“What the hell are these things?” I asked.

Knowledge World : Failure!

“We have Forgotten!” Tiff yelled to Burn. “Get your asses over here!”

Rolada flinched at Tiff’s raised volume and ducked into the cart. As she dipped down her glowing stone went with her and the tunnel was now only illuminated by the orange glowing moss. The pale sickly skin of these almost otherworldly creatures glowed in bioluminescent light.

Their almost human-like features were uncanny, with enlarged pure white eyes and elongated droopy ears. They wore odd fibrous outfits lined with white scales and their hands clutched primitive weapons. Axes and spears made of chiselled crystals bounded to long bone white stalks of a wood like material, or they had slings held at the ready.

On their heads they wore cloth caps obscuring most of their faces or wore the skulls of some fanged reptile. The ones on foot looked less impressive than the one riding the giant salamander, he was adorned with shells or pieces of jewellery to signify his rank. The skull helmet he wore was covered in silver engravings depicting terrifying creatures made of tentacles and fangs.

“Don’t suppose they are here to sell cookies for a charity?” I asked hopefully.

At the sound of my voice the rider snorted and shouted at me in his gruff language. The warriors around him raised their weapons and howled. Their battle cries embolden them and they started to shuffle towards us, their spearmen at the front with their sharp crystal tips ready to strike.

“Rolada sweetheart, we need the light.” Lin said.

Rolada whimpered and raised her hand over the lip of the cart to point the stone towards the Forgotten. As the cone of bright light washed over them the warriors froze in their tracks and screamed in terror. They held their hands over their eyes and began backing away.

The rider took command and started shouting orders to the two slingers still beside him. They put rocks with red glowing lines etched onto them into their slings and swung them over their heads. In unison they released the rocks and they sailed by, inches over our heads. As the rocks hit the cave walls behind us they sparked and exploded sending shrapnel around the tunnel.

Burn shrieked like a banshee only to cough and speak in a low gravelly voice. “Don’t worry guys, we’re okay back here.”

Tiff placed her crossbow on the lip of the cart and took aim, sending a bolt out straight at the rider. The metallic thud of the mechanism dropping echoed in the tunnel and a sharp bolt soared out. The rider twisted in his seat at the last possible moment, dodging the bolt and returning to his saddle with a smirk.

“Damn it all, he has some kind of dodge talent.” Tiff hissed. “Burn, give me some good news!”

“Send me a priest then, this thing is possessed. We aren't going anywhere fast so dig in your heels lass.” Burn said. A ting echoed in the cavern and the goblin swore. “Bent help me find that spring.”

Lin tapped me and signalled for us to move up. We hopped out of the cart, with Lin drawing a pair of daggers and me trying out my new sword. The battered scabbard resisted my efforts at first but after a few attempts it slid free, rasping as the blade came out of the dried leather. The blade of the sword was as long as my arm with the hilt fitting perfectly into the palm of my hand. It was light too and responded well to my arm movements, pointing exactly where I wanted it too.

The slingers started to twirl the slings over their heads and prepared another volley. I wasn’t about to let it happen and in my free hand I cupped my palm and let the familiar flow of magic run down my arm.

“Produce fire!” I shouted.

The flames burst to life in my hand and the Forgotten sneered, furiously howling. As the fire sailed past the melee warriors they changed from being fearful of the light to raging mad men running straight at us. A scream of pain and flare of light told me I had hit my mark on one of the slingers and an explosion followed. The other slinger sent his stone straight at me and I tried to duck out of the way.

The glowing rock bounced to a stop beside me and rumbled as it began to shine brighter, the surface becoming red hot. A giant boot crushed it and the explosion that followed shot out smoke on either side of the sole.

“Owie, that didn’t feel good.” Bent said, frowning and checking his boot for holes. “Josh, what are you doing on the floor, there's a fight.”

The ogre picked me up like a rag doll and set me on my feet, brushing off the wool cloak. He stepped forwards and met the enemy head on as one of the axe men swung his weapon straight at him. The vicious wide swing stopped dead as it bounced off the ogre’s chest, only succeeding in putting a tear in his shirt.

“This shirt was expensive!” Bent screamed, rearing his arm back and sending out a haymaker. “I cast fist!”

The massive fist crashed straight into the axe man’s skull helmet obliterating it on impact. Bone dust and fragments fell to the floor and the warrior went straight over the head of one of the spearmen. The axe man tried to rise but fell back down, completely dazed and probably with a concussion.

Two of the melee warriors attacked Lin with quick rapid attacks, moving in to support one another giving her no room for retaliation. Lin’s graceful movements dodged each attack as she wove between the weapons, forcing the warriors to move out of position.

Another bolt was sent out as Tiff aimed at the other slinger and scored a hit on his shoulder. The slinger dropped the stone he was holding and then jumped back as it exploded. Tiff pumped her fist into the air and grabbed the side of her weapon, turning a metal crank to move the string back in position.

Rolada set the glowing stone down and picked up her flute. She first whistled and matched the note on her flute sending out a quick series of fast flutters. Her tail flicked out its point towards Lin and a ghostly image appeared in a watery shimmer as she finished her spell.

A copy of Lin drew her blades behind the two warriors attacking the real Lin. As they saw the copy they cried out and looked between the two in confusion. The real Lin seized the opportunity, diving in and swinging a dagger up into the armpit of the spearman. He cried out and retreated, as the arm hung uselessly by his side.

The rider grew furious and took out a bundle from his pouch, he rose on the saddle and threw the bundle at us. It hit the ground inches ahead of me and broke apart. White and green mushrooms rolled out and as they made contact with the air started to release a green cloud of smoke.

“Cover your mouth and get back Josh.” Burn said behind me.

Burn pulled on a black mask that covered his whole head with two cylinders near the mouth piece. The cylinders were transparent tubes filled with water and moss that bubbled as the goblin breathed.

I backed up and from the green cloud a spearman appeared, striking the point I had just been in. Foam frothed at his mouth as he stabbed at me wildly hoping to skewer me with the jagged point. I felt the sword come alive in my hand as I parried the blow and sent the point away from me.

His attacks were relentless and gave me little time to do more than just dodge or swing my sword wide in an attempt to strike the end of the spear. The green cloud moved closer to us and swallowed up Bent who was busy throttling the axeman he had punched.

Burn dove into the cloud and over the din of the fighting I heard Rolada’s flute as she casted more spells. The spearman caught me in a moment of distraction by stabbing at my feet and tripping me onto the ground. As he levelled the weapon to my heart I pulled at the hem of my shirt, catching a frayed edge and tearing open a hole as I tugged out a thread.

“Rope of binding!” I cried, desperately throwing the string forwards.

The spear’s deadly point halted an inch from my chest as the spell did its work. It bound his arms together in place and twisted around his hands, forcing the spear to fly back and smack across his chest. As the spell continued to ensnare him it bound his legs together and forced him to start hoping away.

The green smoke cloud dissipated as Burn put a leather sack over it, stopping the mushrooms from fuming. As he rose and brushed off his pants a massive shadow approached. The rider charged straight at him, levelling a spear at his torso as the huge salamander stretched its neck forwards and bared its fangs.

Bent Plate still holding the axeman stepped in the way and head butted the massive creature. The salamander crashed into the ground like it had just hit a solid wall and the rider jabbed at the ogre with his spear. The crystal point flaked off and did nothing more than put another hole in his shirt. The ogre’s brow twitched and the rider screamed out an order.

The axeman in Bent Plate’s hand was momentarily forgotten and managed to slip out of his grip. He ran away and was soon followed by the rest of his fellows as they all escaped deeper into the tunnels. Two of the semi wounded warriors picked up the one bound by my spell and followed, vanishing from sight a moment later.

The rider turned his mount around and tossed another pouch at us. Burn was quick and threw a jar at it, impacting the package mid air. The jar exploded making a huge flash of light as the package burned away and left only a handful of soot left to fall down to the ground.

The tail of the salamander rounded the corner and vanished from view. We all stood still listening out for danger as we tried to see if they were really gone. As the skirmish came to a close I fell onto my knees and held a hand to my chest. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs and I broke out in a cold sweat as reality crashed onto me.

Enemies defeated.

+50XP awarded to all members of the party.

“Josh is a good fighter for being a wizard.” Bent said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Fancy swordsmanship there.”

Lin wiped her brow and leaned against the cart. She looked at me skeptically and said. “Josh only has one rank in his melee skill, and these guys were higher than that.”

I tried to confirm her statement but fell onto my side as a huge wave of exhaustion hit me. At first I thought it was mana blight from the back to back spells but checking my character sheet I could see I was only suffering from exhaustion.

“Hell that was intense, I’ve only ever been in a college bar fight before.” I said, clutching at my chest. I looked at the shiny intact sword in my hand and mumbled. “Did I really manage to do that?”

“Up the little mage goes.” Bent said, picking me up like a kitten and setting me into the cart with Rolada. “Foxie can make sure you are ok.”

“I’m fine.” I managed to groan. “Just need a quick breather.”

Tiff tossed me an open bottle of booze to help me recover. She looked over the battlefield seeing the stains of our enemies blood. “Weird ambush, as soon as they took a few good hits they hightailed it.”

“Are you kidding?” Lin scoffed. “When that salamander stopped dead in its tracks after hitting our ogre they knew it was over.”

Bent pulled at his shirt and pouted, poking at the holes in it. “This was custom ordered too, it’s going to cost a fortune to fix.”

“That was amazing, Bent!” Rolada cheered, clapping her hands. “You came at those goons with fists of fury, swinging like this and smacking them right in the face!”

The fox girl swung her small fists in the air nearly catching Lin in the cheek. As the ogre received praise he beamed showing off his pearly white smile.

“Yeah, yeah the big guy is a goddess sent miracle alright” Burn said. He snatched the glowing stone off the cart and took it to the back. “I’m going to need to borrow this.”

Lin took her lantern out from her coat and I scratched my head trying to understand how it fit into a pocket. Lin winked at me and shook it to get my attention.

“Want to scout ahead with me?” Lin asked.

I caught a second wind and gave the rest of the beer to Rolada. I hopped down and followed in line with her as we went to scout the way the Forgotten had come from. The two of us walked quietly as we strained to hear for any signs of movement. Both of us heard the sound of rushing water and followed it to its source.

One part of the tunnel opened up to the side and we leaned around the corner seeing a massive cavern. An underground river cut across the length of the cavern and on either side of it were makeshift shacks hobbled together with scrap wood and metal. Fields of glowing mushrooms and other alien looking plants grew on patches of mud. Grooves cut into the stone channelled water around to irrigate the field and kept well watered.

“A burial site, and recent too.” Lin said, pointing to a mound of rocks near the entrance.

We crept over to it and saw a dozen small stone graves, each of them topped with a wide flat slab covered in carving. The art style reminded me of the helmet the rider rode and Lin mentioned the same thing to me.

“What’s it here for then?” I asked. I paced along one grave and frowned. “Are these buried children?”

“Look at the carvings, they show the forgotten with weapons and smaller people with pointed ears fighting back. The shacks are also way too small, this had to have been a goblin village at some point.” Lin said.

We left the place and returned to the team hearing the gentle purr of the cart’s motor spool back up. They cheered on Burn as he struck a triumphant pose and flexed his arms.

“Nothing can stop this goblin today.” Burn grinned, as he stretched out a hand. “Beer me, babe.”

Tiff snarled and threw a wrench at him instead causing the goblin to duck behind the cart in terror. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked towards her crossbow.

“What did I say would happen if you ever called me that again?” Tiff asked.

“Terribly sorry Tiff, I think my mask leaked some of the poison gas into my system. Truly a mad slip of the tongue.” Burn said.

Rolada leaned on the edge of the cart, wagging her tail and asked. “Find anything fun?”

We recounted what we had found and the strange small farming village with its tended crops. Tiff and Burn looked at each other and seemed unsettled. They conversed quickly in a fast paced rolling language and nodded to each other, the previous hostility completely gone.

“Forgotten are usually ambushers, only attacking if people get near their sites. I see why this track is now abandoned but it's really weird they are keeping the fields in good repair. I’ll report it to the higher ups when we get back to Wyrmbreath.” Tiff said.

“Are we still good to keep going or should we run?” I asked.

“That was a scouting party and we sent them packing, we’re fine. We can reach the end of this track in less than ten minutes, do the job and get going. Trust me on this, Rodney is a much more powerful foe than the Forgotten.” Burn said.

We packed back into the cart and set off again. The cart seemed much faster this time and we made it to the end of the line in no time at all. The final bit of track was set in a mined out cavern. The walls were filled with holes and stuffed full of glowing mushrooms making the whole place light up like a stadium.

The tracks led to a raised stone disk in the ground, around the edges were metal posts with signs showing they could be turned.Tiff yanked hard on an old rusted lever and the cart slowed down until it halted right at the end of the track.

“Boys, you're up.” Tiff said, signalling to us. “Except you Josh, you're looking pretty pale.”

Burn and Bent hopped out and each of them grabbed a metal post, pushing it clockwise. At first Bent let Burn try it but as hard as the goblin tried the track didn’t budge a single inch. When the ogre gave it a light half hearted push the track spun around like it was on greased bearings. Burn held on for dear life as his feet left the ground and he whipped around the room while screaming.

I felt my stomach lurch as the world blurred around me only to come crashing to a halt with Lin and Rolada both slamming into my side. Bent held the post in a single hand and murmured out a soft apology as we all tried to balance ourselves and roll out of the cart.

The simple room only had a single place to go, a cut out set of stairs in the wall that ascended out of the earth. We walked up the long flight of stone stairs reaching a rotting wooden door with words painted onto its surface. Tiff didn’t seem to care what they said and kicked open the door to blind us with the sun.

After rubbing my eyes I walked out into the fresh air and stretched. The chill autumn air was no match for the beating rays of the sun and I felt warmth spread over my limbs washing away the tiredness. I looked out and saw a small bustling town, with outlying farms and an extravagant stone monastery on the horizon.

The walled building was huge compared to the small farms and looked more akin to a fortress than a church. I felt like this quest really was beginning to look out of our league and I went to speak to my companions only to find the two of them rolling on the grassy hill we were on.

“Oh Heinekia, I will never take your nature for granted. Talok your big beautiful sun is just as great as your abs, please never let me go without it again.” Rolada said in prayer to the sky.

Knowledge Religion : Partial success!

Talok is the representation of Ewyernar’s sun, he is the god of light and is depicted as a handsome, physically fit male human. As a lesser god he is worshipped most often by smaller farming communities or by devoted clerics looking for a more personal connection to their god.

+2 XP gained.

Lin purred and spread out her limbs letting the sun soak into her tanned skin. She closed her eyes and seemed half asleep as she relaxed. Not wanting to spoil their moment I sat down in the grass beside her and pet her fuzzy ears instead.

We took on an ambush with next to no injuries, how bad can one guy even be?