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I SPENT MY DAYS WALKING aimlessly. No set destination in mind, or any means to continue at all. I’d lost my homeland and my family. I was to lead my people one day as their Seer, yet I couldn’t break the enchantments that guarded the Wynduff woodlands, and not from lack of trying.
But just when I’d reached rock bottom, my rations spent and my waterskin dried. A carriage passed me by, yet no driver nor animal controlled the vehicle, yet it moved swifter than a swallow. I felt drawn to its presence, voices of the earth beckoned me to follow. I only hoped my hooves would carry me onwards and by fate's design I was able to haul myself aboard in the luggage cart.
Exhaustion found me first as I nested amongst packs stuffed high with provisions; an assortment of weaponry, books and scroll, potions and rations. It wasn’t the most comfortable of beds but it beat sleeping rough with one eye open every night.
I awoke, unaware how long I’d slept, three faces glared at me. Faces I didn’t recognise. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, sat up and formulated an excuse in my head.
‘Comfy, are mew?’ the ginger feline spoke, a silver rapier inches away from my face.
I wonder what got his whiskers in a twist.
Beside him stood a muscular fiery haired woman, adorned in titanium plate armour. She’d a sword in hand, slung over one shoulder and looked like she wanted to murder me. The third seemed more put together than his comrades, a tiefling dressed to impress in the finest suit. A silken cloak draped across his shoulder, his midnight tresses tied in a long ponytail and a pair of silver frames rested on the bridge of his nose.
‘I..erm, what I mean is-’ I stuttered, just as the paladin hauled me out by my wrist. I landed on the earth beside the carriage with a thump but managed to choke. ‘I’m Saria.’
She glared at me then said, ‘I didn’t ask.’
I watched the tabaxi climb into the luggage trunk, his little toes wiggled as he landed amongst the rucksacks. Together they unloaded their packs as the carriage continued on, back along the path it came, while the adventurers departed in a separate direction.
Interesting enchantment.
‘Wait,’ I called out to the group as I hurried to my feet. I scooped up the layers of my skirt, now caked in mud, and chased after them.
Only the tiefling turned back, I barely made out his words but he didn’t seem impressed. He rested his index on his brow, like his patience worn thin.
‘What do you want?’ the fire genasi asked, just as I caught up to the group.
I doubled over, caught my breath and said, ‘Man what a workout.’ I glanced up, saw her brows raised and adjusted my posture. ‘Sorry, you’re adventurers right? Could I join your plight, I won’t be too much trouble for you, I promise.’
She folded her arms across her chest, unamused by my admission. She signalled to the Tabaxi, a little ahead of her struggling to negotiate the weight of several packs.
‘Here mew go,’ he called and threw a couple in my direction. But as I went to catch them I realised I’d underestimated their weight and landed flat on my stomach.
‘Does that mean I’m in?’ I asked, I stood before throwing the packs on my back and falling once more. The tiefling sighed and the paladin threw her head in her hands. I judged their looks and knew I’d pushed my luck.
‘No, it means you can help set up camp,’ the genasi said coldly and turned her back on me.
I summoned a gust of wind and hauled myself off the ground and hurried after them. I used my magic to lighten my own load, I should’ve offered to carry theirs as well in hindsight but our trek hadn’t lasted long, we soon stopped once we reached the edge of a beach.
The salty water tainted the air, a crisp breeze picked up my curls and beckoned me. I dropped the packs beside a rock formation and ran towards the waves. Sand crunched under my feet and the waves licked my hooves. I ignored the rest of the group, I’d never stepped foot outside my homeland, I wanted to enjoy this moment. The textures beneath my feet were a breath of fresh air to the earthy ones back in the woodlands. I bent down, dipped my fingers into the water and created little ripples. Bubbles floated to the surface and little fish danced inside them.
‘Thank mew,’ a voice said behind me and a ginger paw swiped a single fish. ‘How are mew able to do that?’ the tabaxi added and slumped a short distance away to eat his fish.
I released the bubbles and gently returned the fish to the waves. ‘Are you not a fan of water?’
He tilted his head at me and gave me a look that suggested I was stupid. ‘I’m a cat,’ he said, ‘Well, a tabaxi actually but that’s not important. No, I don’t like water.’
I nodded and noted his admission before I said. ‘I’m a Druid. I can make the natural elements bend to my will.’ I reconsidered my words, ‘Most of the time anyway. I’m proficient with herbalism too.’
The tabaxi finished his fish, stood, tipped his hardee to me and said. ‘Time to make camp.’
I took his gesture as an invitation and walked with him to rejoin the group.
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That evening once the campfire embers simmered down and our stomachs filled, the focus of conversation turned to me. I realised the group knew nothing about me yet had been kind enough to share their rations hospitality with me, despite our rocky start. Each one of them had introduced themselves while we built the campfire and cooked the stew. There was Mitztail the tabaxi, whom I was sure had begun warming to me, he even sat beside me at dinner and purred the entire time. Barcius, the tiefling, who still looked at me with disdain. And Tarasque, the fire genasi, whose hair caught aflame whenever she grew angry, which Mitztail had caused several times this evening alone.
‘From where do you hail?’ Tarasque asked once we’d finished our meal.
‘The Wynduff Woodlands,’ I said, but the group shook their heads.
‘Never heard of it,’ she replied.
Barcius lifted his gaze from his book, ‘There’s a logical explanation for that. It’ll be hidden in plain sight, yet due to the layers of protective enchantments, invisible to the outside world,’ he spoke his hypothesis aloud.
Mitztail rolled his eyes and said, ‘Here he goes again. Theory crafting.’
Barcius set down his book, pushed his glasses up his nose and threw his friend a glare. The pair erupted in a dispute and I chuckled to myself.
I never confirmed nor denied the tiefling’s claims, it was taboo to discuss my Tribe to outsiders. ‘What about the rest of you?’ I asked. My question diffused the argument.
Tarasque cleaned away our mess tins and slumped back on the ground opposite me, ‘Our homelands are gone, our pasts long forgotten,’ she said.
In her tone I sensed a hint of sadness, I made a silent promise to to pry further. I altered my second question with more care, ‘Then what brings you here?’
‘Business,’ the fire genasi said. Tarasque took a waterskin from her pack and swigged back the liquid. ‘We were assigned the job from our Guild Master, apparently the recruiter asked for us personally.’
‘I see,’ I replied and watched her curiously. I wasn’t sure if that was water she was drinking, but I judged from the scars that marred her body that she needed something stronger in her veins.
‘We almost refused the job, we were all set for retirement after we lost our healer,’ Tarasque dumped the waterskin back into her pack and ran a ebony hand through her fiery tresses. ‘There was a steep price for the success of our last quest, one none of us wanted to repeat.’
I glanced at the gentlemen of the group, both hung their heads in solidarity. I didn’t want to pry, I only assumed the worst had happened, but instead of allowing my mind to wonder, she filled the blanks.
Tarasque drew in a breath before talking, ‘She’d been murdered, a bright and cheery soul cruelly stripped from the earth. We vowed to hang up our weapons and refuse any job posted on the board but-’
Mitztail interrupted, ‘The coin was too purr-fect to ignore. In honour of our fallen comrade, we took the bill and with the handsome reward. She wouldn’t if she’d been personally invited.’
‘Perhaps I could assist you,’ I said aloud. The words spilled from my lips before I’d given them a second thought. ‘I might not know the job description, nor do I have much experience in combat but I’m useful as a support.’
It wasn’t my worst idea to date.
Barcius rolled his eyes, ‘Absolutely not, I forbid it,’ he said without hesitation.
Tarasque was quick to snap back, ‘You don’t get to make decisions for the group.’
Though I wasn’t sure if her words had been directed at him or I, and I didn’t want to ask for clarification.
‘I’ll sleep on my decision,’ she added and hauled herself off the ground. ‘For now, we need our rest before our trek up the mountain tomorrow. I’ll take the first watch.’
The group decided it wouldn’t be best if I took a shift on watch alone due to my inexperience with battle. I never complained, I was quite glad for the opportunity of a long rest. Since I was banished from my homeland, I’d acquired little sleep in my unknown surroundings. Too scared to shut my eyes in case I was mugged in my sleep, or worse. My ability hadn’t allowed me to create a large enough structure to rest inside, only a half-scale wall that granted little protection.
Mitztail conjured four small orbs that lit the campsite with a subtle purple hue. Sensitive enough not to wake those sleeping but bright enough for the watchers to see further in the distance, or in the case of Barcius able to read.
I awoke only once in the night to a gentle lullaby and the image of the tabaxi sat with his back against a nearby tree while he hummed a melody to himself and strummed on his lute. Small feline creatures escaped the orbs and danced around the campfire to his tune. My last thoughts before I fell asleep was how beautiful they looked as they danced beneath the stars.
The next morning I was woken with the rising sun, Barcius handed me a small bowl of fruit our feline friend had foraged for. I took this as a sign the group granted me their permission to stay, and with our basic breakfast lining our stomachs, the campsite cleared away and the fire embers dwindled, we began our ascent up the mountain side.
A steep incline made our journey perilous, but my hooves adapted fast. Tarasque seemed impressed by my tenacity, more so than she’d been with the tiefling’s whines throughout the climb. The trek took the morning to complete, when we reached the summit we were greeted by white stone derelict structures, broken in places with ivy plants reclaiming the land. The clearing itself was rather small, wide enough to fit our group and the structures, but off to the side, hidden in plain sight, sat a wooden hut. Smoke escaped the chimney. Tarasque led the group to the hut, an obvious place to start to look for their recruiter, but when we entered the structure it was devoid of all life.
‘Split up, look around,’ she ordered, her tone thick with anger.
I hoped for the group’s sake, and my own, we weren’t being taken for a ride. Mitztail leapt up onto the top shelves and pawed through the trinkets that lined them. Tarasque removed the sword from the sheath and held it before her as she skirted through the hut. Barcius aided Mitztail and looked through the books and scrolls that littered the shelves and floor. I listened for signs of life. I’d hoped a mouse or bird would greet me to aid our search but all I could hear was the faint clicks of cogs. I made my way to the back of the hut, a set of bookshelves thick with dust greeted me. A small metallic creature stood before it and had busied itself shelving books.
‘What are you?’ I asked, as I reached out my hand to touch him.
The creature turned and stared at me with vacant orbs, ‘I am Cogsworth,’ it replied, alerting the rest of my party. Tarasque sheathed her sword and folded her arms across her chest as Mitztail leapt off the top shelves.
‘Fascinating,’ Barcius said as he knelt before the creature. ‘An automaton, I must commend the beautiful craftsmanship.’
That was the first time I’d heard the tiefling hand out any sort of compliment, yet the moment was disturbed by an ill feeling in my gut. Someone was watching us. I turned and noted the appearance of a staircase that wasn’t there when we entered then to the goat-like male figure, a Firbolg, on the stairs with a smile upon his lips. This had to be the man who’d recruited the party, yet his presence unnerved me and I couldn’t put my finger on as to why. Then he spoke with a nobleman’s tongue.
‘Why thank you dear boy.’
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