They all marched on together with a more relaxed atmosphere between them all. Delde was no expert on social interactions by any means, but she felt that the pressure she had initially felt about being with the rest of the group had evaporated in the face of having gone through their “combat” together. It would be wrong to say that she or the others were being flippant about walking through the Fangwoods now, but they walked with more confidence now, both in themselves and their companions.
Eventually Baye deemed it time to set up camp and scouted out a suitable location for them. It was a relatively small, but flat clearing that was surrounded on three sides by dense thickets of bushes that still mostly held on to their leaves. Baye assured them that they were now between the broken glade and the grey lake, if they woke up early, didn’t get waylaid by any more tricks form the townspeople and the weather held they would be able to reach the crypt by next evening. All and all they seemed to be making good time.
Baye ended up helping show everyone the correct way to set up their tents, something that Delde was grateful for as she had been worried about it falling apart on top of her in the middle of the night if the weather turned foul. Adriana had insisted that the girls and boys take up separate sides of the camp for proprieties sake and everyone else had agreed to go along with it. Personally, Delde didn’t think that it was going to be an issue, but she didn’t have a problem with it either.
With the camp established they then proceeded to work out duties. Everyone agreed that keeping an ongoing watch throughout the night was a good idea, so they established a rota. As both herself and Dal possessed low light vision thanks to their ancestries and Igmar dark vision thanks to being a dwarf it was decided that they should take up the watch during the darkest point of the night. It would go Baye, herself, Igmar, Dal, and finally Adriana. She would need some time to memorise her spells for the next day and Adriana some time to pray to her goddess so they would be exempt from clearing up the camp in the morning. Dal grumbled a bit at that but didn’t seem to take it badly, he agreed that it would be better to have the people who could cast spells able to do so rather than having some extra help in packing away the camping gear.
With that decided they all got on with the rest of the preparations for the camp. Igmar dug out a small latrine pit far enough from the camp for privacy and decency but close enough for it to not be dangerously far from the camp. Adriana collected firewood, along with lighting and maintaining the campfire, ensuring that it was safely contained and wouldn’t spread uncontrollably. Baye and Delde were responsible for foraging what resources they could from the surrounding area. Delde was pleased to find Baye impressed by her knowledge of local plant life, as she was able to collect several sprigs of herbs, a few large mushrooms and a couple of wild tubers that were all edible. Despite a life spent mostly indoors Delde had still managed to amass a solid understanding of nature thanks to her studies, and it was paying off now. Of course, Baye had managed to collect an equally impressive hall and she successfully caught and butchered a rabbit as well for their dinner. Dal meanwhile quickly established himself as the cook for the meal and proved himself to be competent at it. He took the simple rations they had and along with the foodstuffs that she and Baye had collected prepared a warm and filling rabbit stew. Onyx for his part contributed by improving the groups moral by chasing his own tail and pouncing on shadows and falling leaves.
As the sun set Delde and the others sat around the warm campfire with the tasty stew, Onyx at her feet with a small dish of his own. Despite their relative successes of the day the darkening environment reminded her that they were now all far from any easy aid, and she had been actively looking for Holgast ever since the illusionary orcs, but to no avail. That meant that he was being especially stealthy which was not outside the realms of possibility, or that he was no longer following them which she suspected to be the case. As the wind picked up and the trees around them all groaned and clattered against each other and the shadows surrounding them lengthened she began to feel very vulnerable. Even with the light from the campfire and her own low light vision she couldn’t see very far in the forest. If a threat approached them in the night, she wouldn’t be able to spot it until it was too close for comfort. She knew there wasn’t much she could do about that, so she tried to distract herself by listening to the conversations of the others around the campfire as they ate.
‘Dal, ah’ve been meanin’ tae ask, di yie ken onythin aboot that odd fella hoos been roomin’ at the Seven Silvers the past couple o months? The yin wie the nasty lookin’ scar on his face an hoos aye aboot in dark clothes sculkin’ aboot the toon?’
‘Him? The name he gave Trelvar was Anravis, but I don’t know if that’s a first name or a surname. It could be a fake one for all I know, it probably is. No honestly, I haven’t heard much from or about him. All I know is that he paid for around six months stay in advance in gold, gold. He keeps to himself mostly, sometimes he wanders about town from what I’ve heard but for the most part he just sits in the darkest corner of the bar and watches the place. Kind’ve creepy but he isn’t doing anything wrong y’know. Plus, his moneys good and he tips well. What’s got you curious about him?’.
‘It’s nothin’ really, just wonderin’ whit somebodie like that is dooin aroond these parts. He looks gie suspicious, but we’ve had no complaints aboot thefts or the like so he’s probably no a thief. I ken the Captain wis a wee bit concerned that he might be a bandit lookin’ tae scout out merchants passin’ through toon, but thurs been no bandit attacks fir a while so he’s probably no daein that either. It’s just odd yea ken? Fur someone like that tae just be lurkin aboot toon fur so long withoot ony reason as far as onyone can tell’.
Dal shrugged non-committedly.
‘He’s probably just lying low, hiding out from someone he pissed off. Maybe he’s swindled his gold from someone who wants it back, or maybe he slept with some rich merchant’s daughter and now the fathers looking to force him into marrying her. Could be anything but so long as he doesn’t start anything it’s not a problem, right?’.
‘An yir alright wae a possible criminal livin’ in yir establishment wae oot knowin whit he might be up tae? Ah widdnae be, but it’s no ma place tae throw accusations aboot wae no evidence tae back it up. Ahm no happy aboot the situation but thurs nothin’ I can dae aboot it. Just let me ken if ye see him up tae somethin’ funny, alright?’.
‘Funny you say? Well, there was something that was… kind of weird, I guess. Maybe surprising is a better word for it. At the time I didn’t think much about it but now…’
‘…And!?’
‘Alright. So, you know how Short Change like to you know…’
‘Steal frae the folk he serves in the Seven Silvers’.
‘Hey! He gives himself small, complementary tips. If people notice it and are upset, he gives it straight back’.
The easy back and forth between the two made it clear this wasn’t the first time they had had such a discussion.
‘But anyway, one night he does that to Anravis, just a couple of coppers short of what he should be getting for his change, no big deal. Later that evening Short Change is going over his earnings and realises that he’s a bit short, a couple of coppers worth in fact. Kind of odd but he figures that he just miscounted when he was totalling up. A couple nights later though he takes another “tip” from Anravis and what do you know the same thing happens, he’s short the exact amount that he took from the man. So now he’s suspicious, he takes a bit more the next time he serves from Anravis, a silver and three copper’.
‘Wait, a whole silver!’.
‘The man pays in gold for everything, it’s kind of crazy. Anyway, wouldn’t you know it, Short Change finds when he checks his coin pouch that he is missing one silver and three copper pieces. After that he told me that he never tried to short that man for anything again. So, I mean that’s something kind of odd right?’.
‘So, the man is a thief o some sort yir sayin’?’.
‘What! No, you don’t get it. Short Change and me we both know how to “lift” things right? But more importantly we know how to spot when somebodies trying to do that to us. This Anravis guy though, not only did Short Change know and expect him to try something, he still managed to do it without him noticing! And lifting money from a coin pouch is a hell of a lot harder than just palming some coins on a table! I don’t know who this Anravis guy is or where he’s from, but he is a hell of a lot better at the thieving game than me and Short Charge, by a long way.
‘Aha! So yea admit that whit you an Short Change do is thevin’!’.
‘Oh, it’s just a turn of phrase!’.
Dal and Igmar continued their apparently regular bickering with good nature as Delde contemplated what she had just heard. On the one hand it sounded just like the regular gossip that one would expect in a town like Kassen, people overly curious and suspicious of strangers in town. But she had to admit her curiosity was peaked. Igmar seemed to be interested in the man purely in his capacity as a town guard which made his interest more legitimate in her eyes, guards typically only concerned themselves with wealthy strangers when they turned out to be problematic, otherwise they would be quite happy for them to carry on spending their money. Dal’s high assessment of the stranger’s legerdemain also seemed earnest and made the man seem to be more than just a wealthy traveller.
She put the mysterious stranger out from her mind. She had never even seen the man and she doubted that he would have any bearing in her present ordeal. Instead, she turned towards Adriana and Baye to see what they were discussing while Dal and Igmar argued amongst themselves.
It seemed though that the two of them were eating in relative silence, though from the way Adriana would occasionally look at Bay, Delde got the impression that Adriana was attempting to broch some sort of difficult topic.
‘…Miss Iggins?’
‘You can call me Baye if you want. We’re goin’ to be travelin’ together for a while, so you might as well’.
Adriana’s face lit up at her apparent willingness to be more open with her, although Delde got the distinct impression that Baye simply didn’t care about decorum in the same way that Adriana did.
‘Well then Baye, if you do not mind me asking, what are your plans for when we return to town having completed our quest? That is to say, what are your plans for the future?’
Baye raised an eyebrow at Adriana’s question but otherwise maintained a neutral expression.
‘I’ve nothin’ special planned, I’ll probably hang around town for a while once we get back. Hunting’s never that good this time of year so there’s not much point goin’ out in the wilderness. Once winter passes though… well I’ll see how I feel’.
‘So… are you considering leaving Kassen at some point in the future then?’
Baye glanced a Dal who was still engrossed in his squabbling with Igmar. She lowered her tone slightly, but Delde could still hear them both well enough.
‘Sigh, I’ll probably leave town for a while after we’ve done this quest. Everyone in town considers you an adult after havin’ done it, so my family can’t say I’m not old enough to make my own decisions and try and force me to stay. I mean they’ll say that, but at least I’ll be able to say somethin’ in response to that. Where did you hear about me leavin’ town anyway, and why are you so interested? Did my folks ask you to try and convince me to stay?’.
‘No, no, it is nothing like that. As to how I found out about your desire to strike out on your own, well, it is not as if you have made your thoughts on the matter a secret. And there have been some people who have spoken about overhearing heated arguments coming from your home’.
She raised her hands and looked apologetically at Baye.
‘I assure you I have not been talking about you or your family behind your back, and I typically do not put much stock in rumours and hearsay. The reason I was interested in whether it was true was because I was wondering if you would perhaps be open to having a companion on your travels?’.
‘What, you?... you want to leave town with me?’.
Baye paused for a moment in apparent consideration then shrugged.
‘Sure, why not. You’ve not been complainin’ nearly as much as I thought you would. And it’d be handy to be travelin’ with a healer. If your serious about leavin’ Kassen behind I’m fine with you taggin’ along for a while’.
‘Wait, why would you ever want to leave Kassen?! I would have thought you would begin preaching as a priestess of Sarenrae once we returned to town’.
Delde spoke up and then immediately regretted it. She hadn’t intended to say anything and just be an impartial observer of the discussion, but it was just so shocking to her that she had spoken out. Dal and Igmar paid her no mind but Adriana and Baye now looked at her, perhaps just now realising that she had been listening in on them the entire time.
‘I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, its-it’s just that I happened to overhear what you were saying, and it struck me as odd. You’ve always seemed to be so popular and well ensconced within Kassen, I just didn’t think that you would want to leave it. I reasoned that after we returned you would begin to preach in earnest and begin the foundation of a church of Sarenrae in town’.
If Adriana had any ill feelings towards her for listening in on her conversation, she didn’t let it show. Baye didn’t look to be bothered either, she seemed more concerned over whether Dal had heard what they were saying. As he didn’t seem to have, she appeared relaxed enough.
‘In truth, I would very much like to do as you believed that I would Miss Vargidan, but I fear that it would not be that simple. Sigh, as much as I would prefer it to be the contrary Sarenrae is still not seen by the townspeople as being a… deity upon which they can rely upon. The Dawnflower is still seen by most in Kassen as a foreign goddess, an intruder to a degree. The townspeople have not been cruel or wicked towards me… but I can sense a distance between myself and the rest of Kassen. One that was never there before and despite all my efforts I cannot overcome. Even my own mother and father give me strange looks sometimes when I speak to them about my goddess, as if they cannot recognise their own daughter’.
She seemed to become smaller, frailer than Delde had ever known Adriana to be as she spoke. As if the act of voicing her troubles made them more real whilst diminishing her. Delde felt pity for her in that moment and was surprised at herself for doing so. She had never seriously thought that Adriana, the golden child of Kassen would ever find herself the outcast, whenever she had fantasied about it, she had always imagined that she would feel pleased at watching Adriana struggle to live the life she did. Now though, all those past fantasies seemed petty and childish. Adriana continued.
‘Whilst Father Prasst has been helping to tutor me in what it means to be a cleric, he is a follower of Erastil, and so cannot offer me much assistance in bringing the light of Sarenrae to Kassen. It has not been an easy decision to make but I realise that I must grow both as a person and as a cleric before I can return home with the confidence and knowledge to help foster the faith of the Dawnflower in Kassen. It might seem like I am running away, and perhaps in some way I am, but I truly do want to return to Kassen one day and help teach others the joy I feel from worshiping Sarenrae’.
Delde felt awkward. Adriana was opening up to her, but she didn’t know what to say in response. Anything she thought of just sounded like empty platitudes in her mind. Seeking to avoid a long painful silence she found herself speaking without thinking.
‘I... thank you for sharing that with me, I appreciate that it is not an easy thing to talk about. I admit that I can’t offer much in the way of emotional support, I’m not very good at that sort of thing. But I have always been a strong believer in self-improvement through personal effort. I am sure that if you perceiver in your efforts you will become a capable enough cleric to bring the faith of Sarenrae to Kassen in time… And you may call me Delde as well if you want. Baye is right, there isn’t much point in fussing over decorum in our present circumstances. In any case you’ve already called me by my name before, when you healed me. Thank you for that by the way, I don’t think I properly expressed my gratitude for that before’.
‘Thank you for your kind words Delde, and your support. And you have no need to thank me for healing you, it was my duty and pride as a cleric of Sarenrae to bring succour to the injured, although I believe that my contributions in that fight were not as significant as your own. After all, your wound was only illusionary, I imagine that you would have been fine without my assistance’.
‘While my injuries were illusionary, they still felt real to me in the moment. I was incapacitated by that javelin strike and if it wasn’t for you then I probably wouldn’t have been able to do anything, let alone cast spells. I might not be especially knowledgeable with divine magics, but your spell certainly seemed powerful enough to me. That is why I am sure that if you put your mind to training yourself you will become a capable cleric for your goddess’.
‘Thank you very much for your words Delde’.
A wide smile blossomed on her face and what worries and concerns she seemed to have appeared to disappear on the cold winds blowing through their camp. Delde wondered if perhaps this was all an elaborate act on Adriana’s part, that all her words and apparent turmoil were just a means for her to manipulate her. Prior to meeting her Delde would have thought so, but now she was uncertain. Adriana seemed genuine in everything that she did, too open with her emotions and feelings to properly lie. She did possess the magic of a cleric as well which would suggest that the goddess Sarenrae had given her backing. And while Delde’s own understanding of the faith of Sarenrae was limited and purely academic she didn’t think that the Dawnflower would tolerate a liar for a cleric.
‘Out of curiosity Delde, if you do not mind my asking, and feel no obligation to answer me, but what are your plans for when we return to town?’
‘My plans? I don’t have much planned to be honest. I’ll probably return to my studies with Holgast tutoring me when I’m not cleaning his tower or he’s busy taking a nap’.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
‘But beyond that, what will you do? You seemed somewhat incredulous that I would ever want to leave Kassen, but I must confess I find myself equally so over the idea of you staying there. I know that we have never spoken much before in the past, so please forgive me if I seem too presumptuous, but you have always seemed to me to be someone who did not intend to spend their life in town. I understand that while some of your siblings have continued to stay with your father after they competed their own Quest for the Everflame, many others have left soon afterwards. I suppose I always thought you would be one of the latter… I apologise if I have come across as too forward or disrespectful, it is just the general impression of you that I have’.
Delde took a moment to consider the matter. In truth she was not especially fond or connected to the town she was born and raised in. It was just a place to her, a place that had always kept her at arm’s length and never really felt like what she imagined a home should feel like. Even her own family wasn’t a comfort to her, she was an outsider even in a family of outsiders. The only person that had ever treated her with anything like acceptance and respect was Holgast, and he was, well eccentric was a polite way of putting it.
In any event there was little that kept her bound to Kassen, but she had never given much thought towards leaving it. Delde was a woman of reason, logic and plans. If she was ever going to leave town, she would do so with a fixed goal in mind along with a clear and detailed plan for what she would do. It wasn’t some flippant thing she was going to just do on a whim.
‘I do intend to leave Kassen one day, but I intend to do so to help further my studies into arcane magic. Once I feel that I have learnt everything that I can from Holgast then I’ll look for other tutors or perhaps even academies that would be willing to accept me. While I wish both you and Baye the best of fortune in your travels I don’t believe that I will be accompanying you’.
She suspected that was what Adriana was trying to surreptitiously get around to asking, but Delde didn’t want to have to awkwardly find a way of rejecting a heartfelt offer from her, so she tried to be pre-emptive about it.
Adriana looked slightly disappointed, but not painfully so. Baye didn’t appear to be paying attention at this point, seemingly distracted by something that Delde couldn’t detect.
‘Well then perhaps one day in the future I will meet you on the road when you begin your travels, or maybe even- ‘
‘Shush! Quiet everyone!’
Baye hissed at everyone in a quiet but harsh tone that brought silence to the small camp. Only the mournful howling of the cold wind and the clattering and creaking of barren branches could be heard.
The moment of silence stretched out until eventually Dal tentatively broke it.
‘What is it? Did you hear something?’
He spoke barely above a whisper as his hand slid to the dagger still on his waist. Delde noticed that everyone else was doing the same and for a second found herself wishing that perhaps Holgast could have gifted her a more substantial weapon before heading out on this journey. Of course, she dashed that thought as soon as she had it, she was not a warrior, she was a wizard, she possessed the greatest weapon a mortal could have. Magic.
Although, as she had not had the time to properly rest and recover after having cast her spells earlier in the day her access to that most grand and terrible force was… Limited to put it kindly.
She had a quick check and saw that Onyx had already retreated into her tent and under her bedroll, so he was safe for now. Although from what and for how long she wasn’t sure.
‘There was howlin’ in the wind a while ago, but now nothin’. And what little forest life that was about us has run off. But I just noticed some movement from where the bushes thin out. Somethin’ dog shaped.
‘An whit dis that mean?’
‘Wolves. Hungry wolves if their willin’ to try and stalk a camp with a fire. But hunting’s been bad even for this time of the year lately, so it’s not unheard of. Everyone, get your weapons but don’t make any sudden movements. There’s probably more than one but I reckon there’s less than six. If they outnumbered us, they’d probably have already attacked’.
Baye sounded like she was just telling somebody about the weather, no fear or apprehension in her voice. She just stated the facts as she understood them. Delde was impressed with her professionalism and grateful that there was someone as experienced as Baye was leading their group. But the absence of her more powerful spells tempered her emotions. She was going to need to be just as professional if she wanted to get out of this situation with both her and Onyx unharmed.
Delde looked out into the darkness where Baye claimed to have seen movement. Although she knew that she lacked Baye’s well trained eye and experience in the wilderness, she did still possess the low light vision that all who had elven ancestry had. While it wasn’t as effective as the true dark vision that Igmar had it still gave her a slight advantage with the light of the campfire illuminating the spot somewhat.
Despite her efforts though, she saw nothing.
‘There! Left to the third tree back’.
Baye’s directions were quiet but clear and focusing in on the indicated point quickly gave Delde a sight of the creature. She had never actually seen a wolf before in real life. She had seen pictures of them in paintings in her father’s house and in books she had read, she had seen some hunters return from the Fangwoods with dead ones, sometimes already skinned and butchered, other times freshly killed and almost intact. The appearance of it was not new to her, but it still elicited fear from Delde.
She had read about what it felt like to be under the predatory gaze of a wild animal, but it was an entirely different thing to experience. During their fight against the “orcs” she hadn’t had any time to consider what was happening, now though she did. She looked at the wolf and saw it look back at her with hunger in its eyes. She didn’t know much about animals, they had never been a focus of her studies, but she could tell the creature was starving. And she knew that it would fight tooth and claw to quench its hunger with her flesh.
‘Two mare behind it’.
‘I see them’.
Igmar’s dark vision had given him more of an advantage in spotting the wolves as Delde couldn’t see anything beyond the first one. Baye on the other hand was either skilled enough to spot the signs of them or simply anticipated where they would be.
‘Dal, can you see any of them?’
‘Only the first one closest to us. Can’t see any more than that’.
Baye had an arrow notched and was absentmindedly stroking the fletching with her thumb. She didn’t turn away from where the wolves were. None of them did.
‘Alright. Dal, you get your sling out as quiet as you can and get ready to fire a bullet at the one you can see. I’ll fire an arrow at it as well. If we’re lucky we’ll kill it outright and scare the other two off’.
‘Ahv’ a bow an aw, dae yea want me tae fire at it an aw?’.
‘No. I’m goin’ to need you and Adriana to rush forward once we hit the first wolf. We might get lucky killin’ one outright and scarin’ the other two away, but I’m not wantin’ to bet on it. If they go to attack, then you and Adriana will need to head up and fight them head on. You’ve both got the best armour out of all of us, so you’ll do better up close than the rest of us. But Delde?’
‘Yes?’
‘How many of the wolves do you see? And how quick and quiet can you cast your magic?’
‘I can only see the one closest to us, like Dal. As for my magic it does require both verbal and somatic components to be effective. And I have already used up my sole offensive spell of the first level today, so I won’t be as effective in this combat as I was in the first.’
‘Somatic and verbal?’
Delde rolled her eyes out of habit more than true annoyance.
‘I need to speak and move my hands in order to cast my spells, I won’t be terribly subtle’.
‘Well, you’ll be less use up front so stay back with me and throw whatever magic you can at them. Dal, if the wolves move to attack us you rush them from the side with your dagger’.
‘Take a stab at ocht that come at me. Ah’ll keep em’ distracted an gie ye as many openin’s as ah can’.
‘I know how to stab someone. Doesn’t anyone remember when I disembowelled that orc earlier in the day?’
‘Those were illusions. These are real’.
Baye’s voice had a hardness to it now that Delde hadn’t noticed before even though it was still little more than a whisper above the frigid wind.
‘Adriana, are you alright bein’ up front with Igmar?’
Out of all of them Adriana was the only one now not looking where the wolves were. She instead looked at the holy symbol of Sarenrae that she held tightly in her hand as she quietly muttered something underbreath, a prayer to her goddess Delde presumed. Her behaviour didn’t strike Delde as the actions of a frightened person however, it seemed more to her that she was looking for guidance rather than salvation.
‘I will go wherever I am needed. If I can best help on the front lines of battle, then I shall not yield any ground so long as I draw breath’.
‘Good to know. Alright, Dal, Delde, I’m going to fire my arrow at the first wolf on the count of three. You two fire at the same time. If the wolves go on to attack don’t panic, work together and we’ll be fine’.
Baye drew her arrow back.
‘One’
Dal put a stone in his sling and began spinning it as gently as possible.
‘Two’
Delde muttered the arcane words necessary for her spell as quietly as she could while making the required hand gestures to help channel the eldritch energies.
‘Three!’
All three of them fired off their respective attacks as Adriana and Igmar drew their weapons and moved to interpose themselves between their allies and the starving predators. All three of the attacks stuck the first wolf, but unfortunately, they did not kill it. While Baye’s arrow looked to have sunk deeply into the left side of the animal’s neck, Dal’s stone bullet only seemed to land a glancing blow to it head and Delde’s acid splash cantrip had only managed to scald the paws of the wolf, falling short of where she had intended to hit it.
To Delde’s disappointment and concern none of the wolves seemed inclined to retreat and instead they rushed towards them, hunger overwhelming whatever survival instincts they had. She pushed her fear down though and began reciting another spells words, focusing on finishing off the already injured wolf.
She could see the other wolves now, or rather she could make them out, they were running too fast for her to get a good view of them. As she channelled the magic energies within herself, she saw a second arrow rip into the creatures chest simultaneously as another stone bullet stuck its side. While the arrow looked to her to be responsible for the more significant wound the matter became moot as the wolf fell to the ground dead, still tumbling forward towards them through the shear momentum of its speed. The other animals didn’t even seem to register their packmates death and just jumped over its corpse.
With her previous target down, she switched to one of the two remaining wolves. She released the spell at it, and it struck true. She had chosen an electric arc spell this time, and for a specific reason that became apparent to all. She small bolt of blue electricity coursed through the wolf for a moment before arcing out and hitting its companion before dissipating. Although it didn’t appear to have done much damage Delde had still managed to harm two enemies with one spell, an economic use of her magic that she was privately proud of.
But the spell did nothing to slow either of them and they both slammed into Adriana and Igmar, attempting to pull them to the ground. She could see them more clearly now. The wolves were both emaciated, ribs clearly visible beneath their matted fur, with their mouths frothing and fighting with a savage fury that Delde had only ever read about.
The two frontliners had braced themselves for the attack and neither were thrown to the ground, but out of the two Igmar was obviously faring better. He moved about whilst giving up as little ground as possible preventing the animal from either getting a good hold of him or getting by him to easier prey, all the while slashing and piercing it with his sword. None of his attacks showed any sign of weakening its resolve or threatened to kill it outright, but Delde believed that if it came down to a battle of attrition, he would be victorious.
Adriana on the other hand seemed to be struggling against the wolf she was fighting. She hadn’t been knocked down, but it had a good hold of her leg and was relentless in its efforts to drag her down. Delde could see the blood seeping from the wound in the light of the campfire. She did have an easier time at hitting it due to it being in a more fixed position than Igmar’s opponent, but due to its jerking actions she had to hold back on hitting it with her full strength, lest she lose her balance and wind up in a more dangerous position. Still, the bloody slashes on the creatures back proved that Adriana was not content to go down without a fight.
Baye fired another arrow towards the wolf Adriana was fighting but it veered too far to the side and just struck the earth.
‘Tck! Damn it!’
She was clearly frustrated in her failure to properly land an attack on the animal, but Dal’s follow up attack also fell short leading to him discarding his sling and drawing his dagger. He slipped away to the side, keeping to the shadows as best he could while avoiding stepping on any fallen branches or leaves. In the heat of battle Delde lost track of where he was. She was more focused on her next spell, moving more to the side to get a better aim of the wolf attacking Adriana.
She felt the magic flow through her and recited the words and gestures as before, though louder this time. Even though she knew that her actual volume had next to no impact on the performance of the spell, the act of casting with her full voice gave her a boost in her confidence that Delde felt that she would need in this fight. The small blue bolt shot out of her hand and struck the wolf on its right side before arcing through it and out to its companion as before. She had specifically chosen this spell as she had control over the secondary target of it as well ensuring that she wouldn’t end up harming one of her companions during the fight. But while she had hurt them both again it didn’t seem to be too much damage to either of them and they continued their attacks with reckless abandon.
Suddenly the wolf that had been fighting Igmar attempted to break away from the fight and slip past him towards herself and Baye. It ducked beneath one of his swings and dashed past him, but as it did so he twisted himself around in a blur and brought his sword crashing down on its hindquarters. The beast was still alive and continued making its way towards Baye and herself, but it was noticeable slower and was running with a pronounced limp.
Yet the wolf only got a few paces away from Igmar before an arrow pierced its eye dropping it dead. Delde caught Baye smirking to herself out the corner of her eye, clearly pleased by her own handywork, impressive as it was.
A burst of movement out of some of the nearby shrubbery gave Delde pause to doubt how successful they were though, fearing that what they had taken to be the entirety of their opposition was in fact only a vanguard. At the shape made its way over to where Adriana was still fighting against her wolf Delde worried that she would soon be overwhelmed. But just as it reached them, she saw the red hair of Dal and realised that they still had the situation well in hand.
Dal’s dagger slit the animals throat like a knife through warm butter, with Adriana delivering a final blow to its head that finished it off.
In the aftermath of the fight, she felt strange, at once exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure. Perhaps it was the rush of combat still in her system, or the instinctual fear that it was not yet over, but it felt to Delde that all her senses were in overdrive. The sound of the wind, the creaking branches, the crackling of the fire, the tired panting of her fellow companions, they all seemed sharper now, clearer. The scent of blood mixed with the smoke from the campfire and the damp, rotting leaves of the forest, making her feel uneasy. It was only now in this moment of calm silence after their fight that she realised how loud and how violent the last few moments had been.
They all stood their ground for a moment, looking around, trying to determine if there were any other wolves about or if any other, larger predators had been attracted by the sound of battle and the smell of blood. Delde stared out into the cold, shadowed forest surrounding her, looking for any sign of more threats. Every slight moment, every subtle sound could signal the start of another fight. But for all of her searching she could see nothing.
She then turned to the dead wolves lying in the dirt. Mere seconds ago, they had been figures of fear and dread to her, now though, looking at their emaciated bodies and the deep wounds that they had received she couldn’t help but feel a little pity for the creatures. Animals forced into taking desperate measures due to circumstances that were out of their control.
‘Does anyone require healing? I still possess some reserves of divine magic that I can use to heal any injuries that anybody has sustained’.
‘Ahm a wee banged up, but ah think that yie ought tae see tae yirself first. Tha’ beastie was tearin’ intae yir shin somethin’ fierce’.
‘Nobody else was injured thanks to you and Igmar taking the brunt of the attack. You should see to your own injures first, you can’t help others if you’re in a bad condition yourself’.
It felt rather odd to Delde to be encouraging Adriana to heal herself above others, but she had a distinct impression that Adriana had taken some of Sarenrae’s teachings too much to heart. Specifically, the ones about being willing to martyr oneself for a worthy cause.
‘I-If everyone is certain that they do not need my immediate assistance then…’
She muttered some prayer to the Dawnflower whilst clutching her holy symbol in her right hand, her scimitar already wiped clean of wolves’ blood and sheathed. She gave a quiet, grateful sigh and stood a little straighter than she had been after the glow of the magic had faded along with her wounds, her bright and bubbly smile returning to normal.
‘Ah, I do feel better now. As for you Igmar, please allow me to repay you for your assistance in serving as the vanguard in our battle’.
Without waiting to hear any protests she raised her hands and performed another healing benediction, removing all the minor scrapes and bruises that Igmar had taken during the fight.
‘Ah, well, thank yie kindly fir that. It is a lot better than just waitin’ tae heal tha old fashioned way!’
‘You are very welcome’.
Baye meanwhile had moved over to the corpse of the first wolf that they had slain and seemed to be examining it, seemingly satisfied that they were not in any danger from other wild animals attacking from the shadows.
‘Sigh. Well, it looks like that was all of them. They don’t look to have been rabid so that’s good, saves us havin’ to worry about anyone who got bit. I can probably skin this one and sell the pelt for a bit of sliver. The other two… their a bit too cut up to go for a lot. Not that much meat on them either so can’t really butcher them and add to our rations. Still, not bad all things considered’.
She said that looking at the wolf which she had managed to kill with an arrow through the eye, subtle smirk on her face.
‘We’ll need to pack up early tomorrow. These wolves probably were the worst things in these parts for now, but we might get some scavengers attracted to the bodies tomorrow. Its best if we’re gone by the time they start to gather. Last thing we need is to fight more wild animals because they saw us as standing between them and a good meal. I’m goin’ to quickly skin this wolf before I settle in. Anyone want anythin’ kept? Bones, claws, fangs? I’m not goin’ to be able to clean them that well. Don’t have the right equipment for it, but we’ll be passin’ the grey lake tomorrow, you can give them a quick wash there’.
Delde looked somewhat incredulously at Baye. She respected her professionalism as a ranger and could accept wanting to sell a wolf’s pelt, it was most likely something she normally did anyway, but she found the idea of taking trophies or the like a little barbaric. The idea of walking about with a bloody wolf skull seemed unhygienic at best and potentially a little disturbing.
‘Ooh ooh! I want some wolf fangs! I know a guy back in town that can make them into a necklace for me. That is going to be a hell of a way to start a conversation in the Slivers. “Oh, where did you buy that necklace?”, “Actually, I had it made from the teeth of the wolf I killed with my dagger”. I swear, I’m going to be able to drink out on this story for at least a week.’
‘Ah widny mind some fangs an claws an aw. It’d be guid tae hiv some trophies o the fecht, it wis a guid wan’.
‘Ok, but don’t have them made into a neckless or something alright. If you do, then it won’t be as impressive for me to tell people how I got my neckless. Just keep them in a bag or something’.
‘An whit if ah want tae hiv a neckless o ma ain? Sides it no as if yie fought off aw three o the wolves yerself, we’re aw intitled tae hav torphies o our ain an tell folk hou we won our fecht. Dinne think I’ll let ye just tell ony story ye want aboot whit happened.’
‘Oh come on, my version will be better than what happened, I swear! Besides people expect some exaggerations in a story like this one’.
Baye just sighed, shrugged her shoulders and got on with the work of butchering the wolves that they had just killed. Before she started, she turned towards Delde and Adriana as she took out a small skinning knife.
‘Either of you want anything?’
Delde just shook her head.
‘N-no thank you Baye. But thank you for your… kind offer. And thank you for your advice during that fight. I imagine it would have been much more difficult had you not taken charge of matters early on’.
‘No problem. Anyway, you lot should get to bed now. We’ll have the watch goin’ on through the night so we should be fine but keep your weapons close to you just in case’.
She turned her back on them as Dal and Igmar continued their bickering. Adriana then turned to Delde and asked in hushed tones.
‘Do you understand the desire to take… trophies? I’m afraid I find it a tad uncivilised and don’t really see the appeal of it. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just strikes me as… unusual’.
‘I can understand Baye’s reasoning. She’s a ranger, she makes her money from hunting animals and bringing their meat or pelts back to Kassen to sell, so I suppose this is just second nature to her. As for Dal and Igmar?’ She shrugged ‘It’s a boy thing?’.
Adriana gave a bemused smile.
‘Yes, I suppose that is probably it. In any case I will bid you a good evening and hope that nothing more disturbs us through the night’.
‘Goodnight Adriana’.
With that they retired to their mutual tents for the night. Onyx was curled up on her bedroll, if he had been at all concerned with the wolves, he didn’t show it. He seemed to have been sleeping quite peacefully throughout the entire fight, although admittedly she didn’t know if that was true. He may have been terrified and only just fallen asleep once the threat was gone. In either case he was sleeping on her bed and would have to move.
‘Excuse me!’
Her familiar rolled onto his back, stretching out while looking up to her with his brilliant green eyes entirely unconcerned.
‘Yes, I’m so sorry to disturb your beauty sleep but I would like to get some rest myself. I’m rather tired after fighting a small pack of hungry wolves and would like to get some sleep’.
He continued looking up at her, remaining in his claimed spot.
‘Now!’
At her stern tone Onyx rose slowly from his spot on her bedroll and languidly walked to the side, giving Delde space to enter her bed for the evening. As soon as she got in though he returned to the bedroll, this time lying down at her feet.
‘Goodnight Onyx’
She yawned as she fell asleep, exhausted as all her exertions of the day finally caught up with her.