BBG: Chapter 43

We headed out for Lower Chionthar in the Morning, as the sun crept up over the horizon. Bentley Mirrorshade waved goodbye to us as we left, as was fitting for an old friend of Gorion's and thus, a friend of Jaheira and Khalid's. As we headed North along the Coast Way toward Lower Chionthar, the Sun continued its journey across the sky. We had to go North along the Coast Way before turning west slightly onto a smaller dirt cart path. It was twenty miles, or thirty-two kilometers, to Lower Chionthar, roughly a journey of eight hours for an average walking pace, but as adventurers who are fairly physically fit, we could make it there a bit earlier than that. It was just a matter of walking, though it also depended on whether or not we had to fight bandits, gnolls, or something on the way there.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation as we walked. Mei didn't appear to be a morning person, for one thing. For another, Jaheira just seemed to want to get this excursion over with so we could head south for Nashkel and deal with the Iron Crisis as swiftly as possible. She was fairly single-minded like that, and I vaguely recalled that she would comment on things if you spent too much time on sidequests back when this had just been a game. Either way, it made for less conversation on the road, as both Khalid and Imoen seemed to be taking their cues from Jaheira and Khalid. Fortunately, that gave me an opening to do my Bardic thing as I unimpeded my Bandore and began to play a tune to pass the time. Strumming A Minor, G, E Minor Seven, and A Minor again as I began the intro to the Bard's Song by Blind Guardian from back on Earth.

"Now you all know the bards and their songs. When hours have gone by, I'll close my eyes. In a world far away, we may meet again. But now hear my song about the dawn of the night. Let's sing the bard's song." I sang out as we walked, beginning the Lyrics.

Somehow, the music I played seemed to translate into a somewhat easier time traveling, even though I wasn't injecting any magic into my song. As I continued to sing, going from the Bard's Song to a suitably edited version of Stan Rogers' Northwest Passage, and on to more songs, we seemed to eat up the miles as we traveled. I chalked it up to a morale boost from traveling with music. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones who seemed affected by the music, as my traveling songs seemed to draw attention to our party as we turned off the Coast Way to the northwest and onto the Cart Track leading to Lower Chionthar. The sun had climbed high in the sky, and it was creeping up on noon when it happened. We were stopped near a copse of trees by a group of enemies.

There were twelve of them, Gnolls in a mishmash of armors with varying weaponry. Their spotted fur was matted with old blood and sweat, and their fang-filled jaws were slavering with dripping saliva. They were led by a larger, more powerful-looking Gnoll in Studded Leather Armor Plus One with an Amulet of Natural Armor Plus One, a Ring of Protection Plus One, a Cloak of Resistance Plus One, a Large Steel Shield Plus One, and a Pair of Boots of Speed. He also had a Corrosive Flindbar Plus One. As we paused in our tracks and I stopped playing my Bandore and singing my traveling songs, the Leader in all the Magical Gear cracked a grin, his slavering jaws pulling back in a smirk that was more wolflike than hyenalike. The yipping chuckle he let out, though, was definitely hyenalike, and as his war party joined in on the laughter, I studied the leader further.

The amount of magical items on him, his size, and the Flindbar indicated that the leader of this little band was no mere Gnoll, but a Flind, a larger, more intelligent, and more ruthless variation of the standard Gnoll who often led their raiding parties and warbands. Their standard weapon was a thing called a Flindbar, an exotic one-handed weapon that was somewhat of a cross between a flail and a single nunchaku. They tended to have the favor of Yeenoghu, the Demon Prince of Gnolls, as a rule, though that didn't usually mean much, as Yeenoghu didn't care enough to even make a token attempt to avenge a fallen Flind. To Yeenoghu, it simply meant said Flind was weak. This one, though, looked fairly strong, especially considering how successful he would have had to be to get all that magic gear.

"Your money and your life! Hand over your gear and your Gold!" Snarled the Flind, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Don't you mean your money or your life?" I questioned.

"No. Your money and your life. We haven't had lunch yet!" Laughed the Flind, more yipping laughter ringing out.

"Well, that doesn't exactly give us incentive to comply now, does it?" Queried Mei.

"Yeah! If you're gonna kill us anyway, why shouldn't we fight?" Asked Imoen.

"Because we'll kill you easier if you obey!" Snarled the Flind.

"B-but we'll still b-be dead either w-way." Pointed out Khalid.

"Maybe, or we might take some of you as slaves." Insisted the Flind.

"This is pointless." Scoffed Jaheira.

"I agree. Let's just fight and get this over with." I nodded.

"Fine! It makes no difference to me! Gut them!" Roared the Flind.

Then the fight was on. As I already had my Bandore out, I began by strumming a jumbled note on it, using spellsinging to use the jumbled, jagged note as a carrier for a spell of Chord of Shards. The jagged note turned into a number of dagger-like blades of translucent force and carved into a group of four of the charging Gnolls. Two of them stumbled, shredded into by shards to be slain by Khalid and Jaheira, cutting them down with Club and Longsword. The other two dropped into shoulder rolls and avoided the worst of the attack, only to be slammed into by a trio of magic missiles from Imoen, though one of them took two to slay. The last Gnoll reversed course in time to charge Imoen, only to take an arrow from Mei, killing it. Mei's second arrow caught a fifth charging me in the side of the neck, killing it.

The other seven and the Flind now had a clear shot at our party, however. The Flind moved to attack Khalid with his Flindbar, the Corrosive head of the flail-like weapon crashing into Khalid's side, dripping acrid liquid into Khalid's armor, burning him even as his ribs bruised from the blow. Fortunately, the Flind's fury was spent in that single blow, and Khalid struck back with a vengeance, his Longsword taking a chunk out of the Flind's thigh. Nearby, Jahiera fended off a trio of Gnolls, and Mei and Imoen were facing down a pair each. That left me relatively free, and I began to strum another tune on my Bandore. A Minor, F Major Seven, C, and G Chords filtered through the noon air as I began to sing, drawing on the power inherent in the Bandore to boost Khalid with a spell of Barkskin.

"Of all the trees that grow so fair, old Moonshaes to adorn. Greater are none beneath the sun than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn. Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs. All on a midsummer's morn. Surely we'll sing of no little thing. In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn." I sang out, drawing the powers inherent to my Bandore out with song.

Khalid's skin became gnarled and oaken as the spell took hold, and the Flind barked a yipping command in the Gnoll Language that I understood from context clues to be directing his Gnolls to kill me. Two Gnolls in Studded Leather Plus One with Rings of Protection Plus One and Amulets of Natural Armor Plus One, one with a Perfectly Balanced, Razor Sharp, Ornate, Flaming Halberd Plus One, and the other with a Razor-Sharp, Perfectly Balanced, Ornate Shock Longsword Plus One, and an Ironwood Spiked Large Wooden Shield Plus One broke off from fighting Mei and Jaheira respectively, dodging attempts to slay them as they did so, and rushed toward me. The pair had to be the Gnollish Equivalent of Non-Commissioned Officers or Sergeants, judging from the special gear they had. They were the only other Gnolls in the group that had magic gear besides the Flind.

That was my cue to shoulder my Bandore and draw my Rapier and Shield. I did so just in time to parry a chop from the axe head of the Halberd Gnoll's Halberd, sending the polearm out wide and into the side of the Longsword Gnoll, ruining its cut with its Longsword. The Longsword Gnoll snapped at the Halberd Gnoll, smashing it in the side with its Spiked Shield in a shield bash. The pair of Gnolls devolved into infighting in a classic display of Gnollishness, and with the Flind absorbed in fighting Khalid, they continued to fight each other. That allowed me to literally stab them in the back, my next thrust punching through the armpit of the Halberd Gnoll's Armor. To my surprise, it didn't seem to kill the Halberd Gnoll, but it did allow me to get the upper hand on them now that they seemed to remember they were in a battle.

I ducked a cut from the Longsword Gnoll, but wound up taking a blow from the spike of the Halberd Gnoll's Halberd to the thigh. The spike punched right through the meat of my thigh beneath the short fauld of armor protecting my groin and upper thigh, searing flesh as it sank in. The Halberd Gnoll stepped back to keep me at reach, but I channeled the pain from my thigh into a metal-style growl that I infused with magic via Spellsinging. The spell of Ear-Piercing Scream literally blew the Halberd Gnoll's Mind, as he fell to the ground dead, blood and brain matter oozing from his eyes, ears, and snout. The Longsword Gnoll let out a yip of shock at that, and I stood, taking the opportunity to taunt him by flourishing my Rapier. I got a snarl in response as it attempted to bull forward with a shield bash, but I moved out of the way, dancing aside despite my wounded leg.

My riposte was perfect, a textbook feint to the Gnoll's chest that faked him out expertly. When I whipped my blade around into a last-second cut at his throat, his shield and blade were out of position to block or parry. My blade thundered into the Gnoll's throat with a vengeance, cutting it and causing a spray of black blood to arc out as I had caught the thing in the Jugular. This time, when I caught this Gnoll in a vital spot, he did go down, dropping his Longsword and slapping a paw-like hand to his neck to try and staunch the blood flow. It was useless, though, and as he sank to his knees, I thrust for his face, my blade punching through his eyes and into his brain, killing him. As I wrenched my Rapier free of the corpse, I turned to survey the rest of the battlefield.

Jaheira had joined Khalid against the Flind, having bested her two opponents. Mei and Imoen were still struggling against their three foes, though Imoen seemed to have downed one of them with a thrust of her dagger through the armpit as I moved to aid them. With two remaining opponents against now three of us, we made short work of the remaining Gnolls, Mei nodding gratefully at me as we did so, and me saluting her with my Rapier, earning a slight blush in response that was extremely cute. Imoen just rolled her eyes at the byplay, a smirk on her face as she did so, before she gestured over toward where Jaheira and Khalid were still fighting the Flind.

"Come on, let's finish this. You two can flirt later." Smirked Imoen.

"She's right, though I have to say, I do enjoy flirting with you." I chuckled.

"Yes, w-well. Later, perhaps." Stammered Mei, blushing again.

And then it was back into the Fray against the Flind. Now that it was five on one, though, the Flind didn't really stand a chance. We hacked him to pieces from all sides over the next couple of exchanges, with Khalid getting in the final blow with his Longsword. Once it was all over, we set to looting the corpses. We came up with all the aforementioned magical and Masterwork equipment, plus around three sets of Studded leather armor, three sets of leather armor, two chain shirts, four longswords, four halberds, and four flails, and roughly five hundred Danter in miscellaneous jewelry and coins. As the Flaming Fist was also paying a bounty on Gnolls, we cut off the ears of the dead Gnolls as well, giving us roughly six-hundred-fifty Danter in bounty money from thirteen bounties. All told, aside from the magic gear, there was roughly two-thousand-one-hundred-forty Danter in loot here.

Then there was the magical gear, which we apportioned between ourselves. No one could use the Flindbar, and no one wanted the Halberd, so those went into our packs for sale, along with two of the suits of Studded Leather Armor Plus One and all of the Rings of Protection. Khalid took the Longsword and an Amulet of Natural Armor. Imoen took one of the sets of Studded Leather Plus One, while Mei took the Boots of Speed. Jaheira took the Ironwood Spiked Wooden Shield Plus One and an Amulet of Natural Armor. Meanwhile, I took an Amulet of Natural Armor and a Cloak of Resistance for myself. That left the equipment for sale as another twenty-thousand-six-hundred Danter's worth of equipment.

All told, this little skirmish netted us twenty-two-thousand-seven-hundred-forty Danter in saleable loot. Given it was likely we would be selling at around sixty percent market value, though, that would only come to maybe thirteen-thousand-six-hundred-fifty Danter if we were lucky. Split five ways, that came out to roughly two-thousand-seven-hundred-thirty Danter per person. I said that as we healed up and began to move again, but Jaheira just scoffed at the numbers, rolling her eyes at the thought of coin.

"We're not here to make coin. We're here to help the Western Heartlands." Scoffed Jaheira.

"Y-you know as w-well as I do that c-coin will help us w-with that." Pointed out Khalid.

"Khalid's right. So will the experience come to that. Imoen and Mei were raised in a Monastery, after all." I added.

"Hey, Candlekeep wasn't that bad!" Protested Imoen.

"Yes, they trained us to handle ourselves." Agreed Mei.

"Still, cute as you are, training needs to be honed with experience." I insisted.

That caused everyone to lapse into silence, Jaheira and Khalid because of the valid point I had just made, Mei because her face had gone crimson from my flirting, and Imoen because she was rolling her eyes at Mei's reaction and my flirting. I took the opportunity to begin strumming an aimless tune on my bandore, just hitting any note that came to mind. Soon enough, we made it to Lower Chionthar, and the signs of Ankhegs were clearly evident, as large furrows had been dug into fields outside town, along with a few overturned wagons. One of the fields had its scarecrow knocked askew by the tunneling Ankhegs as well. It would be comical if not for the tragedy of it all. We entered town from the side, avoiding the fields, and made a beeline first to the Drunken Silverling tavern to sell off the gear we had taken off the Gnolls.

The Barkeep didn't have coin on hand for it all, but thankfully, there was a traveling merchant stuck in town for fear of the Ankhegs who was more than happy to take the gear when we told him we were here to get rid of the Ankhegs. Dirk of Scornubel ran a two-person operation with his wife, Libby, out of an Ox-drawn cart. Said Ox was a shaggy-coated female named Bess who would be considered prime meat for the Ankhegs, as Dirk bitterly claimed, keeping him stuck in the village until they were gone. Dirk himself was an older Human Man in feded traveling clothes and a rough cast to his voice.

"Damn things nearly got Bess when we entered the Village. If not for Libby's speed with her sling, we'd've been out of luck." Grumbled Dirk.

"I had to act to save the business." Shrugged Libby.

Lobby was the opposite of Dirk in a number of ways. Where Dirk looked older, Libby still had hints of her youthfulness about her. Where Dirk was rough, Libby was soft. I was fairly sure that Dirk was the one who managed accounts and planning, while Libby was the actual saleswoman of their operation. I doubted they would have succeeded as a merchant with Dirk's Gruff Demeanor out front and center, dealing with customers.

"Well, as I said, we're here to deal with the Ankhegs." I reiterated.

"Good. Damn things're a nuisance." Huffed Dirk.

"They're a touch more than that." Insisted Jaheira.

"Y-yes. They took a child." Affirmed Khalid.

"Yeah, where's your compassion?" Demanded Imoen.

"Imoen, please." Sighed Mei.

"Oh, don't mistake us. What happened to the Farmer's Boy was a tragedy, but most folks tend to care more about things that affect them directly. Right, husband?" Prompted Libby.

"S'right. Either way, we're glad to have you folks here to deal with 'em." Agreed Dirk.

Soon after that, our transaction was complete, and we made our way out to Brun's Farmhouse. The man was still in mourning over his son, as he'd given the lad up for dead after three days with no sign of him. He was still able to point us in the direction of the entrance to the Ankheg Tunnels. Out past the edge of his fields, in a small copse of trees, near the south bank of the River Chionthar, stood a yawning pit. The entrance to the Ankheg Tunnels. That was where we would find the insectoid beasts to slay and retrieve the Corpse of Brun's Son, effectively taking care of three birds with one stone in terms of Sidequests. The sun was beginning to set as we came upon the Ankheg pit, but there was no time like the present to do this. I nodded at the rest of the group, getting nods back.

Then together, we descended down into the Ankheg Tunnels to deal with the beasts plaguing Lower Chionthar once and for all. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. There's a bit more character interaction, plus a random encounter with a bunch of Gnolls and their Flind Leader, and now Robar and Company are headed into the Ankheg Pit. When they finish up here, they'll effectively be doing three sidequests at once. Farmer Brun's Son, the Sidequest from Lieutenant Jacobi, and Helping Dirk and Libby Leave Lower Chionthar. Plus, they'll be halfway toward getting Ankheg Platemail as well. That's what I call efficient questing, right there.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the trip into the Ankheg Tunnels to deal with the Ankhegs. Then we'll have them starting back out south for Beregost and the Thunderhammer Smithy. I'll also have some more images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .