The Wandering Cleric: Chapter 2

"Are ye daft girl?!" cried a black bearded dwarf clad in a dark blue robe, "ye cannae jus' leave yer watch to go an 'elp some brat!"

"Durgan, they were going to kill him I couldn't just stand here and let him die!" the sandy haired warrior woman that saved Enialis responded calmly.

"I have to agree with Tara, Durgan. Neither you nor I would have done any different a stoic looking gray eyed half-elf said from across the campfire, as turned a snow hair on a roasting spit.

"Thanks you Saturos," Tara nodded.

"Yer both daft!" Durgan responded gruffly but let the conversation slide as he turned to his massive spell book his back towards Tara and Saturos.

A huge grin crossed Saturos' face as he caught Tara looking down worriedly at Enialis laying prone and unconscious at her feat. "He'll pull through, although I may need to go and get a couple more hares that young fellow looks half starved."

Blushing Tara responded as she reached down to brush aside Enialis' raven black hair, "he's an elf Saturos I think it wouldn't matter how much he ate."

"Well at least he's not another dwarf," Saturos commented.

"Ay!" Durgan responds indignantly to Saturos' jibe.

Tara laughed aloud at the exchange her hand pulling away from Enialis' fore head. Looking down at Enialis she smiled softly, "do you think he'll travel with us?"

Durgan's grumblings could be heard as Saturos looked at Tara with a raised eyebrow, before she added, "he looks like a man of the cloth; we could use someone who is attuned to one of the gods."

Saturos nodded knowingly, "you're rather taken with him aren't you?"

"I... well... he... I..." Tara responded meekly, causing Saturos to grin again.

"Well we can ask him, like you said it would be nice to have someone to heal us," Saturos comments.

"Aye, it'd save us a lot o' money on healing potions," Durgan said as he walked over to sit near the fire, "how's the food coming?"

"It's near done, although I was hoping I'd find some more out there but I guess we can fall back on our rations to supplement the meal."

"Rations again?" Tara whined, "They’re so salty."

"Well ye dannae 'ave ta eat them, but ye'll have ta do with what ye get from tha rabbit."

"I suppose," Tara said before nodding towards Enialis "well if need be he can have my share of the hare."

"Ye've really taken with him aren't ye?"

"I..."

"Food's ready," Saturos cut in saving Tara from the embarrassing moment.

Using a skinning knife Saturos removed a pair of legs for himself and Tara, and cut a flank for Durgan. The dwarf went at the small meal with a will sending juices and small pieces of rabbit down his chin to catch in his beard. Tara and Saturos ate quietly, and the entire campsite dropped into a dead silence, broken only by a belch from Durgan. A small giggle escaped from Tara's lip and she dropped the leg she was eating onto Enialis' chest, and he shifted slightly emitting a groaned. Causing Tara to jump and gasp in surprise. Opening his eyes Enialis found himself looking up into the kind brown eyes of Tara, "are you a Luna?"

"Far from it dear elf," Saturos said as he walked over to help Enialis up, "I'm afraid those brutes probably broke your nose, we tried to patch you up the best we could but some of the damage was already done and not one of us are very proficient at the healing art."

"Aye!" Durgan called from the other side of the campfire, "yer lucky our dear Tara heard tha commotion ye was makin' and rushed to yer rescue."

Enialis looked back up at Tara, standing like a statue over him, her eyes filled with worry, "I guess I owe you my life."

"I... I... I..." Tara stammered.

Durgan and Saturos broke into laughter and Tara turned a glare on them, her gaze silencing them as effectively as a spell of silence. Turning her eyes back to Enialis she smiled and nodded, "You're welcome... We ah we saved you some food incase you woke up," she said as she moved to sit back down, "it's not much but Saturos is one of the best tracker's I know. If he couldn't find anything else it's like to be there isn't anything else around."

Enialis nodded and shifted to sit down sharing the log Tara had been seated on as he sat he held out the leg of the rabbit, "I think you dropped this."

"Oh thank you," Tara replied as she took the leg of the rabbit her finger's brushing against Enialis' causing her to blush and turn away.

"So," Saturos said drawing Enialis' attention away from Tara," what's your name?"

"Oh dear," Enialis responded, "You must think I'm ungrateful! I am Enialis, an acolyte of Luna, thank you so much for rescuing me Tara."

"I... you're welcome," Tara smiled again he cheeks getting redder, "what... what brings you into these mountains?"

"The monastery where I live is only a day’s travel back up the trail that you found me. I was sent out by the rest of my order to spread the word of Luna." Enialis replied with a note of sadness in his voice.

"That must have been horrible," Tara exclaimed turning to look at him, "leaving your home and being forced to travel alone, especially in these mountains."

"To be honest I wish I was back in the monastery..." Enialis says as he glances back up towards the peak in the direction of his home, "but Luna asked this of me specifically, so I must do as she wishes."

Looking at Enialis Saturos commented after swallowing a bite of his hare, "how are you able to stand against the cold Enialis?"

"My walking staff, was made for me by one of my brothers, he spent a week crafting it and enchanted it to protect me from the cold."

"Aye it looks like it's been traced with silver too," Durgan interjected, "a handy lookin' weapon ye got there."

"I suppose," Enialis said, "I'm not the most capable of fighters."

"No from what I heard you didn't fare to well against those brigands," Saturos commented as he cut more meat from the rabbit and tossed the pieces around to everyone.

"I... My order is more of a peaceful order... We mostly practice the art of healing, and creating, although some of my brothers and sisters are great musicians, poets and storytellers." Enialis said blushing.

"Well ye did good by Tara's reckoning," Durgan responded, "so where were ye headed lad?"

"I didn't really have much of a destination; my basic plan was to get into Narshe where I could hopefully meet up with a merchant that would allow me passage with him to South Figaro so I could begin preaching the word of Luna."

At that Tara looked pleadingly at Saturos who merely nodded and turned to Enialis, "if you don't mind me asking, the three of us wouldn't mind you staying with us, we're heading back to Narshe right now to meet with the town elder to inform him that we were able to deal with the problems in the coal mines. Perhaps after we get there you'd like to continue along with us? We could dearly use someone with the healing gift traveling with us."

"I... yes," Enialis responded with a nod, "that would be wonderful. I would love to travel with you three."

The rest of the night the rest of the group couldn't help but notice the extra spring in Tara's step.