Missteps V.2

Chapter Two – Day One

The next morning, everyone gathered in the bar as dawn crested over the nearby hills. Iados, bright and cheerful, gently pushed a sleepy-eyed Lia down the stairs. Her hair flowed over her shoulders in unbrushed curls as she took a seat at the table. She wasn’t the only morning zombie, though the delicious smells of the morning breakfast selection woke them all up.

“How did everyone sleep?” Carric asked as he dug in. Everyone mumbled their responses as they ate quickly, eager to get on the road. Carric smiled. “Took me a while to fall asleep. There was some snoring coming from the next room. Sleep came much easier after it finally died down.”

"That was probably Jun.” Ander pointed to the human next to him. Ander sat on his pack at the table. The furniture here wasn’t as halfling friendly as it was at home. “I keep telling him to let me do a silence spell on him, but he always says no.”

Jun took a big bite of biscuit as he shook his head. “Wasn’t me.” He swallowed. “Ander kept mumbling in his, so I left and slept down here.” He nodded towards a folded up blanket on a nearby table.

Kerri’s knife paused as she cut into her ham steak. “Wait, so just because Ander was mumbling in his sleep, you left the room?”

Jun shrugged. “I didn’t want to take my chances in case he was casting a spell. It definitely wasn’t common he was speaking.”

“Ah.” Kerri smirked and went back to cutting her steak. “Then who was the snorer? If we’re going to travel together, then this is the kind of thing we need to figure out now.” She took a bite.

“Not so sure it was snoring that Carric heard.” Jun reached out and spooned some oatmeal onto his plate. “When I left the room last night, the room across the hall seemed to be having some ruckus.” He looked pointedly over at Lia and Iados.

Iados paused mid-chew. “You heard us?” He quickly swallowed and turned to Lia with a grin. “See, I told you to keep it down.”

Lia pitched the remaining half of her biscuit at him. “It’s not like you were quiet either.”

Iados grinned and bit into the caught biscuit. “Prove it.”

Carric cleared his throat as he stood up. “As much fun as this is to watch, we need to get going. Daylight is our friend today, so finish up and meet me outside in ten.” He picked up his pack and weapons, and headed towards the door.

It was actually fifteen minutes before everyone assembled outside, well almost everyone.

“Will you hurry up!” Iados yelled up at the 2nd story window, hands on hips.

Lia poked her head out the window. “I can’t find my pack!”

Iados held up a brown pack. “That’s because I already have it.”

Lia’s faced screwed up in confusion. “Why do you have it?”

The akudaem shrugged. “I grabbed it when I got mine. Figured it was part of my bodyguard duties.”

“I hired you to be my bodyguard, not my manservant.” Lia sighed as she moved away from the window pane.

Iados turned around, just in time to see the wry grin on Kerri’s face. “Got something to say?”

Kerri shrugged. “I just find it interesting what ‘duties’ you consider to be part of body guarding, that’s all.”

Iados walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder as he whispered into her ear. “Maybe I’m just trying to see what she’ll let me get away with. You know, for future reference.”

Kerri laughed. “Yeah, I’d be interested to know how handy this info comes in.” Lia finally showed up and took her pack from Iados.

Now they were ready to leave.

They headed out of town with Carric in the lead. Kerri followed close behind, as the two of them chatted quietly. Every once in a while Carric would point out a flower or a bird to her. Behind them came Ander, his nose stuck in a worn leathered book as he softly muttered to himself. Behind him walked Iados and Lia, the latter using her quarterstaff as a walking staff. They too were chatting, and every once in a while one of them would reach out and lightly push Ander left or right so as to avoid obstacles. Jun brought up the rear of their makeshift party. His eyes constantly swept around their surroundings, and he kept a hand on the warhammer slung on his waist.

The first few hours were relatively peaceful. The party wasn’t trying to be quiet, and they managed to scare a few critters out of hiding. Once Kerri wanted to follow after a fox as it darted into the undergrowth, but Carric silently held her back.

“I just wanted to take a closer look.” Kerri crossed her arms as she paused.

Carric just rolled his eyes as he continued walking. “How would you feel being chased through your living room?”

“Depends on who’s doing the chasing.” Kerri muttered under her breath before she followed after.

The group crested over a small hill, and everyone stopped to enjoy the view.

Carric pointed out towards the base the nearest mountain. “That’s where we’re headed.”

“He doesn’t look that far away.” Ander held a hand up over his eyes as he peered out.

“If we had wings and could fly over the canopy it wouldn’t be.” Carric stretched. “In the meantime, we’ll just have to hoof it through the woods. We’ll rest here for a few minutes before we continue on.”

Most of the group settled down on the ground as waterskins were brought out and passed around. They all had to agree that the scenery was beautiful.

Iados took a big swig of water as his eyes swept over the green landscape. Something caught his eye. “What’s that?” Iados pointed towards a dark shape that stuck out amongst the vegetation below them. He used his hands to block the sun as he peered closer.

“I don’t see anything.” Lia also put a hand over her eyes, but all she could see was dry shrubs and grasses amongst the trees below them.

“I think it’s a wagon.” Iados squinted. Whatever that shape was, it definitely seemed too angular be a natural plant “Looks like it’s been wrecked.”

“Anyone in it?” Carric moved to stand next to the akudaem. It took a moment, but eventually he too could see the wagon. It was upside-down, and one of its wheels turned in the wind. He scanned the area around the wreck, but it seemed to be deserted.

“Not that I see, but we should check it out.” Iados didn’t wait for acknowledgement before he started down the sloped embankment. Carric and Jun shared a look of exasperation before they followed after, with Lia, Ander, and Kerri on their heels.

Carric peeled off from the group about halfway down. He crouched down and inspected some tracks in the mud.

Jun quickly caught up with Iados. He reached out and grabbed the back of the akudaem’s shirt.

“What?” Iados wrenched his shirt out of the human’s grasp.

“First thing you learn in the military, you don’t just run into an unknown situation.” He pointed behind him to Ander. “Take him and check out the perimeter.” Iados opened his mouth to say something, but Jun held up a finger in Iados’s face. “Just do it. I’d do it but I was going to flip the wagon over, unless you think you can flip it by yourself?”

Iados looked back over at the wagon. Now that they were closer, it was easy to see that parts of the wagon were buried into the dirt. He turned back to Jun and clapped him on the shoulder. “Have fun.” He skipped over to Ander and pulled the halfling along behind him as they peeled off.

Lia and Kerri followed Jun to the wagon.

Lia got on her stomach and looked under the lip of the cart. “I don’t see anyone.”

Kerri reached out and lightly kicked the side of the wagon. “Jun, you really think you can lift this by yourself?”

Jun nodded as he circled the wagon and examined it. “I’ve lifted heavier, but it doesn’t matter here.” He pointed out towards a rod near the wheels. “That rear axle is broken. This wagon ain’t going anywhere, even if we did take the time to unbury it.”

Kerri sighed. “Then this was just a big waste of time.”

Lia climbed to her feet. “Let’s go gather the boys and get back-”

An arrow suddenly flew past and landed with a thud in the trunk of a nearby tree behind the elf. Two bandits dropped from a tree, dressed in ragged pants with basic leather armor that was worn thin in numerous places. The young men both held scimitars, the blades sharp and flecked with dark red spots along their lengths. The two bandits advanced on the three at the wagon.

“Let me guess, you two boys are lost and in need of directions, right?” Kerri’s voice was filled with sarcasm, but her hand shook as she took out her rapier. In answer, another arrow whizzed out of the trees. The shot went wide and landed in the grass behind her and Jun.

“I don’t think they’re interested in talking.” Jun walked forward and drew his warhammer. Kerri didn’t press the issue. She ducked behind a wagon wheel. She looked at the imposing figure of Jun, and sang to him a song laced with her belief in his ability to protect the.

“These Bandits are low

This Bandit’s a hoe.

Scream like a lion

And they’ll be cryin’!”

Jun smiled as the tune hit his ears. His mind flashed back to the war chants that were sung out on the battlefield as he and his fellow soldiers fought their lord’s battles. It’d been too long since he’d had a proper fight.

On the other side of the field, Iados pulled his shortsword and rushed forward towards the closest bandit. Usually he fought on the swaying deck or rigging of a rocking ship, so getting to run straight across a grassy field was a real treat. At least here he didn’t have to worry about being thrown overboard. Iados swung his sword up. It glanced off the hooked nose bandit’s arm. The bandit barely had time to grimace in pain before the akudaem sent a powerful front kick into their midsection.

In response, the bandit swung with his scimitar and caught Iados in his side. The blade sliced into the flesh with a sickening squelch as it dug deep.

Iados couldn’t stop the howl of pain that slipped through his lips. His twisted his body to protect his now-injured side, and swung out again. This time the bandit was ready and easily dodged the blow.

Kerri stuck her head back over the top of the wagon, just in time to see Iados nearly get skewered by Hook Nose. “The only thing ‘big’ about you is your nose!” She yelled out as she laced a bite into her woods. The bandit’s face screwed up in pain as Kerri’s mockery spell hit him.

Kerri turned her attention to the injured akudaem.

“What are you doing?

Why aren’t you fighting?

Get up already

And make him deady!”

Nearby, Lia twisted her face and sent a confused look at the Bard’s lyric choice.

“Let’s see you come up with a better rhyme on the fly.” Kerri snapped as she crouched back down behind the wagon, rapier still in hand. Lia laughed.

With Kerri’s lyrics ringing in his head, Iados faced the bandit and attacked again. The blade went right through the armor into the bandit’s chest. Iados brought his leg up and kicked the bandit off his sword. Hook Nose gave one last cry of pain before he fell, lifeless, to the ground.

Carric, meanwhile, had pulled out his longbow and took aim at a unibrowed bandit who advanced on Jun. The first arrow bounced uselessly off the bandit’s armor. As he readied his second arrow, a cry caught his attention. He glanced over and saw that it came from Iados as his side was sliced. As he repositioned to get a better view with his bow, his foot sank deep into a hidden burrow. Carric fell, the arrow he let loose sailing right over the bandit’s head. Thankfully the foot wasn’t injured, only the half-elf’s pride.

Unibrow had paid no heed to Carric’s arrow as he focused his attention on the unarmored man before him. Unibrow rushed Jun and attacked with his scimitar. Jun easily evaded the blade. Jun began to growl. He felt an unnatural anger and power boil up within him. The edges of his vision turned red as he felt a wave of power course through his body. His muscles swelled and thumped with his heartbeat as the power twisted and empowered him.

Jun’s growl turned into a roar as he brought his warhammer straight down on the bandit’s shoulder. The shoulder visibly collapsed. Unibrow’s eyes screwed up in pain as he was forced to his knees.

“You’ll pay for that.” Unibrow said in between labored gasps. He moved his scimitar to his other hand and shakily got to his feet.

“Not from you.” Jun pulled back and swung his Warhammer again. The bandit barely had time to snarl before his chest was caved in. Unibrow was dead before he hit the ground.

Luckily for the party, movement in a tree caught Lia’s attention. She saw another bandit peek out from the tree’s foliage, the same tree where the other bandits had dropped down from earlier. She crouched and moved closer to the tree as she reached down into her belt pouch and pulled out a thorny stem. She waited until the bandit had leaned out with his bow from his hiding spot before she stood up straight. With a whispered word, the stem stretched out into a vine whip as Lia flung it towards her target. The vine wrapped around the bandit’s neck. With a tug the bandit was pulled out of the tree.

Angrily, the Bandit ripped the vine away from his neck that was now pockmarked with small punctures and cuts from the thorns. It looked like he wore a bloody necklace. The bandit picked himself up and drew his own scimitar. He was pissed as he ran towards the elf.

Lia dodged his attack as she ducked and grabbed up her quarterstaff from the ground where she’d set it down. She swung out and hit the bandit square in the nose with a sickening crunch. He crumpled to the ground.

While everyone else dealt with the other bandits, Ander had focused his attention on a large tree across the way. Ander guessed that the initial arrow came out of the tree, and there was one way to test it. With a grin, he held up a finger. He muttered a spell to himself as the tip of the finger began to glow red and hot. Just as the final syllable escaped his lips, the halfling hurled the magic towards the tree. Almost immediately, the tree was engulfed in flames as the dry autumn leaves caught quickly.

The tree’s sole occupant dropped out of the tree, and not quietly. He furiously rolled on the ground as he smothered any cinders on him. As the still-burning leaves began to rain down on him, the bandit scrambled further away.

“Are you crazy?” The bandit hurried to his feet, scimitar in his hands. “You could have killed me!”

Ander put his hands on his hips. “Like you fired that arrow with good intentions?”

The bandit did not bother to respond, at least verbally. The bandit rushed the small man, and Ander wasn’t able to dodge in time as the blade traced a line of red across his chest, and cut his robes.

Ander winced. “You’re only proving my point.” He backed up and brought his hands out in front of his. It only took a few short magical words until a cone of fire shot out of the small hands towards the offending bandit.

The bandit, already alert to any pyrotechnics from the small man, jumped straight up in the air at the first flicker of flame. Due to the height difference between him and the halfling, the bandit was able to dodge most of the flames with his legs taking the brunt of the damage. The lower parts of his pants just crumbled into ash.

“Will you just shut up?” The bandit growled as he lunged again with his blade. Ander ducked and rolled out of the way, not gracefully by any means, but effective.

The halfling pulled a dagger out of his belt and attempted to stab the bandit. He only managed to pierce a nick in the bandit’s armor.

Carric attempted to fire two arrows at the singed bandit, but missed both times. When the bandit looked up to look at who fired the arrows, he noticed that he was the last bandit standing.

Kerri, not wanting to be the only one left out of the action, popped up from the wagon and rushed over towards the final bandit. She gathered her strength, and plunged her rapier into his chest. With a low grunt, the bandit collapsed on the ground, the rapier still in his chest. Kerri didn’t make an effort to hold onto the rapier’s handle as it slipped out of her grasp.

Carric walked over and attempted to pull the rapier out, after Kerri hadn’t moved after a couple of seconds. He tugged hard at the blade, but it wouldn’t budge. Jun gently pushed Carric aside, and in one motion reached down and pulled the sword out like it was nothing. He wiped the blade off on his pants before he held it out for Kerri.

Kerri didn’t even notice. Her eyes were still on the bandit at her feet.

Carric gently nudged the young woman with his elbow, and she jumped slightly. She blinked and finally noticed Jun’s outstretched hand. Wordlessly she took the blade and returned it to the sheath.

Iados sat down heavily against the side of the cart. His side wound still bled, and hurt like hell. Lia rushed over and knelt down next to him. She laid a hand on his wound and spoke in Elvish. The sweet soft words of the Elvish language mixed with the warm heat from the healing spell, took away Iados’s pain. He could feel his wound stitch itself back together, and when Lia moved her hand away, only a small red welt was left.

“Thanks.” Iados grinned as Lia wetted a rag and handed it to her bodyguard.

“You’re welcome, now clean up and let’s get out of here.” Lia smiled.

While everyone else cleaned up and took stock of the situation, Ander had started to rifle the pockets of their assailants.

“You planning on sharing?” Jun asked as he watched Ander take various coins out of their belt pouches and pockets.

Ander tossed him a single gold coin, one of the few gold coins he’d managed to find. “That’s all that was on the one you took down.”

“What about this bastard?” Iados kicked the foot of the one he’d fought.

Ander shook his head. “Nothing but lint in his pockets.” He waited for Iados to ask about the belt pouch he’d taken, but the akudaem said nothing.

Lia walked up to Carric, who stood staring at the still burning tree. It wasn’t an inferno, but there was a good amount of smoke emanating from the tree.

“Do you think it’ll burn itself out?” Lia asked the Ranger.

Carric shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m not sure I want to risk it. It’s still wet from the rain shower, but this time of year most everything is drying out.” He looked sideways at the woman. “Got any tricks for this?”

Lia grinned. She dipped a finger into her waterskin, and brought out a droplet of water. She raised the droplet up as she chanted a simple spell. The droplet hovered above her finger before it rocketed into the sky. A small cloud formed in the sky above and visibly darkened as it swelled with water. Just as she finished her chant, the cloud burst and a steady rain shower cascaded over the burning tree.

“Will that do?” Lia asked.

Carric laughed and clapped Lia on the back. “Yeah, that’ll do.”

A few feet from the duo, Ander had dragged everyone’s packs together into one pile. He now sat on them as he studied the tear in his clothes.

Kerri pulled her pack out from the pile, and sat down on top of it. “So, why’d you torch the tree?”

Ander shrugged. “Easiest way to empty the tree. Didn’t know how many were in it.”

“Could’ve done that whip trick that Lia did.” Kerri suggested.

Ander shook his head. “That spell isn’t it in my spellbook, not to mention I’m pretty sure it’s a druidic nature spell. My magic is more arcade based than nature.” He dug into his pack and pulled out a small leather bound book, the same book that he’d reading earlier in the day. Various bits of paper protruded out of the pages from all angles. Kerri reached out to grab the book, but Ander moved it out of her reach.

Kerri rolled her eyes. “So what, magic is magic.”

Ander gave a heavy sigh as he replaced his book. “Technically true, but the way that someone uses magic can vary depending on one’s discipline.” He stretched his arms, and winced as his sliced skin was disturbed.

Kerri reached over and laid a hand on his chest. She sang a quick Elven song, and a similar warmth spread over the halfling’s chest. Kerri moved her hand away as she finished singing. “Better?”

Ander nodded. “Thanks, and for future reference it’s polite to ask before you just perform magic on someone.”

“Noted, so can I look in your book now?”

Ander readjusted his seat on the packs. “Not on your life.”

Over by the wagon, Jun leaned against one of the wheels. He breathed heavily as he felt the angry power leave his body. He was left feeling weak as the adrenaline left his system.

A piece of jerky was shoved under his nose.

“Thanks.” Jun took the jerky from Carric and took a big bite. Carric nodded and continued on. He scanned the area for his arrows that hadn’t ended up in the bandits.

“So, you’re a Berserker. Neat.” The Ranger leaned down and picked up an arrow and inspected it. “Why don’t you just keep that Berserker rage all the time?”

“Doesn’t work like that.” Jun took another bite. “Too long in one and I can lose myself. Not to mention I’d go unconscious for a long while.” Jun’s memory flashed back to his time in the military. Early on in his career, he and his company had done tests to see how long he could stay in the Berserker rage. In the end, the consensus was that the ill after-effects weren’t worth the effort of keeping the power up.

“Too bad.” Carric moved and leaned on the wagon next to Jun. “There’s all sorts of creatures in these woods, and not all are friendly. Right now most of the dangerous ones are also hungry. Probably part of the reason why it’s taken so long for people to find this old Dwarven settlement.”

“Those weren’t animals that attacked us.” Jun swallowed the last of the jerky as he jerked his head to the closest body.

“There have been more treasure hunters and bandits in the area since the announcement of the settlement.” Carric pushed himself off the wagon. “Glad I insisted on half upfront.”

Jun gave a small laugh at that statement. “What use is half if you end up dead?”

“If things go south, I’m pretty confident in my ability to run faster than any of you.”

Jun crossed his arms. “You’d really abandon us like that?”

“Yep,” Carric looked back at the human. “You guys are clients, and if you die, well I don’t have to worry about bad reviews.” Carric did a one-shoulder shrug before he went off to gather the rest of the group.