120 - “Rocks and Stones” - Karendle - A Tale of Heroes

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All Karendle knew was that she was starving. The grumbling in her stomach picked her up out of her deep sleep and threw her back down on her bed.

Her bed.

She opened up her eyes with the sunshine of the early afternoon streaming in through the window. She lay in a bed, not a pile of straw with blankets, nor the hard, splintery boards of a old barge’s deck, but a bed, with sheets and pillows.

It was a small room, but it looked simple and clean. There was a chair and table with a basin and cloth against the wall opposite her, and her blanketroll and purse on the floor below it. She sat up. She was still in her traveling clothing. She hadn’t even taken off her boots.

Her head slowly cleared of the sleepy fog. The barge had arrived well after midnight, and she had paid the final part of her fare, then walked along the deserted streets of the Twynne Rivers WaterFront Quarter. The main thoroughfare had oculus lanterns shining every other block or so, but still had been very dark. She had finally found an inn that still had light in the windows, and had gotten a room. She’d paid for several nights, with meals, and that had pretty much exhausted her silver.

She stood and walked over to the wash basin. She sat on the chair, took off her boots and leggings, then her tunic. She wiggled her stubby toes, glad to have them free of the boots for the moment. She dipped one of the cloths into the basin, wrung it out, and began bathing. As she wiped off several days of summer sweat and exhaustion, her hand passed over her side. That’s the spot where the dagger stabbed me.

She twisted her torso and arm to look at the spot again. It didn’t hurt, and there wasn’t a scar, but she remembered the pain of the blade, and fear in her heart. She thought of how DeFrantis had healed her, saving her life. The time they had both spent captured was difficult, even frightening, but strangely bonding as well.

Thissraelle also healed me, later, after we all escaped from the manor. Her thoughts drifted as she pulled another tunic and leggings from her pack and dressed. So, why was she so angry with Thissraelle, and not at DeFrantis? That’s easy! DeFrantis isn’t such a spoiled insufferable little... little... elf!

She tightened on her belt and stepped out into the hallway, then to the inn’s common hall. She sat down at a table, and in a few moments, had a hearty steaming bowl of stew and a small loaf of bread before her. Eagerly, she dug in and ate.

While she ate, she glanced around the hall. This was not the same inn where she had stayed when she first arrived in Twynne Rivers almost two months ago, but they were very similar. There, she had met two men, one a human, and the other an elf. She had been hungry and frustrated, not altogether unlike how she felt today. They had engaged her as a wizard hunter. The wizards, they said, were a plague on the city, and needed to be arrested. To that end, they had given her the magical oculi she now held in her pouch. Two of them, stones of grey granite, were imbued with dimensional powers, to enable her to entrap others deep in their core. The men had said to bring the stones back to them, full of captured wizards, and she would be well paid, and get more oculi.

Later, they had even told her to capture Thissraelle. She’d had many opportunities to do that. They would have paid her well. There had certainly been times where she’d been angry enough to do that.

Well, I’ve got one wizard trapped in these stones. It’s not the elf, but I hope that’s enough. I need more oculi. I can’t do magic without them. She took another bite and a gulp of ale. And I need more silver. Maybe even gold!

But I don’t trust those men. They won’t even tell me their names. They’re hiding something. She thought about them, picturing them in her mind. She would contact them using the mental powers of the sapphire oculus, and set up a meeting. How do I know they’ll come through? How do I know they won’t try to capture me?

A part of her wished she had her friends to back her up. She knew they would, but she didn’t know if she wanted them to. She was on her own, now.

She pulled her purse off her belt, and looked inside, assuring herself that the oculi were all, in fact, inside. They were. Two granite stones, and one sapphire. Reaching in the bag, she picked up the deep blue gem. She felt its cool, smooth surface against the palm of her hand, and thought about the magic it allowed, and an image, an idea began to form in her head. She smiled. Hmmm... That might work. I’ll need some practice with this gem, first, though.

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This continues the story of the heroes in Wynne, in Twynne Rivers, in the world of The Hero's Tale, Family Friendly RPGs. Here's more info on The Hero's Tale, and family friendly RPGing. If you like this story, support us at our Patreon!
Thank you: Chet Cox, Genevieve Springer!

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