The Sorcerer's Path Box Set: Book 1-4

by Brock Deskins

  "Has anyone disappeared from the town that you know of?" Maude asked the old woman.

  "Oh aye, most definitely a man named fat Thomas. He's disappeared as well as my own boy. Many people who couldn't pay their taxes or spoke out against him, they'd be gone for days and days, and when you saw them again they'd not be the same. They'd look like they'd had the very life sucked out of them they would. The laird’s wife and son disappeared most mysteriously. I heard much wailing and screaming from the manor house round the time they disappeared too, I'll have you know," the crone hissed conspiratorially.

  Several patrons, farmers, millers, cobblers, and beggars began to all chime in about the atrocities the laird had committed; from townsfolk disappearing, livestock slaughtered, to performing foul magic, and all swore he was a vampire or ghoul of some kind.

  "All right, first thing tomorrow, I want Malek to ask around town about these rumors while Borik, Tarth, and I go take a look at this laird's mansion," Maude instructed.

  "I don't like the idea of tangling with vampires," Borik said adamantly.

  "It's one vampire, and we'll attack in daylight, so he should be sleeping."

  "If we attack in daylight, won't it be hard to get past the guards?"

  "That's why we're going to scout out the mansion."

  "If you attack the mansion, try not to hurt the poor souls guarding it. They ain't there of their own free will, and many of em is son's and fathers of the townsfolk. He keeps ‘em spelled so's they don't run off or kill him in his sleep," added the crone.

  "That makes it a bit tougher, but I'm sure Tarth can help with that, can't you, Tarth?"

  "Hm? Oh, of course, dear, I know just the thing. I think I'll dye my hair blue. That will compliment my nails and slippers; kind of pull them both together," the mage replied.

  The next morning after they broke their fast, the adventurers split up to learn more about the beleaguered town's situation. Malek went about inquiring about the laird, digging up any useful information he could while Maude, Borik, and Tarth followed the road out of town toward the laird's mansion.

  The mansion sat upon a hill just outside the town at the end of a winding flagstone road with immaculately groomed grounds. Drainage ditches and culverts lay to each side of the well-maintained road and not a speck of litter from man or nature marred the perfect landscaping. It was apparent that a great deal of labor had gone into the estate grounds.

  The three intrepid adventures watched the mansion from the safety of a thick stand of trees about fifty yards from the mansion wall. It was a solid wall with a stout gate. Several armored guards paced atop the wall, occasionally calling down to someone else on the inside, most likely more guards.

  From her own observations and from what she had heard from the bar patrons, there were perhaps a score of guards on the estate, several patrolling the outside grounds, perhaps half a dozen inside the mansion watching over their sleeping master during the daylight hours, and a night shift sleeping in barracks somewhere behind the main building.

  Maude and her group watched the guards’ activity and noted the numbers and their patrol cycles. A couple of hours later, they returned to the inn’s common room to discuss plans over ale and wine. Malek finally joined them late that afternoon.

  "Were you able to find out anything more from the townsfolk?" Maude asked.

  "Oh yes. Let me tell you, there are a lot of penitent women in this town. It was fortunate I was here to grant penance," the cleric replied.

  "I asked you to find out about this laird not cavort with the local maids!"

  "Oh they're no maids I assure you," Malek replied with a grin that he dropped and got serious when Maude glared at him. "Right, the laird. Well, everyone I spoke to all agree he is mean and evil and most say he probably dabbles in the black arts. Nearly half insist he is indeed a vampire or ghoul of some kind; half again as many folk say it is possible or at least probable that he is a vampire, and two women claim to have had children who have disappeared over the years."

  "It sounds pretty clear to me that we have an undead menace terrorizing this poor little town. As a registered adventuring group, I think we have an obligation to relieve them of this scourge as well as any treasure we find in the mansion of the beast," proclaimed the group's leader.

  "Hear, hear! I swore a sacred vow to destroy the undead plaguing the kingdom and would be greatly remiss in my duties as a cleric of Solarian if I turned my back on the poor people of Duskshire," Malek proudly proclaimed to the applause of the afternoon tavern crowd.

  "I still don't like the idea of tangling with a vampire. Do you have a plan for getting us past the gate without having to hack our way through?" Borik asked.

  Maude explained the plan she had developed from her observations of the compound. Borik grudgingly agreed after he was unable to come up with anything better of his own. The group ate an early dinner and went to their rooms to prepare for the assault the next day.

  The party of adventurers found themselves watching the walls and gate of the mansion about an hour after sunrise. Maude sent Tarth and Borik to hail the gate as she and Malek hid in the same copse of trees she had used the day before.

  "Hail, the gate," Borik shouted to the guards on the wall.

  "What do you want?" one of the guards called down.

  "We are traveling mummers and wish to entertain your great lord for a bit of wine, food, and coin sirs."

  The dwarf had his armor and weapons covered with a bright robe draped over his body and hanging to his knees. He wore an oversized pair of gaudy pantaloons that bulged out at the hips and clashed horribly with the coverlet. The entire ensemble made him look like an obese court fool.

  "Go away. Our lord has no interest in entertainment."

  "Please, sir, just give us a moment to show you our act, and I'm sure you'll agree that it is worth a bit of your lord's precious time and coin."

  Before the guard could object, Borik and Tarth launched into an act of juggling, tumbling, and pantomime that insulted true mummers everywhere. Borik’s added limerick, while catchy, of possibly the most offensive words ever set to a tune.

  "I told you fools to leave! Clear the gate and take yourselves back down the road! I've seen better shows involving a donkey and your mother!" the guard called down.

  "Well then, that just might make us relation. I wondered why my mother gave away my bastard half-brother!" Borik shot back.

  “That ain’t no show, it’s a debacle. Now clear the grounds, or I'll show you the inside of your guts!"

  By this time, several more guards crowded the walls near the gate, drawn by the heated shouting.

  "You want a show? I'll give you a show!" Borik shout, dropped his pants, and bared his buttocks at the guards watching the ridiculous farce.

  "That's it, dwarf, you and your weird friend are in for it now!"

  Several armed guards stalked out of the open gate to thrash the impertinent dwarf and the strange, skinny elf and drag them away from the estate grounds.

  Fortunately, Tarth was having one of his more alert days and cast his spell at the group when they emerged from the gates, sending them crashing to the ground in a magic-induced sleep. Before the three remaining guards on the wall could shout an alarm, Malek burst from his concealment and cast a divine spell that caused them to become completely immobilized and unable to speak. Maude and Malek ran from the cover of the trees and joined the Borik and Tarth on the road in front of the gate.

  "So far so good. Excellent work, Tarth." Maude complimented the beaming elf.

  "What about me? I'm the one who made a horse's ass out of himself to get them to open the gates," Borik protested.

  "Quit your whining, you big baby," Malek sniped.

  Borik threw off the robe and pulled his mace out. "I'll show you whining, you pompous, deviant halfwit!"

  "Stop it, you two, now! We still have a barracks full of guards and more inside the mansion we have to deal with, and I would rather our intrusion be a surpris
e!"

  Chastised, Malek and Borik followed their leader through the gates and around to the rear of the huge manor house. There were several buildings at the back of the mansion. A stable, what looked to be servant's quarters, and a long low building that most likely housed the remaining guards.

  The party crept up to the door and peeked inside. Another entire shift’s worth of guards lay snoring within. Borik looked around and pointed to a stack of timbers lying against the stable wall. Maude lugged one timber out and braced it against the front door while Borik and Malek carried another around to the other side and did the same to the other door.

  Once they securely barricaded the barracks doors shut, the four adventurers crept to a side entrance leading to the kitchens. Maude gently pulled the door open and slipped inside with her companions close behind. The group stepped into the large kitchen and stood face to face with several maids and a cook.

  "Shhh, don't be frightened. We're here to help you," Maude whispered reassuringly to the startled staff.

  Unfortunately, seeing armed and armored intruders was not a reassuring sight, and several maids screamed and ran for the door leading into the mansion. Maude was just able to dodge the cleaver the cook hurled at her before following on the heels of the women. The group prepared for battle when they heard the sounds of booted feet running toward the kitchen.

  "So much for surprise," Borik grumbled.

  Not wanting to be caught in an enclosed space, Maude led a charge into a large dining hall. A huge polished wooden table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by ornately carved wooden chairs with red velvet padding on the seat and backs. Three brilliant crystal chandeliers provided light to any evening dinner guests.

  The cook and scullery maids bolted through the door at the far side of the room at the same time several guards burst in, shoving past the terrified kitchen staff. Maude leapt upon the ornate hardwood table, furrowing large gouges into the polished surface with her hobnailed boots. Borik ran under the table, barely having to duck his head. Malek called upon his god for aid, and a sense of wellbeing and righteousness filled him and his companions as they charged the oncoming guards. Tarth stood in the far corner admiring the faceted crystal of the chandelier, the scrollwork of the dining table, and the artwork hanging upon the walls, seemingly oblivious to the impending threat.

  Maude swung a large two-handed cudgel into the helm of one of the guards knocking it clean off his head and sending him sprawling across the polished granite floor. Borik burst out from under the table catching another guard by surprise with a wicked blow to the knee before rendering the hapless man senseless with a hard whack to the head with his mace. Malek waded into the fray swinging his hammer with wild abandon while calling out to his god.

  The adventurers tried their best to keep their promise to not slay any of the mind-controlled guards, or at least not cause permanent injury, by using only blunt weapons and checking their blows. The party brought low the hire swords and charged through the door through which the kitchen staff had fled minutes before.

  The small band of heroes burst through the door and came face to face with half a dozen guards, their crossbows leveled with deadly intent. Maude leapt to the right the moment she cleared the doorway, and Malek dove left as the house guards loosed their deadly bolts. Borik ducked his head, and the quarrels zipped past like angry hornets. Tarth, being typically distracted, was not so fortunate. Several of the steel-tipped projectiles tore through his magnificent silk and saffron robes.

  The elven wizard let out a high-pitched shriek of indignation at the effrontery of the inconsiderate guards. He summoned the power of the Source and conjured two huge, semi-transparent fists he directed to slap viciously at several of the guards, pummeling them into submission. Maude and Malek rolled to their feet and charged the flanking guards who yet stood unchallenged by the furious elf and sought cover behind a large padded couch whilst the dwarf ran straight up the center.

  The experienced adventurers overwhelmed the hired soldiers who were little more than conscripts. Maude and Borik pressed a trio of house guards back toward an ornate staircase leading to the second floor and the bedchamber of the lord of the manor, unless he slept in a coffin in the cellar as many vampires were reputed to do.

  Several more guards from the second floor ran to help those forced into a fighting retreat by Maude's Marauders. Tarth shifted his magic to the newest battle, wrapping two more guards up in a large throw rug and adhering three others to the floor. Borik struck one guard in the stomach hard enough to double him over, and Maude dropped him with a solid hit of her cudgel to his head.

  The battle raged up the grand staircase with Maude and Borik fighting side by side, slowly grinding down the overmatched household guards until only a scant few remained standing by the time they reached the top of the stairs.

  "Mercy, please, I beg you!" cried one of the guards. His two remaining comrades quickly took up his plea.

  "Drop your weapons and you will not be harmed!" Maude commanded, breathing heavily from the fast-paced battle. "Borik, bind and gag these men securely. Malek, Tarth, follow me to the vampire's chamber.” Maude nodded toward the large double doors at the end of the hall. "Is your master in that chamber?"

  "Yes, but…" the guard answered.

  "Is he alone? Is there anyone else left we must fight?”

  "I don't believe anyone else is left but…," the guard stammered before Borik put the gag in his mouth.

  Maude, Malek, and Tarth stalked down the hall as Borik finished securing the fallen guards. She looked at her two companions and nodded before launching a hard kick at brass door handles where the two doors came together. The doors flew apart, and Maude and Malek burst into the room taking up a stance inside the chamber and to each side of the open doorway. An old man with wispy white hair stood before them dressed in dark clothing and a black flowing cloak.

  "By the holy power of Solarian I command you, back foul creature of the night!" Malek shouted, holding his holy symbol high.

  Before the invaders could react, the wretched creature let out a primordial shriek and charged between the fighter and cleric. The dreadful-looking man fled with a speed that made him appear as little more than a black blur and bowled over a surprised Tarth in a flurry of silken robes.

  "Borik, heads up!" Maude called out.

  The dwarf looked up from where he was finishing binding the surrendered guards just as the balding, wrinkled face of the laird barreled into him, sending him tumbling down the steps of the staircase. The old man in black garb somehow kept his feet and made the bottom landing just ahead of the rolling dwarf. Maude and Malek came running out just as Borik came to a stop.

  The three Marauders chased after the fleeing lord, just able to catch a glimpse of black darting through the door to the dining hall. Maude, Borik, and Malek sprinted across the sitting room, through the dining hall, and out the door of the kitchen.

  The pursuers had to throw themselves down and to the side as a black carriage sped by, pulled by four black destriers, a young stableboy or coach driver clinging to the seat rails as the shriveled, white haired devil screeched and lashed at the horses, black cloak flapping in the wind.

  The three adventures stood as Tarth and Borik finally made their way out of the house, and all four watched the rapidly retreating coach disappear in the distance.

  "Damn it!" Maude cursed. "I thought a vampire couldn't go out in sunlight?"

  "Perhaps his cloak protected him from the cleansing rays of the sun, or perhaps he possessed some magical talisman. I am sure the sun will force him into hiding shortly. Nothing can protect such a creature for long," Malek said.

  "Let's finish tying up the rest of the guards before they come around and get any ideas. Then we'll see what treasure we can find in this place," their leader instructed.

  A several questioning eyes watched the group as they bound and gagged the battered and beleaguered guards. They then split up, collecting gold, gems, jewelry, and
anything of value, which they stacked in the center of the sitting room before searching out more valuables. It took over two hours before Maude finally called a halt to the looting of the mansion. A huge pile of treasure was already heaped in the center of the floor.

  "That is a lot of loot," commented Malek. "How are we ever going to pack it out of here?"

  "I found an open wagon and two more horses in the stables," Borik answered.

  "Perfect, hitch it up and bring it around, and we'll load everything into it."

  "What should we do about this estate of evil?”

  “We'll set the place aflame before we leave. Drag all of the guards outside. The town's fools can come and claim them when we're finished," Maude said.

  Thirty minutes later, chests full of coins and jewelry, silver flatware, plates, pitchers, paintings, furs, and tapestries were all loaded into the cart and covered with a tarp. Borik and Tarth tied their two mounts to the back of the wagon and rode on the bench seat of the wagon while Maude and Malek followed behind on their own horses.

  The group passed through the town without stopping. Dozens of townsfolk lined the dirt road, cheering them the entire way until they left the town of Duskshire behind them.

  "We'll make our way to Brightridge. It's the nearest city of any size where we can pawn a lot of the loot. We will camp off the road and outside of any towns on the way. We don't want to attract any attention carrying this much valuables," Maude said.

  "We're rich, Maude. I never thought we would do it, but we hit the mother lode this time," Borik said, positively giddy for maybe the first time in his life.

  The successful adventurers followed Maude's plan, avoiding the towns along the way and sleeping in the woods hundreds of yards away from any roads. They passed a few people along the road but only exchanging short greeting or pleasantries. They were fortunate to avoid any bandits that normally plagued the roads nearer the larger towns and cities.

  Two days out from Brightridge, they rounded a bend in the road and came face to face with a large contingent of armed men. Their surcoats and heraldry marked them as belonging to some lord and not bandits or highwaymen. That small comfort evaporated as two dozen soldiers circled Maude and her marauders.