Max approached a group of Dark Mages that were hidden at the edge of the forest overlooking a wide beaten-earth road. There was dust rising in the distance, away to the north. The Dark Mages crouched in the trees, and all appeared to be watching the approaching dust cloud. Max was surprised they were not interested in him. He was hidden, but he felt sure they had been lying in wait for him and his party. He was sure they had not lost interest in capturing him, but for now, their attention lay elsewhere.
Max fell back quietly and quickly and met with his party.
“They may be preparing an ambush, but not for us. They are overlooking a wide road, and something or someone is approaching from the north. It looks like a large group judging by the dust it is throwing up.”
“It’s the Kraken Sea Coast Road,” Elderon said. “We made very good time to get here so fast.”
“Could it be reinforcements for the Deadtide army coming from Eastwind?” Anita said and then turned to Max. “The Kraken Sea Coast Road connects The Hinge to Eastwind. It marks the eastern edge of the Kingdom of Deepwood.”
“Why would a group of Dark Mages be lying in wait for Deadtide soldiers?”
Anita charmed a nearby bird. She used her Wilderness Lore to see through its eyes as it flew high over the forest. Max watched her. She was in a trance, a daydream, her eyes darting this way and that under closed eyelids. After a few moments, her eyes burst open.
“Yes, a large group is approaching. It looks like a well-armed company of soldiers.”
“Are they Deadtide soldiers? Men of Eastwind? Did you see a banner?” Elderon said.
Anita closed her eyes again and was lost in a trance for a little longer this time. When she opened her eyes, she wore a look of surprise, possibly a little of fear. She looked at Elderon. “No banner, but I was close enough to see who they are. It’s a company of elves.”
Jahrod let out a low grumble. “Not those bastards,” he said. He pulled a chunk of rotting meat from his bag and stuffed it into his mouth.
“What are elves doing so far from Deepwood?” Elderon said.
“Elves?” Max said. “What, like pointy ears and all that jazz?”
“Not sure what the jazz is, but pointy ears for sure, not to mention a heavy dose of arrogance,” Jahrod said and then let out a long and smelly burp.
Elderon rubbed his beard. “And why are the Dark Mages preparing to ambush them?”
“Gold,” Jahrod said. “Elves will have lots of gold and good steel.”
“Let’s get a closer look,” Elderon said. He turned to Max. “Can you activate your Sneak ability and get us close enough to observe without alerting the Dark Mages or the elves?”
“I sure can,” Max said. He pulled up his hood and moved off.
Max found his way to the tree line. The Dark Mages had moved from their original position but then Max saw them, hiding behind rocky outcrops and scrubby bushes, hidden from the road below but visible to Max in his position above them. They had moved in closer to the road, ready to attack.
Looking down onto the wide road, Max could see the company of elves. He estimated their number to be about fifty soldiers. They marched in formation, a large covered supply wagon pulled by a horned beast in the center of the formation. The soldiers’s robes were white with golden braid. Bright swords shone in the midday sun.
Max fell back and deactivated his Sneak ability to lead the others to a safe vantage point. He pointed out the Dark Mages and the company of elves to Elderon. Although the Dark Mages were outnumbered by the elves, they had the element of surprise and a devastating arsenal of spells. A few spells of Soothing Cloud of Sleep would put all the elves to sleep, and they would be at the mercy of the Dark Mages, to be either robbed or murdered. From what Max knew of the Dark Mages, either one seemed just as likely, maybe even both.
The elves were entering the zone of ambush. Max could sense Anita was feeling anxious.
“Should we try and warn the elves?” Max said.
Jahrod shot him a fierce look. Max didn’t know if these elves were good or bad, but it seemed wrong that they would just sit and watch the Dark Mages spring a trap. One thing Max was sure of, he didn’t owe the Dark Mages any favors.
At that moment, a low chant grew up from the Dark Mages. The elves on the road marched on into the kill zone.
The Dark Mages were chanting, and a brown cloud grew out of the ground and began rolling down the hill towards the road. The elves marched on.
“They must see it,” Max said.
The elves marched on, not missing a step. And then they all stopped as the cloud came within a few feet. The covers swiftly were pulled from the wagon. A tall elf in long dark robes stood and held up their hands. A black sheet that looked like heavy rain moved forward and blew the brown cloud back toward the Dark Mages. The droplets of black rain sparkled as they fell. When the sparkling black rain stopped falling, the brown cloud of Sleep had been eliminated. Then the elves charged.
A volley of magic missiles leapt forward from the line of Dark Mages. Many elves fell, but many more continued. They ran in silence, drawing their swords.
Then Max saw a flash of silver in the scrubby bushes behind the line of Dark Mages. A line of elves were drawing their swords.
The Dark Mages noticed the elves on their rear at almost the same time Max did. Some turned and cast defensive spells to cover the rear. Some cast offensive spells, Magic Missiles and Cones of Frost. A fireball erupted on the far flank. Some Mages drew their longswords, but others chose to flee. They ran to the sides to save themselves from being trapped between the lines of the elves.
And those Dark Mages ran into yet more elves, hiding in position to cut off just such a retreat.
The melee combat was swift and brutal. When all was done, not one Dark Mage was standing.
“Looks like their ambush didn’t go according to plan,” Max said. He had an unpleasant feeling in his gut having seen so many Dark Mages defeated in such a short space of time, utterly destroyed, outfought and outthought by the elves.
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“They knew the Dark Mages were waiting for them,” Max said.
“Indeed,” Elderon said. “And the Dark Mages knew they were coming. But why did they attack? This was not about gold or steel.”
“Should we go and ask?” Max said.
Jahrod and Elderon spoke together, firmly and urgently.
“No.”
Anita pulled Max down closer to the ground. She looked into his eyes and gently shook her head. “Better we leave and remain undetected.” She turned to Elderon. “There is a small mining town on the ridge a few leagues south. We head there, rest and resupply. And we can keep tabs on this elven company.”
Elderon nodded and let Anita lead the way. The party moved at a quick pace through the familiar pine tree forest and back up onto the ridge. On the northeast side of the ridge, they came to the town of Karbon.
The town was guarded by a deep ditch in front of a low stone wall that had a timber palisade set on top. Square timber towers stood on either side of the main gate.
“They used the rock they dug out from the mine to start the wall,” Elderon said to Max as they approached the main gate.
The town was grubby and loud. The people all seemed to be covered in dark grit. The roads were covered with black grit that crunched underfoot. The buildings were all made from a mixture of dark-gray stone and timbers from the forest. The forest nearest to the town had been reduced to stumps. Some of the forests had been cleared to create small plots of land for growing crops. Many of the trees had clearly been used to construct the huge winch house that dominated the center of the town.
Dark-gray smoke rose from chimneys. A faintly sulfurous smell hung on the air. Max tried to waft away the smell.
“It’s the coal,” Jahrod said, wrinkling his nose. “Not the good black coal that the dwarfs mine in Drow, Zolith, and the Kingdom of Eastwind. This is brown coal. Smelly stuff it is too. It burns with a greasy blue flame.”
“Guess burning it will still keep you warm at night,” Max said.
“I’d rather be cold than put up with that stink,” Jahrod said.
Max was about to say something like what would Jahrod know about bad smells but Elderon saved him from saying something he would regret by pointing out a store.
The store looked like the other buildings, built partly from stone, partly timber, a thatch roof with greasy smoke rising from a stone chimney. Inside, the store was lit by lanterns burning with a faintly blue light. The shelves were rough-cut timber and were stained by the smoke from the brown coal. Max spotted a pair of store imps in the smoky corners of the store. A tall man in a dirty shirt that had once been white stepped up to the serving counter.
“Don’t get many adventurers passing through here,” the storekeeper said and then spat on the floor.
“Probably why you don’t learn any manners,” Jahrod said with a growl.
The man spat again. “What do you want, dwarf?”
“What do you have besides soot and spit?”
The storekeeper looked Jahrod up and down. He reached under the counter and produced a crossbow. He placed it on the counter.
Jahrod looked the weapon over. He picked it up and tested its balance.
“It’s good,” Jahrod said, placing it back on the counter. “Bolts?”
The store keeper produced a small pouch with flight feathers sticking out of the open end. Jahrod took one. It was short and thick with an iron tip at one end, thick brown feathers on the other. The wood was dark but smooth, and from what Max could see, it looked straight.
“Basic,” Jahrod said.
The store keeper spat.
“But good,” Jahrod added after a moment. “How much?”
“Twenty gold.” Spit.
Jahrod laughed, a huge booming laugh, and then he scowled at the storekeeper. “You must be a jester, not a storekeep.”
“Made it myself,” the storekeeper said, picking it up. “Good wood. Golden roc sinew in the launcher. A well-made weapon, faster to load than a large crossbow, excellent range. Probably too sophisticated for you, dwarf.”
“Sophisticated?” Jahrod laughed. “That’s a big word. I didn’t think you miners had any schooling past finding a hole in the ground.”
Max stepped forward. “It looks like a fine piece of work,” he said with a smile. His light friendly tone was met with another dribble of spit from the storekeeper. Max ignored the spitting, wondering briefly if there was a spittoon behind the counter or if the storekeeper was spitting on his own floor. “I’ll gladly pay you twenty gold coins for it.” He dropped the gold on the counter.
The storekeeper looked at Max with suspicion.
“A crossbow is not a suitable weapon for a Mage,” Elderon said, striding forward.
The store keeper took one look at Elderon and scooped up the gold, dropping it under the counter all in one swift move.
“Sold. It’s all yours, Mage.”
Max picked up the crossbow from the rough timber countertop. “No,” he said and handed it over to Jahrod. “It’s yours.”
>
>
> Max loses 20 gold.
>
>
Jahrod looked at Max, then the storekeeper, and then he snatched the pouch of bolts off the counter. “I’m not paying extra for the bolts,” he said and stowed it all away.
“I’m looking for some bullets for my catapult,” Max said brightly.
The storekeeper looked Max up and down. “A young Mage needs something with a bit of magic.” The storekeeper walked into the rows of shelves and came back with a small pouch of bullets. He poured them over the counter.
“Five gold,” he said.
Jahrod laughed. “Five gold for a few bullets? A few pieces of roughly worked stone? Robbery.”
The storekeeper picked one up and threw it against a wall. It exploded with a shower of silver sparks.
“Wow,” Max said, blinking to get his sight back. “What was that?”
The store keeper shrugged. “Some kind of sparkle glitter. It will disorient an enemy.”
“Sounds good,” Max said and picked up one of the bullets.
“They don’t all do that,” the storekeeper said. He shot Jahrod a look. “That’s why they are only five gold.” Then he looked back to Max, his tone softening slightly. “Some deliver Fire damage, others Cold, some are explosive. It’s a bit of lucky dip.”
Max nodded. “I like it. But what I really need is a spell scroll or two, if you have any.”
The storekeeper produced a pair of scrolls. “This is all I have. Know Item and Web. Twenty each.”
“I’ll give you forty for the lot, bullets and scrolls.” Max dropped the gold on the counter.
The storekeeper looked at him and then the gold. He hesitated for a moment.
“The young Mage has been fair,” Elderon said.
The storekeeper nodded and scooped up the gold.
>
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> Max loses 40 gold.
>
> Max gains scroll of Web.
>
> Max gains scroll of Know Item.
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> Max gains Bullets of Random Effect.
>
>
Max dropped the bullets and scrolls into his pouch and followed the others out the door and into the local tavern. Inside, the tavern was warm with a brown-coal firepit, low thatched roof, and dirty stone walls. Max and his party sat at a table and ordered ale, meat pies, and a roasting bird. The roasting bird was fresh and tasty, but Jahrod was not happy.
“Any scromble?” he asked the young serving boy.
“My dad says it smells like death,” the boy said as he walked away.
“So, do you have any or not?” Jahrod said, calling after the boy. And then, realizing the answer was probably no, he stuffed a whole roasting bird in his mouth.
Max took a sip of ale. It tasted good, rich yet refreshing. He unrolled his scrolls and read them. The scroll of Know Item crumbled in his hands, then he looked at the scroll of Web. It looked just like the one he had cast in the dungeon. But he was going to save this one to his Mage Book so he could prepare it over and over again. The scroll crumbled, and Max checked his Mage Book.
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Level 1 Spells:
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> • Magic Missile
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> • Detect Enemies
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> • Know Item
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>
>
> Level 2 Spells:
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> • Strength
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> • Summon Fog
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> • Web
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>
>
> Level 3 Spells:
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> • Shield
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> • Fireball
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> • Disguise
>
>
He was gathering quite a collection of spells. It was a pity he only had a few spell slots. He would activate them all if he could. But as soon as he had a free slot, he would prepare the Web spell. It was too good a spell not to have available and so powerful for a mere Level 2 spell.
Just as Max was putting away his Mage Book and wondering if the tavern had comfortable rooms for a night, the door burst open, and in walked a group of three elves.
Jahrod avoided their stare. Elderon did not. Max watched carefully.
The tavern fell silent but for some quiet muttering and the tapping of mugs on sticky tabletops.
“We require the best rooms. The officers will stay here tonight.”
Max hoped the rooms that were left would be good enough to sleep in. To be honest, all he needed was a roof out of the wind and rain. A brown-coal fire would be a bonus.
The two elves spotted Anita and walked over, barging dirty miners out of the way. Anita ignored them and drank her ale. One of the elves kicked her chair.
“Stand up, half breed.”