From the Begining

Romulus leaves to get breakfast at the Inn, like he usually does.

“Good morning, Romulus,” says the Innkeeper as Romulus enters.

Romulus nods in acknowledgement.

“I’d like the usual.” Romulus moves to the back corner where he usually sits. Oddly, he sees a new face as he walks passed the tables. “There’s never anyone in here at this hour,” Romulus thinks to himself. The other patron looks up from his bowl of mush and nods a greeting to Romulus. Romulus pretends he does not see the gesture and continues to his seat. Romulus eats his meal without saying a word, but listens to the conversation between the Innkeeper and the patron.

“So what is exciting to do in Verune?” asks the patron. “Wait, I apologize. My name is Nifen.” Nifen stands up to shake the Innkeepers hand.

“I am Gruf,” responds the Innkeeper. “So exciting?... and in Verune? Hmmm. Dis in’t quite what I describe ‘n excitin’ town. Der’s da lake, but don’t be goin’ too deep in dat wata.”

“What about work?” questions Nifen. “Are there any jobs around here for an able body?” Nifen gestures to his short sword and morningstar sitting next to his chair.

“Attually, ya. I dink da ole wisard still lookin’ fa someone… fa escoat duty.” Gruf looks to Romulus expecting him to get involved in the conversation.

“Excellent!” expounds Nifen. His excitement is almost contagious.

“Where do I find the ‘old wizard’?”

Again, Gruf looks to Romulus, expecting him to offer to show the newcomer to Nikail’s home. Romulus pretends to ignore the conversation and looks back down at his food. Gruf proceeds to describe directions to Nikail’s abode. Nifen leaves the Inn, and Romulus leaves five minutes later without saying a word and puts five copper pieces on the bar.

The Trip to Na’al

Having difficulty sleeping due to his excitement, Romulus wakes early in the morning to a knock on the door. Given the early departure, he slept at Nikail’s house. Nikail’s house sits on a large estate at the north-east edge of town. The ground floor, where Romulus is staying, has three bedrooms and a large library or office. Nikail sleeps in one of these bedrooms. Off of Nikail’s bedroom is a door that heads up to the second floor of the house. Although Romulus has never seen the second floor, he can tell that it is small from the outside. The door to second floor is off limits and always locked. Romulus discovered it was locked about three ago; he checked it while Nikail was using the restroom. Although Romulus was sure that Nikail had not seen or heard him, when he got out of the bathroom, he immediately asked Romulus why he checked the door to the second story and asked that he never enter Nikail’s bedroom again—Romulus never has.

Disoriented from sleeping at Nikail’s, Romulus takes a couple minutes to find his clothes. Before he can get to his bedroom door, Nikail answers the front door. Romulus can overhear the conversation and recognizes both voices.

“You are a bit early, caaa,” Nikail says to his guest as he coughs. “I wasn’t expecting you… til 6:30. The caravan is… not leaving for… one and a half hours… at about 7:00am.”

“Good morning, sir. I like to be prepared. And assure you of my commitment to the safety of this journey,” Nifen responds. “Is there anything I can do to help prep the caravan?”

“I’m not sure, caaahhaa,” Nikail coughs again. “The caravan is loading up… over there,” Nikail points away from his house. “Go out and… to the left… pass two houses… you should see it… on your left.”

Nifen leaves as Romulus opens his bedroom door. “Who was that, Preceptor?”

“That was a gentleman… who’ll be joining you. He will be… on the first wagon… with Heron and Turo. You will be… on the second wagon… with Nafu and Goth.” Nikail looks at Romulus. “Be careful, Romulus. But do not… be fearful. You are… becoming… quite skilled.”

“Thank you, Preceptor. Should I go help prepare the caravan?”

“After breakfast,” Nikail smiles. “It will be the last… good meal you’ll have… for some days.” Nikail and Romulus dine for the next forty-five minutes while Nikail helps Romulus recite some magical verse.

After breakfast, Romulus goes to the caravan to find Nifen, Turo, and Goth loading the second wagon.

“Good morning guys,” greets Romulus.

Nifen looks up with a puzzled look. “Haven’t I met you somewhere?”

Romulus remembers the encounter four days earlier in the Inn. “I don’t think so. My name is Romulus. I believe Nikail hired you, correct? So you’re kinda working for me. Because I’m Nikail’s apprentice. You will be in the first wagon, with Turo. I will protect the back one with Goth. If you need help, just call out. Because I’m a pretty good wizard. I can help.”

Nifen guards a smirk as he covers his face with the crate in his arms. “Goohhoood to meet you, Romulus,” Nifen grunts as he lifts the crate into the wagon. He dusts his hands off and extends his right hand to shake Romulus’. “Well then, we’re lucky to have you along.” Nifen pauses to look around at the remaining crates to be loaded. “Well, I think we’re almost ready to go if you are. Oh, and I have a horse for the trip, so I will ride along-side the first caravan… if that’s okay with you, of course.”

Surprised by Nifen’s seemingly easy acquiescence, Romulus nods his head. “Of course. Good. I… I guess… uh… I guess we can get the drivers here so we can leave soon. I… uh… I will summon them.” Romulus walks back toward Nikail’s home to find Heron and Nafu.

“Who does he think he is?” questions Turo. ‘I’m in charge,’ he mimics Romulus. “Whatever. Let’s get our crap on board and get out of here. This is going to be a long trip with mister high and mighty.”

With wisdom beyond his years, Nifen addresses Turo. “He’s just a young kid, Turo. He simply has the arrogance of his youth. You can help him feel good about himself without giving in to his ‘orders.’ This should tone him down a little. It will help make the trip much more bearable.”

Turo nods his head in agreement. “You’re right. I just think that kid rides Nikail’s coattails a little too much sometimes. How old are you, anyway? You don’t look much older than him.”

“Probably not,” responds Nifen. “But I know his type. If you play into his insecurities, he’ll end up being your biggest follower.”

Turo nods his head again as the three of them finish loading the wagons.

Romulus returns five minutes after he left. Heron and Nafu each have two horses in tow. They spend the next fifteen minutes securing the horses to the wagons. “Great, are we ready to go?” Romulus speaks with a deeper voice than usual. Just then, Nikail appears in the middle of the group.

“I see you are ready,” Nikail struggles to speak the entire sentence without pausing. “Romulus, may I speak with you a moment?” Romulus nods and the two walk about twenty feet away. “You need… to be a little less… directive. You are good… but you will need them… and it’s important… not to alienate… your comrades.”

“I understand, Preceptor.” Romulus walks back to the group. “Are we ready to go? Thanks for your help guys.” The group climbs onto their respective wagons. “Heron, you know the way. I guess you have the lead.”

The group leaves at 6:55am, five minutes ahead of schedule. They travel north along the coast of Chesyl Lake enjoying the cool breeze. The dust off the dirt road bothers Romulus as the carriage ahead kicks it up into the wind. The only sounds in the second carriage are those of the horses and the wheels of the carriage. Neither Goth nor Nafu are particularly talkative and Romulus is reflecting on the words of his teacher. The first carriage holds Heron and Turo while Nifen rides next to them.

“So Heron. I need you to help me understand something,” Turo declares. “This kid, Romulus… he works for Nikail, right? And Nikail is rumored to be some kickass wizard. I’ve even heard has some grand title… Perceptionist or something like that. Well, if he’s so kickass, then why is he living in Verune? And why doesn’t he use his magic to get rid of these goblins or whatever is attacking the shipments? And what’s so great about Romulus? He doesn’t seem like anything special to me?”

“I don’t know, Turo,” responds Heron. “But I’ve been pretty impressed with Nikail thus far. He certainly has that teleport thing down. As for Romulus, Nikail sees something in him, but I don’t know. He certainly is a little socially awkward.”

They continue until they reach Midway at noon. They stop for lunch and continue west toward Tar’u. They make camp for the night on the road after a full day’s travel. The valley floor to the north is dimly lit by the stars and moonlight. It is a beautiful sight as the valley gives way to the snow-covered Northern Bluffs to the northeast. The moonlight reflects off the ice-capped mountains. To the south, the dark, deep-blue water of Chesyl Lake shimmers under the moonlight. The caravan party can see the lights of Frerking, some twenty miles away due south across the lake. The night passes quietly with the only disturbances being awoken for watch duty by the previous watchman.

The group leaves the next morning to continue west toward Tar’u. At about 4:00pm, the group approaches the ruins of what was once a large city, which now is home to only about 50 people. “Welcome, Tar’u” hangs a sign on the first building, which is more of an unoccupied, dilapidated shell of walls. Heron leads the caravan to the inhabited west side of the town. “We’ll leave the horses and wagons in the barn tonight,” announces Heron. The barn is one of the better kept buildings in Tar’u. It is open to the sky, but has small awnings where animals can flee from the elements. The folk of the town can best be described as uncultivated. Although they welcome visitors… and their coin, they enjoy being more than a day’s travel from any civilization. They live off the land and the forest and the lake. However, they are an honest bunch and loyal to each other.

Being in the town for the night, the caravan members forfeit taking watches at Heron’s intense urging that there was no need. Even with Heron’s assurance, Nifen still awakes a couple times through the night to check on the barn. They sleep in what might be considered beds, but certainly more comfortable than the ground. Just as Heron said, the night went uneventful, and the caravan party wakes with the new vigor of a full-night’s sleep. Nifen leaves his quarters to check on his steed to find Heron already in the barn gathering the other four horses. Together, they strap the horses to the carriages, and they are ready to depart just twenty minutes later. After a quick meal of rabbit offered by one of the huntsmen, for a price of course, the group heads west toward Na’al.

After travelling for almost five hours, the caravan approaches the tree edge of the Eminent Woods to see a beautiful female elf emerge from the shadows. “Good day. I am Stateira. I am here to escort you through the woods to Na’al,” she speaks in common like it’s her native tongue. “You are the caravan from Verune, correct?”

Nifen approaches her on horseback. Somewhat enamored by her beauty, he almost fumbles his words, but quickly regains his composure. “G-g-g-day, Stateira. I am Nifen, and it is truly a pleasure to meet you. I was not aware that we would have company for our journey, but your company is truly welcomed.”

Romulus grits his teeth, annoyed with the suave Nifen. Romulus jumps down from his carriage and jogs to approach Stateira. “I am Romulus. I am in charge of this caravan, and I look forward to travelling with you.”

Stateira smiles, knowing the puissance she already has over the young Romulus. “Well, come. We should be on our way if we are to make it to Na’al by tomorrow night.”

“Good to see you, Stateira,” Heron calls out. “We’ll follow; you lead.”

Stateira takes the lead on her horse about thirty feet in front of the carriages. The caravan continues, now heading southwest into the Eminent Woods. Only ten minutes into the woods, Heron stops his carriage. His face goes pale white as he stares at the charred remains of two carriages. Unable to talk or move, Heron is unresponsive to requests from Nifen. Romulus, stopped in the second carriage, is unclear about what is the issue. Romulus can hear Nifen talking to Heron. Romulus watches as Nifen climbs down off his horse and approaches Heron. Romulus watches as Nifen escorts the catatonic Heron from the driver’s seat to the tailgate. After settling in Heron between a couple crates, Nifen yells out to Romulus, “I’ll drive the first caravan, Romulus. Heron… uh… Heron needs a break.” Nifen ties his horse to the side of the caravan and mounts the driver’s seat. “Do you see him?” Nifen asks Turo, who is still sitting in the passenger seat.

“Who?” Turo looks perplexed.

“There is a man about a hundred feet away off to my left. He’s been there at least as long as we’ve been stopped. Do you see him? He’s standing still next to the boulder and the pine tree.” Turo looks over and Nifen settles him back into his seat. The man watching ducks out of sight and seems to disappear. “Don’t be so obvious. I’ll keep an eye on him to see if he follows us,” Nifen asserts.

About five minutes later, Nifen and Turo watch as Stateira rides off the path into the woods toward the man following them. She has her bow drawn, waiting for an open shot. The man turns and runs and on foot, he is almost outpacing Stateira on horseback. Not wanting to leave the caravan and uncertain of the lurker’s intentions, Stateira stops and trots back to the path.

“Who was that, Stateira?” Nifen asks.

“I have no idea, but he’s quick,” replies Stateira.

“I saw him watching us earlier when we had to stop for Heron. Curious. Well, he’s been harmless thus far,” Nifen consoles.

“He kinda creeps me out,” replies Stateira. “I feel like he’s stalking us. He’s just doing a crappy job since we keep seeing him.”

The group continues on its way until just a few minutes later Stateira rides back to the caravan yelling “Incoming! Heads up!”

Nifen had already seen a couple goblins off to the right crouched in the shrubs, so he was prepared for the javelins flying through the air at him and Turo. Turo, on the other hand, was caught off guard as a javelin landed in his gut. Looking at Nifen, Turo coughs as blood lands on Nifen’s face. “I okay,” Turo musters a whisper. Not fully believing him, but not having much choice, Nifen leaps from the carriage to approach the first goblin. But not before Goth manages to land a blow to the left leg of one of them. The goblin bellows as Goth smiles in his victorious shot. The goblin draws a short sword but stumbles on his weakened leg. Goth raises his axe and makes a full swing to get some momentum behind his would-be blow; however, he misses the goblin, who fell to the ground. Goth loses his grip as his axe goes flying through the air and lands fifteen feet away in the bushes. Undeterred, Goth looks at the kneeling goblin and pounds his massive fist on the goblin’s head. What little life force the goblin had left exited with that blow.

Nifen smiles at his comrade. Nifen follows with a blow to the other goblin as the morningstar lodges a spike in the head of the hapless creature. With blood trickling into its eyes, the goblin draws a small sword and lands a lucky slash on Nifen’s right forearm. More of a severe paper cut, Nifen just grasps his morningstar even tighter as he spins around in a circle and lands the morningstar deep into the right arm. The goblin falls, never to stand again.

Just then, Nifen’s peripheral vision catches a speck of light fast approaching him. Before Nifen could react, the light dodges around him to strike another goblin standing twenty away. Nifen looks to source of the speck of light and sees Romulus still standing in position with an arm extended. “I’ve got your back, Nifen,” Romulus yells from a hundred feet away. “But be careful, that li’l bugger is still…”. But before Romulus could finish his sentence, Goth tackles the goblin and head-butts it into oblivion. The lifeless body rests underneath Goth’s 220 pound frame.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the caravan, two other goblins are lining up on a hill about thirty feet off the path to the south. One goblin is crouching to not be seen as the other stands to ready his throw. Just as the goblin lines up its shot, a sword slices through its midsection. The goblin collapses as the severed torso falls to the ground, still clutching the javelin. The other goblin runs fearing its demise from the wild man. The wild man chases the goblin for about ten steps until he sees another goblin holding a single strand of the sling— “that means he just launch ro…”, Jameyes thinks as a rock lands against his temple. Knocked unconscious, Jameyes falls to the ground as his head wound oozes forth. The goblins run down to the caravan, but realize they are the only ones who remain after Stateira unloaded a couple arrows into one hiding in the trees. One goblin is approached by Goth and Nifen. Panicked, the goblin runs away, but only to be surprised by a sneaking Nafu. Nafu had climbed from the second carriage and snuck around behind the goblins. With a club in hand, Nafu met the retreating goblin to end its life. The last goblin had already begun to run. Stateira draws her long-bow and lets an arrow fly at the coward. She misses. Romulus unloads his crossbow into the air, but also to no avail. The goblin breaks from the path into the trees and escapes with its life.

Nifen immediately returns to the carriage to check on Turo, whose shirt is now splatterd in blood from the coughing fit he endured during the fight. Nifen closes his eyes as he focuses on funneling the healing powers of his surroundings. With the utterance of one incantation, “Koshuu,” Nifen places his hand on Turo’s stomach and the wound seals up.

Turo stops coughing almost instantly and wipes the blood around his mouth with the bottom of his shirt. “Thank you. If I would’ve known you could do that, I wouldn’t have been so quick to shoo you off into the fight,” Turo says with a smile. “Whatever Nikail is paying you, he should double it.”

“He already has,” Nifen smirks. Nifen’s arrangement with Nikail was five gold pieces for the escort duty, and ten if the caravan was attacked. If Nifen knew the value of the goods he was escorting, he might of charged Nikail a few thousand gold pieces. “Well, if you’re okay, maybe we should continue on our way. I’ll check on Heron to make sure he hasn’t moved,” Nifen says softly with a twinge of sarcasm in his voice.

“Um, Romulus? Would you mind finding my arrows? I hate searching through the woods,” Stateira says demurely.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Of course. I was actually already looking for them. Along with my crossbow bolts,” replies Romulus. After ten minutes of searching, Romulus returns empty handed. “I’ll see if I can get you some replacements in Verune. I’m sorry, but the others are waiting for us to get underway.” Meanwhile, everyone else gathered the spoils of victory: eight javelins, six short swords, and five small suits of studded leather armor.

The caravan continues until it crosses the north fork of the Runnel Vein River. After conferring with Stateira, Nifen asks Romulus if this would be a good place to make camp.

“Yeah. I think that’s a good idea, Nifen.” Romulus climbs down from the second carriage. “How about over here,” Romulus points to a small clearing a little off to the side and still near the water.

On that, Heron miraculously returns from his comatose state, shaking his head vigorously trying to remove the cobwebs from his mind. “Yeah. This will do. We normally camp closer to the bridge, but this is only a hundred or so yards away. Hey guys… I’m… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just… I just… the wreckage reminded me…”

“It’s okay Heron,” Nifen consoles him. “If you’re up for it, we can use your help.” Heron nods, and the group begins to set up camp.

Reflecting on the day’s events, it seems unanimous that Goth is the most valuable player as the group jokes about Goth pummeling not one but two goblins with his bare hands. The conversation then turns to the wild woodsman who has been trailing them. “I saw him during the battle with the goblins,” Stateira says softly. “He was approaching through the trees, but stopped once there were only two goblins left. I think he may be on our side when it comes down to it. Plus, he reminds me of someone I met before, here, in the forest. He was shy and skittish, but harmless. Anyway, we should probably set up watches for the night and get some sleep. We still have a full day ahead of us tomorrow.”

The group retires for the night as Stateira and Turo take the first watch. A couple hours later, they wake Romulus and Nifen to take the second watch. Halfway into their watch, Nifen perks up, “Did you hear that, Romulus?” Nifen whispers.

“Hear what?” Romulus whispers back.

“That was a stick breaking,” whispers Nifen. “Something big enough to break a stick. I can’t see too well, though.”

Another stick breaks and Romulus loads his crossbow. Both of them catch a glimpse of seems to be a human running away into the woods. “Who the hell was that?” Romulus questions. “Should we wake the others? Do you think that was the creepy guy stalking us?”

“Shhh. Over there,” Nifen points north into the forest. The horses, tied to a tree next to the river, start to shake and whinny. The two look out into the darkness, but the faint illumination from the campfire isn’t enough to see anything. “Is he coming back? But he left that way,” Nifen points to the south. The approaching sound, which is like the constant rattle of a rattlesnake’s tail, is getting stronger. “ Wake up!” Nifen calls out. “I think we have company.” Startled, the sleeping individuals jump to their feet and reach for their weapons. “Rattling, coming from the north,” Nifen announces. Disoriented, Goth faces the wrong direction.

“I see them,” yells Stateira. Being an elf, she is able to see better in the low light. “They are coming from that way, Goth,” she corrects his orientation. “They look like giant worms. Oh, they’re centipedes! Try not to get bit; they are poisonous!”

Goth runs to the edge of the light, waiting for a glimpse of the creatures. Surprised at the speed of the approach, Goth is bit in the leg by a centipede that is two feet in diameter and almost ten feet long. Grunting in agony, he swings his axe clumsily at the vermin but misses. The creature rears back like a horse on its back hooves, preparing to come down on Goth’s midsection. Fortunately, Stateira is standing twenty feet behind him with bow drawn. Focusing to not hit Goth, she releases the bow string and the arrow buries deep within the maw of the threatening creature. Her expert shot kills the creature instantly as its body folds on top of itself. But the battle has just begun. Two other smaller centipedes flanked the first one and were now on either side of Goth. Suddenly noise from the west startles Stateira as she loads another arrow to the north. The wild woodsman runs past the edge of the campsite and slices right through the body of one of the flanking centipedes. Romulus arms his crossbow and fires at the other. His bolt hits but does not fell the creature. Goth swings again but misses. Meanwhile, the woodsman is approached by a previously unseen centipede, the same size as the one he just killed. The centipede lunges at the woodsman’s ankle and lands a small bite. Fortunately, the poison is ineffective on the experienced woodsman. He swings back and slices this centipede in two also. Nifen decides to not get directly involved with the centipedes and instead begins an incantation. Seconds later, a fiendish dire rat appears to crawl out of the ground to help with the fight. The rat, Goth’s axe, and Romulus’ crossbow bolts are able to dispatch the other, but not before Goth suffers one more bite. The centipedes are dead, Goth is woozy, and the woodsman has disappeared into the night.

“Jameyes,” Stateira calls out. “I’m sure that was Jameyes. I met him months… maybe a year ago in the woods. And our encounter then was about as brief as this one. Well, I think we can be sure that our enemy is his enemy.”

Nifen tends to Goth’s wounds, but is unable to do anything for the poison now coursing through his body. The group returns to a restless night’s sleep after some of the adrenaline wears off.

The group awakens the next morning to the smell of bacon. Heron was on the last watch and decided to wake the others with a pleasant meal. Thin strips of ham and scrambled eggs lined six plates as Heron announced that breakfast was ready. The others awaken with some of the travelers not feeling like they ever went to sleep. Romulus, especially, suffers from the events of the night, not being used to that much excitement. He has particular trouble this morning memorizing his spells, stumbling over utterances that usually roll off his tongue. The true test will be in battle when he needs his spells. Hopefully, he will have the concentration and smooth tongue necessary to cast his spells. Meanwhile, Heron bards the horses and attaches them to the wagons. Nifen goes missing for about half an hour, but returns before the group is ready to leave. Goth is told to rest while the others prepare to leave; he is feeling better, but still a little woozy. Turo and Nafu help Heron with the final packing.

The group travels southwest along the path until it heads due west. All during the morning’s travel, all members of the caravan catch glimpses of the wild man, whom Stateira referred to as Jameyes. He seems to be shadowing their travel. This time, Stateira doesn’t aim her bow at him. In fact, the whole group ignores his presence since he doesn’t seem to be threat—quite the opposite really; he seems more of an ally.

Up ahead lies a bend in the road. Stateira rounds the bend just as javelins begin flying from the trees at the rest of the caravan. The unorganized militia of goblins from the previous attack has been replaced by a more prepared group of hobgoblins and goblins. This ambush entailed better hiding and timing. Just as the javelins fly, Stateira spies two hobgoblins in front of her running out from opposite sides of the path. She turns to return to the caravan to see four goblins guarding the rear of the caravan. They are trapped!

One of the javelins lands in Turo’s shoulder. After Heron is sure this isn’t a fatal wound, he jumps down off the carriage to join the fray. Nifen has already dismounted from his horse and begun to cast. Even though Goth is weakened, he knows he must either fight or they will all die. He leaps from the second carriage and charges the rear goblin guards. Nafu sleeks down from the second carriage and disappears into the forest. Romulus arms his crossbow and from his seat, fires at a rear goblin. Nifen’s ally, a heavenly dog this time, appears behind the hobgoblin approaching Nifen. Heron, with a short sword from the previous battle, stands next to Nifen. Nifen curses as he sees two more hobgoblins lurking forth.

“We’re surrounded!” yells Nifen. “This isn’t a time to save your best moves. Unload on these guys. Goth, if you’re able, we need you on this one.”

“I’m already dominating these little shits at the back. What else do you want?” Goth replies.

Nifen appreciates Goth’s confidence, but he is well aware of their odds of surviving this attack. Romulus sets down his crossbow and casts at the hobgoblin in front of Nifen. A speck of light leaps from his finger and travels straight at the fray. The light dodges around Nifen and hits the hobgoblin in the chest. Heron misses his attack. Nifen lands a blow with his morningstar. The summoned dog lands a bite. Three hits in all, and the hobgoblin is still standing, just more pissed off. And three of his friends are rapidly approaching. “We don’t have the manpower to fight this off,” Nifen thinks, “but I’ll be damned if I don’t die trying.”

Stateira is rapidly firing her bow, unloading arrow after arrow at any movement in the trees. She begins to fire at a man running toward the caravan until she realizes that it is the woodsman. She smiles as she realizes the hobgoblins don’t see him approaching. She continues to fire at the goblins hiding in the trees and throwing javelins.

Jameyes jumps into the fight next to Nifen and delivers a massive blow to slay the hobgoblin. Free from the threat, Nifen casts again to summon another dog. Heron and one dog flank one of the hobgoblins as the other dog attacks another hobgoblin. Jameyes jumps over the dead hobgoblin toward the one with just the dog attacking it. In a surprise move, his sword travels the opposite direction almost looking like he was stabbing himself. Jameyes’ sword point doesn’t go through his own body, but instead into the hobgoblin approaching his rear. He pulls the sword out and turns around with a full swing to sever the hobgoblin’s left arm. With the arm, Jameyes also severs its lifeforce. With two summoned allies, and now two dead hobgoblins, Nifen’s pessimism turns to optimism and he flanks with his dog to finish off another hobgoblin. Jameyes joins the battle with Heron and the other dog.

Meanwhile, in the trees, Stateira is exchanging shots with goblins. Nafu is sneaking through the trees trying to surprise a victim. One would-be victim is sitting in a tree overlooking the fight with the hobgoblins. The goblin readies a javelin to throw down at Heron. Nafu is able to climb a neighboring tree without being noticed. Nafu readies himself to leap from his branch and tackle the goblin off the neighboring branch. Nafu slips as he pushes off and misses the goblin completely, and he falls to ground, which knocks the wind out of him. Lying prone, Nafu is a sitting duck and the goblin takes advantage of it. Changing targets from Heron to Nafu, the goblin throws straight down and skewers Nafu. Like the sun giving way to nightfall, so does Nafu’s consciousness. The goblin then jumps down to finish the job, but before performing a coup de grace, it is interrupted by a short sword flying from Heron’s hand. Even though the sword didn’t do much damage, it certainly got the attention of the goblin. It charges at Heron with its own short sword. Heron draws another sword from his belt as the two exchange blows. Nifen watches the whole thing, but can’t get away from his own battle to check on the hapless Nafu. Jameyes finishes the hobgoblin attacking Nifen, and Nifen runs over to Nafu. He is dying but not dead. Summoning the healing powers around, Nifen provides a short burst to stabilize Nafu, who is still unconscious, but no longer kissing death. Nifen looks up to check on the rear of the caravan hoping to see Goth and Romulus still standing. Not only are they standing, but Stateira is with them, and bodies of at least four goblins are lying around their feet. Nifen breathes a sigh of relief and smiles to himself, thinking about his impressive team of comrades who just fought off a seemingly insurmountable attack. Nifen stands up to look around, and with a calm battlefield, he lets out a “Yeeaaahhhhhh!!!” Focusing once again on the powers around him, he channels more healing into Nafu, who returns to consciousness. With a high more than any drug could provide, Nifen almost levitates on his own elation. “Guys, we did it!!! Good Shtuff. Now let’s get our butts to Na’al. Where’s Jameyes, or the wild man, or whatever his name is?”

“I don’t know. Who cares? Hey, are any of those hobgoblins still alive? And Romulus, would you be a dear and fetch my arrows? I shot so many of them,” Stateira says.

“Why do you want to know if the hobgoblin is still alive?” retorts Nifen.

“Because I think they might make a good prisoner. You know, for information maybe,” Stateira says with condescension.

Nifen reluctantly nods an affirmation and checks on the hobgoblins to discover that one is still breathing. Summoning a short burst of healing, Nifen infuses the hobgoblin, but it remains unconscious. Stateira takes a silk rope from her pack and hogties the hobgoblin to prevent any unwelcome advances should it wake up.

With the victory in their heads, the group is as boisterous as ever. Heron continually reminds everyone to keep it down lest they attract the attention of something they don’t they want. Fortunately, they reach the end of the path before nightfall and without incident.

The path for the caravan ends abruptly. It doesn’t seem to travel further in any direction. There is, however, a bit of a clearing to the North, which is where Stateira leads the group. They travel a couple hundred yards to a tree grouping, where activity is evident. Peering ahead at the trees, the caravan members can see indications of civilization. A tall male elf, about 5’5”, with a sword on each hip and a bow peaking over his back, comes to the clearing. Stateira stops and waits for the caravan to catch up to her. Then Stateira announces, “Welcome to Na’al, with all its beauty and banality.”

Na’al

The group follows Stateira to meet the awaiting elf. “Gentlemen, this is Neral. He’s a little stiff, but you might get used to him, might” Stateira says as she skips past the male elf. “But he needs to lighten up. He takes life so seriously. Seriously, Neral. Oh yeah, and I caught a male suitor. Like most of my men, he’s all tied up in the back carriage,” she chuckles to herself. “I’ll see the rest of you inside after you go through customs with mister tight-ass.”

“I’m glad I’m not on her bad side,” mumbles Nifen.

Gritting his teeth, Neral greets the members of the caravan. “Please, come with me. And you must be Romulus,” Neral approaches him. “The Preceptor has told us much about you.”

“Preceptor, that’s right,” Turo quietly says to Heron. “I knew they called him something high and mighty. What does that mean, anyway?”

“It’s a title for a top teacher, like a headmaster,” answers Heron.

Neral calls for someone to escort the others into the city and take care of the bound hobgoblin. He personally escorts Romulus into the camp. Romulus, feeling particularly important, has a swagger of royalty as he follows Neral into the camp.

Romulus is bewildered as he enters Na’al. He has never seen an elven encampment before. Looking up he see homes built into and between trees. He can also see small homes and buildings scattered for what seems to be miles. Neral is a polite host as he points out some important buildings to Romulus. “That over there is the guest quarters where you’ll be staying. There’s enough room for all of you.” They pass some horses feeding in a small meadow. There are no fences and the horses aren’t tied up.

“Are those your horses? Don’t they need to be tied up?” asks Romulus.

Neral chuckles. “I guess you could say those are our horses, but we don’t treat it that way. This is their home, too. And they let us ride them. Although don’t get all ‘we’re one with nature.’ They have been trained by our trainers. We just don’t need to fence them up. Like I said, this is their home, too.”

They continue to the center of town where there is a clearing of trees. They approach what looks like an outdoor arena in the shape of a semicircle that is about five hundred feet in diameter. The sides of the arena are made up of the natural hillsides and are dug out to make to make six ‘rows’ for seating. Behind the arena on the flat side of the semicircle sits a large structure that is two stories tall. Romulus follows Neral down the center of the arched side of the semicircle, through the center of the arena, and into the two story building. A male elf in regal gown is waiting just passed the entryway. Neral bows and waits for Romulus to do the same; he doesn’t.

The male elf breaks the awkward silence. “I am Erefur. You must be Romulus. Welcome. Neral, thank you. Would you mind leaving us,” he said as more of a request than a question. “I will have someone return him to the guest quarters.” Neral bows and leaves.

“I am Romulus. It is a pleasure to meet you, Erefur. So… are you like the head guy,” Romulus says, unaware that the question is awkward.

“I suppose you could say that I am the leader of the community. But we don’t have titles here,” responds Erefur.

Kile, we will take it from here for you.

Meanwhile, Nifen, Goth, Turo, Nafu, and Heron are escorted to the guest quarters that Romulus and Neral passed by a few minutes earlier. They enter a building that looks to be a modified jail cell. The windows have vertical steel bars every four inches apart. The door they enter is at least four inches thick and reinforced with flat steel bars on the outside. The inside offers no privacy as all ten beds are visible to each other. Looking at the floor, there are burrowed holes into the ground every four inches apart. The holes outline what would be four rooms, or cells, on either side of the building.