Mission One: Compassion"You're late," the squire Gregory frowned, eyes narrowing. In front of the church he stood, his plated arms crossed as he scowled at the drow who had just arrived before him. Veldrin herself stood tall and proud, but not so much as to seem insubordinate. The church demanded respect - moreso than the thugs she had met in the militia. And respect they would have, but not so much that might seem suspicious. Oh no.
"My apologies," Veldrin muttered, casting her eyes downward. Sergeant Arc had held her up at the tavern for a few extra minutes past the time she was expected at the church to meet Gregory. Blasted half-elf. Another person to whom respect was due. Of course, she would give it freely. The surface dwelling humans and elves alike fed off respect much like she remembered drow doing. However, her loyalty would remain unfaltering and the Baronship's trust would be earned. Acceptance into the church and the militia, and ultimately the human world, was her unwavering goal.
"Did you bring supplies for the journey?" Gregory asked in an irritable tone. Shuffling it in his hands for a moment, he carefully pulled a chainmail coif over his head. Veldrin hesitated, watching him adjust it before answering.
"I have no need for food, vater, or bandages," she stated with a snort. It was true, a mage had no use for bandages. Food and water... well, her pride would override her needs for those.
Gregory shook his head in disappointment, a sigh heaving from his chest. "Then you shall know the true meaning of hardship." The squire unclasped the shield slung around his back and slid his arms into the straps. Adjusting his armor hither and thither as Veldrin watched scrutinously, he took a deep breath.
You could have done this while you were waiting, she mulled, prying her eyes from the squire and staring off into the forest past the Covian housing.
"Come, Veldrin," Gregory snorted, finally finished with his tinkering. Veldrin followed silently as he moved forward, past the housing and into the wooded area between Cove and the main road. "We'll be walking to the Shrine of Compassion. It's north and west up the road here, north of the swamp on the other side of the mountains."
"Vonderful," she muttered, hardly interested. She began to say more, but a gigantic, two-headed ettin suddenly stole her attention. Not taking a moment's hesitation, the drow threw her arms up in the air, uttering a collection of power words. Moments later, the ettin burst into flames. The squire's blade finished it off. The man stood over the oversized corpse and gave a confident nod.
"Collect the gold off this creature, and every other on the way to the shrine. We will be offering the gold to the shrine upon our arrival." Gregory walked off as Veldrin was left to search the corpse for the gold it carried.
As they reached the main road, the cycle continued. Rabid rats, mongbats, trolls, brigands; no corpse was left to rot without its pockets being emptied. Veldrin held nearly a grand when they reached a small desert nestled within a cove of mountains. Gregory and the drow wove their way through buildings as Veldrin marveled at them. Who on Sosaria would want a house in the middle of the desert populated by—
"Giant scorpions!" the drow exclaimed, quite startled as she watched a scorpion twice her size amble toward the pair. What odd creatures the surface gave birth to. Giant spiders, perhaps, but...
"You just keep up the healing. I'll take care of the scorpions." Drawing his sword with a deft flourish, the armored squire marched forward, blade raised. His weapon came crashing onto the arachnid's carapace and a sickening crack resounded. In pain, the scorpion stabbed forward with its barbed stinger, one Veldrin knew was filled with venom. A surge of power ran through her body as she flung a Cure spell at the squire, neutralizing the toxin in his veins.
The scorpion went down easily. But there were many more. Between mending the squire's wounds, Veldrin jumped in with her own mix of offensive magery. Venom, blades, pincers and magic tossed every which way through the air. Dozens of scorpion corpses fell in a ring around the squire.
As they moved on, cutting down even a few harpies and sand snakes on their way to shrine, a creature confronted the pair that caught Veldrin off guard. At first she had dismissed it as a cloud of sand blowing in the wind. But it moved with precision, and before long, it even took a semi-solid form. Attacking the squire and the drow mage with waves of sand and hard blows. The creatures proved far more powerful than the scorpions and feathered bird-women. But much like the scorpions and bird-women, it was left lifeless in the desert, its gold collection pilfered.
It wasn't long before they spotted a large patch of grass and palm trees in the middle of the desert. Life, water, somehow surviving in this wasteland. It was a welcome sight, even for a drow. Two stone ankhs stood guard outside the entrance to the small peninsula. Gregory looked back at Veldrin. Both of them were pockmarked in scratches and bruises from their toils with the desert inhabitants. "Keep up, drowling."
He slowly stepped into the shrine, using one hand to pull his coif off his head. Kneeling before the large stone ankh in the center, which loomed over a green and yellow symbol carved into stone and set in the ground, he laid his bloodied sword upon the altar. Veldrin stood back a safe distance, watching in somber silence as a humble silence washed over the squire.
"Lay the gold on the altar," Gregory ordered, gesturing next to his sword. Moving beside him and pulling her pack off her shoulders, she gratefully dumped the weight of the gold onto the altar. At this point she had collected at least fifteen hundred crowns. Money that was possibly better spent on reagents for spells, but nevertheless...
"The gold will be picked up by whomever the Avatar wishes," Gregory stated pointedly, as though reading her mind. Veldrin nodded mindlessly. "Let us head back to the church. We will take the easy route."
Though Veldrin expected him to ask her for a portal home, Gregory marched northwest, following the mountain border where, for some reason, there were far few monsters and beasts. As they found the road again, Veldrin sighed. "A portal would be far easier zhan zhis," she stated, her thick accent twisting her words as she was sure the Covians had gotten used to.
"We won't be needing wytchery in this quest!" Gregory snapped, though his pace quickened. Veldrin felt there was no need to point out her use of magic earlier, as that was most likely not was he was referring to. She snorted at the thought. If it kills, it's acceptable. If it offers convenience, it's a sinful art. Interesting.
After a long walk, the pair arrived at the church again. The squire, for the first time, offered the drow a warm smile. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a piece of fruit and offered it to her. Veldrin held up a hand with a snort. "I am not hungry," she growled. It was an outright lie, really. Her stomach felt as if it were caving in. But she would eat later, when the squire would not be able to notice pride as her weakness.
"Very well, Veldrin. We will next make our way to a different shrine, perhaps tomorrow, until we have visited each of them."
"As you vish," the drow stated tiredly.
"As the
Avatar wishes," the squire snapped. "And you'll do well to learn it."
"Of course," Veldrin hid the stung that was caused by the harshness of his tone. "I vill see you anozher day."
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