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Chapter I

An Adventure Begins

Twas a sunny day with salty air in the small city of Bimor. A pleasant day with the coming winter still a ways off, yet the day marked the beginning of a lengthy adventure that would not only shape the world, but affect every one of Yggdrasil's realms. Within a small tavern near the city gate stood two warriors, dressed in chained armor yet relaxing in between jobs. They belonged to a race descendant from dragons, retaining the scales and ability to spit an element, yet losing the more beastly appearance. One in red scales, Korvas, regaled his comrade in past tales of his personal heroism, particularly how he inspired his mercenary allies to victory despite wounds and losses. The yellow scaled Tolvain reflected on his own battle experiences while listening, though being shut out from the world, he was more interested in hearing of the world at large. The two continued to converse until a new patron entered the tavern, a rather regal elven maiden. Her eyes held a mysterious purple hue, matched by a single stripe in her hair. Korvas nudged Tolvain and motioned with his head towards the woman, trying to get his attention. As he looked, his eyes met with hers, and though he turned back to Korvas, she took it as a sign of greeting. She approached the duo with a simple greeting "Well hello there." "Well hi there, my name is Korvas. I was just telling my recently liberated friend here about some of my heroics." Started the dragonling, already beginning once again his exaggerated tales. "Oh really? You must be quite the fighter then. I'd love to hear more, from both of you. What do you say we get some drinks and talk it over a little?" she offered, subtly hinting that they should pay for her ale. The group talked for some time, learning things about eachother and their pasts. The elf did not speak much about herself, though she did claim her name as Amar and mention she was traveling to escape the pressures of her family life. Their merriment was brought to an abrupt end, however, as a clamorous noise emanated from the streets, shortly followed by a man opening the door and screaming for people to run or hide, for bandits had entered the city walls and were beginning to raid and plunder anything in sight. Being two heavily armored and experienced warriors, the dragonlings stepped out to face the challenge, though they were unknowingly followed by Amar.

The trio stepped out into the street to see several bandits pouring through the doors of the city wall, one already past the tavern. The two dragonlings readied themselves behind their shields, preparing to hold off the coming bandits as close to the city walls as possible, as well as guard the young woman who had followed them. "Stay back and watch the show!" Commanded Korvas, eager to impress those around him, only to earn an eye roll from the elf. Unbeknownst to the two warriors, a single bandit had already made his way down the main road before they even left the building. With a smirk and a sweeping motion of her arm, the maiden summoned up her magical prowess to spray the unfortunate bandit in liquid fire. The sudden glowing light drew the attention long enough for the two dragonlings to look back in concern and mild horror before they snapped back to the oncoming enemies. Soon the streets filled with the clash of steel and shouts of battle, yet the trio was about to receive some unexpected help hidden in the shadows.

Three more bandits entered the city, running to the aide of their allies. One was an elf, though not magically inclined like his heroic counterpart. The other two were an odd pair of a tall, muscle bound man wielding an axe and his Hauflin companion. As the latter two rushed into the fray, the elf met with an unfortunate turn of events, in his perspective at least. He passed an alley between two buildings only to be interrupted by blow to his head delivered by a palm attached to a furred arm. As he slipped nearly into unconsciousness, his assailant revealed himself to the others. He wore no armor, only a long yet form fitting robe that covered his yellow and spotted fur. With one enemy at least temporarily dealt with, he prepared himself to counter the small man's coming attack. With speed befitting a cheetah, he swiftly dodged a swing of the small humanoid's cudgel and delivered a kick with enough force to send him head over heels into his larger friend. The cheetah man smiled and said aloud in his raspy voice "I always wanted to see if that was possible."

Yet the situation would only become worse for the thugs. As the two dragonlings pushed their enemies closer to the wall and their furry friend prepared to continue his onslaught, two more warriors entered the battle. The larger bandit, having been knocked over by his friend-turned-projectile, opened his eyes to a creature that would startle even a world hardened barbarian. A feral reptilian stood over him, yet it seemed not entirely there, as its flesh seemed transparent to the bone, which even those could be seen through. An unearthly chill ran down his spine as he stared into the hollow eyes of the creature. He backed away from the apparition, kicking and scootching his way back until his movement was interrupted by what felt like a wall of fur. His head tilted back and stared upward to the face of a stout bear, and he could have sworn it _smiled_at him. The traumatized man, criminal though he may be, quickly lost his courage and turned to flee, only to see the cheetah man dueling the Hauflin with his bare hands. With a feeling of helplessness, he made a dash for the city gate. In his panic, he noticed neither the dark clothed woman off to his side, nor her commands to the spirit chasing him. With one last icy bite to his leg, the bandit reached the dirt path and ran as fast as his now injured legs could take him. The woman recalled her spirit companion, preferring to watch from a distance as the fight continued. The bandit elf was not as fortunate as his human ally, however. The bear had set upon him, and in his maulings, had delivered a forceful blow to the bandit's crotch area, knocking him out from the shock.

The sound of heavily armored footsteps became louder and louder, and the raiding party knew the battle was about to turn hopeless with the arrival of the town's armed forces. In one last mad dash, they spread out and wormed their way back to the wall and out into the wilderness. The draconic heroes and their furred allies let the low lives retreat, not wishing to end their lives. The unfortunate victim of the she-elf on the other hand remained only a pile of ash by this time. The two groups approached one another, hoping to exchange pleasantries and gratitude over their assistance, only to be interrupted and surrounded by guards bearing the colors and symbol of Bimor on their armor. The remaining fighters, not wanting to risk confrontation with the guards, quickly raised their hands in surrender. Except one. Korvas, feeling entirely free of guilt and circumstance, kept his weapons raised. "Lay down your arms, all of you! Someone, get a medic to that man! By the gods, they burned this one alive!" The various shouts of the troops filled the air, only to suddenly be cut off by a declaration from the boastful warrior. "We have done NOTHING wrong! I just saved you ALL from being overrun, and I won't hesitate to take you all down too!" The guards closer to him, although frightened by his claims, kept their spears close and would have swiftly run him through had the maiden not intervened. "Oh please officer!" She said, twisting her voice to sound as meek and helpless as a lamb. "We were only defending ourselves from those mean bandits. Please don't hurt my friend!" The highest ranking officer blushed as the woman pleaded with him and wrapped her arms around his. His thoughts clouding, he agreed to spare the angry dragonling, though he and the others would still be arrested and taken into custody for questioning. He would argue to this day that he was in no way responsible for the fact that she had been spared the iron cuffs and taken to questioning first.

The eclectic group was lead to the dungeon and barracks of the city, resting far from the walls in the center of the area. Each one, including the bear, was given their own cell and locked in, though none were stripped of their equipment. They all sat in an awkward and slightly depressing silence before Tolvain broke the silence. "Well, that could have gone better." "Agreed." Replied the feline. "However, I am certain we will be freed shortly. The elven woman has no reason to not speak the truth, and the laws of this land favor us. My name is Turbo, friend. I come from a Dwarven city in the far east on a quest to learn to shape and wield water with my spiritual prowess, my Ki." "Huh?" came a call of confusion from the cell next to him. The cell held the woman who commanded the reptilian spirit. Like the others of draconic origin, her body was covered in scales and she could wield a form of dragon's breath. However, her skin held a blackened color, only offset by the purple stripe on her chin that stretched down across her torso. "Oh, sorry. My name is Ki'eruu, but most people call me Ki, so I got confused for a second." She sat down and resumed her quiet contemplation. Silence pervaded until once again the yellow dragonling spoke. "I'm Tolvain by the way" "Korvas" added the red one. "Call me Jammy for short." A gruff voice came from the bear, much to the surprise of the two across from him. "Oh....the bear talks." Commented Korvas, more for his own reassurance than anything. "I'm actually a dwarf. I just like spending my time in bear form." The silence resumed. "So....Turbo sounds like a strange name. Is it common where you're from?" started Tolvain, wanting to know more about far away lands. "It refers to a spiral of wind you call Tornado, ironic considering my chosen study. But I assure you, such names are varied at the monastery." And with that, the group finally opened up into their past experiences, sharing with eachother how they ended up in Bimor, though Ki remained quiet in favor of the others telling what little they felt they should mention of her.

A few hours passed before a guard was seen approaching their cells. He stood in the middle of the room connecting their cells and made an announcement. "You are all to be temporarily released from your cells and taken to the Captain of the Guard. I assure you, if you are to try anything violent..." He stared at Korvas as he said this "no amount of elven sweet talk will save you." Swallowing his pride, Korvas followed the others quietly as they were released and escorted into the Captain's office.

The Captain of the Guard sat in his office behind his desk, head resting on his clasped hands. His silvered hair, though it only covered the back of his head, was tied back neatly and out of his face. He sat in silence and beheld the strange and animalistic group in front of him, his gaze shifting slowly from each individual as he analyzed them. Finally, he spoke. "Here's what we know for certain. An attempted bandit raid was reported to the guards. The only individuals found at the gates were a corpse charred beyond recognition, an elf who is now being sent to another city for emergency medical care, and you lot." "Yeah, that's because they ran-" "IF I may finish." The Captain interrupted Korvas's protest. "The only witness to the events has given her testimony, claiming you are innocent. However, this leaves the problem of the city having no actual culprits. Our laws dictate that someone must be punished for this, and unfortunately for you, a single testimony from someone who may or may not have been involved is not reliable enough to prove your innocence." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "And so I propose this. Find the bandits and bring them, alive, into our custody. This will prove your innocence, clear your names, and find us the true criminals involved. The alternative is immediate imprisonment, seizing of equipment, and any further punishment as the law deems fit." Not given many options, the group all muttered and nodded their agreement. The enforcer opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a stack of papers, listing the terms of their agreement and requiring their signatures along his, Captain W. Fordue. A quick glance and several signings later, the group left the office and gathered at the city gates. The bandits had been seen heading west along the road, and it was less than likely a coincidence that the outpost along the shore of that area had suddenly ceased communication.

The group followed the road, though the day was already mostly spent and they did not get far before nightfall. As they all set down their various equipment and set out bedrolls, Turbo took a pipe from his pack and began inhaling the smoke as he thought. "This jungle is dangerous. Many creatures hide in the ground and within the trees. It would be wise to stand guard while others rest." It was agreed that one person should stay on watch for two hours, with another joining in halfway through, overlapping their time awake and leaving everyone well rested by the end. Luckily, nothing had disturbed them through the night and they resumed early the next morning. The second day was as uneventful as the night before, giving the party time to become more acquainted with eachother during their march. A difference in walking pace began to show itself as the black dragonling, cheetah, and elf found themselves gaining distance from the other half due to the heavy armor on the warriors and the bear-shaped dwarf's stubby legs. The light began to fade, and the trees grew the darkness quickly. Traveling for a while by torchlight, they stumbled upon some stone ruins of a former fortress of some long forgotten empire. Finding the spot more suited to staying hidden than a randomly given clearing or large tree. A quick investigation assured them that it was truly unoccupied. Ki summoned her spiritual pet as an extra set of eyes as they scanned the area. "Yup. Nothing here but plants, bugs, rat poop. You know, the usual nature stuff." She found a secluded corner and sat down to begin her watch duty. The night proceeded, and Amar sat on lookout when a small creature made itself known to her. A small rat approached her, its nose and whiskers twitching as it searched for scents. Amar reached out her hand gently towards the creature, yet something seemed off. She studied its size, and came to an unsettling conclusion. This wasn't just a wild rat, it was a baby giant rat!

Before she could pull her hand away, the rat jumped forth and sank its teeth into her hand. The resulting shriek served well in waking the others. Giant rats half the size of the adventurers attacked alongside swarms of smaller regular rats. With quick bladework and magical prowess, they were summarily defeated. With the animal blood spilt and the minor scrapes dealt to the humanoids, they felt the need to address the metaphorical elephant in the room. "I thought you said it was safe!" Amar screamed at Ki. "I said there was only nature stuff! Rats count as nature stuff! Oh, and if you didn't notice, I deal with animal spirits, so don't keep making more of them!" "Shush" Turbo urged them. "Listen." As they calmed down and concentrated, they still heard nothing. However, the cheetah's trained ears picked up the sound of leathery wings beating. "Our battle is not over yet." The creatures fluttered into view, their appearance startling all but Ki, who had known of these things. They appeared as mammalian mosquitoes, large enough to hold an orc in place and adorned with a hollow tipped beak. "I've heard of these." Mentioned Ki. "They drink blood, probably woke up from all the rats. Bad news is they prefer fresher blood." In the ensuing battle, the creatures grabbed and pierced flesh, but no serious wounds were given. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a good rest and some minor healing magic anyways. After the adrenaline resided and the group relocated to a less corpse filled location, they resumed the few remaining hours of sleep planned and set off once again to the road, and the final stretch to the now overrun stronghold.

They set out early in the morning, with the low light of dawn shining past the thinning canopy of the trees. The view to the left showed a growing cliff face leading down into the sea below. The stronghold however was still out of sight. What was in sight was a lone figure on the road, approaching the group. Having plenty of distance to see eachother, the group readied themselves. He was obviously alone, so he would not be too much trouble to deal with, especially with 6 vs 1. The distance between them shrank, and they were able to make out details of his appearance, the most striking of which were the horns adorning his head. Second was the quite large hammer he carried with him. They continued approaching. The single man was covered in course hair from head to toe, and stood a head taller than the others, a powerful Minotaur. However, above the chainmail covering his chest rested cloth emblazoned with a divine symbol. He approached with a friendly smile, though cautious of those readying themselves for battle. "Who are you?" Called out Korvas, keeping his shield close. "Yum Klaax! Or just Yum. Depends on what you like." He responded in a voice higher in pitch than one would guess by his size. "I'm a wandering cleric of Odin. Oh, you wouldn't happen to need any healing or undead slaying, would you?" The group shared glances with eachother, then refocused to the minotaur. "How do we know you aren't with the bandit's we're after?" questioned Amar, followed by Korvas. "Yeah, for all we know you could be here to just turn on us, how do we know you're not lying?" "Well see, here's the thing. Long ago my village was attacked by these giant guys, you see? Yeah, they froze the whole thing, so I had no home. So I became a cleric of the god of wanderers! Plus he hates ice giants, so it all works out." "I don't know, I'm still not sure we can trust you." Replied Mar. "He hasn't been hostile, and clerics are supposed to be pretty good guys." Countered Jammy. And thus the group bickered and debated, with Amar and Korvas wishing to slay the minotaur, or make sure he keeps his distance at the very least. Ultimate Tolvain, Turbo, and Jammy won with majority vote, Ki keeping quiet during the argument. It was ultimately decided that Yum would assist in the capture of the bandits, however he would walk in front of the group on the way there.

The sun was just above the horizon as the group arrived at the holdout, causing the surrounding wall to cast long shadows over the adventuring party. Two large doors obstructed the final step to capturing those who had accidentally, though not unhappy about it, framed them. A quick test of the large metal handle told that it was barred from the inside. "What now?" asked Ed, sitting down and just staring contemplatively. "I have climbing equipment. I have much practice climbing the cliffs oh my homeland, though I do not think I can defeat all of them by myself." Commented Turbo. "We could just try to break it down." Claimed Korvas shortly before he gave a shoulder to the door with a running start. This was followed shortly afterwards by Yum charging it with his head lowered and horns forward. These yielded no results except for soreness. "So. Climbing?" offered Jammy, hoping to try the untried path. "I would be happy to do it..." offered Tolvain "But I don't think I can get up there in this armor, and I'm not going in without it." "Why not send in one guy to open the door and let everyone else in?" suggested Amar while glancing towards their newest companion. "Yeah, I'll do it! My armor's not too heavy and I've got the Flintstone Special here to help." (His weapon of choice was little more than a rock tied to a stick, albeit a fairly large rock that would do horrible things to a body if it were swung.) A grappling hook, a tie of a rope, and several failsafes later, the minotaur ascended the wall built of pointed logs. He swung his hooved legs over the top and dropped down with his face towards the inner side of the structure. As he turned, he beheld the bandits, angry and ready for battle as they had heard the sounds of large humanoids running into their door. "Uhh....hello!" he improvised. "Do you have a moment to talk about the good work of Odin?" Outside the wall, the remaining group members heard the ensuing ruckus. "Welp, he's dead." Muttered Jammy unempathetically. "We have to do something!" exclaimed Turbo. "We already tried ramming it, and half of us can't even climb the wall!" Retorted Tolvain. "Oh for fuck's sake, it's made of wood!" screamed Amar as she flung her arm, once again sending a spout of flame and causing the wall to catch fire. A quick charge by Korvas and the door gave way with the others pouring in behind him. Klaax had been battered but, possessing the ability to call upon gods for help, managed to pull through without serious injury. With a brawl quickly forming, the short rogue from before darted away from the fray, unseen from all but Turbo and Amar. Though the Hauflin had a lead, Turbo's great speed helped him close the gap. Amar however, stepped in the wrong place and found herself falling into a previously covered and shallow pit. There she beheld the fate of the former occupants of the lookout with disgustingly close proximity. Turbo followed the short man around the main building and through a pseudo-alley created by a nearby smaller shed that lead to a fire lit tent. He crept into the shadows between the shed and the tent, keeping an ear to the occupants inside. The Hauflin told an unseen man, one Turbo correctly assumed to be the leader, that those who attacked them before had invaded their territory. With a grim, determined face and an ax in hands, the leader left the tent and proceeded down the alley. The Hauflin behind him was unfortunate enough to become pinned between the wall and the cheetah's foot and shortly afterwards unconscious. He stalked behind the leader just as his allies came around the corner. With numbers on their side, and little room for the man to wield his weapon, he was quickly beaten and bloodied. When a particularly strong swing had his weapon clang against the wall and fly from his grip, the man finally conceded and dropped to his knees in surrender. "Ah, fine. I know when I'm beat. Just don't bring any harm to me crew and we'll go quietly." He offered in an accent that could only be gained by years of traveling to various lands. "We've got that covered." Responded Tolvain as the group escorted the defeated man back to the front of the building. Korvas was busy finishing the final ties of the rope binding their new captives.

"So, I could go for a rest. You know, relax a night, trade watch on these guys, then head back." Stated Jammy simply while Yum tended to his minor wounds. "We are not spending the night in a burning building!" argued Amar. "Well, the wall's on fire, but that's over there." "We are NOT doing it!" "I don't exactly feel like starting on the way back with it so late" interrupted Tolvain. The bickering increased, save for Turbo and Ki who decided it was a better to explore the area. An investigation of the tent revealed a chest holding the spoils of the attempted raid. Finding it locked, Ki produced a set of tools from her pocket and began picking the lock. Turbo witnessed this and created thoughts of why she would have these tools and why she knows how to use them, though he decided it was best not to confront her about it. Deciding to sort the loot out later, the pair then continued their exploration, stumbling across a hatch containing a staircase. Peering down revealed that the stronghold was actually built above an alcove which had been converted into a small dock for a single moderately sized ship. They returned to the surface to see the group still debating on what course of action to take. The fire that had enveloped the door had now spread across the entire wall, though it left the stone pillars at the corners relatively unscratched. "There is a boat downstairs. We could use it to sail straight back to Bimor." Spoke Turbo in hopes he would end the discussion. He was unsuccessful. "Ah, see? We get out of the burning building and we still get back in time for your little nap!" Amar said triumphantly. "Woah woah, does anyone here knowing how to steer a boat? Has anybody actually ever been on a boat? We're more likely to crash it getting it out than actually getting to Bimor." Korvas countered, aware of the group's inexperience. "Tell you what." Started Amar. "We'll take the boat to Bimor, turn in these guys, clear our names, take a nice long rest, and you can walk through the jungle for three days by yourself." Korvas responded "Walking was just fine the first time. If you or yellow scales here know how to work a boat, fine, let's go, but I'm not going to go and drown myself like that!" And so the arguing began anew, though Ki and Turbo lead the others of calm mind as well as the prisoners downstairs and onto the boat. The captives talked quietly amongst themselves about the competence of their enemies, though remained unheard by the group. Ki opened the hatch once more and simply called out "We're leaving!" before disappearing back to the ship. Korvas simply gave a long exasperated breath before following Amar.

Despite being guided solely by torches and what little moonlight shone into the alcove, they were able to steer the boat out and into open waters without much difficulty. Finding their way back to Bimor would be similarly easy they decided if they simply kept the coastline on the left. A slight breeze helped them return to the city as they arrived just outside the harbor in the middle of the night. Korvas spoke up once again. "Okay, we got lucky getting this thing out, but there is no way you're going to dock this on your first try, in the dark no less!" "Actually, my people have very good eyesight. We can't quite see in the dark, but we do well with low light such as this." Countered Turbo, who had steered the ship thus far. Yet another argument broke out over whether or not to proceed, wait for dawn, or simply drive the ship onto land and walk the remaining distance. Waiting for dawn had the drawback of the prisoners' probable escape attempt, while steering into land held the possibility of hurting someone and sinking the ship which they had joked about claiming as their own. Finally, in the middle of the frenzy a single voiced called out above all others. "Will ye' all just shut the hell up for once!?" screamed the former captain of the vessel. "You've done nothing but argue since you knocked down our door. Tell ye what, why don't ye just all jump over the side right now and get it over with? Because that's about as good as any of yer plans so far." The group trained their attention to him and his crew, causing the largest one to cower behind the others due to the traumatizations he received from the animal creatures in their first encounter. Korvas approached the captain and stared down at him. "How about we throw you overboard and see how well you swim tied up like that?" The captain responded simply. "Ye kicked down our door and captured us. Okay, a little jail time hurt nobody none. Ye still me boat. Fine, I'll be gettin it back when I break out of jail. But trying to capsize me ship and put me crew in danger is where I draw the line." "Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" asked Tolvain, waiting to see if another fight would escalate. "How bout this. Ye untie me and I'll get me ship to dock meself." The captain offered. "And how do we know you won't just turn on us when we untie you?" questioned Amar, not trusting the pirate for even a moment. "Oh yeah, because that worked out so well the first two times we tried it." He responded with obvious sarcasm. Keeping a close guard around him, they untied him and let him behind the wheel. The three dragonlings stood guard around him while he barked orders at the others, keeping the ship in proper order as it came in. True to his word, the captain made no attempts to escape or untie his crew.

With the ship safely anchored and tied, the group led their prisoners onto the dock. A tired dockmaster approached them, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and holding paperwork. "Alright, let's get this ove-what the hell is this?" he caught himself as he witnessed the various creatures leading the more common humanoids in chains. "Oh, don't worry, just catching some criminals. Got them set up, ready for jail. You know, everyday hero stuff." Replied Tolvain as he walked the prisoners into the city proper. "Ahuh." Responded the man untrustingly. "Do you at least have enough coin for the docking fee?" Amar walked past him, following the dragonling. "Naw. Don't worry, it's not even our boat." "But then wh-" He was cut off as Korvas walked by him giving his own remark. "Just ask Captain Fordue what to do, he's the one who sent us." The others followed the group, ignoring the bewildered dockmaster. He last heard Jammy mention. "Welp, now let's give these guys to the guards and get some sleep!" The man stood in silence trying to fully process the scene that had happened around him.

With the bandits turned over to the guards and an agreed upon meeting with the captain of the guard in the morning, the band of warriors returned to the tavern where their journey together started. "So, tomorrow we all get our names cleared. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to get a good night's sleep." Stated Amar as she motioned the owner over to her. "Rooms can be expensive, and low in number. We should share a room. For convenience." Offered Turbo, taking little care to hide his intentions. "Well, I'll tell you what. You pay for the room and then you can decide who rooms with you." Responded Amar, jumping on the opportunity. Korvas and Tolvain just looked at eachother and shrugged. "Screw that, I'm a druid." Responded Jammy. "I'm not paying for a place to sleep, I'll just nap outside." "Yeah, I'm just going to find a tree to sleep under or something." Continued Ki. Yum, being a traveler, was like minded. The night passed, and Korvas and Tolvain sat at a table eating their morning meals. They saw the cheetah and elf descend the stairs from the upper hallway, Amar showing signs of grogginess while Turbo maintained a neutral expression. Turbo sat with the others while she ordered and paid for her food. The dragonlings glanced over at Amar, and seeing her condition, turned back to Turbo. "So, how'd you sleep?" Korvas questioned with a grin. "The floor was quite uncomfortable." He responded simply. After finishing their food, they returned to the Captain's office, meeting the remainder of their party outside the building. The captain of the guard seemed to be in an even more foul mood than he had the last time the party had seen him. "What do you all want? I'm busy" he started. "We captured the bandits like you sent us to do and found thus guy along the way responded Korvas. "A minotaur." Fordue said, more for his own reassurance. "Well, now that you're involved with this, you'll have to fill out the paperwork too" he said as he reached for the stack of papers underneath his desk. As Yum signed, he addressed the rest of the party. "So, you've captured the bandits responsible for the raid. I'd say your names are pretty well cleared at this point, and you are all free to go. However, there is something else I would like to address. You've managed to do what, honestly, would have taken quite a few of my own men to do, and with no casualties. You're obviously quite practiced at this sort of thing, so I'll make you an offer. The road to the east has been quite barren lately. Very few travelers have been coming from that path, and merchants sent that way have not come back, and are long overdue. This is outside the city limits, and therefore out of my jurisdiction. Therefore, I ask you. Follow the road and search for any signs of these disappearances on the city's behalf. Given this is an official task instead of a personal one, you will of course be paid for your service, as well as be given access to the armory, within reason of course. What do you say?" The group checked with eachother, and they all agreed they would take on the job. "You're sending us into the wilderness to an unknown location against an unknown possible enemy, couldn't you give us a little more help?" asked Amar, once again trying feigning her helplessness to try boost her persuasion. The older man grumbled and removed a small pouch of gold from a drawer and handed it to her. The group was summarily lead to the armory, and given their choice of armor and basic weaponry. Amar, Jammy, And Yum took nothing for themselves, feeling well enough equipped as they were. Korvas and Tolvain merely took higher quality replacements for the armor and weapons they already wore. Ki merely took a single handed crossbow to rely less on the small blade she already had.

After some discussion and using the additional money they were given, the group paid for a cart and a horse to draw it, the intention being to pull the slower group members and maintain a higher travel speed. Although they struggled with haggling the eccentric half elf who sold the horse, they swiftly set off onto the road and into the Tamba Jungle. Ki's spiritual animal walked along the group, sometimes floating and sometimes walking by her side. A few hours into their journey, Ki startled the party with a sudden scream. "SHUT UP!" she stopped and yelled at the spirit. The others stared in surprise as she regained her composure. "My stupid spirit won't shut up unless I introduce him. His name is Vehznous, and be glad you can't hear him." She said as she glared at him. "There, happy?" She let out a deep breath and continued walking, the others resuming as well. Through the journey, Amar still showed signs of being tired and complained of a headache, though she insisted that she only needed a good rest to get better. The next day she showed no improvement, in fact she now felt sore and weak, though still stubbornly refused any help. It was not until the third day that the group felt they needed to intervene. A quick check of Korvas's hand against her head showed that she had a fever. "Just a simple fever, probably caught it from those rats." Said Ki, knowing what diseases wild creatures would carry. "All you need is continuous rest, maybe some herbs, nothing too hard to find in a jungle." Now knowing the full nature of her illness, Amar insisted they stop and wait for her to rest, lest they end up in battle with her in a weakened state. With her new focus on rest and the additional medical aide, she felt back to full strength in two days. The group resumed their search along the road for anything unusual, travelling another three days before finally stumbling across something unusual. An overturned cart lay by the road with one of its wheels separated and laying in some nearby foliage. "Okay, that's obviously a trap." Said Korvas as he scanned the area for other signs. "Well, we were sent to find any reasons behind disappearances, so I think that would technically be a good thing." Countered Tolvain as he stepped towards the cart. Closer inspection showed various slight burn marks in odd patterns all over the wood. Jammy spoke up "These marks come from Fire Beetles. They're native here, though I would be more concerned by the fact that Goblins have been known to keep them for attacking purposes." Turbo looked around for further clues, his trained eyes soon spotting a bit of dried blood on the edge of the dirt path. He motioned for the others to follow and he left the road, following a trail until he found the source and the smell of decay along with it. "It seems we have found our missing merchant." Muttered Turbo through his paw. The grass was parted around the corpse, showing a series of small footsteps leading further into the jungle. This quickly led to a small bit of raised terrain, the side of which housed a stone door.

Tolvain, being the strongest in the group, stepped forth to force the door open. However, the stone door did not quite fit the rough walls it was set between and would not budge. Korvas moved in to push besides Tolvain, but their combined strength was still not enough. Their clawed feet scratched at the ground trying to gain traction, but the terrain foiled them. Turbo stepped between the pair and pushed them aside. "Please, allow me to try." The dragonlings backed away to give him room as he prepared himself. Instead of merely pressing against the door, he delivered a swift kick that sent the door crashing against the side of the downward tunnel it had been guarding. The group gave a swift applause before following him down into the depths. The cavern soon opened into a larger room surrounded with pillars adorned with ornate and intricate carvings. The group was more focused on the occupants of the room however, as they saw a sizeable horde of small, green skinned, and impish creatures. The lesser goblins were handled without much trouble, though their magically experienced leader offered a greater fight. With the underlings all defeated, a powerful boasting threat from Korvas caused the leader to accept defeat and surrender. After binding him with rope, they began to interrogate him, though Amar was the only one who could speak his language. He gave little more than taunts and cryptic hints about being given orders from a higher up, and it was decided that the group was not going to get anywhere with him in the current location. A quick hit from the furred caw of Jammy to the back of his head rendered him unconscious and ready to transport. With the cries of battle and harsh negotiations over, Turbo's ears picked up on a curious sound, a constant muffled pounding noise that seemed to echo through the walls. A quick search for the source proved pointless, however, there were several doorways leading out of the large room and the party soon found that the carved cavern was far more massive than they had first thought. Turbo, preparing for such dungeon delving in his travels, brought along a large metal rod, which he poked and prodded the floor in front of him with. The halls were narrow, forcing the group to travel in a single line, with Turbo in front, then Tolvain and Jammy to help if any threat would appear, then Amar and Ki to keep them safely at range, and Korvas in back in case an enemy came from behind. However, as they travelled, Korvas kept a mental record of their steps. Several hallways wound back into the rooms they came from, and soon he discovered that the rooms they did find, although empty, started to form a symmetrical circle. In one particular hallway, Turbo found a wooden door unlocked, though he heard voices on the other side. A quick breach of the room showed it was filled with 3 goblin, all dressed in similar clothes to the one they had capture previously. The party had to slowly pile in through the doorway, those in front taking a heavy magical onslaught. However, once they were all in, the ranged fighters found themselves vulnerable to the attacks. Amar in particular fought valiantly until a well-placed curse from the goblin hexer blinded her vision and soon overpowered her into unconsciousness.

Amar awoke slowly, her vision blurry and taking a while before she could make out the faces of her teammates looking over her. "How long was I out?" she questioned groggily. "Only for a couple minutes. They were about as cooperative as the first guy, but we couldn't understand them and they had taken you down, so yeah, we kind of killed them." Answered Tolvain. "How're you feeling by the way?" Amar rubbed her eyes, but it didn't help much. "It's kind of hard to see still. That thing blinded me when I went down, I think it might take a while to get over." Ki approached her and held her eye open, Vehznous creeping up beside her to look for himself, leaving Amar quite uncomfortable between her pried eye and the reptilian faces so close to her. "I'm not seeing anything wrong physically with your eyes. If I had to guess, I'd say because it was caused with magic, it is a magical thing. It'll either go away on its own or you need to find a mage or something." The group rested and waited for a change in Amar's condition, meanwhile discussing what they had learned. "Here's where we stand. We know that somebody hired these guys to do... something. Picking off random people on the road doesn't seem like it would need much of a hierarchy, so they have to be doing something else. That one guy mentioned working for, what was it? 'The enemy of your leader'? and he said that while looking at Yum." Recapped Korvas. Yum pondered this. "Dark elves? That's about the only thing I can think that Odin would be at war with aside from Giants, and we would have seen signs of those by now. Either way, if we're dealing with dark elves, I'm not sure we can handle that by ourselves. Those guys are extremely evil and would kick our asses." Amar rose and dusted off her robes. "I think I'm good enough to fight now. Let's find more of these bastards and see what else we can learn." Her vision had not been restored fully, but was clear enough to distinguish her allies from her enemies. Turbo pressed his ear to a nearby door leading to an adjacent room. "I hear voices in the other room, quite a few of them. However, I cannot understand what they are saying. I think it is different than how the goblins spoke earlier." Tolvain listened as well. "Yup, that's draconic." A small pull of the door let him just barely put an eye to the crack and see inside. "They're not dragonlings, but they are reptilian and stand on two legs. No wings, but they have tails. They look a bit like alligators if I had to guess." He added. "Oh, those. Yeah, those are pretty much sapient alligators, called Saurians. They worship dragons, but don't really like dragonlings that much." Informed Ki, being fed the knowledge from Vehznous. "Okay, let's think of a strategy this time." Suggested Korvas. "We got screwed over last time because we all had to cram through the doorway, so how about we bait them in here and do the same to them? Give them a little draconic power to worship, eh?" It was decided that Turbo, being the fastest, would open the door and attack the reptilians before retreating inside to draw them in. He kicked open the door and tossed a throwing blade at the first creature he saw, drawing their attention as he had planned. The Saurians funneled into the doorway after him, only to be blown back by the combination of fire and lightning coming from the yellow Tolvain and red Korvas respectively. The flames licked the edges of the doorway and spread outwards from the opening while the lightning travelled straight forward. Those that were not killed by that combination did not live past the ensuing poisonous cloud Ki breathed out after the other two. The few ranged warriors in the room did not last long once the group invaded, as was to be expected when armed only with slings and no teammates to protect them. "Another thing I do not like about this place." Said Turbo after reclaiming his weapon. "These Saurians and Goblins. They are not too fond of one another, yes? Occupying the same fortress and not waging war makes me wonder what kind of power one must have to keep them cooperative."

They continued on exploring, using Korvas's internal map to figure out the most direct path to the point furthest from the entrance. Upon picking the lock on the door to gain entrance, the party found the room to be filled with various crates of supplies, though they were unable to identify them. The only object of consequence they discovered was a map of the local area. Four areas were marked, the labyrinth they were currently in, as well as Bimor. However, two locations unfamiliar to them were also noted, one north of Bimor and the other to the southeast of their current location. They quickly agreed that this would have to be shown to Fordue to figure out any significance and continued around the circular caverns back towards the entrance. In one hallway, Turbo's cautious and constant prodding with his metal stick proved worthwhile as he struck a weak section of ground, producing a small pit. Falling in certainly wouldn't have seriously injured anyone, but it would easily hurt and possibly twist or break an ankle if someone fell in unprepared. Turbo hopped over the gap easily, given it was only about five feet across and just as deep. Yum and Amar followed afterwards, getting a running start and leaping over the hole. Tolvain however, weighed down by his heavy armor, summarily fell into the hole with a surprised yelp. Turbo facepalmed at this, muttering "It is not a large jump. Surely one of your athleticism could make that even in armor." Tolvain climbed out to join the others, only for Korvas to fail as well and replace him at the bottom. The others chuckled at their allies' misfortune while the red dragonling clambered up. Jammy raced on his for legs towards the gap, but the loose edge gave out and sent him toppling in. "Seriously?" was all Turbo could muster to say. As Ki approached, she merely sat down and scooted into the gap and climbed out unharmed. The mysterious pounding noise grew louder as they neared the entrance room, and it was upon entering the final undiscovered room that they realized the source. Several beings in this room pounded at the stone walls with their fists, chipping and tunneling their way. The beings themselves appeared to be made of stone, Amar recognizing these to be simple stone golems created for hard labor. This also made the group realize why so many doors in this maze had been unlocked, yet needed to be forced open. Most tunnels were not smoothened and still retained the rough irregularities caused by the unusual digging method, meaning the doors had no way of fitting in cleanly. The golems took no notice of the warriors, continuing their repetitive task as they had for some time. "As long as they aren't attacking, we might as well get some rest in. I feel like we've spent days in here." Proposed Amar. "These things are obviously up to no good if they're building a living space for Goblins and Saurians and who knows what else. We're not just going to leave them here to finish this." Countered Tolvain, not trusting himself to fall asleep near these monsters. "Relax, I'm not saying we just up and leave without taking care of them, I'm just saying we'd be better off breaking these after a good night's rest." The others, unwilling to start yet another argument and potentially provoke the golems unprepared decided they might as well sleep on it. About halfway through their resting period, in particular Amar's turn on watch, a golem burst through the wall connecting their current room to the entrance. The golem wasted no time after completing this task before starting to hammer away at a different wall. Eventually, the party awakened and positioned themselves in the likely case the goes would turn hostile when attacked. Klaax brought his stone tipped weapon down onto the back of one creature, though it resulted in no injury. The monsters simultaneously turned towards Yum and only him, some even walk through the walls as if oil passing to the top of water. The others discovered quickly that only attacking one would draw attention away from Yum at the cost of becoming a target themselves. The hardened creatures shrugged off any attempt at damage, ignoring any strikes of weapon or magic as they began their merciless onslaught. It was not until Amar, using her naturally gifted disposition towards magic, discovered that a simple ability to create thunderous force caused the flesh of the rock monsters to crack and weaken. Working as a team, Amar targeted a specific creature to weaken. Tolvain would then step in to guard and protect her. The others would then make their attacks during its weakened state, save for Ki. Instead, she clung to the shadows of the torch lit room, working her way behind the golems and firing devastatingly accurate bolts into the creatures. Soon, the man made caves were completely cleansed of any forms of life, artificial or otherwise.

Upon returning to the entrance, a mysterious absence made itself known. The goblin witch was no longer there, though the ropes that bound it were. The ropes remained in their coiled state, though a charred line cut straight through them. Needless to say, this caused a fair bit of name blaming and arguing. This was only made worse by the realization upon leaving the underground that their horse was missing, though the cart they brought with sat next to the useless cart they discovered. "Hey Tolvain, you're built like a mule anyways, why don't you just pull it?" offered Jammy in an attempt to bring levity to the situation. "I mean yeah, you're slow with your armor on, so just take it off to keep up with everyone else! I want to ride on a dragonling pulled cart!" "Not in the mood, druid." He retorted. "Let's just leave this here, accept it as a loss, and get back to Bimor. We're starting to run low on rations and there's only so much hunting and gathering we can do." "Actually, I'm not going to Bimor with you guys." Said Amar. "My eyes still aren't fully back to normal. I'm going to need some enchanted medicine or something to get over this, and Bimor isn't all that big on magic. I'm going east to Escallin to get help there." "I guess I'm going with then. Can't let you wander alone in the jungle half blind." Stated Korvas. "So...this is goodbye then?" question Tolvain. The pair simply nodded in reply. Despite their many arguments, they were a bit sad to see the others go, though both groups had their own agendas to take care of. They made their ways down different sides of the trail before eventually losing sight of eachother among the trees. Luckily the return trip was as uneventful as it had been in the other direction, and the group of 5 returned to Bimor in good time. One last rest at the inn and a good warm meal later, the party once again prepared for a meeting with the captain of the guard, and whatever future adventures that would lead to.