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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 4889217" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>4x04</strong></p><p></p><p>Kormick crept down the tunnel, glad that his eyes were already adjusted to the darkness from the night outside. He kept one hand on the wall for guidance. The other held his crossbow. Beside him, Arden moved like a shadow, but a shadow that was breathing a little too hard, a little too fast. She was frightened. He wasn't exactly feeling relaxed, himself, but he was looking forward to unburdening his jitters against multiple derro kneecaps very, very soon.</p><p></p><p>Faint scuffles and footsteps came from behind him, farther up the tunnel, as the rest of the group felt their way through the darkness. <em>By the time they're close enough for the derro to hear</em>, he hoped, <em>the derro will be screaming too loud to notice</em>. </p><p></p><p>The tunnel acquired a faint green cast, and shapes began to stand out more clearly. </p><p></p><p>He heard Arden take a final deep breath, and then silence. He wasn't sure if she'd seized control of herself and begun breathing soundlessly or if she'd stopped breathing altogether.</p><p></p><p>Pausing in the tunnel's last pool of darkness, Kormick could see the scene just as the mouse had described. <em>Freaky moss. Check. Four derro. Check. Four foolish, foolish derro who have not drawn their weapons and who will soon be filled with profound regret on that particular score. Checkmate.</em> </p><p></p><p>He raised his crossbow and saw Arden ready her sling. Her hands were shaking.</p><p></p><p>Kormick's weren't. His crossbow bolt buried itself in one derro's shoulder and the creature yelled in surprise and pain. The others stared around in confusion, not noticing as the rock from Arden's sling flew wide and bounced off the wall. </p><p></p><p>Red flame erupted in the center of the room, blazing out in a blinding rush before cohering into a <em>flaming sphere</em>. Twiggy had joined them in spectacular fashion. Kormick and Arden moved aside, staring in awe, as Twiggy took a single step into the room, concentrating fiercely on her creation. The derro – one injured, the others flabbergasted, and all squinting madly in the sudden light – dodged away as the sphere moved into position to block their retreat through the door opposite the entrance. Their movement drove them right into the arms of Mena and Tavi, who charged into the room next. Green flames licked up and down Tavi's blade as he and his tutor struck their targets. </p><p></p><p>Kormick traded his crossbow for his warhammers, ran toward the fight, swung at an unoccupied derro – and missed. <em>Note to self</em>, he thought. <em>Derro kneecaps are somewhat lower than I'm used to</em>. But before the derro could react, Arden appeared out of nowhere and sank her dagger into its side. The derro howled in outrage. Arden wrenched the dagger out, the light from Twiggy's sphere flickering in her eyes, and Kormick felt fleetingly smug: <em>Good. Whatever scared her so much at the entrance, I <strong>knew</strong> she was still a murderous little sneak.</em></p><p></p><p>Then the derro finally drew their swords, and there was no more time for smugness. </p><p></p><p>The two facing Tavi and Mena formed up back-to-back and began trading vicious blows with their opponents while a third – the one Kormick had initially shot – ran toward the green moss along the walls. Kormick, suspicious, followed it, dodging past the swordfight in the center of the room just as Tavi took a tremendous blow to his arm from a blade that was black with poison. Kormick felt drops of the boy's blood spatter his cheek, but Tavi’s sword flashed as he retaliated instantly, not missing a beat.</p><p></p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Kormick glimpsed the pregnant Corani waddle into the room with what seemed – in the midst of the whirling action – to be excruciating slowness, her battleaxes ready. Savina followed, trying in vain to stop her. For a split second, Kormick could only stare in horror at the sight – <em>Back in that parlor, did I not predict horrible, horrible deaths? And by horrible did I not mean something <strong>exactly like</strong> a pregnant lady dwarf and a girl of impossible sweetness getting hacked to pieces by derro?</em> – and yet he couldn't help admiring their nerve. There was no sign of Rose, sensibly waiting farther up the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Ahead of Kormick, the derro reached the moss and gave it a good, hard <em>stomp</em>. A bolt of lightning burst out of the moss next to the stomper, shooting across the room. It barely missed Tavi and Mena.</p><p></p><p>Kormick strode up to the stomper, whirled the warhammer in his left hand in a flashy circle and then, with the derro distracted, swung low and fierce with the warhammer in his right. The resulting <em>crack</em> was music to his ears – <em>ah, the national anthem of Dar Und</em>. The former stomper was now favoring his knee.</p><p></p><p>The moss along the wall erupted again from several paces farther away, the beam of electricity stabbing all the way to the opposite wall. It struck Arden a glancing blow as she dodged just slightly too late. Her body convulsed at the jolt and she staggered. Kormick guessed that the bolts were going to continue marching across the room – and possibly back again – gradually putting everyone at risk.</p><p></p><p>The derro Arden had stabbed saw its chance and closed in on her, its poisoned sword ready. Arden, fighting off the shock she'd taken, raised her dagger and watched it come. Kormick didn't give the derro great odds against the slave, but this wasn't going to be pretty. </p><p></p><p>Then, suddenly, a ray of holy light blazed down from overhead, encompassing the derro. It keeled over, dead. <em>Savina</em> stood behind it, her hands still outstretched in prayer. </p><p></p><p>"And that," Kormick shouted to the girl, "would be Alirria's wrath!"</p><p></p><p>Savina's eyes were very, very wide.</p><p></p><p>Another shot of electricity from the moss lanced across the room, this time near the door where they'd entered, missing Savina by inches. Savina didn't even notice. She seemed to be in shock. </p><p></p><p>In the room's center, green flame still rippled along Tavi’s sword as he and Mena battled the three remaining derro. But as Kormick had feared, the moss’s electrical arcs had covered the room and were now on their way back. Tavi and Mena would soon be in trouble.</p><p></p><p>The flaming sphere slid into motion as Twiggy, a look of intense focus on her face, manuvered it delicately toward two derro. It engulfed them. One of them fell, charred and dead. The other didn't escape for long, because it staggered toward Corani. Her axe felled it with a single stroke. </p><p></p><p>The last remaining derro, still reeling from Kormick’s hammer blow, turned and limped as fast as it could toward the door opposite the entrance. Mena, with a swing of her flail so well-practiced that it looked casual, killed it.</p><p></p><p>In the sudden silence, the warning sound of the moss crackling carried across the room.</p><p></p><p>"Watch out," shouted Kormick. The lightening shot forth. Tavi and Mena jumped apart as it passed between them. </p><p></p><p>"Stay out of its range," Kormick ordered, and everyone retreated to the corners. The moss offered up one final strike, in the spot where it had first erupted, and then ceased its activity. Kormick, his eyes watering at the stench of burnt derro flesh, surveyed the room.</p><p></p><p>Twiggy's concentration was still bent on the flaming sphere. Her brow was furrowed and her cheeks were flushed. She seemed barely aware of anything else.</p><p></p><p>"They're dead now," Kormick told her. "One of them is in fact crispy, thanks to you. You can put away the flaming death-ball."</p><p></p><p>"No. There . . . might be more . . . " said Twiggy, with immense effort. </p><p></p><p>"Wise," agreed Mena, as she strode from derro to derro, making sure they were dead. Tavi still had his sword raised; both he and the hummingbird looked like they were disappointed that the fight was over. </p><p></p><p>Corani was leaning on her ax.</p><p></p><p>Arden was watching Savina.</p><p></p><p>And Savina's eyes were still very, very wide. "T – Tavi?" she asked. "Do you need me to heal you?"</p><p></p><p>"Feelin' fine," said Tavi, and he clearly meant it, despite the human and derro blood streaking his armor.</p><p></p><p>"Do you – " Savina tried again. She stopped, and swallowed. "Tavi, what was it like the first time you killed some – somebody? A person?"</p><p></p><p>"I haven't – yet," said Tavi. Savina wilted. Behind her, the slave opened her mouth as if to say something to her mistress, then clenched her jaw shut and looked away, rubbing her arm where the original derro scout had shot it that morning.</p><p></p><p><em>I know what to say to a member of my crew who's just made his first hit</em>, thought Kormick. <em>But I'm not sure what to say to the sweetest Alirrian in all the Halmae when she's just killed her first "somebody."</em></p><p></p><p>In the end, Mena walked over to Savina. "I would tell you it gets easier," she said, "but it doesn't. Nor should it. The only thing to do is know that by taking a life, you are saving others."</p><p></p><p>Savina hesitated, then nodded. Mena rested her hand on the girl's shoulder for a moment. Then she turned to the group. </p><p></p><p>"There are three closed doors," Mena said. "We must determine which way to go."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 4889217, member: 82687"] [b]4x04[/b] Kormick crept down the tunnel, glad that his eyes were already adjusted to the darkness from the night outside. He kept one hand on the wall for guidance. The other held his crossbow. Beside him, Arden moved like a shadow, but a shadow that was breathing a little too hard, a little too fast. She was frightened. He wasn't exactly feeling relaxed, himself, but he was looking forward to unburdening his jitters against multiple derro kneecaps very, very soon. Faint scuffles and footsteps came from behind him, farther up the tunnel, as the rest of the group felt their way through the darkness. [i]By the time they're close enough for the derro to hear[/i], he hoped, [i]the derro will be screaming too loud to notice[/i]. The tunnel acquired a faint green cast, and shapes began to stand out more clearly. He heard Arden take a final deep breath, and then silence. He wasn't sure if she'd seized control of herself and begun breathing soundlessly or if she'd stopped breathing altogether. Pausing in the tunnel's last pool of darkness, Kormick could see the scene just as the mouse had described. [i]Freaky moss. Check. Four derro. Check. Four foolish, foolish derro who have not drawn their weapons and who will soon be filled with profound regret on that particular score. Checkmate.[/i] He raised his crossbow and saw Arden ready her sling. Her hands were shaking. Kormick's weren't. His crossbow bolt buried itself in one derro's shoulder and the creature yelled in surprise and pain. The others stared around in confusion, not noticing as the rock from Arden's sling flew wide and bounced off the wall. Red flame erupted in the center of the room, blazing out in a blinding rush before cohering into a [i]flaming sphere[/i]. Twiggy had joined them in spectacular fashion. Kormick and Arden moved aside, staring in awe, as Twiggy took a single step into the room, concentrating fiercely on her creation. The derro – one injured, the others flabbergasted, and all squinting madly in the sudden light – dodged away as the sphere moved into position to block their retreat through the door opposite the entrance. Their movement drove them right into the arms of Mena and Tavi, who charged into the room next. Green flames licked up and down Tavi's blade as he and his tutor struck their targets. Kormick traded his crossbow for his warhammers, ran toward the fight, swung at an unoccupied derro – and missed. [i]Note to self[/i], he thought. [i]Derro kneecaps are somewhat lower than I'm used to[/i]. But before the derro could react, Arden appeared out of nowhere and sank her dagger into its side. The derro howled in outrage. Arden wrenched the dagger out, the light from Twiggy's sphere flickering in her eyes, and Kormick felt fleetingly smug: [i]Good. Whatever scared her so much at the entrance, I [b]knew[/b] she was still a murderous little sneak.[/i] Then the derro finally drew their swords, and there was no more time for smugness. The two facing Tavi and Mena formed up back-to-back and began trading vicious blows with their opponents while a third – the one Kormick had initially shot – ran toward the green moss along the walls. Kormick, suspicious, followed it, dodging past the swordfight in the center of the room just as Tavi took a tremendous blow to his arm from a blade that was black with poison. Kormick felt drops of the boy's blood spatter his cheek, but Tavi’s sword flashed as he retaliated instantly, not missing a beat. Out of the corner of his eye, Kormick glimpsed the pregnant Corani waddle into the room with what seemed – in the midst of the whirling action – to be excruciating slowness, her battleaxes ready. Savina followed, trying in vain to stop her. For a split second, Kormick could only stare in horror at the sight – [i]Back in that parlor, did I not predict horrible, horrible deaths? And by horrible did I not mean something [b]exactly like[/b] a pregnant lady dwarf and a girl of impossible sweetness getting hacked to pieces by derro?[/i] – and yet he couldn't help admiring their nerve. There was no sign of Rose, sensibly waiting farther up the tunnel. Ahead of Kormick, the derro reached the moss and gave it a good, hard [i]stomp[/i]. A bolt of lightning burst out of the moss next to the stomper, shooting across the room. It barely missed Tavi and Mena. Kormick strode up to the stomper, whirled the warhammer in his left hand in a flashy circle and then, with the derro distracted, swung low and fierce with the warhammer in his right. The resulting [i]crack[/i] was music to his ears – [i]ah, the national anthem of Dar Und[/i]. The former stomper was now favoring his knee. The moss along the wall erupted again from several paces farther away, the beam of electricity stabbing all the way to the opposite wall. It struck Arden a glancing blow as she dodged just slightly too late. Her body convulsed at the jolt and she staggered. Kormick guessed that the bolts were going to continue marching across the room – and possibly back again – gradually putting everyone at risk. The derro Arden had stabbed saw its chance and closed in on her, its poisoned sword ready. Arden, fighting off the shock she'd taken, raised her dagger and watched it come. Kormick didn't give the derro great odds against the slave, but this wasn't going to be pretty. Then, suddenly, a ray of holy light blazed down from overhead, encompassing the derro. It keeled over, dead. [i]Savina[/i] stood behind it, her hands still outstretched in prayer. "And that," Kormick shouted to the girl, "would be Alirria's wrath!" Savina's eyes were very, very wide. Another shot of electricity from the moss lanced across the room, this time near the door where they'd entered, missing Savina by inches. Savina didn't even notice. She seemed to be in shock. In the room's center, green flame still rippled along Tavi’s sword as he and Mena battled the three remaining derro. But as Kormick had feared, the moss’s electrical arcs had covered the room and were now on their way back. Tavi and Mena would soon be in trouble. The flaming sphere slid into motion as Twiggy, a look of intense focus on her face, manuvered it delicately toward two derro. It engulfed them. One of them fell, charred and dead. The other didn't escape for long, because it staggered toward Corani. Her axe felled it with a single stroke. The last remaining derro, still reeling from Kormick’s hammer blow, turned and limped as fast as it could toward the door opposite the entrance. Mena, with a swing of her flail so well-practiced that it looked casual, killed it. In the sudden silence, the warning sound of the moss crackling carried across the room. "Watch out," shouted Kormick. The lightening shot forth. Tavi and Mena jumped apart as it passed between them. "Stay out of its range," Kormick ordered, and everyone retreated to the corners. The moss offered up one final strike, in the spot where it had first erupted, and then ceased its activity. Kormick, his eyes watering at the stench of burnt derro flesh, surveyed the room. Twiggy's concentration was still bent on the flaming sphere. Her brow was furrowed and her cheeks were flushed. She seemed barely aware of anything else. "They're dead now," Kormick told her. "One of them is in fact crispy, thanks to you. You can put away the flaming death-ball." "No. There . . . might be more . . . " said Twiggy, with immense effort. "Wise," agreed Mena, as she strode from derro to derro, making sure they were dead. Tavi still had his sword raised; both he and the hummingbird looked like they were disappointed that the fight was over. Corani was leaning on her ax. Arden was watching Savina. And Savina's eyes were still very, very wide. "T – Tavi?" she asked. "Do you need me to heal you?" "Feelin' fine," said Tavi, and he clearly meant it, despite the human and derro blood streaking his armor. "Do you – " Savina tried again. She stopped, and swallowed. "Tavi, what was it like the first time you killed some – somebody? A person?" "I haven't – yet," said Tavi. Savina wilted. Behind her, the slave opened her mouth as if to say something to her mistress, then clenched her jaw shut and looked away, rubbing her arm where the original derro scout had shot it that morning. [i]I know what to say to a member of my crew who's just made his first hit[/i], thought Kormick. [i]But I'm not sure what to say to the sweetest Alirrian in all the Halmae when she's just killed her first "somebody."[/i] In the end, Mena walked over to Savina. "I would tell you it gets easier," she said, "but it doesn't. Nor should it. The only thing to do is know that by taking a life, you are saving others." Savina hesitated, then nodded. Mena rested her hand on the girl's shoulder for a moment. Then she turned to the group. "There are three closed doors," Mena said. "We must determine which way to go." [/QUOTE]
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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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