Chapter 19: New Acquisitions
An oddly colored green stone stuck out of the ground under a small pine tree. It was all but covered in moss; Kivan would probably not even have noticed it if not for their unexpected delay. As it was, he found himself scrutinizing the surrounding area in an attempt to ignore the very annoying voice of the man that had accosted them. How can humans ramble on in this fashion? He is not even listening to Ember and Imoen; it is just mindless speech. The girls had given up and were meeting the man's incessant nagging with silence, but to no avail. Behind Kivan, Ajantis was murmuring quiet prayers to Helm. Minsc was trying to console Boo; evidently, the hamster was getting a headache.
"Enough!" Edwin shouted, stomping towards the man and glaring at him. "Shut your mouth and get out of my sight, or there'll be worse than rocks thrown at you! (I'll make this worthless excuse for a man regret he ever saw us if he doesn't leave.)"
The man stared at Edwin in disbelief. "I thought you were my friends, but you're boring just like the others! I don't like you anymore!" the man yelled. He picked up a handful of dirt, threw it at Edwin, and ran away.
Imoen sighed with relief. "I thought he'd never leave."
"Thanks, Edwin," Ember said. "The rock throwing was starting to get a bit too tempting."
Kivan ignored the wizard's grumbling about the dirt, and bent down to examine the odd green stone. A touch and a few gentle taps revealed it to not be stone at all. "Minsc, help me dig around this," Kivan called out.
The large man obeyed immediately, securing his hamster in one of the many pouches he carried before shoveling away the soil around the object with his large hands. "Have you found a treasure?" Minsc asked.
"Perhaps," Kivan said, digging and brushing dirt and moss off the object. "This appears to be cured ankheg shell. With any luck... ah." He tugged at the green object they had partially unearthed. The remaining soil offered little resistance; in no time, Kivan was holding a stained green cuirass that had the look of plate armor, but none of the weight. A treasure, indeed. "It is ankheg plate armor, Minsc," he said. "Lighter than most chainmail, yet stronger than plate."
"You found ankheg armor, here?" Ajantis asked. "That is truly a stroke of luck. May I examine it?"
Kivan handed the cuirass to the paladin and dug a little further in the spot where it had lain. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be any other pieces of the armor.
"Astonishing. It needs a thorough cleaning, of course, and these straps should be replaced, but it is otherwise in near perfect condition," Ajantis said. "Judging by its size and make, I think it will fit either you or Ember very well once I am done cleaning and repairing it."
"Kivan found it," Ember said. "Make it fit him."
Kivan smiled briefly. He had had a full suit of ankheg armor once, a long time ago. It was excellent armor, strong yet flexible, and he found he was already looking forward to wearing the cuirass. "If you say so," he said.
---
An hour or so later they arrived in Nashkel. "Welcome to Nashkel," Imoen said, gesturing towards the town's main street with a dramatic hand flourish.
Edwin looked around with disdain. "They call this a town? (I swear, there are palaces at home that are larger than this.)"
"It is small, but it has all necessities. You should be able to find anything you need for your journey onward from here," Ajantis said.
"Ah, yes. I have thought about that matter. (Extensively, I might add.) You saved my life, and I am thus in your debt. How better to repay you than to offer you my services? I am sure you agree that my guidance and talent will be far more valuable than any monetary sum."
Ajantis stared speechlessly at the wizard. Before the paladin could recover, Kivan spoke up. "We do not need payment, but we will discuss this suggestion. Go to the store and wait; it is that white building over there."
"If I must," Edwin said. He gathered his stained robes around him and marched into the store.
As soon as the wizard was safely out of earshot, the others huddled. "He is a Red Wizard, I do not trust him," Ajantis said.
"Boo thinks the evil wizard is noisy and angry, but Boo is not afraid of him." Minsc said. "If the wizard stays with us, Minsc will keep him from getting into mischief, with boot and blade if need be!"
"His arrogance is a bit annoying, but I guess all wizards are like that," Ember said. "And Ajantis, you said you saw no hostile intent in him when you tested him."
"At that moment, there was none. How do we know that will not change?"
"If Minsc does not object to him, neither do I," Kivan said. "I have not seen outright malice in him, and with all the spells we have collected, it would be useful to have someone with us who could use them."
"And what if he is only offering his service for the sake of obtaining those spells?" Ajantis asked.
"I have a suggestion," Imoen said.
Imoen quickly presented her idea, and a brief yet heated discussion followed. Ajantis remained skeptical, but in the end even he conceded that the plan had merit. Ember, on the other hand, thought Imoen's idea was excellent, and she and Imoen chatted excitedly about it as they walked towards the store.
The main room of the store was just as Ember remembered it. Crockery, foodsupplies, armor, blankets, clothing and a vast array of other supplies were piled on shelves that reached to the ceiling. Daylight filtered in through two small windows, and the air tasted faintly of dust. Just like last time, there were no swords or bladed weapons on the weapons rack that figured prominently in the middle of the room, and Ember noticed a lack of other things made of iron, such as pots and farming tools. The wizard was standing under one of the windows, burrowing through a pile of robes; a slightly threadbare red robe lay draped over a pile of plain wooden staves beside him.
Ajantis excused himself and headed for the shopkeeper, his arms laden with winter wolf pelts and other items they hoped to sell. Ember walked up to Edwin and tapped his shoulder with a finger.
"Yes?" the wizard said distractedly, still pawing through the robes.
"Well, if you're too busy to hear our decision, we can always come back later..." Ember said.
The wizard let go of the robes. "I hope for your sakes you made the correct decision," he told Ember.
Ember grinned. "We decided to accept your offer, on one condition."
"And what condition is that? (The paladin's idea, doubtless.)"
"Remember all those spell scrolls I have?" Imoen asked. "I want you to teach me how to use them."
Edwin raised an eyebrow as the implication sank in. "You, a wizard? (Of all the foolish notions...)"
"Yes, me. Are you worried I won't be arrogant enough for a wizard?" Imoen asked, grinning wickedly.
"That is the condition; take it or leave it," Ember said.
"(Preposterous!) What if she has no affinity for magic?"
"What if she does?" Imoen asked.
Edwin turned towards Imoen. "Are you even aware of how much you must learn before you can even attempt to use a spell?"
"Nope! That's what you're needed for."
Edwin threw up his hands. "Oh very well, I will teach you. (At least she has an excellent taste in tutelage.) Now, will you let me search for a robe in peace?"
Imoen smiled. "I'll even help you!"
The group left the store together some time later. The storekeeper had proven true to his word, and had paid a total of two thousand gold for the winter wolf pelts they had gathered. Their other wares had also brought a fair bit of coin, and they left with heavier purses, fresh arrows, replenished foodsupplies, new blankets and a plain red robe for Edwin. The wizard had also bought a bone needle, some thread, and a length of ribbon made of a deep golden satin.
"Where to next?" Ajantis asked.
"We should seek out Bardolan," Kivan said. "If I am not mistaken, we..."
A fat man wearing a faded yellow tunic ran towards them, eyes fixed upon Kivan. "No, say not another word!" he cried. "I would not think of making you wait but a moment for your just reward! Why, when the council told me that they had procured Greywolf to rid the woods of the bandit Tonquin, I knew we could expect swift justice. I admit, I would not have predicted success this quickly, but who else could it be striding into town looking... ah... looking as you do! Please accept this meager sum of two hundred gold pieces, as well as the heartfelt thanks of all of Nashkel!" He smiled broadly and held out a coin purse to Kivan.
Kivan stepped backwards to avoid the fat man's onslaught. "You must have made some mistake. I am not this man called Greywolf," he said, eyeing the fat man warily.
"You are not Greywolf the bounty hunter?" The fat man peered at Kivan's face. "Oh sweet Helm, I almost gave two hundred gold pieces to a complete stranger!? The Captain best not hear of this; he'd have my hide, he would! Thanks be for your honesty, stranger, there are those who would not have done as such."
"Perhaps you will be more careful next time, Oublek," Bardolan's voice said from behind the fat man.
"Y...yes sir," Oublek said. The fat man bowed to the soldier and scurried off.
"Bardolan!" Imoen exclaimed happily. "We were just looking for you." Bardolan smiled and bowed in greeting.
"How does your commander fare?" Ajantis asked.
"He dwells at the Temple yet, but matters are improving for him, albeit slowly. We do not know if he will ever return to the Guard, but his second-in-command is a capable man, and everyone's spirits are lifted just knowing that our commander is no longer lost." Bardolan turned towards Ember. "Good lady, I am sorry to report that Tranzig was long gone from the carnival, and left no clues as to where he was headed. All we found was another victim of his; a cleric of Tempus who had been tracking Tranzig for her own reasons. He had turned her to stone, but thankfully, we were able to restore her. The villain's name and face has been posted all over town; he will not enter so easily again."
Ember nodded. She had hoped the carnival would supply a lead, but hadn't really expected anything.
"Does the woman remember how she was petrified?" Edwin asked.
"Ah, yes, I believe she said he read something from a parchment."
"Excellent."
"Explain," Kivan said.
Edwin sighed. "It means he does not employ a pet basilisk, and it suggests that he is not powerful enough to be able to cast the spell from memory. (Obvious, one would think, but clearly it is not to these simians.)"
"There is another matter I wish to speak with you about," Bardolan said. "In fact, I was looking for you, much as you were looking for me."
"What is this other matter?" Ajantis asked.
"Our mines no longer merely produce poor iron. There have been deaths and reports of devils in the mines. Most of the casualties have been miners, but the alchemist that we had hired to examine the ore has also been killed. Thus, our mayor has decided to send out a call for adventurers to investigate the mines. When I heard you had returned, I immediately set out to find you and ask if you were interested."
"Devils in the mines? Sounds fishy to me," Imoen said. "Especially with the alchemist being killed - unless he went somewhere he wasn't supposed to, that is."
"No, the alchemist stayed in the upper level of the mine. Said he'd ruin his robes if he went deeper, so he had the miners bring him ore samples," Bardolan said.
"We will speak with your mayor," Kivan said. "Bring us to him."
Bardolan bowed. "I am happy to hear that," he said. "Follow me."
