Medietas

The carriage was a standard passenger carriage, wooden, well built, with four large, spoked wagon wheels. The drivers’ seats consisted of an open-air bench, with two large work horses hitched to the front. The passenger cabin was covered, with a door on one side and an open, curtain-less window on the other. There was an open trailer with short walls on each side attached to the back containing cargo going from Port Appulsus to Medietas. As we climbed up into the carriage, Schwerdt and Segita took their places on the driver’s bench, and Freija and Temporalis climbed up into the cargo trailer. Jacob, Finfer, a gnome, two dwarves, Willow, and I occupied the passenger cabin. It was comfortable, with benches lining three of the walls of the cabin, offering plenty of seating. Willow and I sat along the front of the carriage. Finfer, Jacob, and the gnome sat on the side opposite the door, and the two dwarves sat along the back. As we settled in for the trip, Willow asked the other passengers general information: their name, what brought them to this area, and so on. The gnome declined to answer, and seemed content to watch the scenery go by, keeping to himself. The two dwarves, Conlin and Eriyn, mentioned they were headed to Mountain Hide to visit cousins that work for the mining company. Finfer was not very talkative either, and rather vague, simply stating he had business in Mountain Hide and someone to meet, with no further elaboration. Jacob, however, was much more talkative. He has no job, and had been out traveling, seeing the other continent, and was on his way back to see his family in Mountain Hide.

The small talk continued amongst the passengers, mostly Willow and Jacob, until we reached the town of Medietas. By now it was mid-afternoon, with the sun high above us in a clear blue sky. Mediatas was larger than Port Appulsus, with buildings haphazardly placed and what seemed to be duplicates of everything. Schwerdt and Segita pulled the carriage to a stop just outside of town. As we piled out of the carriage, Segita called out “There are two taverns in town, Distant Horizon and Gold & Iron. I recommend Distant Horizon, as it is the nicer of the two, and Gold & Iron tends to draw the more rowdier crowds. I’ve also heard rumors of gambling at Gold & Iron, but it’s up to you. Schwerdt and I will be at Distant Horizon if any of you need anything.” Before they could leave, Willow asked “Why is the town set up like this, with two of nearly everything?” Schwerdt said “The Payney and Cotte families own the town. They don’t get along, and more or less keep to their own sides. So, instead of crossing over into the other’s territory, they just built their own ‘town’ within Medietas. No Payney or Payney supporter crosses into Cotte territory, nor does a Cotte supporter cross into Payney territory. Visitors are welcome to go wherever they’d like. We prefer the Distant Horizon, as it is cleaner, nicer, and well-ran, but it’s up to you.” Schwerdt and Segita secured the cargo on the carriage, then headed over to Distant Horizon. Freija watched them leave, then headed to the Gold & Iron tavern, saying something about ministering to people in the name of Ehlonna. Finfer followed after her. Temporalis said he was going outside of the city to make some sketches of what he sees. Willow and I decided to take the advice of Schwerdt and Segita and went to Distant Horizon.

The tavern had a rustic feel to it, and it was neatly kept. Potted flowers lined the base of the building, and light blue curtains hung in the windows, fluttering once in a while in the gentle breeze, giving it a warm, home-like feel. It was roomy inside, with tables and chairs spread throughout the main room and candles in the center of each table. To the back of the room was a bar, with shelving behind the bar displaying various bottles containing the choices of drink. A staircase led up to the immediate left of the door to a balcony with more seating and a hallway with rooms across from one another. Willow and I went to the bar, paid for a room, and ordered soup, bread, and ale for dinner.

After a time, Temporalis came in. Spotting Schwerdt and Segita, he headed over to their table. Although the dining area was not small, it was cozy enough to be able to pick up on another's conversation, especially if they were not making any sort of effort to keep their conversation private. We heard much of the conversation between Temporalis, Schwerdt, and Segita, as he inquired about Evershard Isle, Port Appulsus, and Medietas. I approached their table and asked if we could join, as I was interested in hearing the history of the island, as well. Segita responded with "Sure! The more, the merrier!", so Willow and I moved our meal to their table. Willow had just asked how often it was for one to see a drow around here, when a man nearby said "I saw a drow once. Her skin was dark as night, eyes blood red, hair white as a ghost, floating around her like an evil spirit waiting to do her bidding. It was a few years ago. I was certainly glad when she left." Temporalis’ demeanor suddenly darkened, and he said "Well, it won't matter what race you are when the end times are here.” Everyone sat in confused, awkward silence, wondering what brought about that sort of comment. In an effort to end the odd turn of conversation, the bartender turned to Schwerdt. "Where is everyone? It is usually busier than this, especially when caravans come through. Although, come to think of it, there haven't been any caravans in a while." As the conversation drifted to that topic, Willow and I ordered another pitcher of ale and invited Temporalis to join us at our original table.

Finfer showed up at the bar as Willow was in the middle of asking Temporalis about his odd prediction earlier. I spotted him and invited him to join us. Upon introducing him to Temporalis, another patron heard me and said "Temporalis? I've heard that name before." Puzzled, Temporalis asked where. "There's a bard up in Northlake that sings at the Blue Cat Tavern.” he said. “He's sang about a fellow named Temporalis." Temporalis wandered over to the man's table to talk more about this bard in Northlake, so Willow turned to Finfer. "So, how was the Gold & Iron Tavern?" Finfer shrugged. "It's a tavern" he said, pouring some ale from the pitcher. It was obvious he was not in the mood for conversation. Willow, not so easily dissuaded, tried again. "How much are their rooms?" Finfer said "A gold." Surprised, I said "Really? It costs three gold for a room here." Finfer down his ale and said "You got ripped off.” He got up and left the tavern. Willow and I looked at one another, shrugged, and went upstairs to our room for the night.

The next morning, I was awakened by Willow, who had been woken by the soft, gentle sound of a pealing bell. We dressed, gathered our belongings, and went down to the bar to see about breakfast, which consisted of more of last night's vegetable stew. After we paid and ate, we headed to the agreed upon meeting place for the next leg of our journey to Mountain Hide. Once we paid Schwerdt the remaining 5 silver for the last of the trip, we all loaded up into the caravan again: Finfer, Jacob, the gnome, the two dwarves, Willow, and me in the passenger cabin, and Temporalis and Freija on the cargo trailer. As we settled in for the journey, more idle conversation started up so I leaned my head against the side of the carriage and closed my eyes. Before long, the gentle rocking of the carriage, the sounds of nature outside, and the soft conversation lulled me to sleep.

I woke with a start, realizing the carriage had stopped, and sensing something was wrong. It was dark out, and I was not certain how long I had been asleep. I asked Willow for an update on our trip, and she replied that we had stopped, but did not know why. She said she wanted to open the door to look out, so I moved to one side and she moved to the other. Finfer, moving to the window, said he had spotted two humans nearing the front of the caravan, carrying bows. My heart was pounding in my chest as Willow slowly opened the door, just in time to see a large creature that somewhat resembled a lizard lunge and attack Segita, pulling her off the carriage by her leg, and starting to drag her away. Segita was screaming and writhing, trying to free herself from her attacker, but the more she struggled the harder the creature bit down. Schwerdt pulled a knife from his belt, jumped off the carriage, and rushed to her aid, but the lizard creature was bigger and faster. It dropped Segita, turned, and clamped down a bite on Schwerdt’s neck. The sickening sound of snapping bones filled the air, and Schwerdt went limp. Watching everything, Segita screamed, and fainted. The creature dropped him, turned its attention back to the unconscious Segita, and started to eat her.

Two male elves appeared out of the woods from the direction the creature had dragged Segita, and started making their way up to the carriage with weapons drawn, ignoring what the creature was doing. Seemingly out of nowhere, Freija appeared outside the carriage, with her shield up, and at the same time we heard a loud thunk above us, followed by Temporalis' muffled voice. Freija was trying to talk to one of the elves, to reason with them that they did not need to do this, and that they could save themselves and their allies pain and eventual death if they stopped what they were doing and surrendered. "I'd rather die, than surrender to you" one of the elves growled, while swinging his scimitar behind his shoulder. Willow stood in the doorway of the carriage and released an arrow from her short bow, piercing his chest. He looked at the arrow, then at Willow, and crumpled to the ground. Freija turned to look behind her and saw Willow standing there, in the open doorway, her short bow in her hands. Willow nodded to Freija, then turned to the opposite window. As soon as Willow left the carriage door, I took her place, planted an arrow in the calf of the other elf, and jumped down to the ground next to Freija. I heard a sound that reminded me of swift winds and looked up to see a swirling dark mass fly from above and hit the creature in the side, tearing gash in its tough skin. It continued to eat Segita, unphased by the hit and the fact that it was injured and bleeding.

Suddenly, I felt a jolt of searing pain in my head, like someone had taken a hot poker from a fire and ran it into my ear, followed by Temporalis' deep voice stating someone was hiding behind a large rock on the other side of the carriage. Clutching my head, I turned to look up on the carriage roof and saw Temporalis, fingertips to his temples, concentrating on me. Then the pain stopped as quickly as it started, and he cast more dark shapes at the lizard creature. I turned to Freija and said “I think there is another man behind a large rock, on the other side of the carriage.” I then turned to the creature, pulled my short sword, and took a slice out of its shoulder. Screeching in pain, it turned and bit me on the thigh. The elf, dropping his crossbow, took this opportunity to into smash my shoulder hard with his mace.

Seeing the state of my thigh and shoulder, Freija grabbed my arm and closed her eyes. I felt a warm, tingling sensation coursing through me, focusing on the pain coming from my wounds. When she opened her eyes and removed her hand, I noticed that the pain in my leg was gone and the pain in my shoulder had lessened. Freija and I then rotated, taking one another's place, since she is more heavily armored and can take a harder hit than I. However, as soon as she was in front of the elf he took a hard swing at her head with his mace, connecting, and nearly knocking her off her feet. Somehow she managed to stay on her feet, but barely. Willow, after seeing what had just happened, rushed to her side and started working to heal her wounds. I shot an arrow at the creature, found its heart, and dropped it instantly. Freija turned to the elf in front of her and said "You were warned." She thrust her short sword into the stomach of the elf, twisted it a bit, then yanked it out. The elf looked at her with surprise and dropped to his knees. Then, with a blood-filled smile, he said "This is only the beginning." An arrow suddenly protruded out of his left eye socket and he crumpled to the ground, revealing Finfer right behind him, short bow in his hands.

As quickly as the commotion began, it ended. “Is everyone ok?” Freija asked, looking around at each of us. We nodded our agreement, and Willow ran to Segita, but found that she was dead. Freija blessed the bodies of Schwerdt and Segita, and Willow helped her wrap them in blankets she found on the cargo trailer. While Temporalis and I worked at calming the panicked horses, Jacob emerged from the caravan, shaking and pale. “I cannot thank you all enough! You were incredible! Without you, we would all be dead! Thank you!” When he learned of Schwerdt and Segita, however, he dropped to his knees in tears. “They must be returned to Mountain Hide at once.” he said. “The city needs to know what happened here.” He helped Temporalis load their bodies on the cargo trailer, while Willow, Freija, and I moved the bodies of our attackers off the road and a little into the forest.

Temporalis left a notice on a tree telling of our recent attack, and Willow and I climbed up in the drivers seat. With her on the reins and me tracking the route, we continued down the road toward Mountain Hide. Temporalis and Finfer rode in the passenger cabin, trying to keep the rest of the passengers calm, and Freija rode on the cargo trailer with the bodies of Schwerdt and Segita. The mood was somber, so the trip was quiet, until we came across another caravan that was flipped on its side in the middle of the road. Willow pulled our carriage to a stop a ways back from the scene, and we assessed what we saw in front of us: a caravan on its side; a couple of dead horses; a smattering of dead humans and elves, all wearing capes with the Mountain Hide Trading Company logo; a dead human dressed similar to those we just encountered; and a dead male wood elf.