standing at the battlements and surveying the surrounding countryside of the vale. At least what little of the vale that wasn't obscured by the tall maples and oaks that grew all over this part of the vale.
She could feel the cooler damp of the interior of the gatehouse as she passed through the darkness. Her leather armor creaked in the relative quiet of the gatehouse. It would take some time to break it in properly. The leather was good, tough hide but was still stiff and pinched uncomfortably in a few spots. She knew she would have raw spots tonight when they stopped to make camp. Her trusty staff thumped loudly on the stones of the gatehouse floor and the smooth, well worn wood felt good in her hands by comparison.
The daylight came again swiftly and she felt the well trod path out of town beneath her feet. The usually hard packed earth of the road was soft and muddy after last night's downpour. The Vandir Inn stood to the left of the road and she could smell breakfast being cooked inside. Master Thorne tended to travelers who passed by on the old road and was usually a good place to pick up news of happenings within the vale. Merchants from Stormhaven and Hammerfall Hall passed by and would gladly share what they knew over an ale. Few merchants from either city had been through lately and the townsfolk were starving for news and the merchant's wares. She turned right at the fork in the road next to the Inn. She looked right over her shoulder back toward the town and could see the towers of the Temple looming over the town with the Lord Mayor's Keep perched atop its bluff behind the Temple. She paused for a few minutes just staring at the town as the others passed her by each lost in their own thoughts or conversations. She could see the smoke from the town's hearth fires creeping up lazily into the morning sky. As many times as she had left she had never really thought it might be her last. She had never really thought of the town as home. Till now.
They walked through the outlying farms for hours before coming to the edge of the township and the open road. Nothing was really different but they had never had never traveled this far from home before.
She didn't think anyone was actually out there watching them but she suddenly felt like there were eyes in the woods all around them. The skin on the back of her neck stood on end and chills ran down her spine.
Magnus and Arn were walking at the head of the little column as usual.
“Look, I'm not saying it actually is a dragon,” Magnus said as he walked, “just that dragon's do exist.”
“If they do exist, and I'm not conceding that they do, wouldn't we have seen them 'afore?” Arn countered, “I mean, wouldn't there be records of ye great honkin' flyin' lizards meandering about?”
“There are, ya stupid dwarf, it says it right there in the third book of the Trials of Fire.” Magnus said exasperated after hours of the seemingly endless debate.
“The Trials of Fire? Of course it says so in the holy book of the bloody Dragon Ascendant!” Arn roared, “Show me a real book written by someone who isn't a fever-brained acolyte of a bloody made up dragon god.”
“That's blasphemy Arn,” Magnus turned serious when confronted with Arn's unbelief. “You are going straight to the Underworld when you die my little friend.”
“Little friend? I'm not some thieving little halfer, ye fever brained zealot,” Arn stopped in the middle of the road and jabbed his sausage of a finger into Magnus's chain shirt. “The Smith has a place set aside for me in the Great Forge. Ye, however, will spend all eternity carryin' coke for the furnace.”
“You don't even believe in the gods, you heretic,” Magnus said smiling, “so how is the Smith going to do anything for you.”
“I don't believe they exist but tha' doesn't stop them from believing tha' I exist.” Arn said with complete resolve.
“What? That makes no sense whatsoever, Arn. You are still going straight to the Drea.....” Magnus trailed off as he saw movement in the treeline.
Something flew from within the treeline and headed straight for Arn who had his back to the forest and was still intently arguing with Magnus. Magnus grabbed the dwarf by his beard and yanked the dwarf past his as he raised his shield with his left arm. A javelin clanked off of the shield and many more flew from the forest.
“AMBUSH!!!” Magnus yelled and charged the unseen foes in the treeline. “For the Dragon!”
He rushed off the road and plowed through the bushes at the edge of the treeline. He saw a small humanoid form haul back to toss another javelin and charged straight for it. His heavy traveling pack slowed him down and the little bugger let fly the javelin right over his shoulder. Magnus hauled back to cave in its
little skull with his hammer but the thing had ducked under his arm and hit him hard with the shaft of its last javelin. Pain flared across his back and he spun, hammer in hand, catching the little creature in the shoulder. It stabbed at his with it's javelin but he caught the head of the javelin on his shield and swung again with
his hammer. Iron hammer head caught the creature in the skull and caved it in.
He had no time to enjoy his victory before he felt a sharp pain in his side. Another creature stood there with a bloody javelin and hauled back to stab him again. He managed to block the flashing javelin's head with his shield but before he could swing his hammer and cave in it's skull, Arn was there roaring and caught the surprised creature under the chin with a mighty upstroke of his own hammer. The creature's head snapped back and it's body flopped down limp.
Magnus turned and could see the skirmish in the trees in between hammer strokes and protecting his face with his shield from javelin thrusts. Ugadda was surrounded by the little creatures and was fighting in a blur of punches and kicks. One of the sneaky little creatures had managed to get behind Ugadda and was hauling its javelin back to thrust it into Ugadda's back when Mialee caved in it's skull with her staff. Magnus could not see Cogwyn or Wyndreth but had no time to worry about them. One of the creatures knocked Arn in
the head with the handle of it's javelin while a second creature prepared to deliver the fatal blow while Arn was reeling. Magnus stepped in and caught the thrust on his shield and swung with his hammer. The quick little creature ducked his blow and stabbed with it's javelin which glanced off his chain armor.
“Is tha' the best ye have, ye little shits!” Arn roared as he regained his senses.
“Not sure if they speak the common tongue Arn,” Magnus said over his shoulder between hammer swings, “but ask for directions to their lair if you get the chance.”
“Maybe, champ, let me ask one.” Arn laughed. He bashed one in the face with his shield and caved in it's skull with a hammer stroke. “Oi! Friend! can ye point us in the direction of yer lair so we can kill the rest of ye?” Arn asked the limp corpse whose brains covered his hammer.
“I pretty sure you should ask them before you hit them with your hammer.”
“You ask your way and I will ask mine.” He laughed as he and Magnus stomped through the bushes looking for more of the little buggers to kill.
Ugadda punched one of the little creatures in the head hard enough she could hear bones crunch over the shouts and din of the fight. The little thing was about the size of a short human. It had a reptilian head with needle sharp fangs and wore a loincloth and leather jerkin. They made little yapping noises to each other
and were sneaky as a halfer. Individually they were no match for her but they fought in packs and one always would try to sneak around behind her. She bore a number of small cuts from their javelins.
She spun and a javelin head flashed past her. She grabbed it and yanked as hard as she could throwing the little reptile to the ground where she stomped down hard on it's little head. She felt the bones and flesh give way beneath her considerable weight through her boot soles. She turned and saw Mialee surrounded
but three of the creatures. She dropped the javelin she had taken away from the dead creature on the ground and ran towards Mialee. She jumped into the air, kicked off a nearby tree and landed with a spinning kick that nearly took the head off of one of the creatures working in behind Mialee.
Mialee spun her staff and caught one of the creatures full in the face knocking it out cold. The third creature thrust its javelin and caught Mialee in the leg. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground kicking at the creature with her good leg.
Ugadda grabbed the little creature by its neck and loin cloth. She lifted it above her head with a growl. The creature sensing it's impending doom yelped and yapped for all it was worth while it flailed around in Ugadda's iron grip. She brought the struggling creature down swiftly as she dropped to one knee, breaking it across her knee like it was a merely a piece of kindling for the fire. She tossed the body aside and crawled over to Mialee to see how bad the wound was.
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