Chapter 4

THE START

As the Windstruck docked the crew got busy offloading the cargo that needed to be delivered and then started loading the new cargo for the other ports.

Varden told Drake, "It will take about ten minutes for me to get my things together, so I will meet you back on deck then and we can set off together."

So the two of them went below and gathered their things together. The first thing that Varden gathered was his golden bowl, he carefully wrapped it in some of his clothes that way it would be protected and wouldn't be seen and stolen. He made sure to pack clothes all around it as well so that no one could even tell it was even in there. When he finished packing, he collected his bag and went back up on deck where Drake and Drayden were standing together already and waiting on him.

Varden walked up to Drayden and apologized for his actions. Then asked, "Are we ready? Shall we get going?"

The two of them replied "Yes."

Drayden walked up to Sabol and kissed him. Sabol said, "Take good care of yourself, daughter. You are the only one I have left, and I don't want to lose you".

Drayden said. "Yes, Father". As the three left, she turned and waved goodbye. She could see that he was close to tears but too proud to show it.

Varden said, "The first thing we need to get is a place to stay and some supplies."

On their way into town, as they traveled down the wide road, the first buildings they passed were the fish stalls and fish warehouses. This port seemed to be very busy for its size.

Just offshore Varden looked and saw a humungous ship, the design was completely different than anything he had ever seen in his life. The ship seemed to be made from whole trees. Varden had never seen such a large ship. He knew that it must have belonged to the giants for only the giants could have made or sailed something that large. It looked to be in really bad shape but with a lot of work it might be able to sail again but it was far too large for any men to sail.

Drake nudged Varden to get him moving, "Come on, we don't have all day."

Varden replied with a grumble, "Okay, I'm sorry."

Walking through the small port they saw a few shops, but most of them were only selling food. The only place in town that showed any signs of life was the tavern, it seemed to be the only place that all the people were. As they grew closer to the door, a big fight broke out sending a man through the door and landing him right at Draden's feet.

The big man standing in the doorway yelled, "And stay out. Varden asked the big man if there were any inns nearby.

The bartender replied in a gruff and hostile tone that you could tell that he still not wanting to be bothered by such a trivial thing, "There are two, but they are both full. Follow the road out of town the next town has plenty."

As they traveled down the stone road going out of town it steadily narrowed until about a block out of town where it ended and turned into a dirt road. The first buildings they came to after leaving town were a few small farms.

The farms looked as if they were really run down. From what they could see, there weren't many animals, and the crops weren't doing well at all. They looked as if they had been left unattended for months, most of them had several broken fences, and lots of general clutter. The road that they were traveling on was just a small country road. It looked like it didn't have much traffic on it, just barely enough to keep most of the tallest weeds knocked down.

After an hour of walking the three of them came to the edge of the small town. As they got close to the town there were a bunch of small houses. They were run down but they were in far better shape than the farmhouses that they had passed along the way.

Varden walked up to one of them to get a better look. He could tell that the house had been elegant with fine furnishings not very long ago, but it was in disarray now and needed some minor repairs. As for the furniture, what there was of it was ruined and busted up. He could tell that most of it was missing.

They could see that this was a very small town, and it would not take long to get to the heart of it. It didn't take them long to reach the blacksmiths, it was little more than a stable. It had a few horses in it, and the ones that were there looked very old and not worth much. It also had a forge and an anvil as Varden looked he noticed that it was a working forge and there was a sword in the prosses of being made.

Across the street from the blacksmiths was the "Temple of Praise." It was a tall narrow building, with large stained-glass windows in the front and small windows running down the sides. It was easy to see that this was the best-kept building in the town.

As they approached the center of town the thing that stood out was the trading post, this was the only building in town that seemed like it was busy it was fully loaded with everything that you could need. There was a wide variety of weapons and armor as well as mining equipment wood cutting not to menschen all the food and dried meats. As they walked on by there was everything that he could think of there.

Standing next to the trading post was the "Shady Lady Inn." It had a large sign with a picture of a woman dancing on a table below that was the name of the inn. The sign hung from a balcony where to beautiful barely clothed women were talking to all the men as they passed by. As Varden got close he noticed that they were only wearing lace nighty-type things and it was not even close to night yet.

In the exact center of town was a large stone water well. This was the place where everyone in town would come to get their water. From here they saw a few more houses and a large castle, even from here they could see that the castle was tall and huge and in great shape. The castle seemed to stand out if nothing else just from its massive size. Even though the town was in good shape it still looked run down.

The first place that they stopped at was the "Shady Lady Inn." They needed a few rooms so that they would have a place to start from. As they entered the bar, they made their way through the groups of tables to a long bar on the far side of the room. This gave the bartender a perfect view of who was coming and going out of the bar.

Entering the room, they noticed how full it was. The bar was completely filled but they were lucky that at one end of the bar, there were a few seats open. The three of them made their way through the crowded room making sure that they didn't disturb anyone. They knew what it meant to disturb someone in a place like this. It would mean that a fight would break out and you would be trapped in the middle of it.

There were people there of all types and sizes. At the end of the bar was a man sitting alone with a large drink in front of him. He was of average size and shape, maybe a little thin but he looked like he would be very agile. He was dressed in a dark black robe it was the color of midnight. It had a large black hood and it appeared to be well-maintained, in fact, you couldn't see any dirt on it at all. As they looked at him, they noticed a dagger at his side, and it seemed to have a green glow about it. Strapped to his waist was a large coin purse that seemed to be filled with gold just above there the dagger was tied.

When Drake saw him, he quietly said to the others, "We need to stay away from that one because he looks like an assassin and by the way he is dressed he is very good at his job and well paid for it." The two took another look and did as Drake suggested and just left him alone.

The next two stools were occupied by a couple that was sitting and whispering back and forth to each other. They were very happy with each other and flirted and petted each other heavily, with huge smiles on their faces. The woman was dressed in a very revealing dark red dress. It was cut very low in front, and it was open in the back to the middle of her back. The dress was made of fine silk and flowed perfectly around her every curve. The bottom of the dress flowed to the floor gracefully, but then had a slit that went all the way back up to two inches below her hip. She had a great figure, and her legs were perfect, the dress accentuated every inch of her at least what it covered.

The man sitting with her was dressed in scale mail armor. At his side was a long sword and at his feet was a shield that had the symbols of the town guards. Varden knew that he was high in the guards, but he was just among the town guards that was not as important as the royal guards like his father. As they stood there, they heard him whisper, "I will give you whatever you want. Now let's go."

As Varden walked past them he noticed that the guard was rubbing her inner thigh and she was enjoying it all a lot. There was an empty stool then there were three men sitting together. The first was a very large man dressed in full plate armor and the armor was in really good shape although you could tell that it had been dented and put back into shape. It was well maintained and perfectly clean, and strapped to his side was a large broadsword at his feet sat a large iron shield. The shield looked as if it had seen a lot of heavy action. There were cuts in the edges and at the top of it there looked like a bite had been taken out of it.

The man in the center was just of average size and weight. He was dressed in a brown robe and seemed to be shaking quite a bit so much he could hardly hold a drink without spilling it. Varden looked at him and did not see any weapon so he couldn't tell what type of adventurer he was. Although he could tell that he was an adventurer. As Varden listened he heard them talking about adventuring and on their last trip something really shook him up. But it didn't matter how hard they tried they just couldn't get it out of him. He was still too shaken up to even talk about it.

The third man was larger than normal but not as large as the first man. He was dressed in chain mail armor while carrying a large wooden shield in the larger war hammer. The shield looks as if it had been through a war. Even the main surface was damaged and dented with several large holes in it. Looking at him you could tell that he was either a cleric or a fighter, but he couldn't be sure this time which one he was. Just by looking at how he was dressed and the things that he carried.

The next three stools were open, this is where the three of them decided to take a seat. At the end of the bar set a giant. Looking at him when he was sitting on the floor, he was still over 8 feet tall. His hands were the length of a forearm. He could easily pick up a full-grown man and use them as a rag doll with one hand.

Behind the bar was a very well-built man dressed in short sleeves. His arms were huge, and they could see a large tattoo on his left arm. Varden immediately recognizes the tattoo. It was the tattoo of one of the royal elite guard groups, but it was different than the one his father wore. So, Varden was not sure of which group he belonged to.

At the table in the back away from the door were four men dressed in dark brown robes. They were quietly whispering among themselves making sure that no one overheard what they were saying. Each one would look up and look around and make sure that they were not being watched or listened to before they would say anything.

At another table, there were three men laughing loudly and they were all dressed in smelly clothes. They looked like they were working out in the field all day, but they smelled like they hadn't had their clothes washed in over a month. They didn't sound like they were the brightest, but they were having a lot of fun.

Near the entrance at a small table, two men were dressed in scale mail armor each of them had a long sword and carried a large shield. Both of them were bright and shining, they looked like they had never been used before.

The three walked up to the bartender and Varden asked, "Who do we have to talk to about getting a room?"

The bartender said, "I am the one you need to talk to."

Varden asked, "How much for three rooms?"

Drake spoke up and said, "Make that only two rooms, we will share one that way I can keep an eye on you. We can make our plans and have everything arranged for the next day's adventure."

The bartender replied, "That will cost you 20 golden coins a week. IN ADVANCE!"

Varden simply handed him the money and asked, " Where are the rooms?"

The bartender said, "Follow me and I will take you to your rooms."

Then he called one of the barmaids over to tend the bar, then he led the way up the stairs and down a long hall. When they reached the end of the hall, the bartender said, "This will be her room and the one across the hall will be yours." Then the bartender handed them their keys.

Varden asked, "Do you know of anyone that likes to go on adventures?"

The bartender said, "Most of the ones around here already have a party and are not that willing to add others."

Looking that the three of them it didn't look like they had any real experience between them and that would make everyone not that interested in trusting them with their lives. He said, "There is only one I know of. He is an old wizard that lives at the end of town. He usually will keep to himself, but I have heard that once in a while that he does venture out and go with others."

Varden asked him, "Do you know any places to explore or any adventures?"

The bartender said, "They usually go to the old giant's castle."

Varden's eyes widened with delight, he had never thought that giants lived in a castle. He always thought that they lived in a cave and that they were not very smart. But if they had a castle that showed that they were smarter than you think. That also meant that they did work together and were organized.

Varden asked him, "By the way do you know how to get to the old castle?"

The bartender told Varden, "You can see it from here but it's a lot farther than you think I believe there is a path through the forest that leads you to the castle. Just be careful, the last I heard the forest was filled with all kinds of creatures."

They thanked him and he left to go back to serving all the rest of the customers that were in the bar.

They had a long and tiring day so the three of them decided that they would sleep and get an early start in the morning.

Varden awoke with the sun, then he turned to Drake and saw that he was still sound asleep. For the first time in two weeks, Varden had a sound sleep. It was so nice to be in a real bed instead of a hammock that he had on the ship.

"Drake, get up," Varden said.

Drake jumped awake startled by the sudden noise with a dagger in his hand. Varden jumped back and said, " I didn't mean to scare you."

Drake grumbled something under his breath, nodded his head, and set about getting up and ready. When the two were a little more ready they went and knocked on Drayden's door. Looking at her they could tell that she had been up and ready for a long time and she was more than ready to get started. The three of them made their way downstairs and when they entered the bar the only ones that they saw there were the bartender and the giant.

The bartender was washing dishes and the giant was just sitting there watching him.

They walked up to the giant, and Varden asked, "What happened to all the giants?"

The giant said in a very low slow voice, " Big dragon come, giants gone."

Varden asked, "How long ago did that happen? "

The giant furrowed his brow as if trying to remember something, but the thought didn't come, then said, "Many years, me not sure. "

The bartender stepped up and said, "You better leave him alone before it gets upset. He has a tendency to wreck things when he gets upset."

Varden answered, "Yes sir."

They left the inn and went to the trading post. And as they walked into the shop the shopkeeper looked up at them and smiled and said, "Hello, you're new in town, how can I help you?"

"Hello, yes we are new in town, and we are in need of some supplies." Said Varden.

"So, what do you need?" The shopkeeper asked.

Varden turned to Drake and asked "Do you need anything? Do you have any money for it?"

Drake replied, " Yes I have enough for what I need to get."

Varden said, " Then why don't you go first that way I can see if there's anything that I would have forgotten to get."

Drake stepped up to the counter and said, "I need some leather armor, three daggers, one water skin, one week's worth of dried food, five flasks of oil, and a flint." Giving the shopkeeper time together everything. Then Drake asked, " How much for all that?"

After a couple of minutes, the shopkeeper came back with everything that he had asked for and added up the total in his head, and came up with a total and he said, "That will cost you 80 gold coins."

Drake said, "I'll give you 60."

The shopkeeper shook his head but knew that Drake was used to haggling over the price and said, " I'll take no less than 70."

Drake figured the total in his head and found that 70 was a fair deal less than he would have normally paid for everything, so he paid the shopkeeper.

Drayden stepped up to the counter and said, "I'll be needing a set of chain mail armor, and medium-sized iron shield, your best mace, a lantern with five fills of oil, a large water skin, and one week's worth of dried food."

It took a little longer this time in a few more trips together things that she wanted but when the shopkeeper had everything on the counter Drayden asked, " How much will that be for all that?"

The shopkeeper said, "That'll cost you 150 gold coins for all that."

Drayden looked at him with those Emerald green eyes and said, " Can't you possibly do any better with the price please." Then she gave him a heartbreaking smile.

The shopkeeper looked deep into Drayden's eyes and that weakened his heart so he said, " Well the best they can do is 125."

Drayden gave him another warm smile and paid him 125.

Varden stepped up to the counter and said, "I need some scale mail armor, your finest one-handed shield, your best broad sword, one week's worth of dried food, a lantern and two things of oil, two water skins, three backpacks, and three sacks."

It took the shopkeeper some time together everything several trips in fact and when he headed all gathered, he said, "Before you ask my rock bottom price is 350 gold coins."

Varden closely inspected first the suit of scale mail armor he seemed that was in good quality. Next, he looked closely at the broadsword it was the finest he had ever seen. The blade was long, and straight finely etched, and was razor sharp and the hilt was strong and balanced the blade was made fine, but he could tell that the steel that was used was of the finest quality. The last thing that he really was interested in was the shield, it too was of fine quality. Varden knew that there was no place where he could buy such quality at a better price. So, he paid without any type of argument.

Varden asked, " What do you know about the wizard?"

The shopkeeper responded, "I don't know much about the wizard and from what I've heard neither does anyone else except for maybe one of his students. But what I do know is that he does sometimes go on adventures with people for a price. If it's a worthy cause and he likes them as long as the pay is high enough. He lives in a castle just outside of town and if you haven't noticed that he is the only one around here that can afford a castle. No one knows exactly how old he is or just where he came from. The only thing that everyone truly does know about him is he is extremely powerful and dangerous. Everyone is just a bit afraid of him and most of the time we avoid him if possible."

Varden asked, "Do you know if there's anyone else in town that might do exploring?"

The shopkeeper said, "Well for the people in town there might be three people that would go but they usually only go together they might take a few along if they really trust them. Other than that, you can try hanging out in the tavern which is where most new people wind up going. The fact is the other day we had three new ones that just started, and they just suited up and plate mail armor."

Varden thanked him then they gathered their thanks and left the shop. They made their way back to their rooms at the Inn. They needed to drop the extra stuff off that they had just purchased they had changed into their armor's then we were all set to go.

When they were ready, they went out to the well where they washed up, cooled down, and filled their water skins. When they were finished, they decided the next place for them to go was to the wizard's castle.

As they approached the castle, they noticed the bridge was down, and the gate was up. So, they simply walked across the bridge, and by the time they got through the gate, they saw a man running toward them. He was yelling, with his sword drawn, "Halt! Stop right where you are!"

The three stopped dead in their tracks. As the guard reached them, he asked, " Who are you, and what do you want here?"

Varden stepped forward and said to him, "We are adventurers and we have come to see the wizard."

The guard asked, "Is the great and powerful Argus the wizard expecting you?"

Varden replied, "No. We have come to see if he would join us on an adventure."

The guard carefully looked them over and he noticed Varden's sword in the shield. He also noticed Drake's sword and he could tell that they were packing money. That was the main thing he was supposed to look for before admitting anyone into the castle.

He summoned other guards to the gate where he instructed them to wait with the intruders until he returned. He quickly left and went into the castle and in a few minutes, he reappeared from out of nowhere and said, "You must follow me if you want to see the wizard, just remember not to touch anything." Then he gave a stern look at Drake knowing that Drake was a thief.

They followed him into the castle. As they entered, they couldn't believe what they were seeing, there were treasures laying scattered around everywhere. There were tapestries covering the walls in jeweled items lane loose on the tables. They made sure that they didn't touch anything even though it was very tempting to Drake. Drake knew better than to rob a mysterious powerful wizard. Especially one that was aware that you were in there keep at least until you find out exactly how powerful he is. By the looks of things, he was very powerful and would be someone that you would not want to catch you taking his things.

They followed the guard upstairs and down a long hall. The castle was well-lit even though there weren't any lanterns or torches or any other visible lighting source anywhere. They were a third of the way down the hall when Varden noticed an eye on the ceiling. He could tell that it was watching them Varden watched it but tried not to act like he was watching it. He didn't say anything to the others, but he wondered why it was there and then realized that it was the way the wizard must be keeping an eye on them.

When they reached the door, the guard knocked. They heard a voice yell, "Get in here!"

As they enter the room, they saw an old man standing. In front of him were six young people who were sitting on the floor tentatively watching him.

Argus looked at the guard, then he waved his hand and said a few strange words. The guard disappeared in a puff of smoke it left them wondering just what happened. Then he turned to the three of them and said, "Just stand there, I will tend to you in a minute when I finish instructing my students."

Argus turned to his students and said, "Now you must do it exactly like this." He threw four glowing balls in the air and made a rolling motion with his hand. Then said some strange words but they couldn't tell exactly what they were. The balls started spinning slowly in mid-air as they watched the speed of them slowly increase spinning faster and faster. One by one they lifted off into the air higher and exploded into a colorful light show.

Argus said, "That is exactly the way you have to do it. Now you practice it until I return. I have to deal with these people."

Argus turned around and walked over to the three. When he got close, he said, "My name is Argus I know who you are and what you were here for. Your names are Varden, Drayden, and Drake. The reason you were here is to see if I will go exploring with you."

Varden said, "That's right but how did you know?"

Argus said, "Never mind about that. You must listen to me now before I will agree to join you. You must know some things. The first thing I want you to know is that I really don't want to go because my students still need a lot more work in this undoubtedly will take some considerable time. The second reason is your journey could destroy this land and enslave its people, not only this land but the whole world as well."

They looked at each other and then back at Argus. They were stunned by what he had said. Then Argus said, "I will go with you to do what I can to help. But before we begin you must all agree to finish what you start. So, think about it carefully once we get started you can't change your mind no matter what happens or how bad it gets."

At this point, Argus left them so they could think. He went back to his students and spoke. "No! That's not the way I showed you to do it. You have to turn your arm like this!"

Then he really started yelling at them. As he watched one of the students practice the spell that went wrong, he made the students stop. Then he told him that he had to practice a simpler spell until he could do it better. This was a great punishment, and it made the student try a lot harder, which was his intention in the first place.

While Argus was instructing his students the three talked and they decided to go ahead and save the island no matter how dangerous it was.

When Argus returned, he asked, " So what is your decision?"

Varden said, " Before we give you our answer, we want to ask you some questions."

Argus said, "I can answer none of your questions about my knowledge because it's against the rules." Giving them all a stern look to ensure that they didn't ask any more questions about how he knew things that hadn't happened yet.

Varden asked. "What rules?"

Argus replied, "Wizard rules. If I violate the rules my power would be stripped away. Well, what is your answer? I don't have all day these students still mean a lot more help before they will be ready."

Varden said, "We all agreed to go ahead on the adventure."

Argus told them, "I get 10% of the treasure plus 100 gold pieces per day and any magic item that I want. Those are my terms and no less will be acceptable."

They thought it was a large share, but the three of them with some hesitation, mostly coming from Drake, finally agreed.

Argus said, "I need you to come back in an hour, so I will have time to get all my things together and set something up for my students. So come back then."

Varden said, "OK we will be back in an hour then."

Argus pointed at the ground 5 feet in front of him and said something, this time Varden listened very carefully and still couldn't tell exactly what he said it was a different language and he just couldn't understand what it was.

Suddenly the guard appeared from out of nowhere. The guard said, "You must follow me now."

The three of them followed the guard. As they were leaving, they could hear Argus yelling at his students again, but they didn't hesitate, and they kept following the guard back to the gate.

As they walked out of the gate Varden told the other two about the eye and the way that it had watched them all through the castle.

Drake said, "I have heard all about a wizard's eye before, but I have never seen one or a wizard powerful enough to have that spell active, especially as a permanent thing in their castle."

"What is the wizard's eye for?" Varden asked.

Drake said, "It is just like having a third eye and whatever it sees you can see in as it looks around you see what it is looking at."

Varden asked, "Did anyone happen to notice where the light for the castle was coming from?"

They turned to each other and looked back at him then said they hadn't noticed. They decided that they should split up for that hour while waiting on Argus to be ready. Varden decided to go to the blacksmith to check on mounts for the team. He had noticed that the blacksmith had at least one good horse and a couple that might be acceptable. After all, anything would be better than walking everywhere.

Drake decided to go back to the bar at the inn, there might be some more people with better information that he could get.

Drayden went to the Temple of Praise. She wanted to check it out and she had been away from the church for over two weeks now and she felt the need to attend.

They all agreed to meet back at the castle in an hour. Then they parted and went their separate ways. As Varden got to the blacksmith's he saw that the blacksmith was a huge man and had very muscular arms. The blacksmith was hammering on a strip of metal making horseshoes. Varden had never taken time to watch the blacksmith work before and now he found it fascinating to watch the bright red sparks go flying every time the metal was struck.

Varden asked the blacksmith about the horses and mules and the cost of them. The blacksmith took time and showed Varden around. He first showed him the horses he had that he could sell then he showed him the mules. As the blacksmith showed him each horse, he listed off the price and he did the same for the mules. Unfortunately, the only good-looking horse was not for sale.

Varden tried to ask the blacksmith questions about the giant's castle, but the blacksmith didn't know anything of use. The blacksmith had only been there for a month and didn't like to go adventuring or exploring. It was all too dangerous, and he made enough from the fools that did.

Drake went back to the bar at the inn, where the table of four whispering men was sitting. The four men were talking quietly amongst themselves. Drake walked up to them and made a strange symbol in the air and asked, "Do you know how I can contact the thief's guild?"

They quickly told him to quiet down and take a seat. When he was seated, they filled him in on the guild and other mysterious things that had been going on around and out of the town. He asked them what they knew of the big castle, so they filled him in on everything that they knew of. They also filled him in on some of the monsters that had been attacking the town and the outlying houses.

When Drayden got to the church, she found the priest that was in charge. She asked him what he knew about all the troubles of the town and its people. The priest told her about some of the monsters that have recently been attacking the town at night. He also told her about the ones that he knew of that were raiding the farms on its outskirts. The worst of all was what was being done to all the livestock that was being slaughtered and mulled with parts being taken.

They all met on their way back to meet up with Argus. As they walked each one filled the others in on what they had learned. By the time they reached the castle, Argus was at the gate impatiently waiting for them.

Argus said the first thing we need to do is set up some ground rules. "First we need someone to lead the party. It won't be me I am far too busy to have that responsibility. If you don't get the right one the team will never work, and it is guaranteed that none of us will ever survive."

Varden said, "If it's OK with everyone I would like to lead." Everyone quickly agreed that Varden should be the leader after all he was primarily the one forming the party.

Argus said, "The second thing that must be understood is that I must be back at my castle by nightfall if at all possible. There are far too many things I still have to tend to hear one of them is maintaining control over my students."

They all agreed that it was far safer to be back in town during the night hours.

Varden asked, "Well, are we ready to set off now then?" They all agreed to get started.