by A. C Carter
Chip walked up, out of breath, said “I don’t either.”
Leela scanned the lake. “Maybe it is in the cliffside.”
A dialogue scroll appeared for Arilee.
Dialogue Scroll
-
Camp for the night
-
Search for the cave
Arilee was tired.
“Let’s make camp off the path and away from the lake for the night. We can look for the cave tomorrow.”
The group sighed with relief. They were anxious to find the cave, but not that anxious.
Dialogue Scroll
x
Camp for the night
-
Search for the cave
+1 Group Relations with All
The scroll disappeared.
The group walked around the shore, closer to the west side, and made camp in a small clearing of trees.
So exhausted, the group went about their chores in silence. Leela and Slicks gathered some firewood while Arilee unrolled the sleeping mats. Chip got out some dried meats from his bag and used Arilee’s dagger to cut up the vegetables that he brought along.
Chip then used his fire spell to gently heat up the wood to create a fire. They didn’t want to bring attention to themselves so he kept it small.
By the time they finished eating, the sun had now set and night had fallen on the woods. The group were in a circle, each lost in their own thoughts while the fire dwindled down.
Slicks stood up and walked over to his bedroll. “Good night everyone.” he said briefly before lying down.
Chip stretched and yawned. “I am thinking the same for myself.” He said as he too got into bed.
Leela and Arilee sat, listening to the quiet night and the wind blowing through the trees.
“So Arilee, what is home like for you?” said Leela, not yet ready for bed.
“Well, actually, I -” A branch snapped. Arilee’s head jolted in its direction. Her body tensed for a second before she dove towards her daggers bundled on the ground with the rest of her gear. Slicks and Chip sat up. Leela drew her sword ready.
A figure stepped up from the darkness from the other side of the campsite. It was big.
Leela readied her sword in front of her. Arilee had her daggers drawn.
The figure stepped forward into the firelight.
Arilee looked in confusion.
“Scout Marshall?”
Quest 5: Assault the Goblin Cave
Chapter 19
Arilee kept her daggers in front of her.
“How do we know you are really Scout Marshall Bodwin? Prove it.”
“It’s okay lass. It’s me. Where’s Scout Thomas?”
“Prove. You. Are. The. Scout Marshal.” said Arilee again.
The group stood tense; ready with their weapons drawn.
The Scout Marshall slowly moved his arms out wide, opening up his defenses. “I have my axe here on my back and also I brought with me a bag of upgrades for you all. If you just let me get them, will that convince you?
Arilee looked at the group, then remembered Scout Thomas’s daggers in her belt. “No. Not enough.”
Chip, with his staff raised, directed a question sternly at the Scout Marshall, “How does my cooking taste?”
“What?” replied the Scout Marshall.
Arilee looked at Chip, “What?”
Chip’s face remained straight, “The Scout Marshall has tried my cooking a few times. He would know.”
The Scout Marshall blinked, then smiled. “To be honest, you use too much salt and spices. But it’s always cooked just right because you do that Magic heating trick.”
Chip kept his staff raised, “I do not use too much salt!”
Arilee looked at the rest of the group. She smiled and lowered her weapons.“Yes you do. It’s him. Lower your weapons everyone.” she said, waving for the Scout Marshall to come over to them.
Relieved, the group lowered their weapons. Leela walked over to Chip and patted him on the back. “Don’t feel too bad. It’s almost good cooking Chip.”
Chip sulked for only brief second before smiling and looking at the Scout Marshall. “You mentioned Upgrades?”
“Yes, yes, I left them just over here behind this tree.” he said, walking to a tree on the edge of the darkness. “Take a seat around the fire. I also want to hear about what’s happened.”
Scout Marshall Bodwin brought out a large sack with filled armors and weapons. A sword and staff were sticking out the top.
As he sat down and started to dig through the sack and take out items, Arilee told him the story of what happened since they left camp. She talked about the corruption of the forest, the Spiders, the Goblins, Scout Thomas, and their new loot.
When she finished, the Scout Marshall stared into the fire for a few minutes in silence, deep in thought. He picked up a stick at his feet and stoked the fire a few times. Then, he turned and looked at Arilee.
“Are you sure his eyes shimmered?”
“Mostly sure.”
“It must be an illusion. It must be.” He turned to the fire and stoked it few more times. Then he said, “Who ever that really is, must be behind the illusion magic we’ve seen the Goblins using recently. That confirms our suspicions that they’ve had help.” He paused for a moment. “And this corruption. It’s nothing like we’ve seen before.”
Leela, confused, asked “So you think it was something one disguised as Scout Thomas? We left camp with an enemy?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so Leela. The real Scout Thomas probably never came back to camp. He must have died out here like the other scouts and they sent a plant in his place.” A look of worry came over his face. “That means they know all about our defense plans.”
Chip asked, “Is this bad?”
The Scout Marshall chuckled, “Well Chip, lets just say it could be better. But no need to worry. The Commander has a plan.”
Arilee, suddenly having a bad feeling, asked, “Is that why you are here Scout Marshall?”
Slicks followed up her question. “Yesss. I can guessss it was not just to bring us giftsss.”
The Scout Marshall seemed to have found something he was looking for in the sack, and brought out a pair of gloves. He sat them on top of a pair of boots he took out before. Then he looked up at the group.
“You are right. I have come with an update for your quest.” He waited for the group to gather in closer.
“This a quest straight from the Commander. Our reports say the Goblin army is marching now to lay siege to the Camp. However, we believe the Goblins have a Warlock who has been spreading this corruption. The Warlock will most likely remain in the cave during the battle. With the bulk of the army gone the Warlock should be mostly unguarded. We need you to sneak in, kill the Warlock and steal his magick grimoire.”
“Are you not coming with us?” asked Chip.
“No, I am not. I will be needed back at the Camp.”
“Will we not be needed at the Camp?” asked Arilee.
The Scout Marshall turned towards Arilee, “The Commander is confident his troops can repel the Goblins.” He turned so he was speaking to everyone. “But. You must sneak into the Goblin Cave tonight. There is no time to delay. We can not let the Warlock escape and we need his Grimoire recovered.” replied the Scout Marshall.
“But we don’t know where the Cave is yet,” said Chip.
“And we need to rest.” said Leela.
“I have the answer to both of your problems.” said the Scout Marshall, reaching back into his bag. He retrieved for small vials of a grey liquid and handed them out. “Drink these and they will wake your right up. They restore your stamina and make you feel alert.”
The group each took one of the vials. Arilee looked at it suspiciously. She carefully uncorked the vial and smelled it. She didn’t think it smelt like anything. She looked at the others, shrugged, and drank it. The others did the same.
It went down smooth and had little to no ta
ste. As soon as she swallowed it, her eyes shot up. The heaviness from her eyelids lifted. Her shoulders perked up. The fogginess in her mind cleared. She felt ready. She looked at everyone else and they seemed awakened as well.
“Wow this is great. Why don’t we use these all the time” said Chip.
“Well, they say what goes up must come down. These potions can push your body past its limits but it will make your body collapse with exhaustion after a few hours.”
“So we have to do our Quest fast. Understood.” said Arilee. She looked at the pile of gear that the Scout Marshall had finished laying out. “What else did you bring us?”
“I’m glad you asked Arilee.” said the Scout Marshall guiding everyone to the laid out gifts he brought. He flourished his arm over the neatly laid out gear, presenting it to the group.
“For Slicks, I brought this steel sword, as an upgrade to the iron Sword you have been using. This sword is sharper and will be able to cut through the crude iron weapons of the Goblins. It is also lighter and you should be able to swing it faster.” Slicks walked up and grabbed the Steel Sword. He sliced it through the air a few times. He smiled.
“Thankssss.”
The Scout Marshall continued.
“For Leela, Kaerlin the Healer in camp wanted me to give you this Ring. He said it was Blessed by a High Priestess and will make your healing and protection spells stronger.”
Leela stepped forward and retrieved the ring. It had a silver band with a small blue crystal encased in the middle.
“Next, for Arilee, here are a pair of the Military’s Leather Archer Gloves. These are made to help steady your wrists when you aim with your bow.”
Arilee took the new gloves and tried them on. Pleased with how they fit.
Last was Chip, who walked up and grabbed the remaining staff and pair of boots.
“What’s the staff?”
“I was told it's enchanted to glow. I can’t make it work but if you say “Magus” the head of the staff will glow”
Chip looked at the staff in his hand. “Magus”. The very tip of the staff gave off a faint glow. “Very cool. And the boots? Are they magic too?”
“No. No the boots are just really comfy boots. You’ve been wearing those light mage boots and I thought you could use real boots.”
Chip looked a little disappointed as he tried them on. “Thanks.”
Arilee had one last question for the Scout Marshall. She drew the Elvish Daggers she looted from Scout Thomas’s body. “Do you know what these Elven Blades say?” she said, presenting the Elvish Script along their blades.
The Scout Marshall looked at the curvy elegant script. “Yes. I don’t read Old Elvish, but I know what a few of the common enchantments mean. That one is Bleed. Just like it sounds, it makes cut bleed more.” He paused for a second, before adding for emphasis. “A lot more.”
Scout Marshall Bodwin turned to the group. “Is that all? Is everyone ready? For the next part?”
No one said anything.
“Good, follow me to the edge of the lake.
The Scout Marshall turned to the dwindling fire and shoved a pile of nearby dirt into it with his boot. He looked over his shoulder as started walking to the lake. “Make sure you grab everything you need.”
Arilee grabbed her bow and arrows, secured her daggers, and followed the group after the Scout Marshall.
It wasn’t too far to the lake, where the Scout Marshall stopped on the edge and pointed to just to the East of the Waterfall.
“Do you see over there? There’s two small lights in the distance.”
Arilee and the group peered over the lake in the direction he pointed. Arilee didn’t see anything. She waited a moment, letting her eyes adjust. Slowly, she was able to make out two faint lights in the distance. They were moving.
The Scout Marshall continued, “Those are torches. You’ll see them moving. Watch them.”
Arilee watched as the lights walked along the edge of the far side of the lake. The lights traveled along the edge towards the waterfall, and then disappeared behind the waterfall.
The Scout Marshall turned to the group. “If you saw, the torches disappear behind the waterfall. That is where the cave is. Those two that just came in should be the last patrol coming for the night.”
“Won’t it be guarded?” asked Slicks.
“It will have a light guard, but if you are stealthy about it, you should be okay. Use the skills you’ve learned. If you get into a skirmish, take them out fast. If you can take them out before thy see you, even better.” The Scout Marshall looked up at the Moon in the partly cloudy sky. “I have to leave now. If you four follow this side of the lake towards the waterfall, you’ll find a wooden ramp that runs up to the side of the cliff. If you follow that path, it will take you to the front of the cave. Good luck on your quest, Recruits.” The Scout Marshall saluted firmly to the four of them, rapping his fist on his chest.
The group saluted back, and turned towards the cave. Confident for the quest ahead.
Chip, with one last question about how the Scout Marshall knew how to find them, turned back around.
“Hey Scout Marshall, I wanted to ask -” But the Scout Marshall was already gone.
Operation Elfbait
Chapter 20
The sound of the waterfall crashing on the lake echoed through the forest as the group neared its edge. They had followed the Scout Marshall’s directions, making sure to stay a few meters inside the treeline. Arilee signaled for the group to stop behind a tall line of trees. For a moment, Arilee watched the water rushing over the top of the cliff, crashing into the tumultuous lake waters below. And just as the Scout Marshall described, she could see the cave entrance halfway up the cliffside just behind the rushing waters.
Leela tapped Arilee on the shoulder and pointed to the left, along the ground level. “Over there must be the path entrance leading up.”
Arilee followed where Leela had pointed to see two armored goblins guards. Faintly lit torches behind them illuminated a wooden ramp leading up the cliffside to the cave. The Goblins had black armor like the ones she saw earlier walking with Scout Thomas. They had crude metal helmets and breastplates, and long steel-tipped spears. The one on the left was a good foot taller than the other Goblin. Arilee could also just make out a large bell next to them. That me be an alarm, she thought to herself.
Slicks saw the Goblins too and said “There issss not that many. We could just charge them. Maybe, Arilee could take one out with her arrowssss.”
Chip responded first “That’s way too obvious. They’ll see us coming.” He bent down and picked up a rock. “I was thinking, I throw this rock way over there behind the Goblins. Then, when they turn to look, that’s when we charge them.”
Slicks hissed at Chip. “That’s basically the ssssame plan.”
Chip responded smiling, “Yes, but with added deception.”
Leela made a playful scowl at both of them. “Those are terrible plans.” She looked at Arilee, “Maybe we could lure them away from the ramp? We could use bait. Maybe some food they really like.”
Chip looked at Arilee, “Whose plan do you think we should use?”
A dialogue scroll appeared for Arilee.
Dialogue Scroll
-
Charge the Goblins
-
Throw the rock
-
Elven Bait Trap
Arilee thought aloud to the group.
“I don’t think my arrows can get through those helmets they have on. And with that alarm bell next to them, they’ll ring it as soon as they see us charging.”
“So we’ll throw the rock then?” said Chip hopefully.
“Well what if only one of them turns to look? Or they don’t hear it? Or they see the rock coming from over here? No, I think luring them away is the best idea.”
Chip tried to defend his plan one last time. “But we don’t even know what Goblins like to eat.”
Arilee remembered
back to when she was listening in on Scout Thomas and the Goblin group. Scout Thomas said he was looking for ‘the Half-Elf”. But the Goblins’ were excited about something else. Elf Flesh.
“I know something the Goblins’ like to eat. But Leela isn’t going to like it.”
The Scroll’s text change, highlighting her decision.
Dialogue Scroll
-
Charge the Goblins
-
Throw the rock
x
Elven Bait Trap
Group Relationship with Leela -2
2/5
Arilee told the group her plan. It took some convincing but they all eventually agreed. They took their positions hiding against the tall trees at the edge of the forest. All except Leela who was hesitant.
“I still don’t know about this one, Arilee.”
“Trust me. Remember what Scout Marshall Bodwin told us. Goblins are dumb.”
“I know, and no offense, but this plan seems kinda dumb.”
“It’s all we have right now, and we’re on a time limit.” explained Arilee, smiling reassuringly. Arilee did feel a little bad about this plan. But she was sure it would work and Group Leaders need to make hard decisions sometimes.
Chip walked next to Leela and guided her to the forest edge.