Missteps

Chapter 64 – Talk it Out

"Been waiting long?" Elaine asked as she and Iados deposited the tired berserker against the stone wall in the large hallway.

Iados shook his head. "Not really, but you've a second patient." He nodded towards the napping figure of Ander a few feet away. The halfling was bundled up in a large blanket as he used a pack for a pillow. "His shoulder's pretty wrecked."

A look of concern crossed the cleric's face as she rushed over. The look only deepened as she inspected the wound. "Where's Lia?"

"She's back in the room we were in." Carric explained as he watched Ander's shoulder be healed by the warm glow of Elaine's hand. Within seconds it was as if the wound had never existed. "She's not in the best of moods, and I think she wanted some time alone." The ranger pointed a thumb at the large mural on the wall. The eye socket of the red dragon had been filled in with a red gem. "You find a gem in your room?"

Elaine dug the crystal gem out of her pocket and handed it to the ranger. "Did you find the red one?"

"Nope," Carric walked over to the mural. The gemstone slid into place easily in the socket of the cream-colored dragon. "Lia went back to look for ours." He turned his head to ask Jun something but found the berserker fast asleep against the wall.

"So, what'd the two of you face?" Iados laid a second blanket out on the floor. He dug into his, Lia's, and Jun's packs for ration packs and went about setting up a picnic.

Elaine sighed and ran a hand over her head, her fingers finding the still-lit bolt she'd forgotten about jammed into her bun. "A giant, acid-spewing beetle. How about the two of you?"

Carric sat down cross-legged on the edge of the blanket as he passed over some rations to the akudaem. "A very hungry jug-"

Before he could finish his thought, a side wall suddenly opened up into a large archway. Wordlessly, a petite youth in leather overalls with long, frizzy, dark purple hair tied back with a strip of leather and a large frown walked into the room. Behind them, they pulled a long wooden tray that levitated a couple of feet off the ground. A large pot sat in the middle, with a ladle, spoons, and bowls alongside it. On the other side was a platter of sandwiches.

Iados raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" The smell of chicken broth hit his nostrils, and he wasted no time in repacking the suddenly unappetizing rations.

"The lunch lady." The youth grumbled as they brought the tray to a halt a foot away from the group. They pulled a metal rod out of their pocket and tapped a small indentation on the side of the tray three times. With every tap the wooden plank lowered itself until it was flush against the floor. The teenager replaced the rod, and then picked up a small wooden box from next to the bowls. They turned to look at Iados. "Hand it over."

"Hand what over?" The akudaem's head titled to the side.

The youth pointed at his pants and repeated the request.

A smirk appeared on the former pirate's face. "Aren't you a little young to ask for that?"

The frown dropped from the youth's face as their jaw dropped slightly in confusion. "What do you think I'm asking for?"

Iados stood up and laid a hand on his waist. "What do you think I think you're asking for?"

"I honestly have no idea." The teen flicked their eyes over towards Elaine and Carric. "Did he hit his head?"

"Probably." The ranger answered as he inspected the innards of the sandwiches. Except for a thin-cut slab of meat in the center, it was mostly composed of lettuce, tomato, and some sort of creamy condiment. He took a bite, and found it delicious. "Just tell us what it is you're looking for." Next to him Elaine ladled out several bowls of soup.

The youth rolled their eyes. "The ooze." They opened the box and held it towards the former pirate. "Hand it over."

Iados's hand shot down and covered the ooze's pocket protectively. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then you'll screw everything up." The youth gestured towards the door. "Those doors are enchanted to let only a certain number of creatures through." They turned to Carric. "My aunts weren't aware of your pet when they did the enchantments, so that's why they scooped up the weasel."

Carric's eyes narrowed. "It would have been nice of them to explain that before they stole her. Where is Shomma?"

The youth waved him off. "Being cared for in the workshop, don't worry." They stepped over towards Iados and shook the empty box at them. "Now, hand over the ooze."

The akudaem still hesitated. "Will I get it back?"

An eyebrow lifted on the youth's face. "Honestly, no idea. My aunts didn't expect the ooze to survive the encounter." They reached up and rubbed their chin. "I'll let them know you want it. You might be able to make a deal for it if you want."

Still hesitant, Iados pulled out the small ooze out of his pocket. He cupped the creature in his palm and gave it a small pet before gently depositing it in the offered box. "You let your Aunts know that I'm very interested."

The youth carefully closed the box under the stern eyes of the akudaem. "I'll be sure to do that." Their eyes flicked to a nearby doorway where the shadowy outline of an approaching elf could be seen. They began to step back. "I'll just be on my way then. Leave the bowls and table here when you lot move on, I'll collect them later." The wall opened up again and the youth disappeared through.

"What smells so good?" Lia asked as she stepped into the hallway.

Elaine held up her bowl from her position seated on the picnic blanket. "Soup and sandwiches, courtesy of the Star Sisters." She nudged Carric next to her. "Go wake up Jun and Ander."

"Come on, let them sleep for a bit longer." Iados sat down gracefully and pulled Lia with him. He snagged a sandwich and handed it to Lia, before he snatched one for himself. "Are you really in any hurry to face whatever's behind those doors?"

The cleric sighed. "Not really." She moved the soup around with her spoon as she gazed into her bowl. "This would normally be the time when Kerri would pull out her lute and sing."

Carric swallowed a spoonful of soup. "When we were fighting earlier, I swear I could hear her making fun of how I was going to die by a gang wearing footie pajamas." There was a round of laughter at that.

"It would be interesting to hear what kind of song she'd make out of all of this." Lia said around a bite. "What do you think she'd doing?"

Iados swallowed the last of his sandwich and reached toward a full bowl of soup. "If she kept to her plan, she should be in Lorbridge with the Entertainer's Guild."

"I can think of a better question." Carric stretched out his legs. "You think she's coming back?"

Elaine scoffed. "Of course she is, what kind of question is that?"

"A valid one." Iados defended. "If she finds the answers she's looking for, then she could go down a road we can't follow." He shrugged. "You learn very quickly on a pirate ship that there are some people that are only in your life for a little while."

The cleric scowled. "I don't accept that." She took an angry bite of her sandwich.

The four of them talked amongst themselves for another twenty or so minutes, mostly about what they'd already encountered and what might come next. Eventually, Ander and Jun were woken up, and both of them were grateful for the food.

As the two men finished their meal, Lia stood up with the final copper gem she'd found in the messy room. She crossed over to the mural and gently placed it in the final eye socket.

All three gems glowed with a soft blue light. The lights concentrated into three single points, before they flowed towards the cracked egg in the center. Slowly, the cracks were filled in with blue. Once the egg was whole again, the doors crumbled away.

"So, any idea on how we'll be separated this time?" Ander asked around a final mouthful of sandwich.

Iados stood up and stretched. "Does it really matter? I say we choose a doorway one at a time and let fate decide how we team up."

Carric yawned. "If that's our plan we may as well play 'boulder, parchment, shears'."

Elaine began to stack the empty bowls back on the tray. "First two losers go through the first door." She decreed.

Ander's eyebrows furrowed. "Why just the first two?"

She pointed to a spot above the closest door. Everyone turned to look, and they could all now see the '2' that had appeared in the stone above the door. A quick look at the second door revealed a '4' above it. "I'm guessing that's how many people are allowed in."

"You mean 'creatures'," The violet-skinned akudaem corrected as he thought back to the youth's words. "I'm all for the game. Any objections?"

No one spoke up.

The six of them gathered together, put out their hands, and played. After two rounds it was decided that Ander and Carric would be paired up.

The new duo didn't have to travel far through the doorway before they entered a small room. Save for a dome light on the ceiling that lit the space brightly, the room was completely bare of any furnishings.

Across the way, standing in front of a stone door, was a large bugbear. Their entire body was covered in course, brown fur, while they were adorned in nice, black leather armor. The bugbear's facial features were pinched and elongated, the only trace of its goblinoid lineage. A long, ugly scar ran the length of its face.

Like most of the more monstrous races, there were several theories as to how bugbears came to exist. Case of nature magic gone wild? Some wizards experiment? Carric had even heard that some people believed they were derived from an encounter of a hibernating female bear and a very drunk (or stupidly brave) goblin. The most consistent information out there about bugbears that both Carric and Ander were very aware of as they approached the creature, was their short tempers.

"Stop." The bugbear commanded in a very deep tone of voice. On either side of the creature, were two small crates. A spiked Morningstar leaned against the wall behind him. "Were you sent by the sisters?"

Ander gulped. "We were. Are we supposed to fight you?" Next to him, Carric slowly readied his bow.

The bugbear shrugged. "Beebe was told only that Beebe must 'defeat' you. Sisters did not state it had to be a fight."

The wizard's head cocked to the side. "Don't you want to fight?"

The creature pointed to the large scar on his face. "Last time Beebe fight, Beebe did not do so good. Sisters were disappointed, and did not let Beebe go."

Carric frowned. "Are you a prisoner of the Sisters?"

Beebe shook his head. "Brother sold Beebe to slavers so brother could take Beebe's wife. Sisters bought Beebe on the condition that Beebe work for five years. Beebe mostly do manual labor for Sisters, but occasionally Beebe is told to fight."

"How much longer do you have left?" Carric asked.

"Beebe still has a year left, but Sisters say that if Beebe defeats opponents, then Beebe can go home early." The bugbear grinned. "Beebe looking forward to killing brother and taking brother's wife."

"Makes sense. Give us a moment, will you?" The ranger knelt down and put his head close to Ander's. "So, what do you think?"

The wizard breathed out heavily. "I think if we can get out of here without a fight we do it." He looked suspiciously at the two crates. "Think we can get away with a game of 'boulder, parchment, shears'?"

Carric's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

Ander nodded. "That stupid game got us here, maybe it can get us out. Besides, if need be I still got tricks I can pull, and you have swords."

The ranger grimaced. "I wouldn't trust my swords." He stood up and nudged the halfling forward.

"Do you know how to play 'boulder, parchment, shears'?" The small wizard asked.

Beebe grinned and nodded. "Beebe used to play with brother all the time." He scratched his head. "How will we play here? There are no boulders here."

Carric had to bite his lip from grinning at the statement.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"No, no, we won't play with actual boulders, or parchment or shears." Ander clarified. He held out his hand and demonstrated the movements. It took a few minutes of practice before Beebe got a handle on them.

The big bugbear nodded. "Ok, Beebe got it. Which one play?"

Ander furrowed his eyebrows. "Can't we both play?"

Beebe shook his head. "Only one of you will fight Beebe in this game. You two play first with each other to decide champion." A large grin graced the bugbear's face.

The wizard rolled his eyes and turned to Carric. He held out his hands. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Carric crouched down and brought his hands up as well. "You sure we don't want to just fight him?"

Ander shook his head and the game started. The first round was a tie, with both men throwing 'parchment'. The second round, Ander's 'boulder' destroyed Carric's 'shears'.

When the wizard turned to face Beebe, he found that the bugbear had moved forward, and was now only a few feet from them.

"Beebe had hoped to fight you." The bugbear grinned broadly and dropped to their knees, hands at the ready. Even on his knees, the bugbears long torso was still taller than Ander's whole halfling height.

Carric gave the suddenly hesitant wizard a nudge forward.

Ander brought his hands up. "Are we doing best of three?"

Beebe shook his head. "One win, one winner."

"Alright then," The small halfling took a large breath. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't asked what would happen if Beebe won. Too late now as the bugbear started the game. First round, the two put out 'shears'. Second round, both of them tied again with 'boulders'. As the two combatants went into the third round, Ander's hands began to shake as he threw out 'parchment'. Beebe played 'boulder'.

"Yes!" Ander pulled his fist and fist-bumped into the air. The journey was interrupted as the small fist collided with the underside of Beebe's chin.

Beebe chuckled as the small humanoid cradled their now-aching hand. "I'm impressed, you know how bugbears celebrate victories."

Carric grinned at the sudden image of what would have happened had Beebe won. "So, can we leave now?"

The bugbear nodded and stood up. He fished a silver key from out of his armor and handed it to Ander. "We had a deal, and Beebe has been defeated. Beebe will have to wait a bit longer to kill brother."

Carric stepped forward and clapped the bugbear on the shoulder. "We'll put in a good word with the Sisters."

Beebe chuckled. "That would be good, if you survive what's next." The bugbear turned and headed back to his crates. "Beebe helped move the final creature to its room. It nearly ate Beebe if not for the Sisters."

Ander and Carric shared a worrying look.

"What is in the final room?" Ander asked.

Beebe shook their head. "Beebe cannot tell you. Beebe can only wish you luck." The bugbear gestured towards the door.

The duo took the hint, and wasted no more time before using the key to open the door. As they crossed the threshold into the next hallway, they could hear Beebe speaking to the crates, and apologizing for not letting them out to play.

The group of Jun, Lia, Iados, and Elaine didn't have to travel far before they came upon their next challenge. The room was one of the largest they'd seen yet. As the four of them stood in the doorway, they could see rocky walkways outlined by batches of colorful fungi. In the center of the room was a large pedestal, with a spiraling staircase nearly ten feet in the air. On top of the pedestal was a mound of pillows, upon which a gorgeous black-haired beauty lay sprawled in a white satin dress. Above her was a gorgeous chandelier that bathed the area in a dim light.

"She doesn't look dangerous." Iados observed as they watched the woman eat an apple.

Lia shook her head. "We've yet to find anything not dangerous."

The akudaem pouted. "Henry wasn't."

The elf's face screwed up in confusion as she looked at her boyfriend. "Who's Henry?"

"The ooze." He answered.

Elaine shook her head. "I'm vetoing Henry."

Iados's jaw dropped. "You can't veto my ooze!"

"I'm not vetoing the ooze, just the name." Elaine clarified. "Did you ever consider that maybe the ooze already has a name?"

"Is this really the time?" Jun grumbled.

"Oh don't stop them." The soft voice floated from the mess of pillows. "It's the most stimulating conversation I've heard in days."

Everyone's eyes moved back to the pedestal.

The woman held up a hand and gestured them all forward. "There's no use crowding over there, you've already lost the element of surprise."

As they'd already been caught, the group followed the pathway towards the woman.

"That's far enough." The woman commanded as her visitors reached the bottom of the staircase. She leaned over the edge, supported by her pillows, and gazed down at the group. "So, you're the ones whom the Sisters sent to kill me."

Lia shook her head. "We were told to 'travel' up the tower, we weren't told to kill you. Perhaps we could find a peaceful solution?"

The woman laughed. "Of course those old toads left some wiggle room, it's no fun otherwise. I assume that this 'peaceful solution' would mean I give you this?" She pulled out a silver key from a small chain around her neck.

The group on the ground peered around the pedestal and finally saw the stone door on the other side of the room.

"If that key opens the door, then yes." Jun stated.

The woman smiled again. "How about a trade? Leave the men with me, and I'll let the women leave unharmed." Her eyes raked over the men, and for a moment both Iados and Jun felt an unfamiliar pressure in their minds.

Elaine shook her head. "We can't do that. We have some gems, would you like them?"

She sighed heavily and hung her head. "What use would I have for gems in a place like this?"

"What if you come with us?" Iados suggested.

"Oh if only I could." The woman lamented. She gestured towards the ceiling. "The Sisters made sure that I can't." Everyone looked up, and in the dim light from the chandelier, could barely make out etched runes that seemed to stretch the length of the room.

"So, you're a prisoner?" Jun asked.

The woman sighed and flopped back onto her back. "I don't know what I am. These dreadful pirates captured me last week and brought me here. I was presented like a gift to those old toads. All they told me when they put me in here, was not to let anyone pass." She huffed and threw a pillow off the pedestal. "I'm so bored in here."

Iados scratched the back of his head. "Listen, we're really sorry about that, but we kind of need to pass through that door. Can we hurry up and come to some kind of an agreement?"

The woman didn't say anything.

The four of them looked at each other, none of them sure as to the next course of action.

"Have any of you ever been in love?" The soft voice suddenly asked.

Jun cleared his throat. "A couple of times, yeah."

She peeked her head out over the side. "What happened?"

"Well, they didn't work out." He answered. The woman motioned for him to continue. Jun sighed. "The first time, I was just a teenager. She was the daughter of my Lord, and she was engaged to someone else."

"Did you let that stop you? The fact that she was with someone else?" The woman questioned.

Jun shook his head. "She wasn't really with them, it was an arranged marriage set up by her father. She didn't want it." His voice went soft. "Actually, the night before the wedding, she snuck into my room. She begged me to sleep with her. She was disgusted by the thought of her first time being with a stranger."

The woman's eyes went wide as she leaned down even more. "What did you do?" Next to him, all three of his companions waited to hear the answer as well.

The berserker sighed. "It doesn't matter what I did or didn't do, the next day she got married and left."

"And the second time?" She pressed.

Jun shrugged. "She was the mother of my child, but we couldn't make it work. What about you? You ever been in love?"

The woman sighed dejectedly. "I was, madly in fact. He was married, of course, but I didn't care. I loved him, and I thought he loved me." She laughed. "I even gave him children, bastard children who he denied giving his name to. After a few years, I asked him to choose me. Choose me to be his wife, cast aside that other woman who couldn't give him children. I'd already given him two sons, it should have been a no-brainer."

"Did he say 'no'?" Lia asked.

The woman scoffed. "The barren bitch birthed him a son before he could say anything. He turned his back on me and our children. Denied that we existed, that we'd ever had anything." She laughed bitterly and sat up. "But I wasn't going to take that. I went to his home, to see his wife and let her know what kind of man she was married to. At least, that was the plan. But, when I saw her I was filled with so much rage, that I ended up killing her." She held out a hand and twirled her fingers. "You see, I'd always been gifted. Ever since I was a child I could read minds, twist people to do what I wanted, and sometimes I could hurt them. So that's what I did, I crammed myself into her mind and tore at it until there was nothing left."

On the ground, the four members of M.A. shared worrying looks. Slowly Elaine and Iados began to stealth up the staircase, to get a better look at what else might be on the pedestal. Jun stood next to Lia, his hand resting on his warhammer.

The woman didn't make any move that she even noticed, so engrossed was she in sharing her story. "After I killed her, I waited for him to come home. I wanted to give him another chance to take me on as his wife. I even sat with his infant son in my arms to show him that I could be the child's mother. He wasn't as, receptive, as I'd expected. He cursed at me and called the guards. I figured he just needed more time, so I gave him the child and left. I told him I'd come to see him a few days."

"What happened next?" Lia kept her gaze on the woman. She took a few steps back so that it was easier for the woman to see her. The elf wanted the attention on her, not on the figures coming up the stairs.

The woman's face twisted in rage. "He sent those miserable guards after me, and our children. He spread lies that I was dangerous. He offered a reward to see me dead. My children and I were chased for days. On the fifth day, the guards captured us and threw all three of us into a snake pit. Do you know what it's like to be bit dozens and dozens of times by venomous snakes? To be forced to lie there and watch the light be drained out of the eyes of your children? To know that even as powerful as you are, in that moment you are helpless?"

Lia's mind flashed back to the nightmare that Bymer had thrown her in. "But, you survived."

"Oh, I did." A maniacal laugh erupted out of the woman's mouth. Her body began to rise up in the air. "On the edge of death, an old crone approached the edge of the pit. With a twist of her hand, the men who had thrown my children to their death died as their necks twisted. She asked me what I wanted, I told her 'vengeance', and I was gifted a new lease on life." With a shimmer, the woman's legs disappeared. In their place was a long, green, serpentine tail. It twisted under her, over the pillows, and hung a foot over the side of the platform. "I got my revenge on the man who broke my heart and his pitiful son. But my vengeance didn't stop there. I traveled, and took my rage out upon other men who dared look upon my form with lustful eyes instead of their loves. I took it upon myself to find vengeance for any woman who'd had their hearts broken by a man. I became Natasia, the Vengeful Serpent."

The elf's eyes widened at the name. Back home she'd heard stories of the dreadful creature who stalked their prey in the dead of night. Who'd whisper a name on the wind, and lure grown men from their homes. Some of the tales even said that she'd steal children, and hold them for five days before leaving them dead in the bottom of a pit. The last she'd heard of the creature, it'd been captured and marooned on an island, far away from civilization.

For the akudaem who had sneaked to the top of the platform, a different kind of fear entered him. As a pirate, their course had once taken them very close to a small island. Never before had he'd seen Captain Eldon afraid to approach an island, but he was afraid that night. Every man on board had been instructed to wait in the hull, while the women of the ship bolted the doors and sailed the ship. That night, no man got a wink of sleep as they heard the voice of Natasia echo in their head, urging them to come and ravish her.

Iados pulled his sword, bolted to his feet, and ran at the slithering body. He sliced deeply in the scaled hide.

Natasia screamed in pain and looked down at him. "You will pay for that!" She screeched. Her form began to shift and bend as her image became distorted.

Elaine peeked over the edge of the platform and tried to discern a firm target for her crossbow.

Great yellow eyes met hers, and the cleric felt a presence penetrate her mind. "I have no quarrel with you. Do not attack me, and I will allow you to live."

Natasia's soothing voice floated through Elaine's ears and took root in the holy woman's mind. The command was followed by a sense of foreboding dread that settled into the pit of her stomach. In that instant, she was sure of only one thing: if she attacked Natasia, she would suffer. Actually, she was sure of two things. The second was that she was tired of hearing the woman's voice.

The cleric reached up and grasped the holy symbol around her neck. She prayed to Vowil that what she was doing was right. A yellow and white light flashed in her eyes for a second, before Elaine focused on a singular spot on the platform right next to the serpentine tail. The same light sparked in the chosen spot and grew to form a large sphere that only Elaine could see. Within the sphere, all noise was eliminated.

Iados blinked several times as his world suddenly went quiet. He narrowly dodged a tail attack by diving to the ground. Before he could get back up, a large dire wolf sailed over him and pounced on the woman. Natasia was dragged back down onto her pillows as Bitey held one of the woman's arms in her teeth.

The former pirate stood up and attacked any body part he could see, but he struggled to find the real body amidst the distortions.

To the side, Elaine had backed down on the staircase. Natasia's command still reverberated strongly within her, and at the moment she was useless in combat. She glanced over to Jun and saw that he was attempting to grab hold of the end of serpentine tail that hung over the edge of the dais, also in silence. Like Iados, the berserker was having trouble distinguishing what was real or not.

Bitey was the only one doing any real damage to Natasia, a fact that serpent-woman was very upset by. With her powers essentially nullified by the silence, all she could do was rake at the dire wolf's face and body with her clawed hands. With her tail, she attempted to shove the former pirate off the dais, but he was too quick-footed to allow that.

Finally, Jun managed to grab the real tail of the serpent-woman as her distortion spell finally came to an end. He pulled with all his might but didn't have the leverage to drag the large body off the platform.

From her place atop their foe, Bitey was able to see what Jun attempted to do. The dire wolf relinquished her grasp on the woman's arm, and instead bit deep into her shoulder-blade. With her new hold, the dire wolf moved towards the edge of the dais, dragging the humanoid body after her. Together with Jun's muscle, it wasn't long before both Natasia and Bitey tumbled over the edge.

With her now literally at his feet, Jun grabbed his warhammer and slammed it down into the serpentine body. At practically the same time, Iados launched himself from atop the dais and buried his heel into the fleshy underbelly of the tail.

Natasia howled in silent agony. She gritted her teeth and with all of her strength pushed the dire wolf off of her. She crawled towards the closest wall, desperate to get out of the silence, and away from her attackers that she kept at bay with several ferocious whips of her tail. She huddled against the wall, her breath coming in gasps as blood-stained what was left of the white satin dress. Her eyes widened as she realized she could hear herself gasp.

"Stop, I surrender!" The woman threw her hands up in front, her eyes seeking the one person she knew couldn't hurt her.

Elaine stepped closer till she too was out of the silence. She motioned for her comrades to halt their attacks as she kept her gaze on the serpent-woman. "Is this for real?"

Natasia shook her head. "I know when I've been beat. I haven't lived this long by being a fool." She reached up and yanked the key off her neck. She threw it at the cleric's feet. "Go, and leave me. I'd rather be bored than dead."

The dark-skinned woman hesitated. "You don't have to live your life this way."

Iados came up next to her, and scooped the key off the ground.

The woman shook her head, as the tail slowly coiled around her. "I've lived like this for so long, that I don't remember any other way." She laughed coldly. "Perhaps the Sisters put me here as a way to punish me for my crimes. To rehabilitate me before releasing me back into the wild like an animal."

The akudaem's eyes narrowed. "If that's the case, then you'll be here till the end of time." He jerked Elaine's shoulders around and forcefully shoved her towards the door. Bitey and Jun followed after, both of them glaring daggers as all four passed through the doorway.

Lia didn't revert back to her elven form until after the doorway had closed again behind them.

When the four of them exited the small hallway, they were greeted with a large rectangular room. Carric and Ander were waiting for them. The room was lit by two simple circular chandeliers. Six cots had been set up in the middle of the room, each of them outfitted with a pillow and blanket. Another platter of various finger foods sat against a wall.

After the last creature had crossed the threshold of the entrance, the large archway disappeared. For the moment, it appeared to everyone that they were trapped in the windowless and door-less room.

"What took you so long?" Carric asked as he sat up from lounging on his cot.

Iados sighed heavily as he crossed the room. "Crazy snake lady. You?"

The ranger pointed to the wizard. "He played 'boulder, parchment, shears' against a bugbear." At the moment Ander was busy explaining the magical properties of a large metal bathtub that had been cordoned off by several sets of heavy drapery. According to him, it had been spelled to keep warm and replenish itself with new water with each new bather.

The akudaem grinned as he sat down on a cot next to the ranger. "So, managed to avert yet another fight. Lucky."

Carric shook his head. "From what Beebe the bugbear said, that luck is gonna run out in the next room." He picked up a sheaf of parchment from the floor next to him and handed it over. Before Iados could grab it, Jun came up and snatched it.

"Looks like we're to get comfy." The berserker laid his gear down on an empty cot as he read over the missive. He rolled his eyes and handed the parchment back to the akudaem. He looked over at Carric as he sat down. "Tell me more about this bugbear. I didn't know they could talk."