Eberron Book One Stories
Page 2
Treasure Hunt
"I don't know about this Leshy."
"I told you don't call me Leshy!"
"Sorry Leshy."
The half elf sighed and went back to explaining his plan to his warforged companion.
"Okay, I'll go through this one more time Zee. 150 years ago there was this mage, an ir'Wynarn from Cyre. He was some sort of writer or something like that, but that's not important. He was in love with this beautiful bard, I forget her name, but they say that she could move any audience to tears or joy with a single song."
"That's pretty Leshy, can you do that?"
"No Zee, and please don't call me Leshy."
"Sorry Leshy."
"He was in love with this bard, he followed her as she traveled all around Khorvaire, and this was before the war of course, so it was safer to travel then. She was a sort of adventurer too, always getting into trouble and exploring dangerous locations, but still he followed her anyways. She never realized it but as the stories tell it, he was able to save her a few times without her knowing it. He could never bring himself to meeting her; he just wanted her to be safe."
"Have you ever been in love like that Leshy?"
"No Zee, though maybe one day. And don't call me Leshy."
"Sorry Leshy."
"Then tragedy struck. He followed her deep into a dungeon one day, exploring some ancient ruins. He was attacked by some powerful ancient evil, and while he tried his best, he was surely about to die. That's when she came in. It seems she always knew he was following her, so when he fell into trouble, she came to his rescue. The monster went for the killing blow, but before it could strike the mage, the bard got in the way. She took the blow, but not before unleashing a powerful song which banished the enemy. The mage held the object of his affection, and they shared a few precious moments before she passed on."
The half elf looked at his warforged companion. "Are you crying?"
The warforged mimicked the humanoid sniffling noise. "It's so sad Leshy."
"Don't call me Leshy."
"Sorry Leshy."
"Anyways, this is the good part!"
"But she died, how could anything be good for him now?"
"Not for him, for us I mean, this is the good part for us!"
"How can her dead be good for us Leshy?"
"I said, don't call me Leshy!"
"Sorry Leshy."
"Because, after she died, he took her to her village, and buried her. He, couldn't however, let her music die. He was too much in love with her. It seems she had many magical artifacts that she had uncovered in her journeys. He took all of them and built a tomb in her honor. In it he sealed the most powerful of the artifacts and then hid the tomb itself."
"And?"
"And? What do you mean and, and this my dear Zee, this is a map to that very tomb!"
The half elf stared excitedly at his companion; minutes went by as nothing was said. The half elf sighed, wrapped up the map and hit his companion on the head.
"We're gonna be rich Zee." He said with a deadpan voice.
"Oh! That's great Leshy!"
"Stop. Calling. Me. Leshy!"
"Sorry Leshy."
"But how are we gonan get past the traps?"
"How did you know about the traps?"
"Aren't there always traps?"
The half elf looked astonished at the unusually insightful point his companion just made.
"Ah, that's the beauty of it. We don't go in ourselves, we let someone else, someone greedier than us get the treasure for us!"
"Whose greedier than you Leshy?"
"Don't call me Leshy."
"Sorry Leshy."
Before the half elf could say anything, there was a knock at the door. The half elf quickly rolled up the treasure map and put it away. The warforged companion went to his standard "bodyguard" position and waited as the half elf opened the door.
"Ahh, you must be the person who answered my petition. My name is Leshellian Lyrander." The half elf smiled and opened his hand.
The female walked past him and sat down in the chair, putting her feet up on the table. "pleasure to meet ya Leshy, I'm Ava, ready to do business?"
We Live - An Eberron Side Story
Kendra stared at the sending stone in her hand. She remembered how warm it used to feel, how it glowed, sometimes pulsed as if a living heartbeat. It was dead now. There was no light, no pulse, and no warmth to give her comfort.
It had only been a few days since the warning was sent. She could still hear it in her mind, clear and crisp, like when she first heard it.
"This is Guild-Master Rook, to all guild members." She saw the image of the great metal man who was their leader, their shining beacon of honor and hope. The sending stone glowed brighter than it had ever had before. "Stronghold has been compromised. We have been betrayed. They are coming to wipe us all out. They are using the sending stone network to find us and eliminate us."
Her heart went cold. Who could have betrayed them? How did they get into Stronghold? She could hear the sounds of combat going on in the background. Countless voices in the midst of what sounded like a horrible battle. "I am killing the sending network; this is your one and only chance. Run. As your Guild-Master, these are my final orders."
Kendra stared into the eyes of the Guild-Master, her heart sinking. "Run, run and hide. Live beyond this day. Live, and in time, we shall all meet again." The stone in her hand went cold, and for the first time in her life, the light of the stone went out.
Kendra wiped away the tears from her eyes. That was only a few days ago, and already so much has changed. Cayne, the guild-leader at Shadowhold had ordered everyone to abandon the enclave. They were a remote enclave, but if Stronghold had fallen, then none of the other enclaves would be safe. The caves were empty. Everyone had gathered what they could and decided to go their separate ways. Some went to Stronghold, to see what was going on. Others made arrangements to meet again; some just vanished into the wilderness.
Kendra, as usual, disobeyed her orders. She stayed behind. The thought of completely abandoning the guild was more than she could bear. This had been her home for as long as she could remember. She was a child; by the way elves measure time, though she looked older to the other races. She was wild, running rampant in the streets of Sharn. It was Rook who had taken her in, saved her from a fate of petty crime or death in the alleyways of the city of Towers.
He wasn't Guild-Master then, the guild didn't have one leader then. He was an outcast she learned, even though he sat on the Guild Council. He was a rogue element, the equivalent of a street urchin in the council, doing what he wanted when he wanted. Still, he was a skilled and wise leader, when he stuck around. She identified with him immediately.
He raised her, taught her the ways of being a chain fighter. Helped her understand the right and wrongs of the world, helped her learn what it meant to be part of the guild of heroes. The guild was more than just some group of people with shared ideals and shared vision of the world. They were a family, they were her family. She grew up fighting alongside them. She celebrated with them. She mourned with them. She faced death countless times in the name of honor and righteousness time and time again with them.
She was there when they lost the last council, when they chose a Guild-Master instead of a council. She was there when they lost Guild-Master Tira in the great battle of Thrane. She was there when they built Shadowhold, and Towerhold. And now, she was there when it was all gone.
"Why!?" she yelled out into the abandoned caves of Shadowhold. "Tell me why?!" she cursed out to any god that would hear her. "All we did was help people. All we ever did was make sure that people were safe, happy, and free. Why did you let this happen? Why did you let them all die!?"
She fell to the floor crying. She knew they were dead. The guild was more than a group of people with shared ideals, more than family. They were connected, and by more than the sending stone network. Their shared lives brought them closer in a way that was unexplainable. They were stronger together than they could ever be apart.
So when they died, when Rook died, she felt it. The life force that had been the guild was gone. There was no warmth now, no glow, just the cold and the darkness.
"Kendra?" The voice startled her, she was on her feet, her weapon ready to strike. She looked around and saw Cayne.
"Cayne? What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question; I thought I ordered all of you to leave this place?" Cayne's reproachful look softened as he saw the sending stone in her hand. "Kendra, I thought we agreed to get rid of the sending stones. Rook said that was how they were finding us."
"I….I couldn't do it Cayne. I can't just so easily abandon the guild. They, they were everything to me, and now they're gone."
Cayne smiled softly, showing Kendra the sending stone he wore around his neck. "I understand. I couldn't get rid of it either."
"Have you heard anything, any news?"
"No. Nothing."
"How bad is it?"
"I think…..I fear it's worse than we thought. None of the messengers I have sent have responded. And all my scryings are failing. I can't see Towerhold, Mountainhold or Seahold. And with Stronghold fallen, I think we are the only enclave still intact."
"We're not intact, Cayne. This place is empty."
"And that may be the only reason any of us are still alive."
They both felt the sudden breeze as they saw the shadows in one of the saves part and someone very urgently step through.
"Haley?" Cayne said, as he ran and hugged the new arrival. "Thank the gods Haley you're all right! What happened? What do you know?"
Haley looked at Cayne then at Kendra, surprised to see them. "Towerhold is gone, they hit us before Stronghold. We didn't get a chance to warn them."
"What do you mean it's gone?" Kendra asked.
"They're all dead. The bypassed our entire defense, appeared right in the middle of us. I grabbed who I could and teleported. They've been chasing me for days."
"And the others?"
"Dead. They came down on us time and time again; if it wasn't for my mark I would be dead now. What about here? Where is everyone?"
"I sent them away. They've fled to the wind. Hopefully I gave them enough of a head start."
"Haley," Kendra asked "you said they were following you?"
"The sending stones, it's like a beacon to them."
"You were right to tell them to get rid of their stones." Kendra sighed as she looked at the stone in her hand. The very pulse of the guild, was now what was killing them.
"Why?" Cayne gurgled. Kendra looked up and saw Haley's sword sticking out from Cayne's back. A strange dark purple energy crawled its way out from the wound. Haley pulled her weapon out and Cayne's body fell.
"Cayne!" Kendra yelled as she readied her weapon. "Why, Haley!?"
"HaLey isN'T here anymore." The strange voice spoke. Kendra looked in horror as the same dark purple tendrils were reaching out from Haley's eyes, mouth, and hands.
Kendra didn't hesitate, swinging her weapon forward. Kendra didn't see when, but somehow Haley had vanished from her sight. She felt the blade across her neck, Haley was behind her.
"How?"
"This body has many tricks up its sleeve. Once I shattered her mind I learned such wonderful little tricks."
"What are you?" Kendra felt the dark tendrils at her face, each time they licked across her face she felt as if they were in her mind as well.
"We are endless. We are the chaos that will consume the world. We are servants of madness, and we are…"
Haley screamed as a mighty force launched both of them forward. Kendra rolled out from under Haley and saw the massive scorch mark on her back.
"Dead."
Kendra looked and saw a goblin, a smoking wand in his hand.
"Master Flixbix!" Kendra could not believe her eyes. She grabbed her weapon and stood at the ready. "Is that you?"
The goblin looked at her, as if suddenly realized she was standing there. He pulled out his sending stone, it glowed for the briefest of moments before becoming dull again.
"How….how are you alive? You were at Stronghold when they attacked." Hope suddenly filled Kendra heart, "Did anyone else make it?"
Master Flixbix lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry child…no."
Kendra's heart broke.
"Where are the others child, did anyone survive?"
Kendra nodded her head. "Cayne, he ordered them to flee when we heard the warning. Oh gods, Cayne!"
Kendra ran over to body of her former guild leader. It was still warm, but she could see there was no life in him.
"It is better this way child. A better fate than what befell poor young Haley." Flixbix said as he grabbed his head.
"Are you all right Master Flixbix?"
"Headaches child, just headaches."
"What is going on? Please, tell me!" Kendra looked at Flixbix, hoping to learn something, anything.
"All I know is that they're using us. They're like some parasite."
"But, how did they get into Stronghold? It's supposed to be impenetrable."
"We were betrayed."
"By who?"
"Someone who's now dead. But there are other still under their control. I have to go find them. I have to save them."
"What…..what about those of us still alive?"
"We are guild members. We follow orders."
"So that's it, we just run, we run and hide?" Tears welled up in Kendra's eyes.
"No, we live on."
With that, Flixbix wrapped himself in his cloak, and with arcane words, vanished from Kendra's sight.
She looked down at Cayne, and around at the place that was her home. She looked at the sending stone, still somehow in her hand.
She watched is for a brief second, it pulsed with light. And she understood.
"We live."
