Death Or Fortune

by James Chesney

  "No thanks are needed; I was just with my boy. He tells me you are a pain in the ass but sends his regards. What is with the holy man, some kind of trouble I assume?" the half elf asked.

  "Yes, they ask that I come to the temple. Has something to do with an expedition Hans sent out. If you give me a moment to change you can go there with me, we can catch up on the way." Darmot then turned to the little halfling. "Pare, there might be trouble. Head over to the Red Dragon and ask Zackary if he will come see me in the morning. I will fill the two of you in at the same time right now I am still not sure what is going on. Can you handle that?" he asked the halfling.

  "Sure thing Darmot. See ya later Windfall." The halfling said as he ran from the office. Pare didn't care what was coming or where they might be going. He was dying to get out of the city, to go explore the world a bit more. He also wanted to get out from under the watchful eye of Captain Turk for a little while. "I can't even pick my nose without a guard seeing me." He said to no one at all. Darmot had told him Turk wouldn't arrest him for his night time activities but he had to be really good for a while. I never thought being good could be so boring he thought to himself. While he continued down the road he started to think about the things he would need before they hit the road, making a list in his head. Lock picks, warm boots in case they were going someplace cold, a bunch of the hard candy Jasmin always left out for him. The list continued to build in his head. So busy was his mind, he never noticed the person who was following him.

  As he walked into the Red Dragon Inn he looked around the main room. The large red haired man wouldn't be hard to spot he thought to himself. As Zackary wasn't at his normal spot by the bar he figured he might as well have a seat, it was only a matter of time before the human took his seat. Unless it was Linda's day off then he might not be around at all. She was living in the inn full time now in the room Darmot gifted to Zackary. Finding his favorite spot open the halfling took a seat directly under the head of the red dragon head mounted on the wall. The serving girl came by his table with a plate of food and a tankard of ale. They never asked Pare any more, they all knew if he was sitting there, he was going to eat and drink. As he started to dig in to the roast beef he marveled at how tender it was. As he was eating he started to feel a bit odd. While there was nothing wrong with the food, it was quiet good, Pare felt something was off. He dropped a single hand down to his belt. His dagger was there, three coin pouches hung from his belt. "Huh?" he questioned himself. He only remembered leaving home with one. It was then that he started to look around the room. That odd feeling wouldn't go away. It was then that he noticed the only other person in the room.

  Sitting in the only dark corner of the main room, Pare was more than a bit shocked at what he saw. While he had seen plenty of Halflings in Arcadia, he had never seen one in here. While the Red Dragon Inn wasn't in the Lords district, it was very close and most Halflings were driven from the area as soon as they were seen by the watch. She was a tall for a halfling sitting back in the chair her toes almost touched the floor. Her hair was cut short and had a natural curl to it but it was her eyes that drew Pare in. They were hard and angry eyes. Pare thought for just a moment that she looked hungry. Her face was so thin, she had to be. So he jumped down from his chair and took himself over to her table.

  "Hello!" he said to her holding out his hand. "My name is Pare, I am part owner of this fine err... Inn. Can I get you anything, anything at all just let me know. I don't see many of my kind here so anything you want is on the house. Don't be afraid to ask." Pare looked down at his hand and back to the female halfling. The only move she made was to tilt her head to the side while looking at Pare. A hand offered cannot be taken back Pare thought to himself so he continued to hold it out for her while putting a big smile on his face. The smile started to slip when she reached into her cloak and pulled something out. By the time she slapped the shackle down over his wrist the smile was completely gone. "Hey, that was neat! I've never seen shackles like that. What did you say your name was?" Pare tried to back away but soon noticed that he was firmly connected to the female. "I'm sorry could you speak up?" he asked knowing full well she hadn't said anything at all.

  "My name is Miri Rivermyst, by the order of Captain Turk of the Arcadian Royal Guard, you are under arrest." Pare looked at the arm he was now attached to and had an odd thought. She must be a black smith with arms like that.

  "Ohhhh!" he said. "Yer the bounty hunter Turk talked about. You must have forgotten to check in when you got to town. All that mess was cleared up. Really, it was just one big misunderstanding. You are welcome to stay and visit. Feel free to get yourself a room, whatever you want. I will make sure it is all paid for, no problems. Well you have a good day." Pare hoped that she would see her mistake and unlock the shackle, when that didn't happen he started to worry a bit. He looked behind Miri and pointed to the floor, "Don’t forget your bag." She only looked away for a minute, no more than a second really. Yet it was plenty of time for Pare to take care of this himself. By the time she felt the shackle swinging free where there had once been a halfling, Pare was almost out the door. "Goodbye now!" he shouted back, he was now at a full run.

  "How?" Miri said while looking down at the shackle that once held her prey. A lock pick was hanging out of the lock. He didn't have time to remove it. Tossing it across the room in frustration she gave chase. By the time Miri hit the front door of the Red Dragon Inn, Pare was two blocks away. Later that afternoon there had been reports of two Halflings chasing each other all over the city. Pare, laughing out loud the entire time. Miri silent as the night was saving her breath for the chase. What Pare lacked in speed, he more than made up for with agility. More than once Pare felt her finger tips on his back. Yet he was still able to keep away from her. This was Miri's nightmare, in her ten years of bounty hunting she never had this much of a problem taking a man down. In her worst dreams it was like this, always close but never close enough. She worked hard to keep this from happening, to keep from coming up short. "I will catch you if it is the last thing I do." She said to him as they sprinted down a garbage filled alley. This was right before she tripped over what seemed to be several month old heads of lettuce. As she crashed to the ground she looked up and saw him standing there.

  "Are you ok?" Pare asked her. "I will wait for you if you need to rest. I don't mind." Pare wasn't winded and all he just had a mile wide smile on his face.

  "I am going to rip that smile off your lips when I catch you." Never even bothering to wipe the refuse off herself she got up and started to run after the little halfling again. Near the center of the city they were running down a wide street, Miri looked ahead and saw what looked to be a temple ahead of them. Her prey was heading directly for it. "Oh no, no sanctuary for you. You will be mine." This is it she thought to herself, she had to do it now. She started to run, run harder than ever before in her life. This was two thousand gold piece bounty she was running down and it would not get away. The distance was closing, yet she knew she wouldn't be fast enough, if he went into the temple, it would be trouble. Looking ahead again she saw the men standing out on the front steps, perhaps they would slow him down enough. Fifty yards between them at the most, she was closing fast. She wanted to give a silent cheer when Pare came to a dead stop in front of the men on the temple stairs. "You...are...under...arrest!" she shouted the best she could, hoping those four men would help her. As she came to a stop she was only ten feet away.

  After taking a moment to catch her breath she said. "You are a fast bugger but you are coming with me, gentlemen, if you wouldn't mind." Miri then pulled out a second set of shackles from her belt. Yet somehow this wasn't right. Is this some kind of dream she thought for one small moment as the pretty human with long hair pulled out a sword. When the half elf in blue pulled out his blade she asked herself what kind of nightmare is this? She looked around for some kind of help yet there wasn't a guard or watchman in sight. "I'm gonna demand double for this" she said as she dropped t
he shackles and went for her own blade. While she saw the cleric out of the corner of her eye, she never thought much about it. Miri took one last look at Pare, who was coming towards her with both hands out. This was the last thing Miri remembered before the lights went out.

  75. Collision

  The day the silver dragon landed at the temple of Solarth, is a day I will never forget. It has nothing to do with the dragon but my life did change that day. I had returned from Turks office, trying to keep Pare out of jail. I settled down to a bit of paperwork. Going over the reports that Charles gives to me each day. Most of it has to do with the lumber camps, production of material and needed supplies. While I have never claimed to be a smart man, none of this was new to me. These were all things my father talked to me about, thinking I would end up running his shops in Eystlund. The only difference is that I have to pay for the things I need, my father at times just had someone acquire them. Every now and then I will get notes from other Lords, complaints about the cost of lumber, things like that. I am always sure to remind them that I am not the one who set the cost. That being said, I am not going to lower the cost they pay. Unlike some other folks, I try to reinvest my profit, if I cut that out, there is nothing gained. I was going over a new request when I heard the heavy boots coming down the hall outside of my office.

  Michaels came into the office first. Charles was waiting by the door looking at me. I waved him off and stood up to greet my friend. He had an odd look on his face. 'Bishop Hans asked me to come get you. We had a rather interesting day.' As I sat back down again I asked him to describe interesting. He started to talk but the pounding of running feet stopped him cold. Pare was running down the hall on the floor above us, I could hear his muted cries inside my office. 'A dragon came to the temple, a silver dragon. She carried the body of an Arcadian Royal Guard. The guard was part of an expedition to seek out an old temple of Solarth. I really don't have time to go into the whole story? Hans was having a hard time today. I really should get back to him.' As soon as the last word rolled out of his mouth, Pare came bounding in the door, telling me that Windfall was here. When Michaels looked at me he seemed lost, I had not seen him like this since the war. 'Please come, we need your help.' As Windfall came in I told Michaels that I would be there as soon as I could. He turned on his heel and left right away. I got to my feet and went to greet my mentor. I thanked him for his part in protecting Jasmin, which he waved off without thought.

  We chatted for a bit and I started to think about what Hans could need. I had a feeling he was going to ask me to go find his lost little crew so I thought it might be good to have Zackary along for the trip. I asked Pare to go to the Red Dragon Inn to find him. I never thought he would get into trouble along the way. I asked Windfall if he would mind walking with me to the temple of Solarth. When he agreed I then asked him to wait for me to get changed. I went upstairs where I found Jasmin, still in bed sleeping. It seemed odd for her but I didn't wake her. She had mentioned the night before that she wasn't feeling well. I thought it might have had something to do with the new armor I had just brought home. When I told her how much it cost she went a little white in the face. It was worth everything I spent. It fits me like a second skin and does not affect my movement at all. The wizard that worked on it told me it was very much like the rune armor the knights in Toryth Vol would use in days gone by, before they were all turned into the living dead. He told me it should be able to resist wizard spells and perhaps even dragon breath. Not that I am eager to test his theory. While it was not a perfect match, it was very close he said. Somewhere along the line, the art of making rune armor died along with the rest of Toryth Vol.

  I put my chain shirt on, before I put on a fresh tunic. I also took my sword with me for some reason. I've stood in the middle of a forest naked as the day I was born yet being in the city makes me paranoid. I tried talking to Windfall about it during our walk to the temple. He laughed at me and said 'when you are out there in the wild, you know what is trying to kill you, most of the time you can see it coming. Here, death by the blade can come from any hand and you won't see it coming.' I've talked to other friends about it, I think we are all paranoid but as most of us are still alive it can't be a bad thing. In my short life I have had more than one brush with death. While I am in no hurry to die, I do not fear it. I am in a position now where I don't have to seek out fame and fortune. That and the last time I charged off to face danger King Roderick nearly had a heart attack. He told me if I didn't stop running off to face danger he was going to put me in jail until someone else was made king. While I am sure he was joking, I really don't want to test the man.

  As we approached the temple of Solarth, I could see Captain Myers along with a half dozen of his men outside the gates, he was talking with Hans. 'I assure you Captain, I had no idea there was a dragon coming here and I promise you I did not call it down.' Myers looked at me when we walked up, he gave me a quick salute and bent at the waist. When I asked what was going on Myers told me 'Lord Kromwell, I am here on order of the king, I have been instructed to bring the Bishop to the king to report. He doesn't want to leave the temple.' I told Myers that I would take care of the Bishop and make sure the king had his report before the sun went down. Myers started to argue with me but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. In the end he was relieved to give the whole matter over to me. It had been a long time since I had seen Hans in his armor. He looked like he was ready to go to war; once Myers turned his men around a slight bit of relief came over his face. 'Thank you for coming so quick Darmot. Come, we will speak inside.' Windfall and I followed Hans into the temple and then to his office. As he started to speak, I could see where this was going.

  'Not long after you left for Toryth Vol, I found something here in the temple. A storage room filled from floor to ceiling with books and scrolls. Each one detailing the history of the Order of Solarth. From the foundation right up until the fall of the order at the hands of the followers of Asmodai. I requested help from other temples, help in the form of a translator. A lot of the material down there is falling apart so I didn't want the information lost. One of the things we found was rather unexpected. A history of an island called Va'Nox. It detailed what very well may have been the first temple of Solarth in the entire world. Kandella, the scribe that was sent to us, believed that they may have been the only people to continue worship of the good god after the fall. The entire island was devoted to Solarth. For all the troubles on the island, that one thing never changed. There were two tribes of people that together built a massive temple. Kandella insisted that we had to reach out to them. See what we could learn. She convinced me that this was too much to ignore. So I took some money and went to Captain Turk.'

  'I asked Turk to provide to us a few men to help protect Kandella, just in case. While he could not send anyone on official duty, he was able to give me six men. Three of them were scouts for the Arcadian army. One of the scouts is the one the dragon returned to us. It was a mistake to send them. The entire island was overrun with Orcs. They have taken most of the people who lived on the island as slaves, the rest are in rough prisons. Massive holding areas where they keep them fenced in like cattle. Kandella and her protectors were able to find the temple but that is when they were captured. That scout was able to escape and make it back here. He told me that the Orcs still have the other guardsmen in the slave camps. This is my fault Darmot, I sent those people there, my only hope is that they are still alive.' I could see the pain in his heart as it was showing on his face. 'The scout also told us they are building war ships, they are going to attack the main land, they don't' know where but an attack is coming. Darmot, I want you to go get them. Go rescue my cleric and her protectors if you can. I don't know who else to turn to, please will you help me.'

  I sat there in stunned silence. I knew this was coming but I didn't know how bad it was going to be. Yet how could I tell him no? The simple truth was that I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I told him no. I a
sked him if he knew anything else, anything at all I should know before we went to the king. 'So you will help me then?' he asked. I told him that I would but I needed to know everything. 'The scout told us that the beasts on the island are all under the command of a human wizard by the name of Argon.' A loud crack of breaking wood filled the air. I turned to my right to see Windfall had ripped the arm off his chair. When Hans spoke the name, it reminded me of something Hetaron told me long ago, when we were in Eystlund. I just couldn't put my finger on it at the moment. 'What name did you say priest?' Windfall asked him, his voice was little more than a whisper. 'His name is Argon, do you know of this person?' Windfall said nothing; he just got up and moved towards a window. I half expected him to jump out. When he did speak, it was the last thing I would have expected. 'Darmot, I will be going with you. Do not ask me why just know that I will be going with you.'

  I told him that I was more than happy to have him along. Even if the reason was a mystery to me at the time. I stood up and started towards my mentor and friend. Yet I stood my ground, there seemed to be a very hostile air around the bounty hunter that I did not want to approach. When I said we should go see Roderick Hans asked me if he should change. I looked at him and asked why. 'The armor, should I take my armor off?' I told him to leave it all on and to bring his weapon as well. It would be like old times. I thought the image of Hans in his armor would help sell the message, that this was a matter of national importance. That we could have all been in real danger. While I had fought more than my fair share of Orcs. I shuddered at the thought of an army of them. 'Then let’s go now' he told me. We found Michaels waiting for us outside the door. 'Lord Kromwell, I offer you my sword arm on this coming mission!' Michaels drew his sword and laid it down at my feet. I shook my head and reminded him that I wasn't the king. I then placed my hand on his shoulder and told him I would be happy to have him along.