Chapter 33: Northward Bound

It was still relatively early in the morning when the adventurers left the Temple of Xoth. Yet, despite the early hour, their visit to the temple had been a resounding success, leaving them in possession of not only information as to the whereabouts of a holy relic which could likely be used to remove Lexi’s curse, but also a map the party could use to plan their journey. Their journey would take the party on the North road out of the city, on a three-day journey to the Pass of Qalish which would lead them through the Mountains of Zin to their final destination — a ruined temple to the goddess Xoth, which had been taken over a decade prior by the greenskins, and subsequently repurposed into a center of their dark cult.

“We should get provisions before leaving the city,” Samantha noted as the trio walked down the temple steps.

“Good call,” Lexi agreed. “Any idea where we can do that?”

“Yep,” Gretel chimed in, bounding off ahead of the paladin and monk. “Follow me!”

Lexi and Samantha hurried after the mage, who skipped nimbly through several twisting and winding alleys, leading the party ultimately to an outfitter’s shop. Guided by Samantha’s eminent sensibility, they picked out an array of gear needed for the week or so they would be spending in the mountains, including fur-lined cloaks, several lengths of rope, and a large supply of dried rations. The monk also suggested that, given the rather large quantity of food and water that would be needed to sustain the trio — to say nothing of their sleeping packs — the party would be well served by investing some of their newly acquired gold in a pack mule. Neither of them wanting to carry any more equipment than then already did, Lexi and Gretel heartily agreed to the monk’s proposal.

And so, the three adventurers set out from the city through the North Gate, all of their new gear and equipment packed carefully onto the back and sides of the mule, whose name — the outfitter had told them — was apparently Thomas.

“With good old Tom helping out,” Gretel said smiling. “We should be able to cover a good fifteen miles or so each day.”

“Until we get to the foothills,” Samantha corrected. “The going becomes much more arduous the closer you get to the mountains. I know not what the terrain of this Pass of Qalish is like, but I have lived most of my life in the mountains and know well how difficult it can be for those unused to them.”

“Good point,” Lexi agreed. “So, I guess we should plan on making up as much distance as we can before we hit any of the mountainous inclines. That way, we’re not stretching things out unnecessarily.”

“Agreed,” the monk said nodding.

And so, the party journeyed northwards, maintaining a rather brisk pace among them, with Thomas’ help being greatly appreciated by all. They spent the time talking of the land’s beauty, admiring the green glades the road passed through, and the snowy mountains whose peaks could just be seen on the horizon. When this train of conversation was exhausted, Lexi decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to try and get Samantha to open up a bit more about her background.

“Do you think the mountains we’re headed towards will be anything like the ones where you grew up?”

“In some ways,” Samantha said, her voice measured. “But, in many ways the two ranges could hardly be more different.”

“How so?” Lexi asked. “Remember, I essentially know jack shit about this part of the world, so a geography lesson would be greatly appreciated.”

“Ooo, me too!” Gretel piped in excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to know more about the ‘oh-so-mysterious’ Abbey of the Fist.”

Despite her best efforts to maintain here characteristically stoic facade, Lexi saw a faint smile tug at the edge of the hulking monk’s lips.

“Very well,” Samantha conceded. “The Abbey of the Fist is located far to the South and West of Astyanax, in the peaks of the Soraothian Mountains. And, while those are perhaps similar in both size and scale to the Zin range towards which we journey, my homeland is not one of ice and snow. Soraoth’s climate is tropical, with lush and verdant jungles as opposed to the mix of deciduous and evergreen foliage through which we pass now. Our climates do not change with the seasons, and it is almost always hotter and more humid than Astyanax ever becomes, or so I have been told. What does change—”

Whatever Samantha was about to say was cut off by her raised fist, as she stood there silently, listening intently for some sound that neither of her companions could discern. Lexi strained her ears, trying to pick out whatever it was that had spooked the monk so suddenly. At first, she heard nothing, but after a moment the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping from a human’s footfall — or, she supposed, something at least vaguely human shaped — came from the densely wooded thicket lining the road perhaps a dozen yard up ahead. Lexi started to step forward, but Samantha’s large palm instinctively shot out to hold her back.

“Ambush,” whispered the monk. “Prepare yourselves.”

As one, the adventurers assumed their respective combat positions. Samantha and Lexi covered the front and Gretel the rear. Lexi drew her enormous broadsword, squatting slightly into what her paladin’s body knew as the perfect stance to spring into defensive or offensive maneuvers. Samantha had already been using her iron staff as an improvised walking stick during their journey so far, simply kicked the bottom end with one foot, snapping the length up into an outstretched ready position. Thinking quickly, Gretel hurried to remove one of their lengths of rope, and led their mule — and all of their supplies — over to the nearest tree behind the group, tying him up so that the animal would be unable to bolt off with all of their gear if there was going to be a fight.

Seeing this state of preparedness, Samantha gave Lexi a stiff nod. The paladin read her comrade’s message loud and clear, and called out to the would-be ambushers. “Whoever’s hiding up ahead of us, get the fuck out of the trees and show yourselves!”

One after the other, a group of six forms emerged from both sides of the path ahead of the party. The group was as motley as Lexi could have imagined, and while none of the members were greenskins, only three were human. The two that stood at the forefront of the brigands as the likely leaders were representatives what Gretel had termed beastkin in her discussion with Lexi on goblin ecology — both having the appearance of humanoid foxes.