It took Dallarath’s party two whole days to clear most of the glass. The blasted river of glass led, as expected, to the Scourge’s Jeremy’s cottage and what seems to be a small shop. The party decided to stop before the sun set the day prior. None of them wanted to confront the necromancer during the night — especially with a giant monstrosity running about.

Aven’R scouting confirmed the presence of the giant snail. It seems like it was digging holes and performing tasks under the butler’s guidance. Whatever it was doing. They would soon find out.

For weal or woe. Today was the day they meet the strange wizard.

***

Three knocks on the door cut short Belsebas’ musings. He made several wooden frames for Shelby to coat, hoping he could put up glass windows for the shops. The experiment produced remarkable results, but the panes needed a bit of sanding to even out. Perhaps if he had a more smooth surface for the frames instead of just using the yard.

In any case, there were customers or inquisitors — either way, he welcomed the change in routine.

“Welcome to the Corner Shop,” he politely greets. Adventurers from the look of them — though a bit young, especially for elves. He recognized the healer from his trip to Forge a few weeks ago. She was good company, for an elf. She had a tendency to ramble, but so did many elves in her age.

“But it’s not in a corner...” Av’s remark earned her a quick elbow to the side.

“Well met shopkeeper!” Dal offers a hand. “Are you perhaps Sebas? I heard you kept little Rem safe on your trip to Forge.

“It was her who kept me safe,” shaking the offered hand. “Is your party heading to the Great Forest? We have restoratives that heal both fatigue and wounds, as well as more mundane necessities.”

“Actually, we’re here for a couple of quests,” Dal answers. “One by the guild and another from the Scourge himself.”

“Jeremy.” Rem interjects.

“Yes, one from the nec…er... wizard Jeremy himself,” Dal corrects while handing Seb the papers.

Without his training, Seb would have been rolling his eyes or raising an eyebrow. Instead, he politely smiles while taking the listings. Years with his master taught him to maintain a straight face even in front of ironies, absurdities, and literal demons of hell.

“I see your party volunteered for the master’s experiments,” he notices several hesitant looks coming from the lone dwarf and probably their healer. “I would vouch for their safety, having seen the results firsthand, but my words probably ring hollow as Master Jeremy’s butler. Just know that a faction of nobles on Bountiful are waiting for the smallest excuse to drive us out, maybe even get rid of us entirely — bad results will give them exactly that.”

“I believe you, Sebas,” Rem offers a consoling touch on the butler’s shoulder. “If you have this much faith in your master’s potions, I believe they would be as you say.”

“Well they’re not exactly potions, but they are quite effective.”

Sebas gets to the other listing — the one about the river of glass. So that’s why there were fewer travelers the past couple of days. He didn’t realize the extent of the damage Shelby’s short trip with his master would cause. It was a good thing he trained the snail to move using earth conduits, instead of just slobbering his way everywhere.

“I will prepare the 37 gold, as well as an additional 10 for informing us of the matter,” Seb says, still with a straight face. The sharpest of senses would have detected a slight jump in his pulse as well as a momentary dilation of his iris.

“Kindly inform the Guild that Shelby has been housebroken and that there would be no repeat of the incident from now on. Oh and Shelby is the snail,” he adds, seeing the confused looks on the five. He takes out a small pouch from underneath the counter, removing 3 gold coins before giving the pouch to Rem.

“Thank you Sebas.” Rem politely accepts the pouch before giving it to Dal. The half-elf seemed to be on the verge of counting the money, only to be stopped by a glare from the healer.

“What about the potions?” asks Sieg, the dwarf. “The sooner we take them, the sooner we get paid.”

The butler pauses for a moment. This was the crucial part of the transaction — a misstep could dissuade these adventurers from going through with the deal, maybe even bring the inquisition to their doorstep.

“Crafting Lifesavers™ involves a complicated process. Each one is tailored for a specific person, allowing it to heal wounds far greater than any healing potion would,” Seb starts his pitch. “Lifesavers™ can even regenerate a severed arm or leg, but it requires a minor sacrifice.”

“What kind of sacrifice?” asks Gwint, the sorceress. She read about sacrifices that necromancers and other dark practitioners performed for power — they were not to her liking.

“Just a thimble of blood from each one of you,” Seb answers. “We’ll need them for processing, after which, your lifesavers should be ready by tomorrow.

***

Siege couldn’t believe they actually went through with the deal. It was the day after, and the butler/shopkeeper was waiting for them with a few lozenges when they arrived.

The regular lozenges looked quite similar to each other, like red pebbles but clear. The butler told them the lozenges could be eaten or pressed into a wound — they would work as long as they were inside one’s body.

The Lifesavers™ were a juiced-up version of the healing lozenges, and the butler claimed it could regrow or regenerate whatever limb was cut-off, burned, or ripped. They came in different colors, each one with the carved name of the person it was meant for.

The dwarf found them ominous. It was as if his very being was trapped in a crystal — it even had his name on it. Still, he pockets the Lifesaver™, surprised to feel it weighed much more than the regular lozenges. While the red lozenges weighed as much as a gold coin, the Lifesaver almost weighed a pound!

After saying their farewells to the butler, their party was now headed to the caves where the snail was found. While drawing blood the previous day, Sebas mentioned the den of goblins which the necromancer supposedly cleared. He explained that the traces of hellfire and sulfur were merely a manifestation of his master’s fire magic. He assured them there were no summonings performed in the cave, or at least not ones done by his master.

He even offered to bring out Shelby, but they declined out of fear for their lives. Keeping a monstrosity as a pet? How befitting of the Scourge.

Dallarath immediately informed the Guild when they got back to Bountiful the day before. He pointed out that their party would be claiming discovery and looting rights to the cave, and the Guild could send their fire teams afterward.

Today was their “free” day to hunt whatever was in the cave and loot to their heart’s content. Tomorrow, the guild would be sending their fire teams to wipe out all traces of the goblins.

“Stop the wagon,” cries Aven’R. Although they cleared the road to the Great Forest of Dun, the path to the caves was still riddled with glass. At least, they wouldn’t have a hard time finding the right cave, all they had to do was follow the trail of glass.

Gwindin’s earth elementals emerge from the ground. Two days of clearing glass made their work much more efficient. The elementals would sweep the main river of glass, while the rest of them handled whatever glass flew to the sides.

Siege opts to stay in the wagon, content to guide their horses and just do some shoveling when enough glass piles up.

Clearing the dirt road all the way to the wizard’s place filled 16 wagons. The teamsters told them a few merchants were paying big money for the glass, with one of them earning 4 gold for his haul.

That would have earned them another 40-50 gold or so — if only they did the whole operation by themselves.

Well, today they could. Siege estimates the trip to the caves could fill up the wagon with snail glass. Together with the bonus from the guild and the butler’s generous tip, Their party had enough money to live the high life for a few weeks — and they still have a cave to loot.

They reached the cave before midday, shoveling along as they walked. The wagon was filled to the brim with glass, these ones in larger fragments than the ones they collected a few days ago.

After a quick meal and a short rest, the party enters the cave.

***

“To your right,” warns Aven’R. Two goblins were rushing Siege, hoping to flank the more bulky dwarf. She shoots the nearest one with two arrows, halting it in its track, leaving the trailing one to the dwarf.

Siege sidesteps left, bashing the diminutive goblin with his shield before impaling it with his shortsword. While a few dwarves did use axes and hammers, most of his kin used swords. There was no denying the efficiency of a sword, with its longer cutting edge and reach. A kick to the goblin’s gut frees up his sword, leaving the goblin twitching on the ground.

He was careful not to cut the critters. Severing a goblin’s limbs — or head, for that matter — releases spores into the air. He knew a handful of dwarves who took in the spores while battling orcs and goblins. Most were fine, but one dwarf had trouble breathing for a week.

Rem warned them beforehand that her healing might not be effective in dealing with goblin spores. Healers have documented the effects of healing magic on spores over the decades — noting that any type of healing accelerated the spores’ growth.

“Fire Pillar!”

Gwindin casts her spell. She was a traditionalist, using the name of a spell to prompt her unconscious into constructing the necessary spell matrices. Silent casters made their spell matrices on the spot, often sacrificing speed for subtlety.

Fire Pillar * Basic Spell * Evocation * Fire

Effect: Summons persisting pillar-like flames in a 10-feet square within 20 steps of the caster. The flames deal variable damage, depending on the amount of mana used in crafting the spell.

Duration: 5 breaths

A handful of goblins get caught by the rising fire from the ground. A barrage of arrows from Dallarath and Aven’R strikes the goblins, preventing them from leaving the conflagration.

Another thing good about vocalizing spells, was that it gave your allies a heads up — allowing them to react properly to your casting and ensuing spell effects. Knowing what spell was coming allowed Dallarath’s party to consolidate their attacks — making them stronger than they were individually.

Siege finishes the remaining goblins with quick thrusts of his sword. There was no sparing these critters — they only lived to consume, propagate, and wage war.

The fight was over, but the group had an inkling there were more goblins to be found.

“Gather around,” Remila gestures to her companions. Healing in the heat of combat was taxing. She preferred to do her healing once their foes were dealt with, but she could fight and heal as well as any cleric of the Mother.

Healing Light * Ritual Magic * Invocation * Healing

Effect: Heals allies within 5 steps of the caster. The amount of healing varies with the targets’ vitality and life force, as well as the amount of mana spent in performing the ritual.

The spell took care of most scrapes and cuts, as well as relieved a bit of fatigue. Rem used very little mana on the ritual since none of her party took serious injury.

After regaining their breaths and bearings, the party continues delving deeper into the caves. The five would have several more encounters with goblins before the day was over — but their luck would soon run out.