The waitress came over to their table. “Welcome” she said, “for lunch we have thick chicken soup and bread. If you’d like something else, let me know and we can probably cook it. We don’t really have a menu, but most special orders are a silver, the lunch is half a silver, five copper.”
“Thank you; we’ll have the soup and five ales.” Obidaan said.
“Coming right up.”
On the other side several people could be seen eating and drinking. Through the noise they could make out words like “shipment,” “gold,” and “jewels.”
“Any idea what their talking about?” Relina asked.
“From reading their lips, seems they’ve heard rumors of a large shipment of some valuable items will be coming through here in the next day or two,” Don said.
“Wonder if they mean us,” Alister said.
“Possible,” Obidaan replied, “either way let’s just eat and leave.”
The waitress brought their food. The chicken soup was indeed thick, and very good. Filled with spices and large chunks of vegetables, it was the kind of soup eaten by those who worked with their hands for a living. The ale was good, but watered down, probably done so to keep people from getting too drunk in the afternoon. Still, it was obvious by some of the people they were going to drink too much anyway.
About half way through their meal a man staggered to their table, “Greetens’ mates. What brings ye here this day, eh?”
“Just passing through,” Obidaan said, “fine food you have here.”
“That it is! The finest in allll the land. Eh, you’re pretty fancied up there for just normal travelers, what with fancy weapons and all? Nice armor gov’.” he was looking at Obidaan.
“Thank you. It was a present from a friend.”
“Pretty fancy friend you got there, gov. That be your wagon out there?”
“Yes.”
“Mighty nice. That come from your friend too, gov?”
“No.” Obidaan was lying but didn’t care; he just wanted the man to leave.
“What cha caring?”
“Very valuable stuff,” Alister interjected.
“Zat so? How valuable?”
“You see, we’re a family and we’re moving to start a new life. In there is our family recipes and special cookware; we just stopped for a bite and will be moving on.” Alister was trying to alter his mood. Unfortunately, because this man’s ego isn’t half the size of Gunther’s, it seemed to have no affect.
“Really! Let’s take a look see then. Maybe you can settle here, we love good food, and can supply you with the finest freshest produce.” It was obvious he wasn’t buying what Alister was selling. He started for the door, directing the mob to go with him.
The Vanguard sprang into action and blocked their path to the wagon.
“Why don’t you all just disperse and we’ll all go on our merry way,” Don offered.
“Now lookee here, we just want … ahh!” a different man was pointing his finger at Don as he approached. Don grabbed it and twisted it around, forcing the man to his knees. A slight kick and the man slid back into the crowd.
“Look,” Obidaan was trying to calm people down, “there’s no need for this.”
“We feel otherwise, govna’” and at that farming instruments began to appear in the people’s hands.
“There is no need for a town defense ritual,” Obidaan said. He was beginning to get more irritated. Why didn’t they recognize he was a paladin? That actually bothered him. He wondered if they’re lack of noticing him was related to Alister’s lack of ability to persuade them to ignore them. “We’re not your enemy. As a matter of fact, we were just going to pay up.” Obidaan reached in his pocket, pulled a gold piece, and threw it at the door, hitting the threshold. The waitress picked it up and retreated to the back. “And if y’all will just disperse, we’ll be on our way.”
“Who are you to tell us what to do in our town?”
That’s all Obidaan needed, “Who am I? Who am I! I will tell you!” Obidaan seemed to grow, “I am Obidaan Grailann, PALADIN of the Seers! How dare you question me OR my authority! Kings and Emperors bow down to me!” He pulled his sword, which also seemed bigger than normal and he planted it in the ground in front of him. “I could slay you all before you could swing a weapon. Don’t you dare to presume that those implements can stand before me! Dissipate them, now!” his intimidation had a large affect the mob, the implements faded from their hands. “Now get back inside before you come to see what paladin justice can really mean!”
They couldn’t run fast enough back into the bar. Obidaan went back to his normal size and the sword, which he never drew, disappeared. Obidaan was still fuming. He hopped on his horse, “Let’s go.”
Obidaan was having a hard time getting over the recent events. He was a paladin damn it! Why didn’t others see that? “Play something!” he yelled to Alister.
“But, Obidaan, we’re on…” Alister began to protest.
“I don’t care! They already know we’re here. We’re being jumped at every turn. Hell, even those peasants knew something was up! It doesn’t matter any more. Play something!”
Alister wasn’t going to press the issue. He pulled out his flute and played a soothing, but haunting melody. It permeated their souls and the soul of the forest, easing everyone.
“Don’t worry Alister,” Relina said, “he’s not mad at you, he’s mad at himself, for using an overwhelming power like that but the alternative was bloodshed. Keep playing, he’ll be calm in time.”
Alister smiled while playing and simply nodded his head. It wasn’t often Obidaan got mad but his outbursts could make what Gunther did look like a baby’s temper tantrum.
Obidaan let the music sooth him. He began to smile and feel better. Before he realized it, he had closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was standing on a vast empty infinite plane. As he began to look around, clouds began to coalesce and images appeared. To his left was a scene of his house, Relina holding a baby while sitting in a rocking chair, he standing over them, cooing at the baby.
His head moved slowly to the right till he was looking straight ahead. There he saw The Seers, but not as energy, as an old man and woman. He waved at them but they ignored him. They seemed first to look at him, then through and beyond him. Then, like old statues, they crumbled, falling to the ground and shattering to dust. There, where the statues stood, was pure energy, their natural form but fading, till there only darkness.
Obidaan was shocked by this. He looked back over to his left; the family scene was still there. Back straight ahead, darkness. Then he looked to his right. There, on an infinite bloody and war torn battlefield, two soldiers fought to what was obviously the death. Neither gave nor accepted any quarter. Each hit drew pools of blood and guts, yet they continued to fight, as if immortal. Wounds that should have killed seem only to scratch, though the spewing of blood, teeth, and internal organs showed these were no mere flesh wounds.
Obidaan felt something and looked down at his hands. They were full of blood; blood that wasn’t his. At his feet lay many dead bodies. Soldiers, mages, paladins, all sprawled out before him. He looked around again. None of the other scenes were here, only the battlefield and the two combatants. Still they refused to give up as each took large chunks out of the other, with no affect. They stopped briefly, leaning on their weapons and catching their breaths. They looked back at Obidaan.
This got Obidaan’s attention, and caused him to jump with a start. They raised their weapons to him in a salute, and then continued with their bloody, pointless fight. Obidaan raised his hand and waved at them. They didn’t see it, they were back to fighting. A cheer arose behind him. He looked behind him, a vast army now stood there, shiny and gleaming, and ready for action. He looked at his hands; they were clean. He looked down, no bodies. He looked ahead, the 2 fighters were there, but obscured now by fog and mist
.
The army behind him began to cheer his name, “O—bi—daan, O—bi—daan,” and began pumping their fists in the air. Without thought, he began to pump his fist in the air. Someone threw a banner quickly at him. With ease, he caught it. He couldn’t make out what was on the flag. He continued the motion as they cheered his name, “O—bi—daan, O—bi—daan.”
“Obidaan! Obidaan! Snap out of it!” It was Don screaming at him while sitting with him on his horse. “Obidaan, wake up!” Don slapped Obidaan across the face; that seemed to have gotten his attention.
Obidaan shook his head, clearing the visions, looked around, to see dead bandits lying around him. There was a big fight, and he missed it. In his left hand was an arrow. “Wh—what happened?”
“You zoned out on us.” Don said a bit agitated, “It’s a miracle you caught that arrow, it was headed straight for your skull. What happened to you?”
“I… had a vision.”
“Now?” Terry said in disbelief, “They pick now to tell you the future! I swear, they have no sense of timing.”
“I guess, they had to tell me now. That’s the problem with visions, they’re never convenient,” Obidaan was at a loss. “Here, let me help.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Don said, flipping off of the horse, “we’ve got it, you just clear your head. By the way, what was it about?”
“Hard to explain, war, family, gods, seems a blur now. Relina, are you pregnant?”
Relina stood up with the look of a kid with her hand stuck in the cookie jar. “Um. Well. I.” She composed herself. “All I can say is I’m late. I made an appointment with the priests from the Church of Healers, when we get back. Can we talk about this later?” She added.
“Sure,”
“These are the richest bandits I’ve seen on the roads,” Alister said, “almost two gold pieces each. They should be going after bread, booze, and broads, not on the road stealing. Doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s obvious the king doesn’t want us to make it,” Obidaan said, “or better still, steal the gold, keep the queen, then make some political deal with her. That’s my guess. That’s probably the only reason she’s still alive. That means we’ll need you and Don to do some covert operations while Relina and I stall him with false diplomacy. I’ll explain in more detail as we get closer.”
“It also means.” Don said, “There was a traitor at the dinner party.”
“Agreed.” Obidaan said, “but not one of the guests, they all knew the gold was fake. Had to be a servant, someone who saw the chest and us leave but didn’t realize we’re carrying fake gold.”
“Like a stable boy,” Terry chimed in, “He would have seen us leave, known where we were going, since he prepared the wagon.”
“Excellent observation!” Obidaan said, “We won’t worry about it now, but we will check it out when we get back.”
The convoy continued. A day later, they came to the borders of Bocktaria. It was a small but lush kingdom. As they moved on, they got to the capital city. There they saw the devastation Gunther had wrought. The wall was almost gone, there was no door, portcullis, or main gate to speak of, only piles of rubble and bent iron. In the distance, going up a hill, with a mountain in the background was the castle. Even from where they stood the destruction was visible, a missing pillar, structural damage, and the outer wall missing; all done by one man and a stick he called Thumper. Who knew a soul weapon could be so powerful?
As they stared, a woman came to them, dodging piles of rubble. She had dark hair and violet eyes. “Hi, I’m Shuronda, the new sheriff of the city. Can I help you folks?”
“I am Obidaan, we’re The Vanguard. We carry the ransom money to free your queen.”
Shuronda seemed to perk up a bit at that, “Nice. Maybe we can get things back to normal around here. Everyone misses her, and people still morn the deaths of the other royal members. We’re a very small country, only one other city, the rest farmland. Everyone knew everyone and everyone knew the royal family. That’s the way it was around here. Not much on formalities, too cozy.”
“Perhaps, you can help me. What makes the other countries so interested in this small place?”
“Water. You see that mountain behind the castle?”
“Yes.”
“All of our water and 80% of the water for the surrounding kingdoms and beyond comes from that mountain. The streams and lakes emanate from our territory. Makes this very valuable, and vulnerable. With deal making and alliances, we’ve been able to keep the other kingdoms at bay and make sure everyone earns a decent living. That’s where the royal family was brilliant. They had everything in perfect balance, ensured each country got plenty of water, and created a lot of goodwill in this area. Gunther threw everything out of balance. Now, unless something happens, it’s a matter of time before we become part of some larger kingdom. Someone who will abuse the water privilege to their advantage. Wouldn’t take much to create drought conditions in the surrounding land, force people to bend to your will. By us being a neutral party to everyone, we were well protected and taken care of, until now. That’s probably the only reason the queen is still alive. A major war would break out if any of the countries heard she was killed at the hands of another country around here.”
“Don’t worry, we shall see to it that you get your country back.”
“Thank you.”
They traveled for about another day or so, mostly unharassed. The open fields and doted farms gave bandits and highwaymen no cover or clear means of escape. Just to keep his skills up, Alister was able to convince a farm family to let them spend the night, and split their supper. Using some of the venison Terry caught, combined with stories, it was a rousing and festive night for all.
The next day found them heading back into wooded area, this was the final leg before hitting Qualtar and its capital city, Vintner Prime. However, it seemed a group had other plans for them. Up ahead Terry spied five figures, two female and three male. A definite fighter type, half—orc, holding a double bearded battle axe. A female elf, dressed in loose fitting clothes, another half—orc dressed in chain and holding a sword. Behind them, a human male and half—elf female, both in leather, carrying staffs and bags. The human was wearing a holy symbol showing to be a Holy Roller, a follower of the god and goddess of gambling and risk taking. Terry stopped about 20 yards from them. Before she could say anything, the half—orc, eyes dark red, hair long and braided, wearing chain mail armor and carrying the axe spoke first.
“Look lady, all we want is the gold. Give us that and you can be on your merry way.”
“You were right, Obidaan,” Terry said as Obidaan approached her, coming to a stop right next to her.
“So it would seem. Looks like you owe me a gold piece.”
“Can I pay you later? I think we’re going to have our hands full.”
“Sure, I know you’re good for it.”
“What the hell are you two babbling about?” The half—orc seemed to be growing impatient, “Give us what we want and you can go.”
Obidaan felt a ping as the orc spoke. He knew he was lying. This also gave Obidaan new perspective on his powers. Did they have a range or did they only work when someone was talking to him? He’d have to investigate further, later. He leaned over to Terry and whispered, “I don’t trust these guys, get ready.” She nodded.
“Now, friend,” Obidaan was talking to the orc now, “Why don’t you tell us how you knew it was gold. I mean we could have been carrying anything, gold, silver, fur, wood, personal possessions, but you specifically asked for gold. How did you know?” Obidaan had a smile on his face and his hand on his sword.
“Go to hell!” The half—orc said, and began to rush them. The three in the front went charging toward Obidaan and Terry, the other two stayed behind, and began casting. The half—orc screamed and as he did, he began to glow, as did the other tw
o.
Obidaan jumped off of his horse, drawing his sword and shield, and awaited the charging half—orc. He said a prayer, energizing himself and those around him. Alister let out a rousing cheer, lifting those around him, then began to cast. Relina was casting also. Don flipped off toward the front of the wagon and began to race toward Obidaan and Terry.
Terry, though, was the fasted of all of the combatants. She was a ranger in her natural element. In a single motion, she drew and snapped her bow into place. This time, she drew three arrows, slid off of her horse into a kneeling position, and fired, one at each of the charging adversaries. She was dismayed by the results.
The half—orc deflected her arrow off of his axe, the dwarf deflected one with his sword, and the elf, in a single fluid motion, caught the arrow and launched it back at Terry, grazing her right leg. It was obvious that she was a monk. Don caught her attention and issued her a challenge. She gladly accepted. Seeing she was about to go hand to hand, Terry jerked her bow, turning it into a bo stick and drew her sword.
The next few minutes saw a grand melee, with neither side gaining the upper ground. Terry and the dwarf danced around each other, her using the stick as a shield and he countering her attacks, and nearly disarming her. The orc and Obidaan fought toe to toe. At one point Obidaan call upon his holy smite, only to have the half—orc block it, and send Obidaan to the ground. Obidaan quickly got up and reengaged.
The two monks fought with choreographed precision. Each punch was blocked and countered, each kick deflected. Seemingly out of no where it seemed they would pull weapons and attack each other, only to be disarmed or put it back due to non—effectiveness. Only by looking very closely could you tell they were pulling weapons from pouches within their clothes.
The prime spellcasters were engaging each other with blasts, and counters. A fireball was met with an iceball. A lightning bolt blocked with a wall. Neither side could affect the other, until Alister got the idea to go for trap instead of the kill. “Follow my lead, sis.” He said to Relina. He then brought forth a cloud of stinking noxious fumes; Relina follow—up by canceling their attempts to cancel Alister’s spell. This caused them to hack and fall to their knees, gasping for air. Relina made sure they would get none by using the surrounding foliage to bind them. Alister, now free, cast bolts at each of the other fighters.
No Good Deed Page 9
