Chapter 1 part 2

Seymore opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. His head throbbed like there was a blacksmith using it for an anvil. His eyes felt dried out, and even the dim light above him stabbed at them painfully. He hadn’t had a hangover in nearly twenty years.

A few years earlier, he and his dwarven friend, Scarlet, had bought an enchantment from a street magician so they could drink all they wanted without hangovers. It would seem, the cheap magic had worn off. Well, what could one expect from a street magician?

With a dreadful groan, he rolled half-way to sitting up and looked around the small dingy cell. In the light of a dimly flickering oil-lamp he saw two straw pallets and a door. Scarlet was curled up on the other pallet, still wearing his chain mail. The dwarf's hammer was lying next to him. This wasn’t the first time they’d woke up in a jail, but the constable usually disarmed them before locking them up.

His own warhammer hung at his side and its immense weight dragged at him painfully as he crawled over to his drinking partner. He couldn’t remember what happened, but since they were in jail, it must have been fun. He hoped they hadn't embarrassed themselves too much. He also hoped the bill for any breakage wouldn’t hurt too badly.

He shook Scarlet until the dwarf showed signs of life. “C’mon ya bum. Armegon’s probably fuming already.” he mumbled. They were supposed to be checking out a poisoned well in one of the villages under Armegon's protection. It looked like someone used magic to do it and so far, they had only found a couple of leads as to whom.

Leads, Armegon had called them. Wild goose chases was more like it. Those leads were little more than rumors from beggars and bards who would tell any tale for the chance to get a couple of coins.

Ultrecht, one of Armegon's partners, had gone to the great wetlands to check out one lead. At the same time, Marlena, Samson and Tyson had gone to the mountains of ice in the far north to check another lead. Keeneye and Avery were checking yet another lead out in the Blue Valley. None of them had been heard from in several weeks.

Scarlet and he had been accompanying Armegon into the far reaches of the Bangost Rain Forests. There had been a strange caravan that passed through the village just before the water had gone bad. The caravan was bound for Nevolia, a large town at the edge of the rain forest.


Seymore and his twin brother had first hired on as men at arms for Armagon twenty-two years ago. They had been young and full of dreams of adventure and riches. After a year and a half, Seymore got a dose of reality when his brother was killed by a frost giant from the far southern lands.

The loss of his brother had been more than he could bear and he had turned to the bottle to ease the pain. He had drunken himself into oblivioun and was almost dead when Armegon found him. It was the nomadic Avery who had healed him and saved his life, not that Seymore had wanted to live on.

Avery, a long time associate of Armegon had been travellnig with a crimson bearded dwarf named Scarlet Deepstone who had taken an instant liking to Seymore and a crass buy deep friendship had developed.

Seymore found in Scarlet a surrogate for his lost brother. The man gave up his use of the sword and for a time moved about with Scarlet and Avery where he found himself in the company of Marlena, a high druid. She took Seymore under her wing and set his feet on the path of the druidic faith.

For several years, Seymore stayed with Marlena. Finally, though, he found himself back in the employ of Armegon. By that time, Scarlet had stopped wandering with Avery and had settled down to work for Armegon as well. That was five years ago. Now, Seymore and Scarlet were a team. They even used similar weapons. Seymore had given up the sword that had failed to save his brother and adopted the warhammer.

It was that very same warhammer that the elementalist Ultrecht had enchanted. It would return to his and if thrown and when striking a target it would unlease a stunning combination of noise and impact. Scarlet’s hammer was also enchanted, but in addition to returning to him, his hammer allowed him to move very quicky and strike over and over in a blur of fury and motion.


Seymore shook Scarlet again and watched the dwarf's eyes open. They were even redder than his braided hair. "I know I'm not dead," the dwarf groaned putting a hand over his eyes. "Even in Hell I wouldn't have to spend eternity with you."

Seymore would have laughed but for his throbbing head. Instead, he sat back on his heels and gingerly rubbed at his aching eyes. “I don’t remember gettin’ tossed in here,” he said to the dwarf.

“Me neither. What time is it?”

With no windows in the cell, he didn’t know if it was day or night. “Who knows,” he answered with a shrug.

“Armegon’s gonna be stomping mad,” Scarlet moaned as he sat up.

“Yeah,” Seymore agreed. “We better not wait on the jailer to let us out. If we don’t get back soon, Armegon might make this last a couple o’ months. Ya know how he hates to be kept waiting.”

As they tried to collect their wits, Seymore rose and staggered over to the door, wincing with every head jarring step. He stared blearily the room's door. It was heavy and reinforced with thick bands of iron. Since there was no lock or handle, he grabbed one of the bands, braced himself, and pulled. The door not only opened, it ripped from its frame in a shower of broken wood and twisted metal.

"You bloody buffoon!" Scarlet scolded. "Look at this mess." The dwarf lurched to his feet. “When Ultrecht magicked your strength, he told you over and over about controlling it. I just hope you didn’t hurt someone last night.”

“Nag, nag, nag,” Seymore grumbled something unintelligible as he threw the door across the room where it shattered into thousands of fragments. Seymore stared at it in surprised remorse for several long moments then shrugged as if he didn’t care. "It’s open carrot top. We better get out of here and back to work before Armegon has a fit."

Scarlet picked splinters from his beard and stared at his friend reproachfully. Years ago the big warrior had found a powerfully enchanted warhammer. It would return to the hand of its owner after being thrown or dropped. The drawback was that it was insanely heavy. Seymore had gone to Ultrecht, and after a long argument he’d finally convinced the mage to magically make him stronger. After the spells were complete he found that impossible strength was a curse as well as a blessing. It had taken him years to relearn even something as simple as shaking hands without hurting people. It made him into a dreadfully destructive fighter, but the emotional scars from years of causing unintentional injury had driven him to drink.

Now he just couldn’t face down his friend’s glare. So to hide his guilty feelings he boldly stepped out into the hallway, only to disappear down through the floor. There was an audible thump and a groan from the now-open trap door. Scarlet hurried over and peered into the reeking pit.

Seymore shook his head to clear it and struggled back to his feet. The floor under him was deep with sewage and foul smells. Several unwholesome looking tunnels branched off in various directions, and something was making some alarming noises somewhere down the passage to his left. He didn’t feel like investigating.

The walls of the pit were too slime covered to climb and too wide to brace against each side. He was very relieved to see Scarlet looking down at him.

"Well, well, well," said Scarlet with a grin. "There seems to be a hole here. Making your self at home?"

"Hey, throw down a rope. It stinks down here."

"Oh, is that the pit? I thought it was your breath." Scarlet said as he dropped the end of a rope over the edge. In spite of the hangover, the dwarf grinned and stopped the rope just out of Seymore’s reach.

“Look half pint, you get that rope on down here or I am going to yank out your beard and use it in an outhouse.”

With a small chuckle Scarlet lowered the rope and tied it off.

Seymore climbed out and checked his armor and gear for damage. As Scarlet was coiling the rope, he reached out and cuffed his comedic partner. “My breath huh? Your’s ain’t no better.”

Scarlet went tumbling head over heels and crashed into the far wall. Seymore froze in horror, then ran to his friend. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he gibbered as he tried to help the dwarf back to his feet.

After his eyes uncrossed, Scarlet looked at his terrified friend. The big man was nearly beside himself with worry and guilt. He patted his large friend on the hip and said lightly, “It’s ok my friend. It takes more than a dung covered oaf with magic strength to take down a dwarven warrior.

Scarlet had been born and raised in the mountains north of Piton Grotto. His father had been a miner, and he had spent much of his youth in the mines helping. At the age of twenty, his beard started to come in and he was given a hammer and pick of his own and allowed to leave the mines to find his way elsewhere.

He spent another thirty years as a journeyman miner digging for silver before meeting Avery. Avery hired him to act as a courier and buyer of precious metals on Armegon’s behalf. They traveled for another couple of years before Scarlet left Avery’s side and began working for Armegon directly. During that time, he had developled skills and a reputation as a warrior.

Seymore was so relieved he simply crashed to his butt on the stone floor. With a shaking voice he said, “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. I haven’t been this out of control for years.”

“We haven’t been hung over in years either,” Scarlet said gently. “You’ll probably be all right again after a while.”

“But what if I’m not?”

“Then we learn how to control it again. Besides, if you’re serious on this whole studying to be a druid thing, maybe Marlena can help.”

“You know I’m not studying with her to get away from you.”

“I know that mule-head. You’re thinking that you won’t cause so much damage if you stay in the wildlands.”

Seymore looked up in surprise. “How’d you know that?”

“I’m a dwarf, not a stupid, bare chinned human,” Scarlet bristled. “We’ve been fightin’ and drinkin’ side by side for years, and now you’re wondering if I know you?”

Seymore grinned. “Well how would I have known? No one ever met a dwarf who could be taught before.”

The tension broke and they both laughed until it hurt.

It took all the remaining water they had in their skins to clean Seymore up. They we’re just finishing when Seymore looked around. “Why haven’t we seen any guards?”

“They’re probably waiting around the corner down that hallway, laughing at you and holding their noses.”

“It is a bit fragrant,” Seymore admitted. “I wonder why that pit’s even there.”

The dwarf shouldered his pack. “Let’s go ask them.”

They’d carefully skirted the edges of the trap door and started down the hall when the dwarf looked quizzically at the big man. “Where’s your hammer?”

“Oh,” Seymore grunted as he held out his hand. The hammer soared up, hilt first, from the pit and smacked resoundingly into his grip, spattering them both with fresh sewage.

“Gee. Thanks,” Scarlet said sarcastically.