Tales of Fantasy, Fables, and Fiction

by Thomas H. Tribble

  "Slay a god? In its lair? Are you mad?" cried Strom. "Why don't we just slay Lolth himself?"

  "Careful what names you speak aloud!" cried Beneth. "To continue, the Lady Druces (it is always humorous to me to call such evil women 'Lady') informed me some of what I had already known and much that I had not. The Spider god's cult that has cropped up in these parts threatens all of our security. 'This so called "god" is little more than a wayward Demon that espouses chaos and murder to its subjects. No good will come from its existence.' she said, to which I had to agree. The spider god's followers are cultish and lurid and seem to offer little to societies. So I then asked her, 'Is this god in some way threatening the great Lolth?' At the mention of her lord's spoken out loud name (which I have now only whispered), she seemed taken slightly aback but hid it well. 'Not at all,' she said, 'But, as you can attest, many of the greatest problems that the world faces start out small and inconsequential, just as this one is now. It is simply farsighted to snuff the obviously dangerous ones out while it is still a trivial enough matter to do so.'

  "So, Bourne, you are to deliver the gemstone to Druces and then kill the spider god."

  "Is that all?" asked Strom. "Shall we also travel to the bottom of the abyss and fight Demons there for The Dark Lord while we are off the Material Plane?"

  Beneth replied, "Killing is what a fighter does best... or so Druces says."

  Bourne said clearly, "And, so, I cannot possibly be averse to fighting evil no matter its form or location, is that so?"

  "There is the bit of lore that I did not know. Druces went on to explain to me that the spider god's lair was not based on another plane but in this plane. The faux-god has presently taken up residence in a cavern not far from here, in fact. She also supplied me with a map and a few other tidbits of information. The impossibility of the task lessened as she and I conversed."

  Strom shook his head and said, "Doing the dirty work of The Dark Lord whilst his forces are left blameless; a plan that cleverly puts him in a no-lose position. Whether this Spider god dies or we do is of no matter."

  The three continued to argue and hash out the details supplied by Master-cleric Druces. The more they talked it over, the more the task seemed possible. It was decided that they should at least attempt the quest and that they would need help.

  Bourne asked of Beneth, "And what of the bounty upon my head? Has that been lifted so that I might more easily do the bidding of the vile Lord?"

  "Ah," Beneth replied with a deep sigh, "that I could not arrange. Druces seemed most annoyed when she realized that the little battle that the three of us staged many months ago in the center of Norec was a hoax. Judging by her present anger, I think that she had fully fallen for our ploy and may have even made an argument to her lord to ignore the two of us because of it. At any rate, she is not one for bargaining with and so until the task is complete, the bounty will stay intact. I am sorry I could not do better."

  Bourne shook his head and said with a slight smile, "That is all right, my friend. I have forgiven you the extremely painful fireball that you struck me with during our supposedly faux-battle and, therefore, I supposed I can overlook you not being able to charm a devil-cleric."

  Strom chimed in, "That blast was loud, too. I believe my ears still ring from it! I am only glad that your aim has improved. Well, let us then sneak back to our rooms and make plans. I, for one, already realize that we will need a few other talents to succeed in our assassination. I also believe that Leena could do well to help us in this." Neither Bourne nor Beneth could argue with Strom's thoughts. The mage teleported them back to their rooms in Norec and the business of god-slaying commenced.

  Chapter 4: A Narrow Path

  Leena had been living in Norec since she was young. Her father, Paden, was a half-Elvin merchant that had been able to steadily improve his trade over many years of personally running his own convoys and overseeing his shop's business. Her mother was a Human woman from the countryside that had fallen deeply in love with a bright-eyed, idealistic, and, in her mind, adventurous dreamer. Leena also considered herself to be a country-girl at heart and still missed the quiet small town life that their family had left behind for bigger opportunities. Her brothers and sister had taken to the big city of Norec very well and had either followed after their father or went out on their own to find fortune and their own destiny. The possibilities for success were limitless in a town this large and bustling. So were the possibilities of utter failure, but so far, good fortune had been accommodating to them all.

  Leena's first taste of adventure came during her fourteenth summer when she was finally able to convince her father to allow her to accompany him on a short, and what should have been, uneventful convoy to a nearby trading post. Before the second day of the trip had seen the sun set, the party was attacked by a band of Orcs and she surprised herself by climbing atop the lead wagon firing her short bow at the monsters killing two of them. The act of retaliating was not what surprised her but rather her total lack of fear during the attack and the sense of excitement that she felt instead. From that day on, all of her energies were poured into her mastering the bow and melee weapons and finding quests to go on whenever possible.

  Now, after years of fighting her way through quest and danger, Leena had moved on from merely being a successful adventurer to being a contractor and intermediary. She had developed a rapport with enough business owners, traders, and other adventurers so that she could offer the service of providing the right opportunities to the right people in exchange for part of the profits. Her business was starting to thrive and not only help her standing in Norec but also provide her with a much better pick of quests to go on herself. Big profits at moderate risk were now starting to become easier to obtain.

  Bourne's own upbringing had been in a somewhat more rustic and humble setting than Leena's had been and, at a young age, he set off to make his fortune taking any job he and his sword could handle. While he was adventuring in the Whispering Wastes, he happened upon one of Paden's caravans and was hired to help protect them on their trip back to Norec. Bourne actually met Leena for the first time the next day when Hippogriffs lay siege to the wagons. His valor during the battle impressed everyone, even Paden. The two young fighters quickly became attached to one another and eventually become lovers. Then, the accidents that brought The Dark Lord's wrath onto Bourne put a pallor over their affair. He did not want her to be hurt by the dark forces that pursued him. She told him that she understood and that she would wait for him. He always regretted the time they had to spend apart but they both decided to live their lives normally even though their love would not die. Life, they knew, went on and someday a brighter sun would rise for them. Bourne has always meant that day to be very soon.

  A meeting between Bourne's party and Leena was arranged by secret letters and held in an abandoned warehouse in a rather upscale district of the town. She had brought her main confidant, the Bard Tassif, with her to the meeting. Throughout the meeting, whatever emotion that was held between the two lovers was not evident in their actions. Only their eyes occasionally sharing a furtive glance gave away their true feelings for one another.

  It took very little to convince Leena that she should help them gather a small band to aid the party in their quest to slay the Spider god. They spent many hours reviewing all of the lore known about the god and planning their infiltration and attack. When Leena was finally pleased that all relevant details had been covered in sufficient detail, she decreed that she knew exactly who should be invited along on their quest.

  "Lore of the god's underground caverns cannot be matched by any other than a Ranger whose services I have heard much about," she said.

  Strom replied, "A Ranger for cavern lore? That is certainly odd. I would have thought a Dwarf or even a Druid, not a woodsman."

  Leena smiled at him and said, "The Ranger I have in mind is a Dwarf, which does make him a rarity of sorts. His knowledge of the underground world in these parts is
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  unrivaled and puts him in high demand. However, he came to me only yesterday and stated that he would like me to be his quest-broker while he is in Norec. His sudden availability for this job is certainly fortuitous and that, at least, bodes well for us."

  "Rather too convenient if you ask me," said Bourne almost too himself. "Has he any personal interest in killing Tantalus?"

  "Not that I know of, but I do know that the Rangers in the area have had run-ins with Clerics of this Spider god who certainly seem to be cropping up everywhere and muddling with everyone's plans."

  "And they will continue to do so. The god pushes the idea of self worth and personal reliance through faith onto his clerics. Of course, carrying large doses of poison at all times also seems to be part of the religion so they are not to be taken lightly." said Beneth.

  Leena agreed and said, "Very true. We will have to be careful and extremely discrete about this business. I do not want any of us to get poisoned before we have even begun."

  Tassif then chimed in, "I believe I can be of some help on that account. As I have told you, I can get us quality healing potions at reasonable rates. I can also contract my supplier to make some extra powerful serums for us to counteract these poisons."

  "Very good," replied Beneth. "However, I do not think that there is any serum that will able to completely overturn the god's own poison. It is held to be invariably fatal with only the duration of his victim's suffering as a key variable after its reception."

  Bourne said, "This is my chief concern. Tassif, see what your suppliers can do about this. Ornam, Strom, check back with Sage Abreret for any more details he has uncovered about Tantalous.

  "I believe that we are concluded for the night. Let us meet back here tomorrow at sundown. Until then, everyone please be safe and as closed lipped as possible." At that, everyone left except for Leena and Bourne. The two of them had not been alone together for months now. Bourne had simply not seen the point in being with her until his situation was somehow changed. Now that it had, he did not know what to say to her.

  They spent the next several hours just talking to one another about trivial things. Leena's life of brokering quests fascinated Bourne and his plans to use a dragon's horde to rescue a small kingdom from tyranny kept Leena asking him for more details. They found themselves lost in each others' voices and eyes. Time and danger had no meaning for them until they saw the sun's first light of dawn fill the pale sky. They parted much happier than when they had met and looked forward to the next evening's rendezvous all the more.

  The next day was a busy one for the party. Ornam had never intended to go along on the actual adventure but he still had a great amount of enthusiasm for its preparation. He so missed his former life of adventuring. He felt himself very lucky to be putting his years of experience to good use helping others. Bourne always saw to it that he received part of the haul but Ornam's real reason for helping was simply that the thought of not helping was inconceivable to him. He just could not believe that he was over seventy years old now even though his aching bones tried to convince him of that every morning.

  Ornam spent the morning with Strom running errands and further consulting with Sage Abreret. Just as they were leaving the Sage's shop, Strom stopped suddenly and slowly looked around the street. Ornam also stopped and looked around but he saw nothing. "What is it?" he asked.

  "A nagging feeling... like we are being watched. I thought I saw a figure peering at us from behind those crates there," Strom said with a nod to point out the direction he spoke of. "There is no one there now, but I do not like the air about us suddenly." Strom spoke without moving his lips at all so that no one could read them and the volume of his voice was just audible to Ornam. "Best if you go directly home for a time. I will watch your back."

  Ornam shook his head, made a bizarre, confusing gesture with his hands and said, "Very well. Be, thee, safe," and with that he walked away slowly. Strom went the opposite direction but shadowed the old man from a discrete distance. All the while, Strom felt as if maybe he too were being followed. He decided to circle back upon his path and try to find out who was tailing him. He spent some time at this endeavor and he did manage to shake the feeling he had of being watched, but that was all that came of it.

  The truth of the matter was that Maeven had spotted Strom early that morning, mostly due to luck. Moornam had told him to keep an eye out for Bourne's old companions but Maeven believed that it was a waste of time. The three of them had a falling out the year before or there abouts and had not been seen together since. Still, he knew better than to disobey the Huntress. So, once he saw Strom he had followed the Half-Elf for as long as he could.

  After seeing Strom and old man together talking, Maeven decided he would have better luck following the old man instead of a trained thief. Maeven would never admit it aloud, but he did respect any thief's skills that could survive as an adventurer for a prolonged period of time. He managed to follow the old man for some distance, but then he became aware that Strom had double back on him. So, he gave up the pursuit and struck out for Moornam's rendezvous point with his news.

  Moornam was not surprised to hear of Strom being in Norec and, apparently, being up to something. She had suspected that the horse tracks that they had followed to Norec were made by Bourne and his two companions of old, so the two of them headed back to the part of town that the old man had gone to. Maeven could get them to the street where he most likely lived, but no more. Hunting of any kind is largely a matter of waiting for the right moment to arrive. If they were lucky, the old man would eventually lead them to Bourne. Then, the Huntress planned on using the fastest, quietest ambush she could for the town guard in Norec was top notch and to be avoided at all costs.

  The setting sun marked the meeting time for the group. Bourne had come to the old warehouse some time before that and Ornam arrived only a short time later. Then, Leena, Tassif, Strom, and a tall Dwarf made their entrance. Beneth was the last one to arrive. Leena introduced the Dwarf to the rest of the group. He went by the name Durrock Deepheart, a moniker he had earned in his youth. Bourne seemed particularly interested in getting to know the Dwarf and making him feel welcome.

  After the introductions were made, Strom detailed for them how his afternoon had been spent ducking a pursuer and then chasing him in kind. Bourne advised them all to be cautious. He told them, "Those of who you know my circumstances will realize that none of you are safe. There are dark forces that still hunt me and until this next quest is complete, this will remain my state of affairs. However, know you this: these hunters desire my blood, not yours. The strength given to us by numbers has always been our greatest ally so, for your own sake, take nothing for granted and do not travel lightly or alone, if possible." And, with that, the rest of the meeting commenced.

  An hour or so was spent telling Durrock of all the group knew about the Spider-god and their tentative plans of attack. The Dwarf seemed most interested in the fact that the god's lair was not at all far away. He, like everyone else, just assumed that the god had its stronghold on another plane of existence or in a grandiose fortress like most demi-gods do. He told them, "Had I known that this upstart was not far away, I would have done something about it myself!"

  Beneth asked him, "We have been told that you have had a run in or two with the god's Clerics. What happened?"

  Durrock sighed and said, "About a year ago up in a small town on the northern border, one of Tantalus's Clerics poisoned his own father and took their family fortune, presumably as a donation to the god. Four Rangers from my order tracked him down and were going to take him to the authorities for punishment. Some of the boy's associates approached the Rangers under the guise of atonement. However, this ruse simply allowed them to poison the drinking water the Rangers carried. One by one, my compatriots died; all but a man by the name of Celenor. He is the toughest man I have ever known (and looks like a Dwarf of six foot spans in stature)."

  "What finally became of him?" ask
ed Bourne.

  Durrock replied, "Celenor delivered the boy to the Marshal's office and managed to survive the ordeal of the poisoning though he was ill for some days. But, he did not rest. He returned immediately to where the last of his party died where he collected the body of his fallen comrade and took it to a temple where he was just in time to have it raised from the dead. Unfortunately, by the time the rest of the Rangers' bodies were recovered, they were too far decayed for that spell to save them and a resurrection was not thought appropriate for them."

  Beneth said, "That is a tale of much woe. Resurrection is a much more expensive and dangerous spell. I understand your Order's reluctance to have that done, but I am sorry nonetheless."

  "Thank you," said Durrock. "As you can see, I have nothing but loathing for this upstart god. I am just glad I finally have a chance to avenge my brothers in arms."

  Bourne raised his hands and said, "No, do not think of our quest as one of revenge. That is a state of mind primarily of anger and outrage. We must remain dispassionate and professional. We do this quest because it is the right thing to do; stemming the tide of evil for its own sake. The moment a person gets greedy or vengeful, that is when reason and good judgment is lost. I grieve for you and your Order's loss, but let vengeance be but a side effect of this quest, I pray you."

  At these words, Durrock drooped his head and nodded softly. "That is what is best done. Aye. Still, what of your own circumstances? Could your desire to kill Tantalous be considered anything more than greedy?" he asked.

  Bourne thought for a moment with a furrowed brow and carefully considered his reply. Then he said, "Perhaps greedy is too strong a word. I do have more vested in this quest than do any of you and it is no doubt that the demi-god has many treasures in his vault that I might put to good use. But I tell you all this: I feel I have no choice in the matter. I have come to the end of my current path for it leads to a dead end. For my life to regain any hope, I must free myself of The Dark Lord's wrath. I ask you all to aid me but I would take this quest alone if I must, so dire is my circumstance.