Champion of the Goddess Pt. 01

She looked at them, "Should be 5 days."

He nodded, "That brings us to the next option and that is to turn it all around and spend the next 5 days back at the inn."

She looked at him, "Why? We just got started!"

He pointed off to the distance. "See that large section of foggy cloud cover in the distance?"

She nodded, "Yes. So?"

He laughed, "That is the front edge of a winter storm. We continue traveling and it is another 2 days we will be so screwed. Once it passes that five days becomes 7-10. IF we can get through the pass. That leaves one remaining option."

She sighed, "What is that?"

He looked at her, "What is the travel time by horseback without the wagon? She looked at it, "Three days."

He nodded, "Well if we did not stop and switched out horses every eight hours.

Then we could be there in two days. That means leaving the wagon and the meat behind and living on dry rations and the fruits and such that Flar has in the bag. That also means getting Flar on a horse. First combat and we are screwed and if the storm speeds up, we are screwed. In short no great options."

She looked at the storm front, "How long could it last?"

He looked at her, "Not knowing the possibilities a day to 30 days. He took her map. He looked it over. He searched the map and found the key is on the back. He pointed to it. "There is a way station 2-days ahead. A place to stop and wait out the storm. Looks like it is at the entrance to an old mine. Nothing waves a caution flag like an eerie mine."

She opened it back up, "What is the likelihood that this mine connects to this quarry?"

He handed the map over to Flar and she pointed out the location, "It would have to drop several hundred feet and go completely against the grain of this mountain range to get there. No, it would not go there. Not unless there is an underground stream flowing in that direction that could be navigated. That would still be a very risky gamble."

He looked at her, "The other risk is the Countess hears we are back in town. She sends the guards after us."

She looked at Flar, "Empty the bag. Get your portables built and fix us a meal. Anything you do not have smoked by tomorrow morning we will leave on the side of the road for the wolves. We travel after lunch and we travel through the night.

Sleep in shifts in the wagon. Changing out teams first thing tomorrow morning. See if we can get to that way station before the weather gets too bad."

He nodded, "Not bad leader. What is that smell? Nevermind it's the smell of clean dwarf. What is that daffodils and roses you rolled around in Flar?"

He grumbled while the ladies laughed and he looked up, "All they had was that floral soap. Did you not bathe?"

Raven nodded, "We bathed, we just got the standard soap instead of the floral soap I ordered up for our dwarves."

Flar turned red while the ladies laughed. Raven smiled, "The smell goes good with your frilly apron."

Flar finally started laughing, "I will find a way to get you back eventually."

They got wood chopped and split. Meals cooked and portable smoker going. He stored 400 pounds of meat and the fruits that were not cold tolerant in the bag.

He grabbed the first sleep shift with Anna. They figured it would keep the messing around to a minimum.

She commented in a whisper, "I liked the soap but he definitely did not. At least until I washed his cock with it and got him to pop off in the tub from jerking him off. He stretched out both holes and he needs practice in preparing a woman for anal.

I cut him off until the next inn from my ass. He needs to learn patience in that process. I stuck three unlubed fingers in his ass and he got the message! We have been fighting some this morning. I told him we would not hook up."

Raven sighed, "I have designs or desires towards dwarven women. Especially with beards."

She nodded, "I will remind him of that fact as well."

He fell into sleep and the goddess visits his dreams, "I am moving you to level three. You did really good at watching the environment. Giving her all the options and possible repercussions. It was a no-win solution. All the options were bad."

He laughed, "Thank you, my love. One option I did not give her. The river in a half a day's times. Trying to float the wagon down it leaving all of the horses. Because it was a REALLY bad idea."

She chuckled, "Why was that idea really bad?"

He laughed, "Because a wagon is not watertight, the tar or pitch required we do not have, nor the animal skins, or the time. Let us not forget the fact we have no knowledge of the river and where rapids and waterfalls are located. It is a bad idea. Did I neglect to mention it was a really bad idea?"

She laughed, "True and giving her a really bad idea might be your way of endorsing something stupid. You are level three, all of you. You were right your actions in town had you at level three but I could not give two levels at once. One of my rules.

Once again you have several hundred experiences more than the rest of the group. Your knowledge of all the types of wildlife and weather are skills I did not know you had."

He smiled, "I spent some time in the woods. Science, weather and a lot of wildlife shows were a thing of mine in school when I was growing up. Little did I know I would take a science fact journey across the universe, have my body destroyed and become a ranger in my fantasy environment.

Everything I did as a kid comes into play being a woodsy ranger type. Magic just fueled my imagination."

She chuckled, "My Champion Woodsy Ranger type."

She sighed. "I have to let you go for now. Mother calls. Rest well, my love."

He awoke and studied up spells, He looked at the other, "Three at a time and get rest. Especially Rhonda so you can prepare more spells.

He took Anna back to the woods with the saw and horses. He looked at her, "We need 2x 4-foot-long logs. We will split them in half and chisel out 3-inches wide 2-foot long and 4-inches deep in the middle trench. Concave in the middle. Saving as much of what we chisel out as we can."

Anna looked at Raven, "Why?"

He smiled, "Preparing for the worst."

They got the logs cut, split and chiseled while the second group slept and they lashed them to the sides of the wagon as they got up and the third group went to sleep. Anna was still scratching her head, "Why did we just do that?"

He smiled, "When and if the time comes, it will be revealed. I do not wish to fuel the goddess's imagination."

He heard laughter in his head, "I am with Anna I do not know what you have planned."

He smiled and thought, "Good, I want to keep it that way."

He heard laughter from her and Mother. The third sleep shift finished and they had an evening meal. They put out the ground fire and packed up camp and set out. "Raven, Scout road." He looked over at Jonni, "One of my rules is 'Never travel at night.' If it can be helped. Weather is one of the exceptions."

She nodded.

They travel on through the night without incident. They put the last of what could be safely put in the smoker in place and start dropping excess off the side of the road at intervals. Jonni looked at him, "Why are you discarding it hundreds of yards down the road and then leaving more?"

He looked at her, "Animals like bears, coyotes, and wolves are hunters but will stop and eat a free meal versus hunting. They kill to survive not joy. They get fed with no risk they pose little to no threat. They will be looking to gather food and hunkering down before the storm hits.

Bears should be hibernating at this point. By spreading it out they will smell the blood and go for the easy food. Same things trappers use to capture and kill them. We are just not using any traps."

They reached the waypoint just as the storm started to come in heavy.

They got all the horses stabled and inside this little wayside inn and the burly dwarf who owned the place made eyes at Anna. Jonni asked him, "Have any idea how long this storm will last?"

He shrugged, "Hard to say it keeps up long enough the pass will get snowed in. If you are looking for work, I can use some help with my mine."

Raven smiled, "We are not miners by trade. Why don't we take 1 of your 2 common rooms for the night? We will decide what we want to do in the morning."

He nodded. He offered a warm meal but everyone was too tired and they had already eaten. The owner seemed put out by that and he had a large pot of food on.

They headed into the room and closed it up. "Raven, Camp watch." He used his hand ax as a doorstop. He looked at Flar, "In case wandering eyes turn into wandering hands." He nodded.

They got some sleep. He heard Myssara, "Good call on the Raven and the doorstop. He is the shifty type."

He did not respond and slept soundly until the raven woke that someone was trying to enter the room. They were up and weapons were drawn when the dwarf dropped in from a hole in the ceiling. He stopped dead in his tracks, "I just came to let you know that morning meal is about ready."

Raven looked at him, "Typically a knock on the door accomplishes that task."

He glared at Raven and went to the door. When he could not open it he saw the ax wedged in the bottom. He pulled it out and left the room. He looked at Flar, "We cannot stay here long."

Jonni looked at Raven, "The weather is kind of dictating that."

He nodded, "For the moment. Everyone is rested?"

They all nodded. "Then we will head out and check on the animal together. Take everything."

She nodded. They walked out and he looked at them, "Food is ready. Help yourselves."

Raven noticed the half-full pot of some type of breakfast stew. Raven looked at him, "We feed the animals before ourselves. The easiest way not to forget about them."

He looked a little miffed, "But it is nice and hot now. Good stuff."

Raven smiled and put some in a bowl. He walked over to him. "Then eat with us."

He looked at Raven, "I already ate."

He nocked an arrow and drew back, "I said eat. IF your food is as good as you say it is that should not be a hard request to fill."

He looked at Raven, "What brought on all this hostility?!"

Raven looked at him, "Breaking into our room while we slept was a strong enough reason for me. Asking us about working your mine for a waypoint that is an awfully strange request. Then there is the way you have been staring at Anna. So, eat! The other option is I puncture a hole into your stomach and pour it in."

The innkeeper grabbed the bowl and went to his check-in counter and dropped down. Raven came around and there was a hole in the floor. He watched the hole for a second, "Outside. Mary, check the food I am betting it is poisoned. Something to knock us out."

Mary looked at it and around and found what she was looking for, "This would have knocked us out for hours."

They got outside and the horses were gone. The tracks led into the mine. He looked at them. "Jonni thoughts?"

She looked at him, "We have to get the horses."

He nodded, "True, but what would you make of this situation. Break it down. Step back inside the stable first."

She looked at Raven, "Why did we not go back to the inn where it was warmer?"

He looked at Mary, "Tell her."

She looked at Jonni, "He came in through a hole in the ceiling and escaped in one through the floor. No telling how many passages he has in there and what he could hear."

Jonni and Pine nodded.

He looked at Jonni, "Why did he want to drug us?"

Mary looked at Anna, "Her for one. Labor for his mine."

He nodded, "Now Anna being here would be an unknown but labor for his mine."

He asked, "When have you heard of a 'one-man' mining operation?"

Flar laughed, "Never."

He nodded. "What besides labor would you need to work an old mine like this?"

Pine looked up wide-eyed, "Explosives."

He smiled, "What did not make it to its destination? Required that guy to make such a large and fatal mistake to endanger the city?"

Jonni nodded, "Explosives. He probably checked the wagon last night and after finding nothing figured none had been shipped yet."

He nodded, "Which means he is desperate for labor. Slave labor to keep making progress on his mine. What would you do first Jonni?"

She looked at Raven, "I would like to know more before going in there."

He nodded. "Where would we find more information?"

She looked at the waypoint and He nodded, "We work as a team. It is built into the side of this mountain."

They went back to the waypoint. They did a room by room search while watching each other's backsides. Keeping an eye open for holes in the floor, walls, and ceilings."

They searched and found nothing of note but some food stores, a barrel of lamp oil, and a barrel of that poison. He looked at Mary, "What can you tell me about that poison. I know it works if you ingest it. Would it also work on arrows and blades in this form, or if inhaled in large quantities?

She looked at Raven, "All of the above."

He looked at her, "Find all the oil lamps in this place. bring this barrel with us and that barrel of lamp oil."

They took it all outside. He poured a third of the contents of the oil into the waypoint on their way out.

He fired an arrow into it sending the place up in flames. Jonni looked at him, "That was the only real source of shelter."

He nodded, "Other than the mine. It was not secure and we cut that off as a means for them to come in from behind. If anything, we will be drawing them out. They want to stop the travelers for the mine. Mary, get to mixing that stuff into the lamps. Then mix what is left into the barrels. Anna will help with the heavy lifting."

Anna smiled, "Knock out bombs."

He nodded, "Force them to come and fight us. Let me know when you are ready then. She nodded. 10 minutes later and they had 12 dwarves came out armed with heavy crossbows They had 2 barrels set up one near the mine entrance and one by the burning building.

Once they were all out of the mine entrance, He shot an arrow into the first barrel, The others threw the lamps into the mine entrance; a mixture of the poison and lamp oil. It all exploded. Those that didn't fall sought shelter behind the inn. He put an arrow into the second barrel Sending the poisonous mixture to explode into the surrounding air. They gave it a few minutes to clear and they secure the prisoners. The 'innkeeper' was not among them.

They took them to the stable and they suspend four of the dwarves two in a pair; naked from the rafters. The other eight tied to the support beams naked. They had all of their gear stored in the back of the wagon for now. He looked at them as they went around and started waking them all up. They noticed they were naked, ties to the support beam or hanging from the rafters. He looked at them, "We have an incentive for those who wish to talk.

A penalty for those that do not. Now do not say anything yet, because you will be taken out into the storm in pairs naked and then brought back in here and given a blanket if you cooperate or go without if you do not. I intend to blow up your mine."

They looked at him wide-eyed, "Before you say I am bluffing."

He opened one of the portable holes under the four hanging from the ceiling. "We don't get any answers, then those four will be dropped into this hole with dwarven explosives while the rest of you watch from the edge of the hole.

Something tells me it will be bad for everyone's health. I have more so 9 barrels of this stuff is nothing. He closed up the hole and tucked it away. Flar detect magic on all the gear we confiscated.

Jonni this is your party you want to take a pair of these men out with Anna and have her see what secrets of the mine they wish to spill. For those still hanging around you should be worried, we only have so many blankets. One per pair to the one who gives us the most important things. I hope you are paired with a complete idiot. If not then you will be the frozen idiot."

He looked at Mary, "They move then it is target practice. Her aim had not been great lately so she could use the work with the bow. Even if she targets your smalls cocks for accuracy."

Mary chuckled.

After 2-hours they had all of them interrogated in pairs and half had blankets and half did not. The 4 now hanging from the rafters were all naked returnees. Two others were tied together to the same beam to keep them all from trying to share blankets.

He looked at them, "We know how many of you are left, how many prisoners you have, one fellow gave a lovely drawing of the mine. Right down to where everything is located.

We have the leader's name, his beef with the Quarry owners, his association with Mister Kettle who shipped the explosives. Essentially enough to bury you all. We will take one of our suspended quartet of little naked boy blues to deliver this list of demands. Release of all prisoners with the return of all of their gear. We will demand the return of all our horses and there's.

In exchange we will cloth the freezing bastards up here and upon confirmation of the fact that we have everyone we will send you back into your mine with the promise not to blow the hell out of it. Which of you four little boy blues would like to go back into the mine naked?"

He saw four heads bobbing up and down. He pulled out his die and rolled for each of them.

He rotated it around to the smallest of the four and cut him loose, "Run!"

He shot out of the barn. Just like his balls were on fire. Jodi walked up, "Do they all get that small in the cold or are these guys abnormal?"

He shrugged, "Better question for Flar to answer."

Flar laughed, "They are on the bottom rung of dwarven girth and the cold doesn't help them any."

Within an hour they had all the prisoners and horses back. They clothed those who they send back in minus their enchanted gear, all weapons, and armor. They only had 12 remaining prisoners; most had died. Several by handling or being near the explosives going off. Once the prisoners had been dressed and released. Raven looked at the men freed, "If you wish to stand guard over this entrance to ensure they do not escape raise a hand."

No hands went up. "If you would like to travel with us away from this hell hole raise a hand."

All the hands went up. He looked at the weather, "Status on the weather?"

Anna looked at Raven, "Still coming down; steady and heavy but not miserably cold. At least 8-10 inches of snow is down so far."

He smiled, "Then we can go soon."

She looked at him, "What?"

He dropped the logs from the side of the wagon.

He got everyone to work lifting the wagon and the wheels fit into the ruts on the logs. She looked at Raven, "You turned it into a sled!"

He nodded. He pulled out the wood chips and mended the wood over the spokes and everyone watched in fascination. Jonni looked at Raven, "Do you do this kind of stuff a lot?"

Anna laughed, "Yes, he does!"

They got the smokers going and start smoking more meat.

They feed everyone and got everyone on horseback and those too weak in the back of the wagon. They took off down the mountain with horses and ropes keeping the wagon from sliding one way or the other or too fast. Jonni looked at Raven, "Room for two to rest at a time, you and Rhonda are up first. She needs to get healing spells back."

He nodded. They tied off horses. He headed off to sleep and he did not hear the goddess. He saw her, "You totally destroyed that encounter I had set up! That should have taken a couple of days and enough time for the storm to finish passing!"

He shrugged, "We are not in your sanctum so this is something different."

She nodded. "It is a questioning room. I rarely use it. You destroyed it! The quest! I need to know how to make it better?"