[Story] The Cave

When Cruth woke up he looked around to find himself stared at the ceiling of the tent. It was weird though, he didn't feel a thing. He didn't feel like he washed up on the shore just a day ago. He climbed out of the makeshift bed and got dressed. Someone laid down a few clothes. They were probably from Morgis since they fitted Cruth perfectly. Cruth walked outside and was greeted by a bright sun and two people. Morgis threw him a piece of bread while saying "Eat up! We are going to get into the cave soon! We need you with us." There was a big guy sitting next to Morgis looking at Cruth. "Hello, I am Imnon." He said with a deep voice. "I understand you are Cruth?" "Yes I am." Said Cruth. "And you are a halfing just like Morgis, am I correct?" "Correct again." Said Cruth. "But I can't tell what you are Imnon. You are way bigger than a human but you are not an orc." "I am a goliath, Cruth. A Goliath Warden." "I have never seen a goliath before. Nice to meet you Imnon!" "Likewise Cruth." "Enough with the chatter!" Said Morgis "We have to get to the cave! Avandra is waiting for us! Here Cruth, take this dagger and follow us!" He threw an old dagger to Cruth. When Cruth held it, it felt like a fine crafted weapon. It was sharp and the balance was good. "This is not a normal dagger now is it, Morgis." "You are right, it isn't. It is a dagger crafted by a master blacksmith. Nothing fancy but I do need it back after this!" "Sure thing Morgis!" Then they went on their way towards Avandra. Along the way Cruth learned to handle the dagger, and when they arrived at the cave entrance he had a pretty good feel of the dagger. Avandra was waiting outside. "Hey Cruth! How are you feeling? Did my healing do any good?" "Yes it did! I don't feel anything any more! How did you do that?" "Nothing much, just a feel healing spells. Clerics can and will save your life Cruth!" Avandra smiled at Cruth and Cruth felt a wave of comfort washing over him. He always felt that humans had these comforting aura's around them. Or maybe that was just a halfling thing because Morgis also had this relaxed look on his face while standing there. "Let's get going everyone!" Said Imnon "We need to get back to Candle Harbour!" Avandra took the lead and everyone went into the cave. With Cruth closing the party.

Imnon was lighting up the torches on the wall when Cruth entered. They were standing in front of a huge door. "This door can't be opened from this side so we need someone to go to the other side. I already found a hole up there." She said while pointing to the rocks above the door, "But it is too small for me, so we need either you, Cruth, or Morgis to go up there and go through it." "I am not climbing up there Avandra!" Said Morgis, "Let Cruth do it! Maybe he can show us what he can!" "Sure I'll do it." Said Cruth "Give me a few minutes!" Cruth quickly climbed up using the door and rocks. Within a few seconds he disappeared through the hole. On the other side it was dark but there was something emitting light down the corridor. Cruth sneaked through the corridor. Parts of it were flooded but he managed to find a decent path. When he came close to the light source he heard a snoring sound. He peeked around the corner and saw two silhouettes. They both looked rather small and hairy. One was lying on the floor and the other stood with his back towards Cruth. When Cruth focussed on them he saw they were kobolds. He looked around and also saw a lever. "This must be the lever that opens the door!" He thought to himself. He took out his dagger and sneaked towards the kobold standing with his back towards Cruth. He quickly stabbed him in the back and while the kobold collapsed Cruth turned around and quickly killed the sleeping kobold. Suddenly Cruth felt a sharp pain in his left arm. There was an arrow sticking out. He looked around and saw the shimmering from the point of the arrow just in time to duck. The arrow splintered on the rocks. He couldn't see the person that attacked him but he had an idea. He quickly jumped around the corner, hearing another arrow splinter. The arrow was still sticking out his arm. This caused him to be unable to stick to a wall so he broke it off. While biting on his teeth he tried to break the arrow. He was lucky it wasn't a human or elven arrow. The arrow snapped quite quickly without doing to much damage to Cruth's arm. Cruth looked around the corner but no arrow flew his way. He crawled along the wall closer to the darkness where the arrows were coming from. He quickly went around another corner and suddenly he stood face to face with the kobold. The kobold let out a scream of terror, dropped his bow and tried to run away. Cruth quickly grabbed the bow but was unable to even put an arrow on it. The pain in his arm was to heavy. "Dammit!" He thought, "Now they might know of our presence. At least they don't know I have three more people with me." He quickly pulled the heavy stone lever and felt a click. The sound of a heavy stone rolling away was heard. Cruth quickly ran back to the party with blood dripping from his arm. As soon as he saw them he yelled "They know there is someone here! I killed two kobolds but the third one got away!" "Dammit!" Said Morgis. Avandra looked concerned and as soon as she saw Cruth's arm she said "Cruth get over here! You are bleeding!" "It is nothing bad, Avandra. Just a flesh wound. The arrow is still in it though." Said Cruth, "I had to break it otherwise I couldn't sneak up to the third kobold." "Well we need to get it out. Sometimes they poison their arrows and we don't want you to become sick. Morgis I need you to push the arrow through Cruth's arm while I soothe his pain." Morgis had a disgusted look on his face. "You know I don't like this stuff Avandra, why do you make me do it?" "Because your fingers are small enough to do this. And I can hardly ask Cruth to do it. Now, ready Cruth?" "Ready." "Morgis, push the arrow through!" Cruth almost screamed with pain and suddenly he felt like his arm was laid into a pool of cool water. All his pain was gone. He saw Morgis holding up the part of the broken arrow that was removed from his arm. "How does this feel?" Asked Avadra. "It feels good. I don't feel any pain." Said Cruth. "Look at your wound." Said Avandra, "It is disappearing." When Cruth looked at the place where the arrow  used to be he saw the wound shrinking. New tissue was formed in such a rapid speed it looked like his flesh was alive. And suddenly the entire wound was gone. "Now let's get moving again." Said Imnon, "We need to catch those kobolds and get to Candle Harbour."