The next day it was a simple matter of descending the mountain and we reached the village. I covered the thing with a blanket and we went straight to Gellert’s house and bought the cage. We started immediately down the mountain to Pentsworth.
We kept the cockatrice tied up so it wouldn’t cause any issues. Also we didn’t want to attract people if we could help it. We weren’t worried so much about people stealing it, but asking questions and causing problems could easily happen. The first night I carefully freed the bandages holding the beak shut and fed it water and dried meat with Bran’s help.
I didn’t know what the thing ate, but it was dried meat or stale bread as the only two options. I figured jerky was the safer option. Thankfully it ate what we gave it and then we tied it back up. We ran out of food a day before Pentsworth but toughed through it.
Thankfully there was an Adventurers Guild here. “Welcome, names Brock.” The man behind the bar counter in the Adventurers Guild said.
“Need a room for the night and a meal for two. We also need a plate of meat preferably raw.” I said.
“Not a monster are you?” He asked. Giving the cage we had carried in a look.
“No just a creature we are transporting. It is in a cage and we will keep it in our room.” I said.
“No problem.” After that I paid twenty copper for it all and we lugged the cage up to our room and locked it in there. It was a relief to put that thing out of sight for a bit. Taking a seat in the dining area, no one else was here.
“Not much going on around here this time of year. Too cold for most folks.” Brock said as he brought out the food. “Mind if I join you?” He asked.
“Not a problem.” I replied and he grabbed a plate and pulled up a seat for himself.
“Where did you come from?” He asked.
“Up in the mountains, way too freaking cold.” Bran said.
“Well, you are welcome to stay.” Brock said.
“Thanks. We just want to get back to Antioch. I didn’t see any caravans headed that way on the mission board. How much would a wagon and horse cost?” I asked.
“No caravans. Get one or two a year, last one came through about a ten-day ago. Problem is, that the roads can snow over. Also you sometimes get yetis, cockatrices, and other things that come down from the mountains. As for a wagon or a cart. Probably thirty silver at least.” Brock said.
“It can’t be that much. A draft animal is at most ten and a cart five, maybe ten if well crafted.” Bran said.
“You are right, but times are tough out here. Rule among people is charge everyone double if you want to get by.” Brock replied. We ate in silence a bit before he spoke again. “If I am not mistaken you just want to get that creature you have back with you?” We both nodded at that.
“Well you could probably buy a kid’s sleigh for sixty copper. Sell it when the snow clears and buy a wheel barrow. Not the best, but it is an option.” Brock said. That was actually not a bad idea.
***
“Why…am…I…pulling…this?” Bran gasped out.
“Your mission, you get to drag the mission prize back. Also you need more strength and endurance. I got super mana to save my ass.” I said with a grin.
“You…are….full…of….shit.” Bran gasped out.
“Well you and Cocks seem like a great pair.” I said with a pointed look at the monster he was transporting.
“No…name.” Bran was apparently giving up full sentences.
“I think you mean to say, please use your heat runes so my Cocks and I don’t freeze to death.” I was just being evil now. Bran just sent me a halfhearted glare as he kept dragging the sled through the snow.
It wasn’t always this bad, but this snow was light like a fine powder and the sled just sank right through it most of the time. The stuff up in the mountain had been thicker for the most part. Along the roads with the empty fields, the wind would get going and push up huge drifts of snow we had to plow through. Some of them even went over our heads.
Bran was the official sled dragger. His mission choice, his problem. It was gray most of the time and when it started to get dimmer we called a halt and pulled off the road to the next farmhouse we saw. I went up to the door and knocked.
“Whose there?” A man called out.
“Two adventurers looking for a place to sleep in the barn for the night. Some warm food also. We can pay copper.” I heard stuff moving behind the door and then it opened a crack. An eyeball was visible and it scanned us. Normally we could sleep on the side of the road, but it was starting to get insanely cold at night and I was running low on heat runes.
“You can share dinner and then sleep in the barn. Twenty copper.”
“Ulric, don’t go being mean to these two. We are people of the Church, helping those in need.” A woman’s voice said from inside.
“Ten copper.” He grumbled out.
“Thank you.” I said. We set up our prisoner at the side of the house. It was covered by a blanket and had a warming rune, it should live. We brushed ourselves off as best we could before entering the house. It was warm and cozy. I noticed the couple from earlier and four young kids. Ranging from a boy around our age to a girl who had to be about six.
We set our packs to the side and took off our cloaks. “You poor dears you look half frozen. Now just sit down, supper will be ready in just a bit.” I pulled out the copper and handed it over to Ulric when his wife turned away. He gave me a nod.
“So are you really adventurers?” The boy asked.
“Yes, been so for a while now.” Bran said.
“You must have seen some exciting things. Fought monsters and who knows what else.” He said excitedly.
“Well it has been tough. Not even a year. We did fight monsters, lost some friends, tough to make a living.” I said.
“You worry too much about the coppers.” Bran said.
“That is because you like to spend everything I make.” I replied.
“So what are you two doing out in the middle of winter? Most folks just close up shop during this month or so.” Ulric said.
“A mission up into the mountains. Trying to get back to the capital now.” Bran said.
“The mountains, eh. Past Pentsworth?” He asked.
“Yeah, up to a small no name mining village.” Bran explained.
“All the way up there, well you certainly have gone through the worst of it. Probably another three days on foot until you drop off the plateau and the snow clears up.” He said.
“Plateau?” I asked.
“This whole area rests on a large plateau. You might have noticed road getting steep for quite a bit when you came out this way. We get the worst snow up here. Lots of land though and no nobles to shit all over you.” Ulric said.
“Language Ulric.” His wife shouted out and he grimaced.
“Do you mind if I make a light? It is a bit dark in here.” I asked.
“You use mana or something?” Ulric gave me a look.
“Runes.” He gave me a nod and I got my supplies. A short time later I had made two light runes and charged them. We kept one in the main room and I took one back to the kitchen to his wife as a thank you.
“Thank you dear, just a little bit more for dinner.” I could already smell the food.
“That is awesome.” The boy said and his siblings agreed.
“Helps make things easier and the least I can do. They should last a bit over month and then after that they will stop working.” I said.
“Now my wife will be after me to get these all the time.” Ulric grumbled. There was a roar from outside cutting off any further conversation. “Kids get to the cellar, now!” Ulric said. He grabbed an old beaten sword from above the mantle while Bran and I tossed on our cloaks.
“Any idea?” I asked.
“Could be a yeti, snow worm, or some other monster.” He gave us a look as we both drew our weapons. I quickly went and grabbed both light runes and Bran and I tied them off with a piece of str
ing to our arms.
We left the house into the dark night. The wind was heavy and it was impossible to see anything with the snow blowing about. “This way, it came over from the barn.” We began moving through the snow when I thought I saw something ahead of us.
“SLOW!” I yelled out. “Move!” We all scattered and I saw a giant white beast streaked red with blood. It blended in with the snow and had to be at least fifteen feet. It swung a massive tree truck at where we had been standing. Despite being a few feet away I was hit with a shockwave of snow and freezing air.
“Slow.” I called out again and moved in to strike. I drew a cut but the wound on its leg quickly sealed by the line of blood freezing the wound shut. “Slow.” I called out again and stabbed forward. My blade pierced about two inches before stopping. I couldn’t pull it free as the blood froze around the blade. It was only when the monster moved was I able to yank it out.
“Can’t hurt it!” Bran called out.
“Slow, fall back.” We retreated away from the monster and caught our breath. It began lumbering towards us.
“Can’t get to its head it is too tall.” Bran said.
“A yeti…Gods preserve us.” Ulric whispered out. He looked in complete panic but I didn’t have time for that now.
“Our right. I keep hitting it with slow and we dry and hack its leg off.” I said. It was a terrible plan but the only one we had. Another roar hit us and its club was coming straight down. “Slow.” I had enough mana for four more.
We both hacked at the leg. “Slow.” We just couldn’t cut deep enough. “Slow.” A small chunk of flesh and fur was hacked off. “Slow.” Suddenly the hardness gave way and the wounds stopped freezing. “Slow.” That was it, I was out. But the damage was quite severe now and blood was flowing out of the massive wound without freezing. “Get back!” I shouted
We retreated back. The yeti went down to one knee as it roared in pain. It swung its club sideways and the reach was quite long. Bran, who was two steps behind me and closer to the attack spun and brought up his shield. The shield cracked in half and Bran went flying into the darkness and I lost sight of his light rune.
“Bran!” I shouted.
He did manage to stop the club and save me. The monster let out a roar and turned and limped away. I was tempted to give chase, but I was exhausted and Bran had been smashed. I wandered around for a bit until I found him lying in a pile of snow. Red was sprinkled all over. “Over here!” I yelled out.
Ulric came over and helped me get him out. He looked bad and I didn’t need a party panel to know that. We carried him back to the house and Ulric cleared off the table and we set him down. His left arm was twisted at a horrible angle and his chest was caved in. I went to my pack and dug out both health potions I bought at the capital.
I poured one down his throat and his wound seemed to heal a bit. The arm jerked but stayed twisted. “Hold him, I need to straighten out his arm.” I said. Ulric looked at me and nodded. It took a bit of work but it was laid out straight before I fed him my last health potion. His chest definitely rose and the arm jerked about once before stilling.
The party panel still listed him as crippled. “Is there a priest nearby?” I asked.
“In the next town, three days walk from here.” Ulrik said. That would be pushing it if I wanted to get the injury healed before it set in.
“What is going on? Is it over….oh.” The wife said after coming up from the cellar.
“A yeti, Bran took a heavy blow but they managed to drive it off.” Ulric said. We all looked at Bran in silence.
“Help me bandage him up and get this mess cleaned up.” We cleaned up Bran and lay him on some blankets in front of the fire place. The kids came up but dinner was a subdued affair. They offered to let me sleep here in the main room with Bran which I gladly accepted.
I woke up with a start when I heard a groan. “What happened?” Bran said. I gave him some water and explained what happened last night.
“I gave you two healing potions but your arm is still messed up and your breathing doesn’t sound good.” I said.
“That thing hits like a whale. I don’t think I can stand, my hip hurts.” I looked under his clothing and saw heavy bruising there. “What about my shield?”
“Snapped in half.” I said.
“I liked that shield and I painted it also.” He mumbled.
“So there is a priest, but he his three days from here. I can’t drag you both all the way there.” I said.
“So is my life worth a gold piece?” Bran looked at me. I could see the worry in his face.
“I would have to leave your pack here anyways, but I don’t think they will keep it fed and watered.” I sighed.
“Problem?” Ulric had come up on us and I didn’t even notice.
“We have a valuable creature with us. We need it alive…” I said.
“So you are asking me to feed and water it, what is it?” He asked.
“A cockatrice.” I said. I prayed that Ulric would help us out.
“Gods…” He muttered. “Alright, I assume that that is what is in the cage and under the blanket?”
“Yeah, tied up as well.”
“Least I can do, probably have to keep it in the cellar. Come on, help me move it before everyone wakes up.” With that we lugged the cage into the house and down into the small earthen cellar. I showed Ulric what I had done and explained what we had been feeding it. I made it clear that only its mouth should be untied when he fed and watered the monster and it should be tied back up afterwards despite being in the cage.
With that done we looked outside and the barn was completely destroyed with only the remains of some animals left. There would be nothing to help pull the sleigh. We loaded Bran onto it and wrapped him up in blankets. I set off right at dawn after a quick breakfast.
“Who is the sleigh horse now?” Bran wheezed out. It was painfully slow and exhausting to drag him along and I had to take frequent breaks. I kept going into the night until I couldn’t tell where the road was.
The next day was the same. We did pass other farm houses but I didn’t bother to stop. If Bran was going to recover he needed to get to the priest. I wished I could use the Chant of Healing for the hundredth time as I put another foot in front of the other. No one else was traveling, but there were marks in the snow that let me know where the road was.
The tree line and other features also helped. I had been hoping to make it in two days but it wasn’t possible. I finally reached the town, mid-day of the third day. I came up to the closed wooden gate. “Open up please!” I shouted. A guard looked over the top of the palisade.
“What do you want?”
“My friend is severely hurt and we need a healer.” The guard gave us both a look and then disappeared. The gate was swung open and we entered.
“Church is in the center of town.” He said. I dragged Bran all the way there and knocked on the Church doors. It took a while but someone finally came to open them.
“Yes?” A younger looking man said.
“I heard you were a healer, my friend needs help.” The priest looked at Bran and then me.
“Bring him in.” The priest said and opened up the door. I dragged the sleigh inside. “How old is the injury?” He asked.
“Not even three days.” I said.
“I shall try. By the light and the power of order. Heal this one to his previous state whole and well.” It was the same chant as Max which increased my hope to learn it as he repeated it again and again. A gold glow surrounded the priest’s hands and Bran. It made me wonder why healing was a gold color while the Chant of Time was blue.
After the fifth time he stopped and I pulled the blankets and bandages off. Checking the party panel confirmed he was no longer crippled, only injured. “He should be fine now. Might I suggest a donation by the alter up front, a prayer wouldn’t be remiss either?” The priest gave me a look. “I will look after your friend for the moment.”
I nodded a
nd went to the front of the chapel. The symbol of the sun was hung there and a couple of light runes adorned the place. I pulled out twenty copper and laid it on the alter and said a quick prayer of thanks to the Gods of Order and Light. With that done I made my way back. Bran was already standing up, but still looked shaky.
“Thank you, come on Bran.” Bran gave his thanks as well and we left with the sled and blankets. I found the Adventurers Guild and paid for a room and meals for both of us.
“Thanks.” I looked at Bran. “I mean it, thanks. You saved my life. If I was crippled…I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Those health potions are coming out of your share. I should have you drag my ass on that sleigh back to the farm house.” I said. Bran let out a weak chuckle.
“By the Gods that thing hit hard. I think I prefer goblins.”
“Or fish?” I asked.
“No, never fish. Well, maybe. That hurt way too much.” He rubbed his chest a bit. The next morning we set off back to the farm.
***
Cocks had survived and Bran had fully recovered by the time we returned. We began the walk back to the capital. We ended up trading the sleigh for a wheelbarrow right after the town with the priest and continued on our trek. The main issue was money. We had enough for two ten-days but the trip back was looking at least three ten-days. That was with sleeping outside and careful spending.
Having to feed the stupid monster was expensive since it only ate meat. We had tried to feed it vegetables but it spat those right out. Stopping to try and find scribe work would just make more problems since we didn’t want people to know about our prisoner in case someone tried to steal it.
“You have to do it, for the good of the mission.” I said looking at Bran. He just glared back.
“Fine!” He finally gave in. This part of the road ran next to a river. Thankfully the snow and ice weren’t too bad and Bran got to fishing. I was tempted to ask how he knew how to fish on a river when he grew up next to the ocean. Looking at his face I decided I liked living and he wouldn’t take it too well.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 16
