Knights of the Platinum Dragon: A D&D Story

Chapter 7: Those In Need

Within seconds of the gnoll falling and all the healing that Logan could give being given, human and kenku carried Ren back up the stairs towards the entrance of the Cockatrice, such as it was. Logan's arms were slung under Ren's narrow shoulders, heaving him up the steps, while Stalk held the elf wizard by his ankles, his feathered limbs no longer running with blood. As they reached the top, they saw Technus standing outdoors, red-lensed eye scanning the surrounding area, ranged weapon and shield still at the ready.

The sky was a pale, dim violet as the sun continued to set, but the carnage of the mercenaries who came out earlier and had been butchered by the gnolls was still visible - the grass was drowning in a mass of fresh blood and clusters of black flies were forming on their remains, the droning of their wings forming a dirge for the slain. The sight was horrifying, as was the stench, but Technus didn't even seem to register this vast loss of life at all.

Instead, as Logan and Stalk appeared, all he did was glance in their direction, enough to register their presence before he immediately started gazing into the middle distance.

The very sight of him made anger flare up inside Logan, his chest burning as he ground his teeth inside his jaw, but his attention was soon redirected as Stalk and him went back inside the Cockatrice through the massive hole the cyborg had blown through the stonework – looking indoors, he saw the remaining crowd of civilians barging past each other to get further inside the inn, to find a room and get away from the sight and stench of so much violence. Meanwhile, as Logan and Stalk came indoors, the corpses of the gnolls that remained intact were being dragged out through the breach by a large spotted mastiff dog, the monster's flesh gripped in the canine's mouth as it struggled to heft the dead out of the room.

Where this dog came from, Logan didn't know... until he saw that Finnan was nowhere to be seen. Not as a halfling, anyways.

Thankfully, it was only gnoll corpses that Finnan was dealing with. Looking around, Logan couldn't see any dead people inside the building itself, which took a huge weight from his shoulders. However, that weight soon returned when he saw that the normally jovial Elsa was slumped in a chair, staring into her own lap with a pale, distant expression and rivers running down her cheeks. Arabella knelt by her side, clutching the tavern keeper's hand in hers, though she turned and stood up when she saw Logan and Stalk approach.

"Thank the gods!" she blurted in relief, clutching her golden heart pendant with her free hand. "You're both okay..."

"Just about." Stalk quipped in response. He and Logan then met gazes, concentrating on each other's movements as they lowered Ren down onto the floor. As he came to rest on the floorboards, Arabella hurried to the wizard's side, immediately checking his pulse.

"Is he...?" Logan asked, chest tightening as he feared the worst.

Arabella looked up at him. "His pulse is weak, but it's there," she replied. "He'll wake in a while – for now, he just needs to rest." As she spoke, a small sound of breath escaped Ren's lips.

The taut feeling in his torso released as Logan heard that. "Thank you, Arabella," he said with a smile.

The high elf returned his expression with a smile of her own, but her smile faded when Elsa began to murmur through her tears, her trembling voice audible as the clientele managed to thin out, everyone hiding away somewhere indoors, either in a room or clustering in the kitchen.

"Gone..." Elsa was murmuring tearfully. "It's all gone..."

Sorrow panged in Logan's heart, and after leaving Ren on the floor with Arabella, he approached the kindly innkeep, dropped to one knee and placed his right hand on hers. "You can rebuild, Elsa..." he said in a low voice, giving her fingers a squeeze.