The men found themselves waiting for Lucky Days and Gwen to catch up, and were standing above the entrance to the tunnel, debating what to do next. “I hear the diminishing echo of metal,” Kermit was saying, staring into the darkness. “It’s going cha-ching, ka-ching.”
“Should we go in and investigate?” Jazier asked as he cleaned.
“No,” Valbrand said. “We should wait.” He was motivated by caution, and not at all by the desire to pull out one of the bottles he’d taken from Rabus’ shop and have a drink.
“At least we can light the final beacon,” Qumeel said as he approached the pile of wood. “Wait. What’s this green stuff?” He smelled some of the residue on the wood. “It smells like it might be combustible. I don’t like it. This could be a trap.”
“You said green?” Valbrand asked, approaching. He gave the substance a whiff. “Smells of turpentine, only sweeter. Let me think…yes, there’s a story of such a substance. A clever gnome used something like this to make his goblin captors blow themselves up. It was described as green, and made of the resin of a fir tree they had tied him to.”
Qumeel carefully scraped some of the substance off and onto a rock. “Jazier, is there anything you can tell us about this?”
“Let me see,” the wizard said, approaching. He tripped as he walked, and in his start, he spoke the words of a cantrip, causing the resin in the priest’s hand to explode. Had his hand not been covered by a leather gauntlet, the priest’s hand would have been seriously burned. And had his hand been closed around the rock, they would have had to search clear across town for the bits of his hand that survived the explosion. “Sorry,” the wizard apologized. “My control is a bit off. I should probably lie down for a few minutes.”
“It’s fine,” Qumeel said. “Just be more careful.” He turned to Valbrand. “Do your stories tell of how to clean this substance off of the wood? There’s no way we can light the beacon like this.”
Valbrand thought for a moment, then his shoulders drooped. “There is one,” he said with a sigh. “The substance is made from the same source as turpentine, but the process to create it is different. So it is not a cleaner like the other. But there is something that will dissolve it.” He produced first one, then several bottles of the alcohol he had taken from Rabus. He handed them out and then took a swig of the remaining bottle. “Let’s get to work, I guess.”
Meanwhile, Gwen was keeping an eye on the captive assassin as she and Lucky Days escorted the rescued women back to the relative safety of the barricade. She knew that until they reached the others, they were incredibly vulnerable. And if they were attacked by the orcs, the assassin would become a liability. She wasn’t sure whether she should shoot her now or not, but had ultimately decided against it due to the noise it would make.
And thankfully, it was a moot point, as they reached the barricade without further incident. Omast was the first to spot them. She could see relief wash over the older guard’s face as he spotted more survivors arriving. “Thank the gods you’re okay,” he said. “Where are the others?”
“They’re moving towards the final beacon,” Gwen said. “We’re supposed to catch up to them once we’ve gotten these people safely here.”
“Just the two of you? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“I’m fast enough to get us there safely,” Lucky Days said cheerfully.
Omast laughed, surprising himself. “I can’t argue with that,” he said. “It’s good to see that even a few more made it.”
“Any word from Kurst?” Gwen asked.
Omast shook his head. “Nothing yet. But don’t you worry. Kurst can handle himself. Your uncle did a good job of teaching him that much.”
Gwen nodded, still feeling uneasy. “You’re probably right. He’s got to be okay.”
“You should tell Halgra about what you found before you head out.”
The girl considered it. “You’re probably right. We can spare the few minutes it’ll take to report in.”
The two young women bid Omast farewell and made their way through the camp, passing Tyari – who was treating Sarah’s burns – along the way. As they approached Halgra, the saw she was talking with the former captive, who was gesturing wildly. From what she could make out, he was describing what he’d done to the various orc siege engines outside of town.
“…and thanks for sending Douglas and Brollerth,” Rodd Rigez added. “It’s been a while since I’ve worked with true professionals of their caliber.”
“I’ve long ago learned that if I want to keep my town safe, I need to point those two at orcs and not attempt to restrain them,” Halgra replied. “Oh, Gwen, I heard you were back with more survivors. Rodd, will you give us a moment?”
“Of course,” he said with a slight bow. “My condolences for the loss of your uncle,” he said to Gwen as he passed. “Come, Lucky Days. Let’s give them a moment. It looks like you’ve been through a lot. Good for the legs. Let’s see a lap.” He slapped the girl’s backside, and she kicked behind her instinctively, sending him sailing twenty feet through the air. He landed with a roll, coming to his feet and bowing for the laughing children.
“Sorry, Coach!” Lucky Days said, running off to do her lap.
“That is a strange man,” Gwen said.
“He is,” Halgra agreed. “But he’s also quite possibly responsible for giving us a shot at surviving this attack. Tell me, what do you have to report?” Gwen filled her in on the events since they’d last spoken. “Wow. I’m thankful that you found them. I shudder to think of what fate was in store for them had you not done so.”
“Right. Well, we should get to the beacon,” Gwen said. “Qumeel should keep those others in line, but they might need help anyway.”
“Wait. I was thinking you should take Rodd Rigez with you. He’s a bit odd, but we can’t argue with his effectiveness.”
The girl sighed. “I guess we could use the help. Though adding another person will slow us down a little.”
There was a sudden commotion at the entrance to the barricade. “What’s going on now?” Halgra asked. “Will you check it out?”
“I’m on it,” Gwen said, readying her gun. But, to her relief, it wasn’t danger that had caused the commotion. “Kurst!” she exclaimed in relief upon seeing her cousin entering the encampment. He was carrying the limp body of the old elf, Silvermane.
“Gwen, thank the gods you’ve made it through so far. Give me some help here?”
“I’ve got him,” Omast said, interjecting himself into the reunion and carefully taking the old elf from Kurst. “What happened to him?”
“I don’t know,” Kurst answered. “But someone threw him on a pile of corpses.”
“That sounds like something Valbrand would do,” Rodd Rigez said.
Lucky Days seemed to appear at that moment out of nowhere, out of breath. “Why do you say that?” she wheezed.
“Kermit always says that the closer you are to danger, the further you are from harm. So rather than carry him back, you hide him where none of the attackers would think to look. Classic Valbrand.” He pulled out a potion and carefully poured it into the mouth of the unconscious elf, who began to cough and sputter a bit. “I know, it’s bitter stuff. Here, let’s put this under your tongue.” He put a leaf in the elf’s mouth.
“So, cousin, what have you been up to?” Kurst asked.
“We just returned with some captives we rescued. We’re about to head out to rejoin the others.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“If Halgra says it’s okay, I won’t turn down the help.”
“Let’s ask, then, and get on our way.”
As they walked away, Lucky Days turned to Rodd Rigez. “What’s the leaf do?”
“Good question. It’ll be interesting to find out. Now go ahead and head to the Hopespring ahead of us. We’ll catch up, but they may need your help now.”
“Okay, Coach!” she said, already dashing along.
Lucky Days reached the group at the Hopespring in a few moments. When she arrived, Kermit was waving his hands over Jazier’s hair. Apparently all the lightning he threw around had given the sleeping wizard an ongoing static charge, causing his hair to stick up towards the passing hand.
“Ooh, neat!” Lucky Days said, heading over to join the grippli.
Valbrand, noticing the arrival of the girl, stopped what he was doing and went over. “Wizard!” he bellowed. “Wake up! There’s cleaning to be done.”
Jazier sat up, and looked at the warrior. He sighed. “I’m cursed.”
“You’re not Kurst,” Lucky Days responded. “I just saw him at the barricade. He’ll be coming here soon, with Gwen and Coach.”
The others, not nearly as fast as Lucky Days, took a fair amount of time to make it safely through the town to the party waiting at the Hopespring. When she arrived, the first thing Gwen noticed was that the Hopespring Beacon had been disassembled, with all of the logs lying in neat rows, stacked from largest to smallest. “What are you doing?!” she asked. “We need to light it.”
“Calm yourself,” Qumeel said. “We discovered a trap, and are cleaning the logs for reassembly. Though I must admit that I had not considered pulling the beacon apart to thoroughly clean it. That was Jazier’s idea.”
“Why do you smell of alcohol?” the half-elf asked suspiciously.
“It is the only thing that will clean the substance. We got as much as we could, but now are having to resort to Jazier’s magic. Which is why we had to pull apart the beacon.”
“Alcohol, you say?” Rodd Rigez asked, eyebrow raised. He turned to Valbrand. “Goblin Sap?”
“Yes,” the warrior said. “We scraped off what we could into an empty bottle for you.”
“Good man.”
“I think I’m done,” the wizard said, finally.
“Let’s hurry and get the beacon back together then,” Kurst said. “Then let’s see what lies down that tunnel that draws the orcs’ interest.”
With that many hands, the work went quickly and they were soon within the tunnel. From somewhere ahead, they could hear a rumbling growl and the sound of flesh being struck by something hard. The impact was enough that dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling even where they were. “We’re close,” Rodd Rigez said. “Shall I do talking torch again?”
Valbrand grinned. “That sounds like just the thing. Go for it.”
Rodd Rigez nodded, and lit a fresh torch as the others snuffed their own. He then quaffed an invisibility potion and headed down the tunnel, the others following just outside of the torch’s light.
To the orcs waiting down the tunnel, it was quite the sight. A torch simply floated towards them in the darkness. They stared in confusion as the torch approached. Those closest to the giant watched it, looking for signs that the creature would be spooked by the event, which could spell danger for all of them, as the corpse of the orc lying smeared upon the floor of the cave attested.
“Allies!” Rodd Rigez said in a monotone voice. “This torch has been enchanted to warn you of approaching enemies. This torch advises that two warriors will be enough to handle the threat.”
The orcs huddled, and Rodd Rigez listened carefully. “Skreed didn’t say anything about this,” one was saying.
“But it is the kind of thing he would do. Skreed always thinks three steps ahead. He’d definitely set a warning.”
Rodd had what he needed. “Skreed has ordered all warriors to heed the torch’s warning. Again, this torch must advise that enemies approach. Two warriors will be sufficient to halt this threat.”
From their position, Valbrand could see them coming easily. He suddenly got an idea. He motioned to Kermit, who powered down and hopped on his shoulder. Then he cast a magical light on his shield. The bright light between them would help hide the rest of the party from the approaching orc, even as they took cover, and the shield would block the light from washing over the others.
“Careful, brother!” Valbrand called out in orcish. “Enemies are coming. We fended off the first wave, but more will arrive soon.”
“Too bright!” the orc complained. “Stop waving that light. Did Skreed send you? Or are you reinforcements from Grenseldek?”
“Sorry about the shield,” Valbrand said. “Stupid enemy mage who followed me into the cave put in on there to hurt my eyes, so it’s only fitting I share that pain with my brothers. It’s only fair, since you got first chance at the spoils and the women.”
Kermit laughed. “That’s a good one.”
The orc squinted. “Is…that a frog?”
Valbrand smirked. “I trained him to slay my enemies.”
“Shame. I was hoping you’d let me eat it.”
“Worry about your hunger later. You know Grenseldek won’t want you wasting time while there’s work to do.”
“Like that lovesick bitch cares. She only cares that we work, not if we eat.”
Valbrand shrugged. “Yeah, that’s how it is.” He trudged forward, just far enough to see around the bend. The orc was wary, but not enough to stop him. From his new vantage point, he could see the torch and the giant. “Ooh, do you think the big guy will eat my frog? Should I keep my distance?”
“Crusher?” the orc asked. “He’s docile now, since he has friends he hasn’t broken yet.” At this, Valbrand noticed that a number of orcs were chained to the giant. He also noticed that one of the orcs was carefully waving his axe around the torch, trying to see what was holding it up. It was clear that Rodd Rigez was dodging the motion silently and easily.
“Continue to guard Crusher,” Rodd Rigez said. “This torch’s enchantment is almost over. This is Skreed’s order.” He began slowly lowering the torch towards the ground.
“Told you it was Skreed,” one of the giant’s handlers said in satisfaction.
As the orc began moving past Valbrand, the warrior gasped. “Do you hear that? They’re coming!” He spun, flashing the light in the orc’s eyes as he did so. “There they are! Quick! Go get Crusher! I’ll hold them here!”
Gwen aimed and fired, grazing the orc’s cheek, and he ran. But dazzled and spooked, he missed Kermit’s action. The grippli had tied a skull bomb – now with added Goblin Sap – to the orc’s belt, and had lit it. The panicked orc ran straight towards his fellows.
“Enemies are coming!” the panicked orc shouted. “And it’s more than two!”
“This torch has been enchanted to warn you of approaching enemies,” Rodd Rigez repeated. “This torch advises that two warriors will be enough to handle the threat.”
The orc that had been investigating the torch found an arrow in his gut as Kurst loosed his bow. The giant’s handlers retaliated by throwing javelins mostly ineffectually into the dark, though Gwen was grazed by one. “We fight together!” the investigative orc said, snapping the shaft of the arrow. “Protect the torch!” As he shouted, a flaming sword flew through the darkness, missing any foes and landing in the mud.
“This torch’s enchantment has ended,” Rodd Rigez said. “Skreed has a blessing for you.” He uncorked a vial of the powdered Goblin Sap, tossing it into the air. It wafted all about.”
Jazier, finally putting everything together, gasped in amazement. “I see what you’re doing! It’s a bomb!” He snapped, accidentally casting a spell and igniting the base of the skull’s fuse, setting it off immediately and igniting the cloud of Goblin Sap, which exploded with a green fire. Rodd Rigez was narrowly able to escape injury, but the investigative orc wasn’t so lucky.
He died trying to shield the “magic” torch with his body.
Lucky Days charged through the dying conflagration and slashed an orc. Its blood spattered all over her. “EWW!” she shouted.
“That’s why I keep telling you to work on your arms!” Rodd Rigez chided.
Valbrand launched Kermit off of his shield. The grippli flew through the air, shouting, “GUYVER!” as he did so. He landed on the torch, smashing it into the mud as he roared.
Kermit’s roar spooked the giant and one of his handlers swung desperately at the transformed Grippli with his axe, sending blue-green blood flying from a new wound on the suit’s shoulder. Rodd used the confusion to knife one of the orcs in the kidney, while Jazier tried to zap Kermit’s foe with lighting, but missed.
Lucky Days dashed over and slashed Kermit’s attacker, but Crusher picked the orc up and swung it at her. He hit her with a dull, wet thud, his eye popping from his skull and hitting the girl square in the nose. “ICKY!” she complained.
Qumeel charged through the cave and grabbed his sword, and Valbrand followed after. The warrior stopped when he noticed that the orc he’d been talking to was miraculously still alive. “Sorry friend. I’m sure that hurts a lot. Let me help.” He brought his axe down, ending the orc’s suffering.
One of the handlers fed the giant a healing potion. “DRINK! If you die, we all die.”
“You don’t have to die,” Valbrand said. “You could just surrender.” Then Rodd Rigez chucked an alchemist’s fire in the giant’s face. “No. I guess you’re not going to after that, are you?”
Jazier, Gwen and Kurst continued peppering the giant with lightning, bullets and arrows respectively. The giant swung the rock in its hand, braining Lucky Days. She collapsed, but was caught by Qumeel. His body shone as though he had become pure light. “Not today, young one,” he said gently, lowering her to the ground.
Valbrand rushed in and held his shield between Lucky Days’ unconscious body and the attackers. “I’ll heal her,” he said to the cleric. “You help the others.”
Kermit leapt up, clawing off the giant’s shoulder, leaving its arm a hanging pile of meat. Then he flipped over the giant’s head, biting into the tendon between the giant’s neck and other shoulder.
Crusher collapsed onto the remaining living handler, life fading from the giant’s eyes. As Valbrand helped the now awake Lucky Days to her feet, he noticed that someone had written “Murder with love, -Ma” on the rock in the language of giants.
“Sorry about the chaos there,” Rodd Rigez said. “To be honest, it went better than I thought. I didn’t think it would work.”
“What?!” Kurst exclaimed.
Valbrand and Kermit exchanged a glance and the grippli shrugged. “It didn’t work last time,” Kermit admitted.
“I told you that next time Kermit had to be on my left shoulder next time,” Valbrand said. “That’s all that was wrong with it.”
“Right,” Rodd Rigez said with a nod. “Next time, we should do ‘throbbing minstrel’.”
Both Kermit and Valbrand recoiled in horror. “NO!” the two protested as one.
“Is it always like this?” Kurst asked his cousin.
“More or less, yes,” Gwen answered.
“Halgra does not give you enough credit.” He shuddered. “And I thought Douglas and Brollerth were bad.”
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