaks "That gem is rightfully mine, my brother found it, and since he's dead it belongs to me!"

"How do you figure that?" Tharhack exclaims "So that halfling that nearly killed us as that polymorphed monster was your brother?" Drogy nods in agreement "Your brother was a weak man, to hide behind the facade of something he wasn't. Even so, I was still able with Kord's blessing to overcome the beast. Do you believe you could fare better against me?"

"Ohh, takes a big man to threaten and tied up halfling." Alriand tells Tharhack "Why don't you knock him unconscious and tell him to climb a tree?"

Tharhack takes Alriand's dagger, and cuts the bonds off of Drogy's feet.

"What are doing?!?" Alriand shouts at Tharhack.

Rebrey walks up to Tharhack, who has moved behind the halfling and is preparing to cut the bonds on his wrists."Uh...... what are you doing? You're letting him have the gem?"

Tharhack says nothing as he cuts the halfling free. Drogy stands up and stares at Tharhack and then Alriand.The fog has begun to lift to the point where it's hanging near the tree tops, and the ground has become clear of the opaque mist. Tharhack then whispers to Rebrey "Protect Alriand" Rebrey gives Tharhack an odd look, but places the child down and draws his heavy flail, then stands next to Alriand.

Tharhack then hands the dagger to Drogy. "Here, you'll need this if you're going to survive my next lesson. Hopefully you're as good a study as your brother was." Tharhack tells him, then kneels on his right knee to look into Drogy's eyes.

"Greed is an unforgiving master, it grows in jealousy and breeds hate. I'm going to give you two options, leave the gem and fight your sickness, or try to take the gem and face me." Tharhack levels with the halfling

"Are you crazy!?! He's got the gem on him, and you're just going to let him walk away with it?" Alriand screams at Tharhack.

Drogy turns the dagger over in his hand, back and forth, while he contemplates his decision.

"Here I'll make it harder for you" Tharhack says as he turns his back to Drogy, and gets on both of his knees while whispering to Rebrey to be ready.

Drogy takes a look off to his right and then looks at Alriand tied up and laying on the ground. He gives a long hard stare at Alriand, then drops the dagger and walks off to the right.

"NO! You idiot, you let him walk away with the gem!" Alriand squirms against her bonds and manages to dislodge her hands, and begin to work on her feet.

Tharhack puts a hand on Alriand's shoulder. "Let him go, it takes a strong man to face his personal demons, you would do wise to learn from him."

Alriand sits and watches the halfling disappear into the trees, and goes over his face again and again in her mind, she makes a personal pledge to find that halfling when they make it back to Thumble. Rebrey gives Tharhack a questioning look and asks "That gem could've financed a lot of things, why on earth would you let it go?"

Tharhack gets to his feet and walks over to Rebrey, digging into a small pouch on the left side of his belt, Tharhack retrieves the gem. "Who says I let him walk away with anything?"

"You had it all along." Rebrey understands. "You're playing with fire here, Alriand will stop at nothing to search out Drogy."

"I don't think Drogy is going back to the Hamlet, I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again soon. I don't trust Alriand around wealth, she's weak with it. This way I eliminate all the stares and conspiring from her while I'm praying or sleeping. If and when Drogy comes back looking to take the gem from Alriand, we've already ensured her loyalty for free, and she'll never find the gem."

"What do you plan on doing with the gem?" Rebrey asks.

"It's got powerful magic for sure, however it appears uncontrollable power. Therefore I will ask Kord for guidance, and do his bidding." Tharhack answers

Alriand gets to her feet and collects her dagger from where Drogy dropped it, and gives one last look at the halfling's trail. Turning back to Tharhack "OK, you've made your point, let's get going. I want to make to Thumble before lunch."

 

[pogre]

Tharhack strikes me as the "Dirty Harry" of the group - Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya'?

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Tharhack strikes me as the "Dirty Harry" of the group - Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya'?

Very much so, especially since Bimbar is gone. His player is trying hold the group together. His player plays Tharhack as a "might makes right" type of guy, which helped make his choice of diety easy.

Bimbar's player played Drogy in this encounter, so he could have something to do. He played it well, even I didn't know which choice he was going to make.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

The next four hours are uneventful as the party trudges through the soaked forrest, deciding that the best way to get back to the Hamlet would be to find the river and follow it downstream. Hoping that they are north of the Hamlet and will be able to walk right into the Hamlet. Alriand has paid little attention to the path in front of her, instead paying more attention to her surroundings and any signs of movement. Hoping to catch up to the halfling before he makes it to the Hamlet.

The sun has made it's way high in the sky, and begins to burn off the chill of the morning. The party stops for a breather and can hear the rushing water of a nearby river. However they also smell smoke, light, like that of a campfire. Playing it safe, Alriand heads off to make a cursory examination of the riverbank ahead, to see who, what, how many, and where the camp is located.

Rebrey and Tharhack decide to sit down and rest for a bit, having not slept much in two days they are starting to feel the effects of that grow heavy on their shoulders. They are about to doze off when Alriand returns.

"Bad news, there's about eight human men about 300 yards up stream. I also don't think they're out here for fur." Alriand reports.

"What gives you that impression?" Rebrey asks her.

"No fur, heavily armed, and they were whipping a halfling in the middle of the camp." Alriand replies

"Could you recognize the halfling as someone from the Hamlet?" Tharhack asks her.

"No, but it was definitely a halfling." Alriand answers

"Maybe they caught Drogy?" Rebrey asks

"Possible." Tharhack states "He could've been caught trying to steal something from their camp, and is paying the price."

"I say we go in for a closer look, just to be sure." Alriand says

"I don't know if that would be prudent, eight against three is very bad odds." Rebrey tells her. "Besides we'd have to leave the child, and kobold behind somewhere. It's just not going to be feasible. We should double time it back to the Hamlet and let Opee decide what he wants to do."

"I almost agree except that I could take out the Hamlet single handily. If there's eight well armed mercenaries or whatever, this close to the Hamlet then they aren't going to be able to put up an adequate defense." Tharhack argues

"We'll just have to hope they come to the Hamlet when we're there then, at least the Hamlet has defensible positions." Rebrey counters.

"No, I think it's in our best interests to find out what these guys want. Plus I've got an itchy finger." Tharhack replies

Alriand upon hearing Tharhack agree with her position, heads back out into the forrest leading Rebrey and Tharhack to the campsite.

"Itchy trigger finger my arse." Rebrey says jogging alongside of Tharhack "This is reckless, why are we even bothering with this?"

"I have my reasons, torture is for the weak, if they want something to beat on, I will give them a bigger target. One that hits back." Tharhack answers him.

Alriand stops just short of the last tree before a clearing starts, Tharhack and Rebrey stop next to her. They see seven men gathered around in a circle cheering on an eighth man who is whipping the flesh off the back of an older probably middle-aged halfling, but definitely not Drogy.

"Now what do we do?" Rebrey inquired

"Now we rise to the occasion." Tharhack answered, handing the tether to the kobold over to Rebrey, and boldly striding out from the tree line and into the clearing. No one paid any attention to him as he made his way closer and closer to the humans. Alriand, ticked that Tharhack was going to start some fun before her, left Rebrey and walked through the trees and bush right to the river's edge. Rebrey stunned at the impulsiveness of his comrades, ties the kobold to a tree, and then hides the halfling child out of sight from the kobold, and also out of reach. Then he follows Tharhack's trail to the camp.

"Good morning gentlemen." Tharhack calls out once he's gotten to within fifteen feet of the closest human. The humans go quiet as they all turn to face Tharhack. Tharhack watches as their face go from surprise to hatred as they all reach for their weapons.

"Kill the orc!" The man with the whip shouts. "I want it's head adorning my wall."

The posse gives a shout, and move in for the kill.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

"How inhospitable." Tharhack tells the bandits. "what's the halfling done that's so bad, torture is required to sate your rage?"

"you're in the wrong place at the wrong time orc, if you want to walk out of here alive, I suggest you leave all your belongings and run back to whichever rock you crawled out from under." Says the bandit with the whip.

Tharhack pauses and counts the steps to the nearest bandit. He spots Alriand coming ashore behind a tent. Rebrey walks up to join Tharhack, hopeful any altercations can be avoided.

"I think you should hand the halfling over to us, we happen to be headed to his home, I'm sure whatever he's done the authorities there can handle the problem." Tharhack tells the bandits, as a groan escapes from the shackled halfling. "he sounds bad I should have a look at him."

"I don't think so caveman, tell your buddy there to drop his possessions as well. Before you both join him." The bandit with the whip says as he slaps the head of the bleeding halfling.

"Well, I don't have enough healing to cure all of you if you want to press this." Tharhack replies "So, I guess i'll have to kill some...... well, most of you." Tharhack bull rushes the nearest bandit knocking him to the ground, as Tharhack tramples him on his way to the next bandit.

Rebrey curses aloud, and takes a defensive stance. Waiting for the bandits to make their move first. He doesn't have to wait long as the first bandit steps up and takes a flail to the head. The bandit swings haphazardly at Rebrey as he staggers back from the blow. The next bandit moves up and skips his blade off of Rebrey's shoulder.

Tharhack takes a hit each from two bandit's blades, each wound drawing blood from his chest. Tharhack hears a hearty laugh and turns to hear the crack of a whip on his left ear. Causing the ear to ring and begin filling with blood from a rivulet on his ear. Alriand come up to the tent and positions herself behind the two bandits facing off with Tharhack, but still hidden from the man with the whip.

Tharhack grabs the throat of the bandit in front of him and begins to squeeze. Rebrey smashes the head of the bandit he just hit, dropping the bandit. The other bandit misses Rebrey. Alriand takes a look at the big dangling back in front of her and plunges a dagger into his kidney, soon the man stops struggling against Tharhack's grip. The other bandit facing off with Tharhack is so startled from Alriand's appearance he misses Tharhack badly. The bandit Tharhack trampled gets up off his back, and slashes Tharhack across his back. Then another crack of the whip cuts another line across Tharhack's left shoulder.

The other two bandits dive into a tent and rummage around for crossbows. They exit the tent while trying to load the crossbows. Rebrey smacks his bandit on the right knee, breaking the joint, and causing the bandit to crumble to the ground in pain. Rebrey spies the two bandits emerging from a tent with crossbows, and grabs alcohol from his backpack. Tharhack ignores the bandit behind him and haymakers the bandit in front of him, slamming his fist into the raised forearm of the bandit, the force drives the bandit's arm into his head. Alriand then cuts a canyon across the bandit's right arm, causing him to drop his sword, and grab his arm which is bleeding profusely. The bandit behind Tharhack misses, but the whipmaster does not, slicing into Tharhack's left thigh this time.

Rebrey moves up to the tent where the crossbow bandits emerged, and tosses the rubbing alcohol onto the tent and the bandits while shouting at Tharhack to get his attention. The two crossbow bandits turn their crossbows to Rebrey and pepper him with two bolts to the back. Tharhack starts to run towards the bandit's campfire dodging a swing from the bandit behind him, Tharhack reaches the campfire and kicks the burning twigs and logs at the two crossbow bandits, catching them and the tent behind them on fire.

Now outnumbered the bandit near Alriand surrenders to Alriand, who begins to restrain him with the ropes keeping the tent next to her erect. The whip snakes out again at Tharhack slashing across his chest. Rebrey switches out his flail for his crossbow and begins to load it. Tharhack tries to close the space between him and the whip bandit, but is unable avoid the sting of the whip, as the bandit moves in sync with Tharhack. Rebrey takes aim and fires his bolt into the right knee on the bandit, causing him to drop the whip as he falls to the ground. Tharhack picks up the whip and quickly reels it in out of the bandit's reach. The bandit draws a dagger from his boot and sort of hop-crawls over to the halfling.

"you're good, but not good enough." The bandit says breathing heavily. He then slices the halfling's neck.

"NO!" Tharhack screams as he rushes to the halfling, backhanding the bandit to the ground when he reaches the halfling. The bandit wipes the blood from his mouth and turns the blade over in his hand, ready to strike at Tharhack. However he gets sandwiched by a diving Rebrey how wrestles the blade from the bandit's hand.

"he's gone." Tharhack remarks after checking on the halfling.

Alriand finishes tying up the other bandit and hears a soft sobbing coming from the tent behind her. She gets up and looks inside.

"Oh god, Tharhack, you better come take a look at this." Alriand says with both spite and terror in her voice.

Tharhack comes over and throws the tent flap open to reveal a battered and abused human female with a sack over her head, pig tied and bereft of clothes whimpering in the center of the tent. Tharhack turns to the bandit grappled by Rebrey, with nothing but pure rage emanating from his eyes.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Tharhack disrobes the bandit that's tied up by the tent, and asks Alriand to dress the female, after that he'll check out her injuries.

"I can't hold this guy forever Tharhack, what do you want to do with him?" Rebrey asks.

"Beat him into unconsciousness. Here use this burning log" Tharhack responds handing Rebrey a still burning piece of wood from the campfire. Rebrey stares at the wood for a moment a little taken aback by Tharhack's comment. Then shrugs and beats the bandit senseless.

Rebrey leaves the bandit knocked out on the ground, and goes to retrieve the halfling child and the kobold from their hiding places. When he returns Tharhack and Alriand are attending to the women in the tent. Rebrey checks to make sure that the bandit he knocked out is still unconscious, then checks to make sure the other bandit is uncomfortable naked and tied up. Rebrey searches the biggest tent and finds some cooked pig and apples. Digging in to the food himself and sharing an apple with the kobold.

Alriand pulls off the sack covering the female's head, finding her mouth gagged with a big piece of meat. The woman's eyes were a deep green, reminding Alriand of the color of spring. Alriand found herself just staring into the woman's eyes losing herself in the color. She didn't even realize Tharhack had entered until he shook her shoulder snapping her out of her trancelike state.

"huh, oh I'm sorry. I must have been daydreaming" Alriand responds as she removes the gag from the woman's mouth, it's then that Alriand notices the deep almost blood red color of the woman's hair. Similar to the color of fall, her hair even sounded like leaves rustling in a breeze as her hair falls from the sack to land on her shoulders.

"Thank you." The voice sounded like it was once a beautiful instrument but has been played far to hard, and screamed for far too long. Tharhack uses his cure light wounds spells to heal the woman as best he can.

Tharhack asks how the woman came to be in the hands of these bandits. She relates how she was gathering berries for her mother when she was approached by a couple of the men. Her mother had taught her how to entrance men so as to protect herself. She did fine with the first two, but then more came. She couldn't entrance any more of them, and she was overpowered. All she saw after that was the inside of that sack. She can't tell how many days she's been prisoner, the only thing she had to eat was the piece of pig the gagged her with. When it rained they would leave her outside, and she sapped what little water she could from the damp sack.

"Are you a dryad?" Alriand asks

"No, my mother was a nature spirit, I lack that beauty of my mother." Replies the woman.

"What's your name?" Tharhack inquires

"Xanoniel Enialril." Replies Xanoniel

"Enialril? That's an elven court name." Alriand answers.

"My father was an elven prince, who thought he could persuade my mother to be his betrothed. For a time my mother enjoyed his company, but she refused to leave her home and her life tree. In the end his lust for her, and her inability to return with him, drove him mad. He committed suicide, and my mother buried him next to her tree. His essence flows through her home and the forrest was a happy place until." Xanoniel voice trails off as a tear forms in her green eyes.

"I heard the prince meant missing, I never suspected...." Alriand gets lost in thought.

"Until what Xanoniel?" Tharhack inquires.

"Until they killed my mother." Xanoniel breaks down into sobs.

Hearing the conversation and then the crying, Rebrey goes to check out what's taking so long in the tent. "Hey you guys, if you wanted some alone time, could you do it later?" Rebrey calls out as he lifts the flap of the tent entrance "By Tyr." is all Rebrey gets out after seeing Xanoniel.

"Um, there's food in the next tent." Rebrey manages to get out.

"Good bring some here, any fruits and water will suffice." Tharhack tells Rebrey.

"Right, I'll.... go..... get... some..." Rebrey slowly answers and then backs out of the tent.

Alriand sits stunned while Rebrey returns with food for everyone's hungry stomachs. Rebrey tries to chat up Xanoniel, but only makes a fool of himself. Tharhack leaves the tent and checks on the naked bandit, since he's starting to get a little too cold, he moves him closer to the fire. Tharhack then releases the halfling's body from it's chains, and replaces it with that of the unconscious bandit. Tharhack then retrieves the whip the bandit was using, and notices little teeth all along one side of the whip. He then feels the wounds left by the whip on his own body, and realizes the extent of the torture the halfling went through. Tharhack then throws the whip into the fire, and goes to search the main tent for any clues as to who the halfling is, where the bandits came from, and what they intended on doing next.

Rebrey tries to snap Alriand out of her deep thoughts, but only manages to bring her eyes up to those of Xanoniel's. "Do you realize what you are an heir to?"

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Tharhack searches the main tent and finds a stack of papers bundled together showing payments and merchandise changing hands. It shows payments to a halfling named Roplin who in turn brings weapons and supplies across the river and leaves them in predetermined hiding places. These weapons and supplies are then picked up by the kobolds, who then use those weapons to terrorize the Hamlet. Tharhack wonders if Roplin ever knew he was the hand that armed the attacks on the Hamlet. The papers are all notarized by "Geran". Tharhack searches every inch of the tent, trying to find the benefactor to the bandits. Tharhack theorizes that the bandits were in place to make sure the plan went according to plan, however he finds nothing to help him with that.

Xanoniel, Rebrey, and Alriand finish devouring the apples and some of the pork. Alriand gets up to see what Tharhack's been up to, and to leave Rebrey to make a fool of himself. Besides she didn't feel like wading through at that drool. She spots Tharhack exiting the main tent.

"Find anything good?" Alriand asks

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Tharhack tells Alriand. He then relates his findings from the tent.

"So, any mention of where they kept their stash?" Alriand inquires.

"No, but I'm sure you'll find it. I'm going to beat out some answers from our captives." Tharhack says loud enough for the conscious bandit to hear, while giving him toothy smile.

Alriand bids him good luck, and heads back into the main tent, determined to find the gold Tharhack couldn't find.

Tharhack kneels down in front of the naked bandit. "Can you tell me what his name is?" Tharhack asks as he points to the halfling.

"uh I think I heard the guys call him old Roplin." The bandit answers thru chattering teeth.

"Is that guy named Geran?" Tharhack asks pointing at the unconscious bandit. The man nods in agreement. "Do you know who Geran was reporting to?"

"no sir, all I know is he used to leave for a couple of days, and come back with food and gold." The bandit answers.

"Were you part of the group that captured your hostage, and killed the dryad?" Tharhack inquires. The man's silence is all Tharhack needs to hear as he gets up and leaves the man tied by the fire. Tharhack goes over to wake Geran and get some answers from him.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Tharhack makes his way to Geran, who has awoken and is sitting with a smug look on his face waiting for Tharhack to arrive.

"Finally, I get the attention I deserve." Geran tells Tharhack "I thought you were just going to leave me here bored, with nothing to play with."

Tharhack just eyes the man, as he lays his greatsword down next to the campfire, so the tip is laying in the fire.

"So, what do you want to know half-breed?" Geran taunts Tharhack.

"All in due time, first I'm going to brand Kord's name on your rear, before I send you to him in pieces." Tharhack replies

"Oh, big strong man are we, I didn't know Kord took half-breeds on as followers. I mean your very existence proves your mother wasn't strong enough to fight of your beast of a father." Geran explains to Tharhack, before getting a backhand across the face.

"So did you kill your mother when you found out how weak she was?" Geran spits out blood at Tharhack.

"She told me to seek you out, for your bladder is weak and your heart weaker. I will solve that problem for you." Tharhack states getting frustrated with Geran's responses

"Please, don't bore me with your posturing. Get over here and ask me your questions or kill me. Either way you've already lost." Geran tells him.

"I think you've lost more blood from that bolt wound than you think. There is no insanity plea here. Only me breaking you." Tharhack says flexing in front of Geran.

"Only two things are going to be broke in this camp. My little nymph and your faith." Geran retorts as Tharhack backhands Geran again.

"OK human, you win, I shall cease boring you by letting you live any longer." Tharhack says as he turns to the fire to retrieve his sword. Tharhack here's and clanging sound and turns to find Geran free from his shackles and leaping through the air towards him with a dagger.

Tharhack caught completely off guard, can only watch as Geran's blade buries itself deep into Tharhack's ribs eliciting a cry from Tharhack. Alriand emerges from the tent to see Geran running off into the woods and Tharhack grabbing his side and collapsing to the ground. She runs over to him and sees the blood gushing out from the wound in Tharhack's side.

"What do I do? What do I need to do Tharhack?" Alriand pleads with Tharhack.

"Have....to .... stop..... the... bleeding" Tharhack tells her, pointing to his healing kit on his back. Alriand dumps the entire contents on the ground, and finds some strips of cloth and a bottle of alcohol. She pours some of the alcohol on the strips and presses them into the wound, trying to staunch the flow.

"Rebrey! Get ou..." is all that Alriand gets out as a blade is pressed into her neck.

"Really elf, I don't think we need anymore guests for our party." Geran tells her.

"I will rip your tongue out human." Alriand says through clenched teeth.

"Heh, I think not minx, the tree fairy didn't fight and I don't think you will either." Geran whispers into Alriand's ear.

"What do you want" Alriand asks Geran, as Tharhack;s body begins to spasm and he starts foaming from the mouth.

"I don't want much, my benefactor however, well he needs your life." Geran responds

"What's happening to him." Alriand asks

"Poison, very fast, very strong, very deadly." Geran replies. The blade begins to get hot in his hand, hotter and hotter until it begins to burn. Screaming Geran drops the blade, then releases Alriand. (heat metal spell)

"I will make you pay, through every nerve in your body." Xanoniel's voice comes from behind Alriand.

Geran pushes Alriand away and stands up to face Xanoniel, but gets a face full of flail instead. Geran falls backwards, tripping over Alriand and then landing on the other side of Tharhack. Alriand draws her dagger, and lunges at Geran but misses wide to the right. Geran rolls on his back landing on his feet facing Xanoniel and Rebrey.

"You'll pay dearly for this." Geran spits as he takes off away from the party, heading into the woods.

Xanoniel casts summon nature's ally I and summons a wolf, to track Geran down. Rebrey runs up to help Tharhack.

"Look in the chef's tent." Xanoniel tells Alriand. "They keep the antidote in there. I've been poisoned enough by them."

Alriand runs off to the chef's tent looking for any bottles she can get her hands on.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Alriand finds the chef's tent, and brings back 8 bottles with some kind of liquid in each of them. Xanoniel rifles through them, finding the antidote and forcing it through Tharhack's clenched teeth. Rebrey eyes the naked bandit, looks towards where Gerona ran off to, and decides that two alive bandits is just two too many. Although in his morality killing an unarmed man just seems wrong on some level, so he asks Alriand to do it for him, apparently seeing nothing wrong with someone else doing it while he looks on.

Xanoniel helps Tharhack to a sitting position, and offers him some water while she takes a look at his stab wound. Rebrey comes over and pats Tharhack on the back, reassuring Tharhack that Geran won't stay free for long.

"I'm a failure." Tharhack tells him.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. No one could've known he was free and had a poisoned blade hidden somewhere on himself." Rebrey replies.

"He's a crafty individual that one, and his death will bring a smile to my face again." Xanoniel offers.

"He got me upset, angry and I lost focus. I was weak against his verbal onslaught, I failed myself, my faith, and my deity." Tharhack gets up to his feet and walks down to the river's edge.

"man, I've never seen him like that before. I hope he snaps out of it quickly though, otherwise we'll be sitting ducks on our way back to Thumble." Rebrey tells Xanoniel.

"Questions of faith, are never answered according to the needs if a third party." Xanoniel says coldly to Rebrey "Perhaps a little more faith from you, and Tharhack won't have to go through this alone."

"What, I have faith. Just not in something I can't swing at." Rebrey answers.

"The only things you'll gain from being in constant battle, are a sore back, aching arms, a numb mind, and a hollow heart. Soldier." Xanoniel retorts.

"A couple of dozen whacks on a tree with an ax, and I can bring an elf's world to a crashing end, and all the faith in the world will not save him. I have the power to decide if he lives or not my faith in something, and surely not his faith in something to stop me from doing it." Rebrey replies.

"But he's already saved regardless of what you do, nature gives life, and nature recycles you when you're through chopping down trees. Nature will be waiting for you when the reaper takes you final breath away. I have faith in that." Xanoniel answers.

Alriand finishes off the bandit and then starts searching the bodies for anything valuable. Tharhack sits on the shore, feet dangling in the icy water, thinking about all of the tragedies that have befallen them since they left on this lonely road of discovery. Alriand shrieks at the discovery of two silver pieces on a dead bandit, as a black crow swoops through the camp, buzzing Alriand twice to the enjoyment of Rebrey, before leaving to the north.

"Do you think your wolf tracked Geran down and killed him off?" Rebrey asks Xanoniel.

"No, I just hope that the wolf was able to stay around long enough to keep Geran running away further from the camp." Xanoniel answers