CARELESS DREAM
The fellowship entered the unlocked hostel finding the place shuttered and dark. Aramil projected a light from the end of his staff and shone the illumination upon the main room. Noone was around, yet unwashed dishes and half-empty mugs littered all ten eating tables.
The wizard leaned over a large plate searching its' scrapped contents. The lorist nodded and walked off down the hall
Leah and Salimen returned from their culinary search. There was enough foodstock found in the kitchen to fill their packs for a week. A delicious breakfast could be had should they all stay until next morning.
Teflar commanded " Okay, it's obvious the occupants fled the village for their lives. Find what you can and bunker down." The ranger strode through the premises while the bard rooted through the dining cupboards for satiable foodstuffs.
The druid joined him warning the others not to eat anything because the edibles may be poisoned.
Finding six untidy rooms at the end of the main hall, the ranger and monk selected one apiece and immediately fell into a much-needed slumber. The wizard and cleric settled down to a sidetable as Gailwind sniffed a nearby wineglass off the barcounter. He yawned loosely swirling its' crimson volume " You two have enough rest? We only had one hour at best out at the toolshed. Perhaps we should follow Teflar and get a comforting bed."
" Something disturbs me, lorist. I had a troubling dream this morning.
An unseen enemy, a fiery image I cannot describe pragmatically, plagued my conscience. I think we were not only robbed of half our group, but more than we expected."
The sage balked " What is that? Robbed you say?"
Aramil picked up a clean fork and poked abstractedly at a cold potato " I think we should count our scrolls. We may be missing at least one of our presented dozen. During the chaos of our southern jaunt, we might have left evidence of our mission available to any pursuers or wanderers coming across our path."
Gailwind gasped " Are you sure such a crafted item, guarded by Phantinius magic, could be understandable to anybody not affiliated with our mission?"
The wizard halved the spud " I don't know. Perhaps not to the common man, but we chase no ordinary thieves neither. I had a vision of a scroll burning in the hands of a demon. I fear that if our cause isn't accomplished soon, Zegithir may experience an attack of dire proportions."
Gailwind slowly scanned the barroom " I don't know what to say. I thought everyone was pretty careful when confiscating items off the dead bodies. I was so happy to finally receive my own scroll, I never paid much attention to the others' valuables."
The cleric nodded " Yes, we have all fed our own desires and it is time to come together for our last drive upon an orcken stronghold I'm sure awaits us. This would be the key to Bethlun being safe for at least another year."
" Let's see what news Erelis brings then."
Aramil nodded and finished a glass of water setting nearby.
The dwarf brought out his beautifully-scripted scroll and reexamined its' calligraphy as if he had overlooked hidden clues upon an earlier read.
Aramil twisted a smile " I doubt we should be enjoying anything special under these circumstances. It's best we eat a grand dinner and move out tonight."
With that, the quad trailed down the hallway anxious to add quality sleep to their minds.