Forum

[Jon Potter]

"The ship," the mage said again and Grandfather Plaque sailed over to look into Saelus' face.

In a most bewildered voice the construct asked, "Certainly you don't mean for them to return?"

"I am loath to let a ship like that get away," the colonel explained. "It is a good opportunity for us."

"They are UMBER HULKS!" Grandfather Plaque countered, gnashing his stone teeth against each other as he spoke. "Not to mention that we are outnumbered and that ship was launching the most unfavorable green substance." He scrunched up his nose in distaste as he looked at the drying balls of goo floating nearby.

"They weren't all umber hulks," Morier said and launched himself in the direction of the ship. Grandfather Plaque again opened his mouth to protest that course, but it became apparent that the eldritch warrior was only approaching some debris left in the ship's wake, not seeking the ship itself. He drew up beside a small object that at first looked like a bundle of sticks, but at the others floated nearer, its true nature presented itself. It was an arachnoid corpse, frozen to death in Morier's initial Ice Storm.

The spiderlike thing had a long, flexible neck and an eel-like head with tiny, needle-sharp teeth. Its body was covered with stiff hair, dyed in complex designs, and it wore a light leather harness from which depended a small crossbow and quiver of bolts. Its small black eyes stared at them lifelessly, but still seemed to convey a sense of rapacious cruelty even in death.

"What is it?" Morier asked, prodding the body with Ravager.

"I don't know," admitted Saelus as he came closer for a better look.

"Nor do I," Grandfather Plaque said.

"Well judging by the gear its carrying and the design of that ship, I'd wager that it was in command of the umber hulks," the albino said as he sheathed his sword.

"A reasonable assumption," Saelus agreed as he looked at the thing's vicious head.

"I still think we are far better off floating along on our own," Grandfather Plaque announced.

"I agree," Morier said and Saelus looked up.

"I suggest we gather all this so, at least in some way, we have something out of this combat other than the loss of an ally," Saelus said gravely looking at Noxin with the respect he deserved as a great warrior.

Morier drifted toward the barbarian's ripped and bloodied corpse and mentally added another mark to the tally of companions who had died at his side. He could undo this, he sensed. The power now pulsed within him to draw Noxin's soul back from Myrkuhl's domain if he chose and the temptation to do so was very strong; they needed all the help they could get after all. But he resisted the desire. It would be taking an action he believed should be reserved for the gods... or at the very least someone who had a greater spiritual connection to a god than he did as an Eldritch Warrior.

Yes, he had the ability but the ability wasn't truly his, he knew. He was merely a vessel for the power. It was temporarily bestowed on him and using it to reincarnate Noxin would, he decided, be a misuse of that power.

Sighing, he took the barbarian's greathammer and eased it into Huzair's Valiant Vessel bag. HIS, Valiant Vessel bag, he corrected. It didn't truly belong to Huzair any more than the hammer still belonged to Noxin. Morier felt a weight settle uncomfortably on his shoulders as he thought about events and his place within them.

"Morier, you might want us to make use of the glasses he had," Saelus said suddenly. He indicated the goggles worn high on Noxin's forehead. "The clearing of sight does add significantly to the view you get when wearing the glasses." Morier looked at the goggles and stripped them from the half-giant's body.

He looked sadly at them and muttered to himself, "I don't feel like I've seen clearly in a while now."