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Isræd's Will

Once a group of legendary adventures, this band of heroes has long since retired to live the rest of their lives and nurse their wounds in peace.

But when Brent "The Demon" McKinney discovers a piece of the same puzzle that almost killed them all last time, will he bow to the will of Alicia, a powerful paladin of the goddess Isræd? Or will he reassemble the group for one last shot at the greatest treasure in history?

The lost Tomb of Raz Al'Gah.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/artiamus/

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Chapter 3

The party was in full swing already by the time Katrina's son Jonathan entered the house that evening. A young human man well built from a life of forging metal, he looked as normal and mundane for the area as his foster mother was exotic with red hair and well tanned skin from working in the fields as well as at the forge. Waving to the few beings he knew who from the surrounding farms and areas was enjoying themselves at the impromptu party in the front room, he dodge around a few children who came running around the corner and headed quickly for the stairs down where his room was in a attempt to grab a bath before he was called on to play host.

Those thoughts were lost however when he glanced into his mother's office. Seated inside with a bottle on the table between them were two of the old adventuring group his mother had belonged to who had arrived earlier that day. On one side sat the tall, dark skinned human Brent, his feet up on the table, slouched low in his chair. The wineglass held loosely in his hand looked ready to fall out at any time, though the ease with which he brought it to his lips revealed otherwise.

But it was the other occupant of the room that caught his attention enough that he almost walked into the wall. Even with her long, shapely legs up on the table and slouched like Brent was the Cat-kin exuded a measure of sensuality and beauty that easily pulled his mind off anything other then her. The low cut white shirt and tight leather pants that showed off her legs that she wore merely added to the beauty and appeal that had him captivated.

Jonathan stood there in a daze, not noticing anyone giving him curious looks as he stood half leaning against the doorway. It was only when a low, very amused laugh came from behind and slightly above him that he managed to tear his eyes from the sight before him. He was met with a solid wall of muscle when he turned turned his head to look, eyes taking in the red and blue lines as they traveled up to the half giant's face.

"You're huge," his hand clasped over his mouth, his face reddening as Gavriil's head fell back in a laugh.

"That is what many of my wives have said, but I do not think that is what you meant, no?" He grinned down at the smiling paladin besides him for confirmation who just shook her head before squeezing around Jonathan with a heavily laden tray of food in her arms. Graviil, still laughing softly, raised the bottles of wine he held easily in his large hands. "If you wish to join us, son of our comrade, feel free to do so. We will be here till late this evening I think."

Jonathan stuttered for a moment in embarrassment before getting his point of a bath before mingling across. Graviil's smile widened as he did so, increasing his embarrassment before the warrior moved aside with a grand gesture that was in no way diminished by the alcohol in his hands. The blacksmith all but ran past him the last few feet to vanish down through the door to the basement.

Below, the noise of the party was dulled by the thick wooden floor to a soft murmur of voices and music. Jon paused a moment to pull his thick boots and heavy socks, things designed to keep the unnatural heat of the forge away from his body. The cold wooden floor felt good under his feet as he padded to his room, digging his toes into the plush carpet there for a moment while he stripped his sweat soaked leathers off and wrapped a robe around himself. The leathers went into a special basket by the door that was normally taken to be cleaned every day, though with the party Jon expected that clothing chores would be last on the list for the next day or two. Aminta and the staff were good, but even they had to deal with backlog most days with the size of the place.

A short time later the young man emerged from the basement, making a point to not glance through the half closed door of his mother's office as he headed the other direction and turned into the dining room, finding the normally somber room a rowdy mess as people wandered in long enough to get food and drink from the platters being refilled as fast as possible. Full dark had fallen by now and it seemed that everyone with riding distance had been invited and had even shown up for the impromptu party. Even the other families' servants had been brought along it seemed by the number of people, though the various visiting masters and apprentices probably accounted for most of them. Jon never was sure how many people were staying in the various guest houses scattered around the property. How Aminta kept up with everything he was never sure and only increased the blacksmith's respect for the elf.

With a filled plate and mug of something he managed to get through the press of people still working their way into the large room. Some brave souls had setup shop in the sitting room against one wall with instruments, supplying the hungry crowd with some slightly better then average amateur music as the sound of strings and a horn drifted in over the crowd.

Walking into the library across the hall Jon found it to be just as crowded, though a large group was gathered around two beings who were in the middle of a game of Jade Fortress. Jon had to pause for a moment as he took in the level of play the two were playing at. Both had a sizable fortress sitting in front of them, the remains of other building around the table showing that while there had been other players they had been eliminated for some time now, their fortresses long stripped of resources by the two remaining. Alive with curiosity Jon got as close as he could, glad for his extra height as he was able to see over most of the crowd.

Pushing his hat back Mikel studied the table in front of him before throwing a card face down onto the field, adding a few of rapidly dwindling stack of blue crystals. "I activate my Air Magus' Enchanted Halo and destabilize your Fate Thaumaturge since you obliged me by moving in range."

His elven opponent pursed his lips together as he contemplated his opponent's move for a moment before pushing nearly all of his own blue crystals forward, laying his second to last card on the table. If this didn't work Jonathan knew the elf would probably be out of the game at this point. "I'll counter with my Thaum's Enchantment Focus and redirect the blast back at your Magus with the Loop Matrix I setup earlier." The elf had a soft, cool voice that showed none of his concern. If it was one thing he knew he had, it was a good poker face that came in handy with this sort of game.

"Stole earlier more like it," came a voice from the crowd, something that got a good laugh from who Jon assumed were the defeated other players, probably the one who had played the item in question. Neither of the two remaining players took any notice of the voice or crowd as they considered both the board and their opponents. Finally Mikel nodded and reached out, put his hand on the card before him and as one they both flipped the cards over. A murmur of surprise and appreciation for the move ran through the crowd as both players leaned in to see the results. Finally Mikel leaned back, shaking his head with a soft chuckle.

"Who would have thought you had 'The Witch' in your hand? I was sure 'The Bard of Greed' would do it." The human contemplated the board once more as the Lizard-Kin who had declared himself the judge cleared the cards and crystals off the board, giving a wince as the judge rolled the die and came up with a high number in the elf's favor. He reached for the figurine of his Magus, causing the beautifully crafted inch high model to sparkle and vanish back into the card it was bound to. Shuffling it into his deck he stood with a grin and reached across the table to shake his opponent's hand as he accepted his inevitable defeat.

"I have to say," his opponent said as they shook. "I wasn't expecting you to play a Air Magus, not when I was showing the 'Six of Towers' as my initial card. A Blessed Magus, perhaps, but not an Air."

Mikel grinned and pushed his hat back off his forehead, some of his brown hair escaping into his face. "Can't stand Blessed Magi. Special power sucks. If I hadn't lost the Terrawitch or my Soul Seer I'd have had more options." The human stuck his hand out for another shake. "Mikel Taylor. Would love to know where you found a Fate Thaumaturge."

With a nod the elf shook his hand, "Alexander Hoscoff." At the raised eyebrow he added, "After my father's brother-in-law. I'll tell you where if you can tell me where you found the Terrawitch. Would love to have that in my collection."

As the two began a lively discussion about the game along with others they had played in, the table was cleaned up and reset for another game. The crowd milled around the room and Jon considered joining in for a moment before deciding that finding a place to sit and eat was a bit more urgent at the current time in such a busy house. He finally found a empty spot out on the porch and he took his time eating, watching as the sun traveled out of sight past the faraway mountains known as 'the Spine' to cloak the cleared plains where they lived with a odd sort of twilight, though the sky would still burn a deep red for the next hour until full dark. Though he saw it every night Jon took a moment to sit and watch it even after he finished his meal, enjoying the peace outside even with the noise on the other side of the wall continued unabated.

It wasn't until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye that he realized he wasn't alone. With a jump his head swiveled just in time to see a black tipped tail duck around the corner. After a moment of surprise he noticed a small paper pyramid sitting besides his cup, his name clearly visible on the side facing him. With shaking hands he slowly opened the piece of origami and read the note before him, a smile growing on his face. Finally he put the note down and picked up his cup, settling in to watch the landscape a bit more. It seemed that this evening was going to be a lot more enjoyable then he thought it was.