Riordan
It was two
weeks until the feast of the Becoming, the 30th and last day of Late Summer,
when I awoke. There was nothing particularly unusual about that Godsday
morning. I had a quick bite to break my fast and dressed in my good shirt and
breeches for mass. A stout cup of tea kept me company while I polished my
boots, and I had a nice leisurely walk down to the town mall where services are
held. Most of the village had already
arrived by the time I got there, and I sought out my friends.
Lothar saw
me first and waved me over to where he and Ajani (and Ajani’s dog) were. I
noticed Salem was with them as well. Salem’s nice enough, but he usually keeps to
himself –or as much as anyone can in a village of less than 100. I don’t know
the details on Salem, but he pretty much just hangs out with Father Faerris and
serves as a combination deacon/altar boy. He is also one of the few others that
Faerris lets read his small book collection so when he’s around Salem and I
have something to talk about –even though he prefers the theological passages
and I enjoy the battles.
Lothar
seemed chipper than usual and as I approached I saw why: his uncle Elfric was
in town. Elfric was a professional messenger, and his duties kept him away for
sometimes even years at a time. I gave him a warm smile and he in turn clasp my
arm. There was something more in his eyes however than just the comfort of
being home. Something was definitely up. There was a determination to his face
that told me Elfric was here on business.
Before I
could pursue the issue with Elfric, Father Faerris called for quiet and began
the service. It was a fairly standard sermon, one in a series leading up to the
Becoming from the sound of it, and I examined Lothar instead of giving Faerris
my full attention. Lothar is the 16 year old second son of the local
tanner. Big, broad, and a little on the
shy side, it was easy to forget the massive guy was barely an adult. At least
until you looked into his wide honest face. It was that honesty and that simply
appreciation for the now that gave little weight for the future or past that
had made me spend most of my free time with someone almost a decade my junior. There wasn’t any tenseness or undue
excitement to Lothar which told me that whatever Elfric’s agenda was, he hadn’t
shared it with his nephew yet.
Suddenly to
the old priest’s voice faltered. I immediately focused my attention to the
altar where the open air mass was lead. Faerris
stood transfixed, paused in mid word looking at the sky. By this time most of
the crowd had gone silent and I joined my gaze to theirs, looking up to see the
beginnings of a solar eclipse. The air had an unnatural stillness, and next to
me I heard Lothar whisper “Where are the birds?”
From the
altar Father Faerris’ voice called out softly, “I see Regius has decided to
grace us with his presence.” But the statement failed to pull everyone’s
attention away from the sky. Realizing he had lost his audience he began
quickly wrapping up the mass, which ended about a minute after the eclipse. I
looked around and realized that Lothar had wandered off. I turned to Ajani and
gripping the huge black man on the shoulder invited him and Salem back to the
inn for drinks on the porch. Ajani uneasily flashed his white teeth in a grin
and led the way. Ajani’s people were
from far across the continent where the people had dark skin, dressed in
feathers and hides, and lived closely with nature. At some point his family had
converted to the Regian Faith and wound up in the village of Oakshadow living
as farmers. The dreadlocked Ajani at 6’6” towered even me and was thickly
muscled although he looked slender next to my own mass. I don’t make a big deal
of it, but at 6’ even and 200lbs I can be a pretty imposing figure. With the
concentrated bulk of Lothar and the immenseness of Ajani our group often looked
like giants among the mostly bent and elderly population of the village.
We arrived
at the Oakshadow Inn to find that most of the village had the same idea. I
sighed, gave my buddies an apologetic sigh, and went to work. I have owned and
operated the inn since my parents had passed.
The small building was less of an inn - it only had 4 rooms- and more of
the local tavern. I served beer which was brewed in-village by Kettlewell, a
local gnome, and on this Godsday I poured a river's worth. Even Father Faerris
was there. While I served I eavesdropped on my neighbors. Most of the talk was
on the eclipse and what it meant. I tell you, a serf will turn the shape of his
own crap into an omen given half a thought.
It was after lunch when I was able to make my
way out to join my friends on the front porch. Lothar had caught up to us, and
Elfric was there as well. It turns out I wasn't the only one who had noticed
that Elfric was here on more than just a visit. I walked up just as he began to
spill the beans.
He opened
with a question, asking if we had heard of the recent attacks; mutilated
livestock found dead and half eaten throughout the region. None of us had, but
he quickly filled us in on the details. Apparently medium to large animals -
sheep, cattle - were found in gruesome scenes with large chucks of meat
missing. He was in town to gather a group to investigate and hunt down the
beast responsible. I looked around the taproom at our fellow villagers, most of
whom were over 50. We quickly volunteered en-mass, even Salem stepping up to
the plate. I suggested we meet at the inn first thing in the morning. Elfric
argeed and left to try to recruit a few more warm bodies. Before he left he
cautioned all of us and me in particular to be wary of strangers. Apparently
there have been rumors of plague.
The last
major plague was almost 500 years ago, but it was still remembered and feared.
Hysteria surrounding it grew so out of control that people were killed and
burned just for knowing the name of an inflicted town. My parents had died of
the wasting sickness so his warning hit close to home for personal reasons as
well. Having witnessed a death by disease I had no interest in going out the
same way.
Father
Faerris ended up staying late. Salem escorted him home around the same time
that Lothar and Ajani left with Ajani's dog. I closed up right after. Ajani has
this enormous wolfhound named Gahiji that is a family pet. The two of them go
everywhere together, and Ajani roams far into the wilderness around the village
exploring. Gahiji is a nice enough dog, but Ajani treats it more like a brother
than an animal most of the time.
That night
before I went to bed I found my da's spear that he used during the spring
festival, competing at target practice with the other men of the village. I
hadn't had occasion to pull it out since he died, but it looked like I might
need it on our journey. What we were hunting was obviously a beast of some
sort, but what? It had to be a large predator, and a vicious one at that. Most
of the animals in the area that could do such a thing were bears and wolves.
Neither of those were particularly easy encounters, even with a group of
hunters, but there were other things out in the darker corners of the
wilderness. Unatural things. I slept fitfully that night.
In the
morning I prepared breakfast for our little band, and greeted them as they
arrived. There was Elfric our leader, Lothar, Ajani and Gahiji of course, and
Salem. The fruit of Elfric continued recruiting proved to be Josiah, our stout
little carpenter, and Farkus, one of the few other freedmen working as a farmer
in the village aside from Ajani's family.
On the
outskirts of town was one of two local watchtowers, there in the event the
local feudal lord, Sir Bardin Bronzeblade, need to defend the region against
invasion. At the moment it was used as a
storage shed for a meager armory maintained by the village against times of
need. we decided to raid the armory (Elfric had Sir Bardin's permission to do
so) and then swing by Father Faerris' house to have him bless the expedition
before we left.
It looked
like no one had opened the watchtower in a generation. Much of the stored
equipment was unkempt and corroded. We separated the usable stuff out and
equipped ourselves as best we could. I wound up with a suit of leather armor
that smelled faintly sour, a small tarnished but servicable steel shield, and a
heavy mace to supplement my da's spear. Lothar had that huge club he swings
around in the woods, and Ajani had his own spear styled in the manner of his
people, so they each took a suit of padded armor. Salem wasn't the most hale of
our group, so he took 5 daggers in hopes that he could throw them if need be.
He also had a shield and a quarterstaff, just in case.
After
outfitting, we trooped over to Father Faerris' house and asked him to bless the
expedition. Faerris' house is removed from the village into the woods. I spent
many an afternoon of my youth sitting on his porch, studying his books as he
taught me how to read. I have never been inside though. As far as I know, no
one has except the good Father himself - not even Salem. The old priest gave us
a nice little benediction and then handed Salem a pouch of herbs. He said it
had antiseptic properties and could be used to heal. Now I know what antiseptic
means, and it doesn't quite fit the description he gave of how to use the
stuff. But you know what? That's fine. He knew my secret of the key and hand
never told anyone; I could cut him a little slack here.
Having been
blessed with the good will of a Regian Priest, we left Faerris' home and headed
south following the lead of Ajani and Gahiji. After about a mile and a half
Gahiji reacted to something in the woods behind us. Immediately alert the group
fanned out, ready to confront whatever it was. Whatever it was proved to be an
excited and flushed Neris, the 15 year old son of a local serf. "You guys
left without me!" he exclaimed, still breathing hard with the effort of
finding us. Smiling to myself and remembering what it was to be fifteen, I was
about to welcome him when Salem beat me to the punch. Salem kindly but sternly
explained that he was too young to accompany us, and then tried to sooth Neris'
pride by sending him back to Oakshadow to" protect the village". Neris is young but not stupid and he
recognized a dismissal when he heard one. Trying to soften the blow, Salem gave
Neris one of his daggers, again to protect the village, but there was a
stubbornness in Neris' eye that betrayed his intent. I stepped up at that point
and spoke to Neris kindly until stubbornness turned into disappointed
resignation and he agreed to return to Oakshadow. He slipped Salem's dagger in
his belt (nicking himself in the process) and headed back.
After our
first battle (a battle of words and will, but a battle none-the-less) we
continued on until we hit the river. It was a mile and a half wide, but Ajani
had led us to a rope ferry docked at a small pier. We immediately got to work
pulling the raft across the river, but it was hard and slow going as the
current was strong and the water choppy. About the middle we stopped for lunch
on the raft. Lothar, Ajani, and I ate quickly and got back to work while the
rest of the group rested.
On the other
side of the river Ajani and Gahiji took a break and hunted up a wild turkey for
dinner, while Lothar pulled several fish out of the water. We continued on for
about 3 hours and decided to camp for the night. Along the way we had passed by
a small patch of farmland, and while Farkus, Josiah, and Elfric set up camp and
cooked the turkey and fish Lothar, Salem, Ajani, Gahiji, and I retraced our
steps to inquire of the farmers if they had any knowledge of the recent
attacks.
As we headed
towards the farmhouse, Salem pointed out that the fields were untended. We
readied our weapons and approached a little more cautiously. When we got within
twenty yards of the farmhouse I called out a greeting. There was no answer. By
now the sun was setting, so we lit torches and closed the distance to the
porch. As we drew nearer I noticed a large puddle of blood on the doorstep.
Pointing it out to the group I waited until they signaled that they were each
ready and kicked in the door.
The interior
of the farmhouse was dominated by a huge pool of dried blood in the center of
the room; the kind you find in a chophouse after a hog slaughter. A quick
search of the house turned up no information other than this was a fairly
typical small farmhouse for the area with un-noteworthy habitants. Lothar then
noticed a massive paw print in the blood. Upon closer inspection it was obvious
that a large four legged animal had dragged the source of the blood out of the
house with its jaws. Lothar then found a clump of dark fur on the door jamb of
the home which was given to Gahiji in hopes that he could track the beast.
Gahiji was
reluctant but gamely led our group out into the star illuminated field. About
100 yards away we found the mutilated body of the farmer. Something had ripped
out his belly and devoured his organs. Most of the soft tissue had been
removed- most likely eaten. Salem and I dung a quick grave and Salem said last
rites over the farmer. The beast's trail led into the forest where Gahiji lost
the scent. It appeared that the beast had been traveling in the same direction
as our hunting group. Cautiously we headed back to camp.
The sun had
been down for a couple of hours by the time we broke out of the shadow of the
woods and into the circle of light cast by our campfire. We filled in the
others as we ate supper. Farkus got a little wild about the eyes and began
muttering about turning back. I tried to lighten the mood with a story or two,
but we didn't calm down until Elfric passed around his wineskin. I took a long
pull myself and noticed that it made me feel a lot better. Like, moreso than
wine can. I cast a sideways glance at Elfric. I had thought that instances with
magic were few and far between, my own experiences notwithstanding, but it
appears it may be more common than I had been led to believe.
We split the
night up into double watches and I hunkered down to sleep. The next thing I
know I was being roused by Lothar. He and Farkus had second watch, and had hear
movement in the foliage around the camp. I donned my armor while Salem threw
lit torches creating a ring around the camp. Suddenly Gahiji started and then
bolted off into the night. Immediately most of us ran after him. We chased him
through the woods until we came into a clearing with a dark pool of water in
the center. On the far side of the pool a ball of soft light bobbed up and down
in a slow dance. We split up and circle
the pond in both directions until we met on the far side. The ball of light had
bobbed and weaved deeper into the woods by this time, and we immediately gave
chase. After a few minutes the ball of light suddenly disappeared. Gahiji seemed pretty nonchalant about it and
began leading us back to camp. We briefly searched the area where we last saw
the light but found nothing.
Back at camp
Josiah began freaking out, but I was able to calm him down by talking to him.
Finally Salem led the group in prayer which allowed our more skittish
companions to go back to sleep. In the morning Elfric told us that our
destination was The Stein-Shield Inn, a wayfarer's stop in the wild. Ajani was
familiar with the inn having been there several times, and led us off at a
brisk pace. We traveled all day and camped for the night. Farkus was exhausted
and had trouble keeping up with the group all day. We had a pretty uneventful
evening, and Salem and I were awoken for third watch.
About 45
minutes into our watch both Salem and I heard something crashing through the
underbrush. We woke up the rest of the group and I moved out to investigate. It
turns out that Neris had followed us after all. He was pretty wild about the
eyes and hadn't eaten for a while. Salem wanted to tear into him right there,
but I instead too Neris back to camp where we fed and watered him and all went
back to sleep. In the morning Salem lectured Neris on obedience. I took a more
forward thinking approach. Realizing that we were more or less stuck with Neris
I made our expectations of his future behavior clear, which coincidentally
paired quite nicely with Salem's sermon. Neris made all the right noises and so
our group - now expanded by one - broke camp. As an interesting side note,
Neris mentioned that he was chased by a ball of light in the night. Could
Gahiji have been reacting to Neris instead of the ball? Was the ball of light
being directed by someone or something that wanted to keep Neris from joining
our group? How did he manage to cross the river anyway? I kept my thoughts to
myself as we traveled, but Neris bears a little more investigation.
Shortly
before lunch we broke out of the tree line. A large field spread out before us,
and in the center was the biggest building I have ever seen. The Stein-Shield
was at least three stories tall, and sprawled luxuriously out in all directions
as if it was slowly attempting to cover the entire field. It also had a solid
roof instead of thatch, a rare novelty in these parts. Immediately I cautioned
the group to watch their spending and their money. Farkus, Josiah, and Neris
seemed far too eager to head in and
experience everything the Stein-Shield had to offer. Elfric backed up my
caution and the group resolved to stay together. After a stern reminder to obey
and not get into trouble directed at Neris, we headed in.
The central
common room was frankly overwhelming. It was huge but the details of the room
hardly registered because of the people. There were easily 80 people in the
room. Our whole village has a population of around 100, so seeing 80 strangers
in one place, at tables and bars, jostling into one another was disorienting.
Many of them were obviously mercenaries or adventurers, no few of them looked
like brigands or the shady sort that called to mind thieves in dark alleys.
Mingled here and there were what appeared to be local farming folk, so I hoped
that we wouldn't stand out too much. My plan for a low profile was shattered a
moment later when a huge individual laid a heavy hand on Elfric's shoulder and
said, "I've been looking for you."
