Season One, Episode 1

He continues on his way, reaching Solace near sunset. Tanis pauses at the hilltop to survey the home he has not seen in many years. While watching the peaceful village, he is nonplussed to realise that someone has managed to walk up behind him unnoticed.

It is, however, only Tasslehoff. The kender is as full of stories and excitement as ever, and is going on about spiced potatoes when several figures burst out of the bushes before and behind our heroes.

They are hobgoblins, led by a large, fat one on a poor suffering pony. He bursts out “Onyx demands the blue crystal staff! Forfeit it or die!”

Tanis attempts to explain that they have no such staff, but is interrupted by Tas commenting on the poor state of the pony. Insulted and furious, the hobgoblin leader commands his minions to destroy such impudent villiens and rides off.

Tas grabs a sling bullet, loads it hurriedly, and drops the closest hobgoblin with a smashed hip. The three remaining charge into battle. Two head for Tanis, who has just barely managed to drop his pack. They move to flank him, and he quick-draws his sword and dagger as they chop at him from either side.

Fending off one attack with the dagger, he slashes into the other, his blade biting deep into the hobgoblin’s sword arm. The hobgoblin drops he sword and staggers back in shock. The other presses in, managing to grab the initiative – but not quite ever landing a blow, for Tanis’ leather hauberk has an enchantment on it that slows things as they approach. Eventually he goes all out, hoping to get through the spell, and Tanis seizes the initiative with a well timed rota. The counter-attack bounces off the hobgoblin’s bronze helmet, but now Tanis is on the move. A slash to the neck from his dagger and a cut to the thigh with the sword drops the hobgoblin, stunned and bleeding severely.

Tasslehoff has been attacked by a single foe. He fends the heavy blade off smartly with his hoopak but, burdened by his pack and numerous pouches, never quite manages to land a good strike. More than once Tas simple hurls himself out of the way. He does land two or three strikes, but fails to get through the cuir bouilli and leather the foe wears. However, he stays out of reach long enough for Tanis to come to his aid. The hobgoblin realises he’s alone, and tries to flee; Tanis hits him with everything he’s got, and more-or-less cuts the fellow’s leg off.

They stop and take stock and realise they are unhurt. Tanis puts the two severely wounded hobgoblins out of their misery; the last one, the one Tanis cut on the arm, has run off. Tas is all in favour of running him down, but Tanis decides that’s dangerous in the dark. Instead, they choose to track down some spiced potatoes.

Tanis stops by his house first, and is pleased to discover that no-one has taken up residence while he was away. His larder is, of course, quite bare, except for a pair of very dried out apples; but the rest of the house, though in need of a thorough sweeping, is in good shape. He cleans up, and heads over to the Inn of the Last Home.

Tasslehoff has already headed for the Inn. He is happy to see that the place hasn’t changed since he was here last, and astounded to see how much Tika – the orphan girl Otik the innkeeper took in – has grown. Tika is thrilled to see Tasslehoff, and gives him a big hug. Tas, of course, cannot resist slipping his hands into her pockets – but then, she’s returning the favour. She asks about the others, and tells him that Sturm is in the corner; when she lets him go, Tas bounces off to see Sturm.

Sturm is as dour and as serious as ever, but nevertheless seems glad to see the kender. He has a steel breastplate on, and has, he says, found his father’s “castle, armour and sword,” though his father is dead. He has not found any sign of the true gods either.

Tanis shows up shortly, and they discuss recent events. None of them have heard from Flint, Kitiara or the twins. Sturm knows a little more about the hobgoblins, though. It seems that the Seekers, an organisation of philosopher-priest from Haven, have expanded their rule to include Solace and Gateway; and for whatever reason are using the hobgoblin mercenaries to support the Seeker Guards here in Solace. There are around a dozen of them.

This makes Tanis very uncomfortable, and he begins to consider moving on. A small discussion begins over how long to wait for the others to show, interrupted by Otik who comes over to greet Tanis and give him a letter. Otik got the letter from a bladeslinger who came through a couple days ago, and carried on to Gateway.

The letter is from Kitiara, explaining that she is tied up by her current engagement, and won’t be present. When Sturm is told this, he fidgets, and says he hasn’t seen her in three years. They had left for Solamnia together... but when Tanis presses, Sturm admits they had a disagreement. He seems quite uncomfortable about it all, and Tanis lets it go.

Instead, he begins speculating on how long they should really hang around here. It seems that Solace has changed quite a lot since they were here last, and Tanis isn’t fond of hobgoblins – or of anyone who would hire them as guards. He hasn’t been here in years – and he doesn’t want to stay.

Noting much has been decided when strangers enter the common room. (Of course, many of the people here are strangers to Tanis, Tas and Sturm – but the newcomers are strangers to the people in the bar, you can see it on everyone’s face.) They are definitely far from home, a pair of barbarians from the plains to the west. Man and woman, he is amazingly tall – and she is stunningly beautiful.

It can never be said of Tasslehoff that he’s shy – and so, the kender bounces over to them and says hello, chattering on about who he is, and asking if they want spiced potatoes, and inviting them over to join his table. The woman introduces herself as Goldmoon, and her companion is Riverwind; she graciously declines Tas’ offer to join the others, and the plainsmen sit in a corner instead. Tas, of course, goes with them, noticing that they seem to be poorly equipped to travel – no cloaks, no packs; Goldmoon isn’t even wearing good walking shoes. Eventually Tanis comes over to introduce himself, and retrieve Tas. He, too, offers them company; Goldmoon again declines while Riverwind visibly bristles.

Tanis shrugs, and returns to Sturm. They pick up their conversation, trying to decide where they might go. Tanis asks Tas where he wants to go, and Tas – incredibly excited that he gets to pick, suggests Gateway. That meshes with Tanis’ half-formed plans to try and find Kitiara, and he agrees. They’re working on how long they should wait for the others – Tas doesn’t want to leave without Flint, while Tanis is worried that staying too long will bring the guards down on them for the killings - but haven’t gotten far when the door opens again. A man dressed in the robes of the Seeker religion comes in, with four hobgoblin guards. Tanis and Sturm make certain their weapons are near to hand, but the guards don’t bother them. Instead, they begin to circulate about the room, quizzing everyone they meet about a blue crystal staff.

Curious, Tas wanders over and has a look in the Seeker’s pouch. He finds a letter, addressed to Hendrick, High Theocrat of Solace, from the Highseekers in Haven. He is directed to find a staff made of blue crystal with a gem in the crown, and return it to Haven, using all necessary means.

Well, Tas finds this very interesting, and bounds over to Tanis, telling him “Look, he’s looking for a blue crystal staff too!” One of the guards glances up at that, and no doubt there would have been trouble had an argument not broken out at the plainsmen’s table.

Hendrick is insisting that he be allowed to examine Goldmoon’s staff. She has declined, and Riverwind is on his feet, insisting that she is noble and her tools may not be defiled by such folk. The hobgoblins press in, and tempers flare. Riverwind shoves a guard, sending him sprawling, and the others go for their swords. Riverwind draws his plainspears – short, stabbing weapons about three feet long – and it all looks bad.

Tanis and Sturm are on their feet, holding their weapons in their scabbards. Tanis attempts to talk the situation down, and tempers do ease somewhat, but Riverwind insists that Goldmoon may not be interrogated by Hendrick.

The situation is turning into a standoff, when the hobgoblin Riverwind had knocked down suddenly crawls out from the far side of the table and grabs at Goldmoon’s staff. The room is filled with a flash of bright blue light, and where a plain wooden traveling staff had been, there is a gleaming shaft of crystal. The hobgoblin staggers back, holding his burned hand, while everyone else stands stunned.

Riverwind recovers first, stabbing the wounded guard in the face and turning to face the others. Tanis and Sturm both start forward; Tanis tries to send Sturm to watch the door, but the knight reaches the fighting first and so the half-elf heads for the door instead. A guard heads to intercept, but he is distracted when Tas throws a knife at him, and Tanis finishes him swiftly. Sturm and Riverwind have needed no more time to deal with their foes. Hendrick, however, has run off shouting for the guard.

Obviously, they all need to leave, and Tanis’ sense of justice will not let him leave people to the likes of hobgoblins – even if Riverwind is clearly an accomplished fighter. He tells them to come with him; Riverwind bristles, of course, but Goldmoon puts a hand on his arm and accepts. The sound of boots can be heard on the vallenwood’s steps as the new-formed group runs into the kitchen and clambers down the rope ladder there, grabbing food as they go.

The guards are in an uproar, but it is full dark and they don’t seem to know the town very well. Tanis and Tasslehoff lead the group around the main streets, passing through Tanis’ place to grab his pack and what little else is there – and then they are off into the woods near Solace.

They don’t go far. Sturm is wearing only his breastplate and helm, and his armour is much easier to handle strapped to him than in a big bag, and the food they grabbed needs to be packed up properly. They talk briefly about where to go, but Gateway is still as good a destination as any. Tas begins to worry about Flint, until Sturm points out that he will almost certainly be coming up from Gateway and they’ll meet him on the road. This in turn prompts Tanis to wonder aloud about the twins – and before anyone can blink, Tas jumps up, says, “I’ll leave them a note!” and runs back into town.

He’s gone before the others can stop him. Wending his way back through town, he walks in the front door of the Inn of the Last Home – and is promptly ignored by the (human) Seeker Guards standing around as “just another kender.” Tika, however, takes immediate notice of him. Fortunately she’s a decent actress and manages to hide her recognition from the guards. Tas explains his errand,asking for a piece of paper and something to write with. She has paper, but no pencil, and Tas goes looking for one.

Passing through the Inn, he hears several people talking about the staff. A fellow from an outlying farm mentions he’d been accosted by several strange priests, wrapped all in robes, searching for the staff this morning. A woman is convinced that such a thing – and she saw it, you know – could only have come from Darken Wood. There are many, many strange things in Darken Wood.

He comes up to the old man who’d been telling stories, asking him for a pencil. The old man lends him one, and Tas writes “(Flint) Caramon and Raistlen. Hi! We found a really pretty princess with a crystal staff and a grumpy friend and now we’ve gone to Gateway. Tas.”

When he hands the old man the pencil back, the fellow urges him to hurry now. They have only a few days. Tas nods and carries on, not really listening.

He then exits through the kitchen again, grabbing another load of food and a skillet of spiced potatoes, which he delivers to Goldmoon since she didn’t get to finish hers. He’s been gone only a few minutes, but Sturm – with some help from Tanis – has armoured up, and they set off to put some distance between them and town. They aren’t going to travel very much at night, but they do want to be far enough away that random patrols won’t stumble over them.

They walk for not quite an hour before Tanis is satisfied. Since wandering around in the bush at night is dangerous, they move only a short ways into the woods, but it should be enough to keep them out of sight – at least until sunrise.

Sturm volunteers to take the first watch, since sleeping in his armour is obviously not an option, and he doesn’t want to have to put it on and take it off more than he must.

Two hours later, Sturm is shaking Tanis awake. Someone is coming up the trail, quietly. Tanis grabs his sword and slips off into the bush, while Sturm rouses the others.

Soon they can see whomever it is. The figure is the height of a man, though with a slim build, and is wrapped head to toe in a dark-coloured cloak that makes it hard to really get a good look. When it is near to the camp, it stops.

Tanis steps out of the bush behind the figure, as Sturm clanks onto the trail in from, and challenges it. Slowly, the person lifts a hand and draws back his hood – revealing the delicate features of a Qualinesti elf. This is Eontalthas, a Warder of Qualinost – an elf charged with patrolling and defending the borders of Qualinost.

The Solace-Gateway road is some distance from his home. Tanis asks him why he is here; he explains that he is investigating rumours of trouble. There is war in the north , or so the elves have heard, and so the Speaker for the Suns has sent many of his Warders out to look and listen and see what they might learn. He has followed them because he heard of – but did not see – the commotion, and wanted to find out what was going on.

Tanis, unfortunatly, can tell him little. He has also heard the rumours, but has no direct knowledge of that; and as for the staff, he has so far been unsuccessful with drawing out the plainsmen. He tells Eontalthas they are headed to Gateway, and promises to get word to the elves if he hears anything. It is plain that neither man really likes or trusts the other.

Eontalthas accepts that that is the best he will get, and heads back towards Solace. Tanis relates the conversation – which was in Qualinesti – to the others, and our episode comes to a close.