The Companions of Tartiël by Jeff Wilcox Read Free Book Online Page B

giving each a few rolls and selecting the one that rolled highest. “Kaiyr, you’re an elf, so you only need four hours of sleep. That means you’re the first person awake the next morning. And by morning, I mean like, three in the morning or so.”
    “Yeah, nothing unusual,” I said, shrugging. “Kaiyr, as he always does, spends an hour in waking meditation to prepare his mind and soul for the upcoming day, followed by a short physical regimen outside with his soulblade.” I scratched my chin. “Let’s see. We left the lycanthropes’ bodies in the entrance hall, right?”
    “Yeah,” Dingo replied. “They’re still there. When you leave to go outside, you pass by the room with the wererats. It seems that the fourth one, the one you grappled last in-game [17] night has joined the others again. He doesn’t look like he’s going to give you any trouble.”
    “Good,” I said, grinning, “ My trouble’s bigger and hurts more. Well, I’m going to strip out of my robes and get into those work clothes again. I find a shovel and head outside. I find a quiet spot to the side of the abbey and begin digging somewhat shallow but serviceable graves.” Dingo opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand, not done explaining yet. “A few minutes before the sun comes up, I’m going to head in, grab a bath, and prepare breakfast for everyone, even the wererats. I eat quickly, and before anyone wakes up, I’m going to head back out and continue working on those graves.”
    “That’s going to take you pretty much all day to do, you know,” Dingo warned me.
    I nodded. “I figured as much. But it needs to be done.”
    “Okay,” Dingo said, “Caineye, you wake up next. What do you do?”
     
    *
     
    Caineye awoke to the scents of breakfast wafting into the room from down the hall. Sitting upright, he glanced around the room, bathed in morning sunlight. Kaiyr was nowhere to be seen, but Wild snored contentedly. In his sleep, the halfling fondled a golden ring that the druid recognized as having belonged to Cobain; he had not noticed the short fellow taking it. Then again, that was how thievery worked.
    Vinto also still slept soundly, recovering from the wounds he had received last night. That reminded Caineye that he needed to prepare his mind to receive inspiration from nature in the form of spells, and he went to the window, gazing out at the natural world visible from the window.
    After the better part of an hour, Vinto and Wild still rested. Caineye dressed and headed down the hall, where he discovered breakfast waiting for him. The druid found a small smile creeping onto his features. “Kaiyr,” he muttered, realizing that the elf had probably already been awake for several hours. He availed himself of the meal before heading out to find the blademaster.
    Upon exiting the dining room, Caineye realized as he had not on the way in that the bodies of Cobain and his wererats were nowhere to be seen. A few dried splotches of blood still sullied the walls and floor. Any valuables and equipment their foes had been carrying were organized and neatly laid in a small pile next to one of the main hall’s intricately-carved pillars.
    The open doors and sound of a shovel hacking into dirt drew the druid’s attention away from the gear on the floor, and he strode into the morning sunlight to find Kaiyr by the abbey’s wall. The elf’s sweaty work clothes clung to his body, and his pointed ears were visible for the first time with his hair pulled back into a high ponytail. The four bodies were laid out on the ground behind the blademaster, and he was working on the second hole as Caineye approached.
    Noticing Caineye out of the corner of his eye, Kaiyr stopped and stabbed the shovel into the ground, leaning on it and breathing heavily. “Master Caineye,” the elf said with a respectful nod. “Good morning. How does the day find you?”
    Caineye returned the gesture. “Good morning to you, too, Master Kaiyr. I’m