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Unwilling to Acquiesce – Part 33


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#1 Guest_No One of Consequence_*

Posted 24 June 2003 - 06:34 AM

Two days of fruitless searching leaves Yoshimo, Adamant and Jaheira dejected as they make their way back to Garren’s cabin. Their explorations, though fruitless, have not been uneventful. Jaheira still limps from a minor wound in her calf that she has not yet had time to tend and Yoshimo’s quiver is full of captured orc arrows; Adamant carries the Chaos Blade unsheathed in his hand. The trio marches through the woods without speaking, the only sound comes from the leaves crunching under their booted feet. An unseasonable cool breeze makes Yoshimo shiver as they step onto the cabin’s porch. From within comes the sound of voices. The door opens at Jaheira’s knock and Nalia welcomes them in with a hopeful smile. Her smile fades at the sight of Adamant’s grim visage.

Inside the cabin’s kitchen, Anomen sits with Garren, apparently having already explained about his missing daughter. Like Nalia, Anomen greets the sight of the returning adventurers with hope. Garren though shows no such optimism; he knows too well the nature of the evil which has taken his little beloved child hostage. Sitting with eyes downcast he does not seem to notice as Adamant takes a chair and sits before him. Laying the magical greatsword on the table, the paladin takes Garren’s hands in his and grips them tightly. Both men’s eyes lock at last and their hearts break in each other’s vision.

“Do not yet despair,” Adamant urges. “We have not given up.”

“I know where he will have taken her,” Garren says, his voice cracking under the weight of restrained tears. Adamant listens intently. “To the north there is a ruined temple, built into the side of the mountain. That is where Firkraag has taken up residence, with his barbarous horde of monster soldiers.”

“We saw it, from a distance,” says Yoshimo. “We thought not to risk an approach without preparation though.”

“You are wise,” says Garren. “Firkraag has ogres, hobgoblins and all manner of other monsters in the ranks of his army. They divested me of my title and destroyed my family’s forces with such ease that, in all the years since, I have never made any attempt to oust the bandit lord.”

“We are adept at fighting monsters,” Anomen declares confidently, but Garren only shakes his head in despair. Fear for his daughter’s life is a shadow that cloaks his heart to deeply to be easily dispelled.

“Anomen speaks the truth,” concurs Adamant, his voice earnest and strident. “We can retrieve her.”

“You don’t understand,” Garren protests, but Adamant interrupts him.

“Besides, Lord Firkraag owes us some money.”

----

The company watches the entrance to the ruined temple from a copse of trees on a nearby ridge. From their vantage point the entire stone edifice is clearly visible. From noon until sundown they hold their position, hoping to glean some useful intelligence before making their assault. Since they are still tired from their search Yoshimo, Jaheira and Adamant take turns in resting for at least some hours each, while others keep watch. The sun’s rays are split by the tree line of the ridge when Anomen says, “It appears that there is not much to learn here by watching.”

“Patience, gentle knight,” chides Yoshimo. “Sometimes it can take days of watching before your enemy reveals his weakness.”

“We don’t have days,” says Nalia earnestly. “If we wait too long, that little girl will end up dead!”

“We don’t know that for sure,” objects Yoshimo. Nalia and Anomen fix him with rebuking glares. He accepts their silent criticism with a shrug but doesn’t relinquish his position. “Well we don’t!”

“Yoshimo is correct,” says Jaheira, her half elven eyes scouring the fallen stones of the temple in the fading twilight. “Nonetheless, the passage of time only shortens the odds of her survival. We should act soon.”

“Should one of us wake Adamant?” Nalia asks, looking over her shoulder to where the party’s leader sleeps, sitting crosslegged against a tree trunk. The Chaos Blade lies naked across his thighs.

“One would think he is part elf, seeing him sleep like that,” muses Yoshimo in a whisper.

“Elves do not sleep,” Jaheira says.

“And humans don’t sleep like that,” insists Yoshimo.

“This one does,” says Adamant, without opening his eyes. “It’s a technique I learned on the march with paladins of the temple. Surely the Order teaches the same thing?”

“Uhhmm…I suppose,” says Anomen hesitantly, seemingly embarrassed by the question. “I…we…we always had enough on the march to take watch in shifts and be well guarded. Actually, I’ve never slept on the march with less than thirty to our company.”

Adamant opens his eyes, shrugs and stands up. “Numbers are always the safest way,” he says, hoping to ease Anomen’s unnecessary self-consciousness. He crouch walks over to the others and takes another look at the darkened ruins. The visor of his helmet contains two ruby-crystalline lenses, and through the magic of these he can see in the darkness as well as those races bred to the shadows. “What do we know now that we didn’t six hours ago?”

“Precious little,” says Jaheira.

“But there is not enough movement to suggest a large force,” adds Anomen. “We have not even seen sentries posted.”

“Perhaps they are many and well supplied,” says Yoshimo. “They may just not need to come out.” Adamant shakes his head.

“I agree with Anomen,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a large force that doesn’t need to forage, regardless of supplies. That being said, we know that there is all manner of creatures in Firkraag’s forces and numbers may not tell the whole story.”

“It is a wonder that such a diverse force will gather around a single leader,” says Anomen.

“Perhaps he is very charismatic,” Nalia offers.

“Shall we find out?” asks Adamant by way of mock invitation. The companions nod their assent and the party heads down towards the temple ruin as stealthily as they are able. A black, moonless night has fallen by the time they reach the even darker, cave-like entrance to the mountainside. With weapons drawn, the companions commit themselves to the rescue of Garren Windspear’s daughter.




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