Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale

by Blackdrag-rose

Interlude: Village Trouble

While there was much that Rain wanted to ask Randalla, and the secret Harper no doubt wanted to do the same after discovering that she was alive and well, neither of them said anything about their organization or her mission that ended with Eldrith's defeat. Randalla's immediate worry was those who had been part of the caravan and was relieved to see that there were more survivors than what she expected, meaning she fully expected their attackers to have killed far more than they did, giving her another reason to be in debt to the heroes. With all of the extra hands they were able to carry the various crates back to where Kearia was waiting, who was also surprised to see that so many had survived the assault, but she wasn't about to complain as they got to work putting the caravan back together. Rain found that many were surprised by Shadow's presence, but for the most part they were fine since she was stalking the shadows surrounding where they were working, making sure that no goblins got close to them so they could focus on leaving for Baldur's Gate.

Rain did take the opportunity to ask about the dragon statues she had recovered and was surprised to find that none of them were part of Randalla's goods, in fact she had never seen them before and bought one for a few hundred gold to see if she could sell it when they reached the city. The merchant leader told them that they were heading to Wayfork Village, the last stop before getting to the open road that would bring them to Baldur's Gate, meaning they were likely going to pick up some items or even some other people before heading for their true destination. After that she got everyone underway so they could make up the time they spent being held captive by the Red Fang Marauders, where Rain's new companions took their positions as she stood off to the right of the caravan, keeping an eye out for danger while Shadow carefully stalked the darkness for enemies. With all the dead goblins she was sure they would be able to leave the Trade Way without incident, which would be nice after everything they had just done to ensure the safety of the caravan, but she knew that things might not be that easy and wondered what might bother them next.

It took some time for them to reach Wayfork Village, where they found that things were already going wrong as Rain and the others found that houses were on fire, there were dead people in the street, and there were more marauders going around without a care in the world.

"This is horrible... the marauders are killing everyone!" Randalla stated, where the other caravan members seemed totally terrified of what was going on right now, though many were already rushing towards the houses, something that caused her to glance at Rain as her new companions joined her without delay, "Rain, you and the others should make your way to the Wayfork Inn, which is the safest place in the entire village, and make sure the villagers are alright... my caravan and I will stay behind and see if we can't save anyone from the houses."

"Good, more glory to be had." Dorn remarked, though before the others could say anything he lifted his weapon up and charged down the worn road without much delay, tracking down some goblins to behead with a quick swing before Rain or their companions could even do anything.

As he started his rampage, cutting down the enemies in the surrounding area, Rain and the others caught up with him and joined the battle, where they found that some of the people were being herded around by goblins with their spears, which they stopped by cutting the creatures down. Rain stood back as Borador and Ysuran dealt with their foes from a distance while Allessia and Vhaidra fought them in melee range, where the monk continued to impress her by using her reflexes to get around attacks while crushing her foes with her powerful fists and legs. She, on the other hand, made sure that those they rescued were escorted back to Randalla by Shadow, finding that the villagers were more than willing to follow the cat despite her appearance, likely due to the shock of the attack that was going on. In addition to that Rain used her blade to cut down those who dared to come at her, where she used her own newfound grace to get around attacks and deal fatal damage to her foes, though she knew that many would question her abilities and decided to focus on the goblins, since there would be time to talk on the way to Baldur's Gate.

All of this just reminded her of what she found back in the Sunset Mountains, dead dwarves and their drow attackers, but this time around she didn't get as angry as before, rather she focused her mind on taking down all of her foes and goblins fell while she did so. The villagers fled as they were rescued, seeking safety so they could survive to see another day, and each one thanked them for the rescue, which Dorn claimed was good for everyone, as the more they saved the more they would be remembered by the people of the world. Rain wasn't too worried about her reputation, like her new companions seemed to be, mostly because she would always do the right thing, though she knew that many of those she had helped with Adrianna, Vahn, and Kromlech will have spread tales about them, so she likely had one of some kind. Of course she found that some of the villagers seemed to recognize her, no doubt from whatever stories were told about her and her friends, where she smiled at them and focused on cutting down the goblins, only blasting others with magic when she was sure no one else was in the area.

Other than that it didn't seem there was too much else for her to worry about, rather the goblins rushed at them and felt the sting of their weaponry, or Shadow's fangs whenever she wasn't busy escorting the villagers back to Randalla, which allowed them to reach the inn.

When they entered the structure they discovered that the last of the villagers were being held captive by some goblins and a tall figure that seemed to be an advanced goblin with armor and a shield, one who seemed to be eager to spill the blood of the innocent, or just in general. As such he rushed at them and swung his curved blade at them, where Dorn went on the offensive as Allessia moved around him and called upon the power of her god, Helm as Rain recalled, to heal those who were injured so they could move out of the way. Rain found that his shield was stronger than the gear that the rest of the goblins wore, plus his reflexes seemed far greater than those of the lesser goblins, though while it was able to block and drive back the others she found that there were gaps in it's defenses, due to Vhaidra striking it several times while Ysuran used his spells to weaken it. Borador did his best to aid them, using a dagger to hit the creature's legs while it was focused on Dorn, while Rain discovered that she became it's target after staring at her blade, where she defended herself and allowed the others to weaken it a little before taking it's head clean off.

Randalla and Kearia, plus the innkeeper, were pleased by their efforts and promised many things, the spreading of their glory and worshiping of Helm, plus they got a bit of a reward from the innkeeper, though once the villagers claimed that they would be fine Randalla got them underway once more, leaving Rain to her thoughts as she waited for them to arrive in Baldur's Gate.

---

"My Lord, the interrogation of the prisoners is finally complete." a man said, one who wore a black set of armor with a red trim, while carrying a large sword on his back and a large shield on his left arm, though for the time being his right hand was in front of him, a bow to give his master whenever they talked, "They know... little."

The area they were in was a black keep, one that was built to house his master and his servants, creatures of shadow to be exact, while his master was a pale skinned human, in appearance since he was a vampire, who wore a white robe with small skulls on his belt, complete with intricate bones and spikes added in certain spots, plus he even had a rapier that he was incredibly skilled with.

"Nonetheless, I would hear what you learned from them." the vampire, Mordoc SeLanmere, replied, because he had been interested in the adventurers that had stepped out of his hidden Onyx Gate, as he had supplied Eldrith with supplies and even troops, though it was for his own reasons and his own plans.

"The adventurers claim that Eldrith used the Onyx Tower to make 'Shadow Gates', or 'Onyx Gates' as their missing friend, Rain Shine, called them," the man, Xanhast, answered, which interested Mordoc greatly, that both he and the mysterious figure who had been reported to be with the trio called the large magical archways by the same name, but he remained silent as he waited for his general to continue with his important report, "this allowed her to move her troops across the Western Heartlands without anyone realizing what they were up to until it was almost too late... they also claim that when she was slain, facing her 'second death' as she called it, the Tower crumpled. Just as we were informed."

"Good. With the Tower destroyed, and Eldrith dead, we can begin our own plans." Mordoc said, as the information that was just confirmed was good for him, not to mention with his own allies getting anxious to set their own plans in motion, though at the same time he suspected that if he asked the prisoners directly they would tell him more about this strange ally of theirs, who had simply disappeared after Eldrith's defeat, "The Zhentarim, the organization that hired Kharne, will no start their quest to restore the power of the Onyx Tower and bring it's wonder back to Toril for themselves... though it would better serve me and my allies in the east. While not part of their original plans, they no doubt used those three and Rain Shine to wrest it from Eldrith's grasp... I must have it!"

"We will start implementing your plans at once, my Lord." Xanhast stated, because his master had sought to bring down Eldrith for a long time, as they had spoken about his plans and ironed out every detail to make sure he was successful, to the point where only Rain Shine was a variable they hadn't been able to foresee, before noticing that his master knew he had something else to say and prompted him to speak again, "It's about Kharne: the adventurers claim that when they invaded Xantam's Guild, to recover what had been stolen from them, Rain Shine called upon the power of shadows and destroyed him... crushed him into a fine red paste."

"Even with the tales of her power reaching my ears, even I doubt that she killed him, as Kharne is known for his reputation of being exceedingly difficult to kill." Mordoc remarked, where he walked over to the piano that was in this section of the keep and inspected it, mostly so he could consider what he knew and what had been said in the past, plus his own fight with the assassin that he thought he had killed during his invasion of his private keep, "He must have feigned his death the moment he sensed her inner power, figuring that she and her companions would help him bring down Xantam, as he was never truly working for the beholder... rather his employers likely asked him to eliminate the creature, which was only possible due to our guests."

"I understand now, my Lord. On the matter of our 'guests'; should I dispose of them?" Xanhast inquired, which was part of the reason that Mordoc had taken him as his general, he was smart enough to think for himself and usually spoke when he either had something to say or he was commanded to speak, though there were times where he had to remind him of his place as his thrall.

"No, keep them alive for now." Mordoc commanded, because while he would normally kill those who had outlived their usefulness, in terms of sources of information, he knew that these adventurers had one more use for him and he needed to prepare his trap for Rain Shine, even if it took some time to set everything up, "I suspect you'll tell me that the guests said that she's not corruptible, that nothing I do can turn her to our side, but you would be forgetting something, my dear Xanhast: we have her precious companions. The ball is in our court, so all we need to do now is set a trap for her and turn her into one of my thralls when she's not expecting an attack... if her power is as great as the rumors claim, yet burdened by her righteous mind, we just need to liberate her by enslaving her."

He knew that if her power was great enough to take down Eldrith, as the adventurers claimed, that it would be a waste to kill Rain Shine, causing him to smirk for a moment as he imagined what would happen in the near future and the trap he would set, before he and Xanhast went out to put their plans into motion.