1. The Chase
Jude looked out over the amazing vista, her dark hair blowing back from her thin face in the strong mountain wind. She’d seen this view hundreds of times over the last week, but it never failed to ease her restless mind. The frosty peaks, the deep valleys and glittering blue lakes and rivers all served up a feast for the eyes. Her mood lifted as the icy wind nipped at her skin, refreshing her after being inside for long hours of reading. She stood on the southern battlements with a barrack’s building and tower looming over her from behind. Eagle’s Nest, a dwarven stronghold, had been her home since fleeing from a rather irritating band of mercenaries they’d run into. She’d been separated from her half-orc friend Anthrak in the chaos and subsequently not managed to find him.
“That’s ok.” She thought with a grin “He knows his way home.” She wasn’t overly worried that he had made it out alive, he had nine lives that one. They had agreed after the Snake God incident, that should they lose each other, she’d continue to Ranke and he’d return to Father Antillius. She’d send a message as soon as she was able, but right now that was impossible due to her location and circumstances. Maybe she was just a little worried about the hulking brute.
The journey to Eagle’s Nest had been interesting to say the least, and she’d be lying if she said the destination had been intentional. She closed her eyes and meditated on the flow of events that had led to this fortress of towers and wrought stone. The pair had been making their way west after their bit of tomb robbing to retrieve her holy relics. Jude’s hands instinctively touched the amulet of Lathander attached to her armour, feeling its comforting warmth. They’d drifted from village to village in the plains and hills of Perin-Galath, doing the odd good deed or healing the sick in exchange for food and board. After one particular full day’s walking, they had stopped at a village called Hayle and that’s when their plans had taken a very different path.
Anthrak and Jude had walked into the village square and assessed the situation, brushing the road dust from their clothes as they surveyed their surroundings. The sun had long since dropped below the horizon giving way to Selûne to dimly light the way. Candles lit windows all around them and sounds came from occupants preparing their evening meals or settling rowdy children, getting them ready for bed.
“We need to find the inn and fast.” Jude whined. Anthrak looked at her, frankly he worried about his friend and her need for intoxicants. As it was now dark, he knew she couldn’t see further than her nose. “Blind humans!”
“Yes well, you needn’t worry too much Jude. It’s right there.” He pointed towards a white painted, two-storey building with a sign attached to the front wall. Swinging in the light breeze was a rusted metal frame with the inn sign of a swan with its beak roped shut, the words below read ‘The Muted Swan’.
The pair made their way across the modest square, keeping to a neat cobbled path that bisected well-kept grass on either side. The surrounding houses were all freshly painted and had obviously been well looked after. Another prosperous farming village, as were most on the plains with plenty of space to grow corn and wheat. What with Peloth, Kir-Saba and Relisa demanding huge quantities of food and all within a few days cart-ride. Both the Theocracy and the Empire of Ranke needed grain for their armies and populace and the plains of Perin-Galath sat square in both regions, fat and wealthy.
“Quite well painted for such a rustic setting.” Jude mused looking at the sign. The swan seemed ok with its painted silence and the artist had even put a little glint in the bird’s eye. Jude always looked for the story in any situation or place. She was overly fond of telling the barbarian that was how you acquired knowledge and wisdom and his answer had always been to flex his rather impressive pectoral muscles with a grin. Guess he didn’t need wisdom to hack monsters to pieces.
Light spilt from the cracks around a black painted wooden door. Anthrak pushed it open and the bright light made him pause as his eyes adjusted. The common room had maybe five tables and a long bar at the far end. Two of the tables had residents. The first, an old man with a long beard and pipe and the second had a young couple, all three sipping from clay mugs of beer. The innkeeper, he assumed it was he, stood behind the bar doing that ‘wiping a mug endlessly’ thing they always did. Must be a skill they taught in innkeeping school. All four looked up and glanced at the new comers as Jude and Anthrak walked towards the bar, then went back to their business including mug polishing.
Anthrak rested his meaty hands on the bar top. “One beer and one red wine, please.” He asked the Innkeeper.
“Yes sir, right away. I’ll bring them over, go find a seat. Food too? Got a good stew going.”
“Two of those as well please” replied the half-orc. He had learnt ages ago that everyone assumed people of his race were uncouth, violent and impolite. They were all of those things and worse of course and so he’d been fighting that stereotype with his own brand of surprising politeness. Jude always thought that his smile was more terrifying than his scowl, but kept that to herself in a rare moment of prudence.
“Do you need your horses stabled?” the innkeeper asked
“No horses to stable good sir.” Anthrak said quickly, then turned around and led Jude towards a table near the fire that burnt in a large inglenook. Jude, grinning the whole way over to her seat, let out a big sigh of pleasure as she shed her pack and plopped down onto the surprisingly well-made wooden chair.
“What is it with you and horses really?” she asked coyly. “I mean, we’ve been forced to walk across most of Chark and now as we’re on the border with the Ranken empire, I’m assuming we’re going to walk that as well. You told me no horses and I went with it, but it’s doubled our journey time!”
Anthrak looked uncomfortable and had started to sweat.
“It’s the eyes, the eyes and the hooves. They look at you in that certain way with those big watery blobs and then move with one big toe on each leg, of which they have two more than I’d like. I am half-orc enough to admit they make me nervous.”
“Nervous? Hah, you’re fair shitting yourself thinking about them!” she crowed. “So, does any quadruped cause this problem?”
“Not that I am aware of.” His reply came, a lot more controlled, very aware he was being made fun of.
“Ok, so what about a large dog?”
“Nope, just horses.”
“Cats?”
“Jude…” Anthrak now becoming a little annoyed.
“Cows!”
“Jude, stop it! Just horses and just nervous.” Luckily for Anthrak or Jude, depending on what might have happened next, the innkeeper arrived with their drinks and meal.
Anthrak took up his spoon and examined the stew, some grey, unknown meat bobbed amongst carrots and cabbage. He took a big mouthful. “Lovely!” he declared and looked up at Jude. She had not touched the stew, but had picked up her wine, swirling it and raising it to her nose she took a deep sniff. “Yes, lovely!” she agreed.
She raised the mug to her lips and was about to drink when the inn door opened with a rather forceful bang! A new group of travellers entered, bringing with them cold air and a lot of loud boisterous chat. Jude was facing the door and counted five, no six armed and armoured individuals moving towards the bar. Her practiced eye glanced over them trying to find an affiliation or badge of rank. Nothing.
She switched to Orcish. “That is a lot of armed men for a small inn. Don’t turn around, but we’ve six mercs, armoured in leather and carrying swords. No uniform, but the armour and swords match.”
“Got it. Pinpointed their leader yet?” he asked in the same language, looking straight at Jude.
“Yup, the tall and lanky human at the bar. Let’s eat and drink and move on, not worth getting caught up with this lot.”
“Agreed.” Anthrak went back to his stew, spooning with gusto.
The group of mercenaries milled around near the bar and that was fine by Jude, they seemed to be in fine spirits. Everything was as it should be until two of the mercenaries walked over to the young couple.
“You two, you like lovers or something?” One tall, unshaven man asked, and proceeded to pull up a chair and sat at their table. His fellow, laughing and standing next to him. The tension at the table grew palpably, but the rest of the group seemed unaware of the antics of these two. The barkeep must have felt it too as his mug polishing had slowed to a crawl as he glanced over at the two youngsters.
“Speak up! I cannot hear you.” The soldier continued, cupping his hand to his ear. The young couple sat with their heads down, trying to ignore the brash soldier at their table.
“I said, are you lovers or something?” the mercenary reached over and roughly lifted the girl’s head up, forcing her to look at him.
“I don’t want any trouble, sir. We’re just out for a quiet drink to celebrate my eighteenth birthday.” The girl’s voice warbled with fear. The boy looked up and went to stand and complain, but was kept quiet and seated by the second, a stocky man with poor hygiene, who now stood behind him resting two dirty, sweaty hands on the boy’s shoulders, pushing him down.
Anthrak looked up from his beer. “Jude. Don’t.” Jude just sipped at her wine and looked out the window at her side, ignoring the plight across the room.
The mercenary didn’t let up. “Eighteen, eh? A good age, nice and ripe. Show us ya tits.” His fellow burst into laughter at this, suggesting that they had all been drinking prior to this visit to the inn. The girl struggled to remove her chin from his grip but the man just squeezed harder.
“Jude. Leave it!” warned Anthrak “This will sort itself out, the leader will step in.” Jude continued to stare out of the window, sipping her wine, seemingly lost in her own world.
“I said show us ya tits!” the mercenary shouted and grabbed the front of her dress, ripping it straight down. The girl screamed and the young boy tried to fight free of the hands holding him and received a punch to the face, splitting his lip and then another catching his nose, causing a shower of blood to fly across the table. The girl grabbed at the fragments of her dress, holding them together.
The mace came crashing down on the unshaven mercenary’s head, with all the force Jude could muster, his skull cracking at first impact and his head then hitting the table with the mace following through, spraying blood, brains and bone across the table and covering the nearby occupants. The room went silent.
“Fucking clichéd scum.” She said quite calmly. The screaming, shouting and movement that ensued was probably all justified.
Anthrak didn’t waste time, he stood, grabbed his sword and charged to the leader, grappling him and holding the razor edge to his throat.
“Stop! All of you, or he dies” he shouted. His dominating voice boomed across the small room, easily getting everyone’s attention.
The mercenaries all turned to the huge barbarian and paused with blades all unsheathed and at the ready to deal harm. The leader didn’t struggle. Seeing what was left of the soldier’s head, he said. “Boys listen to the nice gentleman, for gawd’s sake”.
Anthrak gestured to the young couple and the old man. “Run, now!” They didn’t have to be told twice and they scampered from the inn.
“We can take them Anthrak.” Jude whispered “Let’s remove this pond life from the Material plane.”
Anthrak ignored Jude, knowing there was no point talking to her whilst she had the red haze of fury. “Everyone, Listen up! You are all going to stay here, whilst my colleague and I will be leaving. Your officer fellow here, will be coming with us and we’ll let him go once we know you are all being good boys and girls. Jude, grab the packs, now!”
Jude picked up their packs and headed to the door with her bloodied mace still dripping, as Anthrak manoeuvred his kidnap victim, sword blade still at his throat. The remaining four soldiers in the room didn’t move, much to their leader’s relief. It seems this bunch weren’t brave enough or stupid enough to try anything.
They backed out of the inn into the village square carefully and slowly, keeping eye contact with their would-be attackers. Anthrak stepped backwards through the door threshold and turned around to find that Jude had stopped.
At least another fifty mercenaries were tending to their equipment and horses in the open space. It seemed only a few, perhaps just the officers, had made it to the inn.
Jude, Anthrak and the tall and lanky leader all stared at the troopers and the troopers all stared back.
“Shit.” Said Jude, understatement it might have been, but Anthrak thought it summed up everything rather well.
“Sorry Anthrak.” She continued.
“You should have kept your temper and everything would have been ok!” he muttered.
“Oh, I’m not sorry about that. I’m sorry for what comes next.” With that, she reached for two of the six horses roped outside the inn, as the troopers outside started moving towards them to investigate the fuss.
“I’ll run! I can run very fast you know.” A rather wide-eyed Anthrak proclaimed.
Jude didn’t listen, pulling a dagger from her boot, she took over throat threatening duties and forced the mercenary leader to mount up in front of her.
“Get on, you fool. It’s just a horse!” she growled at Anthrak
The mercenary leader chimed in “That huge half-orc is scared of horses?” he laughed, despite the dagger blade at his pulsing artery.
“I am not scared, just nervous!” Anthrak was now visibly upset, but one look at the approaching troopers coming over to investigate, made him move slowly towards the white mare beside him. At that moment, the inn door slammed open and the officers that had been inside, poured out shouting the alarm,
Anthrak jumped on the horse and the pair took off along the North Road at break-neck speed. Anthrak’s riding technique involved staying in the saddle and screaming.
“Quiet!” Jude shouted back as their horses cantered down the mud track. “You want them to know exactly where we are?”
There was no answer but the screaming was reduced to whimpering. Already, the mercenary group had rallied and were mounted and starting to give chase. Only around a hundred yards behind and appeared to be closing fast, judging by the waving torches and shouting.
Jude took the knife from the leader’s throat and roughly pushed him from the horse, leaving him to bounce a bit before falling still in the middle of the road. “That should slow them down.” she thought. Up ahead, the road led into a pass between two rock faces cut into a large hill. Jude slowed and let the flailing half-orc ride past her. She closed her eyes and cast a rather special spell, one she’d been wanting to use for a while. Now a wall of spinning razor-sharp blades filled the gap between the rock walls, all different lengths and widths but all deadly. The blade wall was some twenty feet high and five feet deep. The spell would hold for a good ten minutes and give them the chance they needed to escape pursuit.
Opening her eyes, she could see the mercenaries had arrived on the other side, their horses pacing side-to-side as they tried to see a way through. Their torches pushing back little of the darkness and casting a weak orange glow to all the surroundings but glittering brightly off the whirling metallic blades.
“It’s just an illusion! Get them!” shouted one, she recognised as the man with foul body odour from the inn. “You just need to believe it’s not real. A mage told me, we’ll be fine.”
Rather than just test his theory with a stick, he rode full speed into Jude’s wall. The result was quite dramatic as the horse obviously didn’t believe it was an illusion at all and halted suddenly, letting its rider fly off the front and into the blades. Chunks of sweaty mercenary sprayed in all directions, mostly backwards and covering his former colleagues in sticky, stinking gore.
Jude didn’t wait to see the outcome, but she imagined them all laughing and slapping each other’s backs at the comedy of the moment. She wheeled the tan mare around and chased after Anthrak.
The road continued north through the crevasse for a mile before becoming just a mud track, with two deep ruts from the cart wheels of grain laden caravans. The horses were breathing hard and wouldn’t be able to keep this pace for much longer, no matter how much she willed it. The saving grace was that their pursuers would be in the same state.
The moon appeared from behind the clouds enough to reveal that the track entered a wall of trees ahead, spanning as far as she could see in the darkness. Their dark looming trunks standing patiently in line as if waiting for something. This had the potential for cover and their only hope of losing the band behind them. Looking back across the plain, Jude could see dim torch light from their pursuers, at best fifteen minutes away.
Entering the forest gave the pair an instant problem, Jude couldn’t see anything and Anthrak was in no state to lead. She didn’t dare summon a light and give their position away. Jude slowed her horse’s pace to a walk and Anthrak’s white mare followed suit happy to be plodding, its coat covered in sweat. This careful crawl continued for some time, with every minute allowing the mercenary band to close the gap. They came into a clearing and Jude spotted a fork to the west, the direction they wanted to go. Frustrated, she stopped her horse and grabbed the reins of Anthrak’s. She could now hear the sounds of horses in the far distance.
“Time to get off now Anthrak.” She spoke carefully to the traumatised barbarian. Without a word he leapt down with a cat’s grace and shouldered his pack. “We’ll continue north and see if we can fool them that we went west. We don’t want them to find us in the direction we actually want to go.” She paused “There is logic somewhere in that. Maybe.”
With that, she got her own pack on and led the two horses to the western path and slapped their backsides hard to send them on their way. Happy to be free of their load, the two horses sped off down the dark path.
“Anthrak, lead on my night-visioned friend.” She bowed and pointed north.
Keeping to the side of the path, the pair moved slowly through the oak and beech trees, listening for any signs of pursuit. Jude tripping on every root that could be found in the entire woodland. Anthrak never seemed to hit one, but she could see him smiling away to himself every time she did, as they tramped on through the fallen leaves. The forest had fallen silent apart from the usual animal sounds and their own laboured breathing.
They were both tired and hungry, with any signs of imminent danger past, they made the decision to make camp in a clearing they found some sixty yards from the track. It would be dry rations and no fire, but anything would be welcome as Jude’s stomach rumbled. She remembered the hot stew left of the table in the inn and it rumbled even more.
They dropped their packs and set their weapons out in case of need. Both slumped to the ground with a sigh. Jude turned to Anthrak.
“Want to talk about it?” She asked, no hint of amusement in her voice.
“No.” was the terse reply from the normally loquacious half-orc
“You might have made some progress there and be cured of the fear.” Jude continued, oblivious that her friend really didn’t want to talk at all.
“I wasn’t scared, just nervous.” He maintained and turned over to face away from her as he got ready for sleep. “You have first watch.”
“Fair enough. But well done! You rode a horse!” Jude tried to inject some enthusiasm and pride into the statement, but mostly it sounded condescending and parental.
“Fuck off Jude.” Anthrak said sleepily.
“Yup, sorry. Fucking off now.” She said, sounding mildly apologetic. “Sleep well hero.”
There was no reply apart from the usual deep breathing of the barbarian. Jude picked at some dried meat and fruit, hoping it would be enough to stop the stomach noises at least, and settled into her watch. The woodland was peaceful and a delight to her. She’d always loved the travel and excitement of her role once she’d been chosen as a cleric of Lathander. She got to see so much of Chark, more than most and certainly more than her fellow acolytes she’d known all those years ago. Her mood was saddened at the thought of the empty church and the change in politics she’d found at her temple. Yet another adventure for her to follow, more tasks that just never let up. Her life was complex and constant movement, but she’d not change it for the world. When she got the chance, she’d return and investigate the Church of The One some more. Rumours of dragons and worse surrounded that cult and their sudden rise to power seemed too fast, too convenient.
The moon drifted through the sky overhead, as Jude fell into her meditative state, listening to the night sounds all around her, cataloguing, assessing and hearing each scurrying mouse and clicking beetle. Waiting for a change, but no change came. At the four-hour mark, she woke Anthrak to take his turn. Without any complaint and wide awake, he stood, stretched and then faced away from Jude. He fumbled with his britches for a moment and pissed for what seemed like forever. Jude had put up with this for weeks, but secretly she was always very impressed at the stream and slightly jealous of the ease with which he could piss anywhere. It took her five minutes just to get out of her armour.
“Sleep now, little priestess.” He said after putting everything away. Jude lay down with her head on her pack. She was asleep in less than a minute and dead to the world, her trust in Anthrak absolute.
Upon waking with the dawn, they both made their prayers as the dawn light broke through the forest canopy and had breakfast of dried rabbit. Their usual good companionship had returned and neither mentioned horses again.
They travelled north for a further day and daylight brought a whole new beauty to the woods, a dappled green light dancing on the path and the fresh air only found amongst trees. Pursuit appeared to have either taken their bait or given up. Once in a position to see their location, they’d have to try and get their bearings and make it across into the Ranken Empire, they were now a lot further north than they had meant to be.
At some point they left the woodland behind and found themselves looking at a series of hills. Jude had flashbacks to a few weeks earlier and their half map-led, half lost sojourn to find her relics. The staff strapped to her pack next to her shield and the holy amulet attached to the chain coat were testament that not all hills were bad and some good can come of tomb robbing.
They began the climb of the nearest hill, its slope gentle enough to begin with but getting steeper towards the summit. The ground was soft under their feet, it had obviously rained here in the last day. They could hear the rushing of a big river in the distance. That was good news as it could help them get a point of reference to ascertain where they actually were, plus replenish their water canteens.
It happened so fast that neither of the adventurers had any chance to react. One moment they were walking along the path to the crest of the hill, next they were falling. Anthrak leading, felt the earth give way beneath his feet and tried to backtrack. Jude wasn’t really paying too much attention as she was going over her memorised spells and walked into the back of him, nudging him forward. That was both of their undoing. The brow of the hill collapsed under them and all stable ground disappeared, dropping them into a huge gully with a very fast-moving river one hundred feet below,
Jude and Anthrak hit the water at speed and plunged deep below the surface. Jude sank deep down until she hit the rocks at the bottom and pushed up, now that she knew what was up and down. The cold shock of the water almost paralysing her. The current pulling at her as she struggled to surface, her armour weighing her down but her pack surprisingly keeping her afloat. She held her breath as the water promised sweet oblivion and her lungs had begun to burn. At last, she got her head above the water and took a deep breath before she was forced back under and down river through a series of rapids. Each set of rocks taking their toll on her already bruised body, pushing her back under and ramming her against more rocks, her armour taking the brunt. She knew enough to just go with the river and take her chance to get to a bank when it slowed or widened, no point wasting strength here.
After what seemed like an age of spluttering breaths, freezing cold and rocks, the river widened and slowed. Her pack helping keep her afloat. She praised the forethought and the mage in Adira. He had etched a special set of runes into her pack that gave it a weak levitation spell. The idea was to make her pack lighter, but it seemed it had a side effect of making it buoyant too. She’d be at the bottom of the river without it, she relied on her heavy armour but no doubt it wasn’t always the best in some situations.
She kicked her legs and moved to the nearest bank which was still thirty or forty yards away. Pulling herself up the muddy bank she flopped down and caught her breath, laying on her back and thanking Lathander. A quick glance at the sky told her she was on the north bank, with the river running east to west before her. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she looked north and found a cliff face that became a formidable set of mountains.
“Not that way then.” She muttered to herself. She looked around for any sign of Anthrak, but there was none. He had the same runed pack she had, so he’d be fine, but he could be anywhere.
Looking up at the mountain face nearest to her, she spied light half way up in the crags, something glinting in the sunlight. Peering with her hands covering her eyes, she saw there was a settlement of some sort there. Looking at the cliff face in front of her more carefully, she was sat near the foot of a cleverly designed set of stairs, almost hidden and disappearing up into the mountain. How had she missed them before? She knew the answer of course, Dwarves. Clever little buggers, when it came to stone.
So, she stood up, shook the water off her gear and hair and trudged towards the stairs.
And that was how she had ended up here, in the home of the Stonefist dwarves, with their leader Thorogrimm.
She looked again over the beautiful scenery before her and came to a realisation. She was bored and it was time to move on. She still had a mission to complete and she had done everything here that she could to repay their hospitality. Turning away from the battlements and heading back to the barracks where her cot was, her thoughts were interrupted by a dwarven lad running towards her.
“Mother Jude! Please! You must come quickly, Thorogrimm has called for you. There has been a murder!” he cried.
Jude blinked and gestured for the dwarf to lead on and ran after him as he disappeared into the main hall. Maybe not bored after all.
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