Everyone worked on catching their breath in the silent air, their puffs of steam refracting the late afternoon sun. Haven's Blade took stock of the bodies strewn around and set to work. Aeldevan directed the remaining conjured creatures to form a perimeter in case anything else tried to attack them.
From one of the hill giants, Magra took an adamantine breast blast. She immediately tore off the one she was wearing and donned the new armor. While she flexed her muscles to test it out, she noticed some damp lint in the band of the giant's loin cloth. "This could be useful," she said to herself as she crouched down to take it.
Aeldevan went back to the woods where the other giant still lay as a shriveled heap of skin and bone. In its pocket, he found a bottle labeled as a greater healing potion.
Ru discovered a potion of longevity in the warlord's satchel that had fallen off and escaped the fire. "I guess he won't be needing this anymore," she joked as she put it in her own bag.
After Feyre pulled off a half-dozen owlbear claws and put them into her pouch, she and Skamos looted some gold from the first two hobgoblins. Not wanting the bodies to cause any more of a disturbance to others traveling the path, Haven's Blade worked together to haul them to the sides of the road. Once it was cleared of their slain foes, Magra whistled for Nick who came running without delay, bringing Dante and Dilliah trotting behind him.
Turning their attention to the incident that Nick had originally found, they all gathered around the dead traveler as Feyre rifled through his pockets. "Well, he wasn't carrying any money. But he has this." The rogue held up a handaxe that looked like it was made for ceremonies rather than for action.
"Hey!" Ru pointed at the bottom of the axe's handle as Feyre spun it around. "That's the Hammer's Fall emblem."
"I guess that makes sense," Feyre responded. "He was coming from that direction."
Ru's mouth pulled to the side as she took the axe from Feyre and turned it over in her hands. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But something seems special about it."
"Maybe Jorvik will know," Skamos offered. "We have other things to ask him about, so we might as well add this to the list."
Ru nodded in agreement as she placed the axe in her belt and went to give the broken wagon a look over. "I think the only place this thing will be traveling to anymore is a firepit," she declared glumly.
Aeldevan walked by her and started tearing off a giant piece of the wagon's canvas covering. "This is too torn to act as a tarp anymore, but we can roll the traveler up in it and take him to the city. Someone probably knows who he is." He and Ru worked to gently wrap the body and place him in Kevin's cart.
"This wagon might not move no more, but it sure has great ale!" Magra was at the back of the wagon where she was guzzling down a whole cask of the stuff. With a loud belch, she let everyone know it was empty by tossing the barrel to the side where it bounced on the snow and rolled into the woods.
Feyre looked at the half-orc unamused. "Thanks for saving some for us."
Magra said nothing, as she was too busy watching Nick pull out a fairly decent blanket from the wreckage. "Oh look, he's got a blanky now." Magra's face was cheery, the alcohol and chill air turning her face rosy.
"That looks like a nice blanket though!" Ru said, uneasy at the blanket being dragged through the mud.
"I'm sure he'll share it with you," Magra responded. "He'll use it at night, and you can use it during the day!" She was quite happy with the compromise she made, her grin unwavering despite an eyeroll from Ru.
Meanwhile, Aeldevan and Skamos were checking the horse's equipment to see if any was salvageable. Unfortunately, it had all been shredded during the attack. Aeldevan took a piece of its saddle that might help identify it in the next town and to bury with its master. "Alright," he said to Skamos, "help me move it to the side. Gently, though. It didn't deserve this like those monsters." His partner nodded silently, knowing well how much Aeldevan hated the unnecessary killing of animals. The half-elf continued as they dragged the horse over, "We could make its death meaningful if we ate it, but we don't have time for that or the means to carry that much with all the caribou we have left."
"All right everyone," Magra interrupted as she made sure Dante was ready to go. "Let's get back on the road."
For the next hour, they traveled without any words or incident. As twilight began giving way to the night, they started unpacking to make camp.
As Aeldevan was about to light the fire for the night, he noticed a strange cloud in the distance. "Does anyone else see that plume of smoke?" He pointed far off in the distance, but the clouds and lack of light made it too difficult to make out anymore. "I swear it was there," he spoke quietly, hesitating to ignite the wood.
"I don't see anything," Feyre replied, "let's skip the fire for tonight just to be safe. We don't want whatever caused that to come this way."
Magra put her feet up on a mossy log as she lay back against the nearest tree. "And the weather's not that bad tonight." She patted the ground where she had unrolled her hound's blanket, inviting him to sit with her. "Nick-Nate and I will take first watch."
"Nick-Nate?" Ru repeated as she kicked off her boots and curled up with the dog.
"That's his formal name," Magra explained, as if everyone was supposed to know.
The rest of the team settled down to sleep for what would be a quiet evening. They slept soundly, unaware of the horrors the next day would bring.
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The next morning's brisk east-bound wind carried the warmth from the sun out to far sea. After a couple of hours of walking, Aeldevan pointed out the smoke again. "Now you can see it, although it seems a little less than last night."
"Scout!" Magra pointed down the road, requesting Nick to alert them of anything that may be ahead. He took off after she fed him a piece of caribou and didn't come back for two more hours when he alerted Magra that something was ahead. She started marching aggressively before Feyre ran around to stop her.
"Woah there," the gnome said, holding her hand out as if it could stop the barbarian with force. "Why don't we let the stealthy one take the lead this time?"
After having walked an entire hour at a slowed and careful pace, Feyre finally noticed a path of broken branches and shrubbery leading west off their current road. She held her hand up to tell the others to stop before she left to investigate the trail. Highly perceptive, she took note of the medium-sized humanoid footprints traveling from the woods and continuing north on the main road. She also saw deep grooves from wagon wheels, no doubt carrying heavy equipment. Stepping back into the middle of the road, she cawed and waved to tell her friends to come her way.
Once Feyre informed everyone of what she gathered, they continued on cautiously. They could tell from Nick's reaction that he wasn't liking the scent from the footprints.
"I think we should move faster," Aeldevan advised. "Chances are whatever caused those tracks also caused that." He pointed to the dark smoke that loomed ever closer.
With the realization that encountering anyone before they reached the smoke was unlikely, Feyre and Magra mounted their steeds.
"I'll make sure the body doesn't fall out," Ru said as she climbed into Kevin's cart, "and watch for anything behind us."
Skamos was about to get into the cart as well when Aeldevan stopped him. "I don't want to put any more strain on Kevin, especially since we'll be moving faster," the druid explained. He began changing shape into a larger creature, his clothing and equipment merging into his new horse form. Aeldevan flipped his tail and motioned with his head for Skamos to get on, his blue-black mane glistening in the sun.
"Well, this is a whole different meaning of riding bareback than what I planned for us today," Skamos joked as he pulled himself up. Once he was settled, Aeldevan began galloping down the road, his friends close behind him.
They were beginning to make up lost time when another bend in the road led them to a bridge spanning the River March. However, bodies littered the ground and parts of the bridge. The same tracks as before ran through, proof that Aeldevan's hunch was correct. The bridge looked like it had been partially destroyed at some point and crudely repaired, so Ru hopped out of the cart and checked its stability.
"It seems sturdy enough to cross," she confirmed, "but maybe we should go one at a time."
Everyone dismounted and took their turns, mindful of the rush they were in. When it was Kevin's turn with the cart and body, everybody gritted their teeth. He made it across though with only mild creaks and groans from the bridge. He didn't seem to be worried at all as he continued on to their destination without pause. Ru had to run after him and leap back in the cart. As she watched the bridge shrink from view, she hoped they would be able to return to bury the dead.
Haven's Blade maintained a quick pace after the bridge with no more bodies on the road. The smoke was not only getting incredibly close, but the smell filled their nostrils as they hurried. It smelled of fire that burned not just from wood but with crude oil along with something else more sinister. Coming around another curve in the road, they quickly slowed to a halt when they laid their eyes upon the source of the smoke: the overtaken city of Hammer's Fall.
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Singed fields split the distance between the woods where Haven's Blade stood and the battered walls of the city. Crude siege towers butted up against the stone wall, empty catapults peppered the field, and a large battering ram lay near the busted southern gate. Some of the equipment was in rough shape, burned and broken, but they were apparently enough to break through the city's defenses. Pillars of smoke were coming up from several spots within the city walls, merging into one massive plume that had been billowing for at least a day.
"Let's leave the animals back here," Magra suggested as she hopped down off Dante and lead him back the way they came. The others agreed as they backed up to be completely out of sight of anyone who might be watching from the city. Although they were at least a hundred feet away, anyone would notice a herd of animals on the road.
As soon as Skamos slid down from Aeldevan's back, the druid shifted into the form of a crow and quickly took off. He cawed a couple of times, letting Feyre know he was going to scout from the air. From his aerial view, Aeldevan saw more carnage within the city's walls. Streets were filled with bodies of slain dwarves, humans, and orcs.
In the main gatehouse where a few orcs stood, one in particular caught his eye. She was dressed in regal-looking clothing, overlooking the area before the southern gate. Aeldevan almost panicked but realized she didn't seem to have noticed his group. "Good," he thought to himself as he breathed a sigh of relief, "that means we still have the advantage of surprise." The woman held a staff in one hand, but what really caught Aeldevan's attention was the glowing amulet around her neck, the green brilliance outlining the insignia of the one-eye.
Not wanting to catch her attention, Aeldevan continued to fly around the city. Orcs lined the tops of the walls, and more stood guard outside some of the buildings. "There has to be at least two hundred orcs still standing," he speculated. The druid decided to land on the windowsill of one of the buildings under guard to see what they were keeping out, or keeping in. Inside, he saw a number of prisoners, mostly dwarves, in addition to more guards.
Aeldevan felt like he was going to arouse suspicion if he just kept flying around, so he flew down and landed on one of the dead orcs. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it to one of you," he thought as he pecked one of the body's eyeballs out and took it in his mouth, popping it like a grape. "Hmmm, a little salty, but not the worst thing I've had."
Wanting to take one more pass around to see if he could find some hidden entrance, Aeldevan flapped back up into the sky and circled the city once more. The north gate, although still intact, was heavily guarded. To the east were marshlands and woods with the ocean far beyond. The western woods had a rough road that snaked through the trees and a few farms, intersecting with the north road. From this distance, Aeldevan couldn't tell if those farms were intact or not, but judging from the condition of the north gate, it appeared that the orcs only came from the south to focus on that side. Satisfied with what he found so far, Aeldevan flew back to the woods to give his report, making sure to fly off to the side to avoid suspicion.
Meanwhile, Magra had used her sending stone to deliver a message to Jacob, "Hammer's Fall has been overtaken by hundreds of orcs. Send help now!" She turned to Nick and pointed into the western woods, "Check for survivors." Although the hound didn't know exactly what he said, he knew enough to tell he should come back if he found anything or by nightfall.
"Magra!" Feyre shouted, but quiet enough to not be heard by anyone outside their group. "You really think it's a good idea to be sending him out there right now?"
Magra's eyebrows bent downward as she defended her decision. "Yes, I do. If there's anyone out there, they might be able to help us."
"Or they could hurt him or let him lead them back to us!" Feyre countered.
As the two bickered about what was the right decision, even though Nick had already gone, Ru watched in silence. Finally, she interrupted, "Did anyone eat breakfast today?" The two friends stopped arguing and looked at her.
Before anything more could be said, Aeldevan landed on a low branch and began cawing in Feyre's direction. She cawed back as the two communicated. After a few minutes of this, the gnome finally addressed the rest of the group and repeated everything had Aeldevan told her.
"Why couldn't he just tell us himself?" Magra asked.
After Aeldevan clucked his answer to Feyre, she translated, "It's his second time transforming today, and he wants to go back out in a few hours." She hesitated to say anymore, but the crow flapped his wings at her in demand. "And he ate an eyeball for us."
There was a unified groan of disgust from everyone, and Skamos pretended to gag.
Aeldevan cawed again, letting Feyre relay his next message, "He thinks the amulet might be glowing because the last artifact is near."
Ru spoke to the crow, "Did you happen to see what kind of staff she was holding?" Aeldevan shook his head that he didn't, so Ru continued, "What if that staff is actually the Blood Spear?"
Everyone's eyes widened at what was the most probable situation. Aeldevan clacked another message to Feyre. She nodded and told the others, "The orcs didn't seem to be searching for anything, which means-."
"Which means they probably already found it," Skamos finished.
"But what can they do with one artifact?" Magra questioned. "Don't they need all three?"
There was a silent moment as they all thought about it, then Feyre responded, "Well, I don't remember hearing anyone say Gruumsh couldn't be summoned without all three artifacts."
"What if they just make him stronger?" Skamos added. "What if they don't need any and finally decided that one is good enough?"
A wave of dread fell over the adventurers. Finally, Feyre announced, "I'm gonna try finding a critter that might know of an underground passage or some other way to sneak into that city," and walked off into the forest, disregarding her previous warning to Magra about the dangers that could be lurking.
"I think we should move everyone even further back into the woods," Ru suggested. Magra and Skamos helped her maneuver the animals and cart into a thicker part of the forest where it was harder to see the road but still easy to get to in case they needed to flee.
With an hour or so of daylight left, Feyre trudged back to her friends with slumped shoulders. "I couldn't find anything that burrows. I think all the commotion scared them off."
"Well, maybe Nick will have some news once he gets back," Magra hoped. She held up the stone that matched her lover's. "These stones only work once a day, so we'll have to wait until morning before Jacob can respond."
"I can cast my Send spell to contact Ilyana or my mom, too," Skamos offered.
"Good idea," Ru supported, "but maybe Olorin would be better since he'd probably be able to notify others more quickly."
Skamos nodded, "That's true. I'll wait until morning though in case we find out anything else." Aeldevan, who had been perched on the Tiefling's shoulder, cawed in agreement before taking off into the sky once more.
The city didn't look much different than it had earlier except that the woman wasn't in the gatehouse anymore. Some of the forges had come to life as well; the clink of hammers working resonated against the towers and buildings. After several minutes of no further changes, Aeldevan went back to his friends. He landed on a stump at their temporary hideout and shifted back into his half-elf form. "Work has started in the forges," he told them as he stood up and off the wood.
"Maybe they're making more weapons for war," Magra guessed.
"Or building an altar to summon Gruumsh," Ru added.
Feyre groaned. "This is so annoying. We have just enough information to guess at a hundred things, but not enough to actually know what's going on." She sat down on a rock and sighed, putting her elbows on her knees and face between her hands. "It would be nice if we could have eyes on them the whole time."
"Yeah," Ru said, "but Aeldevan can't change anymore. Plus, he needs to sleep."
The druid thought a moment. "You're right. I won't be able to keep watch, but something else could." With that, he closed his eyes and put his hand out as if trying to feel for something. When he opened them, he tapped Feyre's shoulder and pointed up into the trees behind her.
She turned around to look and saw an owl perched on a high branch watching them, hidden between the leaves. Feyre understood what her friend was implying and pulled out a piece of caribou from her pocket. She held it out toward the bird as she began to rise with her flying boots. "I'm coming up to talk to," she said calmly, "I have a proposition." The owl's head tilted sideways as it tried to understand her words, but it remained where it was. She continued once she met the owl's level, "Can you watch the city tonight and let us know in the morning if anything happened? We'll reward you greatly and give you as much jerky as you can carry." She held out a piece for the owl to take, which it did cautiously. After a nibble, the owl's already large eyes seemed to grow even bigger, and it gulped the rest of the meat down. It nodded to Feyre as best as an owl could and gave an excited hoot. It held out its talons for another piece, which Feyre obliged. With a few silent flaps of its wings, the owl began spiraling up into the twilight sky and vanished as it flew towards the city.
While the group settled in for the night and waited for Nick to return, they tried coming up with different scenarios to get something of a plan going.
Magra spoke first, glancing at Ru, "I could wear this one-eye patch and act like I'm taking Ru in as a prisoner."
"You'd probably have to go in without most of your equipment, though," Aeldevan warned. "Ru could hide her daggers, but I'm worried someone might recognize your axe or even you regardless of the patch."
"Besides, what would you do once you're in?" Feyre questioned. "We can't fight them with all of us let alone two without weapons."
After several silent seconds, Skamos suggested, "Maybe they could find an underground tunnel that leads out of the city like Everlit's catacombs."
"It could be an exit for the prisoners and double as an entrance for the rest of you," Ru added.
"Not to be a downer," Feyre objected, "but if there was another way out, don't you think the citizens would've escaped that way?" Feyre added.
Aeldevan cleared his throat, "Alright, well that's one idea that could go somewhere." He then took the conversation in a different direction, "The artifacts might not be needed to summon Gruumsh, but the orcs went through an awful lot of trouble and destruction the past twenty years trying to find them." The group patiently waited for him to continue. "If we can steal that staff and amulet, maybe we can distract them enough to slow down their summoning process."
Feyre raised her hand to volunteer with a grin, "I'm all for swiping some magic items."
"Maybe that's just the distraction we need," Skamos said. "If they're focused on trying to find those items, they'll pull some of the guards to help search."
"Which could make it easier to infiltrate and help people escape," Ru finished.
Aeldevan nodded and his eyes lit up as he began to see a better plan come together. "Exactly. Even if Jacob and Olorin manage to send the alert for help, it would still take days for anyone to reach us." The look on his friends' faces showed that he wasn't the only one who forgot about that. "I'm not even sure what the Ironmere rest stop or Saltstone Harbor could spare or how long it would take them to get here."
"So, what?" Magra asked, her brows furrowed, "We split the party and hope we last a few days before help shows up?"
Aeldevan grimaced. "Yes." He waited for someone else to say anything but continued when no one did. "Look, the orcs don't seem to know we're here, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time."
Skamos took the opportunity to lighten the mood. "The only other options would be to sit here and do nothing or run away, and given our track record, that's not really our style." His friends chuckled, knowing they would be charging in with or without a plan.
"So," Aeldevan concluded, "Let's sleep on this and see if we can finalize a plan in the morning. Hopefully by then we'll have heard back from Jacob."
"And the owl," Feyre added.
Magra got out Nick's blanket and wrapped it around herself. "I'll take first watch again while I wait for Nick to come back."
"I'll stay up with you," Aeldevan offered. "Once he's back, I'll use a spell to talk to him and get as much information as possible." Magra smiled in appreciation. As the rest of Haven's Blade readied themselves for sleep, the half-orc and half-elf sat together enjoying each other's company and eating jerky.
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