Paul's New Day
Previously in Gon: Paul ElvenStier arrived home to Gon a new man. What had started out as anger for who he used to be had quickly turned into pride of who he was. He promised to move forward and not let his desire to be accepted and respected for who he was hold him back from doing what he could do. He felt let giving some orders, making sure his people knew who was in charge and if need be, prove it. Paul took a quick jog to the top of the tower so he could talk to whoever was on watch and maybe even have a few on the ground to yell down to, just for effect. When no one was in the tower, he almost smiled, now he had a good reason to raise his voice and flex his leadership muscle. Paul looked around on this cold morning and did not see a single soldier. “DRILL” he yelled out, signaling any within his voice to snap to attention, without raising the alarm. He waited. He looked to the North East Tower and then to the South West. No movement that he could see. A tingle started running up and down his spine and the thought of being careful what you wish for shot across him mind. Taking a moment to cast Fly on himself seemed prudent as now he had some ground to cover. Rather then worrying to locals Paul flew effortlessly out the window and directly east to confirm that tower was empty. Flying down the stairwell, he started to worry that even the shift from last night was not sleeping, they were just gone. No bodies. Was that a good thing or a bad sign? At least he saw some movement in the town proper, someone was making their way to the inn as Paul picked up speed and flew south to the next tower. Another empty tower and just to confirm he flew by the last tower surrounding the little town and headed for the inn. Like all small towns, the inn was the meeting place and the place to get information. Paul considered his words as he landed and opened the door, he did not want to worry the locals. “Oh, hey Paul” came the greeting from the mayor/ inn keeper. “The guys wanted me to tell you they went to help the DragonSlayers save the world. Ramone? told them you would appreciate their confidence to make a difference.” Paul had to bite his tongue “Did Ramone? say how long they would be gone?”
And now….. Paul tried and tried to find the DragonSlayers. He knew there was a reason he could not find Brad but the rest should be easy. If he had that Crystal Ball, he was sure he could find someone. Paul always wanted more magic items, he could only cast so many spells a day and only if he had the right spells ready. He could spend too much time out searching the hard way as he had no one left to defend Gon and no teleport spells left today. As he flew around Gon and the outskirts, Paul thought it best to spend the time reassuring the residents that they were still safe in the Protectorate as long as he was around. The first stop was his in laws. As much as he knew it would not go well, it had to be done. They lived just west of Gon, on one of the closer farms. There was smoke coming from a couple of the buildings Paul built when he established the protectorate, he could see as started that way. A little more smoke then there should be and Paul shouted an alarm as he sped up to his maximum speed. He was still thinking what the best course of action was, what spells he had available when he got to the area and realized only the buildings he help built were on fire, certainly not a coincidence. But what could he do, so much of what he was prepared for destroying things. He made sure everyone was accounted for and was informed by his disgruntled in laws, the only thing of value was the grain stored in one of the new barns. Thinking only of what was best for the town, Paul flew into the open window and prepared to cast Deep Freeze to save the grain, only to find that the only grain left was already protected in that fashion. He quickly flew out again, coming to the unmistakable conclusion that all was lost with these buildings, at least with the snow, the fire would not spread. “You best be off chasing those bastards.” His father in law insisted. “I’m sorry sir, did you see them, who they were or where they went.” Paul asked respectively as he landed in front of him. “You certainly not the tracker Bel’s ex was. Heck even I can see they came from the south, and from the tracks, that is one heavy wagon, even you should be able to follow those tracks in the snow. Hopefully your precious magic well help you catch up with them.” “Yes sir” was all Paul could say as he flew off to the north.
Next Part Paul flew north, following two lines in the snowy field. As it turned out it was easy and unnecessary. It took only a few rounds to have a even easier trail to follow; smoke coming from a few more of the building Paul had built. At least by the time he got to these buildings, there was something worth saving. Without any witnesses he had to check each building first. A quick fly through and it was clear there was nothing left inside that could be saved. It occurred to him his spells would not do much to stop a fire. Dig would help if it was outside and sure an air elemental could blow the fire out but the building might be blown away. He was much better at destroying the saving. Where was an Elemental Priest when he needed one? No, Paul’s best course of action was to track down the wagon and deal with whom ever was starting the fire. The pattern was clear and if the timing was the same, he should be able to catch them before they got to the next set of buildings. Maybe the symmetric disbursement of the buildings was a good idea; maybe it just made the bad guys’ job easier. Paul caught up to the wagon, flew right by and landed a few yards ahead of the pair of oxen. Paul looked at the humans that trailed on each side, noticed the large pot on the wagon and even the mostly blank stare on their faces until Paul introduced himself. “I am Paul ElvenStier, you are trespassing in my protectorate….. “ Paul’s speech had been cut short by the fact that the crowd was rushing at him at the sound of a whistle. Paul improvised by flying up out of range. “As I was saying, you will stop this attack or I will be forced to respond with all my might.” Paul calculated his odds, clearly he could kill them all quickly with a Cloud Kill, but he wanted answers and he could not be sure if he reincarnated one that they would be able to speak. He thought best to start small, see what he was up against with a set of magic missiles, one the leader with the whistle, and spread out the rest. Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop. The results were better then expected, clearly these were normal villagers, two were knocked out, but the rest seemed to ignore the pain, they were heavily charmed. The only fair thing to do would be to go hand to hand, no one seemed to have weapons so Paul landed and prepared for a foray of heroic portions, though he did not feel very heroic. Of course Paul prevailed, it just took a little time, but soon they were all unconscious in the wagon. Too much time as Paul heard a BOOM, BOOM from Gon proper.
Paul returned home to an unhappy site. The town of Gon was safe but all it’s residents and many of the surrounding farmers were outside waiting when Paul guided the oxen to the north gate. The mayor of Gon came up to Paul and gave him the news. “Well, as you may have noticed, your towers surrounding Gon have been destroyed. No one was hurt and we have apprehended those responsible. The bad news is they do not remember anything.” Paul was more relieved then he wanted to show. “Well, then at least the violent is over for now. We just have to consider how to rebuild.” “That is where the bad gets worse, at least for some.” The Mayer said before Paul could continue. “The people around here appreciate all you have done, but feel you are more of a problem then a solution. They want you to go somewhere else.” Paul considered it for a moment, knew he could please the crowd and himself at the same time. “Ladies and Gentlemen of Gon, please gather around. Thank you so much for your understanding. This most direct attack on my person is a clear sign that my presence here is far more a target then deterrence. While I will not abandon you, I must appear to have moved on. My team, or what is left of it, will join each town’s militia. My personal presence will be always on the move, sometime I will be here without you even knowing it. Rest assured if trouble comes I will be here for you.” Paul walked through the crowd, to a general happy reaction. “Stop by anytime” was the most frequent response. He pushed aside some of the charred remains of one the tower, stepped into the magic pool?, concentrated on Roadhaven, and stepped in. He figured he had a few days to study in the library before the Dragonslayers would be back.
