Once their shopping was completed, Haven's Blade stopped at Haven House to grab their supplies and say goodbye to Janice, Ilyana, and Aelderheart. As the friendly door greeted them and swung open, Nick immediately ran in and exchanged sniffs with Wolfgang.
"Hi guys. How'd the meeting go?", Ilyana asked from her seat on the green velvet armchair in front of the empty fireplace. She had her legs over one of the arms and a leather-bound book in her hands.
Feyre gave a brief summary as Janice came into the room. "...so hopefully we'll be able to find them and stop the ritual in time."
"I'm sure you'll accomplish your mission," Janice encouraged. "Also, I had a feeling you wouldn't be staying long, so I packed food for you all, but I can see you have some already." She noticed Ru and Skamos's bags of food from their council meeting, the scents and juices from the seafood dishes beginning to seep through the burlap.
"If any of you want some, you're more than welcome to it," Skamos offered as he sat his bag on the dining table. "I'm sure it won't keep long anyway."
"Don't mind if we do!" Ilyana immediately jumped up and rummaged through the sack. She squeaked with delight, "It's been too long since I've had some good mako!"
Magra reached for the pack Janice had made. "I'm sure we'll find a good use for these," she said with a mischievous grin.
After the food was reorganized, Skamos kissed his mother on the cheek, and the party was back out the door. Heading towards the tree overhanging the fountain, Aeldevan lightly warned Feyre, "Make sure you wait until I cast the spell before running first."
"Yeah, yeah," the rogue responded. "Let's just get this over with. Traveling by tree makes me queasy."
Moments later, the green portal whisked the group in an instant back to the willow in Hammer's Fall that they had gone through the night before. There were a few dwarves around assessing the area's damage, no doubt ready to get everyone back home. As Haven's Blade stumbled out into the small street, the townsfolk gasped in surprise, one almost falling off a ladder.
"Let's grab Dilliah and the others, and then we can head out," Feyre proposed.
"Good idea," Ru confirmed, "but first, Skamos and I need to go get our Gruumsh skins from Saffron."
Skamos clenched his fists in excitement. "Oh yeah! I can't wait to see it!"
"Alright then," Aeldevan said. "Magra, Feyre, and I will go grab the herd from Jerome, and then we'll all meet up at the north gate."
◊◊◊
"Ugh, this isn't working," Aeldevan groaned as he threw his hands up. Plodding back onto the path a couple hundred feet outside the northern wall, he resumed walking next to Skamos. "I tried asking the plants if they've seen anything we've been looking for, but they don't remember that far back. The only other things I was able to confirm were that there were two gnomes in the area, so I guess there's that; but also that there was some influence from another plane, which we already knew; and there are no celestials in the area, but that doesn't do much for us."
"Let me try," Feyre offered, her small body swaying with Dilliah's gait. The gnome made clicking and squeaking sounds as she looked up into the trees above them. A chipmunk popped out from a branch and chittered back. Feyre signaled her steed to halt so that she could communicate with the chipmunk, using exaggerated gestures to ask if there had been a tall or short person heading west recently.
The chipmunk responded in squeaks and clacks, and Feyre translated for everyone else. "This is Frank, and he said there were two gnomes who came by and spoke with him," she explained. "He's not sure how long ago that was, but they came from the south, most likely directly from Everlit since Hammer's Fall had a lot going on." She asked something else but the rodent just shrugged. "He also doesn't remember seeing any creature that was killing off the orcs."
Feyre chattered again, but Frank crossed his little arms and shook his head before holding out his paws. Feyre sighed lightheartedly and took from her pocket some corn kernels from the dogfish stew from earlier. Frank sniffed the food, unsure of the fishy smell, before accepting. After a hesitant lick, he quickly gobbled up the offering and scurried up Feyre's shoulder. He squeaked and pointed forward, and Feyre moved Dilliah to the front of the caravan.
"What, we're following that rat now?", Magra commented to Ru who immediately scolded her to hush.
After about half a mile on a slight incline, Frank told Feyre to stop and pointed left into the forest. Ru hopped off the cart and walked over to the bushes, inspecting them carefully. "It looks like whoever went through here was really good at covering their tracks."
"That sounds like a couple of forest gnome spies to me," Feyre laughed as she dismounted.
Magra climbed off Dante and directed Nick, "Watch the herd and bark if there's trouble." He gave a confirming snort and gladly accepted the piece of hogfish his owner presented.
About forty feet from the road was a small raised clearing with a burned-out campfire. Nearby were two slain elven bodies. "Those elves look a little different than normal, don't they?", Ru questioned.
"Those are drow," Aeldevan answered. "I'm not sure what they're doing around here, though, unless Vrazhura has more followers than just orcs. Although we did fight that dark elf when we first met."
"Plus, Aarin's report said the orcs were using evil creatures," Skamos reminded them.
"Well, seeing as Frank pointed us here," Ru said, looking at Feyre, "your friends must have encountered these two." She kicked one of the bodies over, revealing several lethal slashes. "I don't know about you, but I think when these drow attacked, something else showed up and did all this. It probably took Pip and Brin with it. I just don't think two gnomes could do this type of damage."
"You've seen what I can do with a couple sharp objects," Feyre replied, "and Pip and Brin were just as good if not better when I knew them. Being spies for a well-known city, I'm sure they picked up a few more skills, so I wouldn't be surprised if they took care of these drow themselves and took off right after. Just look at those ankle wounds."
Ru looked closer and nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're probably right." Then she rifled through the bodies' pockets and pulled out ten gold pieces and a greater healing potion. "A lot of good this did you," she mocked at the cadaver.
"I heard drow blood can be refined into a poison," Aeldevan recalled as he kneeled down next to the corpses. "Let's see if it that's true." By carefully extracting the now gel-like substance, the half-elf was able to fill two vials.
"Do you know what happened?" Feyre turned toward the critter on her shoulder, but Frank was huddled in a ball peering over his tail at the dead bodies. He managed to chitter back that he only knew they were heading north. "Do you want to continue looking for them with us?", she asked. Frank said he was worried about them since he's known them the past couple years, so he gladly accepted her offer and nestled into the rogue's hood.
"Alright everyone," the gnome announced, "it looks like we have a new ally! I think we found everything that we will here, so let's keep going north."
"One last thing," Magra said as she stalked over to the drow with her demon axe. In two clean motions, she lopped off both their heads before driving a pike through them. "Now I can carry this and no one will mess with us," she declared before marching back to the road.
◊◊◊
As nightfall approached, Aeldevan scouted ahead and found a bigger clearing north of the bending trail, complete with its own pond to the northeast. Crickets in the field and frogs by the pond were already beginning their evening serenades. "Let's set up camp here and head out at first light," the druid suggested.
"While you all get things situated," Feyre said, taking off her boots, "I'm gonna see if I can catch some fish!"
"But we still have plenty of seafood in our packs," Skamos replied, his words lost on the determined gnome.
"I like to fish!", she hissed. "I'll pick up some herbs on the way back and we can mix it into the rest of what we have," she decided before stomping off.
With the sun's light only a thin line along the dark tree tops, Feyre headed back with her small catch and greenery. She walked through wildflowers and admired their colors and the fresh scent the breeze carried. Just before she stepped on it, she noticed a particular flower shimmer in the last rays of the sun. She watched the red petals for a moment, and then it flickered again almost as if being distorted. As any normal person would do, she smelled it before taking a bite out of one of its petals. "Smells fine. Tastes fine," she said murmured to herself.
The rest of Feyre's friends had started watching her from afar, unsure of what was happening. The gnome was now repeatedly leaping over the flower yelling, "Flicker! Flicker!"
"Did she poison herself?", Magra muttered to her friends.
"Maybe we should go find out," Skamos replied as he started walking.
Feyre noticed her allies approaching and stopped jumping. "Hey! Come check this out." She pointed to the flower, which had not done anything since the rogue's experiments started. "I was walking and saw this flower change colors. It was weird, but nothing else seems off."
"No! I really saw it," Feyre said adamantly. Picking up her fish and herbs, she asked, "Ru, can you dig this up and put it on the cart for further analysis tomorrow?" The gnome's stomach growled. "I think it's time to eat."
◊◊◊
The spring nights had started losing their chill, but Magra made sure the fire didn't get too low while everyone else slept. She stared into it, mindlessly poking the drow heads on her pike with a stick and petting Nick with her other hand. The wolfhound slept soundly but remained alert, his ears occasionally perking at insect chirps and the crackling fire. Through the flames, Magra thought she saw a tree at the edge of the clearing flicker orange and red. Peering around the fire, she could tell it wasn't a trick of the light. "Oh no, did Feyre poison the soup?" She felt fine, though, and nothing else seemed amiss, so she watched the tree continue shimmer for half an hour before it suddenly stopped. Curious, she sought help.
"Ah!" Aeldevan threw his hands up ready to fight. Two bloody drow faces came at him over and over, a sharp point poking into him.
"Are you awake?", the barbarian asked as she prodded him with her spear of trophies.
"I am now," he responded groggily.
"I think I saw what Feyre was talking about."
"What do you mean?"
"That flower she said she saw change colors. I've been watching a tree do something like that for a while over there." The orc pointed to the tree, which was now indiscernible from the surrounding forest.
"Hmm. Maybe I'll go have a chat with the trees to see if they know," Aeldevan suggested as he pulled on his boots. "Keep an eye on me."
"Make sure you take the flower with you," Ru said, startling the other two. "Your talking woke me up, but now I'm interested, so I'll come with you." She yawned and wiped her braided hair out of her face before stepping towards the cart when she suddenly stopped. The fighter's eyes were fixed on something in the shadows at the other side of the clearing, further away from the road. "What is that?"
"What's what?" Magra was facing the opposite direction, so Ru gently used the handle of her maul to turn Magra's head around. "Ohhh, that."
◊◊◊
A spherical shape hovered in the air, and it had several protrusions sticking out of it. It floated a little closer, revealing its grotesque features even more.
"What is that thing?", Ru exclaimed.
"That, my friend, is a beholder," Aeldevan explained, drawing his sword. "We've fought a zombie one back in my town, and they're not fun."
"Guys!" Ru shouted at Skamos and Feyre. "Get up!"
As everyone scrambled for their weapons, three smaller versions of the monster showed themselves and floated next to the large one.
"And those are spectators. But these ones look a little beefier than before," the druid told Ru.
"Aww, a whole family!", Skamos joked, his eyes gleaming menacingly as he prepared himself to take out the monstrosities.
"So I'm assuming these aren't interested in talking, then?" The dwarf looked a little afraid but ready to fight if needed.
"I doubt it," Aeldevan replied.
"That's a new one for me," Magra admitted, "but maybe I can scare them away." As she took a step forward, spear in hand, Skamos ran and climbed up the half-orc's back to stand on her shoulders, swiping Magra's pike.
Shaking the weapon in the air, the tiefling boomed, "You're gonna want to leave right now!"
Although the beholder was not impressed, the central eye of one of the spectators widened before it turned around to flee. Before it got very far, the beholder turned one of its small eyestalks and released a ray of dark energy, instantly executing its minion. The spectator fell to the ground in a charred lump.
"I call that one," Ru muttered to her friends, hoping to harvest something good from the remains.
The beholder never took its main eye off Haven's Blade, and it finally began to speak. It had a thick accent that none of the party could place, but it spoke in common tongue well enough for them to understand every belittling word.
"This pass belongs to my gaze. I am Zalthune the unblinking, chosen of the coming storm. I have seen your pathetic mission in my dreams - your sprint to the grove where the flesh-thief priests plow a path for Gruumsh. Who are you to stop them?
"The one-eyed god will stride across this world, and all will kneel or be devoured in the eternal dark of his coming. Your minds are parchment ready to be torn. Your fears are laid before me. You will go no further."
The adventurers were ready to show the beholder who they really were, but instead, the monster decided to tell them who they were. It focused its eye on each member, starting with Feyre. "Feyre, the knife gnome, thinking yourself a shadow. I see you clearer than you see yourself. A lifetime of tiny crimes, and yet you believe you deserve heroism? You are a lark trying to hide from the sun, and you are pathetic.
"Aeldevan, half-elf, broken child of two worlds. Whispering to trees and insects to feel less alone. Nature does not love you, druid; the trees told me so. Your wild shape will not save you when your bones turn to dust beneath my rays.
"Skamos, bard of infernal blood. Play me a song of failure, will you? One final tune for your final demise. Your voice is a cracked instrument and your words are empty. Even the nine hells refused to claim you. Too pitiful for devils, too loud for the grave.
"Magra, half-orc destroyer, swinging that brutish weapon as if rage is a purpose. How adorable the way you believe strength is enough. Listen well: I have slain war lords ten times your size without even blinking. Gruumsh will not remember your name.
"Ruvira, stout dwarf, thinking courage is armor. I see your doubt buried in the deepest tunnels of your mind. You fear being the last survivor. You fear being forgotten, and you will be.
"None of you will pass. None of you will even be corpses worthy of summoning rites. When Gruumsh steps through the veil, it will be over a road paved with your failures and your ashes. Now come behold perfection, and perish beneath my eye."
As it spoke the last word, Feyre released an arrow from her crossbow that she had readied during the speech. Its trajectory was lit with blue magic and marked where it struck one of the beholder's smaller eyes. "Knives aren't the only things I'm good with, asshole!" She then ran to position herself at the side of the field, closer to one of the spectators.
"Destroyer is right, bitch!" Magra flipped her pike onto her back and drew her demon axe in one smooth motion, ready to charge.
"Let's drag this fucking bitch back to the ocean where she belongs, Ursula," Skamos quipped. He swung his lute around to his front, fingers waiting to cast.
Before anyone else could move, the beholder released a shimmering cone of light that covered a large portion of the field, including where Magra, Ru, and Skamos were standing. At the same time, the creature released a ray of necrotic enervation at Feyre and a beam of force at Aeldevan. However, while it was busy, Magra used that opportunity to quickly down a flying potion to close the distance between her and the boss.
Although one of the spectators missed its initial attack, the second one was able to paralyze Feyre and injure Aeldevan. Skamos shouted his cloud of daggers spell, but nothing happened to the party's surprise.
At that moment, Aeldevan realized what was going on and shouted to his allies, "The shimmering area is an antimagic field! Spells cast inside it won't work, but you're also safe from their attacks!"
Ru took advantage of the new information and charged close enough to hurl her two daggers and javelin at the beholder's green scales.
With Ru's help, Aeldevan barely dodged a beam from the monstrosity, but he was hit with a second one, restricting any further movement. Luckily, he could still call down an ice storm on it and a spectator. Until he could move, though, he was a sitting duck for any more attacks, so he shifted into a giant elk that could take heavy hits that were bound to come.
Suddenly, the shimmering in the field stopped, indicating magic was free to use across the field. Despite this, the beholder was having trouble hitting Magra with his rays as she dipped and weaved around the attacks. As one finally made contact, the barbarian whirled her axe into his spherical form and managed to quickly sip a health potion, just before the beholder blasted her with a deadly ray that would have taken her out.
With everyone fair game now, the two spectators focused their attacks on Ru and Skamos. Although the fighter was hurt and restrained even if just for a moment, the bard danced around their rays, his eyes fixed on the boss as he strummed his lute.
"Go back to the ocean, octopus wannabee!" The tiefling's words brought the beholder's ire, but even his own attack missed the musical foe.
Despite their full mobility now, Ru and Feyre were struck with more necrotic rays from the beholder even as it frightened Magra at the same time. With trembling hands, the half-orc popped the corks for two more potions to both heal herself and grant resistance to necrotic attacks.
The spectators continued their assault across the combatants. Although they missed half the time, they were still able to instill fear in Ru who had just been hit by their leader's beam, slowing her movement considerably. Seeing Skamos summon a cloud of daggers over the beholder and in turn be hit by the monster, Ru shook off her fright and dashed towards it, itching to feel its flesh squelch under her maul.
By this time, Feyre had made it close enough to hit the beholder with her adamantine dagger and scimitar, managing to slice one of its eyestalks off cleanly. Just as she landed, Skamos's spell rained magical daggers into the beholder's body.
In a rage, the monstrosity reinstated the antimagic field over Aeldevan and Skamos to stop their attacks while at the same time firing separate necrotic rays into the three melee attackers. With Magra paralyzed and busy fighting her own fear, she was no longer a threat. That allowed all the monsters to focus their attacks on Ru and Feyre. With the antimagic field's range, Skamos could only fire off one of his arrows, which plinked off the beholder's rotting skin. The foe smiled grotesquely as he fired one last shot at Feyre, causing her to collapse on the spot.
With his attention on Skamos's horrified face, Ru took her chance and charged at the beholder with her maul. "You have too much too say, and now this will be the last thing you see!", she roared as she brought the maul's head square into the beholder's main eyeball. It winced but was able to dodge her next swing, watching Ru with its other eyes. No matter how many eyes it had, though, it still would not have been able to prevent the mountain dwarf's assault. She slammed her weapon through the remaining eyestalks, rendering them jellied asparagus, and continued to bash the monstrosity until its body was no longer floating or twitching. As a final insult, she jabbed her finger into its eyeball before turning to the spectators with a menacing smile, blood and ichor dripping down her body. Then she bit off the cork of a healing potion and spat, "I'm just getting started!"
With magic once again in his control, Aeldevan galloped to the fallen gnome and shifted back into his half-elf form to administer a generous healing spell. As soon as her eyes opened, the rogue's boots whisked her off to strike the closest beholder.
The spectators were noticeably concerned with the situation, but they continued to fire various beams at the party. Unfortunately for them, Skamos fired magical missiles at them both while Ru almost mashed one into a pulp. The other spectator wasn't so lucky as Aeldevan's blight spell caused it to wither into a dried husk. Although it still suffered fatal damage, it used the last of its energy to reflect the druid's attack, but the last thing it saw was Aeldevan's defiant grin.
Finally shaking off her fear and paralysis, Magra swapped in her headed spear and raged at the remaining spectator with an ungodly cry. The monstrosity's face had a mix of anger and terror as the barbarian thrust her pike completely through its body. Her chest still pounding with adrenaline, Magra admired her new trophy and boasted for her friends to hear, "And that's how you stick an olive!"
