The Bottom of the Bucket
“You are servants of the church, are you not?” asked Lunestra as she stood over the duo. They grumbled about wanting to finish their meal. She wore a long, blue gown adorned with the eyes and stars of Selûne — goddess of the moon — and her sharp tongue was her greatest weapon.
“Then you will get to the bottom of this mess,” she said before storming out of the long, dark dining hall.
“Waddaya think? Is this place still worth saving?” asked Book, leaning back in his seat with a contemplative look.
“I dunno. Stolen knives and bowls? It’s a far cry from a town lying dead.” said Sword as he shoveled the rest of his meal into his mouth.
Two days earlier…
As Book and Sword wandered down the dusty path they pondered Sword’s vision. Sword — a grizzled, yet charming young paladin with a yearning for the alehouse — found himself in the odd position of a clairvoyant. His visions had led the pair to leave the church in search of a macabre scene.
He had dreamt of a small town with streets littered by corpses. The skies were filled with swirling grey clouds and the earth was dead all around the tiny village. He would wake in a panic just as the sky opened up and a pair of yellow eyes gleamed from the darkness.
Book and Sword met while training at the church in Mardûn. While Sword prepared for a life of combat, Book studied to become a priest. Book was a grumpy old dwarf who refused to share his past, but his penchant for helping the sick and wounded was second to none. When Sword told Book about the visions, Book didn’t hesitate to join his quest to save the world.
“And you’re sure this is the first time you’ve ever had such a vision?” asked Book as they continued down the dry, barren path, wondering if he’d made the right decision.
“For the last time, I’m sure.” replied Sword. “Trust me, I’d remember if it had happened before. I’ve never seen anything so vivid. The bodies… I could touch them. I could feel them. It doesn’t get much more real than that.”
They continued down the path toward an outpost called Bucket. They’d heard that Bucket was governed by a trio of churches, including one which worshipped Selûne. The town had recently hit hard times as the river dried up and the generosity with which Bucket once overflowed was now gone. The two hoped to find clues in the town to help them with their search for the village in Sword’s dreams.
Suddenly, the vision returned. Sword could see the streets lined with bodies and the eyes stared at him from the abyss above. The town seemed to move away from him as he collapsed to the ground. When Sword came to Book was attempting to resuscitate him.
“What happened?” asked Sword.
“You started screaming just before you collapsed. Everybody has been staring at you like you’re an idiot. C’mon.” Sword climbed to his feet and steadied himself before noticing they had arrived in Bucket. He stood still for a moment, visibly shaken. This was the town from his visions.
“We’re here,” Sword exclaimed as he looked around. The townspeople were milling about between the few small shops that sat at the bottom of the hill. The sky was a brilliant blue. The only thing that matched his dream was the dead earth. It looked as if the soil had been drained of life.
“I need a drink,” said Sword. Book watched, bewildered, as Sword stumbled off in search of a tavern. In a town ruled by religion, Book fit in well. While Sword got to know the townspeople, Book decided to introduce himself to the church.
If nothing else, Bucket was a pious town. Three churches adorned the hilltop, making for an uncommonly comfortable relationship between their members. Book was reasonably well-known amongst all those devoted to Selûne, making it easy to enamor himself with the church devoted to her.
Entering the church, Book was immediately struck by its condition. Most of the monasteries he’d visited were old, dusty, and clearly underfunded, but everything here was pristine. At the end of a short hallway, there stood a huge, round chamber with bookshelves lining the walls. Even more striking was the newly constructed cistern in the center of the chamber. It was filled to the top with clean, clear water, quite contrary to the rest of the town which was dry, dusty, and very nearly barren.
“Greetings, and may the light of Selûne shine upon you, brother,” said a temple monk as he approached Book. The monk looked over the dwarf, recognizing him immediately.
“I am sure that our high priestess would like to meet with you. Please follow me.” Book nodded and followed him down the long, stone hallway.
Several hours later, as the sun began to set, Book and Sword met each other outside the tavern.
“You seem to be in much better spirits,” Book said to his friend.
“Heh, spirits. You’re damn right! That’s exactly what I’ve been into,” Sword replied with a huge grin on his face. “Seriously, though. You need to meet Kipp. We’ve been talking… and he knows a great deal more about this town than he’s letting on.”
“Excellent. Lunestra at the church should prove helpful as well. She’s the high priestess and she’s heard of us,” Book replied.
“Oh?! Heard of us, has she? No doubt she has heard tales of my wrath!” Sword drew his blade and thrust it into the air triumphantly.
“Yeah, she’s heard about that. She’s also aware of your other habits. She’s offered us food and shelter for the duration of our stay, but there were conditions.”
As Book laid out Lunestra’s terms, Sword’s eyes widened.
Quietly, Sword whispered, “I didn’t think anybody knew about that.”
Back to the beginning…
“Then you will get to the bottom of this mess,” said Lunestra. She stormed out of the dining hall after having explained to the pair the trouble that Bucket was facing.
Book and Sword pondered the situation as they finished their meals.
“She said some of the priests have had their holy symbols go missing. Maybe it’s one of the other churches?” asked Book.
“Nah, I heard some of the villagers mention things disappearing. One of them lost a necklace with a ruby but it’s mostly mundane stuff like metal bowls and little trinkets. If there’s burgling being done, let’s go find the burglars. Let’s find the seedy underbelly of the town. Let’s find… the bottom of the Bucket,” replied Sword.
Book shook his head as Sword put on a giant smile. Book pushed his companion out of the way as he left the hall.
As the duo entered the tavern they noticed that Kipp was arguing with a group of woodsmen over their bill.
“Should we intervene or see how this plays out?” asked Book.
“Let’s make ourselves some new friends. Maybe they can give us the information we need,” replied Sword as he began to move towards the argument.
At the table sat four men: two dwarves, a very drunk young human, and the foreman that was arguing with Kipp, “This is outrageous! You can’t charge this much for a pint! And certainly not for water!”
“Times… Times is hard,” replied Kipp with a smirk on his face.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa… What seems to be the problem?” asked Sword as he stepped in next to Kipp and the foreman.
“This bloody thief trying to swindle us is the problem! He’s charging out the bum for booze and even more for water!” the foreman replied.
“Okay, okay… I’ll cover it. Bring out another round, will ya Kipp?” Sword replied.
“As you wish,” Kipp said with a chuckle and a grin.
Sword and Book sat down with the woodsmen. Book remained pensive while Sword engaged them in conversation. After a bit of small talk, Sword came right out and asked, “So… Both my buddy and I have had things stolen from us recently and we’ve heard we’re not the only ones. Have you guys seen anything weird lately?”
“I sure as hell have!” the youngest of the group hiccuped. The older foreman sneered and smacked the boy’s arm.
“Hammil here has a tendency to think he can handle his drink better than he can so you never know if what he says is worth listening to,” said the foreman.
“Yup!” hiccuped Hammil again. “But I know what I saw this time! There was something shiny moving out in the darkness, and when I looked closer I saw one of our axes disappear into the ground!”
“We have had things disappearing lately, but there was no hole or crevice or anything where Hammil said he saw it happen. We’ve set up patrols recently, too, so the thieving hasn’t been happening as much. I figure there’s some gnomes out there that are stealing everybody’s stuff. I hate those shifty little buggers.” The foreman chugged the rest of his drink before standing up. “Well boys, thanks for the drinks but I think it’s about time we call it a night.”
After the woodsmen left, Book and Sword decided to catch back up with Kipp. “Thanks for handling that, fellas. I dunno what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up,” he said.
“All in a day’s work, buddy,” replied Sword. “But they weren’t wrong. You’re charging an arm and a leg for water. What’s the deal?”
“With the river dried up, the water just isn’t as freely available as it once was. The churches have their own water sources but they’re not sharing. It’s taken quite a toll on the town,” replied Kipp.
Book looked around. The tavern was filthy but there were several barrels of water sitting near the entrance. Kipp was also rather clean, obviously having bathed recently. “Yeah, looks like you’re in dire need,” he said abrasively.
“Look, I overheard you mentioning to those guys that you’ve had some things taken. I had a family heirloom stolen, too — a scimitar. It was my grand pappy’s. Stupid rats could’ve taken anything else, but they took the one thing that’s important to me.” Kipp slammed his fist on the counter and seethed for a moment before collecting himself.
“If you want some help with your missing stuff, you should go see Rolph. He works at the stables, kind of a mercenary type. Before he started there lots of things were disappearing… horseshoes, hammers, etc. After Rolph got there, it all stopped.” Kipp nodded, then moved toward the entrance to greet another customer.
“Well? Waddaya think?” Sword asked, looking at Book.
“I think you need some water. You smell like a brewery,” Book replied. “But I also think we’re on the right track. Kipp called them rats, and Hammil said he saw the axe get pulled underground. I’m thinking it’s — ”
“Ogres!” shouted Sword, triumphantly.
“No, you dolt. Since when do ogres live underground? Sounds to me like the work of kobolds.”
“Oh, er, right. That’s what I meant,” replied Sword. “It’s pretty late… I think we should take a stroll around the town. Let’s see what the goings on are like at this time of night.”
“Hey Kipp!” Sword called. “Lemme get another water!” Kipp poured him a fresh pint which Sword promptly chugged, slamming the cup on the counter after. “I’m ready!”
They started to make their rounds at the base of the hill on which the churches of Bucket stood. Sword strode forward on shaky legs; that last, expensive mug of water was only now lifting the fog of the strong ale. He peered into the darkness and elbowed Book. “Nightvision, eh?”
Book shook his head and considered the dried creek bed they walked beside. The reduction of the once mighty river to a dried and cracked dirt bed revealed just how close these border folk lived to disaster.
Book stopped short as Sword continued down the dirt road. “Hey, hey, hey — there’s something down there.”
Clarity came to Sword as he focused on the riverbed. He unslung his sword and shield. “Let’s investigate.”
The two picked their way down to the old bank where they found a family of raccoons in crisis. Two large raccoons stood over a baby raccoon which lay unbreathing next to a slightly cloudy puddle of water with an odd green tendril streaking through it.
Sword’s childhood in the outlands amongst his animal pals came back to him in a flash. “Save him!” he shouted to Book, scaring the adult raccoons away. Book knelt next to the baby and as he touched it, the creature started to breathe.
Sword frowned at the puddle, dipping a finger in and lifting it toward his mouth.
“Idiot!” Book exclaimed as he slapped Sword’s hand away from his mouth. Sword looked at Book for a moment, bewildered, before realizing that he had nearly poisoned himself.
“Ahem,” said Sword as he stood back up. “At least the baby is doing better! C’mere little guy…” he said as he leaned in to pet the raccoon.
The raccoon recoiled and skittered away towards the tree line. As the pair watched it run away they noticed more movement in the darkness. A trio of skulking kobolds crashed into each other in alarm as the baby raccoon ran under their feet. Dinnerware rained upon the ground and Sword raised his shield.
“By the light of Selûne… Gimme back those knives!” Sword cried as he ran straight towards the still startled group of kobolds.
Sword swung wildly at the monsters but couldn’t seem to steady his aim. The kobolds responded violently, swiftly knocking him unconscious.
Book ran toward the kobolds with his warhammer drawn and struck true into the core of one, knocking him to the ground, dead. He knelt down and touched Sword, allowing him to regain consciousness.
As the kobolds started to run away, Sword pulled his javelin from his back and attempted to launch it at the creatures. Unfortunately, he found that he was still heavily inebriated. He slipped, falling backwards and getting his javelin stuck in the mud.
Book stood, grabbed a small hammer from his belt, and threw it towards the retreating creatures. The hammer missed its target, but one of the kobolds stopped to grab it. As he did, Book dashed toward him and crushed his legs with the mighty warhammer.
After the it fell to the ground, unconscious, both Book and Sword looked into the dark woods and saw that there were several more monsters waiting at the tree line. They clapped and cheered as the only remaining attacker made it back with the hammer.
Sword stood up and Book grabbed the unconscious kobold by the neck, intending to throw it to his companion so it could be awakened and possibly questioned later. However, Book misjudged the frailty of the creature’s body and threw nothing but its head at Sword, separating it from the body. The kobold head hit Sword’s chest and bounced to the ground. Sword looked at Book and shook his head, disapprovingly.
The two stood for a moment, noticing that they could no longer detect the rest of the kobolds.
“Heya, boys. What’re you doing out so late?” Asked the constable as he wandered down the bank toward the empty river.
“Fishing,” Book said with a sarcastic tone.
If you enjoyed this, watch for more as Book and Sword’s party grows and they investigate the lack of water in Bucket, the cause of Sword’s visions, and that there are far more sinister things going on in their world.
