Somewhere Warm and Pleasant...

When Blem awoke he found himself back in the heavenly paradise where he made a pact with God-Blin. This time however he found himself right outside the stone gate instead of being dropped in the vast field of clouds. The door creaked open, and out came God-Blin, but instead of it's mysterious persona it came out that same smooth faced goblin, this time grinning ear to ear. It's smile made it look young, like a child even. If Blem were foolish he'd swear he'd met a young magic prodigy instead of a god.

"I see you've taken to your quest quite well," God-Blin said cheerfully.

"Well, death and damnation otherwise right?"

"Of course!" God-Blin replied in that same cheery tone.

"Um... I don't mean to be rude but am I here for a reason. Did one of those guys snap and slit my throat? Did a group of sneaky slavers come in and kill us? Oh my, did my mice kill me?!"

God-Blin shook it's head. "No Blem, you are still alive, and you're right there is a reason why I called you today."

"And that is?" Blem replied, not quite wanting to hear an answer.

"Well for starters, I need you to go to Mount Redspear and seek out my shrine hidden in the depths of the mountain."

"Two questions: Where is Mount Redspear and why do you need me to do this?"

"Well the directions are simple," before Blem's own eyes a map of the world materialized. It looked so realistic, he could pick out individual trees, see animals roaming, and see people walking around. "As you can see your cave is right here, this dot in the field. Redspear mountain is a couple days East right here." Redspear mountain suddenly clicked in Blem's mind. He often used it as a reference point when navigating given how tall it was. "As for why I need you, well that isn't as simple."

"Of course," Blem impulsively replied.

Blem winced when realized his rashness, to which God-Blin chuckled, "Easy Blem I don't plan on working you to the bone. Activating my shrine deep in the mountain will restore some of my power to the region. The Dwarven gods saw fit to close it down. I respectfully disagree with their assessment." Suddenly the mirth on God-Blin's place disappated. In it's place a smooth faced tactician. "It won't be easy I acknowledge that. But I can't stand by any longer and let our people suffer."

"Will I have what it takes to defy other gods?" Blem replied with a tremble.

"Why not. The other gods and their followers often went to your cave and sought you out, like it or not. Why not return the favor?" Blem nervously swallowed as he waited for God-Blin to continue. "Alright? Good. To reactivate the shrine you'll need to take this vial of holy water and dump it into the shrines offering hole. That's the easy part, the hard part is getting to and leaving the shrine. Also don't delay too long, I'd like this taken care of by the end of the month."

"Anything else?" Blem asked, curious now.

"Yeah, check your daggers when you land."

Before Blem could grasp what that meant, God-Blin gave Blem a shove and so Blem fell from the heavens.

Back in Blem's Cave... The Day After The Slaver Takedown

Blem Jerked awake and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was still early morning. Elia was sound asleep and so was Pleck. The gang managed to snag themselves some loot from the Slaver camp. They found themselves an untouched wain¹A wain is the medieval term for wagon. The one the gang uses is a two wheeled wain meant for transporting hay or crates. and a mule. From there they snagged a few bedrools, some empty crates and a barrel or two. The cave was looking furnished again, but still something was missing. It lacked a homely touch.

Then Blem remembered what he wanted to check. Gingerly he made his way over to his weapons at the back of the cave. He drew his daggers as quietly as he could, hoping their rasp wouldn't wake his companions. Snowball, and some of the other mice came to observe the spectacle. His daggers now glowed a dull white. Although the blades looked ordinary, the symbols flowing along hinted at something more. The most recurring symbol was a raven keeping three orbs or eyes in it's mouth.

Blem examined his weapons for the better part of the morning. They felt really sharp, and somehow sturdier. When Pleck woke up he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and went about his morning routine. Elia snuggled deeper into her bedroll. Probably the best sleep she'd gotten in months.

"Get those from the slaver camp?" Pleck asked quizzically.

"No. I...think I earned them." Blem answered cautiously. Pleck looked incredulous but not as much as their first meeting. He held his hand out to inspect the dagger. When Pleck tried to grip the dagger he immediately felt the heat of a thousand fires scorch his hand. It shot up from his palm and up to his shoulder, as if someone dunked his arm in molten steel. He yelled so loud that Elia scrambled out of bed. Blem could hear it, the sizzling coming from his hand, which was nothing compared to what came next. When the dagger clattered against the cave floor the weapon unleashed a shrill scream and vibrated angrily in place.

Everyone looked on in terror until it finally stopped. The dagger calmed and stopped vibrating. Pleck held his arm and winced everytime he moved it. Elia and Blem could only look absolutely dumbfounded. "Blem what was that?" Elia whispered.

Blem's Lengthy Explanation Later...

Pleck's arm still burned, but not as bad as it did when he first gripped the dagger. Much to his relief it didn't sear his skin or boil his flesh. Certainly felt like it though. "So... you weren't bluffing," Pleck replied to Blem. "You're actually some kind of champion?"

"So it would seem," Blem replied.

"And your vows, weren't elaborate lies to amp yourself up before a fight?" Elia replied in amazement. Blem nodded.

"I guess I owe you an apology then," Pleck replied earnestly. He doubted the goblin but now he felt foolish. How could I miss the signs, those subtle marks of greatness. "I guess you're heading to Redspear Mount to activate the shrine?"

Blem scratched his head. "Yes, but not right away. I still got to prepare and get some supplies."

"I, not we?" Elia asked playfully.

It was Blem's turn to look surprised. He never imagined having companions. Hell he barely imagined having guest over. But, if life was any indication then Blem probably didn't have a choice in the matter. He felt a curious sense of ease come over him, like a burden had been lifted. "Well, if you want to tag along, you're certainly welcome to."

"I'm coming too!" Pleck replied enthusiastically.

"Oh, but I thought our training was finished," Blem stated in surprise. Truth be told I thought you didn't want to train me.

"I apologize Blem for my harshness. I was wrong in trying to turn you away while promising to help you. As a shaman of the Green One I will serve and train you to the best of my abilities in an effort to atone."

Elia seemed to stir her thoughts while Pleck kneeled. The fact that Blem forgot Pleck was a shaman made him realize he actually knew very little about his mentor. When Pleck finished his prayer Elia finally spoke up. "I'll help you too, but under one condition."

"What's that," Pleck and Blem replied in unison.

"We stop every slaver we encounter," she replied coolly. She looked away from Blem, the anger of not-so distant memories playing in her mind.

"I have no problem with that." Blem replied, to which Pleck nodded in agreement.

"And I'll help too!" a fourth voice called out. Like swivels the gang spun around with weapons in hand. "Woah, woah, woah! I mean you no harm," a jolly voice pleaded.

"Then explain yourself, because otherwise I will be doing you some harm," Pleck replied, bow at the ready.

The figure stepped out of the sun's blinding light and into the gave. When their eyes adjusted they encountered a Robed Dwarf with a red beard. "I am Bolin, and I wish to help you." The group exchanged glances while keeping their eyes on the stranger. Dwarves were seldom seen outside their mountains and mines. Whenever they did come out it either meant trading, or trouble.

"Why?" Blem asked cagily.

"Because you rescued me from a life of servitude." While Blem and Pleck kept their weapons trained on him, Elia slowly dropped her throwing axe.

"It's you," Elia replied. She looked shocked with the stranger but not hostile.

Pleck slightly relaxed his draw glancing between the elf and the dwarf. "You know him?"

Elia nodded as she put her hands on the arms of the goblins, "He was a slave too, he protected us from the worst slavers, healed us when we were sick, and suffered the worst beatings whenever he interfered." Suddenly and without warning Elia embraced the dwarf and let out a wail of pure anguish. When her wails turned to sobs the dwarf pat her back reassuringly.

Pleck unnocked his arrow and looked on stoically. Blem sheathed his daggers and waddled closer to Pleck. He felt mighty stupid but he knew he had to ask. "Pleck," he whispered, "Is slavery really that bad."

Pleck shot him a look that was a cross between sympathy and incredulity. "Blem, you have no idea."

Blem looked at his feet as he realized he truely had no idea. He had no frame of reference for anything outside of his little cave. The only way he knew the outside world existed was because of the fact it often came to him. He felt ashamed of his own ignorance, disgusted even. He spent so much time hiding away from the world that he not only shuttered away the world, he also shuttered away it's problems. Seeing Elia break down awoke something in Blem. He added two new vows to his repetoire. The first was to understand the world around, and to stop basking in his own ignorance. The second was to confront problems and stop things like this from ever happening again.

As if aware of her own state Elia pushed herself off the dwarf. She quickly strode past the goblins. "Elia," Blem tried talking to her.

"I'm fine." she replied curtly. She sat at the back of the cave, facing away from everyone. Blem tried to walk over and talk to her but Pleck put his hand on the little goblin's shoulder and shook his head. Both goblins returned their gazes to the dwarf who stood there as stonily as he arrived. Blem took one last look at Elia, and felt the resolve in his heart solidify like his first vows.

In a tone far angrier than he intended Blem asked "What's your reason for helping us."

The dwarf took it in stride. "I'm Bolin. As I said I wish to repay you for saving me from the slavers. If it wasn't for your attack, I wasn't sure I would have made it."

"But I'm a goblin," Blem replied.

"Don't dwarves hate goblins." Pleck replied matter of factly. Twas true, Goblins and Dwarves didn't get along. Then again Dwarves barely got along with everyone else anyways so Blem hoped the distinction wasn't worth making.

"My kin may hate goblins, but I am not my kin. I can recognize my saviours as clear as day, and I ain't gonna let ancient conflicts confound that fact." Bolin stood unyielding to the goblin's scrutiny. He appeared honest and trustworthy, which for Blem meant a possible ally.

"Elia said you took care of the other slaves. How exactly you go about that?" Blem asked.

Bolin pulled his beard as he reminisced. "I used magic to heal when they were sick. I also grew fruits and vegetables when the slavers camped us somewhere. I'm a druid you see-"

"A dwarf druid?!" Pleck replied with a chuckle. "I didn't think they existed."

"I didn't think noble goblins existed either. I'm glad to have been proven wrong," Bolin quipped. Pleck glowered at the dwarf to which Blem couldn't help but laugh, much to Pleck's annoyance. "As I said, I am a druid. I was cast out by my brother who sold me to those slavers. I did my best to keep everyone alive but alas I could not be everywhere at once.

"Say if you were there at the camp why didn't you recognize Elia right away. Why didn't she seem to notice you?" Pleck asked.

"I was busy dispelling the slavers binding magics when the fighting broke out. I was also tending to the wounded. By the time I realized it was Elia you were already long gone. After that I figured I may as well make my way here. Truth be told the last slave party was gone for so long that the slavers thought they killed her and were looking for an excuse not to come back empty handed."

Pleck stopped glowering and thought deeply for a moment. "You know, there's something about this slaver operation that doesn't make sense."

"Like?" the dwarf replied in surprise. Unbeknownst to the rest Elia perked her ears up to listen.

"Well for starters the nearest slave market is in Calgar at least two weeks to the west. Second you nor Elia never mentioned them making any sales which is odd for a money driven group. Third for all their bluster they dressed like highwaymen done up in rags and bits of metal. Lastly you mentioned binding magic but given that you were casually able to undo it I doubt it was cast by professionals. Everything about those slavers if off in some manner, a far cry from the professional operators I've dealt with before."

"You sound like you know a lot," Elia spoke, her words cutting clean through the goblins's musings. "You're right too. During my capture we never sold other slaves...and I bet that was true during your time too, eh Bolin?" The dwarf simply nodded which reaffirmed Pleck's beliefs.

"I do know a lot," Pleck replied, "back when there were still lots of us hobgoblins we used to quarrel with Slavers and despots looking for a cheap source of labourers. The heroes and gods never gave a shit so we always fought uphill battles against better equipped slave groups."

"Did you win?" Blem asked.

"We destroyed them. Didn't matter what they were; desert treading snake men, savage pelt wearers from the frigid north, or even minor demon lords and their bastard retinues. We crushed them all." Pleck hung onto his words while gripping his bow tightly.

Bolin seemed to notice this too, "Where are you from?"

"Irrelevant," Pleck noted bluntly, "We're getting away from the point I'm trying to make. The point is these slavers were either incredibly amateurish or they were setting you up for something else." When the words left his month a silence lingered in the cave for what felt like hours. The possibilities played havoc in Blem's mind as he wondered what they could possibly be up. And worst of all with so many of them dead they'd probably never know.

"Well," Elia's voice breaking the silence, "that rat faced bastard escaped so I suppose we could always ask him if we run into him. After all Lestric probably has it a long time coming anyways."

Blem looked between his companions and began walking out of the cave. "Well regardless of their reasons I still have to go activate that shrine otherwise I'm a dead gob."

"What about Lestric?" Elia asked.

"He got away on horseback and had at least two days to run," Blem reasoned. "Beside if I ignore my quest for any longer than all I'll accomplish is a spirited hunt with a very mediocre finish." Elia looked hurt by Blem's dismissive words which stung the goblin deeply. "Look, uh, I'm not saying it's not worth it but because of my vows I actually can't ignore this quest. I will die."

"I know Blem," Elia replied somberly. "I just want to get back at that man as soon as possible."

"We'll look for him when I'm done. That's not a promise, that's a fact." Blem replied resolutely, which seemed to bring a light smile to her face.

 “Vows?” Bolin spoke quizzically.

“I’ll explain on the way to town…”