Tasha - DnD - Game #1

(It should be noted here that I joined the game a couple games into the story.)

Tasha’s face became grimmer the closer she came to the town of Wildorf. It had changed a lot since she had left. What had been a pastoral market town had changed its character markedly. Though the countryside to the east remained as she remembered it, to the west she saw land scarred by industry and mining and could taste pollution in the water and the air. A wall now surrounded the town, and a dilapidated shanty town had grown up outside the main gate, which was closed even though the sun had not yet set. She walked towards the gate, eyes watchful. People had come from their shacks to watch her passing by, and she could feel their mistrustful, assessing glances. She adjusted her grip on her quarter-staff and straightened her shoulders. The shanty-town residents looked desperate, and desperate people made poor choices.

As she approached, a guard on the wall motioned her to wait before turning to call down to someone coming up on the town side of the gate. Tasha halted and waited patiently, listening with interest to the conversation that floated over the gate. Interesting things had been happening, no doubt. Corruption was rife, if the voices were to be believed, and they were not planning on standing by and letting that happen. The guard on the wall was looking harassed, but clearly had a level of sympathy for the two men who were talking with him. Tasha suddenly cocked her head as the timber and forcefulness of one of the voices, the sheer unwillingness to even consider backing down in the face of injustice or corruption, tempered by a smoother, calmer second one brought memories to the surface… she knew those voices. She was sure of it. Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard the smoother voice addressing the other by name. Soren. The other would be his brother Tanael. She grinned, then quickly went over the essence of their conversation again in her mind. Sherriff Blascoe, corrupt. Town, feeling some sympathy towards Soren and Tanael, and certainly impressed by recent exploits by the pair, exploits that clearly weren’t going to endear them to the Sheriff and others within the town’s new power structure, especially Lord Grannoeth. Tasha grinned as she heard Soren begin to hold forth again about the importance of making sure people were not being taken advantage of.

“Well, you two haven’t changed!” she called over the gate, with a laugh.

Dead silence for a moment, as the guard on the wall remembered the traveller and had the gate opened so that she could slip through.

“Tasha!” Soren said, as she pushed back her hood, “How good to see you!”

“Thank you. You as well. Have you been here long? I received…”

“...a letter” Tanael finished for her.

“Yes,” Tasha agreed.

She shifted her focus as Soren stiffened, glaring back up the street where a man and woman were heading towards them with a retinue of guards. She thought she heard the guard on the wall swear under his breath.

The confrontation was fascinating, and somewhat worrying. Clearly, the Sheriff wasn’t interested in trading blows in the street, despite Soren’s inability to do anything but state his truth of the situation, even in the face of people suavely claiming otherwise. The retinue of guards, differently liveried than the town guard, clearly didn’t care for Soren’s tone, shifting impatiently behind the Sheriff and the woman, whom the conversation showed to be the sister of someone Soren and Tanael knew, the fiancee of one of the town’s controlling lords, and also a backstabbing bitch if Soren was to be believed. Which, unless he had changed considerably, Tasha did. Certainly over the word of the smirking pair in front of them. She shifted her grip on her staff again, her eyes looking over the group ranged in front of her. If it came to blows, it was going to be a difficult fight, and Soren was not easing up. She could see the Sheriff’s frustration levels growing.

Then, just as he had in boyhood, Tanael took a half-step forwards, a hand on his brother’s arm, and a smile on his face and poured oil on the troubled waters. Tasha’s lips quirked in amusement as she watched Soren’s hackles settle as his brother talked. Truely, they had not changed much since childhood in the Abbey.

“Well,” said the Sheriff, finally, “I am, of course, very glad that the Abbey is in a better situation than it was. Fortunate that you were able to come and aid them. Now that that is settled, I’d imagine you will be on your way again.”

“Oh, no,” Soren replied firmly, “there is still much to set right here. We will be around for a while yet, to make sure that the Abbot is fully supported.”

“I am glad to hear it,” the Sheriff said, looking anything but, “however, I’m sure you’ll find that things are quiet and any problems easily settled.”

“It will be interesting,” Tasha said, aware that whatever was going on, the Sheriff clearly wanted the Abbot’s supporters elsewhere, and wanting him unsettled and unsure, “to see how many more of us show up.”

“How many more of you?” the Sheriff blinked, turning to look at her as if noticing her for the first time. She saw him notice the travel pack and her worn appearance, saw him realize that she was newly arrived.

“Yes,” Soren said, triumphantly, clearly picking up on the tactical potential of sowing seeds of doubt in the Sheriff’s mind, “Many letters were sent, to everyone whom the Abbot has helped over the years. All those children who grew, and left, and became successful. The merchants, the soldiers, the mercenaries, the farmers, the blacksmiths. All of those people who owe everything to him. Indeed, there will likely be many on their way, as soon as they are able to come.”

“Oh, well… we will have to talk about…” the Sheriff paused and shifted from foot to foot, clearly ill at ease, before turning to the woman on his arm, “Come, Ardra, let’s get you home.” With a parting glare from him, and a sneer from her, they turned and walked back along the road.

There was a thump from up above them as the guard at the gate, Mikael, all but dropped his crossbow and slumped back against the rampart.

“Did you have to do that here?” he asked plaintively, “I know I said I wouldn’t be sad if certain people in this town found themselves having to deal with repercussions, but I didn’t mean throw down right in front of me. I don’t want to have to shoot you!”

Tasha threw him a sympathetic smile as the group turned and headed towards the Abbey. Whatever the results of her arriving here would be, boredom was not likely to be one of them. Not, it would seem, in the company she was going to be keeping.

*****************************

Abbot Menron was pleased to see her again. She smiled and happily took a cell in the Abbey, laying out her bedroll on the thin cot mattress. The faces of the children and the Abbot were thin and pinched, as if they had not been eating well, and she could see places around the Abbey that desperately needed repairs. The faces wore smiles now, however, and the smell of hearty, nutritious food came from the Abbey kitchens.

Tasha decided to spend time following Soren and Tanael around. It seemed the best way to get caught up on what had been happening, as indeed it was. They were joined by Cora, a halfling Tasha remembered for always finding herself in trouble. Tasha first saw her coming riding up to the Abbey on a Hyena. Clearly Cora hadn’t changed much either.

One of the first things they did was head out to various merchants in the town. Through the discussions and haggling, she learned that when the others had first arrived, the Abbey had been nearly bankrupt and they were about to become dispossessed and the Abbey dissolved. Soren and Tanael - angelic brothers - and Cora, along with Thosal, one of the Abbey priests, a huge warrior woman named Anbo, and a local woman named Samoa had ventured into the hills to search for gold seams and investigate reports of disappearances. In the hills, they found a cave system and in exploring the cave system, they had discovered a young red dragon, which they defeated. Its hoard restored the Abbey to prosperity, and the discovery of gold seams in the cave complex, which they staked, then tithed to the Abbey, seemed likely to maintain that prosperity for a while longer.

In the meantime, gems and magical items needed to be bartered, sold, or exchanged. Tasha quietly followed along behind as they visited first Skaff, a Tiefling jewel merchant who happily gave them a good price for the gems they had to trade, and then Gecko, a local magic merchant whose wall-eyed appearance had earned him his nickname. Clearly, Tasha thought pedantically, it had been given by those who had never seen an actual gecko.

She watched with interest as the group organized the sale of various magical items they had recovered from the caves. Certain items made their way to various people within the group, some were exchanged for other items the merchant had in stock, and still more went towards the cost of a larger piece of armour for Soren. Tasha made a note to stand behind him whenever convenient. He had always been a large, handsome boy. He was even larger now, imposing and impossibly handsome. His brother, no less tall and handsome, was lithe rather than broad. Together with Anbo, they made Tasha feel far smaller than her average stature should. At least, she thought with a smile, she was larger than the halfling. Her attention was brought back to one of the pieces they were discussing, a hat that allowed the wearer to breathe underwater.

“It would certainly be useful if I fell into a lake, with all the armour I wear,” Soren agreed, “but I wouldn’t wear it all the time, and if that happened, I wouldn’t exactly have time to dig it out of someone’s pack.” He looked questioningly at Tasha.

“I can breathe underwater,” she said with a shrug. There was a moment of silence in the room as the others all glanced at her, then at each other. Finally, Tanael smiled.

“Pretty sure you didn’t used to be able to do that,” he said, as they placed the hat in the pile of items to be sold or traded.

Their day ended with dinner for the party, minus Samoa, who had disappeared after her sister had tried to assassinate her on their way back from the hills, and Anbo, who remained to help protect the Abbey, at a local historian’s. Arcus had lent books to Tasha in the past, and she remembered him with fondness. The food was good, even if the others were less enthralled with the conversation about local history than Tasha was. However, they did become interested when the conversation turned to the heavily damaged doorway they had found in the red dragon’s den.

Long ago, it appeared, there had been a dwarven stronghold in the hills. No one was quite sure why it had disappeared. Some said it was a war between the human settlers and the dwarves, which the humans had won. Some said the dwarves had become upset over the encroachment of humans and disregard of mining claims and had withdrawn. Still others said that some great calamity had befallen the dwarven settlement and they had withdrawn into isolation. Arcus was quite excited about the prospect of opening up communication with the dwarves.

“It would take Wildorf from a dead end, to a trading hub!” he enthused.

Tasha held private reservations regarding whether this was a good thing. Her memory of Wildorf as it was was definitely superior the current state of affairs. Even with the fact that much of the desperation was due to many of the metal seams playing out, that initial prosperity had come with others swooping down to take advantage of it. Protection money, banditry, and theft were all expected behaviours now, and those in charge seemed more likely to participate than to curtail these assaults.

Dinner over, they went to begin the walk back to the Abbey. Fog had risen, and an uncomfortable hush had fallen over the streets. Anticipation pressed down on Tasha, making her feel twitchy. The others felt it too, she saw. Soren shifted his sword in its scabbard. Tanael murmured something to his bat, which had spent the dinner hanging from the overhang of Arcus’ stoop. Cora paused and opened a bag she wore on her belt. From it, she produced two large apes that stood blinking in confusion at the misty streets before turning to her for instructions. Tasha glanced from the bag to Cora who grinned widely at her.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she said, as she reattached the bag and checked her knives before following the others up the street.

Tasha had to admit, it was an impressive artefact. She hurried after them, her long legs quickly catching up to Cora’s scurrying form. She walked with her senses alert. The nights here would have been dangerous even without this group having made enemies of the rich and powerful… though it would be a large band of truly desperate people who would try and attack this well armed a party.

A scuffling of boots down an alleyway caused her to turn as a hooded figure stepped into the flaring light of a torch.

“You shouldn’t have challenged the Sheriff like that,” it commented dryly before turning away in a swirl of cloth, the smoothly varnished curve of a lute catching the light as they disappeared into the darkness. Boots rang on the cobblestones down the alleyway as Tasha saw figures with glinting metal in their hands appear. Further echoes behind her indicated that the others were finding themselves boxed in. Tasha glowered at the advancing thugs, taking a deep breath and flexing her muscles as she pushed the memory of tough oak and thorn into her skin. The alley mouth she was at was narrow, and she glanced from side to side before crouching down and shifting into bear form. She glanced briefly behind her as the mist swirled and she saw Taneal launching himself into the air, wings beating at his shoulders with a sound like flapping sails. She wondered at the sudden appearance of the wings; he didn’t used to be able to do that. The footsteps heading towards her paused for the briefest of moments before continuing on, and she stepped forwards, growling, her bulk nearly filling the alleyway.

With claws and teeth, she laid into the man who advanced on her. Her teeth dug into his shoulder, and she shook her head, worrying the wound, before rearing back and slicing across his chest with her claws. A sword blow glanced from her toughened skin, while another pierced her hide. A whirl of metal flew through the air, golden light sparking as it connected with the man in front of her. Snarling, she bit down again at the junction of neck and shoulder and felt arterial blood gush into her mouth.

Stepping over the body, she swiped again at the next man, rearing back to try and avoid his sword blows. She snarled as the sword dug deep. Before the man could follow up, a stream of fire from one rooftop and a green, hissing spray of acid from another engulfed the man, giving her time to recover and lay into him again. The man stumbled and fell, and Tasha looked up at the third figure in the alley, her eyes glinting red in the torchlight. The figure blanched, turned, and fled. Tasha took two steps after him, then turned to help the rest of her friends with the other attackers. She emerged out of the alley to find the other attackers either dead or in flight. One of the apes appeared badly injured, but the others looked in good enough shape. She snorted, glancing around at the others, as Tanael descended from the rooftops where he had been for the duration of the fight, wings beating gently to slow his descent.

“You didn’t used to be able to do that, either,” he said to her with a smile, “You always did like the woods. If there is someone who is good at figuring things out, there is a left-over meal up on that rooftop.”

Glancing up to the rooftop he was pointing at, Tasha climbed up, still in bear form. Below her, she could hear Thosal apologizing to the family whose window he had thrown himself though to avoid the cross-bolt fire from the roof and the gasps of surprise as he mended the glass. She could also hear Soren’s deep voice discussing summoning the town guard. On the rooftop, the smell of exotic spices were immediately evident, and she took her time examining the leftover meal. Whomever had been hanging out here, they were either very rich, or a long way from home. This ambush had been set up quite some time, probably from the point they had entered Arcus’ for dinner.

Shifting back to human form, Tasha climbed back down. The town guard were just arriving, and she saw them slow to a halt, looking around with shocked horror at the carnage on the street, then at the apparently unharmed group who remained standing. Looking around, Tasha could understand their shock. Not many people were witness to the aftermath of being mauled to death by a bear, especially not in a town, and the fire and the acid spray that Tanael had been using did not leave a pretty residue. Tasha watched as the skin of one of the bodies sloughed off, sliding to the ground where it sizzled in a puddle. No wonder one of the younger guards was off retching in a corner of the alley.

Tasha herself felt pretty grumpy, a leftover from taking bear form. Her mouth was still filled with the coppery tang of blood, and she worked it for a bit, spitting to rid herself of the reminder. In animal form, it wasn’t a problem… when she shifted back to human, her body reacted poorly to the taste. Soren glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, and handed her a water-skin. Smiling weakly at him, she rinsed her mouth out and handed it back.

Leaving the town guard to deal with cleanup, they headed back to the Abbey to discuss the next steps. Obviously, they had upset people enough for them to try and preemptively remove them as a complication. The question was, why? Why was the Abbey targeted, starved of resources, and why were its protectors likewise targets?

“What happens if the Abbey fails?” Tasha asked, as they sat talking at one of the rectory tables, bread and cheese in front of them.

“If we would have run out of money and been unable to pay taxes without the tithes? I suppose the Abbey would have been abandoned and the lands returned to Lord Grannoeth.”

“So, what’s on the Abbey lands that they want so badly?” Cora said, curiously.

“The Abbey has been here for as long as the town,” the Abbot replied.

“And why was it built here?” Soren asked.

Another set of information to research and answer. While their historian friend looked into it, everyone continued to work to consolidate the Abbey’s position. The gold claim was filed and some miners were employed to start extracting the gold. Tasha spent some time in dog form in the town, trying to track down the spices from the rooftop. While she was never able to find anyone who smelled like them, she did continue to find whiffs of the scent, especially around the Silver Pheasant, the largest local inn.

With the new funds, some likely locals had been hired to help around the Abbey, both as manual labour to fix some of the areas of decay, and also as protection for the grounds and inhabitants. Taneal, with characteristic calculation, set Anbo to training them to fight. It kept her occupied and on the Abbey grounds, away from the stronger alcohol found in the Silver Pheasant. She also proved popular with the children, and was careful around them. Eating better, sleeping better, and drinking less, the signs of dissipation began to fade, leaving her even more formidable-looking than before.

The morning after the unsuccessful ambush, messengers had left town, riding hard. Tasha found herself thinking about those riders. It seemed probable that their departure had to do with the thorn in the side of the elite that were the Abbey protectors, but whether those riders were reporting to someone or summoning more aid in dealing with them she wasn’t sure. Did this conspiracy spread beyond Wildorf? That thought made her uneasy. The arrival of a party of strangers a few weeks later, cloaked and armoured, who promptly dropped from sight, didn’t do much to ease the tense feeling of waiting for the next attack.

Their next meal with Arcus proved enlightening. The cult they had dealt with in the hills was one with a history in the area. Based on the belief in eternal life, the Cult of the Everliving Lord cropped up periodically in the area. Acolytes of the cult claimed to be searching for a secret that was to be found in the hills. First in the area before the founding of the town, they had been burned out, their leaders destroyed, and the acolytes fled. The myths kept recurring, however, and every 50 to 100 years, the cult would become a local nuisance before being routed once more.

The Abbey, conversely, appeared to have been built on the site of a battle. The idea of consecrating profaned ground in order to erase or destroy its hold on a place, was not new. Neither was the idea of using consecration to keep a threat in check. The conviction that whatever the Abbey’s enemies were searching for was concealed on the grounds grew. Anything in the Abbey itself would have been found by now, but some of the older mausoleums would not have been checked. More research into the Abbey’s early history seemed warranted. Arcus agreed to continue his search, and Tasha offered to go through the Abbey’s own records to see if she could find anything.