Temyen took a deep breath and shook his head slowly, he didn’t really care for this kind of assignment.
Recently, something, or someone more likely, had been causing big problems with several local villages. Problems big enough for the villagers to report them to the city guard……. theft, killing of livestock, missing children, and possibly even murder.
The city guard had in turn, hired him to find out who, or what, was causing the problem and put a stop to it.
“Put a stop to it,” was how they had put it, very diplomatic and above board, with no mention of killing anyone or anything like that. Just “put a stop to it,” which translated roughly to “do whatever it takes to stop these locals from bringing their problems to us.”
After a little checking around in the villages, the word with the locals was that sometime in the last year, an old woman had taken up residence somewhere in the nearby swamps, and the problems had started very shortly afterwards. The locals were now convinced that she was some kind of a witch.
The villages had already sent representatives out to find this “witch,” to try to talk with her, perhaps work out an agreement of some sort, but those that were sent out, had never returned.
The city guard knew all of this, of course…. and they knew it was probably going to be a low-down dirty job, one that would most likely require some killing, which was why they decided to contract it out.
Not that the city guard was opposed to killing, no not at all, but they liked to do their killing in, or near the city, so they could go home and sleep in their own beds when it was all finished.
They sure as **** didn’t want to go out, trudging through forests, and sleeping in swamps for days on end, tracking down some damned witch.
And that was where he came in.
He didn’t mind being out in the wilds, he was used to that. He just didn’t care killing for killings sake, with no chance of diplomacy or discussion, and that’s what this was likely going to be, a bounty killing plain and simple…. and as skilled at it as he was, he still didn’t like it.
Nevertheless, he had agreed to it, after all, these people needed help, and the job paid very well.
So, he had spent the last few days searching the forests and bogs for this “witch” and up until now he had not had much luck.
Considering what he was looking at now, he thought perhaps his luck had finally changed.
It was just after noon on an otherwise bright and sunny day, but here, in this particular part of the swamp it was still dark and shadowy, the overhanging willows and dense canopy above preventing the strong sunlight from piercing through.
A light mist sat just above the swampy ground beneath the tree line, creating an eerie fog that barely moved at all in the stale and stagnant air. It was hot and humid, and the place stank of moldy water….and death.
Just ahead, through the surrounding foliage that he was hidden in, the ranger could see the black void of a cave entrance set in the side of a rocky outcropping, with no obvious light coming from inside, only the empty blackness of the cavity beyond.
Decomposing bodies and body parts hung from tree limbs and make-shift stakes outside the cave, presenting a gruesome, yet very clear message to anyone who might be passing through the area, “Stay away! Trespassers will be killed!”
Yes, this was probably what he had been searching for.
Temyen sat quietly in the brush a short distance from the cave, waiting and watching for any activity.
He had been there for quite some time now and had seen nothing, no movement and no signs of life.
He was hoping that the cave’s occupant would show themselves outside, where he could observe and possibly deal with them out in the open, but that hope seemed far removed now.
It appeared that he would have to go inside after all, and if he had to go inside, he wanted to do it during daylight.
He glanced up to see how much more daylight was left. The sun, barely visible through the thick canopy had already passed its peak height, but still had several hours until it set. However, here in this part of the swampy forest, it would be dark soon enough.
“Have to go now,” he thought.
He moved silently through the underbrush and approached the cave, navigating cautiously around the staked bodies, while being wary of any traps or snares.
For a moment he considered the bodies that were hung around the entrance.
Whatever, or whomever he was dealing with certainly had no problem with killing, and beyond that, no problem with displaying their handiwork.
The ranger said a quiet prayer, both for these dead, and for his own safety, and entered the darkness of the cave.
He paused for a few moments just inside to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness and then began making his way gradually through the tunnel inside, moving slowly and quietly, trying to keep pressed to the wall for both protection and to maximize the space to the side and front of him.
His bow was useless in these tight quarters so he had both his short sword and dirk drawn and ready.
There were torches burning at several locations within the tunnel, but it was still very dim and the air was thick and extremely humid, with heavy steam creating a fog that made it hazy and difficult to see more than a few feet ahead.
It was uncomfortable and hot, the thick, humid air making it both difficult to breathe and causing him to sweat heavily under the studded, leather armor that he wore.
He inched slowly around a corner and could see the tunnel opening up ahead into what appeared to be a much larger cavern.
Strung across the entrance to this inner cavern were a number of bleached bones tied into heavy twine hung from the ceiling, creating a make-shift curtained doorway of sorts. The bones themselves appeared to be a combination of animal and human, varying in both size and shape.
Temyen moved toward the opening and then slowly pushed through the hanging bone curtain into a much larger well-lit chamber, perhaps thirty yards in length and at least the same distance across.
On the far side of the chamber, in an ancient wooden chair, sat an old woman, staring straight back at him. Her wrinkly, pale skin almost glowing in the light, her eyes reflecting the yellow of the torches.
Her thin, pale wrists protruded from the arms of a tattered black dress that looked to be at least as old as the woman herself, bony hands at the ends of those wrists clutched the curve of the chair’s wooden armrests tightly.
On both sides of the old woman stood, what appeared at first glance to be children, but after looking a bit closer, were definitely not children, at least not anymore. They were more like human dolls, both standing perfectly still, their clothes ragged and dirty, their skin blotchy and mottled with red spots, their empty black eyes staring straight ahead into nothingness, unseeing and blank.
Between him and them, a couple of yards in front of the old woman, was a large, black cauldron that boiled over a fire, small wisps of eerie green smoke rose from the bubbling and hissing of its contents.
The old woman sneered, revealing stained and yellowed teeth that had been sharpened into points, and cackled loudly, sounding more like an old crow than any kind of laughter.
“So…. the assassin finally shows himself,” she said loudly, in a cracked and hoarse voice, “we’ve been expecting you.”
“So much for the element of surprise,” Temyen thought.
“I’ve only come to talk, old mother,” He replied calmly, gripping his weapons tightly, still standing by the entranceway.
She cackled again louder, “You think me a fool?”
She let the question hang in the air for a moment, unanswered….and then continued with a statement.
“You’ve come to kill old Maagra.”
Temyen slowly sheathed his weapons, “You’ve been hurting people, old mother,” he motioned towards the two child dolls standing next to her, “taking their children…….killing others….”
Maagra just stared at him across the room.
“It has to stop,” he said firmly.
“And you’ll be the one to stop it, eh?” She questioned quickly, “Others have tried to stop old Maagra……none have succeeded.”
Temyen frowned, “this isn’t going very well….”
The old witch raised her right hand ever so slightly and pointed at Temyen and both of the living doll creatures screeched loudly and began running wildly towards him, their hands raised up revealing sharp claws, their pointed teeth visible through their open, screaming mouths.
In one quick motion, the ranger fell to one knee, pulled his bow from over his shoulder and nocked an arrow, drawing it quickly and taking aim at the closest doll creature running towards him. He loosed the arrow and it caught the living doll directly in the chest, flipping it over onto its back.
For a moment, it laid on the ground kicking at the dirt and clawing at the air and then fell silent and stopped moving altogether.
The other creature was closing in now, almost on him, no time for another arrow.
He yanked his dirk from its sheath just in time for the oncoming creature to impale itself through the chest, onto the blade of his outstretched dirk. The doll creature screamed and writhed on the blade as it continued to push forward, trying to reach him, as its claws just barely scratched at the leather on his forearm.
After a few more moments of struggle the screaming faded and its body started to go limp, the clawed hands falling uselessly away. The ranger twisted off to one side and yanked his dirk from the limp body, dumping the now dead creature abruptly to the ground beside him.
He sheathed his dirk and stood up, already moving across the room, toward the old witch, intending to finish this quickly, however when he looked back up he saw that the old wooden chair was now empty. The witch was gone.
He stopped his advance just short of the boiling cauldron and looked around quickly but couldn’t see any other exits and nowhere to hide in the cavern.
“She can’t be gone,” he thought, “no way to get past me without noticing.”
The witch’s cackling filled the room.
He spun around, checking behind him and saw nothing. Slowly, he scanned the room looking for anything that might indicate where she was but saw no sign of her.
“Where is she?” He wondered desperately.
Just a few feet In front of him the cauldron boiled and bubbled.
“Maybe....”
He lifted his leg and put his foot on the lip of the cauldron, pushing hard against it, tipping it and spilling its contents. The boiling green ooze spread rapidly across the hard ground, surrounding the ancient chair and the area around it.
Temyen watched as it spread, looking for any sign of her to be revealed in its thick, gooey liquid.
Nothing.
The cackling grew louder, “…time to die assassin!”
An icy grip took hold of the ranger around his throat and started squeezing tightly.
He couldn’t breathe any more.
His mind raced as he looked at the old chair and the ground around it, “no footprints, and no signs.”
The grip tightened on his throat and started lifting him off the ground, into the air.
He fought against the magic that was lifting and choking him to no avail.
“No footprints…” his mind repeated.
His lungs started to burn for oxygen.
“No signs…”
He had a sudden desperate thought and pulled his bow, nocking an arrow and sending it flying directly into the center of the old wooden chair.
The arrow landed with a wet “thunk” into the back of the chair.
The cackling immediately stopped and the icy grip on his neck released.
Temyen fell back to the ground gasping for air.
After a brief moment, he regained his breath and looked back up toward the chair.
The old witch was visible now, staring at him with a shocked look on her face, the arrow that he had just shot sticking out of her chest.
He stood up, catching his breath and slowly drew another arrow, “time to die….old mother.”
The old witch stared back at him, her eyes wide with surprise. She raised one of her hands up in protest and tried to speak, but only managed to cough up blood.
The ranger loosed the arrow, sending it straight through her left eye, pinning her head back against the chair and abruptly ending her attempts to speak.
Temyen stood there for a moment looking at the dead witch, half expecting her to rise up and attack him again.
When it was finally clear that wasn’t going to happen, he relaxed and looked around the cavern shaking his head in disgust.
How many others had died here in this Gods forsaken place? How many children had been taken here and changed into mindless creatures?
He suddenly wanted nothing more than to be away from this horrible place, this place of sorrow and death.
Quickly, he pulled his short sword and with a few well-placed swings, hacked the head off of the witch’s lifeless body, dropping it into a leather satchel. Proof for the city guard of the completed assignment.
After a few quick moments of searching the cavern for anything else of value, he set fire to everything that would burn, including the green goo from the cauldron which proved to be highly combustible, engulfing most of the cavern in flame.
He turned to go as the smoke from the fire started to fill the room, on his way out he cut down the bone curtain and threw it behind him.
“Won’t be needing that anymore.”
He made his way easily back out of the tunnel, and left the sadness of the place behind him, happy to be breathing fresh air once more.
A short distance from the cave entrance he knelt down and marked the location on his map, again considering the dismembered and staked bodies around the cave. Some of them most likely the envoys that had been sent out previously from the villages. Innocent men just trying to protect their friends and family, now nothing more than gruesome warning signs to deter others.
“What a waste,” he thought shaking his head.
He moved away quickly then, leaving the swamp and heading back into the forest, toward the villages, determined to let the families of the missing know where they could find their dead.
It was the least he could do for them.
Then and only then, would he head back to the city to collect his bounty.
Hey Benonai,
For now, for my stories, in game locations are going to be vague, until the game releases anyway. I am a supporter and I can play, but I choose not to play often due to the impending wipe for release. This leaves my in game character rather low level and not able to fully explore locations/mobs/NPCs, etc. For now, I'll write using vague locations/chars/NPCs that aren't very specific, and once in game I'll get more specific about locations and characters, and using them in my stories. etc.
Loved Baulders Gate, but this particular story was inspired by the movie, "The 13th Warrior."
Thank you for all the positive feedback, it is really appreciated.
Take it easy and looking forward to perhaps seeing you in game someday!
Oh I love 13th warrior. Luck will often save a man if his courage hold. Anyway, don't need to depend on actual game exploration. As an avid lore nerd, I can tell you that whatever you can get your hands on with the lore, none of it has changed in game. So you can at least feel confident in that. But that's not me pushing. It's a great read either way, and very fun.