The Journal of Calamar Eldanil:

Chapter 12: Taking the Battle to the Foe (The Hunt for Laureth)

5th Sunflowers 591

Early this morning a messenger arrived indicating another attack was imminent but that we were not needed.

Narion thanked him and I called down a blessing on him, “Blessings on you and yours, my friend.”

“Thank you father,” he replied as he turned to return to the wall.

Somewhat embarrassed, yet also pleased, at the reverence he paid me, I sent him on his way with, “Your gods shall surely empower your arm this day.” Turning to my now four companions, I said, “Now my friends, let us be about the Coronal’s work this day.” Knowing that we would be off to explore the deep dark tunnels beneath the town, I muttered a prayer to enchant my ring with a divine celestial brilliance. Its light would help us in the dark, not to mention if we ran into more of Lazarus’s fouled undead creations below out of the sunlight.

I suggested we return to Gaes’s office to see if we could discover who in town had a subterranean basement. We went to Gaes’s office and she started when we entered the room. Her eyes widened to saucers and the colour drained from her face. I fear she thought I was there to ruin her day once again. Explaining to her why we were there and what we needed, I began to sift the rows and rows of scrolls piled neatly on the shelves to one side of her den.

With a shriek of, “Stop! I’ll help! I’ll help!” she launched herself out of the chair and ran to my side, replacing displaced scrolls as she began to search for the information we required. To find the information we were looking for, she said she needed to look through the tax records. Keeping a stern eye on me in case I made another move to disrupt her filing system, she took another large ledger from a shelf and leafed through it.

After pouring through the ledger and some maps and other scrolls, she told us that there were maybe fifty buildings in town that had below ground cellars. When we described the room we were looking for, she suggested that our best bet would be to seek it out in the north end of town, in the residential are. As this dovetailed quote nicely with the information that the dying Gaura had supplied, we felt this was the best option we had.

Upon her mentioning that the mayor also had a subterranean basement, we decided to see if we could enter the sewers in that part of town through Alexander’s house. We returned to the main hall to talk to Mayor Castle and, after hearing our explanation of what we were up to, granted us a letter of permission to search the area unhindered.

Our arrival at the mayor’s residence was interesting. Our knock at the door was greeted by the fourteen-year-old Deryn, equipped in an ill-fitting chain shirt with a short sword belted to his side. He was guarding the house and his demeanour indicated he was taking it quote seriously. Narion and Rackhe clapped him on the shoulder and told him what a good job he was doing and how dutiful he was, when the ranger was suddenly almost bowled over by the Castles’ daughter Luna, who seized his hand and dragged him off, saying “You must come and share tea with me!”

Rackhe crouched down to be eye-to-eye with her and said, “You go and brew the tea. I and my friends have some work to do and I would love to take tea with you upon our return.” With a delighted squeal, she turned and dashed off to the kitchen. The mayor’s wife showed us to the cellar and we began to search for an access to the tunnels. As my four friends searched, I sat on the stairs with the two Castle boys, showing them my sword and longbow, explaining some of the finer points my istarons had taught me in my youth.

Finally, Rackhe found a trap door hidden in the floor. The tow boys looked at it with their eyes wide open in wonder. “We didn’t know that was there,” said Deryn, his caution warring with his boyhood curiosity to see what lay beneath it.

The Northman pulled open the trapdoor and we descended into the sewer, which was somewhat smaller than the original tunnel we had found under the brewer’s house to the south. This tunnel was a mere two feet wide and between three and four feet high.

“Let’s go to the area near Hastein’s house first,” Narion suggested. “I just get a bad feeling about that guy.”

Off we went and as we turned up the tunnel towards where Hastein’s house would be, Rackhe noticed a boot print. Rackhe scouted up the tunnel and spotted a very fine horsehair tripwire across the tunnel. Stepping over it carefully, he began following it up the tunnel. It eventually disappeared into a vertical shaft going up about as far as would be necessary to enter a cellar was we had used to enter the tunnels back at Alexander Castle’s house.

Returning to us and explaining what he found, he proceeded to guide us over the tripwire and up to the vertical shaft. Looking up the shaft, we discovered another wooden trapdoor without a handle. Our ranger friend also noted that the steps seemed to have been in use recently. He checked the trapdoor to see if there were any alarms or other booby traps set on it, then stepped aside so that Narion could slowly ease the trapdoor open, his spear at the ready in his firm grip. Behind him, Lodorin tried to use his holy power to see if he could detect any evil presences beyond the hatch.

Narion set his shoulder to the door and burst it open, leaping gracefully into the room at the ready. Lodorin followed him, an arrow already knocked to the string of his bow. The trapdoor revealed a cold storage cellar. To one side there was a stone staircase leading up to what we surmised was the main part of the house. Just as both Lodorin and I detected a slight discrepancy in the shape of one of the brick on the side wall, Narion reported hearing voices from up the stairs. As booted feet sounded on the steps, Kiri cast a magical web upon the staircase, catching three men, household guards no doubt, in its sticky embrace.

Rackhe found a hidden lever mechanism for the secret hiding place in the wall and, with a twist of his wrist, the brick popped partially out from the wall. Withdrawing the brick, it revealed a small wooden door opening to a shelf in the wall holding a wooden box. As we were in a hurry, what with the guards raising an alarm and beginning to cut their way through the webbing clogging the stairway, Narion suggested we take the wooden box and dash back down the trapdoor. As he waited to follow the rest of us back into the tunnels, he looked at the empty safe and then scrawled a message in chalk on the wall by the trapdoor: “So long and thanks for all the stuff.”

Off we ran down the tunnels, ensuring we put enough distance between our party and Hastein’s guards to lose them if they tried to follow us into the winding and twisting tunnels. The box turned out to contain two enchanted swords and some exotic narcotics, plants, and a few odd bits of paraphernalia that gave us the idea that Hastein, while not exactly an upright citizen, was probably just a local crime lord and not involved in the business of Lazarus and his spies. After all, if the Scarlet Brotherhood seized the town, Hastein could expect his “side business” to drop off considerably.

*~*~*~*~*

We eventually found ourselves searching a tunnel leading off to the north when Rackhe discovered a secret door that appeared, by our map, to be under a house near the north tower. He could not detect any boobie traps or such, but it locked securely from the other side. Using the tools we had recovered from the assassin that Laureth had subsequently killed, he proceeded to pick the lock from this side of the door and, after about ten minutes of fiddling back and forth, managed to slip the bolt aside.

Again, we emerged from the tunnel into a small chamber. The room was of roughly constructed stonework with a spiral staircase going up. The stairs went up less than a full story and ended in a well-made, well-fitted door. Narion stealthily crept up the stairs and pressed his ear to the door. He signalled that he heard nothing and Lodorin placed his hand against the portal and concentrated his holy power to see if evil lay beyond it.

The holy knight leaned back and whispered, “I detect only a faint sense of evil beyond the door. I blessed the party with the grace of the Seldarine and Kiri enchanted herself into invisibility.

Narion slowly opened the door, stepping cautiously over the threshold. It was another storage cellar and Narion was about to signal us through when a man poked his head around the corner of an adjoining chamber and shouted, “Hey! Who are you and what are you doing?!” The man shouted an alarm and then stepped into the storage room, drawing a broad-bladed short sword as he did.

My elven spearman friend reached out his hand and, gripping him on the shoulder, muttered a small incantation and sent a shocking charge of electricity from his grasp through the man. Lodorin stepped to one side behind Narion and, in a rapid sequence, loosed three arrows at the man. The missiles, also enchanted with electrical power, buried themselves in his chest and pinning him to the wall opposite, twitching and writhing as the electricity wracked his form, slowly dissipating into the air around him.

Rackhe moved through the room into the larger area and saw a hallway, stairs and two doors. Looking into the far end of the chamber, he spied three men hurriedly equipping themselves with armour and weapons. It appeared that we had surprised them from an avenue where they did not expect an enemy to gain access to their hideout.

I prayed to the Coronal to grant me the power to keep track of my friends and watch for the state of health to ensure that little harm came to them. I felt an invisible silvery thread of power reach and join my essence with that of my three warrior friends.

From a short corridor leading to a narrow stair going up, we heard voices calling out, “What’s going on down there?” Narion moved up to the bottom of the stairs and readied a javelin. A soft whisper beside him let him know that my lady stood immediately behind his shoulder.

The three men sprang to attack Rackhe and he began dodging and weaving, his blades flashing back and forth, the sound of ringing steel rising up form the cellar. Lodorin shifted to one side and lent his archery to the fray to aid the ranger in his plight against the three men, dropping one that stood slightly off to the rear. Even I stepped in and tried to lend my sword to the melee, striking a few times as the fight boiled around us.

A fellow had proceeded to begin descending the stairs so Narion let fly with the javelin in his hand, skewering him through the chest causing him to collapse and roll clumsily down the stairs to the spearman’s feet.

As this happened; the door to the side that Kiri was standing near popped open and yawned wide. Kiri looked into the room and determined that it was the same as the one we had seen in my divination. This was Laureth’s lair. Sensing danger, the dark-haired beauty scanned about the room cautiously, searching for the slightest sign of someone moving about, perhaps invisible like her. She began to do careful sweeps through the room.

Lodorin had slain the man opposite me and with great flourish Rackhe disarmed his opponent and placed his sword point at the man’s throat. The thug wisely surrendered. I sheathed my sword and drew my bow to cover my friends as they worked.

Another man tumbled down the steps, a javelin just missing his leg. Narion challenged him, “Where is Laureth?”

“Never heard of her!” growled the man, rolling to one side and coming up in a ready position, his mace weaving dangerously back and forth.

Narion smiled and nodded at him, “Very good, very impressive,” and then stabbed forth with a javelin tossing it so it pierced him through the heart, killing him instantly.

Rackhe backed his quarry up against the wall and inquired, “Where’s Laureth?”

The white-faced tough stammered, “She was here. She left when we stared hearing noises. She- she went upstairs...”

“She ran,” Rackhe tossed over his shoulder to Narion, who then dashed up the stairs, finding himself in a well-appointed house with heavily draped windows and sturdy furniture. Lodorin and Rackhe, after directing me to watch the prisoner, both dashed upstairs after Narion.

In the side room, Kiri had found a chest pushed off to one side. She lifted the lid and searched through it contents, but found nothing aside from some very fine clothing. Rifling through the fine fabric (and being a woman I guess) she drew out one piece of lovely brocaded cloth and stuffed it into her tunic. My lover is such a pirate sometimes! She then searched beneath the bed and pulled forth a fine darkwood shield and a lute case. She also drew out a wooden case, somewhat like the healer’s kit that was slung about my shoulder. With a burst of intuition, Kiri went on edge and readied herself to spring to action.

We were missing something.

Just then, I heard a small click sound from the storage room we had entered the house from. Leaning so I could peer in through the door I could see nothing except the door to the spiral stair slowly and quietly opening. I called forth for the power of my god to purge the area of any invisibility enchantments and, as Kiri winked into sight behind me, I saw an attractive blonde cast a disparaging glance over her shoulder as she growled a curse and launched herself through the doorway and down the stairwell to the sewer.

“She’s down here!” I called, and dashed after her.

My friends all turned to charge after me, Rackhe thumping his prisoner into unconsciousness, and, as Kiri dashed up to just behind me, I said, “She’s in the tunnels. I’ll go after her and do what I can.”

“Be careful!” called my ladylove, but I was already leaping down the stairs.

I turned into the tunnel and saw the woman a few yards ahead of me; a pack slung over one shoulder, her weapons grasped in one hand. She was moving quickly and dextrously along the tunnel floor, ducking slightly when she needed to. In her other hand, she was holding a small glass vial, preparing to drink a potion of some kind or other. I extended my hand and cast a spell to shatter the vial, and in doing so caused a number of small explosions of glass to occur about her belt and tunic. I had crushed all the vials she carried with the one spell.

She dashed down the tunnel, humming a haunting tune as she went in an attempt to magically fascinate us and cause us to cease the chase so she could make her escape. Narion and Lodorin, bursting into the tunnel behind me, fell into her thrall and stood, listening to the music as it twined its spell about them.

I called for the power of my armour to grant me wings and launched my self into the air, speeding after her like a bird on the wing. Just as I did so, she cast a spell and she too started to fly down the narrow twisting tunnel. I tried to dispel her magic but failed. Kiri, one step behind me, joined us in the winged chase down the sewer.

Narion moved into the corridor and let loose a magic missile of force at her, striking her but not slowing her down any. Lodorin let fly an arrow, but it impacted against the wall of the tunnel as it twisted to one side. I drew forth a scroll and tried once again to overcome her flying spell. This time it succeeded and she alighted on the ground. She still made a dash for one of the vertical shafts leading to the street, but Kiri flew into the room, closely followed by myself flying right up beside the girl as she scrambled at the trapdoor at the top of the shaft.

Lodorin ducked into the bottom of the shaft and brought her down with two well-placed shots. Dead, her enchantment slowly eased her to the ground and let her lay still.

Taking her back to her lair, we discussed what to do with her and her confederates.

As we arrived back at the basement to the house, I had an idea. I asked Rackhe to go and fetch the watch.

While he did so, I withdrew the case of drugs we had liberated from Hastein’s house, along with the two enchanted swords.

I placed these with the spare equipment from Laureth and her band, contriving to make it seem as if we had recovered Hastein’s belongings with the rest of the thieves’ plunder. This would make it seem to Hastein that they, and not us, were responsible for burgling his house. Now if he wanted to recover the swords he would possibly have to try and explain the narcotics as well. At the very least, he would have to give up the drugs, thereby preventing their dispersal to innocent people, as well as cutting into his criminal profits.

Hastein would definitely not be a happy man at the news.

Amongst Laureth’s gear, we found our personal items, also managing to uncover a small sum of coin, and some enchanted items of armour, weapon, and other such. Narion also appraised Laureth’s lute as being the fine work of a master craftsman. Kiri found an old map showing an old plan of the area before the town was built, including an old keep. Areas on the map corresponded almost exactly with the other map we had showing the tunnel system. This had indeed been one of their methods for getting about the town. An ‘X’ on the map marked a spot at a warehouse near the harbour.

“Perhaps Culbane could make some use of this map,” suggested Narion.

After turning our prisoner, the bodies, and the recovered equipment over to the watch, we decided that we would scout out towards the warehouse near the harbour. We set off with our ranger in the lead through the tunnels as they twisted around the north area of town and led down southwards paralleling the harbour wall.

*~*~*~*~*

As we neared the location that lay beneath the warehouse, Rackhe discovered a secret door in the sewer. After carefully checking it for dangerous traps and such, he withdrew the chime of opening from his pack and struck it. The door slid open and Narion and he went in, closely followed by Lodorin. They moved up a short ramp and into a rough-hewn chamber covered in a thick layer of dust. About the room were numerous boxes and barrels, as well as a shelf of 20 amphorae each sealed with wax over a cork. Rackhe recognized the labels on the amphorae as old Suloise writing. Using his skill with that tongue, he deciphered the writing to indicate that these jugs contained wine, most likely spoiled by now if the dates on the labels meant anything, the latest date being well over a hundred years ago.

Lodorin checked for other entrances and found a ladder leading up the wooden ceiling. He climbed the ladder and searched about. It appeared that the ceiling was actually timber laid directly over the ladder. Guessing that we stood under the harbour warehouse it seemed that the floor had been laid over this chamber with no allowance for a trapdoor from the ladder or anything. If the enemy had been using this room as an entrance to the surface, we could not see how as the stout wood showed no sign of ever being damaged or altered.

We searched further about the room and found nothing. Finally, in frustration Kiri drew forth a scroll and cast a spell to detect any magical auras in the room. She saw the three-foot square of floor upon which I myself was standing proceeded to glow. I was apparently standing on a secret trapdoor in the floor.

Rackhe pulled out his enchanted crystal to help him search for the door, but he found nothing. He stood and once again tried the chime of opening. The floorboards suddenly shifted slightly. Upon ripping them up, we found a circular shaft leading down into the foundation of the town. The hole was roughly circular, the first five feet through solid rock and then opening into a chamber. We had discovered more areas for exploration under the town.

We conferred on the best course of action, much of our resources being depleted for the day. In the end, we decided that only a small foray would be made into the tunnel to scout it out. It was also suggested that Lodorin return to the wall to both inform the mayor and his men of what we had discovered so far and to be ready to receive the relief force that had been dispatched to us. We did not expect to be long in our exploration and would wait until he could rejoin us before beginning any extensive operation below the town.

The paladin was loath to leave us, especially me, as he saw part of his charge being to protect me on behalf of our holy order.

I clasped him on the shoulder; “I thank you for your concern, my friend. But the good people of Wardlow also need our help and I cannot be in two places at once. Rest assured that I am confident in the abilities of our friends here to conquer any evil that might befall us until your return.”

Reluctantly, the holy knight bowed his head, “If that is your wish then, my father, I will attend to my task posthaste.” He then turned and trotted back into the sewer tunnel to make an egress into the town proper.

Our attention now on the task at hand, Rackhe leapt down the shaft and looked about the chamber below. The remains of a circular stone staircase that lay in the centre of the room reached up towards where we stood some thirty feet above. It also continued down further into the earth.

Narion took his stout elven-crafted rope and, looping it over a ceiling beam, dropped it down the hole so we could all slither down the line into the chamber. As we joined Rackhe at the bottom of the rope, Narion remarked, “This is probably an old storage room under what used to be the keep. It has the look of such, from my experience.”

We proceeded down the ragged old stone stairs, Rackhe in the lead; followed by Narion, spear in hand, Kiri, and then myself at the rear. We travelled downwards about fifteen or twenty feet of tight stairway, our boots scuffing across the occasional piece of ruined rubble lying on the steps. Rackhe bent to check the ground for any sign of habitation and found none. The place was as empty as it was quiet. The chamber we were in was some fifteen feet square or thereabouts. There were hallways leading off to the left and right, and a door set in the wall to our front. Checking down the hallway to the left, we saw that it ran for about forty more feet and held doors every ten feet or so, six doors in all. At the end of the hallway, another door stood facing us.

Looking down the opposite direction we saw a slightly shorter corridor with only four doors, two on each side, also ending in a heavy wooden door.

The door across from us stood slightly ajar, no doubt swelled in its jamb by age and moisture. A small window set at roughly eye level allowed us to peer through and see a number of decrepit and rotting implements of torture. Based on Narion’s judgement that we were in the bowels of the ancient keep, we guessed that we now stood in the dungeon. In light of that, we decided to check what turned out to be the cells in the left-hand corridor first, followed by the ones to the right. Each cell was roughly five feet in width and ten feet deep, and contained the remains of rotted collapsed furniture. The right-hand corridor tuned out not to contain cells, but a series of old storerooms.

The door at the end had also burst off its hinges and hung at an odd angle. From where we stood, it appeared to be empty but you could never tell with these types of things.

As Rackhe carefully peered around the door into the large room at the end of the corridor, I felt a strange magical pulse slither across my consciousness. It touched my mind but seemed to be turned back by the power of my will, so emboldened by my faith was I. I also noticed Kiri come over all queer at the same time and, with a worried look on her face, she began to slowly backup and turn toward the spiral stair, looking as if her intention was to return up the steps to the room above.

“Where are you going, my lady?” I asked as I plucked at her sleeve.

With a puzzled look on her face, she haltingly replied, “I- I just think that… I think it might be a good idea if I left the room.”

Sensing that whatever had caused Kiri’s reaction lay in the room beyond the door Rackhe kicked the portal open and leapt into the room. In front of him was revealed a small winged creature about two feet tall with a pointy tail and small horns protruding from its forehead. I knew these creatures to be minions of the Nine Hells and called out a warning to my friends as I tried to tend to Kiri.

“Another on the left!” shouted Rackhe as he leapt to engage the impish devil across the room. The two fiendish things closed on the ranger and struck at him with there sharp claws. Narion charged to his rescue and speared one soundly. A melee brewed and the grunts and cries of my friends were met by the shrieks and howls of the two little devils.

Just as I cast my hand across Kiri’s face to revive her and she managed to shake off the cloud that had gripped her mind, two more of the imps leapt out from the abandoned storerooms to our rear and closed with the two of us. While we engaged in a brief fight with these two, me stabbing at them with my blade and Kiri sending missiles of arcane force at them, our two friends were duelling with the other two in the room beyond. That these tiny creatures could cause us such a challenge proved that the powers of the Lower Planes were not to be trifled with. If a devil so small could raise such an obstacle to our talents, what could a larger and more powerful one do?

Rackhe had abandoned his scimitars and was now laying into the two imps with his magic great sword, which he now named Foebane. The enchanted blade caused the wounds it caused not to close up again, and we learned that we required enchanted weapons to deal with these creatures.

One of the devils winked out of sight and, as we had now dealt with the others, Narion withdrew a scroll from his pouch and cast a spell that allowed him to see invisible creatures. “It’s making for the blank wall in the other chamber!” he shouted.

I ran quickly to the wall and, placing my back against it, began waving tentatively about in front of me with my sword. Just as Rackhe joined me by my side, I felt my blade scrape across the thing’s rough hide. “There!” I shouted, pointing with my sword, and the Northman spun his great sword in a wide arc and cleaved the devil in twain.

After we caught our breath, Rackhe’s senses and mine tingled by what we felt may be another entrance in the room. A quick search revealed a secret door hidden in the wall we were braced against.

I paused and offered up a brief prayer to the Seldarine to grant me guidance as to whether proceeding would bring weal or woe. Like most of the auguries in my experience, the answer came back revealing both weal and woe lay behind the secret door. Well, nobody ever said that interpreting the signs of the gods was easy.

Rackhe eased open the secret door and revealed a corridor stretching off in front of us some thirty feet, changing to natural unworked stone leading off into a dimly lit grey darkness. There was a noticeable odour of brimstone that wafted at us from up ahead. Kiri enchanted us all with the grace of a cat by using her wand, and I quietly cast a spell to enchant Narion with the Eyes of the Avoral to make his sight keener and sharper. Narion used one of his scrolls to wrap a protection spell around Rackhe to ward him from the creatures of evil. Rackhe drank a potion to gain the strength of a bull, and then used his hat of disguise to look like me!

When I questioned him on this, he mumbled that he had promised Lodorin to do his best to protect me during his absence. I punched the ranger lightly in the shoulder, but smiled at him to let him know that I was simply jesting.

With Rackhe to the fore some dozen feet or so, we proceeded down the rough-hewn hallway.

We emerged into a vaguely circular chamber, mostly natural, with two stout pillars of stone supporting the roof of the cavern. The tunnel continued on the other side, but appeared to be blocked by a rock fall. Rackhe crawled through the small space at the top of the rubble and into the chamber beyond. Then he returned to inform us of what he found.

He could smell a stronger taint of brimstone now, and a faint glow lent its illumination to this side of the rocks blocking the passage. Another tunnel leading off into the distance stood across from him on the other side of the chamber. Two side passages extended off to the left and right.

Two devils appeared from the side tunnels on either side of the cavern as Narion and I climbed through the crawlspace and down into the chamber. Each was black as coal, sharply bearded and bore a wickedly bladed pole arm.

Narion called up a magical shield to help protect him and, as the shapely leg of my lady began to emerge from the hole atop the rubble, I called forth a powerful divine vengeance of the Creator on these minions from Hell. The two devils struck at my soldier friend with the vile weapons, missing him as he danced to one side and his magical shield turned one of the blades aside.

As Narion and Kiri both engaged the devils, one of the fiends stepped back and, in a strong guttural voice, summoned forth more hellish minions to face us. Eight glowing little shapes began to form around us, and suddenly eight wormlike sluggish devils appeared and turned on us. The other heaved aside his glaive and attacked Narion with his claws, hoping to tear him apart with its sharp talons.

Feeling my dander rise, I called forth an explosion of the divine power of Arvandor and hammered our foes in a flash of green and purple and white light, slaying all eight of the smaller devils and crushing their summoner to the earth at his feet, where he lay, lifeless and broken.

With Rackhe’s arrival we then turned all our efforts to the last fiend attacking our friend and finally laid him down, Rackhe striking and driving him to the ground with a mighty swing from his sword, Foebane. Narion spun his spear in his hand and drove it deep into the eye socket of the prone devil.

Panting with exertion from the fight, he commented, “I think I hate these things.” Then he withdrew his spear and cleaned off the ichors dripping from it.

We checked the tunnel leading off to the left and found that after a crooked turn to the right, it opened into an oddly shaped chamber some thirty or forty feet long, ending in a solid rock wall of unnatural origin. We managed to determine that it had been created by the casting of a magical wall of stone spell. The passage to the right of the main chamber dipped and appeared full of dark standing water.

The corridor in front of us from the main chamber also eventually disappeared underwater, its ceiling offering only a slim margin between it and the top of the water as it disappeared into the inky blackness.

Not seeing any way to advance in either direction, and not wanting to try and breach the magical rock wall just yet, we decided to retreat to the ancient storeroom below the warehouse and recover our strength for another foray in the morning.

*~*~*~*~*

Leaving Rackhe and Narion to ably guard the shaft leading below to the tunnels, Kiri and I returned to the inn for some food and supplies. We want to buy/borrow four waterproof, closable bags, some food and water and wine. We also met up with Lodorin and informed him of what we found. Although he desperately wanted to join us fighting the beasts of Hell, he did realize that his duty lay here. Word had come that the relief force was very close now and would most likely appear in the next day or two. Turning to leave our knightly friend at his post on the wall, we noticed that the White Swan now bore a huge hole in its roof on one corner.

We retried to the inn and cleaned up a bit in the horse trough out back, the interior of the inn being crowded with refugees and wounded soldiers from the west gate.

Out in the town, there were many wounded and healing was going on. The acrid smell of burned buildings permeated the air, as blazing missiles from the enemy catapults had pummelled the town throughout the day. Fighting had been going on all day long. Arlen’s men had attacked the north wall by surprise, most of the town’s forces being diverted to counter an assault threatening the west gate as a diversion. Hastein’s compound had been hit by a burning catapult shot – many of the trees in his compound were now smouldering trunks of charred wood.

As we dried ourselves by the trough, some of the militiamen told us that the Corran, the young man I had talked to on the wall during the first attack, had leapt up and defended the wall from atop a siege ladder – but he had been wounded and had been taken to Alphdis’s temple. We talked with the small knot of soldiers and tried to raise their spirits. ”The winds are about to change, my friends,” I said, hinting at the coming of a relief force. I was disappointed that I couldn’t just come out and tell them, but we still did not know if there any spies left in town.

We finished chatting with the townsmen and Kiri took me off to the Amazing Bean for our supplies. They were closed, a passer-by telling us that they were currently on the wall keeping watch through the night. The whole town had mobilized and many townspeople were taking turns as sentries while the experience armsmen rested and recuperated from the actions of the day.

Another old fellow chimed in, “Nah. Malera and her apprentice are at the temple to Velnius. The young gal, Sousa, was wounded by an arrow to the arm and Malera took her there for healing.”

We thanked the man for the information and went off to the temple to see if there was anything that we could do to help.

Pushing open the doors to the temple, we found a dire scene indeed. Along the floor of the temple, bodies lay everywhere. Many of the benches had been removed while others served as beds for the walking wounded. Groans of people in pain and the smell of blood rose to greet us as we entered the chamber. Alphdis and some other townspeople moved about the room, nursing those they could, and tending the wounds of the men and women.

We found Malera and Sousa crouched off to one side, huddled over one of the bodies. As we approached, we saw that it was Corran, the young militiaman. He was lying with a great wound in his side as Sousa knelt beside him cradling his hand in hers, a tight reddened bandage wrapped around her arm, and whispering reassurances to him.

“Well, Malera, what business this?” I asked as we approached.

The three looked up at as and Malera said, “The lad was on the wall fighting of attackers scaling a ladder when he caught a spear in his belly.” She laid a soft hand fondly on his forehead. “He managed to drive the men back and throw off the ladder, but he collapsed soon after when an arrow pierced the same wound.”

Then she looked up at Sousa, “This one saw the archer who loosed the arrow and dropped him with a magical bolt of force.” She smiled at her apprentice. “She hasn’t left his side since he was brought off the wall.”

Alphdis appeared over my shoulder. “I can only help ease his pain and nurse him through the night. I have no more divine power to heal him or the others.” A great sigh of weariness and frustration heaved at her shoulders.

I looked up at her and then back at Corran. “Well, it looks like I can at least be of some small assistance,” I said as I laid a hand on Corran’s chest and muttered an elvish healing chant. The divine energy surrounded my hand and flowed into the youth, binding his wound and easing the pain from his body. “That is, if you don’t mind the power of the Seldarine lending their hands to assist the power of Vilnius,” I added with a soft smile.

“Thank you Calamar,” replied Alphdis as she turned and once again began circling through the temple to tend to more people.

Sousa looked up at me with shining eyes and whispered, “Thank you, elven father.”

I smiled back at her and, rolling up my sleeves and taking out my healer’s kit, I started to unbandage her arm.

*~*~*~*~*

Seeing that I was bending to my work as a healer, Kiri had gone off with Malera to see if she could entreat the woman to provide her some of the supplies we were looking for.

“Are you leaving town?” asked the wizardess of her.

Kiri answered her in the language of dragons, also the language of magic and less likely to be overheard and understood by casual people in the street, “No, no. Hush-hush. I can’t really say.”

“I noticed none of you were on the walls but I see you’ve been busy,” Malera observed, continuing in Draconic, noting some the rents in Kiri’s clothing and having seen the remnants of ichors on her.

Opening her store, she gave my lady the waterproof bags and that she had inquired after, then turned and took down a broad and wrapped bundle from a higher shelf in the back. Turning back the folds of cloth, she revealed a fine longsword to her. “Take this and give it to the priest. He should have use of it. It is highly enchanted and I was only saving it for the right customer or a rainy day.” Looking out her window into the refugee crowded street she added, “I can’t really think of it getting any worse than now, can you?”

“Well… Thank you,” answered Kiri, “But we really don’t have the coin to cover such a magnificent sword.”

Malera shook her head. “Consider it a loan then. Your man’s healing powers will be payment enough to cover that. You can return it after the fight when we’ve won.” Her smile gave Kiri a warm feeling that belied the difficult times the townspeople were enduring.

Taking the sword she said, “I shall indeed give it to Calamar. I’m sure he will bear it proudly on your behalf.”

*~*~*~*~*

As I tended the wounds of the people in the temple, I calmed their moods with stories of elven heroes past and fables of the Seldarine. I had gathered a small crowd as I tended to the broken leg of a young swordswoman, and I was in the midst of relating an allegory of two forests coming together to crush an invasive orcish hoard attacking a human enclave when Kiri returned.

Rising to greet my lover with a kiss and an embrace, she presented me with Malera’s sword. This seemed to please the gathered townspeople, who smiled kindly at me as I stood there in great surprise.

“I can’t accept that!” I cried. “It is too fine to be wielded by such as I. This sword should be in the hands of a great warrior, not some paltry village priest. Besides,” I said, grasping the hilt of my sword at my side, “I already bear a fine blade enchanted by the will of our people.”

Then, seeing the hurt looks of the townsfolk as I turned away the gift, I said, “Very well then, I shall bear this sword in helping to defend the town. In turn,” I looked at Corran, lifting my scabbard from my belt, “It only seems fair that one of your own should bear this blade of my people, showing how our two folk have come together to stand for what they believe in and love.”

As I handed Corran my sword, the boy stood there in disbelief. He drew the blade from the scabbard and marvelled at the detailed filigree that swam up and down the blade, complimenting the jewels in the hilt and the bright sapphire winking from the pommel. The swordswoman I had been tending whistled and interjected, “That is indeed a fine blade! The elves take great care in fashioning their swords and you, Corran, now bear an enchanted one gifted from a priest of the great Corellon Larethian, greatest of all their gods and known to favour the longsword.” She grinned from her position on the floor. “You will indeed have to bear it well to measure up.”

I cast a glance at the lad and the young girl, Sousa, standing by his side, looking admiringly from the sword to him and back again. But mostly at him.

With a smile I said, “I’m sure that Corran will have no problem measuring up,” adding with a soft chuckle, “I think he’s already started in some areas.”

This brought a round of merry laughter from the gathered folk and broad blushes from both Corran and Sousa. And so, my lover and I bade them goodbye and made our way back to Narion and Rackhe to wait out the night.

*~*~*~*~*

TO BE CONTINUED...