Burning Road

Contracts and Plots- Part II

After ensuring the contents of the sin box had not been disturbed, Vhalova and Miminda spent the next two hours straightening up. Ragdhyl divided the time between sleeping, and recounting his victory at Tarob's. Mimi was quite impressed. She'd tried multiple times to outsmart the all-seeing-eye with nothing, but bruises and crushed dreams to show for it. She was a little better at bone dice than Ragdhyl but his patients tended to leave them evenly matched.

With reticence, Vhal told the goblins what happened after Cross had a Soul Collector snatch Ragdhyl's soul. Cross had not allowed his darklings to hurt her, but he insisted on watching her change into the clothes he'd chosen for her. He made her undress slowly, and used the power of his voice to make her feel things in places so intimate Mimi refused to let her finish the telling.

Miminda wiped the tears from the pixie's cheek, and kissed her pointy nose. Darklings had eventually killed Vhalova's parents after hours of torture and sexual assault that left Vhal uncomfortable around intimacy of any kind outside of their family circle. She was beautiful and what some would have called lithely sexy. She hated it. Mimi and Ragdhyl spent cycles helping her build her self esteem, but she might never be comfortable around others. The green faerie from the other side of town loved Vhalova to death, but she could not return that love. Outside of a good fight, Vhal only allowed Mimi and Ragdhyl into her personal space.

Cross' violation was just one more reason for the trio to hate him.

They went to Arashme's and enjoyed a dinner of burgers and cave moss salad. The jorogumo led them in a prayer to The Under Flows and they all gorged themselves. They talked about local news, the impending elf conflict, and the happenings in Hollow-on-Redfalls-Edge. Miminda went up the road and purchased a few bottles of homemade wild pumpkin ale, and the group laughed and joked into the night.

After dinner the three replaced their ruined door with an old slab of driftwood. It wouldn't actually keep someone out but it was a symbol that the home was occupied which would keep the casual creeper from stealing their stuff. For added measure Ragdhyl scrawled a pair of Sprite Script runes that would alert them if someone tried the door and stun the offender. They all piled together in Vhalova's bed as someone had made off with Mimi's, and Ragdhyl's had been smashed when Vhal cleared the house. As they lay there, full and content, Miminda told them about what she'd found in Novabia's Folly.

"How can you be sure there's treasure there? Did you see any?" asked Ragdhyl. Arashme's meal had revitalized him. He could still barely move, but he was his more talkative self.

"No, but if you'd seen the place you'd feel the same way. It was like a palace but not a darkling palace, one of our palaces like from the old stories," replied Mimi.

"That doesn't mean there's anything there, let alone that someone hasn't picked it clean already."

"I can feel it in my bones, the greedy ones, the ones that itch when there's gold to be had."

"Your bones don't actually itch, Mimi," chimed Vhal sleepily.

"Fine, but I know what I felt. There's treasure there."

"Okay, okay. Let's say there is treasure," Ragdhyl conceded. He struggled to his side and propped himself against the wall in his best imitation of a seated position. "What do you propose we do about it?"

"We get some expedition equipment, and we explore The Folly."

"Novabia's Folly is huge, Ragdhyl will be too tired before we're even halfway through," Vhalova said behind a big yawn.

Ragdhyl grabbed a pillow and threw it feebly at her head.

"She's right, Novabia's Folly is massive. If it's a forgotten castle of the Old Creepers, not only will there be quite a lot of ground to cove, but likely a lot of traps to avoid."