Bria's Shrine 3: Race of Races
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 12:25 am
Bria's Shrine 3: Race of Races
Chapter 1 - The Message
It was another typical day in Nordock. Kazarn Wolfwood had just arrived to retrieve his cousin, who had recently been spiked, gassed, set on fire, and electrocuted in one of the more 'interesting' dungeons.
He stepped out of the Brosna temple portal, and began to head for the Wildwanderer's last known whereabouts.
He had taken no more than 3 steps away from the temple when a young soldier ran up to him.
"Hey, you! Orc!"
"Yus? Yooz talkin' to me?"
"Are you Kazarn Wolfwood?"
"Yus!"
"The Duke requests the presence of you and any companions. He has a proposal regarding certain artifacts of which you have knowledge of. Alas I have been unable to find any of the Silent Hand who were on the original expedition, nor any of the original leaders of said expedition, so I guess you will have to do..."
"Huuuh?" asked Wolfwood, unable to follow the guard's monologue. The guard rolled his eyes,
"For the love of..! Look, get friends, go see duke!"
"Ohh! Why you no say dat in first place??"
The guard sighed and walked off back to the barracks, muttering under his breath and shaking his head.
Half an hour later, Wolfwood & his hastily formed party had gathered together, and together they travelled to Brosna to meet the duke.
The group was mighty indeed - the mighty paladin Angelina, the deadly blade mistress Ania, the slightly un-hinged druid Mortalus, the expert tracker Elrand, the cunning rog*bop* err..'locksmith' Leatherus and the great mage (or was he a sorcerer? Damned magic users... - ed) Serin.
"What is this all about anyway?" asked Elrand as the group walked towards the Brosna Hall of citizens
"Dunno." replied Wolfwood
"That's just... great." Elrand replied with a resigned sigh.
"Wait. You called us here for no reason??" said Angelina, spinning round suddenly to face Wolfwood
"Nose... Guard say 'Get friends, go see duke', so me doin' dat."
"But why?? What for??"
Wolfwood shrugged, "Me dunno."
Angelina rolled her eyes with a resigned sigh and turned back towards the Hall of Citizens.
As they entered, one of the clerks stood up and came to greet them,
"Good day. The Duke is expecting you, but he is currently in a meeting. Please wait here until you are called for."
"Of course." replied Angelina with a curt bow
A half-hour passed, mostly filled by Wolfwood writing amusing but unlikely anecdotes on the bulletin board. They would probably have caused much offence if anyone, including Wolfwood, could actually read them.
Elrand, Mortalus and Leatherus were discussing something, while Angelina and Serin sat by the fountain, waiting patiently. Eventually, the clerk returned.
"The Duke will see you now." he said, gesturing to the stairs leading to the Duke's chamber. Rising to her feet, Angelina checked her gear and lead the others up the stairs to where the Duke was waiting for them.
"Thank you all for meeting me." he said, showing them into his chamber, "Please take a seat."
"What seems to be the problem Lord?" asked Serin as he sat down
"I summoned you all here because I am in need of help. We recently came across a special stone that was delivered by the Silent Hand."
"A 'stone'?" asked Serin, his brow furrowing with mild confusion
"Ah, from the elemental altar methinks." said Leatherus nodding, half to himself
"Aye, this is what we suspect. Our scholars here could not interpret the inscriptions on the stone, so I sent it to the Elven Clerics north of Tobaro. However, the caravan that was holding the stone has not been heard from for many days."
"Ah, and you fear foul play is involved?" said Angelina
"Yes. I wish you to trace the path of the caravan, and see if you can find any trace of what has befallen it."
"From where did they take leave?" asked Serin
"The caravan headed West through the gates towards Sholo."
"Ah, through Trommel woods, then?" said Mortalus, nodding
"Aye, you are correct. They were to then proceed north towards Tobaro."
"So it could be anywhere on that route..." said Mortalus thoughtfully
"Would it have been on the main roads? Or did it take a more... more discreet path?" asked Mortalus
"As far as I know, they took the main roads."
Leatherus rose from his seat and sauntered non-chalently up to the Duke's desk. He peered down at the map. The Duke used his finger to trace the path for him. Leatherus peered at the map intently.
"Ahh, so this is the way they *HURK*!!" Leatherus looked to his left, his hand was being held firmly on the table by Elrand's, worryingly near the Duke's money purse.
"Oh dear, your twitching finger affliction seems to have flared up again my friend!" he said, throwing Leatherus an amused but warning grin.
"Mmm. Yes," said the Duke, slightly miffed, "Perhaps my surgeons could help you 'remove' this affliction?"
Leatherus paled slightly, and managed to produce a weak grin, "Ah, no trouble good Duke, 'tis but a trifling condition, hardly worthy bothering your elite medical staff about!"
"Are you sure? It would be no trouble." said the Duke, slightly amused, as Leatherus hurriedly made his way back to his chair, accompanied by Elrand.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I need you to locate the caravan. The caravan was due to pass Trommel Wood one day ago, but has not been seen since it departed. Time is of the essence, I have information that other parties wish to recover the stone too."
Angelina rose to her feet, "We are naturally at your service m'lord." she said with a bow, "We will depart at once."
"You have my leave. Move swiftly, and good luck."
"Thank you m'lord." replied Angelina "Come on everyone."
As the party descended the stairs, they began discussing their up-coming journey, accompanied by the sound of Wolfwood munching on something.
"So... The caravan must be somewhere between here and Trommel..." said Mortalus throughfully
"Methinks I've seen this caravan already." said Elrand
"Aye? Where?" asked Angelina
"It was far westwards, I think near Sholo."
"Say, is there not an entrance to the Underdark between here and Trommel?" asked Serin suddenly
There was a loud sound, like a very rough file being drawn over wood. The party half-turned to see Wolfwood choking on one of his Meat Surprises. Ania slapped him on the back, causing the offending morsel to fly across the foyer. It hit the bulletin board in the upper right corner, with a soft splat.
"Drowz!? You not fink dat wot he mean by 'Uver innerested parties' duz yooz?!"
"Well, it is certainly a possibility..." said Angelina slowly
"Yeah, the drow were after the shrine before, mayhaps they heard about the discovery of the stones and are after them again?" suggested Leatherus
"Then we must be extra cautious." said Angelina flatly,
"Let us not waste time my friends. We should head out now, be wary and stick close together." said Ania as they exited the Hall of Citizens
"Aye..." said Mortalus, gazing past the western gate to the fields and forests beyond.
Chapter 2 - The Drow
After gathering supplies for the journey, the party set off through the west Brosna gate.
"We must be vigilant my friends, if the drow are involved. They have adapted to the surface remarkably well. Sunlight no longer burns them as it once did, and they have developed magic to protect their equipment from the sun." said Elrand as they passed the suburbs of Brosna
"Yes." said Angelina, "Leatherus, Elrand, you take point. Stay hidden. Your keen eyes will hopefully spot any dangers in advance. Ania, you take flank. Wolfwood, Serin, you're with me."
At that, the companions set off east towards the Trommel Woods. Their journey was mostly unhindered except for the odd giant attack, which was cut down to size very quickly by Elrand and Leatherus, often before the main body of the group even knew of it.
After the first day, they reached the edge of the Sholo plains. The sun had almost set, leaving only the last of it's reddish hue visible. The party decided not to press on through the night, and made camp.
"How much further do you think we have to go?" asked Serin, feeding his familiar
"Not very far, if the caravan is the same one I saw earlier this ten-day." said Elrand, stretching out on his bedroll.
"Okay, who wants to take first watch?" asked Angelina, stifling a yawn
"I will, " said Serin, "I'm not very tired at the moment. I will cast some detection spells to give us early warning."
"Very well then." replied Angelina, and settled down to sleep.
"Wake me up for the second watch." said Elrand as he unpacked his bedroll. The others proceeded to set their camp up, and soon all but Serin were resting peacefully.
Wolfwood dozed off quickly. He had lots of practice. He began to dream - half-formed images swirling in his mind's eye. A sound like a hammer striking a frying pan began to inpinge on his dreams, growing louder... His eyes opened wearily and he slowly sat up. As the fog of sleep cleared he noticed the loud clanging of an alarm spell was reverberating around the plain! He slowly donned his helmet,
"Wuz goin' on?" he slurred groggily
"DROW!!!! DRO..*ARGH*!!" screamed Serin. Wolfwood's head whipped round to the right, just in time to see Serin's head leave his body! His darkvision picked up every grisly detail as the drow's shortswords swung up, connected with Serin's chin and sheared cleanly through his head, sending a gout of blood streaming into the air.
"Well crap." muttered Wolfwood, struggling to unsheathe his scimitar. The drow turned towards him, her eyes glowing red in the dark. She ran towards Wolfwood,
"LLOTH PLYNN DOS!" she screamed, her swords raised to strike at the unprepared half-orc!
Her battle cry turned into a shriek of surprise - Elrand had been lying on the ground between her and Wolfwood, blending seamlessly with the ground. As the drow ran past him, he grabbed her foot causing her to tumble to Wolfwood's feet!
Wolfwood delivered a vicious kick, flipping the drow back over, but as he was about to swing his scimitar at her he was suddenly met with a volley of darts pinging off his armour!
The drow rolled to her feet, swords still in hand, but her swing at Wolfwood's back was met by Elrand's own swords, "Dos Kuuv Resist Ussa?? Whol Lil Orbb Valsharess!!" she screamed, kicking him over and diving at his prone form with both swords extended.
Ania and Angelina were up and already engaged - They could barely see their enemy in the low light, but knew it was another drow. They attacked together, but even alone this drow was most formidable, parrying their swords almost effortlessly.
Every strike they made was turned away by the drow's rapier or blocked by her shield, the drow mocked their feeble attempts to hit her, "You foolish rivvel! You cannot hope to stand against Lloth's will! You will rue the day you faced Raven Kel'tahk'Z'ress!" she cackled as she deflected another double-strike from Ania and Angelina.
Leatherus by this time had also woken up, to find Elrand on the ground, and Wolfwood trying to defend himself from a barrage of arrows and darts from an unknown assailant.
Quietly, he slipped away, masking his body heat and sneaked in a round-about fashion towards the source of the projectiles.
Elrand managed to bring his twin blades, forming a defensive V over his prone form just in time to deflect both the drow's blades up and away from him. He planted a foot on her abdomen as she sailed into him and kicking out, sending the drow flying past him.
As the drow flew past, he flipped to his feet. The drow turned her dive into a roll, bringing her back to her feet. They both faced each other.
"Nice try drow, but you won't get me so easily!" he said through gritted teeth - he was hurting, but refused to show any weakness
"Belbau phor nin lueth usstan orn er'griff elgg dos!" she screamed in reply as she charged him again.
Elrand spun to the right, deflecting the blow with his off-hand and twirling round to deliver a horizontal curving strike at the drow as she passed. His blade instead found her other sword, striking a clear resounding tone.
"Ha wael! You will have to do better than that!" she cried triumphantly, and moved to attack him again.
Wolfwood was not having a good time, it was all he could do to block the stream of missiles flying at every part of his body. His shield by now was peppered with a variety of different arrows. Several had got through, but had lodged in his formidable armour without hurting him seriously.
"Wen me finds out woo doin' dat me gonna smash yooz face!!" he yelled angrily from behind his shield.
Leatherus meanwhile, had gotten to the base of a tree - He looked up to see another drow, delicately balanced on a branch, smiling with glee as she fired missile after missile at Wolfwood.
With a mischievous smile, he notched an arrow, "Careful wench! You might fall!" he yelled and let loose the arrow.
The drow looked down, her expression rapidly shifting from startled surprise to horror as she saw the arrow head straight for her heart! Desperately, she twisted aside, the arrow tearing a rent in her armour, but otherwise doing no damage. With a snarl, she dived down from the tree head first - two glowing short-swords suddenly appearing in her hands and aimed right at Leatherus' head!
Leatherus was no slouch - as she began her dive, he had already somersaulted backwards, whilst notching another arrow. The drow tucked herself in at the last moment, transforming the dive into a roll which neatly brought her to her feat.
"Good trick." commented Leatherus
"Stay there and I'll show you another one." she said in a sultry voice
At almost the same time, Leatherus let loose his arrow as she charged. The drow went into a defensive spin, using her main dagger to deflect the arrow while bringing her off-hand round in a wide arc aimed at Leatherus' neck!
As soon as he let loose the arrow, Leatherus spun to his right, slinging his bow over his shoulder and drawing his sword in one smooth motion. He barely deflected the dagger aimed at his neck, but managed a flurry of counter attacks which stalled the drow's vicious advance.
"Not bad for a darthirii, perhaps if you surrender now I will make your death quick and painless... perhaps enjoyable." she said, licking her lips sensually with an evil smile.
"Sorry luv, I'm not into that kinda stuff." said Leatherus with a disinterested shrug
"Oh well. Nevermind, I shall be content flaying the skin from your bones while you beg me to kill you." she said returning a casual shrug
"Sorry again luv, I think I'll be too busy washing me hair and sword, awash as it will soon be with yer blood."
"Fool! Let us see who's blood shall be spilled this night!" she cried, loosing her patience.
With a curse, she ran at Leatherus again, and they clashed once more.
Wolfwood cautiously looked out from behind his shield, "Bluddy hell..." he said as he looked at the front of it. It looked like several mutant porcupines and hedgehogs had been skinned and glued to the front of his shield.
Elrand was not faring terribly well - he had a hard time hitting the extremely nimble drow he was facing, whereas her speed allowed her to get in a multitude of light cuts, and these were starting to take their toll on Elrand. He felt exhausted, and was bleeding from several deeper cuts all over his body.
"Who.. are you?" he asked weakly during a lull in the duel
"You would like to know your doom 'eh?" she said with wry amusement, "Ha! I will grant you your last request wael! I am Qee'Elghinn Mlezziir, and you are but a meaningless naubol!"
With that, she rushed Elrand again, both swords down low and barely inchs apart. Elrand was almost too weak to defend himself, barely able to bring his swords down in a defensive cross. He threw a dazed look at the drow as she smashed aside his parry, disarming him and sending his swords tumbling away. Elrand fell to his knees.
The drow threw him a wide smile of triumph, and slowly lifted a sword to end his life, enjoying every second.
She brought down her sword, Elrand steeled himself for the inevitable...
"RAAAAAAR!!!!!"
"INBAU TIR USSA DOS WAELE CRETOK!!" screamed Qee as Wolfwood shield rushed her. Her swords got tangled up in the mass of darts and arrows on his shield as she was bowled to the ground by the extremely overweight half-orc.
Leaving the stunned and disarmed drow, Wolfwood ran to Elrand. With a touch, a blue beam of life-giving energy descended from the heavens. Elrand felt revived - the bleeding staunched as his wounds knitted shut, his fatigue vanished.
"Right Drow, now it's *your* turn!" he yelled. Wolfwood and Elrand both sprinted towards the drow as she rose back to her feet, Elrand gathering up his twin-blades in a smooth motion as he passed them.
The drow had retrieved her swords also, "Then come wael, and let us see who's 'turn' it really is!"
Wolfwood lead the charge, his orcish fury and extremely sturdy shield leading the way.
The drow feinted at him, but spun round in the opposite direction and slapped him across the back with the flat of her sword. Wolfwood stumbled, but kept his balance and skidded to a halt on the grass a short distance away.
Elrand was right behind him, and quickly followed up with a flurry of jabs at the Drow's vulnerable back as she swung her swords back to bear on him. As she did so however, Wolfwood's scimitar came whirling back, but still the drow's agility enabled her to parry both attacks at the same time!
"Ha! Your pitiful skills are no match for mine!" she cried with glee
The two of them continued their attack, but somehow she was able to fend off both attacks with almost casual ease! She stood arrogantly between Wolfwood and Elrand, trying to watch them both as they circled her.
"DOER PHOLOR T'YIN LUETH THALRA DOSST HARUK!" she challenged them
Elrand flashed some ranger hand signals at Wolfwood. Wolfwood nodded back.
They both charged.
Qee was ready, she deflected Elrand's swords harmlessly upward, and was about to swing at Wolfwood when Elrand suddenly let go of his swords and tackled the drow!
"ORI'GATO ALU D'USSA DOS FILTHY KIVVIL!" she shrieked as Elrand grappled her and forced her to the ground.
"Say hullo to Bob for meez when yooz meet him!" roared Wolfwood, as he placed his hands on her and chanted a powerful curse. A brilliant beam of crimson light shot up from the ground towards the heavens, encompassing Qee's form as Elrand pinned her down.
"NOO!" screamed Qee, "IT CANNOT BE!! LLOTH DORMAGYN DOSST DALH..!" but before she could finish, her life was torn from her body by the powerful spell, and she fell to the ground, lifeless as the swords she wielded.
"Phew, thank you my friend." said Elrand shakily, "I thought I was done for."
Before Wolfwood could answer, there was a loud angry shout to their right,
"Damnit you drow bitch! That was my best shirt!"
"Leatherus!" exclaimed Elrand. He gathered his swords once again and the two of them ran towards Leatherus' voice.
"Damnit you drow bitch! That was my best shirt!"
"Now now my poor darthirii, when I am done with you, you won't need a shirt!" she laughed gleefully. Both of them were suffering from a multitude of minor cuts and bruises, but Leatherus was suffering more - as quick as he was, he was having a hard time parrying the lightning-fast attacks from the drow's twin swords, "Give up foolish darthirii, and Hal'Drin Kel'tahk'Z'ress will show you that jiv'elgg lueth jiv'undus phuul jivvin!"
"*sigh*I already told you luv, you're just not my type. It's not that I don't like you, in fact I hate you, but you gotta get over the fact that you can't have such a handsome man as I!"
Hal'drin spat on the ground, "I'd sooner have a kitrye-cretok!" she said angrily
"That could be arranged." replied Leatherus with a sly smile
Hal'Drin looked at him with a raised eye-brow for a second, then her eyes widened and she whirled round, but was almost too late! Elrand's silent footsteps had gotten him right up to her, and his swords were already jabbing at her side and back! She recovered with astonishing speed and managed to fend off a renewed attack by both Leatherus and Elrand, but in her intense concentration on their blades, she did not expect a third attacker!
With an enraged roar, Wolfwood grabbed her from behind, one gauntlet wrapped round her neck. She swung her daggers backwards in desperation, but they didn't even scratch the dragon scales on Wolfwood's armour as he slammed her head-first into a tree with a wet crunch.
"There's your half-orc my dear." said Leatherus to the bloodied corpse. He turned to Wolfwood and Elrand, "Thank you my friends! I'm afraid my good looks had driven that one a mite obsessive. She wouldn't take no for an answer!" he turned back to look at the corpse, "Y'know, it's such a waste... " he said shaking his head, "Why are all the pretty ones insane power-hungry murderers?"
"See? Me told yoo me wud smash yooz face!" Wolfwood said to the corpse triumphantly.
"Come on you two, Ania and Angi are still in trouble!" said Elrand, turning and running off towards the sound of steel clashing. With one last glance at the drow corpse, Leatherus and Wolfwood ran after Elrand.
Indeed, Ania and Angelina were not doing well - the drow was effortlessly dodging and parrying their swings, and the 2 warrior maidens were becoming fatigued from swinging their massive swords at her.
"Hehehe!" laughed the drow with glee, "You poor oolos are no match for the might of Lloth!"
"You will not prevail!" retorted Angelina breathlessly, "We will strike you down with our last breaths!"
"Well, you are half right anyway!" she replied with a laugh, "Enough games, I cannot waste time playing with mere children!" and with that, Raven began her own counter-assault.
Angelina and Ania managed to dodge and parry the blows at first, but the unearthly speed of the drow's attacks overwhelmed them, and they had to break off, suffering from a score of slashes and cuts. In the lull, Raven suddenly leapt forwards, skewering Ania on the end of her rapier! Ania's expression changed from one of grim determination to horror, and she fell to the ground, grasping her chest in pain,
"Haha! See how you yibin kivvin fall before the might and glory of Lloth!!"
Angelina rushed to Ania's side, using her healing powers to repair the near-fatal wound, but as she transferred the life giving energy, Raven gave her a vicious kick which sent her sprawling to the ground.
"You cannot defeat us you worthless insects! L'elamshin d'lil Ilythiiri zhah ulu har'luth jal!"
Raven gave Angelina another vicious kick, sending her tumbling over again.
"Poor stupid fools, " she said, shaking her head mockingly "how could you even contemplate besting your betters? How could you atone for such a crime? Oh, I know! Yes! Lloth will be pleased!" she continued, brandishing a sacrificial dagger
Angelina tried to raise her sword to defend herself, but the drow was too fast and slashed her cheek with the dagger. Angelina immediately felt her limbs go slack, she collapsed back on the ground, helpless, horror welling in her as Raven approached with the writhing dagger aimed lazily at her heart.
"Yes... Lloth will be pleased by your contribution indeed!" she cackled as she raised the dagger.
"Tut tut silly drow, have a heart!" said Leatherus with a cocky grin as he let fly an arrow at the drow's eye.
Raven was caught by surprise, but her reflexes were up to the task and she twirled out of the way, not even receiving a scratch. "Ooh, are you volunteering?" she hissed wickedly, shifting her attention from Angelina and moving towards Leatherus
She suddenly heard a gulp behind her and whirled round to see Ania quaff a healing potion. Wiping the azure fluid from her lips, Ania rose to her feet, cold fury blazing in her eyes, her massive scythe now un-slung from her back and in her hands.
"You messed up my hair. I'm going to kill you." she said coldly
"Aha! A challenge!" chuckled Raven gleefully
Ania charged the drow, her scythe blazing with energy as the blade weaved in a complex pattern, somehow parrying every single one of Raven's jabs and thrusts. Suddenly Raven gasped and broke off.
"Agh! You got me!" she exclaimed in surprise. There was a deep gash across her side, blood was oozing freely from it, staining her armour, "Perhaps I underestimated you after all."
At this point, Elrand and Wolfwood arrived, Wolfwood was panting heavily,
"Yooz *puff* stop dat nowz before me *pant* mashes yooz faces dumbfick drowz!" he roared breathlessly
"Aye, we have you outnumbered and outmatched drow. Stand down or we will kill you where you stand." confirmed Elrand
"Aha! More sacrifices! Lloth shall be pleased!" replied Raven with a clap. Suddenly her expression changed, "Alas I regret we cannot play with you any longer. We have wasted enough time already." she said with mock sorrow, "Maleficent, kill these nothings for me."
"With pleasure jabbress."
The whole party whirled round to see another drow standing behind them, holding a dark orb. Wolfwood, suddenly stuck with a strong sense of impending doom, used the time honoured Kazarn tactic: Run the hell away!
Leatherus and Elrand drew their bows in a flash, arrows aimed straight at Maleficent's heart.
"Freeze drow, or you will be feeding the worms afore dawn!" ordered Elrand
Maleficent laughed, "Oh, come now! Lets see what you are made of little kivvin!"
"Say good night." said Leatherus, and they both sent their arrows lancing through the air, bowstrings singing of death.
Maleficent cocked an eye at them and swept her hand over the orb - immediately the world began to slow.... stop.
Maleficent looked at the arrows with wry amusement, hanging as they were in mid air. She stepped round them and plucked them both out of the air, then looking towards the frozen forms of Elrand and Leatherus. She grinned evilly and sauntered over to them.
"Oh dear, I think there's something in your eye!" she said, and stabbed the arrows in each of their eyes until naught but the flights were left protruding.
She then walked upto Ania, blew her a kiss, and casually impaled her through the heart on the end of her wicked longsword before doing the same to Angelina. With a satisfied smile, she stood in front of Raven and waited.
Time, noticing that it had stopped, slowly restarted itself.
"I have obeyed jabbress." said Maleficent, bowing to Raven.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Raven, surveying the carnage and clapping, "Let us revive the others, and continue the search!"
"What about the kitrye cretok jabbress?"
"Ignore it. It is stupid and cowardly, not worth wasting our time on. Come, let us go."
"A'dos quarth." replied Maleficent with a slight bow.
Chapter 3 - The Dangers of Dwarven Ale
"Me hatez drowz." Wolfwood mumbled to himself. He had felt the passing of his friends while in his new hiding place, "Stoopid cave... Stoopid drowz..." he continued to mutter while unpacking his gear.
A few moments passed, as Wolfwood began one of his most powerful rituals.
"Waa? What happened??" cried Angelina, springing to her feet, then wincing slightly
"No move, yooz jus been beaten to-a pulp." said Wolfwood
"Indeed, lucky you were around Wolfwood." said Leatherus, rubbing his eyes, "I have a piercing headache..."
"As do I..." said Elrand, wincing as he touched his hand to his head
"Well I have a real bad pain in my neck..." complained Serin.
"Can yooz lot stand inna groop for a sec?" asked Wolfwood. The others complied.
Wolfwood stood a short distance away, and cast another spell. A soft blue glow permeated the companions, their aches and pains dissolving, and their remaining injuries knitting back into unbroken flesh.
"Alright, I think it's time for some pay back." said Leatherus grimly
"Yus." agreed Wolfwood
"Let us move quickly, I sense they have not left the area, and are performing some dark ritual." said Angelina urgently
The party members exited the cave swiftly, being as stealthy as they could. They quickly laid eyes on the drow, no more than 200 metres from the cave entrance.
"I see them." said Leatherus, "But what are they doing?"
Wolfwood's darkvision kicked in, "Deyz tryin' ta get bak da uver drowz we killed!"
"We must stop them, now!" Angelina hissed
"Here." said Leatherus passing some arrows to Elrand
"What are they?"
"Something special I made up - accidentally used dwarven ale instead of acid essence one time." Leatherus replied with a wink, "Angi, Ania, try and get a little bit closer in case this doesn't work, but stay behind cover. Wolfwood, Serin, Mortalus, get ready to throw every spell you have at them."
"Aye." the others replied in unison
"Ready Elrand?"
"Aye."
"Fire."
They both let sent half a dozen arrows soaring into the air. The arrows landed in a clump around the two drow.
Raven and Maleficent whirled round.
"YOU! I do not know how you return so quickly, but this time we will make you suffer for interrupting us!!" Raven exclaimed angrily
"Yoo hoo! Stoopid drowz!" waved Wolfwood, his wicked grin revealing a mouth full of sharp broken teeth, "Iz yoo feeling a bit cold?"
He slammed his fist into his palm with a roar.
Immediately all hell broke loose - Multiple beams of light slammed down from the heavens, and a disembodied hammer began slamming all around where the drow were standing. The drow were stunned by this maelstrom of magical power, even their natural resistance to magic could not overcome the sheer volume of magic assaulting them. Then Serin launched a fireball.
There was a blinding flash - the whole party was blown back several metres, even as far away as they were, as the 12 arrows and their deadly payload detonated.
Dwarven ale is a powerful substance, and when accidentally used to imbue a magical arrow it becomes even more dangerous. The simultaneous explosion of the 12 arrows shattered the drow into charred fleshy chunks - their magical resistance no help whatsoever against the exploding ale arrows!
Leatherus rose to his feet unsteadily, and slapped the side of his head a few times to clear the cobwebs.
"Wow, that brew really had some kick."
"Yus." replied Wolfwood, as he sat up, groggily watching the soil and debris that was thrown into the air as it fell back to earth.
Chapter 4 - The Caravan
Wearily, the companions gathered up stray equipment, and after some hasty apologies to some dumb-struck gnomes, they departed from the Sholo plains and continued eastwards.
They soon came to the dreaded Sholo Pass, home of raiders, giants, ogres, and all manner of undesirables.
Elrand and Leatherus, on point, spied the wreckage as they peered over the top of the pass' hill.
"I see the remains of the caravan, but there are many half-orcs and some others hiding in the trees on either side." said Elrand quietly as they returned to report their findings to the rest of the party.
"Aye, this is so obviously a trap." agreed Leatherus.
"Well let's turn the tables." said Angelina with a wry grin.
A few minutes later, Wolfwood ran up the hill, shouted a few choice orc insults, then ran back down the hill. The hidden half-orcs, surprised and enraged, immediately broke cover and ran after him.
"Wait you fools!" cried one of the humans, perhaps their leader, "It's a tri..*URK*!"
He found himself at a loss for words, likely due to the arrow lodged in his throat.
The half-orcs, never known for quickness of thought, halted and looked at him in confusion, torn between going back to their rapidly expiring leader, or chasing the rapidly disappearing Wolfwood. Their indecision cost them dearly,
"NOW!!"
A massive elemental storm suddenly descended on the massed half-orcs - Ice, fire, lightning and meteors rained down from the sky. The orcs that were not sliced to ribbons by the razor sharp shards of ice, were either roasted, electrocuted or crushed by the white hot meteorites.
Those that managed to survive *that* found themselves confronted with 2 angry blade-wielding women screaming battle cries. Faced with this, the decimated remains of the half-orc charge turned tail and fled back towards the other bandits, with Angelina and Ania in hot pursuit.
Some of the hidden bandits tried to cast spells to try and turn the tide of battle back in their favour, but as soon as they uttered a syllable they were peppered with arrows - Elrand and Leatherus' keen ears listening for the slightest sound under the litany of battle cries.
The human and halfling contingent of the ambush rallied together, and begun a counter-charge when they were suddenly faced with 2 innocent looking badgers.
The leader of the charge kicked one out of the way, but found it latched to his leg.
"What the..? ARGHARGNONONOGEDDITOFFMEGEDDITOFFME!!"
*scritchscritchscritchscritch!*
Angelina and Ania, having finished off their quarry, turned round to see what the screaming was all about. They saw a red mist, which eventually cleared to reveal the druid Mortalus and Bob, one of the Kazarn family 'pets'.
Mortalus was laughing hysterically. So was Bob.
"Hahaha! Did you see the look on their faces when he kicked you and found you had torn his leg off?? HAHAAA!!!"
Wolfwood, having returned, looked at them suspiciously,
"Me saw dat. Me hopes yooz two ain't da wunz wot been making Wildy and Huk'chun all paranoyd..."
"*cough*Who, us? Nonono." said Mortalus with an innocent cough, barely suppressing a manic giggle
"Yeeeh. Well make sure it stay dat way." said Wolfwood, "Now goz home Bob. I hopez dey no notice yooz gone..."
In a display of amateur pyrotechnics, the half-balor vanished back to the ether.
"What in the nine hells was that?!" asked Elrand as he approached Wolfwood and Mortalus
"Wot? Oh him. Datz Bob. Heez ow-ah butler fing. Me uzed ta play wiv him when we wuz ickle."
"Okaaay...." said Elrand, sidling away surreptitiously
"Did any of you find a trace of the stone?" asked Angelina
"Sorry, all I saw were debris. I'd say this happened a few days ago, so anything valuable would be long gone." replied Elrand
"Hmm, but where would they have taken it..." wondered Serin out loud
"I recognise these markings," said Leatherus, holding up a scrap of armour "It belongs to a group that operates from the Great Northern Forest."
"Are ye sure?" asked Elrand
"Aye, positive."
"Then we shall head there." said Angelina, "Lets move."
Chapter 1 - The Message
It was another typical day in Nordock. Kazarn Wolfwood had just arrived to retrieve his cousin, who had recently been spiked, gassed, set on fire, and electrocuted in one of the more 'interesting' dungeons.
He stepped out of the Brosna temple portal, and began to head for the Wildwanderer's last known whereabouts.
He had taken no more than 3 steps away from the temple when a young soldier ran up to him.
"Hey, you! Orc!"
"Yus? Yooz talkin' to me?"
"Are you Kazarn Wolfwood?"
"Yus!"
"The Duke requests the presence of you and any companions. He has a proposal regarding certain artifacts of which you have knowledge of. Alas I have been unable to find any of the Silent Hand who were on the original expedition, nor any of the original leaders of said expedition, so I guess you will have to do..."
"Huuuh?" asked Wolfwood, unable to follow the guard's monologue. The guard rolled his eyes,
"For the love of..! Look, get friends, go see duke!"
"Ohh! Why you no say dat in first place??"
The guard sighed and walked off back to the barracks, muttering under his breath and shaking his head.
Half an hour later, Wolfwood & his hastily formed party had gathered together, and together they travelled to Brosna to meet the duke.
The group was mighty indeed - the mighty paladin Angelina, the deadly blade mistress Ania, the slightly un-hinged druid Mortalus, the expert tracker Elrand, the cunning rog*bop* err..'locksmith' Leatherus and the great mage (or was he a sorcerer? Damned magic users... - ed) Serin.
"What is this all about anyway?" asked Elrand as the group walked towards the Brosna Hall of citizens
"Dunno." replied Wolfwood
"That's just... great." Elrand replied with a resigned sigh.
"Wait. You called us here for no reason??" said Angelina, spinning round suddenly to face Wolfwood
"Nose... Guard say 'Get friends, go see duke', so me doin' dat."
"But why?? What for??"
Wolfwood shrugged, "Me dunno."
Angelina rolled her eyes with a resigned sigh and turned back towards the Hall of Citizens.
As they entered, one of the clerks stood up and came to greet them,
"Good day. The Duke is expecting you, but he is currently in a meeting. Please wait here until you are called for."
"Of course." replied Angelina with a curt bow
A half-hour passed, mostly filled by Wolfwood writing amusing but unlikely anecdotes on the bulletin board. They would probably have caused much offence if anyone, including Wolfwood, could actually read them.
Elrand, Mortalus and Leatherus were discussing something, while Angelina and Serin sat by the fountain, waiting patiently. Eventually, the clerk returned.
"The Duke will see you now." he said, gesturing to the stairs leading to the Duke's chamber. Rising to her feet, Angelina checked her gear and lead the others up the stairs to where the Duke was waiting for them.
"Thank you all for meeting me." he said, showing them into his chamber, "Please take a seat."
"What seems to be the problem Lord?" asked Serin as he sat down
"I summoned you all here because I am in need of help. We recently came across a special stone that was delivered by the Silent Hand."
"A 'stone'?" asked Serin, his brow furrowing with mild confusion
"Ah, from the elemental altar methinks." said Leatherus nodding, half to himself
"Aye, this is what we suspect. Our scholars here could not interpret the inscriptions on the stone, so I sent it to the Elven Clerics north of Tobaro. However, the caravan that was holding the stone has not been heard from for many days."
"Ah, and you fear foul play is involved?" said Angelina
"Yes. I wish you to trace the path of the caravan, and see if you can find any trace of what has befallen it."
"From where did they take leave?" asked Serin
"The caravan headed West through the gates towards Sholo."
"Ah, through Trommel woods, then?" said Mortalus, nodding
"Aye, you are correct. They were to then proceed north towards Tobaro."
"So it could be anywhere on that route..." said Mortalus thoughtfully
"Would it have been on the main roads? Or did it take a more... more discreet path?" asked Mortalus
"As far as I know, they took the main roads."
Leatherus rose from his seat and sauntered non-chalently up to the Duke's desk. He peered down at the map. The Duke used his finger to trace the path for him. Leatherus peered at the map intently.
"Ahh, so this is the way they *HURK*!!" Leatherus looked to his left, his hand was being held firmly on the table by Elrand's, worryingly near the Duke's money purse.
"Oh dear, your twitching finger affliction seems to have flared up again my friend!" he said, throwing Leatherus an amused but warning grin.
"Mmm. Yes," said the Duke, slightly miffed, "Perhaps my surgeons could help you 'remove' this affliction?"
Leatherus paled slightly, and managed to produce a weak grin, "Ah, no trouble good Duke, 'tis but a trifling condition, hardly worthy bothering your elite medical staff about!"
"Are you sure? It would be no trouble." said the Duke, slightly amused, as Leatherus hurriedly made his way back to his chair, accompanied by Elrand.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I need you to locate the caravan. The caravan was due to pass Trommel Wood one day ago, but has not been seen since it departed. Time is of the essence, I have information that other parties wish to recover the stone too."
Angelina rose to her feet, "We are naturally at your service m'lord." she said with a bow, "We will depart at once."
"You have my leave. Move swiftly, and good luck."
"Thank you m'lord." replied Angelina "Come on everyone."
As the party descended the stairs, they began discussing their up-coming journey, accompanied by the sound of Wolfwood munching on something.
"So... The caravan must be somewhere between here and Trommel..." said Mortalus throughfully
"Methinks I've seen this caravan already." said Elrand
"Aye? Where?" asked Angelina
"It was far westwards, I think near Sholo."
"Say, is there not an entrance to the Underdark between here and Trommel?" asked Serin suddenly
There was a loud sound, like a very rough file being drawn over wood. The party half-turned to see Wolfwood choking on one of his Meat Surprises. Ania slapped him on the back, causing the offending morsel to fly across the foyer. It hit the bulletin board in the upper right corner, with a soft splat.
"Drowz!? You not fink dat wot he mean by 'Uver innerested parties' duz yooz?!"
"Well, it is certainly a possibility..." said Angelina slowly
"Yeah, the drow were after the shrine before, mayhaps they heard about the discovery of the stones and are after them again?" suggested Leatherus
"Then we must be extra cautious." said Angelina flatly,
"Let us not waste time my friends. We should head out now, be wary and stick close together." said Ania as they exited the Hall of Citizens
"Aye..." said Mortalus, gazing past the western gate to the fields and forests beyond.
Chapter 2 - The Drow
After gathering supplies for the journey, the party set off through the west Brosna gate.
"We must be vigilant my friends, if the drow are involved. They have adapted to the surface remarkably well. Sunlight no longer burns them as it once did, and they have developed magic to protect their equipment from the sun." said Elrand as they passed the suburbs of Brosna
"Yes." said Angelina, "Leatherus, Elrand, you take point. Stay hidden. Your keen eyes will hopefully spot any dangers in advance. Ania, you take flank. Wolfwood, Serin, you're with me."
At that, the companions set off east towards the Trommel Woods. Their journey was mostly unhindered except for the odd giant attack, which was cut down to size very quickly by Elrand and Leatherus, often before the main body of the group even knew of it.
After the first day, they reached the edge of the Sholo plains. The sun had almost set, leaving only the last of it's reddish hue visible. The party decided not to press on through the night, and made camp.
"How much further do you think we have to go?" asked Serin, feeding his familiar
"Not very far, if the caravan is the same one I saw earlier this ten-day." said Elrand, stretching out on his bedroll.
"Okay, who wants to take first watch?" asked Angelina, stifling a yawn
"I will, " said Serin, "I'm not very tired at the moment. I will cast some detection spells to give us early warning."
"Very well then." replied Angelina, and settled down to sleep.
"Wake me up for the second watch." said Elrand as he unpacked his bedroll. The others proceeded to set their camp up, and soon all but Serin were resting peacefully.
Wolfwood dozed off quickly. He had lots of practice. He began to dream - half-formed images swirling in his mind's eye. A sound like a hammer striking a frying pan began to inpinge on his dreams, growing louder... His eyes opened wearily and he slowly sat up. As the fog of sleep cleared he noticed the loud clanging of an alarm spell was reverberating around the plain! He slowly donned his helmet,
"Wuz goin' on?" he slurred groggily
"DROW!!!! DRO..*ARGH*!!" screamed Serin. Wolfwood's head whipped round to the right, just in time to see Serin's head leave his body! His darkvision picked up every grisly detail as the drow's shortswords swung up, connected with Serin's chin and sheared cleanly through his head, sending a gout of blood streaming into the air.
"Well crap." muttered Wolfwood, struggling to unsheathe his scimitar. The drow turned towards him, her eyes glowing red in the dark. She ran towards Wolfwood,
"LLOTH PLYNN DOS!" she screamed, her swords raised to strike at the unprepared half-orc!
Her battle cry turned into a shriek of surprise - Elrand had been lying on the ground between her and Wolfwood, blending seamlessly with the ground. As the drow ran past him, he grabbed her foot causing her to tumble to Wolfwood's feet!
Wolfwood delivered a vicious kick, flipping the drow back over, but as he was about to swing his scimitar at her he was suddenly met with a volley of darts pinging off his armour!
The drow rolled to her feet, swords still in hand, but her swing at Wolfwood's back was met by Elrand's own swords, "Dos Kuuv Resist Ussa?? Whol Lil Orbb Valsharess!!" she screamed, kicking him over and diving at his prone form with both swords extended.
Ania and Angelina were up and already engaged - They could barely see their enemy in the low light, but knew it was another drow. They attacked together, but even alone this drow was most formidable, parrying their swords almost effortlessly.
Every strike they made was turned away by the drow's rapier or blocked by her shield, the drow mocked their feeble attempts to hit her, "You foolish rivvel! You cannot hope to stand against Lloth's will! You will rue the day you faced Raven Kel'tahk'Z'ress!" she cackled as she deflected another double-strike from Ania and Angelina.
Leatherus by this time had also woken up, to find Elrand on the ground, and Wolfwood trying to defend himself from a barrage of arrows and darts from an unknown assailant.
Quietly, he slipped away, masking his body heat and sneaked in a round-about fashion towards the source of the projectiles.
Elrand managed to bring his twin blades, forming a defensive V over his prone form just in time to deflect both the drow's blades up and away from him. He planted a foot on her abdomen as she sailed into him and kicking out, sending the drow flying past him.
As the drow flew past, he flipped to his feet. The drow turned her dive into a roll, bringing her back to her feet. They both faced each other.
"Nice try drow, but you won't get me so easily!" he said through gritted teeth - he was hurting, but refused to show any weakness
"Belbau phor nin lueth usstan orn er'griff elgg dos!" she screamed in reply as she charged him again.
Elrand spun to the right, deflecting the blow with his off-hand and twirling round to deliver a horizontal curving strike at the drow as she passed. His blade instead found her other sword, striking a clear resounding tone.
"Ha wael! You will have to do better than that!" she cried triumphantly, and moved to attack him again.
Wolfwood was not having a good time, it was all he could do to block the stream of missiles flying at every part of his body. His shield by now was peppered with a variety of different arrows. Several had got through, but had lodged in his formidable armour without hurting him seriously.
"Wen me finds out woo doin' dat me gonna smash yooz face!!" he yelled angrily from behind his shield.
Leatherus meanwhile, had gotten to the base of a tree - He looked up to see another drow, delicately balanced on a branch, smiling with glee as she fired missile after missile at Wolfwood.
With a mischievous smile, he notched an arrow, "Careful wench! You might fall!" he yelled and let loose the arrow.
The drow looked down, her expression rapidly shifting from startled surprise to horror as she saw the arrow head straight for her heart! Desperately, she twisted aside, the arrow tearing a rent in her armour, but otherwise doing no damage. With a snarl, she dived down from the tree head first - two glowing short-swords suddenly appearing in her hands and aimed right at Leatherus' head!
Leatherus was no slouch - as she began her dive, he had already somersaulted backwards, whilst notching another arrow. The drow tucked herself in at the last moment, transforming the dive into a roll which neatly brought her to her feat.
"Good trick." commented Leatherus
"Stay there and I'll show you another one." she said in a sultry voice
At almost the same time, Leatherus let loose his arrow as she charged. The drow went into a defensive spin, using her main dagger to deflect the arrow while bringing her off-hand round in a wide arc aimed at Leatherus' neck!
As soon as he let loose the arrow, Leatherus spun to his right, slinging his bow over his shoulder and drawing his sword in one smooth motion. He barely deflected the dagger aimed at his neck, but managed a flurry of counter attacks which stalled the drow's vicious advance.
"Not bad for a darthirii, perhaps if you surrender now I will make your death quick and painless... perhaps enjoyable." she said, licking her lips sensually with an evil smile.
"Sorry luv, I'm not into that kinda stuff." said Leatherus with a disinterested shrug
"Oh well. Nevermind, I shall be content flaying the skin from your bones while you beg me to kill you." she said returning a casual shrug
"Sorry again luv, I think I'll be too busy washing me hair and sword, awash as it will soon be with yer blood."
"Fool! Let us see who's blood shall be spilled this night!" she cried, loosing her patience.
With a curse, she ran at Leatherus again, and they clashed once more.
Wolfwood cautiously looked out from behind his shield, "Bluddy hell..." he said as he looked at the front of it. It looked like several mutant porcupines and hedgehogs had been skinned and glued to the front of his shield.
Elrand was not faring terribly well - he had a hard time hitting the extremely nimble drow he was facing, whereas her speed allowed her to get in a multitude of light cuts, and these were starting to take their toll on Elrand. He felt exhausted, and was bleeding from several deeper cuts all over his body.
"Who.. are you?" he asked weakly during a lull in the duel
"You would like to know your doom 'eh?" she said with wry amusement, "Ha! I will grant you your last request wael! I am Qee'Elghinn Mlezziir, and you are but a meaningless naubol!"
With that, she rushed Elrand again, both swords down low and barely inchs apart. Elrand was almost too weak to defend himself, barely able to bring his swords down in a defensive cross. He threw a dazed look at the drow as she smashed aside his parry, disarming him and sending his swords tumbling away. Elrand fell to his knees.
The drow threw him a wide smile of triumph, and slowly lifted a sword to end his life, enjoying every second.
She brought down her sword, Elrand steeled himself for the inevitable...
"RAAAAAAR!!!!!"
"INBAU TIR USSA DOS WAELE CRETOK!!" screamed Qee as Wolfwood shield rushed her. Her swords got tangled up in the mass of darts and arrows on his shield as she was bowled to the ground by the extremely overweight half-orc.
Leaving the stunned and disarmed drow, Wolfwood ran to Elrand. With a touch, a blue beam of life-giving energy descended from the heavens. Elrand felt revived - the bleeding staunched as his wounds knitted shut, his fatigue vanished.
"Right Drow, now it's *your* turn!" he yelled. Wolfwood and Elrand both sprinted towards the drow as she rose back to her feet, Elrand gathering up his twin-blades in a smooth motion as he passed them.
The drow had retrieved her swords also, "Then come wael, and let us see who's 'turn' it really is!"
Wolfwood lead the charge, his orcish fury and extremely sturdy shield leading the way.
The drow feinted at him, but spun round in the opposite direction and slapped him across the back with the flat of her sword. Wolfwood stumbled, but kept his balance and skidded to a halt on the grass a short distance away.
Elrand was right behind him, and quickly followed up with a flurry of jabs at the Drow's vulnerable back as she swung her swords back to bear on him. As she did so however, Wolfwood's scimitar came whirling back, but still the drow's agility enabled her to parry both attacks at the same time!
"Ha! Your pitiful skills are no match for mine!" she cried with glee
The two of them continued their attack, but somehow she was able to fend off both attacks with almost casual ease! She stood arrogantly between Wolfwood and Elrand, trying to watch them both as they circled her.
"DOER PHOLOR T'YIN LUETH THALRA DOSST HARUK!" she challenged them
Elrand flashed some ranger hand signals at Wolfwood. Wolfwood nodded back.
They both charged.
Qee was ready, she deflected Elrand's swords harmlessly upward, and was about to swing at Wolfwood when Elrand suddenly let go of his swords and tackled the drow!
"ORI'GATO ALU D'USSA DOS FILTHY KIVVIL!" she shrieked as Elrand grappled her and forced her to the ground.
"Say hullo to Bob for meez when yooz meet him!" roared Wolfwood, as he placed his hands on her and chanted a powerful curse. A brilliant beam of crimson light shot up from the ground towards the heavens, encompassing Qee's form as Elrand pinned her down.
"NOO!" screamed Qee, "IT CANNOT BE!! LLOTH DORMAGYN DOSST DALH..!" but before she could finish, her life was torn from her body by the powerful spell, and she fell to the ground, lifeless as the swords she wielded.
"Phew, thank you my friend." said Elrand shakily, "I thought I was done for."
Before Wolfwood could answer, there was a loud angry shout to their right,
"Damnit you drow bitch! That was my best shirt!"
"Leatherus!" exclaimed Elrand. He gathered his swords once again and the two of them ran towards Leatherus' voice.
"Damnit you drow bitch! That was my best shirt!"
"Now now my poor darthirii, when I am done with you, you won't need a shirt!" she laughed gleefully. Both of them were suffering from a multitude of minor cuts and bruises, but Leatherus was suffering more - as quick as he was, he was having a hard time parrying the lightning-fast attacks from the drow's twin swords, "Give up foolish darthirii, and Hal'Drin Kel'tahk'Z'ress will show you that jiv'elgg lueth jiv'undus phuul jivvin!"
"*sigh*I already told you luv, you're just not my type. It's not that I don't like you, in fact I hate you, but you gotta get over the fact that you can't have such a handsome man as I!"
Hal'drin spat on the ground, "I'd sooner have a kitrye-cretok!" she said angrily
"That could be arranged." replied Leatherus with a sly smile
Hal'Drin looked at him with a raised eye-brow for a second, then her eyes widened and she whirled round, but was almost too late! Elrand's silent footsteps had gotten him right up to her, and his swords were already jabbing at her side and back! She recovered with astonishing speed and managed to fend off a renewed attack by both Leatherus and Elrand, but in her intense concentration on their blades, she did not expect a third attacker!
With an enraged roar, Wolfwood grabbed her from behind, one gauntlet wrapped round her neck. She swung her daggers backwards in desperation, but they didn't even scratch the dragon scales on Wolfwood's armour as he slammed her head-first into a tree with a wet crunch.
"There's your half-orc my dear." said Leatherus to the bloodied corpse. He turned to Wolfwood and Elrand, "Thank you my friends! I'm afraid my good looks had driven that one a mite obsessive. She wouldn't take no for an answer!" he turned back to look at the corpse, "Y'know, it's such a waste... " he said shaking his head, "Why are all the pretty ones insane power-hungry murderers?"
"See? Me told yoo me wud smash yooz face!" Wolfwood said to the corpse triumphantly.
"Come on you two, Ania and Angi are still in trouble!" said Elrand, turning and running off towards the sound of steel clashing. With one last glance at the drow corpse, Leatherus and Wolfwood ran after Elrand.
Indeed, Ania and Angelina were not doing well - the drow was effortlessly dodging and parrying their swings, and the 2 warrior maidens were becoming fatigued from swinging their massive swords at her.
"Hehehe!" laughed the drow with glee, "You poor oolos are no match for the might of Lloth!"
"You will not prevail!" retorted Angelina breathlessly, "We will strike you down with our last breaths!"
"Well, you are half right anyway!" she replied with a laugh, "Enough games, I cannot waste time playing with mere children!" and with that, Raven began her own counter-assault.
Angelina and Ania managed to dodge and parry the blows at first, but the unearthly speed of the drow's attacks overwhelmed them, and they had to break off, suffering from a score of slashes and cuts. In the lull, Raven suddenly leapt forwards, skewering Ania on the end of her rapier! Ania's expression changed from one of grim determination to horror, and she fell to the ground, grasping her chest in pain,
"Haha! See how you yibin kivvin fall before the might and glory of Lloth!!"
Angelina rushed to Ania's side, using her healing powers to repair the near-fatal wound, but as she transferred the life giving energy, Raven gave her a vicious kick which sent her sprawling to the ground.
"You cannot defeat us you worthless insects! L'elamshin d'lil Ilythiiri zhah ulu har'luth jal!"
Raven gave Angelina another vicious kick, sending her tumbling over again.
"Poor stupid fools, " she said, shaking her head mockingly "how could you even contemplate besting your betters? How could you atone for such a crime? Oh, I know! Yes! Lloth will be pleased!" she continued, brandishing a sacrificial dagger
Angelina tried to raise her sword to defend herself, but the drow was too fast and slashed her cheek with the dagger. Angelina immediately felt her limbs go slack, she collapsed back on the ground, helpless, horror welling in her as Raven approached with the writhing dagger aimed lazily at her heart.
"Yes... Lloth will be pleased by your contribution indeed!" she cackled as she raised the dagger.
"Tut tut silly drow, have a heart!" said Leatherus with a cocky grin as he let fly an arrow at the drow's eye.
Raven was caught by surprise, but her reflexes were up to the task and she twirled out of the way, not even receiving a scratch. "Ooh, are you volunteering?" she hissed wickedly, shifting her attention from Angelina and moving towards Leatherus
She suddenly heard a gulp behind her and whirled round to see Ania quaff a healing potion. Wiping the azure fluid from her lips, Ania rose to her feet, cold fury blazing in her eyes, her massive scythe now un-slung from her back and in her hands.
"You messed up my hair. I'm going to kill you." she said coldly
"Aha! A challenge!" chuckled Raven gleefully
Ania charged the drow, her scythe blazing with energy as the blade weaved in a complex pattern, somehow parrying every single one of Raven's jabs and thrusts. Suddenly Raven gasped and broke off.
"Agh! You got me!" she exclaimed in surprise. There was a deep gash across her side, blood was oozing freely from it, staining her armour, "Perhaps I underestimated you after all."
At this point, Elrand and Wolfwood arrived, Wolfwood was panting heavily,
"Yooz *puff* stop dat nowz before me *pant* mashes yooz faces dumbfick drowz!" he roared breathlessly
"Aye, we have you outnumbered and outmatched drow. Stand down or we will kill you where you stand." confirmed Elrand
"Aha! More sacrifices! Lloth shall be pleased!" replied Raven with a clap. Suddenly her expression changed, "Alas I regret we cannot play with you any longer. We have wasted enough time already." she said with mock sorrow, "Maleficent, kill these nothings for me."
"With pleasure jabbress."
The whole party whirled round to see another drow standing behind them, holding a dark orb. Wolfwood, suddenly stuck with a strong sense of impending doom, used the time honoured Kazarn tactic: Run the hell away!
Leatherus and Elrand drew their bows in a flash, arrows aimed straight at Maleficent's heart.
"Freeze drow, or you will be feeding the worms afore dawn!" ordered Elrand
Maleficent laughed, "Oh, come now! Lets see what you are made of little kivvin!"
"Say good night." said Leatherus, and they both sent their arrows lancing through the air, bowstrings singing of death.
Maleficent cocked an eye at them and swept her hand over the orb - immediately the world began to slow.... stop.
Maleficent looked at the arrows with wry amusement, hanging as they were in mid air. She stepped round them and plucked them both out of the air, then looking towards the frozen forms of Elrand and Leatherus. She grinned evilly and sauntered over to them.
"Oh dear, I think there's something in your eye!" she said, and stabbed the arrows in each of their eyes until naught but the flights were left protruding.
She then walked upto Ania, blew her a kiss, and casually impaled her through the heart on the end of her wicked longsword before doing the same to Angelina. With a satisfied smile, she stood in front of Raven and waited.
Time, noticing that it had stopped, slowly restarted itself.
"I have obeyed jabbress." said Maleficent, bowing to Raven.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Raven, surveying the carnage and clapping, "Let us revive the others, and continue the search!"
"What about the kitrye cretok jabbress?"
"Ignore it. It is stupid and cowardly, not worth wasting our time on. Come, let us go."
"A'dos quarth." replied Maleficent with a slight bow.
Chapter 3 - The Dangers of Dwarven Ale
"Me hatez drowz." Wolfwood mumbled to himself. He had felt the passing of his friends while in his new hiding place, "Stoopid cave... Stoopid drowz..." he continued to mutter while unpacking his gear.
A few moments passed, as Wolfwood began one of his most powerful rituals.
"Waa? What happened??" cried Angelina, springing to her feet, then wincing slightly
"No move, yooz jus been beaten to-a pulp." said Wolfwood
"Indeed, lucky you were around Wolfwood." said Leatherus, rubbing his eyes, "I have a piercing headache..."
"As do I..." said Elrand, wincing as he touched his hand to his head
"Well I have a real bad pain in my neck..." complained Serin.
"Can yooz lot stand inna groop for a sec?" asked Wolfwood. The others complied.
Wolfwood stood a short distance away, and cast another spell. A soft blue glow permeated the companions, their aches and pains dissolving, and their remaining injuries knitting back into unbroken flesh.
"Alright, I think it's time for some pay back." said Leatherus grimly
"Yus." agreed Wolfwood
"Let us move quickly, I sense they have not left the area, and are performing some dark ritual." said Angelina urgently
The party members exited the cave swiftly, being as stealthy as they could. They quickly laid eyes on the drow, no more than 200 metres from the cave entrance.
"I see them." said Leatherus, "But what are they doing?"
Wolfwood's darkvision kicked in, "Deyz tryin' ta get bak da uver drowz we killed!"
"We must stop them, now!" Angelina hissed
"Here." said Leatherus passing some arrows to Elrand
"What are they?"
"Something special I made up - accidentally used dwarven ale instead of acid essence one time." Leatherus replied with a wink, "Angi, Ania, try and get a little bit closer in case this doesn't work, but stay behind cover. Wolfwood, Serin, Mortalus, get ready to throw every spell you have at them."
"Aye." the others replied in unison
"Ready Elrand?"
"Aye."
"Fire."
They both let sent half a dozen arrows soaring into the air. The arrows landed in a clump around the two drow.
Raven and Maleficent whirled round.
"YOU! I do not know how you return so quickly, but this time we will make you suffer for interrupting us!!" Raven exclaimed angrily
"Yoo hoo! Stoopid drowz!" waved Wolfwood, his wicked grin revealing a mouth full of sharp broken teeth, "Iz yoo feeling a bit cold?"
He slammed his fist into his palm with a roar.
Immediately all hell broke loose - Multiple beams of light slammed down from the heavens, and a disembodied hammer began slamming all around where the drow were standing. The drow were stunned by this maelstrom of magical power, even their natural resistance to magic could not overcome the sheer volume of magic assaulting them. Then Serin launched a fireball.
There was a blinding flash - the whole party was blown back several metres, even as far away as they were, as the 12 arrows and their deadly payload detonated.
Dwarven ale is a powerful substance, and when accidentally used to imbue a magical arrow it becomes even more dangerous. The simultaneous explosion of the 12 arrows shattered the drow into charred fleshy chunks - their magical resistance no help whatsoever against the exploding ale arrows!
Leatherus rose to his feet unsteadily, and slapped the side of his head a few times to clear the cobwebs.
"Wow, that brew really had some kick."
"Yus." replied Wolfwood, as he sat up, groggily watching the soil and debris that was thrown into the air as it fell back to earth.
Chapter 4 - The Caravan
Wearily, the companions gathered up stray equipment, and after some hasty apologies to some dumb-struck gnomes, they departed from the Sholo plains and continued eastwards.
They soon came to the dreaded Sholo Pass, home of raiders, giants, ogres, and all manner of undesirables.
Elrand and Leatherus, on point, spied the wreckage as they peered over the top of the pass' hill.
"I see the remains of the caravan, but there are many half-orcs and some others hiding in the trees on either side." said Elrand quietly as they returned to report their findings to the rest of the party.
"Aye, this is so obviously a trap." agreed Leatherus.
"Well let's turn the tables." said Angelina with a wry grin.
A few minutes later, Wolfwood ran up the hill, shouted a few choice orc insults, then ran back down the hill. The hidden half-orcs, surprised and enraged, immediately broke cover and ran after him.
"Wait you fools!" cried one of the humans, perhaps their leader, "It's a tri..*URK*!"
He found himself at a loss for words, likely due to the arrow lodged in his throat.
The half-orcs, never known for quickness of thought, halted and looked at him in confusion, torn between going back to their rapidly expiring leader, or chasing the rapidly disappearing Wolfwood. Their indecision cost them dearly,
"NOW!!"
A massive elemental storm suddenly descended on the massed half-orcs - Ice, fire, lightning and meteors rained down from the sky. The orcs that were not sliced to ribbons by the razor sharp shards of ice, were either roasted, electrocuted or crushed by the white hot meteorites.
Those that managed to survive *that* found themselves confronted with 2 angry blade-wielding women screaming battle cries. Faced with this, the decimated remains of the half-orc charge turned tail and fled back towards the other bandits, with Angelina and Ania in hot pursuit.
Some of the hidden bandits tried to cast spells to try and turn the tide of battle back in their favour, but as soon as they uttered a syllable they were peppered with arrows - Elrand and Leatherus' keen ears listening for the slightest sound under the litany of battle cries.
The human and halfling contingent of the ambush rallied together, and begun a counter-charge when they were suddenly faced with 2 innocent looking badgers.
The leader of the charge kicked one out of the way, but found it latched to his leg.
"What the..? ARGHARGNONONOGEDDITOFFMEGEDDITOFFME!!"
*scritchscritchscritchscritch!*
Angelina and Ania, having finished off their quarry, turned round to see what the screaming was all about. They saw a red mist, which eventually cleared to reveal the druid Mortalus and Bob, one of the Kazarn family 'pets'.
Mortalus was laughing hysterically. So was Bob.
"Hahaha! Did you see the look on their faces when he kicked you and found you had torn his leg off?? HAHAAA!!!"
Wolfwood, having returned, looked at them suspiciously,
"Me saw dat. Me hopes yooz two ain't da wunz wot been making Wildy and Huk'chun all paranoyd..."
"*cough*Who, us? Nonono." said Mortalus with an innocent cough, barely suppressing a manic giggle
"Yeeeh. Well make sure it stay dat way." said Wolfwood, "Now goz home Bob. I hopez dey no notice yooz gone..."
In a display of amateur pyrotechnics, the half-balor vanished back to the ether.
"What in the nine hells was that?!" asked Elrand as he approached Wolfwood and Mortalus
"Wot? Oh him. Datz Bob. Heez ow-ah butler fing. Me uzed ta play wiv him when we wuz ickle."
"Okaaay...." said Elrand, sidling away surreptitiously
"Did any of you find a trace of the stone?" asked Angelina
"Sorry, all I saw were debris. I'd say this happened a few days ago, so anything valuable would be long gone." replied Elrand
"Hmm, but where would they have taken it..." wondered Serin out loud
"I recognise these markings," said Leatherus, holding up a scrap of armour "It belongs to a group that operates from the Great Northern Forest."
"Are ye sure?" asked Elrand
"Aye, positive."
"Then we shall head there." said Angelina, "Lets move."