Two months had passed and I received my payment from Mistress Nulara, I spent a good amount of it on more renovations to my home and paying off my debt. I spent a good few weeks in those two months working on the dock and helping some trade ships along their routes. One day I was making dinner when a loud knock came at my door. I put out the flame and set down my food to walk over to my door, "Oi! Open up!" I heard a voice say. When I opened the door I saw a dwarven woman in full armor holding a large axe. "You Shane Crowfeather?" she asked, "I am." "Tordrid Hammerstone." She said walking inside, she set down her axe and removed her helmet, she had short strawberry blonde hair, a scar going across her lips, and emerald green eyes that stared at me with vicious intent. "I have a job for you."
I leaned against one of the nearby walls and asked her what the job was, "Revenge." she said angrily, "You're gonna have to be a lot more specific." "Some Fancy lord over in the empire hired my youngest sister to serve him in his house, and when no one was looking he would do things to her, horrible, horrible things...and no one would help her because of her status, nothing more than a dwarven handmaid...she died when that man's home caught fire...several servants were trapped inside but he didn't care, so that why I'm here, I need your blade to help me with this problem." I stood there for a good moment, taking in what she said. Then I looked back at her. "I'll do it." She nodded, "I'll meet you by the city gates with the others." As she said that a thought popped into my head, 'Others?'
After a short journey to the Gates of Ulvenguard, I was met with a small band of adventurers. Two of them were dwarves, the male dwarf was burly and muscular, he had a large beard that reached down past his chest. He had little armor and wore a cloak made of bear fur, with the head still attached. "That is Rurik Helcral, he hardly talks and speaks mostly in grunts. He was raised by a family of black bears when a large brown bear came and attacked them, it left him scarred and it killed the other bears, including some of the cubs. He took his revenge years later when he somewhat returned to civilization, now he wears the beast as a sign of pride and victory." Rurik grunted affirmatively.
The other dwarf was a woman. She was kind of pretty, she had a cute innocent smile, blonde hair tied into short pigtails, along her chin was an adorable chinstrap beard, her eyes were a beautiful hazel green. Pointing at her Tordrid said, "This one's name is Nalaed Silveraxe, she's a Cleric….not much else I know about her other than that, to be honest." "It's a pleasure to meet you handsome," she said extending her hand. I shook it and kept following Tordrid to meet the last two folks joining us on our journey. Sharpening his sword was a tiefling clad in intricate armor, his horns sharp enough to run through somebody. His skin bright red and his eyes were a golden yellow, his black hair was tied into a tight bun as he gave me a mischievous smile, "That one is named Ambition, best fighter I've seen in many years, any weapon you give 'em he'll find a way to kill you with it." Tordrid said. Ambition said nothing but winked at me.
"Finally we have Maryanne Greycastle. She's a monk, got tired of the noble life so she went to one of the nearby monasteries and was trained in their form of martial arts." The woman in front of me bowed, she was an olive-skinned woman whose hair was done in dreads and braided into a bun, she had bright grey eyes and a tattoo that started under her left eye, down her whole arm, and kept going on the left side of her body until it reached her left foot. She also had an interesting attire I had never seen before, "How fair you brave Ulfguardian," she said in a soothingly calm voice, "I have heard many a tale of your people, though some of these tales seem far too exaggerated to be true." I gave her a confused look, "How exaggerated?" "Well...there were tales of how a band of your strongest warriors managed to fight back a horde of violent orcs and after which went into a brothel and proceeded to sleep with the entirety of the staff, including the kitchen workers, bar attenders, the table clearers, the newly employed janitor, and even a few of the customers."
I took a moment to think about this story, and I remembered being told about something like that happening. A small band of warriors was hired to root out a violent orc horde that has been raiding and pillaging towns nearby, when they cleared them out and finished the job they realized that they were paid far too much for their service and decided to spend a good majority at a local tavern, however, one wanted to go to the nearby brothel but didn't want to go alone so the others decided to join him. As they drank and ate they became a little too rowdy and in their rowdiness, they managed to sleep with nearly the entirety of the brothel from the working men and women to the folks serving food and drink to the other customers, and as Maryanne said, the newly employed janitor, quite the lucky young man to sleep with multiple women.
I looked back at Maryanne, "You know I think I've heard that story before, but then again a few details here and there might be exaggerated for the effect." "Oh my, you think so?" she said gripping her staff, "Oh I know so, trust me I knew a dragonborn who said he fought pirates and a sea monster at the same time when in reality it was a whale and a small ship of bandits." Maryanne looked surprised and then left to help Tordrid load the cart, I wanted to help too when Nalaed came to me, "I've heard some stories too." she said biting her bottom lip taking a quick look up and down, "Really? What have you heard?" As she was about to speak Tordrid yelled out, "Quit lollygagging and load up the cart we're losing daylight!" "Right...I'll tell you later handsome," she said winking at me.
After loading up the cart we finally made our way towards the empire switching between shifts of driver and passenger. While in the back of the cart with Tordrid I asked her where we were going specifically, "We're going to Colkirk, one of the towns near the Black mountain of the north." "Why go there?" I asked, "He has a Vacation home just outside of town, a source of mine said she'd let us stay at her inn for as long as we need so we can track the bastard down." "But...What if he's not there?" for a good moment there was an audible silence then she said, "Stand up." So I stood as best I could, "Spread the legs." I spread my legs, "What does this have to do with any-" in that instant, I felt a pain I have never felt in my 22 years in this life. Kneeling holding my crotch I fell over in excruciating pain, I couldn't speak and it felt like I couldn't even breathe, "I have tracked this bastard for months, MONTHS. If I say he's been there he's been there and will likely be there for as long as I know. Now be a good boy and shut that little yap pf yours if you please. I said nothing for the rest of the trip. Nalaed did heal me which wasn't much at all but still relieved the pain by a whole lot.
Who knew working with an angry dwarf woman would be so damn painful.