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The new group appeared through use of a Transport Spell. Snix had never traveled using one, and knew it took a very experienced and skilled magic user to cast one. The gray-bearded magic user who’d cast it stood with a staff in his left hand, and wore clean blue robes. A silver belt held pouches and a dagger. It was clear the man had cast the spell and not completed the incantation through use of a scroll containing the spell.
A thief and cleric were the other two men of note. The cleric’s unholy symbol, silver on black depicting a skull in front of a barred gate, hanging from a chain around his neck, identified him as a follower of Hades. His armor was scaled, as if it were made from the pelt of a black dragon, and his round shield bore a skull, as did the business end of his steel mace.
The thief, Snix could see, bore a jagged scar through his left eyebrow. His hairline was receding, but he still bore greasy curls. This leather armor spoke of years of use and the grip to his short sword showed it wasn’t a showpiece.
The other two men were unremarkable humans, wearing helmets and mismatched scraps of armor. They each held a battle axe. One carried a round shield. The other’s gauntleted hand held the spiked collar of a war dog. The trained attack animal was stocky with short, gray fur. Much of the torso’s fur was covered by leather armor adorned with metal spikes.
Snix knew what war dogs could do. This canine was at least as big as the gnome. Its dark eyes and bared teeth made it look a lot more dangerous than the gnome.
Digestive juices gurgled in the homunculus’s gut. The party his master hired wasn’t up to confronting the new group. Even worse, if they could Transport Spell in, they would probably Transport Spell out, taking the wand with them. There’d be no way he could follow.
The druid and his party’s wide-eyed gazes, directed past the thin thief’s shoulder, caused the thief and his two spearmen to look over their shoulder. They did so just in time to hear the thief with the eyebrow scar say, “Lay down your weapons and you’ll live.”
The scarred thief’s rote voice sounded like he was bored.
“Who are you?” the thin thief asked.
“Doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is that you were foolish enough to work for that petty pawnshop owner.” The scarred thief paused. “What’s his name?”
The druid adjusted the grip on his spear, from its butt resting on the ground to a defensive position. “Feigning that you do not recollect a name is insulting. This encounter need not result in bloodshed on both sides.”
“Three sides,” the thin thief said, turning around to face the scarred thief and his party.
The two warriors in front of the scarred thief laughed at the druid’s comment. A sinister grin crossed the Hades cleric’s gaunt face. The magic user couldn’t have looked more unimpressed.
The scarred thief pointed at the thin thief. “Don’t you plan on going anywhere.” Then he said to the druid, “You will either drop your weapons, and prepare to spend the rest of your life digging in a sulfur mine...” His gaze shifted toward the elf. “Except for you, my fair elf.” His smile turned menacing. He gestured to the cleric on his right. “Or my friend will ensure your undead corpses dig.” He sighed. “I’ve been told the latter method provides less productive digging, but that really isn’t my concern.”
“That threat concerns me greatly,” a forceful female voice said.
The words came from the left of the druid and his party.
All heads turned to see the sentinel, her blond hair covered by a steel helmet, but the intense gaze of her blue eyes showed from within its protective shadow. Her right hand rested on the grip of her arming sword while her left arm bore a kite shield adorned with a stylized painting of an eagle.
The thin thief took the distraction as an opportunity to make a run for it, sprinting to his right, away from the confrontation. The magic user, anticipating such an action, released a spell. A second later a blob of gel appeared around the fleeing thief, enveloping him like a mouse drowning inside a bowl of clear molasses. An Enveloping Gel Spell. Snix had seen one before. The thin thief was doomed to suffocation.
The thin thief’s entrapment drew everyone’s attention—except for the druid and the big warrior. The druid’s hurled spear travelled in a shallow arc at the magic user. At the same time, the big warrior charged, shield raised and sword in hand.
An instant later, the full battle commenced.