IMPETITUS, TEMPLAR OF THE BLUE FLAME

The Templar couldn't watch as Gregan skinned the Wolf Lord to claim his trophy and fame. Something about skinning an intelligent beast did not settle with him. The Templar took the time to complete his prayers and recharge his gifted holy powers. He knelt and prayed.

Viridal sat against a tree and was reading his small book. The wizard looked more disheveled than usual. The recent battle took a significant toll on his sanity. He would laugh for no reason, and his dark pupil-less would look widely about.

"Must focus, must focus, hehe, must focus," he mumbled. The wizard did his best to maintain his attention on reading his book.

"Will he be alright?" Gregan asked Markham. The dwarf was helping him with the gruesome task.

"Aye, he jess needs to steady da mind."

"He is always in that book of his," observed Gregan. They had hung the Wolf Lord's large frame from a tree and drained the blood. Turns out demons didn't have a lot of fluid. Now the half-orc was skinning the midnight dark fur. Even in death, the coat was still misty, like moving shadows.

"Ya, it's a holy book to Numaron. Ah used to think da mage was a bit of a fluke. Nose in the book, distracted from reality. The truth of it was that he be keeping his mind sharp and steady. As much as it pains me to say it. He is da best there is with da art," explained the dwarf.

Verene was hovering behind the two. Silent but observing. She was fascinated with what the insides of the demon looked like. Her attention perked as she noticed something odd within the gory remains of the wolf. Smoothly, she reached past the dwarf and half-orc and retrieved a large ruby. It was hidden above the lungs and near where a heart should have been.

"What is this?" She asked, holding the giant gem in her two hands. As the slime dripped off, the gem became more noticeable and shiny.

"By the terms of our agreement, that is mine," growled Gregan.

"No, you claim the trophy and the fame. This is entirely different," Verene said as she gracefully moved out of the half-orcs reaching hands. She could sense magic from it. Her knowledge of the arcane was limited. She only took the time to master shadow magic. She cared for nothing else.

"Hehe, through the realm of doubt and despair, hehe, one must build a bastion. A tower made from the bricks of discipline. Chiseled and smooth. Focus, hehe, focus. Go inside the tower as it guards you against the winds of madness…" Chanted Viridal as the wizard read from his book.

"Viridal, take a look at this," Verene said. She ignored his struggles. It irked her that he overtaxed himself. She always kept within her limits. She thought it a weakness when a mage lets the art overcome them. Her mind was not a tower but a sharp-edged sword. It did not block the winds of madness but sliced through them.

"I am inside my tower. I am serene. I am focused," Viridal said and then closed his eyes and hummed.

"Viridal?" Verene prodded again.

"By Numaron's holy scales, woman! You are insufferable," cried Viridal as the mage opened his pupilless eyes in a rage. His face softened when he saw the ruby.

"Ooh, now that is a prize. A prize indeed," the mage said, reaching with greedy fingers. Verene, with reluctance, handed him the ruby.

"By rights, that is mine," Gregan stated again.

"Hush, little man. Keep your primitive trophy and get your worthless fame. This here is beyond your simple mind," The wizard said, not even looking at the half-orc.

Gregan removed his hands from inside the beast and clenched his fists as he made to teach the mage a lesson in humility. A brutal lesson. He was stopped by the sizeable armored frame of the Templar. Impetitus gave a commanding glance at the half-orc, causing them to pause a moment. He turned a stern look to the mage.

"Viridal, silence your arrogance. Do your duty and tell us what the ruby does," Impetitus ordered.

"Perhaps I won't…" Viridal began to say in defiance. But the stern look from the Templar caused him to change his mind. He had seen the holy warrior's capabilities and most certainly did not want to test them.

"It is a portal gem. This, combined with the Talisman, we can go directly to the Dungeon."

"What?" Markham asked as he looked up from the Shadow Wolf Lord's remains.

"It seems our last foray had unnecessary steps. We were so focused on entering the Dungeon through the Scorched Plains that if only we had defeated the Wolf Lord instead of letting him escape, we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble. This gem is the key to the entire Wastelands. If I am not mistaken. There are only two in known existence," explained the mage.

"That is fortunate. Gregan, gather up your trophies and the remains of your companions. Viridal take us back to the encampment," Impetitus ordered.

The half-orc and the wizard complied. After several moments the group stood around the mage. Gregan and Markham carried the packs of the fallen and the large pelt of Nezarit. Viridal cracked the returning gem, and they all vanished.

Back at the encampment, the group was heralded as champions. The small number of hunters cheered at their impressive achievement. Gregan sought a portal mage and paid for the remains to be returned to Adventure Port so his companions could get them. He also scribbled a note informing them of his success.

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"I need a scribe to document our deeds," Gregan said, holding up the dark shadowy pelt of the Wolf Lord.

"Viridal can do it," Impetitus stated.

"What?" The mage cried.

"Viridal, honor our agreement, and let's be gone from here," Verene said.

"Why? We don't need him. He can just go and claim his own reward himself."

"We need him. We may need more. Do you recall the Dungeon? Do you recall the goblins we chase? What they did to us last time we faced them?" The Templar growled.

“You are a cleric of Numaron?” Gregan asked, pointing the finger at the mage.

"I'm a favored of Numaron," Viridal answered proudly.

"That's not what I asked," Gregan said with a snort. He added, "I'm a favored of the god of war, Ararax, but that doesn't make me a cleric of his."

"He is an acolyte and can send a scribe spell to mark you down for the achievement of defeating Nezarit. Hold up the pelt and the red stone. Viridal complete the Scribing," Impetitus ordered tiredly.

"Scribings are quite expensive," Viridal said defiantly.

"By Viaiter's roads, Viridal, just do the fecking ritual so we can be out of here," Verene swore. She handed the half-orc, with reluctance, the red Portal Gem.

Gregan told Viridal the names of his colleagues.

"I got it!" The wizard snapped.

"You have my thanks," Gregan said solemnly.

The mage mumbled and dug into his robes to pull out a long folded-up scroll. Untying the ribbon, the mage unfolded the parchment and began to recite the Scribing. He mentioned Gregan and his colleagues' names. He sprinkled dust over the half-orc, the pelt, and the stone. At this, the scroll began to glow and float in the air. Viridal dug into his pouches for a candle. He lit it with a fire spell, and melted wax dripped onto the floating scroll. Then the mage pulled out a signet ring and smudged it on the wax.

"Sign here," he ordered, and the half-orc took up the quill and signed where directed.

The scroll flared brightly before disintegrating into ash. Viridal put his items away while mumbling curses the whole time. Verene deftly snatched the ruby from Gregan's hands before he could even think of objecting. He admired the mage thief's dexterity. Verene pulled out the wooden Talisman and held it together with the ruby. The two began to glow.

"Let's depart to the Dungeon," she said eagerly.

"Wait. We first go to the Scorched Plains," said Impetitus.

"What? We don't have to now. We have the Portal Gem!" Exclaimed Verene.

"True, but I want to visit the Adventurer encampment first in the Scorched Plains. I want to see if anyone knows about the goblins," explained Impetitus.

"Aye, that's a good plan. And we can recruit more to join our cause," Markham added.

Viridal shrugged with indifference. Gregan seemed to side with the dwarf, and Verene quickly noticed she was outvoted. She sulked. They opened the portal to the Scorched Plains, and once through it, Viridal cracked a returning gem that brought them to the Scorched Plains Encampment.

SCORCHED PLAINS ADVENTURER CAMP

"May Viaiter guide you safely, adventurers," an old cleric greeted with a bow. She wore a travel cloak and was hunched over, leaning heavily on a walking staff. A simple stone shrine carved with the likeness of a road was behind her.

Verene dropped coins and bowed before the aged cleric. She received a blessing as the cleric touched her head.

"Who else is here, revered one?" Verene asked respectfully.

"One other only. The rest are us, priests and shopkeepers that tend to this encampment," the old cleric said in a shaky voice of the aged. She motioned with a wrinkled hand over toward the drinking tent.

Seated under the tarp on a heavy rug was an onyx-skinned warrior. She was nursing an injured arm. In her good hand, she was drinking from a large flagon. She wore tanned leather armor with a long chain wrapped around her upper torso. Her hair was braided into a bun at the back of her head. It was nighttime on the Plains, and the air was chilly. A large campfire gave warmth and illumination in the center of the encampment, near the drinking tent. The shopkeeper completed an incantation to allow glowing lamps to float around the seating area in anticipation that the group would come and sit down.

"Ye all going in? Need another? I got some goblins to kill," the onyx-skinned warrior slurred out.

"Goblins?" Impetitus asked and walked over to the warrior. With a wave of his hand, he bathed her arm with a blue light and healed her wounds.

"My thanks, templar. You heard right. My party was making a run and encountered a group of goblins traveling with an orc and a dark elf. They bested my friends. I was able to smash a returning gem before they got me."

"Tell us more," Verene said silkily as she sat next to the warrior.

The chain warrior smiled at Verene and sat up to lean close. She placed her flagon on the bar, and her eyes became sharp and focused.

"The name's Vix," she said and extended a heavily calloused hand. Verene shook it.

"Now, about the goblins."

Vix laughed and motioned to the bartender to get a round of drinks. The warrior threw coins on the table and then sat back, resting her long legs on the countertop. Her worn traveling boots kicked up dust.

"You going in?" Asked Vix.

"We are heading into the Dungeon," Markham answered. The dwarf took a long swig from the flagon of ale she had purchased. He liked her already.

Vix arched an eyebrow and asked, "What about the goblins?"

"We know where they are heading," Impetitus answered.

"Ye should join us," Markham asked and received a scowl from Verene.

Gregan nodded in agreement. He was also drinking from a flagon. Anyone who would buy him a drink should be good enough to fight with, was his thinking. Viridal was drinking tea and was staring intently at Vix. This was odd because he normally only stared at his book. Don't tell me the mage has a crush on the beautiful warrior woman, Thought Verene.

"What can you offer?" Impetitus asked. He was not drinking.

"I fight bloody well. I won the games three times straight," Vix said proudly.

"A gladiator! That explains the chains. Not many fight with them," said Gregan.

"Wicked hard to master," observed Markham.

"Yes! That's where I have seen you!" Exclaimed Viridal. The mage slapped his hand on the table. He startled the others with his unusual outburst.

"At the Games! You were a work of art. So masterful. I've never cared for martial fighting. But watching you! Watching you was like seeing raw, untamed magic. You are an artist!" Viridal said excitedly.

"Why, thank you, friend! It's always a pleasure to meet a fan," Vix said with a nod.

That closed the deal for Impetitus. He didn't care to be traveling with mercenaries and now a gladiator. But his mission was perilous. Perilous times caused drastic decisions.

"Welcome aboard," he said, extending his gauntleted hand. Vix shook it with a wicked grin. She raised her flagon.

"Here's to killing goblins!"