Written Chapter 3: Survival of the Luckiest

Assassins are trained in the art of survival as a basics course. It is considered the foundation of their work. To survive is to kill another day. So with that in mind, he was always a quick study on the subject. However, practical application was lacking. During one survival mission that lasted over a week, he was seen running in an open field laden with magical land mines just to get to some water on the other side. Oddly enough, he missed every one of them. To this day it is spoken of as a legend or myth. No one who witnessed it can even believe that they saw it. Sometimes, you just have to have faith though. Sometimes, this is enough.
Christopher was screaming as he flew through the air. The beast that grabbed him had made quick work to toss him to the side, into the river at that. Apparently it had bad luck and bit down on a sword. It didn’t take it long to refocus its efforts on the next nearest person.

Laithestel was prepared for the drake. She eyed it carefully and knew that it would likely be the type to spew acid. They were rather prevalent around these parts. She loosed an arrow into the beast’s side while dodging away from it, hoping to keep its attention. The beast wasn’t fooled however, and turned for the next tasty morsel in sight, hoping to have better luck. Gilthe wasn’t ready to be eaten however and slashed at the beast with his sword, missing in the process, but out of nowhere the space his blade had occupied suddenly burst into flames, catching the beast off guard and causing it to reel back in pain. Laithestel took this moment to fire another arrow, this time striking the throat, and lodging the arrow inside. The acid drake roared in pain, determined to get a meal from its endeavor. It then turned and whipped its tail as Skrymir made an attempt to strike, knocking him winded to the ground. Angerona was staying in its blind spot, making sure to strike at it when it was preoccupied, but it didn’t back down. It was then that it made its fatal mistake. It took a deep breath, mustering all the acid it could, then tried to spit it in an arc at the party in front of it. It wasn’t until it was half-way that it realized its mistake, but it was too late. The acid struck the arrow, but normal arrows would normally melt when lodged in the throat of an acid drake. This arrow however, was normal stock for Laithestel, lined in the purest of Mithril. This metal, so fabled by dwarves as the most durable metal in existence, would not waiver at mere acid. No, this metal would hold fast, no matter how strong the acid was. And so it was that the drake’s acid was turned against it. With no way out, the acid built up inside its throat wearing the lining away until it eventually melted through. The drake gargled once more, then fell to the ground, the acid eating away at the very ground it fell to.
The party sighed their relief. They looked at each other, and smiled at the teamwork. It was about that time that Christopher walked up, completely drenched from head to toe. He apparently got swept downstream a ways before managing to get out.
“Did we get him?” He then looked around and saw what remained and sighed as well.
“Let’s strike our camp, we should be relatively safe until just before dawn.”
“What happens just before dawn?” Gilthe was truly puzzled by the concept of “just before dawn.”
“The drake’s mother will likely be looking for it. We don’t have the luxury of sleeping in.”
Everyone’s eyes seemed to open wide at this remark. No one slept very well that night except, of course, Skrymir. When the time came, the party gathered their gear and headed out. It was not long after that, that they heard the loud roar of a much larger beast off in the distance. Most of them kicked themselves for not sleeping better.
“So, what exactly is this portal we are looking for?” Christopher seemed to have a crazed, but questioning look upon his face.
“Not looking for exactly, we already know where it is, it’s just a matter of getting there.”
“Right, so… Where exactly does this portal go?”
“Ah, that I’m not sure they would want me to say.” Skrymir gave Christopher a wry smile.
“They, would likely not want you to mention them either, Skry.” Laithestel gave him a wry smile as well.
“So, you just expect us to follow you to someplace you can’t tell us about, filled with people you can’t tell us about, just because you two strangers have asked us to?” Gilthe was third in line with the wryness.
“Well, truth be told, I don’t know that they would want you to be taken there either, but as far as we are concerned, you guys were marked the moment you stepped into the tavern.”
“Marked?” Everyone cringed at the high squeak of Akari’s voice.
“You were seen with us, fought by our side, and lived to tell the tale. As far as our enemies are concerned, you are one of us. If you stay in this area for long, you will likely be found, tortured, and killed. Just to find out what our names are. From there, they might resurrect you just to torture you some more. Although, truth be told, I’m not sure if they are capable of that last part.”
The adventurers looked at one another once more, for another option, only to come up with nothing. The trip was actually relatively short; they made it out of the thickest part of the forest, and into a field with many trees. Some would argue that there is no difference, but when you walk through the Estwild forest, into an area with any amount of fewer trees, it can safely be called a field by comparison. It was at this point that Skrymir focused intently. Any interruption was quashed so that he could continue to focus, and find what he was looking for.
“What is he doing?” Gilthe was a bit nervous.
“He’s finding our portal.” Laithestel did her best to calm the adventurers.
“I thought he said you already knew where!” Unfortunately it had failed on Christopher.
“We know it’s here, just not where here. Skrymir is a Finder, part of a special group of people that can find whatever they put their minds to. He’s not exactly the best of the best, but there hasn’t been anything he hasn’t managed to find yet, given some time.”
“And what, you just protect him? He doesn’t seem the sort that needs protecting.” Arash had caught on.
“Ah, I’m with him because I’m a Traveler. He finds the portal, only I can use it without consequence.”
“Without consequence? I thought portals were generally usable by all when opened.” Arash was used to the kind that opened and closed by the hands of a capable sorcerer.
“Well, these portals are different. A normal person attempting to make the jump would leave a bit of themselves behind, tearing their soul slightly in the process. Too many jumps would result in death, often the first results in temporary insanity. The jump into the Compendium is the only exception to that rule, the first time anyways.”
“Ah HA!”
Everyone turned and looked at Skrymir, as he jumped up in an incredibly non-assassin like manner. He was holding a small book that looked to be no more than a small leather bound journal.
“A book? What good is a book?” Gilthe was about to start knocking down the insane people.
“This book is our portal. This leads back to our headquarters, and Laithestel will be taking us there.”
Laithestel gave Skrymir a questioning look, then thought for a moment, only to give in with a sigh. She opened the book and found the page that she was looking for then began to focus. She hadn’t really traveled with this many before, but it only took a few moments longer than usual. The world around them seemed to spin around them, then grow much larger. The book started to envelope them until they couldn’t tell where they were any longer. A few more moments, and the book once more started to shrink as another place came into view.