Hello, Everyone!
With Balaine Endoras dead and the political situation between the nations of the world heating, our heroes found themselves speedily escaping Ekoba, followed by the conscription forces of the counrty's army. Last time they passed through the town of Anzen and agreed to take all their young boys and men along in order to save them from being forced into fighting in the coming war.
Also, being shaken by Endoras' untimely death, Mary wrote a letter to Gillean appologising for the way she'd been acting towards him recently. He reassured her that he was still supporting her and she felt a little better.
This episode is very special because we get to meet a new character who's going to be important later. I can't wait for you to meet them!
Mary and her friends promised Anzen's villagers that they were going to take care of their boys, and take care of them, they did. During the day, the group would travel towards the border with Pamagos – the boys on foot, Mary and her friends on horses, looking out for danger and making sure everything went well. Each night, they’d stop and make camp with Mary’s orange tree in the middle. Mary would let the boys inside in small groups, to get them warm and give them enchanted oranges which filled their bodies with energy for the next day’s journey.
On the first day, only after a few hours of travelling, Mary could see a great deal of change in the boys’ attitude. When they’d first met Adam and Bezar and their ‘robber’ friends, they had been desperate and hopeless, hungry and resigned. Now, their eyes--everybody's eyes--were burning. It was as if the mere thought that they were taking their lives in their own hands, gave them power and determination for the upcoming challenges.
When the group reached the second village on their way, Mary and her friends noticed the boys watching them intently, as if expecting them to do something specific. Then, after the trio went to the villagers and began warning them of the coming army, their tension subsided. So, they weren’t going to be the only ones faced with the opportunity to survive. There would be others as well.
The first group of boys even helped the trio convince the people that they were telling them the truth. They welcomed the new young men joining them--because, of course there were more who did!--and told them all about what to expect and how to act.
When the evergrowing group was only a few miles away from the plateau with the giant lizard, they already had twenty-eight young men, ranging from sixteen to twenty-five years old. In addition to the oranges they’d give them every night, each day Bruno would show them how to patch up wounds or find medicinal plants by the road. The boys that wanted to know how to protect themselves, got lessons from the trio (mainly Bruno and Aurum; since all of Mary’s talents in a fight came from Gillean).
Тhe morning before they reached the plateau, the boys gathered around the adventurers. There was an air of formality in their demeanour. Adam and Bezar, who were the first ones to join the party, announced that the young men had talked among themselves and wanted to stay with Mary, Bruno and Aurum, learn from them and become their Guard.
The trio didn’t know how to react and cautiously thanked them. Then, when they managed to get by themselves and a little bit away from the boys, they discussed the offer.
“I don’t like this,” Bruno said. “If we agree and any of them turn out to be bad eggs, it will reflect badly on us. Remember their attempt at ambushing us in the forest?”
“Yeah,” Mary said. “But they were desperate back then, and didn’t know what they were doing. It could be different now. If they knew we’d take care of them, they could be mindful of what they do in our name.” She continued. “What I am afraid is that they’ll get hurt around us. They seem so young and fragile right now! Like… how would they even be a Guard? Can you imagine them facing the Hydra, or dark elves, or, you know… a dragon?”
She shivered at the through of Nurvureem’s lair full of torture acid pools.
“We won’t be throwing them in the danger!" Aurum said. “The way I see it, we’ll get them to our fortress and they’ll train there until they can fight for themselves. Plus, we promised their families that we’ll keep them safe. The fortress is way safer than the streets of Pamagos!”
“Hmmm… I’m starting to like the idea,” Bruno said. “That way the fortress will be better protected if anything were to happen there. And when they’re better fighters, they can scatter about Erathos and be our eyes and ears.”
And so, it was decided. They had a Guard.
They continued their journey but Mary found that she wasn't feeling well. Very gradually, for a couple of days now, she'd been starting to get sick, but didn't want to burden anyone and was keeping it to herself. It was just some queasiness, nothing to get all worked up about.
Plus, they were almost at the plateau now! About a mile before reaching it, they saw a thin line of smoke rising from the top and Bruno suggested they station the boys (their ’Guard’!) some way off of the road and head on by themselves.
The trio went ahead of the main group and, at the foot of the plateau, they stopped to allow Aurum to use his Clairvoyance spell. The bard sat on the ground, singing under his breath, and looked through the lense that focused his magic.
Then, after a while, his brows furrowed.
"I have good news and bad news," he said. "The good is that we don't have to worry about the lizard. It's dead."
"That's nice?" Mary said. She didn't feel like taking on a fight anyway. "What's the bad news?"
"We might have to worry about someone who's even more dangerous than that?"
He looked worried. Told them there was a female tabaxi at the top of the plateau. It seemed like she'd killed the lizard, all by herself, and was now cooking some of its remains on a campfire.
“Aurum’s afraid of a pussy?” Bruno said and laughed way too hard at his own joke.
“She’s defeated the lizard, seemingly alone!” Aurum pointed out. “We were afraid to take it on three to one!”
“Yeah, well, nevermind,” Bruno said. “I say we go and talk to her.”
They climbed on the side of the plateau and slowly headed towards the top, keeping their hands away from their weapons as a mark of good will.
There was, indeed, a tabaxi woman up there. She was sitting by a small campfire and cooking parts of the big lizard on it. She was also drying some of its meat on a makeshift rack nearby and had spread her tent and sleeping bag out very casually, as if there wasn’t any danger around.
The moment the trio came into view, her green eyes flashed in their direction.
“Um…” Mary said, unsure of what to say.
“Um yourself,” the tabaxi said.
Mary recoiled and looked at her friends for help.
“You’ve killed our lizard,” Aurum said.
“Yeah, so?” the tabaxi said. “You can eat from it, too. There’s plenty of meat.”
Bruno didn’t wait for a second invite. He settled across from her and sliced himself a piece of the roasting meat.
“Um…” Mary swallowed hard. “Isn’t it better to at least know each others’ names before we share a campfire? I’m Mary, nice to meet you.”
“I’m Agatha," the tabaxi woman said, "and this lizard rubbed me the wrong way.”
What do you think of this Agatha person? And will having a Guard end up well for our heroes?
See you in the next episode!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.