El wakes up with Erin’s arm wrapped around his chest. She stirs and rubs her eyes as she sits up in bed. The blanket falls off of her and El’s eyes go wide. She looks over and smirks.
“What?” She says teasingly.
“Nothing.” El turns away.
“Top said you were heading to Crestfall.” El hears her shuffle about reaching for her clothes.
“Yeah,” El replies. “There’s someone there who's going to train me.”
“Alright. I’m coming with you.” Erin states.
“What!?” El snaps his attention to her. “You’re just going to pick up and leave?”
“Yeah. I hear Crestfall has a bigger bar. Would love to work there.” She turns towards El having pulled on her clothes. “I want to see the world. Take me with you.”
“Anything,” El says, staring into her eyes.
Erin laughs and looks away holding a hand to her mouth.
“What?” El tries to hide his hurt pride.
“You are just too cute El.” She grabs his hands. “I’m going to go get my things.”
“Okay,” El mutters. His cheeks are flush as he stares at Erin’s freckled face.
“So you need to get dressed too.” She smiles as she stands and walks over to the ladder. “Don’t keep me waiting.” She winks at him before sliding down the ladder.
El falls back onto his pillow as he hears her leave the barn. Kib walks through the doors shortly after.
“Top is getting the next shipment. Get your ass in gear, smooth skin!” The purple-scaled kobold squeaks up towards the rafters.
“Fine!” El calls back.
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Top and Kib sit at the front of the cart as they leave town. El and Erin sit in the back, leaning against a wooden board, sitting close together. They watch the city fade as the cart rolls southward.
An ox pulls the cart at a steady pace. Kib makes a few frustrated noises as they watch the road.
“What?” Top asks.
“Why is this beast so slow?” Kib whines.
“She can walk like this for eight hours straight. We ride for six hours, rest for two, ride for six, sleep for eight.” Top answers with some frustration.
“Play nice,” El calls out.
“This ox is purposefully stalling our plans for corporate take over.” Kib points at the beast of burden while looking back at El.
El is smiling and Erin is chuckling. Kib turns back around to face the front. The kobold huffs as he plants himself in his seat firmly.
“He was my friend before he was yours. We both lost him.” Top says quietly.
“He was a good lad.” Kib puts a clawed hand to his chest somberly.
“I’m not dead.” El grunts. “And we are not even a foot apart.”
“And we’ve only been riding for thirty minutes.” Erin smiles at their ridiculousness.
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The cart passes by three giant lizards resting on rocks to bask in the sun's rays. Not long after the hills start to become flatter and flatter. More and more trees dot the landscape. A group of gnomes passes by the cart wearing leathers and twine holding a spit with a boar on it.
One of the local hill tribes. The savage ghost gnomes, cousins to the northern gnomes who live among the dwarfs.
After a little over eight hours of travel, the wagon comes to a stop by a stream. Top takes the ropes off of the ox and leads it down to the water. The other three get out of the cart and stretch their limbs.
El fetches some firewood and Erin prepares a soup for the traveling band. They sit around and enjoy the meal. After an hour they start to pack up and get ready to go back on the road.
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Top and El sit in the front while Erin and Kib play cards in the back. Two covered wagons drawn by horses pass the cart heading towards Belrond. El watches them carefully. The driver in the front cart is a man in leather armor, the pointed ears of an elf, and a curved blade at his side. The driver of the back cart is heavily armored, has a large maul next to her, and on her side is a lantern.
El recognizes the lantern and the woman recognizes the lantern El has. She pulls on her reins and turns the carriage around in the road to pursue the group's cart.
“Fuck. Adventurers.” El mutters grabbing his crossbow.
“Oh, like you?” Top asks not noticing the urgency or danger.
“Like the ones I killed,” El says as he aims the crossbow backward.
“What!?” Top yells turning around. “Who are they?!”
“They're ad news.” El fires his crossbow right as the cart bounces.
His bolt goes wide as the carriage easily catches up to the cart. The carriage pulls up alongside the cart. El reloads his crossbow and straps it to his side.
“Stop now or I’ll set your cart ablaze.” The knight yells. Her voice is gruff yet obviously feminine.
“Alright, alright.” Top shouts. He pulls the cart to a stop.
The Knight leaps from the carriage and El hops down from the cart. The two walk towards each other. The knight is easily over a foot taller than El. She removes her helmet revealing black hair tied in a ponytail and dark skin.
“Explain why you have that lantern.” The woman commands.
“I found it.” El lies.
“Bullshit.” The woman puts a hand on the end of a maul on her back.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You want the truth so bad?” El puts his hand on his sword. “Are you going to kill me for it?”
“If I have to. I am Seelah, paladin of Anvyrin. Tell me, why do you have a Lantern of a Light Bearer?” The knight and El stare each other down, inches apart.
“Because I killed a Light Bearer,” El says with a smile.
“Then you will die.” Seelah draws her maul as El draws his sword.
“I’d rather die a Rat-Catcher than be some holier than thou adventurer committing genocide.” El spits.
“You can’t fool me. The Light Bearers are righteous.” Seelah takes a step towards El and swings her maul in an overhead arc.
El steps into her space and headbutts her. She stumbles back and El follows her with another swing of his sword. A smaller thinner blade catches his sword and pushes his blow to the side where it harmlessly whiffs through the air. El jumps back.
A woman in fine black clothing wielding a fencing sword purses her lips. She has pointed ears, but her skin tone is tawny like a human instead of flawless like an elf. Must be half or a quarter elf.
“You okay Seelah?” A third figure pokes out from behind the other two. A blue robed halfling woman.
“I’m fine. This man however is a dissenter against the kingdom. An unlicensed Rat-Catcher and Light-Bearer killer.” The knight answers.
Top walks up on El’s left side with a punching dagger. He cracks his neck as he looks at the three adventurers in front of him. On El’s right Kib walks up with his sling and Erin approaches with a dagger that looks more like a letter opener.
“Are you four seriously thinking of taking us on? Three commoners and a little baby monster.” The half-elf smirks.
“He’s one of us!” El lunges forward swinging his sword at her.
She slides to the side easily dodging the attack with a smile. El swings his sword through the air again.
“Do it now!” The elf yells.
The halfling steps forward and swirls a wand through the air. A huge blast of color, strobing lights and various flickering patterns swirl through the air surrounding El, Top, Kib, and Erin. She chants, pushes more mana into the spell, consuming part of her arcane reservoir.
Spell
Color Spray
Will Save
DC 15
El
Top
Kib
Erin
16(D20)+2(Save)=18
12(D20)+3(Save)=15
6(D20)+3(Save)=9
10(D20)+1(Save)=11
Top looks over to Kib, a golden aura reaches out, and he fuels Kib with it. Erin’s own golden aura emanates from her, wide-eyed she watches as her aura and Tops aura push the color spray away.
Lucky Halfling
Kib
Hero Point
Erin
Roll again for Kib
17(D20)+3(Save)=20
+4 bonus after roll
11+4=15
El and Seelah lock weapons as soon as the color spray disappears. Kib launches a stone at the half-elf for four damage. Erin closes the distance and stabs into the woman's side with her knife dealing five damage. Top charges forward and punches his dagger into the arm of the halfling woman dealing four damage.
“Forgive me mam, but you attacked first.” Top squeaks as he hops backward.
“Apology not accepted.” She swirls her wand around her and a forcefield starts to shine around her.
El and Seelah pull their weapons back and swing at each other again only to lock blades once more in a stalemate.
“You are with the wrong crowd.” The half-elf slashes out at Erin, the blade pierces through her shoulder dealing six damage.
“Says you!” Kib launches another rock that slams into the half-elf's forehead sending her stumbling backward.
She falls to the ground unconscious and the halfling woman gasps.
“Seelah, this isn’t good!” The halfling panics.
“Our friends will be here in twelve seconds. It is fate.” The knight says calmly.
A knife drives into Seelah’s back dealing three damage, El swings his sword again dealing nine damage, and Top drives his dagger into her side dealing seven damage.
Seelah coughs up blood before her body starts to fail her. She slumps forward into El’s blade slashing through her shoulder. Her body slowly falls limp and hits the ground.
“Seelah!” The halfling screams.
Kib hops into the cart and pats the ox gently. The uncaring beast starts to trot forward. Top runs and leaps onto the back of the cart. El helps support Erin for a few steps towards the cart before picking her up and placing her on the back of it.
El looks back at the carriage. The halfling is trying to staunch the flow of the knight's wounds but the woman is already gone. The halfling’s forcefield goes down as she holds her friend. The other carriage draws near slowing down as it reaches the scene.
El raises his crossbow and fires a single bolt. It pierces through the halfling's neck dealing seven damage. The arcanist falls to the side, hitting the ground, her hands clawing at her neck.
The field hand turns and runs after the cart hopping into the back of it. Three more adventurers climb out of the carriage and inspect the massacre of their friends.
Erin moves her hands across her wound, muttering in elvish, as she casts cure wounds. She heals for four hp.
“You can cast?” El asks as he sits down and reloads his crossbow.
“Yes.” Erin side-eyes El.
“What?” El looks over to Top who is also looking at him questioningly.
“They think you're a murderer.” Kib answers.
“Are we accessories to something?” Erin questions El.
“I’m not doing time again.” Top crosses his arms.
“Again?” Erin looks over to Top.
“I killed the three adventurers that showed up in town on the first of Tarsahk. They slaughtered Kib’s family and lit the mill on fire.” El states matter of factly.
“You mean Ban killed them?” Erin assumes.
“No. Bandlor killed the royal guard. I killed the three adventurers. And Kib killed the lord.” El answers.
Top leans forward and gives Kib a high five on the down-low.
“Single-handedly.” El shrugs. “No one else to blame.”
“How?” Erin sits up and stares at El.
“Sickle to the eyeball, choking, and a shovel to the throat.” El sighs.
“So Seelah was the fourth person you killed?” Erin asks.
“I never knew the names of the others.” El looks away from the others. “Five now. The halfling too.” His shoulders slump.
“Well, it didn’t seem like we had a choice.” Top says.
“We could try being more diplomatic in the future. That seemed like a genuine misunderstanding.” Erin waves her hand to the trail behind them.
“Blind faith in a corrupt system. Seelah wasn’t innocent.” El mutters.
“El. You killed a person. Own it. Don’t hide behind excuses.” Erin stretches out pulling El’s backpack over to use as a pillow.
“What are you doing?” El asks.
“Sleeping. I’ll take guard when we stop for the night.” She answers.
Gained EXP
El
14800/23000
1200/4
Kib
12400/14000
Commoner Party
Top
400/3000
Levels 4,3,1, and 1
Erin
400/3000
Long Rest
Heal 1 x Level
6/7 Health
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The group eventually finds a place in the woods to make camp. Erin takes watch just like she said she would. The night goes by without a hitch.