Tales of Faerun

[tokyobiohazard]

As the night wore on, the three slept soundly, feeling a little more at peace with themselves than they had before tonight. The morning came, and Reona found herself awake before the other two. Ianthe, who had turned over in her sleep and embraced her sister, was difficult to maneuver out from under, but Reona did it, and stretched before walking up to Rhaine.

 

"You can use my horse, you know. I could ride with Arva since I don't weigh too much anyway, and you could have a horse to yourself."

Edited October 10, 2012 by tokyobleach

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine paused. Riding with Arva, eh? Something told her that it would not be a hardship for the elf...not at all. Clever girl.

 

She smiled and inclined her head to Reona, "Thank you, friend. That is fair."

 

Of a sudden, there was a piercing whistle. Rhaine looked up and there, soaring high above them, was the black eagle they had freed earlier.

Edited October 10, 2012 by AurianaValoria1

[Naktis]

Nawen arose from her seat once she saw that the others were awake and walking. She carefully folded the letter and put it back into her bag. "We don't have much to eat..." The ranger trailed off as she untied her horse. "Will we eat here or ride to the nearest tavern?"

 

Too valuable to destroy? There's nothing interesting here. Aedan thought but said nothing. Sometimes it was for the best to stay quiet and he was smart enough to do that. "Some may still live." The Fallen commented as he stared at the witch.

[AurianaValoria1]

"A tavern," Rhaine replied, tacking Reona's black horse and mounting up, "I don't think I can stomach anything with that rotten thing lying about." She gestured to the hydra's body, which she now noticed had one head sliced open with a surgeon's precision. Judging from the way Xallistine was acting, the Doomguide was certain he didn't need any breakfast...

[mythicdawnmaster]

"Then we shall have to exterminate them, won't we?" Ravenna asked rhetorically, walking from the throne room to find any women that survived Sefris and Aedan's bloody onslaught. She was thankfully fortunate in her hungered search, finding a few women tending to there wounds, and checking to see if there companions were alive. They weren't. And nor would the women be much longer. Ravenna began to devour her way through any women she could find, gradually, but definitely, restoring her youth."

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine settled onto the black horse's back. This one was smaller than Ghost and a little more flighty...it would take some getting used to. She choked up on the reins to keep Reona's horse from dancing around, "All right, everyone. Let's be off. If we make good time, we may be able to reach Loudwater in a tenday." Edited October 12, 2012 by AurianaValoria1

[Naktis]

Nawen prepared her own horse for the journey. Tavern it is. She thought. Before leaving however she approached the dead hydra and extracted some ingredients from it that hopefully will be expensive.

 

The ranger then returned to her horse and mounted him, tying the bag with hydra's ingredients to the saddle. "I will scout the are ahead." She suggested.

 

Aedan stared through the window outside, hearing the screams of the woman that Ravenna devoured or was about to devour. His expression remained emotionless. The Fallen wondered where are they off to now. So far traveling with the witch was much more fun than it was with those good-doers.

[AurianaValoria1]

Unfortunately, their traveling took much longer than a tenday. Not only was the length of the journey poorly judged, but circumstance also slowed the group's progress considerably.

 

They had returned to the road for a ways and arrived at a tavern, where they replenished their food supplies. Afterwards, things began to worsen. For the first three days, it had done nothing but rain - with the close proximity of the Farsea Marshes, it hadn't taken a lot to turn the earth to sludge. The horses slipped and slid so much they had to stall their journey until the deluge stopped.

 

Once the ground was firm again, they began to go cross-country once more, heading northwest towards Evereska. Twice they skirted angry orc tribes, but other than that, the next eight days were relatively uneventful. It was during this time Rhaine learned that the black eagle was following them. He would occasionally alert them to his presence with a piercing cry, and he could be seen soaring far overhead. The Doomguide had taken to calling him 'Theron.' As they continued on, Theron would hover closer and closer, until he finally made himself comfortable on Nawen's shoulder, and sometimes upon Rhaine's saddle horn. Some days, he would disappear for hours and reappear at their evening campsite, usually with a rabbit or squirrel to share with them. Rhaine came to the conclusion that the eagle was likely too used to human presence to abandon it entirely...and now that he had been freed to make his own way, he decided to remain with his rescuers. It was amazing how forgiving nature could be.

 

The group passed between the Forgotten Forest and the Marsh of Chelimber, then cut north through the Lonely Moor to reach the Black Road. They had a few near encounters with gnolls and bugbears, but it seemed that the beasts were too afraid of the adventurers to attack them. It was just as well for Rhaine...she did not want to fight if she did not have to. To this end, the group also made a wide berth around the town of Llorkh, where it was rumored that the evil Zhentarim had taken control from Waterdeep.

 

At last, after a grand total of twenty days of travel, the companions arrived at Loudwater. Here, they could restock on supplies, rest, and recuperate before pursuing Ravenna's carriage into the High Forest. For that was, indeed, where the witch had gone...rumors of the black carriage with its tireless steeds led the friends like a trail of string. As the group rode into town, the people eyed them with suspicion, making Rhaine think that they had not been the only strange group to come through here recently.

[tokyobiohazard]

Ianthe looked around, the hood to her cloak drawn over her head, avoiding the gazes of townspeople as Brook's gentle trot bobbed her up and down uncomfortably. This town didn't have the friendly air that the previous ones had... However, upon seeing a group of children clinging to both toys and each other, Ianthe grinned and pulled Boota out her shirt, pulling off her hood and winking at them as the little ball of fur crawled around on her shoulders and then nested atop her head in her hair.

 

Arva, nearly covered in white fabric to protect him from the sun, shifted as the wary eyes of people feasted on their group. He was grateful the only oddity about himself was a lack of skin pigmentation, as other members of the group were obviously more gazed upon than him. He noticed Reona rode with a stiff back and the poise of a noble, while he slightly hunched over, not caring if he looked proper. He was used to Reona being so close now, but when they had started riding together, he had felt quite awkward and nearly asked for her to ride on Ianthe's horse, or better yet, for him to share hers and for Reona to have this one to herself. He was quite confused about the entire thing, but chalked it up to Ianthe being his wife and attaching a strange affection to her in his head.

 

Sitting poised and proper, Reona sent out dignified looks to all who they passed, suddenly feeling a pang of regret that her mother couldn't see how well she remembered how to make an entrance into a new town. She had found herself quite fond of wearing a black cloak about her shoulders that covered up the grand colors and designs of her tunics and breeches. Better to cover the finery when they entered a town, as it made one less likely to be seen as a target by pickpockets and the like... Perhaps she would have made a fine noblewoman, after all.

[Ithildin]

The sun was less than an hour past its zenith when Mahira finally returned to the stable. When she didn’t see Echo waiting outside, she made a moue of distaste, figuring her friend was probably harassing the stable hand about payment for the missing ponies. The door stood slightly ajar, and she pushed it open with one hand, peering into the gloom. “Echo, we may not have found them yet, but that doesn’t mean we’re done searching,” she said as she walked inside.

 

“Your friend hasn’t come back, I’m afraid,” said the stable hand, leaning his pitchfork against the wall. “It’s just me and the horses. I’ll be sure to lock that door while I go for lunch, unless you want to wait for her in here?”

 

Mahira shook her head. “No, thank you.” She went out the way she had come in, and spent some time walking along the main road through town, asking passersby whether anyone had seen her friend, until an elderly woman selling vegetables suggested she have a word with one of the town guardsmen standing nearby. Mahira approached them, gave a description of Echo, and asked whether they knew where she was.

 

“Aye, she was taken to Loudwater Prison,” one guard replied.

 

Mahira's eyes widened. “Prison? Where is it? What has she done?”

 

“Follow this path, past Mara's Menagerie and Colfen Woodcutters, 'til you come to the east watchtower,” he said, pointing. “Speak to the warden.”

 

“But what has she done?” The guardsman merely shook his head; Mahira turned and hurried off down the path toward the watchtower.

 

* * *

“Echo, are you all right? What in the world happened?” Mahira gripped the iron bars separating her from her friend; a sallow-faced prison guard standing nearby grunted a warning, so she released the bars and stepped back.

 

Echo explained, “I'm about as well as can be expected. Found our pony thief, who - of course - denied everything. So I tried to change his mind for him, he pulled a knife, one thing led to another … and no one believes my side of it.”

 

“’One thing led to another’ – is he dead?!”

 

“No, he’s in the hospital, not far from Stoneshoulder Arena. Have you seen the Arena?”

 

“Of course not, I haven’t had time for sightseeing – and what makes you so certain that particular man's the culprit? Did you actually see our ponies, any of our things?”

 

Echo grimaced, and pitched her voice lower. “No, but White-Nose described him for me, and I’m convinced he’s the one we’re looking for.”

 

“Who is White-Nose?”

 

“A horse," the halfling breathed. "She saw him take our ponies out of the stable."

 

The guard with the sallow complexion interjected, “Ma’am, at this point, it’s your friend’s word against Mr. Colfen’s, and he’s the injured party, but if you have a witness – ?”

 

Mahira closed her eyes briefly and put a hand to her temple. “Never mind … is there a fine to be paid here, so my friend may walk free?”

 

“Well, Dorian Colfen’s the son of our woodcutter, and he and his father – Matthias Colfen – are both respected citizens.” Echo scoffed, but the guard ignored her and went on: “They say Dorian’s leg will take some time to heal, and Mr. Colfen says he’ll lose business without his son helping him out. Fine’s set at 500 gold pieces; some of that will compensate the Colfens for their losses.”

 

“Five hundred - !” exclaimed the halfling.

 

“With most of our belongings stolen, of course, we don’t have anything like that amount between us,” Mahira said. “With whom should I speak about these matters, besides Mr. Colfen?“

 

“High Lord Kalahar Twohands is the highest authority in Loudwater, ma’am,” the guard said, “but I doubt you’ll find him eager to help without any proof of your claim.”

 

* * *

After an unproductive meeting with the High Lord, Mahira went to Matthias Colfen and offered to work for him while his son’s leg was on the mend. Matthias agreed to let the Calishite work off part of Echo’s fine during the next few weeks. When the halfling wondered why they couldn’t simply steal the money they needed, Mahira said she wouldn’t risk adding insult to injury in a town where one of them had already landed herself in prison. Whenever the Calishite wasn’t busy hauling firewood for Mr. Colfen or visiting her friend behind bars, she made attempts to track down their stolen belongings. However, Loudwater was a well-defended rest stop for caravans and riverboats, and all manner of tradesfolk routinely passed through town. For those reasons, Mahira believed nothing of value - including their ponies - would ever be recovered.

 

Mahira kept Echo's promise to White-Nose, feeding apples to the mare while she was still stabled in Loudwater. One evening, the Calishite brought Echo disheartening news: “I’m very sorry, but your favorite horse is gone. She belonged to a traveling merchant, not one of the locals, and it seems they left town this morning.”

 

The halfling was silent for a moment, then murmured, “I would’ve liked to talk to her again." She turned away and sat down on the floor of her cell, leaning against the bars, so Mahira wouldn’t see her tears.