No Good Deed

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  “It’s been almost five years,” Lord Seer said. He was sitting on his celestial throne look at a forest of trees.

  “Yes it has”, Lady Seer responded, “Did we do the right thing?”

  “Only time will tell, he has many branches, many decisions, however no matter what, only two paths emerge.”

  They sat side by side on their opulent thrones, dots of light darting around them, seemingly busy with their own agendas, in what could be consider nothingness except for the forest. Each tree represented a person in the world of Milvenduz and as they made choices branches grew thicker while other withered and died off. Branches then began to go in seemingly infinite directions, till a decision was made. Often branches met and intertwined, just as people meet and their lives become intertwined. Sometime they meet and one or both go away. At the end of each branch is a single leaf, indicating the person to whom it belongs. Green and lush at the beginning of life, dry and brittle at the end, till it finally falls off.

  “Did we violate the rules when we chose him?” Lord Seer asked.

  “It was upheld by Him.” Lady Seer replied.

  “Still,” Lord Seer pondered, “we can not know our own outcomes from this decision.”

  “I wonder where our branch is heading to.”

  “Only He knows.”

  * * *

  THIS was it. One way or another, this was the final battle. They were tired, angry, tired, and…tired! These monsters had gone too far! It ended NOW! Someone wasn’t waking up tomorrow.

  Relina’s deep indigo eyes searched the dark, dank, bone infested passages. The smell of death and blood hung in the cave like a bad fog. It sickened her but turning back was not an option. She was glad to be carrying a torch. She could easily illuminate the area with a light spell; but seeing the true carnage would cost her what was left of her lunch, most of which she lost earlier.

  Her strides were long, graceful yet desperate. The deep gash in her leg would hamper a typical woman, but Relina was no typical woman. This is why Obidaan married her. The group, calling themselves the Vanguard, split up in order to better search the caves. She charged the darkness with still bloodied sword out hoping to find the nagas’ main lair—she used the bones on the ground as a guide. “I found them!” she screamed.

  “I’m on my way,” Obidaan yelled back. This alerted the rest of the group as well.

  Several of the human babies were still alive and Relina’s heart rejoiced and sank at the same time. She brushed her blood soaked jet—black hair out of her eyes, using the blood to mat it down and keep it in place. There were at least six babies sitting quietly, too quietly, in a corner. The bones of another lay on the ground before one of the naga, his teeth still wet with the blood and flesh of his kill. The snake—like being with arms hissed at her as she came into the room. This brought others slithering out. One held a baby, while another. a woman wrapped around its tail, crying quietly.

  Relina couldn’t hide her rage at the situation. Yesterday the Vanguard got the message, her heart went out to the victims. Longing for children herself, she couldn’t imagine the pain this village was going through, but she was going to make it stop.

  Why now? They’d been there for over a year according to the villagers. They had an uneasy – faux – truce with the naga. The naga took the occasional livestock, the villagers didn’t call for help. “They should have called for help anyway,” Relina thought to herself. “The only good naga is a dead one.” Naga are well known for their cunning and treachery, and it was on full display now.

  Now Relina understood. It was the babies; they were after the babies all this time. When the mayor showed them what the naga had done, tears welled up in her eyes. Dead bodies spewed about in homes. One family was eaten on the spot, their cleaned bones left as a warning. Relina understood why the mayor’s wife went after these monsters, alone, in the dark. It was their first child! A mother would do anything to protect her child. Obidaan’s words to the mayor still rang strong in her ears, “Justice will prevail. This horrid deed will be avenged.”

  The party began to assemble and so did the nagas. To her left came her stepsister, a full blooded, yellow eyed, redheaded elf ranger, Terryandra Waystar. Terry was in her element here, outdoors, underground, anywhere but a city. Her ring mail armor tattered and gashed from previous fights. Relina watched as Terryandra effortlessly knocked an arrow and sized up the enemy. The arrow began to glow. “Deadly Strike” Relina thought, “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

  Relina heard light footfalls to the far right. That could only be her half—brother Alister. He was a half—elf, black hair also matted down with blood from previous fights. Terry had yellow eyes and Relina had indigo eyes, it was no wonder that Alister’s were green eyes. She saw true hurt and anger in those eyes — he’d rather woo the barmaids out of free drinks and their dresses. It was going to be the rage of his magic, not his bardic singing, that these naga would feel. In the full light Relina could see the extensive damage to his leather armor. It was going to have to be scrapped. Equally, Alister wondered why Relina’s chainmail hadn’t just fallen off with all of its damage. It seemed her armor had the same indomitable will as she. No one noticed Dondor Straif, a monk and Obidaan’s blood brother, hanging from the cave ceiling ready to strike.

  The rest of the naga entered and gathered around the one who was obviously their leader because it began to give orders to attack. That’s when Obidaan, literally imposed his will, entered the room, forcing everyone to stop and look at him. Standing over six feet tall in his heavy chainmail armor, his bald head and chiseled features showed a man who took everything he did seriously. His deep red eyes focused, easily picking out the leader in a group.

  Obidaan was a paladin, a justiciar of the world. Judge, jury, and in this case, executioner. There was a divine presence about him. To those he loved it was inspiring. To those against him it was a palpable loathing bordering on fear. He looked at his group. They were tired, battered, torn, but determined.

  Obidaan made the decision not to take time to heal after their last fight. The bones they found scattered on the floor gave them a sense of urgency. It meant finding more live babies. They pressed on unceasingly.

  Obidaan looked over at the naga. Most cringed, but not the leader. It should have but didn’t. It half—smiled as if realized something was off about this paladin. Obidaan didn’t understand the leader’s reaction and didn’t care.

  “Why?” Obidaan, breathing heavily, began. .

  “Foooolissssh humaaans,” the naga replied, “how dare you invade our home!” He was indignant. Then he reared up, squeezing the woman tighter and acting as though might eat her. “You’re the best the ‘paladin’ corps has to offer?” He said it in a mocking way and laughed. Obidaan was oblivious to the truth of the comment. He expected evil to be overconfident and cocky.

  “You have invaded the home of humans. You betrayed their trust!”

  “Ssstupidity on their part. Did they really think they were placating uss with inferior meat? Would you eat a rat when you know you can have cow? We waited for winter, which produced a fresh crop of delicate, delicious baby flesh.” He looked down at the woman and laughed, “You humansss have to do sssomething when you’re sssstuck indoorsss and with no cropsss to tend now don’t you?” He turned his attention back to Obidaan, “We are eaters of human flesh, period!”

  “Monster!” It was Obidaan’s cue to let the ass kicking begin; he charged.

  An anxious mayor paces back and forth in his home. Nagas have taken his wife and child. Several people were at the mayor’s place waiting the ou
tcome of the expedition. They knew with a paladin on the team, they would return.

  Finally, they saw the wagon with the Vanguard arrive; the mayor’s wife, Carmelle in the back helping hold babies. Each family was praying to their gods that their child was on the wagon. Carmelle jumped out of the wagon, baby in hand and ran to her husband. Tears steamed down her cheeks as she embraced him and they held their baby between them.

  The others didn’t wait but rushed to the cart to discover their fates. Several left in relief as they picked their child while others cried or fell to the ground in horror and disbelief when they realized their child was not there. A feeling of true dread and horror now permeated the air when the last baby was taken and there were still several families at the cart. Obidaan and Relina consoled the grieving parents as best they could. Screams of, “Why, by the gods why my child?” rang out. The only thing Obidaan offered was, “Sometimes bad things happen to good people. There is no reason, we can see for now. You must fight past this horrific tragedy and continue to live.”

  Anger overcame the rest. Obidaan’s words rang hollow and insincere, almost mocking to these folk. An angry father went up and punched Obidaan square in the face. While the father hit him full on, Obidaan barely felt it. He exaggerated his head movement to make the blow look more forceful than it truly was. Tears of anger and frustration ran down his face, “It was our first ever child! How could you?” he was looking for someone to blame. Obidaan, very much aware of this, accepted it.

  “I am sorry for your loss, sir,” he replied, “I’m sorry I was unable to save your child, I know how precious they are and how irreplaceable.” Obidaan bowed his head and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. The man shook him off and left.

  Still another woman pounded on his chest screaming unmercifully, cursing him, his group, the naga, and the gods themselves for taking away her baby. The father was killed by the naga when they took the baby and now she had lost the baby as well. She had nothing left and took this out on Obidaan. Her choking sobs filled the air and she beat unrelentlessly, yet harmlessly, on his chest till she grew tired. Everyone stood around and watched; a few, who could watch no more, turned and cried. Obidaan made sure no one interfered, letting her vent her rage on him until she could no longer stand. At that point he held her up in his strong arms and hugged her and comforted her. His warmth and inner spirit flowed through her, making her feel as though she were in the arms of an angel. She passed out in his arms and one of the other villagers grabbed her and took her to her home. With the drama over, Obidaan went to talk to the mayor.

  The Vanguard sat patiently, yet slightly restless all things considered, while Obidaan discussed their fee. Obidaan always felt obligated to do the work for free but he had been told by Relina on several occasions that “free” doesn’t pay their rent or buy groceries.

  Obidaan looked a bit apprehensive as he approached the group, ready to face the naga again rather than the group. Everyone stared not at him but what he was pulling behind him, a bull. “Apparently the mayor had less money than he thought, still he wanted to pay the full amount. I tried to tell him the money would be more than enough but he insisted on giving me one of his bulls. I would have resisted but his wife also pleaded with me to take it, as a symbol of their gratitude. Looks like we’ll have meat for a while,” he said smiling. He tied the bull to the wagon. While they were a bit disappointed in not getting the full share they realizing the benefits of the gift, meat, leather, bone, and parts. That was just the beginning. If it was a good bull, they might even be able to breed it for money.

  That seemed to be on everyone’s mind when Terry leaped off her horse and walked over to the bull. Talking to it gently, she was able to take a couple of minutes to exam it. “Well,” she finally said, “it’s not the runt of the litter, but it’s not the best either. A fine bull, it will bring a good price if we sold it. It will also produce fine meat and leather if we butcher it. It’s mediocre for breeding. I don’t recommend that unless we want to start a ranch.”

  Then the puns started. Terry hopped back on her horse, “So we’d better hoof it back to town and decide what to do with this thing.”

  Alister had to join in, “Wait a minute. No bull, is this bull is prime?”

  “What am I, chopped liver? I’d steak my reputation as a Ranger on it.”

  Groans and giggles began to permeate through the rest of the group. Once the punning started it had to run it’s course like a bad virus.

  “I don’t mean to horn in here,” Obidaan said, “But we do need to mosey along here before it gets too dark.”

  “Yes, let’s get going,” Relina said, “It’s obvious we’ll never be cured of this punning affliction. We’ll worry about carving up the reward later.”

  “Let’s mooove out” Don said as he snapped the reigns on the wagon.

  The joking helped relieve the tension of the situation and got everyone into a better mood as they headed back to Pinnacle. Pinnacle was a large metropolitan town, one of the largest in the land. Due to its size, it was capable of housing several churches to the various gods. Of these churches, the larges was the Church of the Seers. This church was also the lead church for the Church of the Seers.

  Once inside the gates, they made their way to the orphanage to drop off Tomas. The others headed off on their own tasks, including taking the cow to the butcher.

  “Welcome back, Tomas, Obidaan, Relina,” Marsha Farthing, head of the orphanage said. She was very nice lady, a widower, a bit along in her years, and waistline. Not fat but pleasantly plump, as she liked to call it. Chasing after children was usually the most exercise she got. Wiping her hands on the apron tied to her dress, she hugged Tomas, her son, along with the other two. Tomas often accompanied them, admiring Obidaan. He maintained the camp while the group adventured. “Always a pleasure to see you again Obidaan and Relina. The children are inside waiting for you.”

  Obidaan charged inside, taking large exaggerated steps. “Hi, children!” Obidaan let out a bombastic greeting. Many of the children rushed over to him, hugging him, asking about the adventure, and a few even asked for presents. “Now, now, settle down and I’ll tell you all about it.” Obidaan made sure to take a moment with every chid, addressing each one by name and giving each one a warm hug. The children gathered around him; it was story time. He sat down, got their undivided attention and started a very child friendly version of the story, substituting calves and referring to the naga simply as “monsters.”

  While Relina was always happy to come here, there was a bit of a pained look on her face. Relina looked over at Martha. Martha could see the pain in her eyes, “Still nothing, dear?”

  “No, I fear we may never have a child. It’s why he spends so much time here. ‘Practice’ as he calls it. If he could, he would adopt all of these children. The problem being with us always gone, they’d still remain here. After today – those parent’s faces — it hurt my very soul and I know it hurt Obidaan’s, though he’d never admit it. I’ve never seen anyone fight so hard, love so much and still, though his fondest dream goes unfulfilled, act like all is right with the world. Unbending in his love of this world, his gods, his faith, and me. I will stand by his side forever,” she stared at Obidaan the whole time she was talking.

  “He is a strong man. I do like that y’all come over so much; it is one of the few constants these children have. Obidaan is such a good influence on them. Showing them that you can be strong and still have a soft heart. Thanks to him, the older children now help the younger ones instead of bullying them. He’ll make a great father and you a wonderful mother.”

  “Thank you, though I don’t know when.”

  “Don’t worry. It was only when I and Darthmore, may he rest in peace, stopped trying that we finally had Tomas. Relax, it will happen.” She gave Relina a big hug.

  A tear began to run down Relina’s cheek, she brushed it away, “Thank you. Obidaan isn
’t the only one who finds comfort here.”

  Releasing the embrace, Marsha began to tug at her, “Come, I have some tea in the kitchen, take off…” Marsha noticed how beat up the armor was, “ ... um, what’s left of your armor off and relax a bit.”

  “Thanks.” Releasing two links in the back, the entire armor fell off her and crumpled into a worthless heap. “I’ll throw it away later,” she though to herself and made her way to the kitchen.

  In the kitchen, Marsha put a pot of water on the stove. She also added some more logs to the low flame. Waving her hand in a fanning motion – everyone can use some magic — a gust of wind entered the stove and soon the fire was roaring again. As they began talking, they could hear the roars of laughter from the children, as well as the crashing of armor to the floor.

  “That son of yours is growing up beautifully. He’s going to be such a wonderful man when he gets older,” Relina started.

  “Yes, Tomas is the best thing that has happened to me. He looks so much like his father now. I don’t know what I’d do without him. But I must thank Obidaan. Tomas could be such a bully to the younger children but Obidaan has shown him a better way to be a man. Thank you.” Marsha reached out and squeezed Relina’s hand. Relina put her other hand over Marsha’s and rubbed it.

  Soon the teapot began to whistle. From the other room they could hear the ooohs and ahs as Obidaan told his stories.

  Marsha pulled a couple of mugs from the cupboard, reaching into a near drawer, she pulled out a bottle of whiskey. “Did you want any, ‘flavoring’?” she asked.

  “Yes! Thanks.”

  Marsha poured half a shot into each mug, followed by the piping hot tea. The smell of the herb tea permeated the room, creating a wonderful calmness for them. They continued to talk and reminisce for about an hour or so.

  “Tell me again how you and Obidaan met. It’s such a sweet story,” it was getting late and Marsha wanted things to end on a happy note.