Legends of Belariath
The Quest For The Baron's Silver
Dakira – First Chalice
Dakira leaves the inn with quite a headache. Marot and Rei-Kai, both good friends of his had been fighting. To make things worse it was Dakira’s first day on the job as tender of the bar. He stands at 5'5" and has a pair leathery black Chirot wings. His black hair is slicked back and is about 5 inches long upon his head, resting above his dark black eyes. His body has an athletic build and is somewhat thin, looking to be about 120 pounds. The only clothing upon his body are leather pants and a cape that flows behind him, displaying his families crest.
Dakira finds himself visiting the Bounty Hunters Guild once again. A strange feeling that seems to draw him there. As he enters he listens to the members, and finds that one of the Nobles in the Town nearby the inn has had his silverware set stolen. He listens to the intelligence the Guild was able to ascertain is that it has been scattered about the nearby Goblin villages and does not care what they do with it. He then hears a reward offered for 100 mhl and his interest grows. 'Eight Silver Chalices seem to be scattered about the camps nearby to the inn in the great forest north of the establishment.' he hears someone say using his adapt Chirot hearing to listen in. He quickly exits the guild and heads for his room at Unigo.
At Unigo Dakira grabs a book from the library and heads up to his room. He disrobes his cape and hangs it on the bed. "Won't be needin that. Make to much noise." he tells himself. He opens the book of lands known and begins exploring the northern forest region, marking out the places a Goblin camp might be. When finished he kneels near his bedside and prays to Sheara for strength, stealth, and good fortune. He leaves Unigo and takes flight, planning on entering the forest from overhead.
As he circles the forest he spots a tiny settlement of Goblins. He lands a couple hundred yards away. His black Chirot features, and black leather pants, aside from his pale chest and face hide him in the shadows. He quietly makes his way towards the camp, his light Chirot body making little or no sounds. When he draws near he pauses behind a great tree and listens, again using his hearing to locate any sentries that might be around. He notes few. 'Odd' he thinks silently to himself. Dakira quickly and swiftly moves about the trees, drawing near the camp, all the while watching for sentries. Three tents can be seen, one, bigger than others. He moves towards the closest one and slips inside.
As his eyes focus he sees it to have no guards inside. He looks about the room. 'Supplies.' he says as he begins to rummage through silently. He finds many things, yet not the items he searched for. He peers out of the tent and into the night. A few sentries are nearby and he waits it out until they leave.
When they do, Dakira slips out into the night. He enters the large tent and allows his eyes time to focus. As they do he sees it to be a sleeping quarters for the many Goblins he thought would be there. He blinks several times at the party of sleeping Goblins and notes that at the end of the tent, their apparent leader lay sleeping. His massive form was far greater than any of the other Goblins. The smell from the tent was almost unbearable. The Goblins were definitely celebrating something and the smell of alcohol was strong among them. Before he has a chance to gag he leaves the largest tent.
As he leaves he realizes he forgot to check to see if it was clear. A
Goblin stands before him and seems to be caught off guard and steps aft in shock. Dakira seizing the opportunity grabs the man and chants in quick Chirot words, that of a trance. The guard slowly slips to the ground in a deep sleep. Dakira, now more weary than ever, makes his way to the third and final tent. He enters and looks about. Seven silver chalices could be found within a barred lock box. He judges that none could be pulled through the bars and decides to either search for the key, or find the other chalice.
He sighs, as he knows the only place he hadn't searched. He heads for the large tent once again and enters it grimly. The tent is full of sleeping Goblins, upon pitched mounds of hay. The only other thing within the tent is the Goblin captain who lies in a bed, obviously stolen for that purpose from the town. He quietly tiptoes through the tent over to the captain’s bedside. He looks about for one of the items he was searching for. The smell from the Goblin captain very overpowering and foul. He sees the missing chalice, yet it is tucked in the Goblins arms. He makes for it and then notices the key, tied, yet almost falling off his wrist.
Dakira, not wanting to have the Goblin wake and see him moves to the nearest corner of darkness and wraps his wings around himself, a tactic he learned in the forest. The wings make him disappear into a black shadow, the only things to be seen being his black leather pants and wings. He parts them a bit for a direct line of sight and uses telekinesis upon the key. The key easily slides off his wrist and comes floating to Dakira. He grabs the key and quickly heads out.
Out in the dark forest he quickly heads to the tent containing the chalices. Finding it empty again he heads to the box and unlocks it. As he opens it, it creaks and whines ever so loudly. He stops and listens. Hearing nothing he quickly flips the lid open and quick yet rather loud noise fills the night. He grabs a few chalices and turns, heading for the door. When he reaches the door a Goblin comes bursting through, running into him and knocking the chalices to the floor. Dakira stumbles and then looks at the Goblin in horror as it places a whistle to its lips. As he blew the whistle no doubtedly woke the guards. Dakira barely could move as the shrill, high-pitched note emits from the whistle, entering his quite sensitive Chirot ears. When the whistle ended and the man began to withdraw it from his lips, Dakira grabs his dagger and slices the Goblins throat. The Goblin drops and Dakira grabs up two chalices and heads out.
Out in the dark forest, the Goblins had awakened and were standing prepared. One, near Dakira hit him with a club, causing him to drop the chalices once again. These were quickly picked up and hoarded off. Dakira lunges out at his assailant with his dagger and pierces the Goblins chest. He rises and quickly hurries back into the tent. He looks about frantically for them, but they had vanished. "Damn Goblins." he curses as he exits the tent in the back.
As he exits he notes a small band of three Goblins behind the tent, along with the captain. They had apparently exited their tent in great hurry from the back and now stood facing the Chirot. The Goblins all carried weapons that had to have been stolen. One carried a short sword, two others had spears and the fourth had a whip. The Goblin captain carried a grand sword that appeared to be a claymore.
Dakira hisses, as he knows he might not make it out alive and tries to catch them off guard. Not working the Goblins advance on him. He immediately notes the captain’s weak point. He is slow because of his bulk. The other Goblins though were not. They attempt to attack head on. Dakira worries little of the minor Goblins, having dealt with them many times before. He extracts his great black Chirot wings and while jumping, thrusts them to give him an extra boost. He lands behind a spear-bearing Goblin and thrusts his dagger into the back of his thick skull. The dagger becomes lodged and he has to abandon it. The sword-carrying Goblin swings wildly at him. He quickly steps away and avoids it. Having no weapon and being discovered, Dakira realizes that it matters not if noises are heard. He quickly chants words in Chirot of an ice storm. He places both hands in a cup like form against his chest and forms a bluish liquid that floats within it. He thrusts his arms forward and the liquid solidifies, leaving shards of ice flying at the Goblin and striking him in various places. The Goblin topples over dead.
As Dakira finishes his spell, a whip cracks him along the back. He turns in great pain and sees it as it wraps around his leg, and pulls him to the ground. He looks up into the treetops and hears approaching strides. He quickly rolls as a spear is plunged into the ground where his chest used to be. He kicks out at the Goblins legs and brings him to the ground as well. He rises quicker than the Goblin and grabs the spear. Another crack of the whip snaps along his back. He turns and throws the spear into the Goblin, wincing in pain once again. The now spearless Goblin lunges onto his back. Dakira quickly throws the Goblin off and onto the ground. He seizes the sword of the fallen Goblin from before and plunges it deep into the Goblin.
He smiles as he finishes the little army. As he turns around, a great slap is placed along his face. He skids across the ground as the captain laughs. As Dakira rises he notes the dagger still stuck in the Goblins head. He quickly tugs it out and faces the captain. The captain readies his sword and begins his mad swinging; trying to strike the quick and agile Chirot who ducks, steps, and jumps past the swinging blade.
Dakira notes an opening as the captain swings and throws his dagger at where he assumed th e Goblins heart would be. He watches appalled, as the dagger does nothing but bounce off his chest. The captain on the other hand grabs the Chirot with both hands, abandoning his sword and brings him up, lifting his light body off the ground. Dakira frantically tries to escape, but the captain’s grasp is too strong. The captain begins to squeeze the life out of the Chirot as other Goblins gather round, watching. His ribs crack a bit as the squeezing is applied and he wonders how much he can take before they collapse and his vital organs are crushed. A quick prayer to Sheara begins to run through the Chirots head as he thinks of something else. "For Unigo." he yells as best he can.
He draws an arm back, noting how the intelligence of the Goblins never failed to unimpress him. His hand balls into a fist and an orangish glow begins to emit from it. He smiles as the captain notices this and thrusts his arm at the Goblin captain’s face. His learning’s through Unigo paying off as his energy bolt with a magnitude of three blasts the Goblins face. The grip loosens as the body begins to fall backwards, the empty face of the captain facing up from the ground as the Chirot lands atop it. He quickly begins to push himself up; knowing that other Goblins were about and feels something inside the Goblins pants that almost horrifies him. He quickly realizes that it was not what he thought and pulls out the silver chalice. He looks around and sees Goblins fleeing from the man that defeated their captain. He smiles, as he knows he can now escape and after tucking the chalice in his own pants he takes flight, cursing to himself that he could only collect one.
His ribs sore from the squeezing he must move at a slower speed. A few arrows fly by him as he makes his way back to Nanthalion. Upon arrival he lands near the Bounty Hunters Guild. He slowly makes his way in, weary from the long travels and battered ribs. He makes his way to someone that looked in charge and said, "Where’s my reward?" as he pulls out the chalice.
With thanks to Dakira