I rushed over to ensure the enemy was dead, but needn’t have bothered. If the arrow hadn’t killed the bandit, the fall certainly had.
*** Kjara has killed Krek Bandit! Your party gains 100xp! ***
The Bandit’s scarf had come loose in the fall, and I had to laugh when I recognized the krek’s face.
“What so funny?” Kjara asked.
Resuming my jog towards the wagon, I called back, “This krek was one of the thugs who were chasing the innkeeper’s daughter… How much you want to bet one of those other bandits goes by the name of Tepik? Vengeance is going to be sweeeeeeet!”
Huddled against the side of the wagon was a djinden woman clutching a toddler to her chest while another, a boy likely barely into his teens was being forced to kneel at sword point.
One of the bandits held the prisoners still while the other had resumed screaming at the driver, kicking his prone form.
A wide grin split my face as their info popped up. There he was. Tepik.
*** Tepik, Level 2 Bandit ***
*** HP:95%, SP:60%***
*** Human, Level 2 Bandit ***
*** HP:95%, SP:60%***
The human was the first to notice us as we approached. He tried to get Tepik’s attention, but the man was too absorbed with beating the driver to hear.
The human turned and started shouting, but now that we were in range I let loose my fury in the form of a blazing spear of light, the Sunstrike spell blasting into the human bandit’s shoulder and sending him stumbling as half of his health bar disappeared.
*** You cast Sunstrike at the Human Bandit! Human Bandit is burned by holy fire! ***
The flash of light finally managed to get Tepik’s attention, and he dragged his eyes away from his latest victim and turned towards us.
His eyes narrowed with recognition as his saw my face. A wicked grin split is face as he walked towards us, growling, “You again? Didn’t you learn your lesson last time you meddled in my business?”
His voice raised in anger with every word as he began to scream, “Because of you I lost my position! My livelihood! My woman! This time I’ll send you to the grave myself!”
The human bandit regained his feet and tried to flee towards the camels standing nearby. He barely made it two steps before Kjara’s arrow sprouted from his leg and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain with more than half of his health bar depleted.
Kjara gave me a nod before heading off to finish the human bandit, leaving me to my grudge match.
Tepik gripped his giant falchion as he rushed in, a confident sneer spreading across his face.
His confidence was misplaced, but I couldn’t really blame him for it. He hadn’t seen me put up much of a fight in our previous encounter, but boy was he was in for a surprise.
I slid my grip closer to the butt of my spear, gaining a bit of range at the cost of some accuracy. Without a shield to cover his tender bits, I wouldn’t need as much precision to land a blow, but keeping clear of his massive sword was definitely a priority.
Biding my time, I waited until he came into range and when he raised his blade to strike and I stepped forward and slightly to his open side and set my shield as my spear thrust forward towards his center mass.
He twisted mid step, taking a glancing blow to the ribs while still managing to strike at me. My shield intercepted his strike, fully absorbing the blow.
*** You strike Tepik with your bronze spear, inflicting a glancing wound! ***
*** Tepik strikes you with his Falchion! You block the blow with your shield! ***
Tepik recovered his balance and stepped in closer, finding a distance that put my spear at a disadvantage while still allowing him room enough to use his falchion. But the spear wasn’t my only weapon.
Channeling Sunstrike through my shield, I released the spell from the jackal’s eyes right into his chest, burning his hit points down to thirty percent and filling the air with the smell of seared flesh.
*** You cast Sunstrike at Tepik! Tepik is burned by intense holy fire! ***
The smug bandit had no clue what hit him, nor did he recover in time to block my follow up attack as my spear slipping through his rib cage and piercing his heart.
*** You strike the Tepik with your bronze spear, inflicting a mortal wound! ***
His mouth opened as if to speak, but all that managed to make its way past his lips was a small trickle of blood as he collapsed to the ground, dead.
*** You have killed Tepik! Your party gains 100xp! ***
Cleaning my spear on the dead bandit’s robes, I noticed Kjara standing nearby with the human bandit’s whimpering form at her feet. “What do you want to do with this one Kheph” She asked, pointing to the human.
“Send him to the underworld. I’m sure Anpu will have something planned for him and his ilk” I replied in a cold voice before heading over to the crumpled form of the wagons driver.
*** Kjara has killed the Human Bandit! Your party gains 100xp! ***
*** Quest Complete: Stop the Bandits! ***
*** Your party has gained 200xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Farahdi Djinden! ***
Ready for the worst, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the driver was still alive, although barely.
“Kjara, please help the others while I heal the driver”, I called, tossing my shield and spear to the side as I knelt beside the injured djinden. I cast Soothing Touch, letting the healing magic flow into the driver until his wounds were closed.
*** You cast Soothing Touch and heal Djinden Driver. ***
*** You channel Soothing Touch and heal Djinden Driver. ***
*** You channel Soothing Touch and heal Djinden Driver. ***
*** Djinden Driver is fully healed. ***
His eyes slowly blinked open and he flinched away from me, crawling back towards the wagon and pleading for mercy. I raised my hands to show I was unarmed and tried to reassure him. “Calm now friend, the bandits are no more.”
The driver continued to crawl away, heading back towards the wagon and speaking rapidly in the djinden language to the other travelers.
Giving the victims time to calm down, I headed back over to Tepik’s corpse and looted him, finding an assortment of goods that most likely came from the djinden.
I grabbed his falchion and buckled it onto my pack and wrapped up the rest of the loot in the Saa’s bloodstained robes and set it before the woman and children.
“What part of this” I asked, gesturing to the array of goods I had taken from Tepik. “was stolen from you by these bandits?”
The young boy reached out to take a small wooden box but quickly drew back his hand as the woman chastised him, “Do not Beli, the Saa is just looking for an excuse to end us.”
I signed and looked to Kjara, who had just finished looting the third bandit. “See what I mean Kjara, we risk our necks to save them and they still see me as an enemy because of my race.”
I turned back to the woman and said, “Listen, my lady, I hold no ill will towards you or your people. I offer you these goods, which I believe were stolen from you, without any strings attached. Take what was yours. Hell, take all of it if it suits you. My friend and I are going to take their camels and weapons, but the rest I leave to you to assist you in your journey.”
“And if you will allow us, we will ride with you the rest of the way to Tael’va to ensure that any other likeminded bandits think twice before attacking.”
The driver stood off to the side, wringing his hands and trying not to stare at one of the objects. I followed his gaze to a small wooden carving of a man of some sort. It seemed slightly familiar, and after a moment I felt a packet of information make its way into my consciousness.
*** Lore (Saa Religion) check successful! ***
The added information made the drivers concern completely understandable. The carving was of one of the djinden’s elemental ancestors whom they revered as gods.
One of the major causes of the
animosity between djinden and Saa was the Saa Empire's attempts to stamp out the djinden’s ancestor worship and force them to convert to the ‘True Gods’. This particular statue was a depiction of the elemental I believed was named Farahda, who was often associated with sandstorms.
I picked up the idol and glanced at it, admiring the craftsmanship that must have gone into the work. The base of the statuette was worn smooth, likely by generations of reverent touch, and this idol alone was likely the most important thing to this family.
Both the woman and driver’s eyes were locked onto mine like hawks as I handled their precious heirloom, and I could see the gears turning behind their eyes.
Not wanting to cause any additional turmoil to the already traumatized people, I approached the driver and handed the carving to him.
“Law or no, I will not rob your family of the blessings of Farahda. Free will is a gift given to all, and part of that is the choice of what gods you will follow. It would be a disservice to my god to rob any soul of that choice, even if that choice is to worship another.”
This close I could finally see his eyes were the same shade of emerald as Sajeev and Jeila and I wondered if they were related somehow. Couldn’t hurt to ask, I thought.
“Are you acquainted with the owner of the Stone Serpent Inn by any chance?” I asked, and his expression became instantly guarded. “I only ask as that is where my companion and I are staying, and it might be a good place for you and your family to take shelter in the city if you are in need of lodging.”
The driver turned to the other travelers and said something to them in their native tongue. They nodded, gathered up the goods and headed into the wagon.
The driver followed and returned almost immediately with a small pouch that he tossed to me, finally speaking the common tongue. “Take this Saa, we have taken a share of the goods, but you and the moon elf deserve some recompense.”
“Thank you,” I said, tucking the sack into my pack without looking into it. “May we escort you the rest of the way to Tael’va?”
Kjara approached with the camels. “So, what’s the plan Kheph? We riding on, or sticking with these guys for now?”
Glancing back to the driver I said, “What will it be?”
“We will accept your assistance until we reach the city,” he responded, and I got a new quest prompt.
*** Quest Received: Armed Escort.**
*** Escort the Djinden caravan to the trade city of Tael’va. ***
*** Rewards: xp, Reputation with the Farahdi Djinden. ***
I glanced over at my companion and had a sudden wave of panic. I had gone rogue there and agreed to all this stuff without consulting her and I felt like an ass. Giving away loot, agreeing to be a guard. Shit.
I grabbed my gear from the ground and then sheepishly approached my companion. “Uhm, Kjara, I am so sorry about that. I got caught up in the moment and didn’t think to ask you what you wanted to do, and I feel like an ass.”
She looked confused for a second and then laughed a little. “The fact that you felt the need to apologize says a lot Kheph. I was fine with all of your decisions there. Believe me, if I wasn’t, I would have said something. Let’s mount up and get this show on the road.”
She handed me the reigns to the second camel and then approached her own and tapped it three times on its foreleg. The camel knelt in the sand and allowed her to climb onto its back.
“Thank you,” I said, and then looked at the beast in front of me. I tapped it three times on its leg as I had seen Kjara do, but nothing happened.
“I think mine is broken,” I said and tapped it again. The camel looked back and me and spit right into my face.
I gagged and stepped away, wiping the nasty spittle from my face and head. “Yes, definitely broken.”
“You have to claim it first. Kheph. Focus on it and on taking it as a mount. Once you do that it’ll listen to your commands,” she explained.
“Huh, there wasn’t anything in the tutorial for mounts, and nothing to let me know what to do. Another bug report to write up.” I frowned, and then focused on making the camel my mount.
*** Claim Camel (Common) as your mount? (Y/N) ***
Choosing yes, I was rewarded with a slew of system messages.
*** Camel (Common) claimed as your mount. Mounts allowed 1/1 ***
*** Achievement Unlocked: Mount Up! ***
*** Congratulations, you have received a new General Skill: Riding (Rank 1). ***
*** You have gained 100xp! ***
*** Congratulations! You have claimed your first mount! The number of mounts allowed for each character is based upon your overall level! Currently that limit is 1! You may now rename your mount if you wish. ***
*** Rename Mount? (Y/N) ***
Deciding to give the Camel a more accurate name, I selected yes and named the foul beast Spitz. I tapped his leg again and this time he knelt and let me mount up. “Good Spitz” I said.
Kjara took out her bow and moved to the front of the wagon, using her superior eyesight to keep an eye out for potential attackers.
I stayed at the rear of the wagon, keeping watch behind us. Our third captured camel followed on a long tether tied to the wagon. Hopefully we would be able to sell the extra camel or use it as barter with the caravan in the morning.
We made good time, and our luck with the predators of the desert held out. Before we knew it, we were rolling in through the gates of the caravansary with the djinden wagon.
*** Quest Completed: Armed Escort. ***
*** Your party has gained 100xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Farahdi Djinden! Unfriendly → Neutral. ***
We said our goodbyes and found the stablemaster for the area. It cost two silver a day to keep our mounts fed and watered. We each chipped in a silver for the third camel and paid for our own mounts before heading to towards one of the clerks.
“So, what do you think”, I said to Kjara, “turn this one in, head over to the apothecary and turn that in and stock up on potions then try and find some local quests for the evening?”
“I wish,” she said and sighed. “I actually have to log out for a while after this, but I’ll be there tomorrow for the caravan.”
Sad to see her go, I put on a smile and replied, “Ah well, gotta do what ya gotta do. Remember to turn in the apothecary quest before the caravan tomorrow, no clue when we'll be back in this area!”
She turned in the goblin raiment quest item, took her coins, and waved goodbye as she headed towards the golden quarter. “See you tomorrow morning!”
“Goodnight! Have fun!” I called back as she disappeared from view and then turned in my own quest.
*** Quest Complete: Salty Infestation! ***
*** You have gained 300xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Free People of Tael’va! ***
I tucked the ten gold into my pouch and found an empty table nearby to take stock of my inventory. I had several things that I needed to sell, some upgrades to investigate, and maybe some craft skills to explore.
There were three broken daggers and two war clubs to fix, a big falchion to sell, and whatever was in the small pouch the djinden had given me. I’d forgotten about the pouch until I’d found it while digging through my backpack.
I opened it up and looked inside. There were two small stone coins, engraved with words in a language that I couldn’t read but were vaguely reminiscent of the carvings from the Farahda idol.
I had no clue what they were or what they did, but if it was something the djinden felt was a just reward for helping them, they must be good for something. I resolved to ask Mareej or Saleem when I got back to the inn.
...
Chapter 14
I packed everything back up and headed through the city to the Crimson Vial to inform the proprietor of her supplier's current whereabouts and receive my reward, making sure to note down any interesting shops on my map for later perusal as I made my way through t
he crowded streets.
The alchemists store was empty of customers when I arrived. She glanced up from her work as I approached and gestured for me to wait. “Hold on one second, just finishing up back here.”
A minute or two later she arrived at the counter and smiled as she recognized me. “So,” she said. “did you find Reya?”
Nodding, I replied, “We tracked her down to the Mul’gor Oasis and ran into a dryad acquaintance of hers. From what we were told, Reya has heard the calling of nature and is currently in the midst of her vision quest. Hopefully when she's done she’ll make her way here, but I can’t make any promises.”
Sara sniffed and said, “A druid? Well, I always suspected she had something more in her than just a good eye for herbs. Good for her. I hope she does decide to continue to trade afterwards, or at least do me the courtesy of letting me know if she won't.”
***Quest Complete: Broken supply chains! ***
*** You have gained 500xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Free People of Tael’va! ***
“Thanks for the help in locating Reya for me. Now I did promise you a discount on some potions as well, are you looking for anything specific? I’ll sell you two at cost as a reward for your service,” she said.
I read through the shop interface again and saw the same set of potions as before, but still none of the stat enhancement potions. “What about enhancement potions?" I asked. "Would I be able to get the discount on those as well?”
“Sure, if I can have the materials, but if you want one of those I can only give you a single potion at cost. Especially without knowing if Reya is coming back or not.”
Crimson Sands Page 19
