Homecoming
Their homecoming was not a happy one. from a distance the village looked little
different, but they soon found that Keepers had come to the village. they had
stamped the rule of the High Prince all over Kit's Gate.
The sacred copse of Ehlonna had been burnt to the ground, all of their
foster-parents and friends had been captured and taken away, and the keepers had
convicted three people of being spies in the service of Iuz and burnt them to
death. there was no news as to what had happened to Walker Boh.
When the Keepers came they brought with them the Swordsaints, corrupted priests
of Kelanen who had become used to the fear and respect that their fighting
skills brought them. these swords-saints had been put in charge of administering
Kit's gate, and exploring the mountains to the south to see if a new route
through to the Sea Princes could be found. A curfew had been put in place, and
nobody was allowed out of the village after dark.
These swaggering bullies rule the village with a rod of iron, and have
become less than vigilant since the Keepers left, and are enjoying the relaxing
mountain air and excellent food.
This is what the foundlings returned home to find.
They met with the sword-lords in the village, and were defeated by spells rather
than by sword-skills. Their prison was to be the Sword-Lords tower, once the
home of the village head-man.
One of Catrina's sister novices was in the next cell to them, and through the
night, she tried to convince them to kill themselves rather than succumb to the
brain-washing of the Sword-Lords who were trying to convert her to the worship
of their god.
In the middle of the night, hope dawned, and Walker Boh rescued them from the
tower. When the Keepers came, Walker knew them for what they were, and though
Durnik, Aunt Linda and others resisted but eventually surrendered when threats
were made against the innocents, Walker retreated immediately into the
mountains to his winter cave. From there he has struck back from time to time at
the Sword-Lords and tried to delay their logging operation.
Sharla is surprised at this change in her Uncle, despite the fact that he taught
her most of what she knows about fighting, she has never seen him travel armed
except when hunting, and never seen him prepared to even strike another human
being, let alone kill one. In the old days before she left, the other villagers
were afraid of him, but there were times when they nearly attacked him and he
would never raise a hand against them, something inside him had changed.
"Walker was my nickname once, and I bore it stoically, for I thought it an
insult, but then I wore it with pride, and now it is the only name by which I am
known."
Walker takes them back into the mountains above the Gate, and equips them with
items taken from his cache. They include several items of legend; for Sharla
there were a twinned-pair of Scimitars of Speed; "A pair of
scimitars once wounded by a beautiful lady friend, one whom I did not tell I
loved until it was too late."
For Catrina, his Steel Shield +3; "I used this before I lost my hand, even
though most rangers use two weapons, I found it suited my blunt outlook better
than the flashy two weapons style my adopted daughter here prefers. But
remember, even with this the fight against the Sword- Lords will be a hard one,
and there is nothing I can give you that you do not already possess yourself, in
your heart, may your faith sustain you through the difficult times as did mine.
And may yours never desert you."
And then he equipped himself in Dark chain mail, and a Longsword of
Sharpness, "The one that ended my first life, in another place, the one
that was used to remove my hand, and the one that I in turn used to remove the
head of the man who took my hand."
When the returned to the village, their opposition was ready for them, several
sword-lords, their hired thugs, and the second priestess of Ehlonna, Ariane,
who had fawned upon the Sword-Lords and been accepted into their ranks.
"I never liked you Catrina, and I was glad when you were banished from the
village."
The fight takes place in the centre of the village, and as the Party face off
one at a time, Walker fights the chief Sword-Saint, and Catrina faces off
against the traitorous priestess, whom she soundly defeats, and then grants
mercy too before havoing to knock her unconscious when the woman tries to stab
her with a concealed knife.
At first, the Sword-Saint toys with Walker, forcing him onto the defensive, and
then using both swords to make numerous small cuts through Walker's guard. Just
as all seemed lost, and the others were about to launch in, and a fair fight be
damned, walker feints, and in the first real blow he had thrown through-out the
match, cuts his opponents right hand off!
The Sword-Lord is unable to continue the fight, due to the shock of having the
hand removed, and he begs for quarter.
"Once, I would have spared you, but now I will spill your blood on the quiet
ground you have defiled with your very presence. But first, I will give you a
scar to match your Lord's before you go to meet him."
Walker dispatches the man with a single sweep across his throat, with as much
emotion as he has used in the pass to finish off a rabbit or slaughter a
goat.
Like he was killing an animal rather than a man.
Letters are found, leading the findlings to believe that their relatives have
been taken to the Keepers' famous dungeon, Granite Mountain Prison!