Chapter 32 New faces

When Marda and Melfina arrived at the shop Leona and I were putting together an arm guard similar in style to mine. A customer had been in picking up an order from Max and had seen my new addition, and had wanted their own. Not having the dragon scales to do another one, we agreed upon layered plates, with leather in between the plates. It was going to be heavier, but still flexible enough. The leather would give it more of a modern look, while still giving the protection of classic armor. Once complete, it would look like stripes of metal down a leather coat sleeve.
Marda lead Melfina into the shop with a cheerful greeting for everyone. Exchanging hugs, they both spy the Egg at nearly the same time. Sora, her pseudodragon, pops out from under the cloak to spy it as well. Taking flight, the diminutive companion went into the air only to land on the Egg, purring and chirping in delight. While I wasn't expecting a reaction like that, I figured Sora would be happy. Melfina had another reaction that surprised me. Locking her eyes on it, she quickly moved to the Egg. I was almost alarmed until she turned to me declaring that new life has much value, vowing to protect the egg if I so wished. Delighted to have her help, I told her so.
Not being able to hold in the surprise any longer, I gave Marda her gift. All those trips to Holden's had also produced something for her. Knowing that Marda was quick and agile, as we had discovered, sometimes one just needs a bit of range. I handed her small wrist mounted crossbow made just for her. The arms of the bow bent back to be in line with her arm, and could safely stay there loaded until she needed to use it. While it was awkward to load, it could be done quick enough with deft hands. As it wouldn't fit on my arm at all, I had to let one of the gnomes at the compound wear it and test it. Or rather, Holden had told him to hold still while we molded it to his arm. Either way, Marda seemed to like it, and as it uses the same bolts as a hand crossbow, it would be easy to replenish them should they be lost or broken while she tried it out.
Getting to the business at hand, it turns out that they had been called back from Dawnsreach because a member of the bards guild had be captured by a group of bounty hunters. While this group did catch some legitimate bounties, they also acted as slavers. The guild member they had captured, a bard by the name of Yun also had some valuable information, knowing the identity of Vandrin, leader of the Witch hunters. That little bit of information would be rather valuable, keeping me out of trouble, and figuring out where the witch hunters were sitting on issues like the undertow slavers and the coup here in town.
Marda also fills us in on what she has been up to. Not wanting to chance it, we didn't send any messages but for the limited messages from Melfina. With the revelation that she was able to infiltrate the Crimson Dragons, she was tasked with hunting down casters for the group. Following a total of four people, she was able to tip off the innocent casters who would have otherwise been killed, or taken as slaves.
With the task of saving the Bard in question, the Ladies have been told that the slavers are just under a week away, and there were between six and twelve of them, plus some magic hunting creatures, similar to the ones that attacked us in the middle of the night all those months ago. With just the three of us, it would be a tough fight, one that we could probably pull off by ambushing the group. After discussing possible tactics, we decide to head over to Rorin's Estate, picking up Aurane on the way.
We had a good evening with the whole group together again, and talked about supplies
we may need to get to the ambush. But at the end of the night, it was still going to be the three of us going out. We decided that we would need to attack the beasts first, and disable them as soon as possible. Melfina remembers her spells not being very useful against them, so she would concentrate on everyone else. The only thing we knew for certain was that the leader wore a skull mask on his face, so she would watch out for him. We would have to Kill all the slavers too, and not let any of them get away. I'm not looking forward to that aspect, but these are slavers that treat others as just currency, property. We plan to find a place that is just about a half days ride from the city, that way we won't have to ride far once we rescue the bard. Not knowing what condition they may be in, a long ride may be a problem.
Which is how we found ourselves a few days later riding out late in the afternoon to find a proper place to camp. Trying to get out to an ambush point early in the morning would have been difficult, so the plan was made to camp nearby the night before, leave the mounts, and lay the trap. I could feel a storm coming, and I hoped that it was just the energy before the fight. Finding a clearing a decent way from the road, we set up the tent, and hobble the mounts nearby. Mittens isn't too terribly happy with the situation, hunkering down at the base of the tree he is tethered to. Agreeing to take the third shift, I settle down inside to rest.
When I start my shift, the early morning sky is blotted out by clouds. I hoped that it was just going to be clouds all day, and it may even pass us over. It wasn't far into my watch when I noticed Mittens was missing from where he had crouched under the tree. Going over to see if he had gotten free somehow, I stood where he had been. I was looking at the ground when a large glob of slobber landed on my shoulder. The large cat-like beast had taken to a large lower branch, and was drooling in his sleep. I made it to the very end of my watch, right before I was going to wake the others when I heard it. It was nearly non existent, a breath of thunder. Looking into the sky, I could see the rain coming at us, about to hit. I guess we will be cleaning up the camp in the storm.
It was an absolute tempest. A prolonged “gully-washer” as my father would have said. We wouldn't have to worry to hard about hiding, as visibility was low, but we also didn't want our targets to sneak up on us either. Marda was going to take the right side of the road, and I the left. The Spectere would come in at the rear of the fight, stopping them from retreating, and Melfina would be at the front, stopping them. She was supposed to stop them at about sixty feet, giving us time to pick a few off before they could engage with any hand to hand. As they outnumbered us, this would be important. The underbrush at the side of the road as more than adequate to hide me. New growth as of this spring, it would come up first, and much faster than any other plant life around. The road crews, who would have kept it clear to detract bandits, hadn't come out yet. Melfina planted herself in the middle of the road, and looked like some sort of divine creature, ready to spring into a battle against demons and the like. I guess that's what she is really. Her armor was visually enhanced by the rain and lightning. Never designed to be intimidating or fanciful, it was functional. But now, something was different. She held herself as if reveling in the weather, relishing the battle to come. She stood like that for some time, basking in the rain, and I'm glad she was happy. I was miserable myself. Unable to make a shelter, lest it give away my position, I was soaked, and despite my inner heat, I was a bit cold. No one else traveled the roads on this terrible morning, and when I finally heard our quarry coming, I was relieved. I signaled the other two, and waited. The bow had been strung, and was ready to fire. The magic in the bow should keep everything safe from the elements. I hope.
Melfina may have been enjoying the rain a bit too much, for she forgot to stop the group until they were less than forty feet from her. The magic hunting beasts we were warned about were not in sight, so I took aim at the wagon driver. The wagon was a tall thing. A cage, open to the elements stood atop a platform, the wooden sides of the platform chained in place, to protect cargo, valuables maybe. With any luck, they had lost the beasts. When Melfina did call for them to stop, she simply held up her hand and told the driver to stop the wagon and dismount. I helped them along with the task, by putting an arrow through his chest and throat. Gurgling a last breath, he tumbled down off the drivers bench, into the muck of the road. I couldn't hear Marda's response to that signal, as I quickly had my own problems to deal with. There had been four on my side, and probably the same on the other, with a few in the back. Three of the fighters rushed me, while the farthest ran to the wagon. I drop my bow, swinging my battle axe up to block a sword strike. Having to fight three on one was difficult, and one was able to get a few slices across my ribs. Blood fountains from the two guards behind the wagon as the spectere completes their own dance. I can see the leader of the group now, wearing a skull over their face. Dashing up to the spectere, he simply punches at it. Not expecting any contact, I'm surprised when the Spectere reals back from a powerful blow, only to take another one. And a third. Not good. This guy can punch ghosts. Shouting comes from the direction of the cage, and a couple flashes of light blaze from the cage atop the wagon. Runes glow softly from the top of it, clearly trying to keep the occupant from casting.
Quickly dispatching the (un)lucky vagabond that was able to hit me, I can now see that the last guard on this side had rushed to the base of the wagon and was trying to frantically unlock it. They all clearly had weapons, why would they need to- Oh. Crap. The beasts must be inside the wagon, under the cage. I had been hesitant to use magic, but I needed to stop that if I could, so I quickly Stepped from one place to another, arriving in a shower of sparks to viciously cut down the one at the wagon. As he fell though, I saw the lock in his hand, very much open, and the chains began to fall. Without the time to lament the fact, I push myself back to the group I had just left, trying to kill another before they notice where I went. With another audible impact from the skull clad leader, I can here quick steps coming at me from behind, and I try to position myself to fight both, one on each side. Then the horror starts.
I could hear Melfina casting something, channeling here divine powers, and when the prayer came to a climax, It appeared. While the Spectere had always had a mostly transparent visage, this new entity was very much solid, and I almost wish it hadn't been. Tall, bearing a black veil, it had something similar to a horse's skull protruding from under the veil, or perhaps a buck, as there were antlers coming out as well. Terrifying humanoid skeletal hands came from underneath, clasping a bone bow. Hot breath was coming out of its mouth, emanating fog even in this warm temperature. The body was thankfully covered, and only boot tips were revealed from underneath. It lifted the skeletal head, and a blood congealing shriek came from it, sending chills up my cold back. I looked to Melfina who had a rapturous look on her face.
That look was dampened slightly, when a creature sprang out from under the cage. Like the ones we had seen before, it resembled a large cat, save for the large eye stalk on the end of the tail. Another came from the other side of the wagon from me, straight to Melfina, the one on my side heading for the rear.
Barely dodging a blow from the skull faced leader of the group, I see a large bright bear galloping down the road, towards the ugly beast. The gait of the bear seems off. It was a fluid run, but not quite natural. When it finally got close enough, I see the whole thing is made of metal, except for the green goblin riding on top of it with piercing bright yellow eyes. Grease covering every surface of the goblin, including some in the triple braided hair on top of the squat being's figure, I was flabbergasted at the sight. Which was a mistake.
The leader took advantage of the distraction, delivering a tremendous hook to my chest. Even through the breastplate, It hurt, like the force of the punch had ignored the armor, and instead spread through it. My whole chest ached all at once, and I felt tired as the pain faded, knocking the wind from me and seemingly my energy level with it. Straightening back up, the bear and goblin were gone, and another fist was coming in. Trying to block it, I twirl my axe around, only to get the haft of my axe caught with the guards weapon behind me. A vicious blow to my left shoulder, right at the top delivers additional pain, again seemingly sapping me of energy. Able to dispatch another guard, I land a blow on my pugilist opponent, but a last minute twist of his body keeps it from being fatal, instead leaving a gash across his stomach. I can hear Marda call that we have a runner, but with three quick jabs, and a sudden explosion of light to the side of my head, the stars in my vision turn to darkness, and I feel myself fall.
An unpleasant itching sensation woke me from the darkness. Feeling as if my very hide was trying to wriggle back in place, the rain was the next thing to come back. Cold muck was seeping into my back. I had felt that odd sensation before when Melfina had healed wounds. The cuts that I had received were no longer stinging, although I could still feel the punches. I was glad that I had not been conscious for the healing however. While effective, it was still somewhat unpleasant.
Feeling movement above me, I felt for my axe and quickly lashed out with it once it came to my hand and I opened my eyes. Seeing a set of legs, I sink the blade into the meat of a calf. A howl of pain emanates from the being above me. Leaving my battle axe embedded in the leg, I rolled to my knees and summoned the great axe into my hands. Ruthlessly swinging upward, I slice the hapless guard from hip to tit, killing him. He may have been trying to run, but we can't have that happen. Looking at the back of the wagon, I can see the leader of the group holding what must be our bard. The person in question seemed to have fallen out of the cage, somehow getting themselves out. Now covered in muck, they were being held by the throat by the skull faced slaver. A large alabaster arrow shaft is sticking out of his side, but doesn't seem to bother him. I prepare to charge back into the fight when the Metal creature appears again. Opening into gleaming fangs, it bites into the leaders torso, crushing it. Then it does it again.
Yun fell to the ground, still mostly tied. Feet bound, they were unable to get up, and the remains of the slaver leader fell to the ground next to them. With so much new things to figure out, I can't help but glance at the being Melfina summoned. I had thought that it was just wet from the rain coming down, but being closer I could see the veil dripped blood. The skull however, white, bone dry and clear of any blood. Still not the weirdest thing about it. I'm not even going to think about where it gets the arrows.
I turn around, looking to see if there are any more hostiles, and I see the horrible cat creature. But Marda is taking care of it as I turned. Slicing open the legs with her swords, as the creature hobbles around, she hooks a blade around the tail. when the eye stalk swivels around, the hook on the end runs the length of the tail, and removes the large eye at the end with a clean flick. With a clean blow to the neck, she finishes the monster off.
Turning back around, I find Yun has managed to untie themselves, and was attempting to wipe all the mud, grime and blood away from their shirt. What had been a cream colored blouse was now just a wreck of rags and filth. A half elf with pallid gray skin a light gray blue eyes, they may be part moon elf. Not knowing much about them, I just know I have heard Max's father mention them often enough.
Examining the great metal bear, I can see that it really has all the musculature and skeleton of a normal bear, but instead of flesh and bone, it is metal and grease. Melfina may be a bit disappointed by that. I ask Yun, “Is this thing yours?”
Answering in a light and annoyed voice, “This is never going to come off. No. It's not mine, his name is Ricky.” Yun then continued on to the wagon, completely ignoring me. They started to look through the underside of the wagon where there was in fact some cargo.
“Yun, we were asked by your friend Jerkytin to come and get you. He seemed to think you had important information, and wanted us to bring you to him.” Trying to persuade Yun to join us, but again they wave me off.
“No, I don't need anything but a nice refreshing bath, and you don't seem to have one of those.”
Ok, so where can we go that will have a bath, but isn't in the city so we can get this popinjay safely into the city. Really, the only people we know would be... “Yun, I can get you a bath. A Nice warm one, where your clothing could be washed.”
“A spectacular idea! Fetch me some sort of mount so we can get there!”
Turning to Melfina, I ask her to send a message to Bellia, asking her to prepare a bath in about 4 hours. We will explain when we get there. Yun seems to be muttering a question to the metal creature, but I can't hear what they said. I do hear a muttered response, which seemed to come from another person, but no others are here. Where did that goblin go? Was that just a trick of the light and scenery? With another glance at “Ricky,” who is now sitting on its haunches, I look to see how the others are doing. Marda is going through the bodies, and Melfina is preparing to send the message, spreading blood across her lips. Her blood... or some other being's? Who knows. I don't tend to watch when she does it, as it gives me the willies. As some one needed to go get the mounts, I let Marda know where I am going, gather up my bow, and trudge over the sodden ground to find Mittens and the horses Rorin lent the others.
Once I get the horses together, and coax mittens down from his tree, I head back to the ambush site. Not much time has passed, But Marda seemed to have gone through everything. Yun is wearing a clean shirt, this one a brighter white, and is clutching a small jewelry box in one hand. Figuring it to contain some heirlooms or keepsakes, I don't question it. Everyone has something they like to carry. We quickly move the bodies and wagon off the road and pose it as if bandits attacked.
Mounting up, we head to Holden's compound. Ricky keeps pace with us, and we head back down the road towards the city. While riding, we try to pry some information out of Yun, but they seem a bit tight lipped. I figured flattery would help with the situation, I comment that the Metal work on Ricky is absolutely exquisite. The compliment doesn't get me anywhere with Yun, but it does open the door for further conversation. After a short while the rain stops, and while the road will take some time to dry out, it makes the ride slightly better.
Looking over to Ricky, I see that a goblin now sits stop it, the same goblin I had seen before. Wondering if I should say anything, or do anything, I simply acknowledge the presence. Seeing as Ricky had not yet ripped us apart, I had no reason to think this new person would attack us. The fact that Yun had seemed happy to see Ricky means they knew about the bear's existence, and I had seen the Goblin riding in on Ricky during the battle. Still, it wasn't expected, and it threw me off a bit. Wanting to make sure things got off on the right foot, I again compliment the metalwork on Ricky.
“Thanks. He is a beeuteeful piece of woyk ain't he?” the Goblin responds. HE introduces himself as Big Geno. His accent is something I had never heard before. It was almost hard to figure out what he was saying. I briefly wondered if the grease had somehow effected his speech. Had all the slag from my forge changed mine? Problems for another day.
While we ride, we slowly build a small ounce of trust. Inquiring into the knowledge of who Vandrin is, we are informed by Yun that it would cost about twenty five thousand gold to get that information. Oh. Well. I guess we don't need it that badly. The journey is filled with small chitchat, and Big Geno and I talk of metal work for a bit. When we finally reach the compound, the sky was getting dark by the time we find Bellia busy at the big hanger where the sky ship stays.
“Hello Dear, this is Yun, Big Geno and Ricky. They are on their way into the city and as late as it is, we were hoping to stay the night here before going in.” Giving her a quick hug, I could sense something was amiss when she didn't squeeze as hard as she normally does. Looking at her, I can see that she is trying to take in the great metal bear. Gaping would be a better word for it. Stammering out questions, she asks how it works, something I probably should have asked. Before an answer can be given, Yun interposes themselves between Bellia and the bear, inquiring upon the location of the bath. Pointing a thumb over her shoulder Bellia never takes her eyes off the bear. Before Yun can start in, Marda offers to show them where the tub is. It was nice of the folks here to set it up, even if it is outside.
“Ricky here runs off'a Magic! I made him myself.” Big G responds proudly. “I learned how to do it back on Dragon Island.”
Now it is my turn to be caught off guard. Was this guy really from Dragon Island? How hard would it be to get back? Are Dragons a common thing there? How many of my own kind are there? As it turns out H is from Cogswallow, a goblin city I had only heard about. Being know for outlandish inventions, I had never been there to see any of them. Big G asks a question of his own. “Can I take a look at that thing?” pointing to the air ship. Saying that he can, but to be wary of anyone working on her, they take a quick look around. While we wait for them, I we can hear soft flute music coming from the direction of the wash tub.
When it came time to find somewhere to sleep, Bellia offered her home, but was slightly dubious as it wasn't a large place to stay. Large definitely wasn't the word I would use at all. Small and sparse, it had until recently only a few sets of dinnerware, and amenities. Since I had become involved, it had a few more plates to accommodate the both of us when I came to visit, but not much in the way of furniture. Asking Melfina to tell Leona that I was safe, and to send my love, she once again sends another message for me. As Bellia got ready to sleep, I took out the tent to spread it out in the middle of the room. As it sprang into it's usaul functional form, Big G asked me how it worked, and I looked him in the eye, with a big grin and responded: “Whimsy. After you.”
The inside had taken on the normal form I set for it, and I warned our new guests to not touch the door marked Do Not Enter. Taking our normal rooms, I direct the new comers to the other rooms, previously occupied by Aurane and Rorin. I had actually modified what was in the rooms, and that image had been in my head when I formed it this time. Rorin's room had a ropes course in it, so he could train in here if he had wanted to. Aurane's room had building blocks made from square pillows, some he could have used to build things if he had wanted. Marda and Melfina had new things too. All the stuffed animals in Melfina's room had red stuffing inside, and Marda's contained a stuffed training dummy. Just in case.
Deciding I shouldn't leave Bellia out of this, I climb back out into her house. When she asks about the tent, I have to tell her about the gift max gave me before we left for the hydra, and how he had received it from his father, Charles. Slightly taken aback by the information, I pull her hand, bringing her into the fort. Taking her to the central sitting room, I warn her too of the Do Not Enter room, and grab her a mug of hot chocolate. Still a bit awestruck by what was going on around her, I feel kind guilty I didn't show this to her before. I didn't really want to flaunt any magic around, as most people wouldn't really be used to it yet. I was scared.
Settling down to talk, we all try to figure out how we can get everyone back into the city. With a giant metal bear it would be difficult to get in, as we all assuming he would have to come with us. But then Big G spoke up, saying that if possible, he could just stay here. Not needing to eat, or breathe probably, he could just wait for us here. Well. If it was going to be that simple, We could just walk in when morning comes. With that settled, I ask Bellia if she would like to get some rest, and we Both head to my room for the night.
Morning came a little too fast for everyone, especially since the tent collapses after eight hours. Most of the time, we are out of the tent, either on watch or getting ready to head out. But this time it caught us all by surprise. Hurling everything out that wasn't pillows or coco, we all land in a pile in front of the large bear. Quickly getting up into the loft, Bellia went to find clothing to wear. Yun however was not one of the people who came out.
A dwarf in dock worker's clothing was in the pile with us. As they were in the same inconvenience as us I wasn't in a rush to confront them, and I had a sneaking suspicion as to who they were. Seeing Dani do similar things, I feel that Yun may have taken on another from to aid in sneaking into the city. Introducing the persona as Derrek Shaftswell, I tried to commit the name to memory, and nearly instantly forgot it. Packing everything up we made our way back to the city.
Even this early in the morning there was a line to get in. The hold up appears to be the fact that the guards are now detecting magic. After a bit of adjustment, some of the group hides items to the best of their ability. Most of my items are fine, as everything of mine would be hidden by the massive glow Aurane says my arm produces. Another upside I suppose. Getting to the front of the line, I simply tell the guards that the two additional folks are from the compound, and are here to help me with a job I am doing. Asking if this was the best I could find I tell the guard you get what you can, we head into the city.
While I didn't really want to take two strangers directly to my home, I had just slept in the same tent with them. Still, my daughters were there. I would have to keep an eye on them. We stop by Cyd's on the way, grabbing some cinnamon rolls. Getting back to the shop, I give Leona a great big hug. Introducing her and Max to Yun who had turned back to themselves, and Big G. While being polite, Leona is still rather defensive, interposing herself between the newcomers and the egg. The tension was broken when Jerkytin arrived to meet us.