The Journey of the Legend part 10

While we get ourselves ready to move on, We explain to Elana that people cannot go out once the moon has come up, and when she asks why, we give her the letter that Harold had given us. Hoping the letter would explain more, we set about getting supplies for those at the Grove. Taking our tonics and the lesser healing potions, we head to the center of the small town trading out the potions we were given, and pay for the rest of the supplies we want to get. Able to gather enough food, hopefully, to last the lycanthropes a couple weeks. As we gathered the food stuffs, looking very carefully for some well desired parsnips for Gertrude, Rorin crafted a letter to Garfield requesting him to bring another shipment of food for Gertrude the rest of the month. When we finally head out of town, we come across Carrolin full on Giant crow form, and we drop of all the food for her. Looking back, I see Hank in his Wolf form, and we head onwards toward our destination and leave Smallville behind.
 
As we travel on, we talk about simple things, not really talking about anything heavier than the local atmosphere. While some of us are enjoying the fresh air, Aurane seems to be missing his city streets. After spending a good portion of my life wandering about the wilderness, then the last couple of decades back in civilization, I can understand how he feels about the city. But the task at hand seems to have brought some pep back in my step, and I can feel myself more alert, and more energetic. Several hours into the days ride, Wagons, and encampments of people around the wagons start appearing on either side of the road. The wagons , full of large steel beams, crushed rock, and materials that look like they are required to make a special type of road. As we run into more and more encampments we realize that it really is just one long camp, with all the wagons being pretty much the same stuff. I look over to see that Aurane seems to have forgotten about the wilderness around him, doing calculations of what could be built, how to lift everything, and the general engineering and logistics of what is going on here. Even away from the city, he can still find his Element. A few merchants are seen passing here and there, walking amoung the encampments selling small wares like toiletries that were forgotten, or used up already. We passed a few miles of these carts, and as the sun starts to drop we find a place away from the wagons, and we decide to set up camp. about 150 yards away, and with trees concealing the view, I think it should be ok to set up the pillow fort.. If I can. I'm not really sure how it was set up the previous time, and I think I may need to puzzle it out. Aurane and Melfina mention they are going to mingle with the members of the encampments, see if they can find any interesting information, and Marda and Rorin take time to stretch their legs after a long day of riding. We secure the mounts in the area between the encampments and us, the moorbounder a little bit away from the horses, and I go about attempting to use the blanket.
 
After a few failed attempts of me just flapping the blanket up and down, and feeling very foolish, I try one last time. As I whip the blanket up, over my head, I look around to see if anyone is watching and laughing at me. As the Blanket is flowing up, I see Marda taking in the late afternoon air, and I remember being at peace like that as a youngling, with my village friends going out into the woods around my village, pretending on going on adventures. Simpler times. Suddenly , the Tent is in front of me! Jumping up and down a couple times in excitement, I regain my composure, and try to think about what happened. In my distraction, I missed what it is that causes the blanket to activate. Or maybe it is a distraction. Maybe I have to not think about it, then try to deploy it. Curious. I poke my head inside to see if it is the same set up as the previous time, and it is. complete with Scary door. Well. Now that the tent is up, I can go about my normal routine, and I get out my tools to check on my gear. Marda and Rorin ask if there is anything that needs to be done, and directing them to gather wood for the fire, and start the prep work for food. Marda takes off an experienced hand at this sort of thing, and surprisingly Rorin goes about the task with no trouble at all. I know he went out alone, but he seems that he relies on Garfield a lot while in town, maybe as a cover. Of course, after having The majordomo's cooking, it may just be for the delicious food. Either way, the two were able to make quick work of gathering wood, getting the fire ready, and starting the stew for the night. Sharing a bit of my spices, I leave the food prep to them, and go about checking my own gear, and Marda's. Her swords are a wonder to behold, the grace U shape on the ends beautifully done, and the swords themselves in excellent condition, not needing any work on my end. I check my armor for wear, my breastplate coat may need some work when we get the time to work on it, but all the straps are firm, and while wearing thinner than I would like, the fabric is still sturdy. The plate inside is fine, but I take the time to polish it, as getting dirt and rust off would take more effort than caring for it for a short time. If I can keep it clean, I don't need to work as hard. My weapons get the same treatment, the handles worn to comfortable level, I make sure that they won't become slippery in my grip during battle, and that the metal blades are clean as well. After my gear, I look to Rorin's staff, but as it is just wood, I have nothing that can be done, past checking for splinters and making sure it was solid. I notice the leather grips on the staff are nearly as worn as my axe handles, Which explains a few things about what he can do in battle, but raises more questions. Where was he that he needed this staff, and how long has he been using it?
 
Melfina and Aurane come back to camp, with information about our fugitive. Apparently, he came through here, but had another appearance. Looking like a pale human, he came through here and left in the same day. it was definitely him, as he was wearing the same cloak, and acting really shifty. I offer to look over their equipment, and Melfina hands me her weapons, and her holy symbol. Making sure her daggers are in good condition, I find some blood remaining on her holy symbol, and I figure it is better to let her clean that off, so I advise her to do so soon to prevent rusting. As we eat, Melfina and Aurane talk over what they saw in the camps, the bard name Daisy, and an interesting time with the chief of security. Aurane also talks of the great amount of Engineering that this project is going to require. We comment on how all the game in the area has gone away, and how it is quieter at night because of it. We determine who should take what watches, with Rorin and Aurane on first and Melfina and Marda on second. I can take 3rd watch on my own, and I head into the tent and get some sleep.
 
As I get up for my watch, I grab my tools to look over them, and make sure they are in good condition. Just busy work, to keep the living nightmares out of my mind for the time being. While tending my tools, I start to hear faint noises in the woods, and shortly after I start to hear familiar yipping and quick grunting I have not heard in many years. I drop my tools, and pick up my battle axe in the same motion as getting up, Raising my battle axe above my head, and bellowing into the predawn air, "Up axes and clear the fields! The Black legion stands! Gnolls on the way!" Rolling my shoulders, I take a defensive stance to wait for someone, my comrades or people from the other camps to get to me. However, the first creatures to get to me were the Gnolls. 3 of them charge up to me, spears flashing and flickering towards me. I block the first Gnoll who comes to my left side, my axe handle stopping the swinging spear, and I twist the axe to viciously lick the side of the gnoll. Shifting my weight, I come slightly closer to the second gnoll, coming within the arc of the swing, which makes the haft bounce pointlessly off my armor. The 3rd gnoll attempts to lunge at me from afar, and I the the top of the axe head to parry it down into the ground, letting my momentum carry my body down, and two arrows fly past us, probably not going to hit me anyway, but with me ducking, it was a clean miss. Spotting a larger gnoll with a Longbow at the edge of the trees 30 feet away, I can see it is probably a pack leader. Appearing from no where, Rorin is next to me, and slams into the one on my right with his staff. The butt of his quarter staff slams into the lower ribs of the taller creature, and the dwarf spins and rams his elbow into the other side of the gnoll, grinding into the ribs and organs, wounding the vile creature. Aurane emerges next, and chanting while he swings his hammer, he summons his spiritual hammer next to the pack leader, and hits the gnoll to my left. Marda darts between the legs of the taller folk around her, and flanks around the gnoll still standing far off from me. Chanting in that beautiful language, Melfina comes out of the pillow fort last, Grasping her holy symbol in her hand, and reaching out withe her other hand a grisly green bolt snakes it's way to hitting the gnoll in front of me. Thinking of the clockwork amulet, I feel time is just right, and without looking, I Contemptuously backhand my axe into the enemy on my left, killing it. I swing my axe to the other side of me, burying the head into the chest of the gnoll on my right. Deciding my comrades can take care of one last gnoll, I simply walk past him, toward sthe pack leader. The remaining gnoll tries to bite me, but I jam my metal arm into it's face so it cannot properly gain a purchase, effectively stopping that attack. he does manage to nick my arm with his spear, but it is a minor wound. Two more gnolls come out from behind the tree cover, and fire a couple arrows each at me, one painfully hitting the meat of my upper leg. As the pain hits me, I stagger and turn just enough For the last arrow to hit my side, between the plates of my armor. I feel sudden fire as it pierces me, but the angle should be that it didn't hit anything vital. I have two clerics with me anyhow, but we need to take care of these guys before anything can done done. As I come up to the pacl leader, arrows sticking out of me, a gurgling yip, and tearing noises can be heard over my shoulder. Risking a glance, I see that Melfina's mysterious wraith has appeared, and appears to be eviscerating the helpless gnoll from the inside. I can see the wraith's ragged arm reaching into the torso of the gnoll, elbow deep up near the creature's shoulder, and slashing out viciously with sharp claws just above the belly, bringing with it gore. I turn back, grinning, The Pack leader is running out of pack. As I square off ready for the attack, He is able to hit me squarely in the chest with his glaive, and even with the armor, it hurts. he goes in for a bite on me as I reel from the blow, but I fend him off with my axe, the blade barely missing him. I can't even hear Rorin as he sprints up to the archer on my right, and he delivers a mighty blow to the creatures neck, and a jab to the stomach, doubling the creature over, which still loomed over the quick dwarf. Aurane's voice can be heard, coming to a crescendo,, and the eyes of the leader cloud over in divine blindness, and a look of panic comes into the creatures features. he is helpless to block as the giant spectral hammer comes down to hit him in the back again. I ready myself to remove this creature from the world of the living, and as I raise my axe, Marda darts past my leg. tumbling through the gnolls long legs, her swords slice through the muscle supporting it's weight, and as it starts to crumble down, she slices up the fur covered back, killing the horrid animal. Melfia's spectral scythe appears next to the second archer, and I hear more joyous chanting, ending in mirthful tones as the pack leader's body begins to rise back up, blood instantly blackening and congealing, putrid divine energy enveloping the recently dead corpse, it walks up to the archer next the the floating scythe, and the two magical abilities team up to carve into the hapless creature. Hmm.. Killing gnolls with their own friends. Appropriate. As the pack leader's corpse drops once again, the remaining blood comes out of the body, like water squeezed from a sponge, and starts flowing to the general area of Melfina. Well then. That is distirbing. Pulling the arrows out, I walk over to the remaining archer, I tuck some pain away for later, and ignore what I can't store away. Grumbling out in gnollish, I tell it to run. As it turns to flee, Rorin swings into it's neck once more, and I cut into the back, like chopping a tree. The limp form falls, and I think of it no more. Melfina's turtle, Spike, comes out of the blanket fort looking grumpy as if being woken up before it was ready. As Spike crawls out of the Blanket tent, it falls to the ground, an old ratty blanket once more.
 
Turing to the others, I tell Rorin, Marda, and Aurane to head to the larger encampments, see if they are in trouble. Meanwhile, Melfina, hopefully the wraith and I will stay here and make sure our campsite is secure. The others soon return, saying that a larger band had indeed attacked the encampments, but the leader was here with us. Over 30 gnolls. Curious. Melfina and I move the bodies away, including one that the moorbounder got to, some of it was eaten, (gross), and we collect up the weapons. Closer inspection shower that the spears and bows are simple, nearly crude items. the Glaive on the other hand, is an old relic with a familiar black blade. looking for the maker's mark, I find a familiar M on the base of the blade. Max will not be happy if I was to tell him where I found this. It's not in great condition, but give it some work, and it will be good as new, maybe even better. We eat breakfast, and I tend to some wounds, and gather myself together to get ready for travel.
 
As we get moving, we find more of the supply encampment stretching on for nearly half the day. None of the wagons seem like they are preparing to move on, and a couple people wave to us. I ride over, and they warn us of some sort of "Dragon" ahead, and I respong by telling them I am looking forward to seeing a cousin. leaving them, and eventually the wagon train behind, we come to an area where Once again, there is no sound. no birds chirping, no animal calls. About 4 hours after leaving the last of the wagons behind, we decide to make camp, and recover what we can. We know that a hydra is around, and we want to be as rested as possible. I try to set up my blanket tent, without thinking about it, which is much harder than I thought it would be. Trying various tasks to distract me, I would be gathering wood together, and as I dropped the pile in my arms, I would spin around and fling the blanket up. Nothing. I tried suddenly getting up while patching my vest, nothing. I even went to take a short walk around our chosen site, then rushed over to flap the blanket back up in the air. Rats. The others have started to put up their tents, and with one last attempt, I flick the blanket up. As the blanket raises above my head, I see Aurane trying very hard to set up his tent, and I remember learning to put up my own tents for the first time. lost in thought, I don't realize that it had worked, and the Blanket has formed into the now familiar tent. We decide to take the same shifts as the night before, and I trun in for the night, after enjoying my mug of Hot chocolate, complete with pillow shaped marshmallows.
 
I get up for my watch, and Melfina informs me that a Visitor had come in the night, and Elvish merchant of some sort whom we had met the previous day, and the woman had come and gone. I take out my tools, and start working on my gear by the light of the fire, as I didn't have time to work on it before sleeping. Trying to set up the Blanket had taken a lot of time. Sitting by the fire, I start thinking about the battle of the previous morning, and I consciously shrug off the thoughts, and because of that, I am caught off guard when a woman sits down next to me. She asks me what I am doing here, and she calls me the Legend. She knows that I have traveled these lands, and farther lands than these. Asking me why I have come back out into these lands, I casually reply that I would rather be at the forge, but someone has to show these youngsters how it is done. She asks me to give a letter to Max when next I see him, and I reply I can, and I ask what name I should say. She responds Lilith, and gets up and walks away. As she leaves, I notice that my moorbounder did not react to her at all. hmm.
 
I watch the sun come up in this silent area, cold and still and the others slowly rise and come out for Breakfast. We gather up the camp, douse the morning fire, and move on. we arrive at our destination a few hours later, and the Familiar face of the dwarf Firecrotch. We comes up and greets us, exclaiming how things are going well enough here, and asks us if we are here to see Elon. Unsure if he sees the bewilderment on our faces, he points over his shoulder, and we see the familiar face of Elon as he walks towards us.