Jake looked at him and asked, “What do you recommend we do, attack the village?” Taragin said, “I would like to help the people of this area by stopping the raids. That being said, we would have to attack that village.” Jake said, “I agree with helping the people, but are we going to put ourselves in too much danger by attacking the village?” George said, “The kobolds are not that hard to beat, the goblins are relatively easy, but what about the hobgoblins and if they have a wizard?
Taragin said, “I feel the seven of us can take care of them. If you four can keep the kobolds and goblins from attacking us, the three of us should be able to take care of the hobgoblins and one wizard.” Sara said, “We can do that.” Jake asked, “If we attack will they come out after us or are we going to have to go into the village to fight them? Taragin said, “They have a primal instinct to attack and eliminate threats to them. They should flock out and come after us.”
Tammy asked, “What about the hobgoblins and wizard, will they attack too?” Taragin said, “They tend to stay toward the back, near the village. I say we return to where Fontun is holding the horses and formulate a new plan of attack. Jake said, “I agree.” The group turned and headed back to where Fontun was waiting. Everyone was lost in their thoughts, so the group walked in silence. As they arrived, Fontun said, “That was a quick battle!” Taragin informed him of the new development.
Once again Jake was deep in thought. He was having a hard time deciding whether or not to attack or just go around the village. Sara walked over and sat down beside him, gave a playful shoulder bump, and said, “A penny for your thoughts.” Jake smiled at her and said, “I’m having a hard time deciding what we should do.” Sara asked, “What are your instinct telling you? You’ve been making the right decisions all along.” Jake sighed, “I just hate all this responsibility being put on my shoulders. I think I’m afraid of doing the wrong thing or one of us getting hurt.” Sara leaned her head on his shoulder and said softly, “We all have faith in you whether you have it in yourself or not”.
Jake put his arm around her shoulders, and said, “I feel so much better after talking with you.” Sara smiled at him, “I say we go after them.” Jake said, “It is the right thing to do. I say we take back the village.” There was a renewed fire in Jakes eyes. He and Sara got up calling everyone to gather. Jake announced, “We are going to take the village, everyone mount up.”
CHAPTER 27
Jake had no more than called to take the village when the group mounted up, ready to do just that. As they were riding, Taragin said, “What is the plan?” Jake looked at him for a moment, then stopped his horse. “I don’t know,” he said, “I got caught up in the moment deciding to help the people of the area by eliminating those creatures.” All Taragin could do was shake his head and smile back at Jake. Taragin said, “I think we should ride up close, dismount from our horses and proceed the rest of the way on foot. We can secure the horses so they don’t run off when the battle starts. The four of you use your bows to drop as many as you can. We can use our swords to protect you from the ones that get close.” Jake said, “That sounds like a good plan,” and off he rode.
They arrived at a spot that would allow them to secure the horses and dismounted. The four teens drew their bows and the four wizards drew their swords. George said, “I never knew they had swords with them.” Tammy made a face at him and said, “Pay more attention next time.” Tammy and Sara started giggling about the look on George’s face.
The group approached the village very cautiously. It consisted of seven buildings; a general store, a restaurant, bakery and four living quarters. Most of the buildings were ransacked and on their last leg. Some activity could be seen in the area, but no lookout was spotted. The group got close to the village before they were spotted and a huge commotion broke loose.
The road soon filled with goblins and kobolds running toward their invaders. Arrow after arrow flew taking most of them down. The few that managed to get near the teens were cut down by the wizard’s swords. The group had managed to kill 20 or more of them, but the village looked to have three to four times that amount in reserve. Taragin shouted to Jake, “Do you see what I see?” Jake replied, “If you mean a village full of furious creatures getting ready to attack us, then yes, I do.” Taragin said, “There are at least four hobgoblins in there and they look to be sending their troops around to flank us.” Jake scanned the area to see what Taragin was talking about. “Any magic yet?” he hollered to Taragin who answered, “I’m afraid not.”
Jake shouted, “Let’s move back toward the horses. If we have to get out of here quickly then at least we will have them near.” Before the group had moved too far, a second wave of grisly inhabitants came running from the village. This time the goblins and kobolds were executing more of a zigzag-type approach. The teens were only able to hit a couple of them. Before long they had to abandon their bows and unsheathed their swords. As the swordfight started, a third wave emerged from the village and the group that was trying to flank them was fast approaching from their rear. Jake panted, “Maybe this was a mistake, but I’ll die trying to kill every last one of them.” George tried without success to call a vine spell to put a barrier between the two groups. Everyone was now engaged with the second group.
The air was filled with the sound of swords clanking and groans from the ones unfortunate enough to miss a block. The entire group was starting to take minor injuries. Goblins and kobolds were dropping fast, but with two additional groups about to join up, things didn’t look good for Jake and his comrades. Jake killed a goblin that was in front of him and was looking for his next target when he noticed the third group had turned and was heading back toward the village. Jake wheeled around to look at what was behind him that had scared them off. He noticed Ralnor and five other wardens riding hard toward the battle.
The flanking group had been eliminated, which was of great relief to him. Jake said, “Here comes the cavalry!” Everyone looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Jake pointed behind them and yelled, “Reinforcements!” This caused everyone to turn and look. The wardens rode past them and continued after the retreating group. Jake said, “Let’s get our horses so we can help them.” By the time the group reached their horses, mounted up and rode to the village, the battle was over. The wardens had killed twice as many as they had in half the amount of time.
Jake rode up to Ralnor and said, “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! I’m glad to see you.” Ralnor said, “We have been watching you since you left us. Jake asked, “Why didn’t you just join us?” He answered, “I was instructed not to interfere unless things got too bad for you. The council felt you needed experience in fighting and the use of your magic.”
Sara called out, “Jake! Come over here.” The two of them turned and walked to her. Sara was standing in front of one of the only buildings that was not totally ruined by the horde. As Jake walked up, she moved to the side to allow him to enter. There before him were all kinds of looted items the horde had taken from the people they had slain. Jake said, “There is a lot of valuable things in here, too much for us to carry all of it.” Ralnor went over and started inspecting the swords and armor. Taragin had joined them and was inspecting the various books and scrolls. The other items were pieces of furniture and chests. The chests, about ten in all, had all been broken open and were no longer of any use, but most contained gold and jewels.
Jake asked Ralnor and Taragin, “Do you think it is possible to find the owners of some of these items?” Taragin answered, “I fear that these items being here means the owners are no longer with us.” Ralnor, nodding his head in agreement, said, “We can take most of the valuable items and help the les
s fortunate people we come across, but I don’t think it is likely we will find the heirs to these.”
Stepping outside, Jake called for everyone to gather. Ralnor introduced the other five wardens as Rotan, Trueway, Halfar, Sontar and Wyn. He informed the teens they were not only well-renowned, but also personal friends of his. Jake explained to Ralnor about the wizards and introduced them to the warden and then the rest of his party. After the introductions were completed, they got back to the task of searching the village and gathering what valuable items could be reused.
It took about an hour to pack and load the horses with the items they had obtained. The weight was distributed among all the travelers’ horses. Most of the books and some of the scrolls were useless. The ones that were of value the wizards distributed among themselves. The weapons were mostly common; the few that Ralnor said were of good quality were loaded on one of the pack horses. Ralnor said, “With all this wealth, each of you could buy a good bit of land and a large home.
George said, “I think I speak for everyone: we plan on going to our homes as soon as we can. All these items would be worth a fortune where we come from, but we can’t take them with us.” Tammy said, “See he is smarter than he looks!” Jake, Sara, Taragin and Tammy busted out laughing. George said, “Okay, you got me. Now we’re even.” She smiled, “That wasn’t the payback, but a statement of fact.” Everyone started laughing, including Ralnor. George was blushing and embarrassed. Tammy let it go on for another minute before she walked over and hugged him. She whispered in his ear, “You’re so cute when you blush. I think I’ll keep you.” George’s shade of red went even deeper and everyone started laughing even harder.
CHAPTER 28
The group was now deep into the dangerous country and going even deeper. Ralnor said, “The Dwarven Caverns are just over a day’s ride from here. We could make it in a day, but we would draw a lot of attention to ourselves.” Jake said, “I feel we should take it slow and arrive the following day. This would allow us time to find a safe place to set up camp and maybe even scout some of the area.” Jake thought for a minute, then looked at Sara, and said, “What do you think we should do?” Sara smiled at him and said, “Your plan sounds fine to me.” She looked over her shoulder at George and Tammy. The two were nodding their agreement.
Taragin was near Jake so he whispered, “Nice save.” Jake smiled, “I did say I would get their opinions before I would make a decisions.” Taragin said, “That is good for now, but when trouble hits, you may not have time to ask anyone anything. You will have to decide fast and alone.”
Jake was lost deep in thought when Sara asked, “You okay?” It took Jake a minute to come out of the haze. He was shocked to see Sara instead of Taragin riding beside him. Sara caught the look Jake had on his face and asked, “What’s wrong?” Jake smiled and replied, “Nothing. I was talking to Taragin and got lost in my thoughts. The next thing I know he’s gone and you’re here.” Jake smiled and shared what Taragin said about making decisions. Sara said, “He’s right, you know.” That was the last thing Jake had expected to hear Sara say and answered her only with a dumbfounded look. Sara started laughing, “That was a George look if ever I’ve seen one before. Sorry for stumping you like that.”
They rode at a slow, steady pace for the remaining part of the day. Agreeing to stop and make camp, this left a little more than an hour of daylight. The area they chose was a heavily wood hill. They decided against a campfire and ate dried rations for dinner. With the increased number of people, watches were set in pairs for added safety.
***
The morning ride was even slower than the day before. Taragin said he had detected several small groups off in the distance, but nothing they had to worry about. Ralnor stated they would arrive at an area where they would have to leave the horses by mid-day, then continue on by foot. George was about to object when he thought about how much noise they were making even in a grassy area.
A few leagues into the ride, the smaller hills had grown to sizable ones and there were even a few small mountains here and there. The trees would be heading toward their fall cycle in a couple of weeks. The air was nice and comfortable, not too hot or cold. There was just a slight breeze with the sun hiding out behind the trees.
Ralnor signaled to Jake that this was the area he felt they should find a secure spot for the horses and start walking. They came across a few small caves where they decided to store the unneeded supplies. Ralnor felt it took a bit longer than it should have for the group to gather what they thought they needed. He said, “Pack light; we will have to come back to retrieve more items and check on the horses.” Ralnor figured that would have gotten everyone walking in the direction they needed to go, but it had the opposite effect. Everyone but the wardens were again digging in their packs and removing items they didn’t want to carry on the first trip. The wardens watched, smiling and shaking their heads at the novice group.
When the last item was put in the cave, Ralnor thought he would make a wisecrack and asked, “Did everyone remember to get their food and bed gear?” With that three of the wizards, George and Tammy headed back to the cave, red-faced. Ralnor just shook his head. He and the others that had remembered to get those items stood there smiling.
With everyone finally packed, they set out for the Dwarven Caverns. Ralnor took the lead, Rotan and Trueway went about 100 yards to his right and Halfar and Wyn went about 100 to his left. Sontar had drawn the short straw and was assigned to the rear of the main group.
Every once in a while a bird call could be heard and the whole group stopped and waited. The warden’s communication system was something they had been raised with from early childhood. No one had to say a word to the other; just a noise or a bird call was sufficient to get the message across.
They stopped after about two leagues of being on foot. The break was welcomed by the teens and the wizards. The wardens saw the break as a necessary evil to keep their stamina at a maximum. Ralnor joined the main group and whispered, “We are in the area of the caverns. We had to stop several times because the scouts have seen several small patrols. As we get closer we need to ensure the noise is kept to a minimum and we stay out of sight.” Jake asked, “Where are we heading now?” Ralnor said, “We are looking for a deep cavern that isn’t being used.” Tammy asked, “Wouldn’t an animal that has made its home in the cave make a lot of noise if we tried to get it out?” Ralnor said, “Yes, but there are very few animals in this area, so running into something in one of the caves isn’t of much concern.”
This time when the wardens moved out, they didn’t spread out as far as before. It wasn’t hard to find empty caves to stay in, the problem was finding one that was deep enough, and well hidden. It took some time, but at last they found a secluded, deep cave. The front was obscured by some fallen rocks and foliage, the inside had plenty of room so they weren’t cramped.
Once everyone had their gear laid out they decided there was still enough time to scout the area they were in. Jake pulled Ralnor and Taragin off to the side and told them he would like to scout the area with Sara and George. Taragin didn’t object, but Ralnor expressed a concern that they were a bit inexperienced and felt the wardens should do the scouting. In the end Ralnor agreed and gave Jake a few words of wisdom about what to look for.
CHAPTER 29
Jake, Sara, and George set out to scout the area after talking with Ralnor. The trip up the hill had cost them a lot of time they didn’t want to spend. They had planned to head straight up the hill, do some recon, then returning. One hour at the most! They were into their third hour without reaching the area they needed
to scout. Several small patrols of kobolds had shown up in the areas they want to search. As they slowly moved, they would find a posted sentry here and there, which caused them to back track and go around them.
As they were finally making their way to the top of the hill, Jake stopped suddenly. George, and Sara followed his lead. Jake slowly made his way back, and whispered, “Another sentry.” He pointed in the general direction where the sentry stood guard. George asked, “What now?” Jake shrugged, “I guess we have to go around and find another place.” George said, “Just cast a sleep spell and we can recon from here.” Jake shook his head and said, “Too risky. Only cast a spell as a last resort.”
The group backed down and to the left for about fifty yards before they headed back up the mountain. As they got higher on the mountain, noise to their left caught their attention. Soon they could hear a group of kobolds yapping at each other. Jake smiled and said, “They are arguing about whose turn it is to catch dinner tonight.”
The group took cover in the underbrush until the patrol made its way by them. Time seemed to stand still as the patrol made its way toward them. It was plainly obvious that they were in no hurry to get anywhere by the way they were moving. The patrol made more noise than a herd of elephants in an ice forest. Sara had the misfortune of laying on a rock that was poking her in the ribs. With the patrol so close, she was afraid if she moved the slightest bit she would be noticed by them. Somehow Jake had found the best spot as he was laying on a soft area and had just enough of a view to see what was going on all around him. George was well hidden, but had to twist himself up a bit to be totally concealed.
The patrol was moving slow and steady and after about 15 minutes finally made their way past them. Jake slowly got up and creped over in the direction the patrol had gone. He motioned for the other two to stay put. After a couple more minutes he whispered, “Okay, the coast is clear.” Sara rolled off the rock and started rubbing her ribs. She said, “I don’t think I could have found a more uncomfortable place to hide, other than were George was.” George was sitting on the ground rubbing his legs that had cramped up and his neck where he had gotten a crick in it. George said, “That’s not one bit funny.” All Jake could do was smile to himself.