Bother Coelho Page 2

Brother Coelho II

Hermano Conio, Brother Coelho.

Halfling Cleric of Yondalla (Dallah Thaun), Ordained "Wayward Warden"

Page 2

His inner dialog continues.

Death and Life, Continued ... from previous page

I had been talking to Shaniqua. (I felt I owed her an apology, and an explanation as to why I subjected her to the indignity of Vinnie's justifiably abrupt manner with her. It was as hard to admit my fear to her as it had been to myself. She was really good about it though, and I felt we were stronger for it.) I did not see Rats Tail leave, and no one else stopped him. He had left on his own, to walk back to the house alone. That was just the way Tyven and Doogle had both gone. Assassinated by those evil Harkers.

I grabbed everyone else, and we rushed to prevent Rats Tail from his foolish stroll. Too late. As we passed through the Satyr's main room upstairs, Dave entered, dragging the body of our comrade behind him. I rushed to check, but it was too late. Ratzel was DEAD !

I admit, I panicked. I checked again, Qu checked. I hoped he would find life where there was none. The wizard was indeed lifeless. I thought of Father Imao. He might be able to achieve something if we were quick. I told Shaniqua to fetch Father Imao from the temple. To take Qu with her. Take Hellhound (Must remember he is now Hugh Dorkman.) as protection, and fetch the senior priest. He is wise and learned, if there is anything that can be done, he will be able to do it. If there is nothing, the strength of my mentor might prevent me falling apart.

He will understand. Rats Tail may not be a Halfling, but he is more. He is Family. I am closer to the red eyed devil than I am to Amilie. He is an Animal; we avenged Pete together. Father Imao will understand that.

Shaniqua, Qu and Hellhound Hugh returned unexpectedly. They had clashed with what they took to be Rats Tail's murderer, and returned with the body. It was a Harker alright, but not the one Dave says he put two knives into. They were sent back out, in a taxi this time, to fetch Father Imao.

As I waited, watching the body of my friend, his familiar also guarded him. The little monkey did not seem to be aware his master was dead. He let me near him, but anyone else he got quite nasty with, clutching a cup, and threatening to throw it at anyone who approached too closely. - Then Rats Tail's body let out a gasp. The monkey leapt around excitedly, as though trying to tell me his master was alive after all. I risked wasting a cure spell on the previously dead body of the wizard. His body was trying its hardest not to be dead. The least I could do was help it all I could. He WAS alive. I cast another. Enough healing to stand our friend Hellhound on his feet seemed to do very little, but he was breathing well now, and the terrible wounds were looking less severe.

Finally Father Imao arrived, and eventually took the now living body to a cubicle. We waited, and after some time, the good Father walked out with Rats Tail. What did you do? I asked him. He firstly just said my healing was just not sufficient, then explained that since Ratzel had the blood of devils running in his veins, he had been harder to kill than most. It seems that our friend has more cards up his sleeve than he had told us. He must have known this himself.

I was livid. I am not ashamed to say I tried to punch him in the face. Probably luckily for me I did not succeed, but I am not sure he would not have simply taken the blow with distain. To have put us all through that trauma, knowing he would not die, is thoughtless. I was not really upset when he volunteered to put himself as bait once more in order or us to reap our revenge on the assassin.

That plan went well. We arranged for Gus and Raj to help. Thelonius even managed to become part of the plan, and even helped by keeping Raj and Gus invisible. It was Gus who struck the fatal blows. When I finally pinned the assassin's own calling card to his forehead with my old dagger, the blade went in easily. I suspect the bones of the face were not all joined together any more.

Bernard, our "Tame Taxi Driver" did an excellent job of tracking our quarry from the child trafficking ring last night. We have more knowledge of them now, and their number is reduced by one. Bernard probably knows it was us, but we know he is safe, he helped us out when the Harkers first became a problem.

Two Down ...

We got another of Donis Hathers henchmen tonight. First the Thief, now the Wizard. That's an investment for the future. Each of them is worth 5000gp if we get Donis and pin him up with the swords.

Mind you, at one point this morning I thought my own time had come. Not for long, but its amazing how long a split second lasts when you expect it to be your final one. I had come down for secong breakfast. I missed first breakfast because we were up so late I slept right through. - So you can imagine, I was already half dead from hunger. Then Vic says "I've got something for you." Well, I was expecting it to be the knife between my ribs, which must have been prominent by then, having missed first breakfast. Instead he shows me a club.

So its not to be the cold steel through the ribs, but instead the spatter of brain on the walls. But no. He shows me the club, which looks like a smaller version of his own. The one that somehow becomes their incredible reloading crossbow. The one like each of the four carries. It is a Halfling sized automatic crossbow. Disguised as a small heavy club.

He explained that he wants me to broker a deal with the temple, and that he wants me to settle things down between Rats Tail and the four. Things have always been a little tense between us since the night we first met. But they have shown us respect and proved trustworthy. I managed to speak to Father Imao, and he and Vinnie came to see Vic to negotiate the deal. The temple will gain from the deal. Rats Tail is at least on speaking terms with the four, if not even friendly. I have fulfilled my part of the deal. The crossbow is mine.

I never got to use it on the wizard. He went down easily to a combined onslaught from Rats Tail, Hellhound Hugh Dorkman, and Shaniqua. Pity we had to give his body to the town guard, and I am sure Rats Tail would have preferred to off the St Cuthberts cleric, but we got a little something out of it, and the taxi driver earned his bonus. So all's well.

Or nearly all. Shaniqua is not too happy now. Gretta, from the Satyr & Sickle claims she is her grandmother. I think that would have not gone down so badly if it didn't involve her learning that some of the things she believed to have been true are not. She believed her father to have been a wild elf slave, and it turns out he was high elf, and if her mother had not turned out to have been the one who abandoned her. She spent a lot of time dealing with this new knowledge. Time spent in her room alone.

I nearly said "At least you weren't sold for a rabbit and a loaf of bread". But I remembered that I was given as a trainee priest, and not really sold, I don't think. If I was sold, I think I got the best deal out of it anyway. I now have a wonderful family of my own. I have a brother who is part devil, and a sister who is part Drow, and a brother who is part - ... - who is Hellhound.

Harker Herald Angel sings

Well, the four have some strange business afoot. and some serious money floating around. After the money they splashed out on the temple, they asked Rats Tail to procure some stuff from the guild for them. And I mean serious stuff worth serious gold.

Rats Tail "Borrowed his pouch back" to take the cash to the Satyr & Sickle. and we eventually found our Dave had caught a Harker following us after we left last night. The upshot is that we have a truce with them. I think we were more than they could chew, and they were starting to hurt from their losses.

We set about a plan to take out the Donis Hathers cleric, but things went a little off plan and we ended up having to give him up. Then we found that the truce was indeed holding, as some upstart Harker had tried to follow us and got himself topped by the Harker "Elder" who made the promise to us. (We knew his promise was true, because Shaniqua borrowed a cool ring from Dave, that proved it to us.) Then we were followed by the "Urban Ranger" from the Hathers lot, and had planned to take him down for his trouble, but the Harker once more handed him to us on a plate. - So to speak.

The children who were to be sold are being avenged a little at a time. Dalla Thaun will be pleased. The traffickers are slowly being picked off and whittled down. I hope Hugh Dorcman's game goes OK tomorrow. Their team will be one down I guess. But you can't make an omlette without breaking a few eggs.

Oh well, its all pies and sausages. As mother used to say. You don't get a nice crust with sausages, but pies don't sizzle on the end of a stick over a fire.

Avatars abound.

This morning, I returned to the temple, eager to break the loaf with my brothers as I had not done so for a week or more. It felt good to kneel in fellowship with some of the faces I missed from training. I still feel that the milk and honey leaves one wanting more, but the loaf was as always delicious. Qu might have got up and come with me, but I suppose he was more tired than I from our late escapade with the late "Urban Ranger".

We eventually found ourselves in the guild lounge at the Satyr & Sickle, talking things over with Dave, and suddenly there was ... well, I think the only thing to describe it as is a huge Avenging Angel. There on the table, between Dave, Qu and myself. (All the rest seemed frozen, and none of them saw what happened.) It was an eight foot high halfling warrior with wings and a really awsome looking sword. It plunged the sword right into Qu's chest, going right through where his heart would be. But he didn't die. Instead, it seems he has been stripped of all his powers for a whole week. He must have done something really, really bad.

The temple was in turmoil when we got there. - Like we were going to do anything else? They too had been visited by an Avatar, which is what visited Qu. I am so glad it was not me who got visited. Anyway, Qu now has to attend FIRST prayers every day for the whole week. BEFORE first breakfast.

So, that makes the rest of the day pale into insignificance, despite it being a VERY big day. The day Hellhound died. The day Donis Hathers died. And the day I negotiated with the four and the Gnome temple of Garl Glittergold to replace the used crossbow ammunition with even more impressive bolts. The Four will owe us big time once we have delivery of these bolts. I tried out the explosive ones, but my weak skill with it meant I wasted a couple of them. Still, in the end we took down the last of Donis' gang. Dallah Thaun should be pleased the child stealers are no more.

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