Pathfinder: "The Trio"

Author’s note: I’ve been playing pathfinder in the chat room, and it inspired me to make an adventure of my own ...

They were known simply as “the Trio”.

No one in the little town knew what had brought three such different women together, but they seemed more than capable of handling themselves, and were willing to help the town out against some local bandits - for a price, of course.

First, there was small Besh, the gnome sorceress, whose familiar Max (a small cat) tended to ride on top of Besh’s hat. Then there was Goruza, the half-orc barbarian, who normally could be seen swinging a very large double-bladed axe. And lastly, there was Emerald, the bard, whose mother had slept with a celestial being from a higher plane, giving her daughter a beautiful singing voice, and a powerful glowing halo of light around her head.

Once “the Trio” had secured a few extra supplies, to be carried by Emerald’s mule, Champ, they left the town, and headed in the direction of a river with an island in the middle that was rumored to be the hiding place of the bandits.

At first, they followed a road that went from the little town to another bigger town on the far side of the river, but the road eventually bent away from the direction they wanted. They had been told that long ago, there had been a small fortification on the island, and to avoid paying tolls to cross the road followed the river upstream for some distance to a place where travellers from the town could cross while paying considerably less.

So the trio left the road, and headed directly towards the island, but before they could get to the river, Goruza heard something in the bushes ahead.

She shouted “look out!” but before the other two could react, a giant ant came out of the bushes, and launched itself at them.

Champ managed to get out of the way, and Max hissed and jumped off of Besh’s hat in time, but the insect was able to give a serious bite to Besh, clamping down on her waist with its powerful jaws.

Besh screamed as the creature lifted her off the ground, but before it could sting her with its poison, Goruza had rushed to the ant’s side and swung her axe, decapitating it with a single blow.

“Emmy, help me pry open it’s mandibles. It will continue to hold on to Besh for hours even though the creature’s dead!” Goruza shouted.

Once Besh was free, Emerald gently lifted up Besh’s shirt to examine her, and declared, “You’re very lucky. Looks like your cloak and shirt protected you somewhat from the mandibles. You have a nasty bruise on either side, but very little blood loss and no internal damage as far as I can tell, although a true healer could be sure.”

Besh winced, and said, “That’s me, all right. Lucky.”

“Can you continue? Do we need to turn back and find a cleric? Or will my small healing skills be enough?” Emerald asked.

“No, I can continue. Besides, its close to supper time, and we wouldn’t make it all the way back before the sun set anyway.”

“Supper time! You had to remind me, I havent eaten since breakfast in town!” Goruza said.

“Well, you’re a growing girl, I suppose. I on the other hand will grow no further.” Besh replied, laughing despite her pain.

Emerald laughed as well, and then went to retrieve Champ, who had scampered some distance away when the ant attacked. Once the animal had been retrieved, the trio found a small clearing and Goruza stood watch as Emerald applied some healing herbs to Besh’s bruises and wrapped a roll of cloth around her waist.

Then the three ate a light supper (too light, according to Goruza, but Besh pointed out they might be away from town for some time, and it would be best to stretch their supplies as best they could), and then packed up and continued towards the island. To help speed her healing, Besh rode on Champ, her small body adding very little to the weight the patient mule had already been baring for the trio.

The river had created a valley at this place, but they were able to scramble down an old trail. Still, the sun was setting by the time they reached the river, and to make matters worse a wind was blowing.

“It’s not going to be safe to cross until morning, I fear” Goruza said.

“Then let’s find some shelter for the night,” Emerald replied.

“Look, downstream a bit. Doesn’t that seem like a cave dug into the cliff?” asked Besh from her perch on top of Champ.

“Yes, I think you’re right,”Emerald said

The three friends moved as quickly as possible towards the cave.

As it happened, this particular cave already had an occupant, but that’s a different story ...

The End. (For now)