Chapter Text
Emily was feeling around in the alchemy pouch strapped to her belt. She had basic poisons and some potion components, but she was looking for something throwable. A wall of bones split her party in two, and she was stuck with an army of skeletons and zombies that could wear them down with numbers alone.
The wall of bones was too thick to break through and too tall for Ari to jump. Not that having Ari jump would help kill the army staring them down. They walked right into a trap on what was only supposed to be reconnaissance.
Taking a deep breath of the belladonna coating her lips Emily found the vial she needed; alchemist fire. It would deal with a lot of these undead, the unfortunate thing is, it still wouldn't be enough.
With the same thought Ari dug out her own vials of the liquid flames and was ready to throw them as soon as the undead made their move.
"What else do you have to throw?" Emily asked.
"I have some lantern oil, but it's in metal flasks." Ari shook her head in disappointment. "I have some rope and ball bearings too, but I don't think they're useful now."
"Keep them on standby, I'll think of something." Emily nodded to Trody. "What about you?"
"I have some holy water," the fighter shrugged. "but we should save that for when we run out of fire."
"Sounds good," Emily relayed her plan. "Throw the fire to the left to funnel them more to the right. Trody and I will engage them there. Ari, you and Drum pick off anything that make it through those flames." The rogue didn't wait for confirmation.
Closing her eyes Emily quietly listened, not for anything real, but for the voices. Even with a wall separating them, Kelly and Nicole's thoughts carried to her. They were in the same boat. The odds didn't look good for either group, but Emily will have to trust they'll make it through.
A deafening roar from the other side of the wall woke up the undead army from their temporary stasis. Individually they started to take steps, but slowly it turned into a hivemind, advancing as a wave of undeath looking to break upon the wall. And here she was again, in the wrong time and place.
With a nod Emily tossed her vial of liquid flames and ran to the right. Plan A is they die in the fire, plan B is they walk to her and Trody, plan C is she will throw her sapphire dagger again. Unfortunately there are easily five times the amount of horrors as they saw by the mountains yesterday. Mostly the weaker skeletons or zombies this time, but it's still a lot. The numbers were against them.
The vial shattered, throwing the burning liquid over a good area, a bit over half the distance between the cliffs. Another one would close them off completely, but that would be temporary. The fires will die down and the undead would keep marching. This wasn't a battle that could be won by being passive. Undead have all the time in the world after all.
Trody was right next to her as they got to the bottleneck. The first few undead were making it around the flames, mindlessly advancing toward the living. Trody swung his maul with everything he had. The less than fortunate zombie was launched backwards into it's kin. The undead ballistic returning a few of its fellow skeletons back to the grave.
Emily was a bit less efficient when it came to horde killing. She was skilled enough with her daggers where one strike could finish a zombie, but with these numbers it would be like eating rice one grain at a time. And unlike Trody her armor wasn't meant to take repeated hits. Their numbers alone made it impossible for the rogue to evade every blow, and trying to evade them all would mean she stopped stabbing them. Their numbers needed to go down. Good thing the rogue had more than one trick up her sleeve.
[Shield]
Emily's spell intercepted the undead assault, the jagged blades and grotesque hands glancing off her leather armor like she had been wearing full plate. The spell was strong, but it didn't make her invulnerable. Even if her chance of getting hit was 5 percent, the undead being so plentiful were guaranteed to land a few blows. She would just have to put up with the pain. Tending to the scrapes and bruises could wait, keep attacking.
Emily lost count, but at least a dozen of them were killed just by her. Trody and Ari were doing an even better job, but the wave of undead just kept swelling. Ari had used both of her vials of fire and half her arrows, but the advantage was still on the army's side. Emily was used to hit and run tactics, the onslaught had it's win condition from the start; numbers. Emily racked her brain for anything that can slow the zombies down to a crawl.
The last of the alchemist fire would only burn for a few more seconds so she needed to try something. Up the ante and hope it's enough to fold the undead.
"Ari, toss me the ball bearings!" The desperation in Emily's voice ringing like a bell.
Loosing one more arrow from her bow, Ari dug the pouch out of her bag and tossed it to the rogue. The pouch tumbled through the air with decent enough precision for how nonchalantly it was thrown. It's trajectory only an arms length in front of the blonde.
Emily wasn't planning on catching it anyway. With a flick of the wrist she sheathed her normal dagger replacing it with her ruby one, cutting into the pouch with one swift motion.
[Thunder Wave]
The tip of her dagger rang for an instant before the spell fully manifested. The bag of ball bearings exploded with the thunderous force, turning the pouch of lead into a cloud of death. Bone was shattered and broken, rotten flesh was lacerated and dripped to the barren ground. What was a horde of thirty undead had returned to the sickly earth in an instant.
Only a handful of undead remained, mostly the more hardy of the skeletons, but it was easy pickings for Ari and Trody. Even Drum was eager to finish off the undead stragglers.
Emily had other things on her mind though, or rather she wished she did. She gave a moment to listen, hear how Kelly was fairing with her fight.
Silence.
Emily quietly but her lip. She can't panic, not now. Think, don't act, anything could have happened, Kelly could just be unconscious or out of range. Her best friend is smart enough to run and fight another day. But what if...
"Trody, is there another way into the valley?" The blonde was frantically fluffing her hair, inadvertently pulling a few platinum strands free.
"Its farther to the east, but it's out of the way. Nearly a days journey to get around that wall, and that's not including getting back to town afterwards." Killing off the last undead, Trody dropped his maul to the ground and took a seat next to it. "We should head back to town after a breather. We can restock and head that way tomorrow."
Emily was about to argue, but was cut off by Ari. The sound of her bow firing an arrow echoed through the valley. As the valley returned to silence the wall stayed strong, not a single mark could be found.
what the fuck was that?
"What the hells happened?" Nicole's voice echoed twice in Emily's mind.
"Nicole! You're okay!" The rogue was ecstatic to hear her friends voice.
"A bit of an overstatement Emily! It's just me and Kelly left, and this wall is a big problem!"
The reality of death shook the rogue to her core. "Trody knows another way to you, but we won't get there til tomorrow."
"Are you serious? Just knock a hole in the wall!"
"We tried that, what do you think woke you up?"
"Do you honestly think we can survive the night? I'm not Ari, I can't build a fire." Nicole's usually calm voice broke as panic began to take over. "Hells, I don't even think we have anything to burn."
"Kelly has enough grit to keep the both of you safe until then. She's still there, right?"
Nicole went silent for a bit, but only one thing was on her mind; worry. "The golem gave her a beating, she passed out as soon as the adrenaline wore off. I'm not a doctor, but I think her shoulder is busted too."
Emily's veins ran cold. This wasn't supposed to happen, not like this. This was supposed to be a fun little vacation, bring her friend to a temple while the rest of the group party at a local tavern. This wasn't supposed to be a real quest with real stakes. But it was, and everyone that gave them trouble has been a murderer a rapist or a pedophile. Most some combination of the three.
"Emily." Ari had closed the distance, standing at arms length hesitant to console the blonde. "We need to start heading back to town. There is nothing more we can do for them."
"I can't just leave them here." Defeat was the only thing that could describe the rogue in this moment. It didn't matter how many more fights she had won. The one that mattered was that her friends were safe, and she failed them.
"Emily, I understand what you are going through, but our only chance to help them is if we head back and look for them tomorrow." Trody spoke up, his voice as hard and strong as his maul. "Making small talk is just wasting time."
The blonde took in one last breath of the belladonna, the drug putting her already sharp mind on a blades edge. "Nicole, once Kelly wakes up, try to find a cave or something to hide in. Don't fight anything you don't have to."
"Emily! No, please! There has to be something! Anything! Just don't leave!" The bards words had desperation hanging on every word. Emily had never seen Nicole cry before. And somehow only hearing it was worse.
"Let's get going. It's only for a day, I swear by it." Trody started down the path, fresh bone shards bending and breaking under his heavy boots.
The four of them left the gorge in silence. Even Drum looked more like a kicked dog than a fierce tiger. Nothing was lost yet, but the 'yet' is what terrifies them. Everyone dies eventually, but when you pass away in the realm of a necromancer, it's the second time that will hurt the most.
The transition of bones and rot to a living field lifted their spirits ever so slightly. It had been an eventful day, the party had survived. They were tired, both physically and emotionally, but they didn't stop on their way back, reaching the grazing land late afternoon.
"You did the right thing." Trody spoke in a whisper, but the cool summer breeze carried the words unhindered to the blonde.
"Don't lecture me! One of your people did die today! How about you show some empathy!" Emily's words had an edge that rivaled her daggers. "You, Lynn, your precious dragon, all the same. Use people like pawns until you run out, then just run away!"
"Don't compare me to that bitch Lynn! Kyle knew what he signed up for. He wasn't risking his life anymore than I was." Trody lifted his maul, reflecting on himself in its murky sheen. "Yesterday I would have been just as dead if not for you and Kelly. Kyle gave his life fighting with her, and now I want to make sure he didn't throw it away for nothing."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night Trody." Emily bit her lip drawing a bit of blood. Digging into her pouch she was looking for another hit of belladonna. The vials contents causing her to clench her jaw. She purchased it two days ago, but it was almost empty already.
"Emily, you know what he means." Ari was fiddling with her quiver, her heavy equipment starting to show its weight. "Adventuring has its risks too, I choose to go with you because I know you have my back."
A bit of optimism flashed across the fighters face. "You're a good leader Emily. If I had died and Kyle lived he would have told you the same thing. He followed me because he believed in what I did. He risked his life, hells he gave it, because he knew I would have done the same."
Emily knew they were right. She wasn't quite in the wrong, but at the very least they were right. But that just made her all the more angry. She hated kings, queens, lords, all of that. Emily knew she wasn't like them, but after today she wasn't so sure. Their brilliant leader walking into an ambush? She was better than that, and now Nicole is trapped with an injured Kelly in enemy territory. Just saving them won't be enough to make it up to them.
Putting the vial back in her alchemy pouch, the rogue instead dug out her canteen and took a long sip of water. Usually the stray thoughts were too much for her, but hearing the minor inconvenience of a passerby was favored over brewing on todays shortcomings.
Following suit, Ari dug out her own canteen, offering the water to her animal companion before taking a sip herself. "How early can we leave tomorrow?"
"As soon as we wake up." Trody stretched his arms over his head. "The farmland is safe at night-"
"Because of that cleric." Emily finished.
"Wait, something doesn't sound right," Ari said, cutting back in. "If you have such a strong cleric why is Jeffery still a problem?"
"She's not an adventurer, none of us are. We find his lair and die in some spike trap, or get eaten by a mimic? All we can do is take little victories and pray to Lathander."
Emily scoffed. "And he answered your prayers with Kelly, good job."
Trody couldn't help but laugh at the rogues quip, his spirits being lifted by her observation. "All the more reason to save her. If Kelly is the answer to our prayers then her and Megan working together would be enough to stop the necromancer."
Passing through the gates of Brindle Trody was quickly pulled to the side by another guard. It should have been a normal update, but the dire look on the guards face said otherwise.
Emily paid it no mind at first thinking it was just a formality, nothing deeper. It was the words on the tip of their minds that kept buzzing in her ears like a mosquito that finally got her interest piqued.
Another one
Another one
"Its Colby."
Ari gave her leader a perplexed look. "What?"
Emily motioned to Trody and the guard still deep in discussion. "Another kid went missing."
The tiefling blinked, then blinked again. "Explain it like someone who can't read minds."
Rolling her eyes Emily stomped over to Trody and the guard. "We need to find Colby."
Trody gave Emily a double take before responding. "The Friar?"
"Friar, Butcher, doesn't matter. He has the kid."
The other guard took a single step towards the rogue. "That is an unwise claim for an outsider to make." If he was trying to be intimidating he needed to try harder.
Trody was skeptical, but he knew Emily enough to hear her out. "When did you hear about a kid? When did you meet The Friar?"
Ignoring the guards questioning the rogue pressed the tracker of the group. "Ari, can Drum track down The Friar? He knows Jeffery closed off the southern route, he'll be taking the long way back so we have time."
Emily's lips curled into a smile, Colby wont be expecting them to be alive none the less back in town. Jeffery said it himself that The Butcher was the one who tipped him off. They had the opportunity to spring their own trap.
The ranger and tiger duo quickly doubled back out of the city. Following the outer walls to the east they lead Emily and Trody across the fertile farmland. They continued far east even after the city walls turned north. The fields of grain with only irrigation ditches to slow them down was far from the worst thing they encountered today.
The fields came to an abrupt end, rows of trees taking its place. The off season orchard was overgrown, dark green leaves casting heavy shadows over the thin foot paths between the sturdy trunks.
Ari slowed to a walk, her breath slightly labored, but she kept her voice a whisper. "He's just ahead. I think he's with someone."
"It might be Hunter, will you be alright Ari?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. What's the plan?"
"We use the shadows." Emily gave Trody a pat on the back. "Talk them up a bit, when you give the signal we'll spring our trap."
[Invisibility]
"What's the signal?" Trody turned around just in time to realize he was already alone.
Trody trudged along the path crossbow in hand, continuing without a word. With the help of her spell Emily remained a single footstep behind him the whole time. They didn't need to go far to find the friar struggling to stand up and make off with a heavy sack.
"Trody? I was expecting... someone else."
"What's in the sack Colby?" The fighter was skeptical when they started on this run, but even under the heavy shadows the panic covering the friars face was clear as day.
Trody's hands were wound tight around his crossbow, the bolt set and arms pulled taught. With the bolt and death at the end of a single trigger pull, Trody addressed the panicked man again. "Don't do anything I can make you regret."
Weighing his options Colby took a single step before a bolt was fired from the crossbow and lodged into his leg. The older man slumped over instantly with the sack dropping next to him. Trody took a step towards the screaming man, but was frozen in place before dropping down on the soft leaves covering the floor. Hunter was here alright, and he is not happy about the uninvited guests.
"I know you are here, the guard wouldn't have wised up to The Butchers scheme this quickly."
The fey voice came from what looked like a tree, then it started walking toward Trody. The dryad was elegant to look at, each step it took being a thing of beauty. A potent distraction for how deadly of a creature it is.
"I know you're out there! How about you don't spit in my face this time. Ok?" The dryad spoke, it's voice sounding as thick and sweet as honey.
Emily was still invisible, two steps in front of her Trody was face down on the ground. Catching her breath Emily dug through her poison pouch. Fishing out a vial of green liquid the rogue coated her weapons with the poison before tossing the bottle across the forest as a distraction. The bottle shattering on a tree trunk made the dryad flinch for a second.
Emily gladly took the opportunity it earned her and closed the gap unseen and unheard. Her poisoned daggers sunk deep into the dryads chest before just as quickly backing away. It's face contorted from a playful grin to one of pure agony, but its beauty never wavered. It's fey laugh turning more panicked as it hunched over, feeling the sap dripping from the fresh holes in its bark-like skin.
"Where did you-" A flash of green and the dryad was gone. It was a summon, a distraction. The real Hunter was still out there hiding, watching, waiting.
Emily held her daggers high, preparing for an ambush that could originate from any rock or tree. Behind her Trody was beginning to get back to his feet. He was shaken a bit by the charm, but he still had fight.
"Check on the kid." Emily didn't even look Trody's way, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow looking for any sign of Hunter.
Trody ran to the sack, easily maneuvering it away from Colby, who was preoccupied by the blood hemorrhaging from his leg. Looking inside the sack the fighter went pale.
"She has no pulse, but she's still warm." Trody choked out the words, almost doubting how bad things have gotten inside the city. Right under his nose.
"Focus Trody!" Emily called to the man lost in grief. "I can handle this, just get her to the temple, if she's still warm you have time."
With a nod Trody took the girl in his arms and ran. He was leaving behind his weapon, but that didn't matter. He had the chance to do right for the citizens, in a way that they deserved. Not just cleaning up undead, but actually helping and saving them. To do what guards are meant to do.
Once she was certain Trody was out of earshot Emily began her real plan. The ruby dagger slipped effortlessly from it's sheath, her translucent mage hand wielding it naturally in her minds eye. The invisible hand gripped it tight as it floated over to the still bleeding friar and buried the blade deep in his neck.
Emily never lowered her own blades, never dropped her guard for a second. The hand did what she willed of it bringing the friar to justice.
Emily knew Hunter was still watching her, she could hear his thoughts here and there. He was waiting to see if Emily would break her guard. Or see if there was another member of her party hiding. He was right to be cautious. One on one Emily wasn't sure she could beat him, not with so few spells left anyway. But Ari and Drum were hiding, watching Emily just as hard as she assumed Hunter would be. So she needed to goad out the druid.
[Prestidigitation]
The subtle sound of a twig snapping above her head was just the start. A fake panic accompanied by a roll to the side sold the charade. Her hair was tossed about, a few leaves sticking in her locks from the thick leaf litter on the forest floor. Emily looked panicked and off balance, she looked it anyway.
Hunter took the blondes bait and plunged from the shadows at the rogue. His massive bear form swiping at the crouching rogue with the power to rip a tree up by its roots, but he only swiped at air.
[Misty Step]
Emily was standing over Colby's dead body, ruby dagger sinking back into it's sheath on her hip. The bait worked, the druid was out of hiding.
With a roar the bear charged the blonde, closing the distance almost too fast for her to react.
[Shield]
With her defense strengthened Emily prepared her counter attack. Her poisoned daggers carving through fur, fat and muscle as the beasts mighty paw landed hard on her side. The blow hurt, and if it wasn't for her shield spell a few of her ribs would have been broken. Getting tossed to the ground by the hit, the rogue tried desperately to get the air back in her lungs as she slumped to the ground.
The bear roared in pain as it lumbered over to the rogue, Emily's poisons slowly doing it's job. The beast loomed over her, ready to make another attack when an arrow hit it hard in the face. It burst into splinters making the bear stagger. Ari was still hiding, but she was in the fight now. Her arrows finding their mark again and again, pushing the bear backwards until a tree blocked its path.
Once the fifth arrow hit the bear began to fade and a new form took its place. The human was scowling, anger and frustration decorated his normally nonchalant face.
"There, it's me! Now what are you gonna do?" Hunter looked around as he spoke, trying his best to address the unseen ranger. "Or are you gonna keep hiding and make your leader finish me off?"
Hunter was in a bind, but he knew when to play to an out. Emily was still hunched over on the ground from his earlier attack. If he could get Ari to argue with her party again then he's one wildshape away from freedom.
"That's not working this time." Ari crept out of the shadows, her hood was down exposing her white hair and red skin to those around her. "This was our plan from the beginning. Emily can take a punch or two if it means you lowered your guard. And look at you now? Cowering into a tree trunk with nowhere left to run or hide."
Ari kept her guard up as she got within a few feet of the druid. Her bow at full draw, and her previous fatigue nowhere to be seen. She gave a sharp whistle and Drum leapt from around the tree, pinning the druid on the thick leaves of the forest floor.
"You think a human would help you out of kindness?" Hunter was desperate, but his voice was steady, even with the weight of a tiger on his back. "You belong to the wilds, just like me!"
"I am nothing like you!" Ari nearly fired her arrow out of frustration. "You are a human, not a bear or dryad. You belong in the cities where you can lie and deceive and manipulate."
"And you belong nowhere! Keep playing pretend, acting like you are welcome with people."
"Ari belongs with me." Emily had finally gotten to her feet and made her way next to the tiefling. "I have more respect for her than you can imagine. I will take another mauling to the face if it means she can have the pleasure of ending your life."
Hunter was at a loss for words. He should have had this fight in the bag. The fact the rogue was even capable of standing was mind boggling to him. His only option now would be turning into a bird and flying away, it wasn't likely to work, but it would be better than nothing.
Before he could alter his shape a sharp whistle filled Hunters ears, and it was the last thing he heard as Drums massive jaws snapped the humans neck.
As hunters thoughts disappeared Ari's thoughts grew into a tangled thicket. Happy, sad, angry, frustrated, relieved. The shadow creeping in the back of her mind for years had finally faded to nothing, but it had been there for so long its presence became a part of her.
Emily limped over to the girl wrapping her arms and cloak around her, holding the girl close and hiding her from this harsh reality.
"What now?" Ari's voice was soft. She wasn't crying, though a single tear stained her red cheeks.
"Nothing. You did it. Its done." The blonde awkwardly ran a hand through the tiefling's hair.
Emily held her another moment, trying to make sense of her own thoughts as well as Ari's. She got mauled by a bear to free her, but finding the words the tiefling needed to hear was the real challenge.
"Are you gonna be ok?"
"I will be." Ari shook herself free from the blonde and started making her way out of the forest before calling back. "And I mean it this time."
Peace
Emily grabbed Trody's maul off the ground and stumbled after the ranger, the injuries from today starting to throb and ache. But now wasn't the time to slow Ari down. She has a new found confidence and Emily wants to see it blossom and grow. That's why she could never see eye to eye with kings and lords. They do everything they can to stay in power and keep people under their rule. Just the thought could make her gag. What she did for Ari today, literally putting her life on the line for someone else's benefit would make even the humblest of lords faint.
Leaving the orchard behind them the two girls took a look at the sun slowly setting behind the mountains. Its peaks casting long shadows over Brindle, bringing the city an early night.
Emily thought aloud as she began fiddling with the heavily used maul in her hands. "Thanks for coming along with me."
The tiefling gave a soft giggle that surprised both of them. "You freed me from a cage I didn't even know I was in. Not just Hunter but humans in general. I always saw myself as a piece in the wrong puzzle. No matter where I tried fitting in it never worked." Ari gave the blonde a playful shove. "I didn't need to fit in with you, or Kelly for that matter. You did the fitting in for me."
The sun had set by the time they reached the temple. The two dashed through the wide doorway, passing the last of the worshipers leaving the building for a late supper. The halls were filled with the soft chanting of a cleric. Following the voice they snaked their way to the baptismal pool.
Crossing through the doorway two glances were shot their way. Trody and Megan were quietly sat, the girl was in the clerics arms, a blanket wrapped tight around her. She was alive, sleeping soundly in the clerics embrace.
"You made it," Trody whispered. The excitement to see the girls return showed heavy on his face.
"Looks like you did too." Emily motioned to the sleeping girl. "Glad to see you did something right." Emily silently crossed the room and gave the fighter his weapon. "I think you might need this for tomorrow."
"And what about The Friar." The cleric spoke directly, waiting for an answer she would never be ready to hear.
"He's dead. He was working with Jeffery the whole time. We plan on killing him next." Emily was stern, she had the confidence to back up her claims. Jeffery messed with the wrong party, and he needed to pay for that as soon as they could manage.
"I'm going with you." Trody tagging along was to be expected. What the rogue didn't expect was the cleric offering to come along too. "Trody said you three killed a hundred undead today. I'm not an adventurer, but I want to help bring this nightmare to an end."
The blonde paused for a bit, trying to get a handle on the thoughts in her head.
Savior
Hero
Resting her hands on her daggers she found her answer. "Ari and I will rest here tonight. The four of us will head out as soon as we wake up. We rescue the rest of my team then find the necromancer."
Emily knew what she was; a rogue. She also knew what she was not; a hero. Adventuring was a way to put money in her pockets and have some fun along the way. This whole quest was supposed to be Kelly's hero moment. But with her favorite blonde lost in a valley she had no choice but to play hero, and everyone was so eager to rally behind her she had no choice but to be their leader too.