With great care, the Blue Oyster inched its way towards the perilous shallows of Wassel Harbor, the vessel's hull scraping against the submerged shoals as it navigated the treacherous bay. Finally, it came to rest a hundred fathoms from shore, its bow bobbing in the gentle waves. Paliborn, ever cautious, allowed only Xian, Humpter, and Arvedas to accompany him, and the four of them descended into a waiting rowboat, determined to reach the cove despite the danger. Captain Barb, desperate to join them but ultimately rebuffed by Paliborn, watched their progress with worried eyes from the safety of the deck.
Their destination, the Wasted Inn, lay on an open hill to the west of the bay. But before venturing forth, Paliborn instructed Arvedas to find a vantage point on the rocky slope overlooking the hill and to conceal himself there with his trusty longbow at the ready. The elf nodded silently and, with his lithe form and deadly weapon at his side, melted into the craggy terrain.
"Why did you send him?" Xian queried, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"It's a precautionary measure," Paliborn replied. "The presence of two elves might attract unwanted attention in this lawless and perilous land. By sending Arvedas ahead, we've minimized the likelihood of trouble and secured a means of escape should the need arise."
The trio resumed their journey, walking up the final hill toward the Wasted Inn. As they drew near, they heard raucous sounds emanating from the building - the clinking of glasses, the shouts of drunken revelers. Xian pricked up her ears, straining to catch any hint of danger.
"What happened?" the halfling inquired innocently.
But before he could receive a reply, the air was rent by the shattering of glass and the roar of flames. The Wasted Inn was ablaze. Without hesitation, the group sprinted toward the inferno, Humpter brandishing his massive sledgehammer, Paliborn checking the readiness of his daggers and pouches, and Xian unleashing her elven agility to propel herself forward.
In the distance, they spotted two gray-hooded elves and a man cloaked in black. One of the elves swiftly vanished into the shadows while the other drew a dull scimitar.
"Clear the way," commanded the man in black robes.
"Head this way," another voice beckoned from the hillside below to their west.
Then, a horde of ten orcs emerged from behind them, positioning themselves in front of the trio.
Humpter, being the protective sort, stepped forward with urgency when he spotted the orcs.
Just then, Dylan, wounded knight, charged out of The Wasted Inn with his sword in hand, shouting, "Mist elves and a Therion priest!" He collapsed to the ground.
Regaining his senses, Paliborn made a quick decision and sprinted towards the slope on his left, where the black-robed priest headed to.
"Xian, you two protect Dylan!" Paliborn instructed, "I'll go after them."
Obeying the command given, Humpter charged towards the orcs with a furious battle cry.
The sword-wielding mist elf hesitated, sensing another adversary approaching. However, his duty to protect the priest overrode his instinct to engage in combat. He ordered the orcs to stall the others.
Xian cast a sleep spell, causing three orcs to collapse in a heap. Humpter launched two of them into the air with one swing of his sledgehammer. The remaining orcs took a few steps back, not knowing how to proceed. The real challenge was breaking the inn's door.
Suddenly, a knight burst out of the inn, only to be knocked unconscious by the towering Ogre. Seeing this, Humpter charged towards the beast without hesitation, swinging his sledgehammer with all his might. The Ogre countered with a three-foot mace. The two behemoths clashed with deadly force, sending the orcs scrambling even further away.
In the midst of the chaos, Xian frantically searched for a spell to help Humpter. Though he fought valiantly, the Quanas elf saw that Humpter's strength was waning.
Just as Humpter narrowly dodged another blow, the Ogre landed a swift knee to his stomach. Humpter staggered, his vision fading. Then, with a powerful strike, the Ogre's mace smashed into Humpter's chest, shattering bones. Humpter fell to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, his sledgehammer flung aside. As a last resort, Xian muttered incantations to summon magic. The Ogre raised his mace, poised to deliver the killing blow. Humpter closed his eyes, muttering a final prayer to Demian, his fate seemingly sealed.
Suddenly, the ogre erupted into a fit of laughter, unable to contain himself. Humpter, who had been resigned to his fate, was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. With his last bit of strength, the valiant warrior reached for his trusty sledgehammer, but his chest throbbed with agonizing pain. In that moment, one of the orcs seized the opportunity and charged towards Humpter, brandishing his spear. The hapless man let out a cry of agony as the sharp point punctured his back.
Xian, quick-witted and agile, began muttering arcane incantations under her breath, conjuring a small but dazzling cloud of multicolored dust in her hand. She pointed the glittering cloud towards the orc, who had already pulled out his spear, poised to strike again. The sparkling dust erupted in the orc's face, blinding him instantly. The beastly creature writhed in pain and fury, but was unable to locate Humpter, who had been saved by Xian's timely intervention.
Meanwhile, the ogre, who had only just stopped laughing, once again raised his massive mace, ready to crush the helpless warrior. But before he could strike the fatal blow, a hail of arrows rained down on him from above. The first arrow pierced his head, followed in quick succession by another arrow that impaled the orc who had attacked Humpter. The remaining four orcs, frightened out of their wits, turned tail and fled. But they were not quick enough. Each of them was struck by a deadly arrow that pierced their backs, leaving them lifeless in the mud.
Arvedas, a tall and imposing figure, appeared at that moment, wielding a longbow with expert precision. He turned to Xian, his voice devoid of emotion, and asked, "Where is the halfling?"
Still reeling from the chaos and violence around her, Xian pointed to a steep cliff across from the inn. "Pal went after a Therion priest and two mist elves," she replied, trying to regain her composure.
Arvedas nodded stoically and vanished with the grace and silence of a ghost. Xian marveled at his supernatural abilities - his speech, movements, and gestures were all otherworldly.
* * *
Paliborn bounded from boulder to boulder, nimble as a mountain goat, across the steep, rocky terrain shrouded in thorny undergrowth. The blackened sky offered no illumination save for the occasional, faint crescent moon and a sprinkling of stars. Not even the ships in the bay could be seen. In the distance, he heard the terse voices of the elves issuing commands. The sword-wielding elf brought up the rear, with the black-robed priest and fleet-footed elf leading the way, slowed down by the priest. Paliborn was determined to catch up to them.
As the lead elf disappeared for a moment, Paliborn watched the sword elf abruptly veer towards him. Though swift, the elf was no match for the nimble halfling who evaded him with a deft sideways flip. His sights set on the priest, Paliborn brandished his yoyo, poised to ensnare the man's feet.
Suddenly, a string of incantations drifted from behind an ancient olive tree, bending to the sea's will with time. The ground beneath Pal's feet became slick as butter, causing him to slip and slide down the rocky slope, unable to gain purchase on the magically slick surface. He tumbled head over heels, his body jostled and slashed by the unforgiving thorny bushes.
The ground beneath Paliborn's feet became slick as butter, causing him to slip and slide down the rocky slope, unable to gain purchase on the magically slick surface. He tumbled head over heels, his body jostled and slashed by the unforgiving thorny bushes.
Paliborn pivoted his head, and his gaze landed on the priest flinging himself off the edge of the cliff that loomed a mere few meters ahead. A robed elf mimicked the holy man's leap, while the sword-wielding elf vanished from sight, disappearing onto another slope. The halfling crept closer to the precipice's brink and heard a sharp twang, followed by another.
In a final burst of energy, Paliborn tried to hold the tree as the first arrow pierced through his leather vest, flapping furiously in the wind. His weight pressed him steadfastly to an ancient olive tree anchored to the cliff's edge, with the arrow still firmly lodged in the rough bark. Although the durable stitching of his leather vest had ruptured, fortune smiled upon him as the resilient linen material held together. He dangled mid-air, his feet swaying like a pendulum for a few fleeting seconds.
The second arrow had narrowly missed the priest as he leaped over the cliff's edge. The halfling couldn't help but notice a faint crimson stain where the projectile had glanced the priest.
Gasping for breath, Paliborn lay there in disbelief, his feet dangling in mid-air. Arvedas, with his alabaster face and inscrutable expression, hovered over him, searching the dense shrubbery with his keen eyes and bow at the ready. Paliborn was awed by the elf's ability to fire two arrows in rapid succession.
"That elf's like a ghost," thought Paliborn as he clung to the tree, feeling the burn of thorns in his wounds.
"Are you unscathed?" asked the elf icily.
"I am among the living," Paliborn replied, his voice shaky. "It seems my would-be assassin had other intentions."
The Galanadel elf regarded Paliborn with cold detachment. "Do not be fooled by fortune's fickle favor," he warned, his tone devoid of emotion, before striding away.
"I know that voice," Paliborn muttered, his brow furrowed in thought. "Have we met before?" he asked, but the elf didn't spare him a backward glance. Undeterred, the halfling trailed after him in silence.
When they finally returned to the plain where the inn stood, they found Xian crouched beside the overturned Humpter, her hands slick with blood. Following her instructions, they fashioned a makeshift stretcher and carried the wounded man inside. But what greeted them was a grisly sight: the inn was in shambles, strewn with the mangled bodies of orcs and humans alike. As they surveyed the carnage, they discovered ten orc and nine human corpses inside. Outside, the death toll was even higher, with a total of over thirty slain, including four knights.
Dylan had been lucky to survive the attack, as the arrow that had hit him was poisoned. But with Xian's expertise in herbs and a small bottle of antidote liquid for hemlock poison, he had managed to hold on.
The innkeeper, who had miraculously survived thanks to a hidden compartment, recounted the harrowing details of the battle in a shivering voice;
"Seated at a table, a black-robed man was accompanied by three mercenaries. The peaceful air was shattered when five knights strode in, and a heated argument broke out. The robed figure, a Therion Priest, recited a dark prayer, filling the room with ominous shadows and ghostly apparitions that sent everyone into a panic. As if on cue, orcs burst through the back door, and thirteen enemies clashed with the knights in a frenzied brawl. In the blink of an eye, only three knights remained, valiantly holding their ground against overwhelming odds. Also my many patrons were slained by the orcs. Then a pale-skinned elf, wielding a deadly scimitar, appeared on the scene, his piercing gaze betraying a malevolent intent. He slayed a knight in a few seconds. Another elf, lurking in the shadows, moved with deadly silence to attack another knight from behind with a razor-sharp dagger. The hapless knight never stood a chance against such treacherous tactics. But the silent elf wasn't done yet. With lightning reflexes, he retrieved a tiny crossbow hidden in his robe's sleeve and fired an arrow with deadly precision, striking down the knight named Dylan. Then the other orcs and ogre came. You know the rest."
Dylan confirmed the innkeeper's account once he had sobered up. He was deeply shaken by the loss of his companions.
Paliborn glanced at the young knight who had survived the ordeal. "You should return to Illinthia," he advised gently. But the knight shook his head. "I have pledged my life to this quest," he said, his voice firm. "I will not turn back now." Dylan declined, determined to see this through until the bitter end.
Paliborn and Arvedas assisted Xian, who worked with the precision of a skilled surgeon to mend the wound on Humpter's back. The operation took several hours, during which Xian tended to the man's injury with utmost care, cleansing the wound, deftly suturing it, and wrapping it with bandages. They had done all they could, but the rest was left to the fates and the gods.
At dawn, Arvedas spotted The Blackened departing from the bay. Then he led Paliborn to a vantage point on the summit, where he pointed out the ship that was slowly slipping away. The halfling focused his binoculars on the deck and saw Allendra there, looking restless and unhappy. He longed to call out to her, to let her know that he was close, but she was miles away, out of his reach. At least she was still alive.
Filled with anger, sadness, and disappointment, Paliborn Quickhand let out a high-pitched cry, even though he knew Allendra could not hear him. He blamed himself for his mistakes and cursed the outcome that had brought them to this point, yet held fast to his hope that they would one day be reunited.