Pool of Twilight - James M. Ward [46]
The woman walked fluidly toward Kern and Listle. The elf eyed her warily, but Kern offered a friendly smile.
"Are you hurt, good paladin?" the mysterious wizard asked kindly, her voice concerned.
"No, we're all right. Thanks to your spell, that is." Kern did his best to sound noble. She had called him paladin! He resisted the urge to shoot a smug glance at Listle. "Your intervention came just in time."
"Of course, we were doing just fine on our own," Listle noted sullenly.
"Of course," the wizard agreed, nodding graciously in Listle's direction.
Kern frowned at the elf. "But the help was welcome all the same," he added pointedly, smoothing over Listle's rude remark. Couldn't she even be civil to a stranger who had just saved their lives? Sometimes the elf infuriated Kern.
"I'm Kern Desanea," he ventured, "and this is Listle Onopordum."
The wizard held out a graceful hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Kern gripped the proffered hand and gave it an awkward shake. A slightly bemused expression crossed the wizard's face.
"I don't know how we can repay you for your help…" he said, hesitating gallantly, "but if there's anything we can do, you have only to ask."
"There's no need for repayment," the wizard replied with a dazzling smile. "Though it was a happy accident that I decided to journey all the way to Phlan this evening. I have been traveling south these last few days, from the Dragonspine Mountains. I intended to make camp north of the city this afternoon, but when it began to rain, I decided to push on. I'm glad now that I did." She cast a glance at the fallen knight. "Do you know who that villain was? Or why he might have had cause to attack you?"
"Something tells me it has to do with the quest I'm setting off on tomorrow."
"Quest?" the wizard asked.
"I'll be journeying in search of a holy relic, the Hammer of Tyr."
"A holy relic? That sounds like a terribly important task." Suddenly the wizard looked crestfallen. "And I suppose that means you wouldn't be able to… Oh, but never mind."
"What is it?" Kern asked.
"It's nothing, really…"
"Tell me," he insisted gently.
She hesitated, her expression unsure, then shrugged.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling you why I came to Phlan. I was hoping to find adventurers who might be willing to journey back to the Dragonspine Mountains with me. That's where my tower is. You see, I'm a wild mage. I learned magic from an old hermit rather than in a formal school in one of the cities on the Moonsea. But now the valley where my tower stands has been overrun by a band of gnolls. They…" She sighed deeply. "They killed my mentor. I suppose I ought to leave the valley, but it's always been my home. I can't just abandon it to those awful gnolls. Unfortunately, the monsters are too many for me to fight alone. So I came here, hoping to hire a few able warriors such as yourself to help me." She smiled briskly. "But you're busy, I can see, so I'll leave you to your-"
"Stop right there," Kern ordered. She gazed at him in evident surprise. "We owe you a great deal for what you did here. Now, I'm not certain how long my quest for the hammer will take, but you have my solemn promise that, as soon as my job is completed, I'll journey to your place in the mountains to teach those gnolls a lesson."
Listle rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother," she muttered. Preoccupied as he was with his own bold pronouncements, Kern did not hear her.
The wild mage chewed her lip delicately. Abruptly she laughed. "That is certainly kind of you, paladin. In return, I volunteer to accompany you on your journey, to help you find this hammer you're so terribly interested in. That way I can be certain you'll return in good enough health to be of some assistance to me. Fair enough?"
"Fair enough!" Kern agreed with a grin.
As they discussed the details, Kern felt his spirits rising. Tymora, Lady of Fortune, was smiling on him this evening, that was for certain. The mage promised to show up at the door of Denlor's Tower at dawn, and Kern