58. Legends of Old

58. Legends of Old

Adam managed to keep his breakfast down as they barrelled their way along the river. They were definitely moving much quicker than just walking as they followed the raging river.

“Sit,” Lokat said, as she grabbed a hand hold on the sail.

Adam fell back against the side, grabbing onto a handhold. The boat eventually slowed, though was still moving at a much quicker pace than walking.

“Brace!” Lokat called.

Adam did as she asked, and the boat floated in the air for a moment, before dropping down into the river once again as they crested over a small waterfall.

The boat passed by the village outside the Iyr, the villagers swiftly gathering around. They stared as the boat swept by, waving at the Iyrmen as they passed.

As they continued along the river, Okvar noted something in the distance above them. “Careful,” he said, motioning his head up towards the flying creature above them.

“What is it?” Adam asked, squinting his eyes.

Spell: Guidance

1D3 = 1 (1)

Perception Check

D20 + 3 = 12 (9)

He could barely managed to make out the rough shape of the creature, which seemed to be feline, with large wings and a thick tail.

“Manticore,” Jurot said, nodding his head.

“Manticores?”

“It must be hunting,” Okvar said.

“So close to the Iyr?” Rokat asked, staring up at it.

“It must be desperate.”

“If it’s desperate, will it attack us?” Adam asked.

“We can only hope so,” Wujyn said.

The hours passed as they continued to ride on the boat, before Lokat started to slow down the boat. “We must leave soon,” she said, before she stopped the boat by dropping the anchor, allow the people to get off before the boat shrunk into her palm.

“Does it need to recharge?” Adam asked.

Lokat didn’t respond, instead stepping beside Okvar.

“We will head to the nearby inn,” he said, turning to lead the party. The other Iyrmen each took their places, with Argon bringing up the rear, behind the pair of young men. Once again, the Iyrmen were surrounding the youngest pair.

“An inn?” Adam asked.

“You’ll see,” Dargon said.

They followed one of the small streams of the river, before finding large walls around the top of a hill. It was less of an inn as it was a small village of a couple hundred people.

There was someone out on watch, who rung a bell, and then another person appeared, loading up a bolt.

Once the guards saw who it was, they nodded their heads towards the Iyrmen. “What’s with all the Iyrmen?”

“We are on a special task for the Iyr.”

“What kind of special task?”

Okvar tossed up a small pouch to the guard, who snatched it out of the air with a practised swipe. He glanced through the pouch and nodded his head. “Come on in, Iyrmen. No funny business.”

The gates opened to reveal a fence which sectioned off one half of the village, and a path leading to a large inn with some stables nearby. The buildings were made of stone, which surprised Adam considering how much it would have cost, though there were a handful of wooden buildings.

The Iyrmen approached the inn, slamming the doors open. There were already a few visitors here, about three dozen, and they glanced towards the Iyrmen. A travelling inn was home to all kinds of seedy individuals, a good place to escape from the law, and to do all kinds of dodgy dealings. Even so, seeing almost ten Iyrmen appear, the ne’er do wells within the inn returned back to their shade.

Okvar approached the innkeeper, a man in his forties, who narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the Iyrman. “Iyrman,” he said in his gruff voice.

Okvar placed down a pouch full of gold coins and gems, worth over a hundred gold coins. “Five rooms, ten meals.”

The innkeeper peered through the pouch and nodded his head. “You keep your hands away from your weapons, you hear?”

“We do not need our weapons to spill blood.”

“Don’t go causing trouble in my inn. I’m just an honest man trying to make a decent living for myself, like my granpapi before me.”

Okvar just nodded his head.

“Bertha! Ten meals for a bunch of Iyrmen, now!” A bell rung from behind him to confirm the order, and the Iyrmen stepped to the side.

“They don’t like Iyrmen around these parts, do they?” Adam asked.

“Keep close,” Okvar said. “They might try and lay a hand on you.”

Adam glanced around, before Dargon tapped the table in front of him.

“You might see something you shouldn’t,” he said, nodding his head slowly.

Okvar rubbed his chin. “It would be a close fight. Neither of them have fought in some time, but the Chief regularly practises.”

“He will no longer have his equipment, so the Chief would win,” Wujyn said, simply.

Okvar nodded. “If it was at his peak, only a handful of Iyrmen could have faced him with a chance of winning,” Okvar admitted.

“He’s that strong?”

“The most dangerous time for the Iyr was back when he was King’s Sword,” Wujyn said. “Now, that danger has passed. He does not hold as much love for King Gerald as he had the previous King.”

“Why?”

“He retired,” Wujyn said. “The current King tried to coax him back to no avail. However, there is a deeper rift between them now, after what happened at the massacre."

“The King’s Sword had something to do with it?” Adam asked.

“Sir Merry did not, which was the issue,” Wujyn said. “He retired, and he held much love with the elves. He would never raise his sword against them, and the King still tried to war with them. The elves destroyed Rock Hill, but they wouldn’t dare to march towards Ever Green, not with Sir Merry at its doorstep.”

‘Damn, he sounds so cool.’

“We shouldn’t talk about it so openly,” Okvar said, noting the looks from the other people around them.

Omen: 2, 9

When morning came, Adam noted all the greenery around the town. There were so many parks, and the buildings each held a small garden.

“Whoa, what a beautiful place,” Adam said as they stepped out.

“Ever Green has been affected by the elves long ago,” Wujyn said.

“They say Ever Green was once home to an elven town, but it had long fallen before the humans stepped on this land,” Okvar said.

They made their way to South Fort on their boat, though this time Lokat took charge of the boat the entire day. They moved swiftly, much quicker than they had previously. However, they still needed to march for hours to head to South Fort, and by that time, Adam’s entire body was aching.

Constitution Save

D20 + 4 = 5 (1)

Exhaustion: 0 -> 1

The party was greeted by a large town surrounded by a dozen small forts, and wall which went all the way to the horizon, but Adam didn’t spend any time admiring it. Instead, he followed them to the inn before passing out.

Omen: 4, 7

Exhaustion: 1 -> 0

"It's dangerous beyond here," the guard said unenthusiastically. It was a stupid thing to say to Iyrmen, but he had to say it.

The Iyrmen, who had bought a carriage from the fort at an exorbitant price, began their journey forward. There were four horses which pulled the long carriage.

“It’s dangerous,” Okvar said. “Once we are within the town, we will speak about our next steps.”

“Is the herb out in this plain?”

“Somewhere,” Okvar replied.

“I will be able to find it, but we should make a base within the town first,” Lokat said.

“The Plains Terror?” Jurot asked, leaning in to listen to them intently.

“Excuse me?” Adam asked. “The what now?”

“The Plains Terror,” Dargon replied, simply. “It is the name for the reasons as to why this plain is uninhabited.”

“And what are those reasons?”

“Magic. Beasts. Magical beasts. Curses. Legendary creatures which lurk in the shadows.” Dargon shrugged his shoulders. “Too many things.”

Adam shook his head. “You could have told me that before, you know?” Adam stared out the carriage, seeing the empty plains.

They continued along to the plains, where there seemed to be no life.

Things seemed so tense, though Adam wasn't sure why. An Iyrman had told him the next part of the journey would be dangerous, so he took the matter seriously.

Hades flew freely above and around them, and Adam would take to his senses every so often, but he found nothing of note.

It was midway through the day when the Iyrmen felt it, the hairs on their necks standing up. Even Jurot, the youngest of the Iyrmen, could feel it.

“Jump!” Okvar exclaimed as the Iyrmen tore into the carriage with their mighty weapons to open up a path for the youngest pair.

The horses cried in terror as the earth beneath rumbled.

Dexterity Save

D20 + 1 = 6 (5)

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