The Legends of Valeron: Into the Unknown

Chapter 1: The Legends

"Why can't it ever just be goblins?"

Nick huffed as he slumped back against the cavern's wall, sweeping a gauntlet across his forehead and through his golden bangs to keep the sweat from getting in his eyes. To his right, he could hear Eradin's ragged breathing break with a pained groan—seems the last blow came a little too close for comfort. Grimacing, Nick cast a worried glance over his elven friend, before sneaking to the edge of the craggy outcropping and peering around the corner for danger.

He ducked back almost straight away, several black-feathered arrows just barely missing him as he fell back against the cavern wall with another low huff.

Their job was supposed to be a simple one—just a way to pay their dues during the lull between adventures. A local tavernkeeper had called them in to find a lost family heirloom, stolen by a band of bandits that had swept through the town of Heathrow a few weeks before. Between his own righteous anger and his friends' eagerness for a decently paid job, Nick had been quick to accept the tavernkeeper's request—after all, what was the worst bandits could do?

Back towards the front of the cave, Nick could hear the clattering of footfalls upon rock as their attackers began to move on them. He grimaced, shifting his grip on his circular shield to best cover the both of them.

The answer, as it turned out, was nothing. By the time Nick and his fellow adventurers had arrived at the bandit's den the tavernkeeper had pointed them towards, it had already been ransacked and raided. The bodies of the bandits that had made that den their home had been strewn about, ripped apart as though by some wild beast. An orc marauding party, Khurtz had suggested at the time, a somber look upon his scarred face. Those that had no tribe, no clan, and no respect for life.

To make matters worse, the heirloom they were looking for was gone, likely taken with the rest of whatever the marauders had raided from these bandits. Thankfully, Thalia had been able to find the trail the marauders had left behind, and after a short sojourn they found the orc's den, a massive and sprawling cave system hewn into a cliff's face not too far from the bandit's den. It was then that Nick had suggested they split up and cover more ground—Thalia and Khurtz going one way, Miira silently going on ahead alone, and Nick and Eradin going another way.

Which, of course, led to the two of them stuck between several orcs and a hard place.

The shuffling further up the cavern grew louder, and Nick let out a long and low sigh. "Hey, Eradin?" he murmured, rolling his head over to look at the silver-haired moon elf. "The next time I suggest something as dumb as splitting up...go ahead and knock some common sense into me before we actually go with it."

The moon elf huffed with dry laughter, wincing a bit from his wounds as he did so. "I'll be sure to do so, my friend..." Eradin replied, his voice even more breathy than usual, "If we manage to get out of this place in one piece, that is..."

Nick chuckled dryly and glanced back over to the moon elf beside him. The slender, blue-skinned man might've been a full century and a half older than him, but still Nick considered Eradin his closest and truest friend. The two had known each other for seven years—ever since meeting during Nick's first adventure when he was just a hopeful boy of eighteen years of age—and had stuck with each other through thick and thin.

And right now was certainly looking a bit thin.

Nick shook his head and reached out to lay his free hand over Eradin's shoulder. "We're going to get out of here, pal, don't worry." His lips pulled up into a reassuring grin. "First, though, we should probably take care of that..."

With his words, a faint golden light began to emanate from the hand resting on Eradin's shoulder, weaving and twisting around the elven wizard. Eradin gasped reflexively, and Nick smirked even as he continued to focus—the act of stitching flesh and bone back together and reversing whatever harm had befallen his friend was always an odd sensation, both for himself and whoever he was healing. Soon enough, though, Nick pulled his hand back, the glow disappearing in time with the dark patch that had formed on Eradin's chest.