After the display of violence, I gave the Tiefling a hard look and then glanced at the Aasimar. I felt a strange tension between the two and decided that it would be best if I were to keep an eye on them. Angels and Demons rarely interacted peacefully and I didn’t have faith that these offspring would either. If either one acted aggressively, it would need to be dealt with quickly and with as much diplomacy as possible. Both were skilled fighters and I feared their blades would be needed if we were to complete our objective. I hoped that in light of our surroundings, they would set aside any bias and work together.
Turning my attention back to our surroundings, I took a moment to survey the terrain. The goblin we had killed, that Xarus had mutilated, lay destroyed at the back of the cave. The bridge where we had slaughtered the two goblins lay to the east. To the south, uneven stone stairs led up to a large cavern above us. I could see light flickering from the room but could see nothing else. The waterfall to the north masked any sounds that might otherwise be audible.
Vaneiros turned to Scuttle. “Do you think you can sneak up there and take a look without being seen?”
Scuttle did not respond, he merely began moving and seemed to disappear into the shadows. Vaneiros glanced at the rest of us, pulled an arrow from his quiver, notched it, waited. After a moment, Scuttle stepped out of the shadows.
“What did you see?” Vaneiros asked.
“A large cavern, two goblins and a wolf. Lots of crates and a chest.”
“Is the area well lit?”
“A large fire burns in the middle of the room, between us and the goblins. The wolf lies beside them.”
Vaneiros looks around at each of us. “Ideas?”
Scuttle cleared his throat and said, “I suggest that we sneak in and dispatch them.”
Xarus nodded. “Two goblins and a wolf. I agree that a surprise attack makes sense.”
“Okay, follow me and move quietly. Scuttle, please lead the way.” Scuttle began moving, Vaneiros fell into step behind him, the rest of us followed.
Scuttle reached the top of the stairs and then disappeared around the left corner. Vaneiros went to the right. The others followed. I brought up the rear and as I entered the cavern, a large Bugbear sauntered out from an alcove at the rear of the cave. I stopped moving, afraid to draw its attention. It failed to notice us hunched along the stone wall and Scuttle moved swiftly, seeming to blend into the shadows. Scuttle’s blades flashed in the firelight and struck three times before the Bugbear could react. Each dagger strike found its target and drew blood. As he struck the Bugbear from behind, Vaneiros released his arrow. It flew through the air, through the flickering flames of the fire and into the eye of a goblin. The arrow punched through its skull and the creature collapsed to the ground, dead.
With a shout, Vitarri and Xarus rushed towards the Bugbear. Vitarri arrived first and swung his great sword, bringing it around in an arc. The Bugbear, distracted by Scuttle’s blows, failed to register this attack and took a slash across its chest. Roaring, instinctively it struck out at its attacker, hitting Vitarri. The blow caught his left arm and with an audible crack, the bone snapped. Vitarri fell back, holding his damaged arm. Xarus rushed past and swung his great sword, catching the Bugbear in its left side. It fell back, blood pouring from its wound.
While Scuttle, Vitarri and Xarus engaged the Bugbear, Redium raised his staff and cast Ray of Frost. The frozen blast struck the wolf and it staggered back from the impact, whimpering. I raised my crossbow and fired, hitting the remaining goblin in the leg. It staggered and then began moving towards us, until Vaneiros’s second arrow found its mark and the goblin fell dead, having pierced its heart.
Scuttle darted back in; slashing at the Bugbear’s calves and the Bugbear fell to the floor with a howl of pain. Vitarri took advantage of this distraction and using his good arm to swing his great sword, caught it in the neck, just above the right shoulder. Blood jetted out in a wide arc as Vitarri withdrew his blade. The bugbear weakly swung its hand at Vitarri but with its lifeblood seeping from its body, its knees buckled.
As Vitarri finished off the bugbear, I fired my crossbow a second time, striking the wolf in the side as it circled around the fire. It howled in pain and Redium cast magic missile. The mystical bolts found their mark, ending the wolf’s life.
With the immediate threat now handled, I turned to help fight the bugbear, but it lay dead at Xarus’s feet. Vitarri leaned against the wall, a grimace on his face. His damaged arm held rigidly against his body and with alarm; I noticed the Tiefling moving towards him, his great sword still in his hand. Here was the fight that I had feared would come, a moment of opportunity giving one an advantage over the other. My pulse began racing and I began moving towards them, a charm spell coming to my lips. However, before I could release the spell, the Tiefling set his blade aside with one hand and gently reached out with the other. He placed it on Vitarri’s arm. My alarm gave way to understanding as it suddenly dawned on me what I was watching. Instead of attacking, Xarus was healing Vitarri’s arm. Broken bone and torn muscle nit itself back together with just a few words from Xarus. After a moment, Xarus stepped back. The pained expression on Vitarri’s face was replaced with one of surprise and gratitude. Vitarri stretched out his arm gingerly. He nodded to Xarus and murmured something that I couldn’t hear from where I stood.
We looted the bodies of their possessions, dividing up coin and other valuables. During the battle, my focus lay on those seeking to harm us but now, as I looked around the cavern, I took in our surroundings. As Scuttle described, a large fire raged in the center of the room. To the east, a small alcove, where the Bugbear had been when Scuttle first surveyed the space. To the west, the room sloped downward to a small fissure that dropped away into darkness. Straight ahead, to the south end, a large stack of crates and sacks sat beyond the fire. As I approached the crates, I notice that each has a large blue lion shield symbol stenciled on the side. I broke one open, noted that it contained provisions and dropped the lid back into place.
Across the room, as Scuttle opened the battered chest, he let out a low whistle. The rest of us made our way over to where he stood, curious to see what treasures lay within. The chest itself was old and battered, but within, a large pile of coins gleamed in the glow of the fire. Scuttle reached in and pulled a jade frog with gold orbs for eyes. Scuttle moved to tuck the frog into his pocket, but I noticed the movement and caught his eye. “Please don’t steal from the group.” As I said this, I caught more movement from the corner of my eye. Vitarri pulled his hand back from the chest and though it appeared empty, I had my suspicions. “Look, everyone, I think that we need to respect one another and share any coins evenly. Stealing from one another will only breed distrust and jealousy.” The others exchanged looks but eventually, each nodded their agreement and I divided up the spoils. All told, the chest contained 600 copper, 109 silver, the jade frog and two healing potions. We agreed that I would act as group treasurer and I dumped out a sack of provisions and placed the frog and potions into it and pulled the drawstring tight. “We’ll have to come back for the crates, but first, we should finish clearing out this cave. Agreed?”
“Agreed” Vaneiros said, with a determined look. “There may be other prisoners still alive. Let’s hurry.” With that, we readied ourselves once more for what would come.
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