Heroes of Legend: Trest Strikes

As the heroes continued on their journey to the holy site of Aaryon they decided to stop in cities along the path to visit temples. In each of the cities the end result was the same thing.  The temple is raised to the ground and all the priests murdered.  The assaults all happened on the same day regardless of location, the first moon after the gods fell silent.  With the suddenness and violence of the attacks none of the people were willing to admit to following Aaryon.  The mention of her name was enough to cause most to withdrawal.  Other played at ignorance claiming to know no person of that name.  When they left a city hostility followed them until they had left the city.  This caused them to be concerned for the safety of the now 30 pilgrims that followed them.

A few hours outside the city of Temri the heroes saw an unusual site, a boy running in their direction.  It wasn’t until he was close that they could see blood stains on his cloths and slash on his left arm.  Alexander had to physically restrain the boy to get him to stop so he could help him.  He told the tale of a wagon train with settlers trying to make a new life in Almora.  The wagons were attacked in the forest over a day’s run further up the road.  He alone escaped the raiders that had preyed on his family.  His eyes showed fear when he talked of the raiders moving through the woods with unnatural ease and the beast they had that moved with lightning speed and claws as long a daggers.  As the tale progressed tears came flooding forth and the boy was unable to continue.

Alexander assigned one pilgrim to take the boy back to the Temri for medical care and to get investigators while the rest of them went see what happened to the settler in the woods.  Where it took the boy a day to run the distance they were able to travel it in a fraction of the time. 

The wagons were easy to spot because two of the wagons still smoldered off the path.  There were to many tracks to make sense of what happened except that a groups of wagons were attacked.  The strange thing was the number of bodies left.  Even though the attack happened about two days prior there should be more evidence of an attack.  The wagons were also smaller then a settler would use.  The whole thing felt wrong.

As Alexander was pondering this two of the pilgrims fell with arrows sticking from them.  Suddenly we were surrounded by soldiers with at least one caster.  Juniper found the caster and engaged her; she was a priestess of Trest.  The flight was not going good for Juniper, as she was busy with the priestess a pair of soldiers flanked her.  As she called for help Milo was a scholar first and a fighter third, so his help was limited to just distracting one of the soldiers.  Unfortunately for Juniper the soldiers distracted her enough for the priestess to strike a massive blow.  Juniper staggered a few steps.  She recovered quickly enough to default a blow from the soldier.

Her left arm went numb as her side became slick from blood flowing from her shoulder.  The soldier was able to knock her sword from her hand.  Her vision blurred as she heard halfling fighting close by.  The last thing she saw was the halfling fighting the other soldier.

The assault was well timed and executed.  The only flaw was they underestimation of the pilgrims skills.  Once the initial shock of the surprise wore off the pilgrim’s rallied strong.  If there were more priestesses or another spell caster the battle could have easily tipped in their favor.  Arwata the halfling also proved invaluable in the fight.  She was able to get the archers out of the trees with little effort.

When the fighting stopped there were ten less pilgrims.  Milo was able to save Juniper with a salve that stopped the bleeding and promote rapid healing.

“This assault shall not go unchallenged.  We will avenge our fallen; we shall march on the next temple of Trest and raze it to the ground!”  Alexander said to the group.  Cheers erupted all around.

Heroes of Legend: A Monster Raises

As they left the city Alexander insisted on arming the pilgrims so they can defend themselves during their journey.  The roads were becoming dangerous with the chaos going on in the heavens.  The bandit attack was just the precursor of what was to come.

With their numbers now at fifteen it would discourage most of the bandit from attacking them.  The Halfling woman from the temple refused to wear more than the barest clothing or touch a weapon.  She insisted that these items hindered her natural movements.  Alexander was unsure that someone as small as her could defend herself even if she had armor and weapon.  As Alexander was about to send her away she begged to prove she was capable of defending herself during the track to the holy site of Aaryon.  Not wanting to harm the woman he agreed to test her but only with a paddled practice sword.  She agreed that she had to win 3 of 5 bouts.  Alexander wanting to end this test he feinted a sword slash.  She anticipated this move and countered this with a sweep of his legs.  When his vision cleared from bouncing his head off the ground he saw her over him with a neutral expression on her face.  Her speed was incredible.  Learning from his mistake Alexander took the second and third bout scoring hits to her arm and shoulder.  What he failed to realize was that she was studying his movements so she could adjust her style to maximize her advantage.  The fourth bout was over as soon as it started.  He raised his weapon slightly to gain momentum when she was striking the palm of her hand under his jaw.  The strike was so quick that he was unprepared and staggered backwards several steps.

Pride was on the line for the fifth bout.  Alexander was not slacker when it came to unarmed combat but not where near her skill.  She had his timing which meant he had to change up his style and go for less power and shift to a using a single hand to keep a hand open to guard against her ability to get inside his sword swing.  Whether she won or lost this bout she was going to be allowed to stay with them.  The two combatants took their marks and the match was started.  Alexander feigned a sword swing.  She rushed to get inside the swing that wasn’t coming.  He spun out of the way and hit her square in the back with his elbow sending her towards the ground.  Unlike him she rolled into the fall and came up into a fighting stance.  There was a momentary loss of control as her expression neutral to anger back to neutral.  She bowed low accepting defeat.

“I shall level your camp and follow my own course of enlightenment.  You are a worthy opponent.” She said

“Please stay and forgive my ignorance in your ability to protect yourself.  I have a feeling your talents will be needed.”  Alexander said after he returned her bow.  “You are by far the tallest of your race that I have ever seen.”

“My entire line is nearly a head taller than most of my race.  The saying in my village is we are part human.”  Even though she had just told a joke a she still had the same neutral expression.

At this time a crowd had gathered to watch the fight.  Juniper didn’t like this woman from the start.  She was going to get in her way of having Alexander.  She just hoped that she would not have to do something drastic to get the woman to leave.

Heroes of Lore: Sanam Holy Temple

The heroes had explored the area surrounding where the temple of had been.  When they left they were confronted with a problem, there were pilgrims that had gathered.  Most asked to accompany them on their journey to the Temple of Sanam, the Goddess of love and fertility.  Her temple was the relatively close compared to the rest of the holy sites, at only a month’s travel.   They allowed only the able bodied to travel with them.  Alexander knew that those who accompanied them could face danger.  It weighed heavy on him that they could be injured helping him on his quest for knowledge.  He had to find a way to protect those under his care.

At the end of the days march Juniper and he trained the six pilgrims in self-defense.  Without proper weapons they first practiced with stick as swords.  This training was tested when on the seventh night a group of roaming thieves attacked what they thought would be an easy target.  The fighting was fierce, only the heroes had proper weapons.  The thieves matched their nine plus two.  Alexander was protecting a badly hurt pilgrim from two thieves while Milo was fighting one to a standstill.  Juniper had enchanted her sword to have the keenest of edges allowing her to slice through their armor with ease.  The image of her was terrifying as she cut off a thieves arm and trailing blood in her blades wake.  The thief fell to the ground screaming in agony holding the stump that was his arm.  A quick jab through his heart ended his life.  The cry of a pilgrim caught her attention.  She saw a thief dragging away a female pilgrim trying to escape.  His back was to her, as he was repositioned himself to hold her more securely.  She took three steps to close the distance left a deep gash across his back.  He let go of the woman and turned to her.  His last sight was a glint of light from the fire off her blade as it separated his head from his shoulders.  The thieves fled when their numbers were reduced by half.  Her lust for blood was not quenched and she fell another thief that begged mercy.  She had the misfortune of falling while she fled the camp with food.  Juniper had severed and arm and leg before Alexander was able to stop her continuing to dismember the thief.  The two heroes fought over her conduct as Milo attempted to save the girl.  Ultimately the only merciful thing to do was to end her life.  Alexander insisted on doing this feeling that this was his fault.  That death weighted on his soul as much as the two pilgrims that perished during the night.  All of the dead were giving a proper burial, somehow when the bodies were blessed the words seemed hollow and without meaning.

Now with the equipment from the thieves attack, Alexander was able to properly train the four remaining pilgrims.  As heroes approached the holy site of Sanam they noticed that morality was weakening.  Brothers were operating in the open and flaunting their talents in windows.  The disturbing part was they all adorned the symbol of Sanam.  Even though Sanam represented love she was never one for the strengthening of the emotional connection between lovers not open debauchery.  People were paying homage to this false aspect the goddess.  When the heroes reached the temple what they found was beyond anything.  There were people in varying stages of undress and engaging in every sort of sexual act possible.  Alexander was disgusted when he found the temple high priestess tangled in a pile of bodies.  The only reason he knew it was her was because the only thing she wore was the torque of the high priestess.

“What has happened here” Alexander asked once she was untangles from the pile.

“This is the goddess will.  We are to spread the joys that come from love.”  She stepped close to Alexander placed one arm around his waist and the other was stroking his chest.

“Open lust has never been the goddess wishes.  Why have her views changed so?” Alexander continued.

“Lust is a part of love.  When you love someone you also lust for them.  Her new message is nothing but a reflection of that.” 

She was actively trying to free Alexander of his clothing.  When he refused her she stepped back and held her arms out wide and twirled slowly in front of him.  “Am I not desirable enough for you?  I freely give myself to you, or do you desire something else?  We can find you someone to love be they male or female.  All are welcome to experience lust here.  Everyone here is safe to explore what, and whoever they want.”

Juniper interposed herself between the priestess, and Alexander, “What if those explorations cause problems for people that are in love with each other”

The priestess moved to Juniper and placed her arms around Junipers neck and leaned to her ear and whispered into her ear.  “My dear jealousy is not permitted here.  It interferes with the free flow of passion.   Please don’t make us have to discipline you for breaking our one rule.”  As she moved away from Juniper she kissed her full on the mouth.  The kiss caught her be surprise and overwhelmed her emotionally.  Juniper was left transfixed by the freedom she felt. 

Juniper snapped free from the spell the cast on her and stepped back weakly into Alexander, nearly falling.  Alexander caught her before she was in fear of hitting the ground.  The feeling of having his arms around her caused her to swoon.  She turned to look into his eyes hoping to find the love she felt for him returned in his eyes.  Instead want she felt was cold indifference.

“Why have you done this to me?  What have we done to you and your flock?”  Juniper said through clinched teeth.

“My child you’ve done nothing wrong all I’ve offered is to expand your mind.  Please enjoy whoever you want.  I need to return to my flock.”  She gave each of the heroes a passionate kiss.

The heroes were left to wonder again what is going on in the heavens when the father and the protector of the gods is missing and the goddess of love is now the goddess of lust.  They made their way out of the temple avoiding the piles of people blocking their way.

“We need to find the holy site of Aaryon.  Maybe we can find some answers there.  Everything is getting worse, when the gods change aspects things are in peril.  I fear for what we’ll find there.”  Alexander said once free of the temple.  As they left the city Alexander took stock in the people with them.  There were another nine pilgrims with them, one of them a halfling woman from the temple staff.

New Coverart

I found a great picture by a talented woman named Erika Harms.  She agreed to let me use the picture and I'm very grateful for this.  If you like her work I'm including a link to her website.  The links are for my novella are on the left for Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.  It is currently free on Smashwords

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The Heroes fo Lore

I don’t understand how people can read for enjoyment.  Me the only thing I enjoy reading is the check I get for a job well done or a case file for my next hunt.  This crap Kendrick sent me to brought flash backs to school for me.  I get the morality of the story but I fall to see how useful it is to me.  The first bit of information he gave me was useful because it gave me a few of the names that Tammy is hanging out with.  This is good for me because I can collect on some paydays when I bring her down and it gives me some insight into the danger I’m facing when I finally catch up with her.  I know that will be next to impossible with Todd as part of their group.  This information is about a guy that died so long ago elves don’t even remember him. 

Alexander Bader rose to answer the call of the masses.  His singular mission was to find the reason for the gods abandoning us.  Alexander set out with two close friends. The first a sage named Milo Greystep; he was a dwarf that knew as much about the land as he did about lore.  The other Juniper Fay, She was a talented mage and warrior.  She loved alexander and would follow him to the end of the world.  Milo suggested visiting the holy site of Zotico, the father and protector of the gods.  The journey would dangerous and take nearly a full season to complete. 

The corruption of earth was spreading.  It was small things at first with plants, more types of plants were becoming poisonous and some even started feeding on animals.  The journey to the holy site of Zotico went through a dense forest where the friends came face to face with a plant that shoot barbed thorns with tendrils attacked to the plant.  The plants had surprised them and shoot the thorns into Juniper.  She was unable to retrieve her weapon because the plant was reeling her into an opening.  Alexander was quick to action cutting her free.  Milo pulled a vile from his belt and threw it at the plant.  When it smashed open the contents burst into flames that consumed the plant.  In the death throes of the plant loosed more thorns.  One of them found purchase in Alexander’s wriest.  The tendril connecting it to the plant dropped to the ground as the plant slumped over and erupted in a ball of fire.  Alexander kept watch over the forest as Milo tended to Juniper’s wounds. 

Once they cleared the forest they were little signs of life.  The final track of the journey was a long climb up the mountain to the gods.  It would take all of their strength and skills to survive to the top.  The top of the mountain was so tall it was said that you could almost touch the heavens.  The village at the base of the mountain was gone.  They had hoped to acquire supplies from there before the climb.  The tracks where there to show they had not strayed from the path, but the village was gone.  As if they had packed everything including the building and left.  This mystery would have to wait until they could accomplish their quest.

After spending a week gathering the required supplies they ventured up the mountain of the gods.  On the third night stay they encountered a small herd of deer grazing in a valley.  Not wanting to miss a chance to get some more supplies Alexander and Juniper decided to do some hunting.  They made their way to the deer while Milo set up camp and prepared a fire.  Working ever so closer to their prey the pair crawled forward inch by frigid inch.  The deer were smaller than the deer from the plains but food was food.  They were huddled together for warmth and protection.  They numbered six in all.  They were shifting to a firing position when the packed snow beneath Alexander gave way in a loud crack, alerting the deer to their presence.   Instead of fleeing as deer normally do, they charged. 

Juniper was momentarily stunned when she noticed the sharp fangs of a predator and the blood red eyes that seemed to pierce her very being.  If it had not been for Alexander cry for help she might have been lost in their gaze.  She was determined to protect Alexander regardless the consequences.  She stood and case spell hurtling a bolt of lightning at the lead creature.  It was struck full force on the flank killing it and causing it to slide away from them.  Taking quick account of the situation Juniper realized she needed to buy Alexander time to free his leg.  She loosed another spell this one caused three screaming missiles to impact the next closest creature.  Two of them hit it in the flank, the third shattered its leg causing it to fall and tumble on the rocky ground, its limbs flailing about trying to gain purchase.  The creature behind it was stunned briefly when it was kicked in the head.  Her magic had drawn the attention of the remaining creatures.  She was only able to cast one more spell before they would be on her.  She fired flames from her fingers tips setting one on fire causing it to run away wildly in a panic.  Another one just broke off the attack and ran for open ground.  As the last of the fire flew from her fingers the last creature sank its teeth into her left leg and lifted its head causing her to loss her footing.  It lost its bit on her as she fell to the ground.  It rose to its hind legs in preparation to stomp her.  She was able to roll into its back legs and draw her knife.  When she rolled into its back legs she raised the knife into it’s under belly.  It let out a horrific howl as she cut a long slice in it.  The creature fell over dead leaving its entrails on her chest.

Juniper wasn’t able to enjoy her work.  She looked for Alexander and found that he had drawn his sword and killed the creature that was stunned from the kick.  It had recovered and charged him.  Unable to move he let the creature impale itself on his sword.  Without the dangerous creatures there freeing Alexander’s leg was a simple matter.

When they arrived at the site the temple was built nothing remained, not even a single stone remained to showed of the beautiful structure.   The earth surrounding the area was barren and lifeless.  The fate was worse than death, they were erased.  What was happening in the heavens to allow this sort of devastation to take place?