ild oose hase

A seasonal shower washed away the dust of the streets outside as Trimus and the others sat in the main room of the Brightwater Inn. Three days had passed since the departure of Aril and his brother back to Darokin and they had spent their time recovering from the exertions of the previous days.
"I suppose we should be heading home as well." Sighed Ako idly breaking a stale roll into a small mountain of crumbs.
"Why?" asked Grabthroat. "I came here to seek my fortune and as yet my purse is still light. If I return now I will have to work in the quarries with my brothers. Life with you lot is far too exciting - up till now anyway."
"Sirs?" Otig the inn's owner approached. As usual he was polishing a tankard on the hem of his apron. "May I suggest you follow the advise of young Mr. Siskin and join the Adventure's Guild. Not that I am trying to lose your custom you understand …."
"But you're fed up with us wrecking your inn!" laughed Darkhawk.
"Yes I suppose I am but you have brought a bit of excitement into an old mans life." He chuckled deeply.
"What is this guild?" asked Trimus.
"A group of people such as yourselves. They have rooms and its a place where people can recruit adventurers for missions. They also pay a pension to injured adventurers who can't work any more and have nowhere else to go."
The friends looked at each other and quickly decided that on the morrow they would check out the Guild.

The Guild's headquarters were in a large stone and wood building on Park Street, home to some of the most prosperous and influential members of the city. Three stories high and occupying a large corner position the building was an imposing sight.
"It's a good job we put our best clothes on and persuaded Grabthroat to trim that beard of his" said Ako.
"Yes. It's almost as impressive as the School Of Magic back home" mused Trimus.
"Humph. It's only wood and coral." Grumbled the dwarf through his newly trimmed and oiled beard "Would last 10 years in Rockholme."
They entered through the carved wooden double door into a palatial entrance hall. Fine vases, tapestries and statuettes lent an air of opulence to its cold vastness. A tall sinewy man approached, his olive skin a striking contrast to the foam of lace at his throat and wrists. His long tunic hid but did not completely conceal the outline of a sword at his waist.
"Are you members of this or one of our sister guilds, sirs?" he asked, his surprisingly deep and rich.
"No. But we wish to join" replied Darkhawk politely.
"Certainly. Would that be a year or weekly subscription. The former costs 1000 galeva the latter just 100. Both will give you the right of residence in any of our guild houses and a pension if you are injured while a member. Also free meals and drinks in this or any other guild."
"We have not been adventuring long" said the tall fighter "We will only be able to afford a weeks membership."
"Very well sirs." Shrugged the functionary turning to pick up a large leather bound ledger from a fine table of bamboo and glass. "You never know, by the end of the week you may have found more profitable employment and become rich beyond your wildest dreams. Now if you would sign your names in here." He handed a quill to Darkhawk who signed his name before passing it on to Ako and the others to do the same. Handing over the bag of hard earned coins was a wrench but once they had been shown a room and the main Guild Hall they all agreed that the price was worth it, even the sullen dwarf had to admit that the carvings were fine and the beds soft and clean. The hall, large but friendly with two large fireplaces, unlit during the heat of the day but set with large sandalwood logs around which were placed comfortable wicker chairs. Outside on a veranda more chairs and tables were placed, upon which were small bowls of nuts, fruits and other sweetmeats. Even at this hour the hall was quite busy and the air was thick with fragrant pipe smoke and hushed conversations. Groups of adventurers and merchants sat chatting in huddles or stood looking out across the garden.

Having found themselves a table and after Grabthroat had finished his third bowl of nuts a swarthy man approached the table and sat down in an empty chair.
"You just might be the people I have been looking for." He said quietly. "Myself, Lewil and Amor" he pointed to a fighter and a cleric sitting by the fireplace "We have been hired to recover some treasure from a group of Lizardmen on Roister Island. They also hold one of our friends hostage. Are you interested in coming in on the deal? Equal shares of the reward of course 1500 gold each. If you are then we sail on the Sea Spray at Dawn. Ask for me, Gavron."
With that he stood up and walked back to his friends by the fireplace, where they sat and seemed to watch the companions reactions to the offer.
"Excellent" said Grabthroat, "We've only been hear an hour or so and already we've been hired."
"How tough are Lizardmen?" asked Ako of Darkhawk.
"Quite tough, but pretty stupid" replied the fighter nonchalantly, "We should get in and out quite easily. Anyway there will be seven of us so what are you worried about."

The journey to Ronowac village on Roister Island was uneventful. For once even Ako managed to keep his breakfast inside him and the sea was calm and the sky bright and cloudless. Gavron and his friends kept themselves to themselves during the voyage, except for Amor who came to the aid of a crewman who had a nasty accident with a belaying spike. Most of the time they stayed in their cabins while Trimus and the others relaxed on deck. After they arrived in the small fishing village of Ronowac and had been walking for about a day in hot sultry conditions through a midge infested swamp, the group camped on a low mound capped with tall trees that offered a little shade from the relentless sun. After eating a meal of dried meat and hard cheese they settled down for the night posting watches every 2 hours. During his watch Grabthroat with his excellent night vision was sure he saw a figure in the swamp. Amor who was on watch with the dwarf looked but could not see anything.
"Just a lizardman hunting for swamp fish." he suggested and he returned to the comfort of the fire's dying embers to repair a broken strap on his armour. "To short for a lizardman." Mumbled Grabthroat to himself and he continued to stare at the last place he saw the shadowy figure.

The following morning Lewil took his bearings from the sun while Gavron relieved himself amongst the small copse. He had been in the trees for a few moments when suddenly a terrifying scream split the air. Grabbing their weapons swiftly the party rushed to Gavron's aid. They arrived to see Gavron being crushed by one of the trees and being dragged slowly towards what appeared to be a mouth in the trunk of the tree. As Darkhawk, Ako and the others approached to give assistance three other trees began to wave their branches in a menacing fashion. Trimus reached into his pack and plucked out the potion of plant control and swallowed it in one go gagging at the foul taste. Almost instantly he sensed how to communicate with the immense, ancient creatures and with little effort persuaded them to put Gavron down. As soon as he got his breath back Gavron rolled away from the trees clutching his ribs. He drew his sword and joined Darkhawk, Ako and the others attacking the trees. The one sided fight was soon over with Grabthroat felling the last with a mighty swing of his axe. Trimus meanwhile was sitting with his head in his hands some feet away.
"Next time." He gasped "Let me get out of their minds. Oh my head hurts!". He then rose and collected some of the tree sap in the empty vial. "It may come in useful." He added as Gavron raised a questioning eyebrow.

Grabthroat climbed one of the remaining trees and scanned the horizon. To the north the sea shone while to the east he could make out the ruins of a small tower.
"They don't interest us." Said Gavron as the dwarf returned to the ground. "Our business lies to the south west." And with that they marched off back into the swamp and its attendant midges.
Towards mid-afternoon when the sun was at it's hottest and the insects at their most insistent Gavron called a halt beside a half hidden passage that sloped downwards into a low hill.
"This is it. This is where the evil lizardmen live. Let's go get them!" hissed Gavron through a grimace and he ducked through the tough leather flap that lay just inside the entrance. Trimus and Grabthroat looked at each other slightly puzzled by the fighter' confidence but they followed Ako and Darkhawk through the flap and into a room some ten paces square with an uneven floor and low rough ceiling. Once their eyes adjusted to the semidarkness they could see two exits concealed with flaps similar to the one they had just passed through. A third exit was blocked with a roughly constructed wooden door. The air was dank and fetid causing Trimus to pull a linen handkerchief from his sleeve and cover his nose.
"No time to be sensitive, mage." Sneered Lewil whose breath was if anything worse than the odours filling the room.
Gavron waved the party towards the southern flap and on into a long passage. Continuing past three side passages, two of which were closed off with skin flaps. The animal stench grew stronger until they turned left into a twenty foot square chamber occupied with a large number of lizard folk. A high pitched keening arose from the throats of the of the lizards. Amongst the adult lizards, young hatchlings and speckled blue-green eggs could be seen. "Back up." Barked Gavron, "They won't have put Dago in here."
"I don't know." Joked Amor, "Dago might have enjoyed it!" He made an obscene gesture with his mace.
"Enough!" spat Gavron, "We have work to do."
"I've got an ugly feeling about this." Whispered Ako to Darkhawk as the others moved back up the passage, "Something's not quite right."
"Quiet! Or I'll have your tongue." Threatened Gavron a steely glint in his grey eyes.
The party crept back to the first cross passage and turned east. Within a few paces a side passage blocked by a leather flap presented itself. Light bled from around its edges and harsh sibilant voices could be heard within.
Amor listening intently help up five fingers then three. Gavron, thoughtful, nodded the beckoned Darkhawk forward. A moment of calm, then as the level of noise rose beyond the leather screen Amor tore down the obstruction and the party charged in. Eight scaly lizardmen gaped momentarily, their red forked tongues tasting the air, their hesitation was fatal. Trimus loosing a magic missile which blinded the creature nearest the door. With practised ease Amor bludgeoned the screaming beast while the others engaged the rest. Even with the element of surprise the humans did not have it easy. The superior strength of the saurians almost matched the speed of thought and quality of weapons of their attackers. Almost however is never enough. After a few moments of frenzied battle, minutes that seemed like hours to Ako and the rest whose muscles burnt with exertion, Lewil swung a diagonal blow that sank deep into the neck of the last lizardman who sank gurgling to the floor. Gavron gave the room a cursory search turning bodies over with his booted foot. "Nothing here, lets go." He snapped and tramped out of the room not even bothering to sheath his sword.

The next side chamber was empty, aside from a few tallow candles and niches that contained lizardman skulls. Amor walked up to the one and shattered it with a single blow from his mace. Ako gasped and got a sarcastic sneer from the other cleric in response.
"They sometimes hide gems in them." He added "But not this time."
A low whistle from the entrance where Lewel was standing halted Amor before he could do any more damage.
"I think it's this way." Called the blond fighter, "The flap is decorated just as I remember." He pointed at a flap which showed a lizardman holding a club encrusted with shell fragments painted in shades of blue and green. "Semuanya." Whispered Ako to Trimus. Amor listened at the flap then shook his head. Gavron grinned and indicated with a twitch of his head that Trimus was to wait outside and guard the corridor. With that Gavron and the others burst through the flap.

Trimus turned away from the curtain. His mind full off the images he had witnessed. It all seemed so wrong. Amor destroying the skulls. Their new friends' crude and barbaric manners. What were they really planning? He silently vowed to confront them when they emerged. So engrossed was he with his inner turmoil that when a hand gripped him firmly by the shoulder and a knife was pressed into the taut skin of his throat he dropped his dagger which made an impossibly loud noise in the corridor. The silent corridor. Silent? But the others had just gone rushing into the chamber barely feet away why wasn't there the sound of battle? He opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a heavily accented voice in his ear. "Not a word, mage or you are dead. Understood?".

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