Battle of Souls

Chapter 3

Kriv:

"Thane, it's been a week, and the only person close to what the priestess is looking for that we've found at these gates was that elf that claimed to be a fortune teller. I don't think this is going to be a short job." Sylvia whispered while the guards checked an Orc for any magical weapons not allowed in the compound.

There was not much reason to search the merchant, other than the fact that he was going into the trade quarter to hire mercenary bodyguards and claimed to be paying for them with "items of value". The only thing he held that was out of the ordinary was a golden staff, but it wasn't found to be magical when Sylvia inspected it, rather it was just a four foot long item of vanity and wealth.

"It's getting dark, I don't think too many more travelers are going to be showing up today," Thane stated, "Come on Sylvia, let's head into the trade quarter and look around, maybe you'll find something shiny and arcane to buy."

Sylvia gave an annoyed sigh, "Not everything arcane is shiny, Thane. Sometimes the most powerful artifact is a stick, one of the most dull and normal things around."

They both turned away from the black iron gates as the guards closed them with a loud and long squeak. Sylvia led the way to a small tent with wide red and yellow stripes. She pulled open the flaps serving as a door, and the two entered.

The tent was lit by an encased brazier at each corner. Sitting in the center was a dark wooden square table. A blue linen cloth lay on the table, with a few objects on top of it. The most prominent was a mace with a three foot long golden handle and four silver flanges adorning the head. Next to the mace sat a knife, with a blade no longer than ten inches, but that was completely black. Further down the cloth lay a silver chain mail hauberk, interlaced with emeralds. Interspersed between these more noticeable items were smaller things, such as small steel knives and hatchets, and a few gems that ranged in size from small buttons to large marbles.

Thane picked up the mace and weighed it in his hand. "Sylvia, is this mace worth anything more than a standard piece of metal?"

Suddenly an old goblin appeared seemingly out of a shadow in the room and growled, "That fine weapon there is said to have been wielded by a general of the elves in the War of the River ages ago. Even today those who strike with it are sometimes able to produce a spout of fire to vanquish their enemies." The goblin smiled and looked Thane and Sylvia over, seeming to find them to be customers with the kind of gold he was looking for.

Sylvia took the mace from Thane and looked it over herself, "You're sure this isn't just a large piece of gold and silver? Two very soft metals that will bend against a shield before they break through one?" She looked at the goblin and raised and eyebrow at the validity of his claims.

"No no no, you've got it all wrong. You see this is a truly wonderful object. It can defeat the most powerful and dastardly of enemies. It can be yours, for only two thousand seven hundred gold pieces." The goblin wrung his hands together and smiled again, hoping to make a pretty penny off of the armored half-elf that had entered his place of business.

Sylvia handed the mace back to Thane, who subsequently returned it to it's place on the cloth. Thane began walking out of the tent, looking back at the goblin to remark, "You'll have to find someone much more stupid than us to make that kind of a rip off."

Thane and Sylvia got outside of the tent and noticed a commotion at the gates they had left not fifteen minutes ago. The guards seemed to be arguing with a hooded figure that wanted to enter. When Thane and Sylvia saw a glint of light off of a sword that one of the guards drew, they hurried over to the gates to see what was wrong.