Love Conquers Pt. 1

 

CHAPTER 1

 

    Nail took a swig from the too-large darkwood mug and set it back on the table with a heavy thump. He looked across the table at the young human in front of him, noting his pristine leather armor and well-worn lute.

    “You say you want some pointers, kid? You want to be an adventurer like me?”

    The youth nodded, the polite smile on his face never wavering, looking for all the world like it belonged there and would never leave. “If you don’t mind, sir. All due respect, you look like you’ve seen a lot. Saw you sitting here and figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

    Nail looked into his mug, idly rotating it while he thought. He waited a minute to speak, both to gather his thoughts and to see if the youth could even handle a bit of awkwardness or rudeness from a stranger. To his credit, the kid’s positive demeanor didn’t waver for a second. “Seeing the things I’ve seen, doing what I’ve done, it weighs heavy. You seem like a good kid, genuine. My advice is to bail while you can, make your living with that,” as he gestured to the obviously well-used lute.

    “Apologies sir, but that life isn’t for me. I want to help people, to make a difference. I was one of the youngest Weavers to graduate from the Tretaria College of Magic with honors, I’m no slouch sir. With respect, of course.”

    Nail studied the human. “Twenty or so years old, already an accomplished Weaver. Fine kid, maybe you can make more of a difference than I did,” he thought. “Fine, wow me with some of your magic and I’ll help you out.”

    The youth beamed. “Name’s Keel sir, and if you’re okay with it, I focus mostly on illusions and charms.”

    “Fine Keel, but stay out of my head and don’t make me do anything strenuous, still got a bit of pain,” Nail said as he gestured to the bandages surrounding his stomach, and to a bloody spot on his right side.

    Keel started an incantation, and a minute later Nail came to, standing on a stool and washing mugs behind the bar. He set down the mug, looking to the bemused innkeeper. “A gnome washing mugs, not sure I like his sense of humor,” he said grimly. 

    The innkeeper smiled, she knew Nail well enough to tell when he was joking. She watched him set down the mug meant for human hands and head back over to the table where Keel was sitting.

    “That was dirty, you owe me a drink for that,” Nail said in a gravelly tone.

    Keel’s smile faded. “Right, sorry, I am still learning the customs out here. My deepest apologies,” Keel said as he stood up and performed a deep, perfect bow. “I will of course buy you any drink you would like.”

    Nail smiled for the first time in weeks.

    Keel paused, hand in his small but full coinpurse. “There aren’t any connotations with gnomes and washing dishes, are there?”

    “Nah kid, it’s just hard to wash a mug almost as big as your head. Sit down and get me a stout, I’ll tell you how I got here. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two along the way.”

    Keel ordered the best stout available, and patiently waited for Nail to begin, genuinely excited at the prospect of another story to add to his repertoire.

 

CHAPTER 2

    I was traveling along the Southern Highway, heading from Ebonhold to a little no name village deep in the Godswood, just north of here. Lord Edgar tasked me with recovering his only daughter. He is a very wealthy Arcanium trader you see, and some bandits captured his beloved daughter on one of her nature excursions. Vet had her guards of course, but they were ambushed and overwhelmed by numbers.

    I knew her from some past protection jobs, so Edgar tasked me to recover her while he delays with ransom negotiations. I accepted without discussing price. I knew he was good for it and what those bastards would do to a gentle, pretty young thing like Yvetta….

    I headed out as soon as I picked up their trail, learning that they were carrying her off on horseback in chains. I needed to be quick. I made haste towards Gladehome, the little no-name village no one bothered to put on a map. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s a trash heap full of rebel sympathizers and bandit families.

    About halfway to Gladehome, the moons started setting. I had only Razor, my trusty dagger, to see me through the night so I made shelter up a tree; didn’t want to get overrun in my sleep by Darkrats. Thanks to this vest of mine, Starfall, I didn’t need to make a fire to keep warm.

    I was woken up in the middle of the night by some snorts… Lucky me, a Gorer decided it wanted to forage right underneath me. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Gorer, but picture an oversized boar with Arcanium crystals down it’s back and the ability to channel electricity through it’s tusks. Needless to say, Razor wasn’t going to be enough to deal with the beast. Fortunately, I know a bit of magic myself, so I tied some food scraps to a copper coin, threw it as far as I could, then made myself invisible and hopped down while the beast was distracted. I ran as fast as I could since I can only Focus on being invisible for a short time,but unfortunately some asshole left a huge root right in my path. I tripped and my Focus dropped. I guess the Gorer was having a bad day, because I hopped to my feet and saw the damned thing charging me! I briefly debated trying to hit it’s vitals with an arrow, but I saw some lightning arc across it’s tusks and bravely decided to stage a tactical retreat.

    Gorer’s are really fast, which I didn’t know prior to this. I couldn’t outrun the damned thing, but it’s hard to maneuver a wall of angry meat so I kept a step ahead of it by dodging through the trees and brush. I guess someone’s god was smiling on me, as I actually found a decent-sized creek in the area. I dove in and swam to the other shore, leaving the angry monster behind. Normally they will use those big tusks as stunners, dipping their snout in the water to shock small critters and grab a snack, but I guess I was too far away. Theyre too big to swim, so I laid on the other shore and caught my breath. It finally calmed down and left after about an hour. That’s when I finally caught some sleep.

 

CHAPTER 3

    The next afternoon, I arrived on the outskirts of Gladehome. I figured the bandits were local, since I got dirty looks and nothing but hostility from the second I entered. I guess family is loyal even if you are a murdering waste of resources like these bandits were… It was pretty obvious to them from my dress and weaponry that I was an agent or adventurer of some kind, so nobody would talk to me lest they inadvertently give away a brother or a cousin. 

    Fortunately, this particular group was more lucky than smart, so it was easy to track them. It didn’t take long to find their trail again, so I kept following it instead of pushing my luck by sleeping in a town that didn’t want me.

    I pushed as far as I could and came across a cozy little inn along the road. Seemed like a stupid place to put an inn considering no one uses the Southern Highway anymore, but it was a beautiful sight to behold for my weary legs.

    I stepped in to a cozy dining area with a few tables and a roaring hearth, maintained by a beautiful human woman. I normally prefer hot embers over fire to spare my eyes, but I was more concerned with just having somewhere safe to sleep. 

    “Evening, welcome to Meredith’s,” the woman said in a warm, inviting voice.

    “Evening, got a room available? Been walking all day,” I responded.

    “Sure do, 1 royal per night, food’s extra. I clean the linens after every visitor. Breakfast is at 8, bright and early.”

    “Sure, give me a room and a hot plate of whatever you got,” I told her.

    She gave me a key and went to the back. I was able to remove my boots and stretch out my feet a little before she returned with a mounded plate of some kind of peppery meat. It was amazing, she claims it was an import from Sarella called Chicken, that she spiced up with her own recipe. Apparently the little buggers don’t like the dark so she has to keep their pen lit with Arcanium lamps for most of the day. I gladly paid a full royal for the meal, that was the best food I’d had in years. She cleaned up after me without a complaint, never once asked for a tip or anything. I thought to myself, “Wow, this woman is something else.” Normally I go for other Gnomes, and usually only my Outerworld kin, but in that moment, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen…

    Um, anyway, I headed to bed in a room that smelled like some type of flower. “Daisies,” she called them. Best rest I had in months.

 

CHAPTER 4

    “Wait… that’s here, isn’t it?” Keel asked.

    Nail chuckled softly. “Heh, yeah it is. And that’s Meredith,” Nail said as he jerked his thumb towards the quiet woman behind the bar.

    “You’re damned right I am,” Meredith said. “Best chicken in Outerworld and the best looking innkeep on Sarella or the three moons. Worst damned location though, this is the most exciting week I’ve had in months.”

    “Glad I could be of service, madam,” Nail proclaimed as he provided a deep and exaggerated bow.

    “Oh piss off with that, no need for all that formality here,” Meredith said in a playfully angry tone. 

    “Anyway, after that…”Nail began again.

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    Best rest in a long time, at least until I heard the Theroman gang break in. They’re good, I’ll give them that, but a creaky floorboard and a muffled shout is all it takes to wake me in an unfamiliar place. My shoes were already off, as was my armor, so I carefully opened my door and headed down the hall towards the stairs.

    What I saw was despicable: 6 men, 2 of which were those giant Half-Orcs, threatening Meredith. One of the half-breeds had his hand clamped over her mouth and was restraining her, since it looked like she was going for the sword she keeps on that display behind the bar. I was under the assumption that it was just a regular old blade, though well-cared for, maybe from some private part of Meredith’s past. Well I wasn’t about to let these cowards do what they were so obviously planning to do to the person who deserves it the least, so I intervened. Four of them were going through all of the barrels and things around the room, one was holding Meredith, and the last, the other half-breed, was investigating the sword.

    I learned a few tricks from my Spellblade training, before I picked up the mercenary lifestyle. I dropped a magical silence into the room to muffle any sounds, then unsheathed Razor and went to work.

    The half-breed holding Meredith was the first to go. I slid up behind him and slammed Razor into his ribs, right into his heart. His dying shout and the sounds of him smacking into the bar and hitting the floor were completely silent thanks to the Silence magic, so his half-breed friend was completely unaware when I hopped up on the bar and slid Razor across his throat.

    He took longer to die, but still wasn’t allowed to make any noise. Meredith surprised me by running over, grabbing her sword, and brandishing it like she knew what she was doing. We shared a look and she knew, “Let me go first.” I didn’t even have to say it, not that she’d hear me anyway. My luck ran out on the closest human however, as he dropped and shattered a vase, realizing that there was no sound in the room. He looked towards the bar just as I hopped off a table, plunging Razor into his eye with a soundless war cry.

    I guess that strange sense all people have, that one that shouts “DANGER LOOK OUT!” was activated, as the other three bandits stopped and looked my way, brandishing axes and swords of their own. They saw the man I just felled who was presumably their leader, as they tried to ask each other what to do upon noticing. No sense wasting my Focus on the Silence anymore, so I let it fall.

    “What the- Oh shit, the little one’s a wizard!” One of the idiots shouted.

    “KILL ‘EM BOTH!” the dumbest one ordered.

    Meredith ran up to my side, sword now glowing with bright white light that was painful for me to look at. None of us Outerworld natives bother with light that bright… Well, Stupid charged first, I guess seeing Meredith as the biggest threat since she was the most visible. His mistake. To Meredith’s credit again, she just focused on staying out of his way, so he stumbled right past her and planted his axe into a table, so I hamstringed him and turned to the other two, who saw an opportunity and charged.

    Meredith finished off Stupid, who was futilely trying to recover his axe with 2 useless legs. The other 2 must have trained together or something, as they actually came in together, swinging on opposite sides and forcing me onto the defensive. I tumbled out of the way of an axe only to barely block a sword an inch from my face. Meredith lunged at Axe Guy as he was trying to maneuver towards me again, but I guess he was ready for her as he parried and used the curve of his blade to pull the sword from Meredith’s hands, tossing it into the corner and extinguishing it’s light. He took a step towards her and wisely decided to try to end her quickly to focus on me. She was cornered and defenseless, so I threw myself away from Sword Idiot and tossed Razor end over end, planting it square in the back of his head. 

    Sword Idiot didn’t seem to like that I killed his friend, so he started shouting obscenities at me and swinging wildly. It was all I could do to stay just out of his reach, darting under and around tables as I struggled to position myself near Razor. Sword Idiot noticed and kept himself between me and Razor, and threw a swipe towardsMeredith any time she tried to move as well. We went back and forth for a few minutes, me unarmed and trying to rectify it, Meredith trying to reposition, and Sword Idiot trying to kill both of us.

    I knew something had to change, we were both exhausted and Sword Idiot had reach and strength on both of us, so the situation was going to rapidly turn against us. I looked at Meredith, who was ready to run again, and used the last bit of my magic to Flash, blinding Sword Idiot for a split second, allowing me to charge into him and push him into a table. I hopped back as he recovered, but I wasn’t quick enough. He got a lucky strike and stabbed through my side, clean through but far enough to the side to miss anything vital. But my plan worked.

    Meredith grabbed her sword and tossed it to me. I caught it and desperately lunged, trying to get a vital strike on him before he finished me. To my surprise, as the sword stabbed into his gut, Sword Idiot burst into golden flames and turned to ash! The sword fell into the pile, completely clean and no longer glowing.

    Well it was about that time that my body decided it had enough, and I took  a nice long involuntary nap right then and there.