Excerpt: the art of kicking goblins

Vesath rested in the back of the room, leaning against the wall as if trying to let the tiredness of his body seep into the wall. Around him were all the busy activities expected in the only inn operating in town. Some rowdy dwarves were drinking heavily and were slamming their mugs down with the same force they likely used to slam a hammer down on an anvil. Various persons in leather tunics sat here and there, rangers they were and for hire as scouts into the surrounding wilderness for a price. In one corner were some of the local town guards, if they could be called that for they were really a brute squad and they were also drinking and being quite loud, though they could not compete with the dwarves when it comes to sheer volume of noise. Vesath did not care about any of that. His robe was sticking to his body with sweat and he had dirt down his back and in his hair. It had not been the best of outings with the party he signed up for. But, he thought, he managed to test some of his spells on things other than stray dogs in the streets to gauge their effectiveness. Plus, he thought to himself, he would make some badly needed coin to pay for such needed necessities like a place to sleep and food.

“Move over” said a female voice as an arm nudged him over on the bench. The voice, and the arm, belonged to Kase, a brash street urchin turned thief. She had a knack for being nimble and could scale a wall like a squirrel. She wore light leather wrappings so as to not impede her movements. Vesath thought that perhaps she could be quite pretty if she were to act more ladylike and demure. “Whatcha think?” she said as she lifted her chin toward one of the town guards in the corner. “Think they got paid today?” Vesath looked over to the corner at the guards who were showing signs of wearing down (the dwarves nearby were still going strong) and he knew what Kase had in mind.

“I think that it’s been a long day and I need some tea” he said wearily. He knew exactly what she had in mind and that was to rob the unsuspecting guards of what coins they had left. “They’re guards” he said, hoping that stating the obvious would convince her not to attempt it.

“Nonsense” she chuckled. “They rob us whenever they get a chance. Why, just last week one of them was going to arrest me unless I paid him, he says, in order to keep the cells clear and still teach me my lesson.” She rolled her eyes and checked the buckles on her boots and casually looked about the room. “There is no real law in this town. It’s everyone out for themselves. Only difference is some people pretend it’s a right to rob you, while others are told it’s a crime to survive.”

“Survival?” Vesath said in a questioning tone. Kase looked over at him and instantly he regretted saying it. Not that he felt remorse in questioning Kase’s history as one living on the streets as a child, but that she gave him the look that warned him that a fiery sermon was about to commence. He wasn’t in the mood for a sermon. He was simply too tired.

“Yes, survival” she said in an angry voice. “Do you know what its like to sleep outside in the rain? In winter? And wonder where your next meal is coming from? What the last one tasted like?” Vesath went over in his mind if he knew how to cast a silence spell and was perturbed that he had not memorized that spell for the day. “Ever have to fight to a coin you found in the gutter?” she said. “One time I…” and she stopped for something had caught her attention. “That’s the bugger that tried to swindle some money out of me the other day” she said. “Red hair, standing.” Vesath looked over, willing to do anything to cease the sermon that she was just getting warmed up on. He’d heard her go at it all night around a camp fire on a past excursion. After that night he started to break party rules at night and cast a sphere of silence around his bedroll. A wizard needs sleep in order to charge the brain. One couldn’t just study and memorize magic spells on a few whispers of sleep. Across the room one of the town guards had stood up and was moving shakily. “He’s gotta go water the flowers” she said, smilingly. “This would be too easy”.

“Okay, good for you. I’m tired and...”

“Don’t you hold back on me you stick handling wetnurse” she growled at him.

Vesath recalled again the times he thought she would be prettier if she acted more docile. She was not pretty now. “Fine. Fine. What’ll it be?”

“Got any darkness?”

“I have but might I remind you that it needs to be subtle. My involvement should not become suspect as I am the only wizard sitting in here at the time.

“You just don’t want to help me.”

“It’s not that, it’s just that they’ll arrest me while I’m sure you will be able to escape nimble as a fox, I’m sure. Plus they will likely find out that we are on the same party and then they’ll come after you and the rest.”

“Good point. Okay, something subtle. Whatcha got?”

“Nothing”

“Why you… I’ll pull your robe up and punch you in the gut! What do you mean you’ve got nothing!”

“As in I’ve got nothing subtle” he said truthfully. But he did have one trick and he grinned a little and reached into his pocket. When Kase saw him grin she eased up and smiled herself. She had learned that Vesath was quite wily and could use many things to great advantage. Where other wizards relied on getting big fireballs and lightning bolts, she noted that Vesath went for variety and versatility. A fireball might not bring down a giant and might be overkill against a goblin, but a well placed trip line might set up a series of actions to tip the favor. Sometimes, he had explained to her once, getting past the tipping point was all that was really needed and then it was all downhill. The party chose Vesath because of his intelligence and wit, knowing that wizards usually grow stronger over time and this one seemed to have a gift in using what was given, of being adaptable. This was a valuable trait when adventuring in the wilderness.

“What is it?” she asked as she took the glass bottle handed to her.

“It is the stench of an ogre’s, er… gas” he said.

“Ogre fart?” She giggled.

“Sure” he said. “I must warn you that this is potent. Do NOT open it” he said, hurriedly putting his hand on hers to keep her from removing the stopper. “It all comes out when you open it and in the direction you point the bottle.”

“Does it make a sound when it comes out?” She giggled.

“No, it’s silent.”

“Silent but deadly” she laughed.

“Yes, I suppose” he said, trying to share the simple humor but failing miserably.

Kase got up and began her move around the room. Vesath also got up and moved toward the door. This would not be the sort of place he wanted to be in shortly. He didn’t have the energy or desire to fight it out in a common brawl. Such had been common in the various taverns until they were all shut down or damaged beyond repair. Truth be told that this one was supposed to be shut down but the possibility of not having any tavern at all sent many into a fit and it was the decision of the Duke that it would be better to have one spot to keep an eye on than have the chaos spill into the streets. As he made his way nearer the door Vesath muttered a simple spell while touching a large supporting beam in the middle of the room. He doubted anyone else noticed when oil materialized on the beam and oozed down onto the floor and began to spread. That should make things interesting, he thought to himself. And with that he stepped outside in the afternoon sun. Behind him he could hear the yelling of angry men cast accusations, followed by the sound of something clattering against the wall. And then he turned and walked down the street toward the square.

It wasn’t too long before he met Todakahn coming down the street toward him. Todakahn was a large man wearing various pieces of armor pulled off of various corpses he helped to create on various excursions into various caves, dungeons, and encampments. He loved to fight and he had the muscle to do it. For him every problem could be solved by continually pummeling it until something gave. He was the hack and slasher of the party and because he was always in the fight, always in the front, always bashing in something’s skull, he always acted as though he were the leader of the party. Vesath humored him. For one it was easy to divert his thinking with simple enough prodding, usually involving another fight somewhere. But at times it did wear on Vesath’s patience to humor the likes of Todakahn when he’d rather put a magic missile in his forehead.

“Ho Vesath” he said in a loud and impressive voice, obviously trying to act the part of leader. “Where go you? I thought we were all meeting at the Blind Basilisk to divvy up the reward and plan the next outing?”

“Kase” he said.

“Ah” Todakahn smiled. Vesath thought. He might be dim witted but he was able to follow along the obvious. “How many?” he asked.

“Four dwarves, well sauced, and about eight town guard. I suspect the various others, rangers and town folk, will not be staying.”

“Poor guard won’t know what hit them until they wake up the next morning” he said. “Here” he said, tossing Vesath a small pouch of coins, his share of the reward for catching a bandit in a nearby pass. “I can’t pass up an opportunity to get some knocks in against some of the guard.”

“You can’t pass up a chance to get some knocks in period” Vesath said.

Todakahn grinned “You might be right”. With that he took off at a jog to the inn to join the fray. Vesath watched him go in slight amusement, wondering if Todakahn noticed that Vesath had tapped him on the shoulder as he ran by, uttering a phrase. Hard to hear in helmets sometimes, he knew from watching. Still, he mused, those in the inn would notice when a bright purple man entered the fight.

CRASH! A chair went out of the window and into the street just before Todakahn disappeared inside. Then again, Vesath thought, maybe not. If there was the slightest bit of remorse in playing such a joke (though to Vesath it was practical research of effects of spells in a dynamic environment) it withered away when he opened the coin purse to see his meager share of the reward. Todakahn usually got the lion’s share of the reward, citing that he took the most damage, did the most work, and was in the most danger. Wizards don’t do much but hang around and give a good show now and then, he had chided. Vesath’s argument that the reward ought to be divided according to intelligence and efficiency was not accepted by Todakahn who said that next time a goblin climbs into his bed roll to try reading it a book to see if smarts gets rid of it. Vesath put up with it because he wasn’t strong enough to go it alone out in the wilderness and such is a common plight of wizards just starting out. In time, however, he knew that he’d be of a power where he could set his own price and choose with whom and when he wanted to go out on an adventure. Until then, he said, he would have to keep humoring sword slingers like Todakahn while he learned all he could in his spellcraft.