Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 4899531" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>4x05</strong></p><p></p><p>"Okay," said Kormick, turning to Arden. "Time for some breaking and entering."</p><p></p><p>"Justicar, I wouldn't know how – "</p><p></p><p>"Slave, slave, slave. <em>I</em> see with the gaze of Kettenek. Do <em>you</em> see any point in denying to my face that you're skilled at murderous sneakiness?"</p><p></p><p>Arden opened her mouth as if to do just that, and then apparently thought better of it. She met his gaze for a moment, then turned and stalked toward the door to the left of the entrance. </p><p></p><p>Kormick followed her, satisfied. He still half expected her to stab him in his sleep, but otherwise, they seemed to understand each other. </p><p></p><p>Arden laid her fingers on the door's handle and, vindicating Kormick's words, bore down with the light touch of someone with a lot of practice opening doors silently. This one was easy: it wasn't locked, and it swung open smoothly. </p><p></p><p>Arden and Kormick slipped through into a short corridor that turned sharply several feet ahead. With a glance at Kormick for permission, Arden tiptoed forward and glanced around the corner. Then she gestured for Kormick to join her. He did, and carefully, they crept down to the next corner and peered around it. Through a doorway, two derro were rummaging in what appeared to be a storeroom.</p><p></p><p>Kormick considered killing them. But there was another door at the far end of the storeroom, just the sort of door that reinforcements could come pouring through at any moment. He gestured to Arden to retreat.</p><p></p><p>They returned to the entry hall. Twiggy was trembling from continuing to maintain the flaming sphere, so they wasted no time approaching the second door, to the right of the entrance. Kormick stood by as Arden laid her fingers on the handle. Almost before he'd blinked, the door had been soundlessly cracked open and Arden had vanished through it.</p><p></p><p>Kormick slipped through the door. Arden was waiting for him on the other side. </p><p></p><p>"No wonder you were able to escape," he whispered.</p><p></p><p>She smiled with faint humor and held up her cuffed wrist. "I wasn't," she reminded him. </p><p></p><p>They could see a glimmer of torchlight and hear the clamor of many voices from around a bend up ahead.</p><p></p><p>This time, Kormick gestured Arden forward alone, and she obeyed. Soon, she vanished out of sight around the corridor. Kormick waited tensely, listening for any change in the sound of the voices. </p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Arden sneaked down the shadowy corridor toward the torchlight. There was a smell in the air that had been present since they'd entered and was growing more and more overpowering with every step: a ripe, musty smell. She supposed it was a relief from the smell of burned derro flesh in the entry hall, but she hated it. It was the smell of many unwashed bodies living together underground. It wasn't so long ago that <em>she</em> had smelled like that.</p><p></p><p>She edged toward a doorway that led into a larger chamber, stopping far enough back that she was still cloaked in shadows. The noise was loud now, because the chamber ahead was full of derro. They were sitting at rough tables and lounging on bunks, laughing and talking. Arden started to count them – <em>one, two – seven – </em> and gave up. There were a <em>lot</em> of them, jostling each other and miming violence. She saw no sign of the captured dwarves, just a very messy, very crowded barracks room. She turned and crept back down the corridor, collecting Kormick before sneaking back into the entrance hall and closing the door behind her.</p><p></p><p>"There are many derro that way, gentlefolk," she said, and recounted what she'd seen. The group stirred uneasily. Then it was time to open the third door, the one opposite the entrance. Like the others, it was unlocked. Unlike the others, it didn't lead to a corridor but to a tunnel, roughly cut, descending steeply into darkness. Arden stifled a shudder.</p><p></p><p>"If we go that way, we – we might not have to fight anyone," proposed Savina. <em>Oh, thanks for that, Blessed Daughter</em>, Arden thought, bracing herself for the order to explore the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>"But if we go that way, we could be cut off by enemies behind us," answered Tavi.</p><p></p><p>"I agree, unfortunately," said Mena. "We should deal with the derro in the barracks before going farther."</p><p></p><p>"All right." Tavi straightened up and raised his sword eagerly. "I'll go first." </p><p></p><p>Kormick glanced at Twiggy. "I can't believe I'm going to say this," he said, "but I suggest that the little lady-in-waiting with no prior combat experience should go first . . . with her flaming sphere of death, of course." Beads of sweat were standing out on Twiggy's forehead as she continued to maintain the sphere, but she managed a nod to show that she'd understood.</p><p></p><p>"Very well," said Mena. "There is no use delaying."</p><p></p><p>Arden walked back to the second door and laid her fingers on the handle, feeling the heat of Twiggy's magic at her back. </p><p></p><p>This time, by some inexplicable malice of Sedellus, the door gave an almighty <em>squeak</em> as she opened it, and it must have coincided with a lull in the merrymaking of the derro, because suddenly she heard only dead silence down the corridor, followed by orders barked out in a firm voice.</p><p></p><p><em>I hate this place</em>, Arden thought.</p><p></p><p>"Damn," said Kormick. "Hurry."</p><p></p><p>Twiggy and Tavi pushed into the corridor, Tavi guiding Twiggy with a courtly hand on her arm as she hurried toward the torchlight.</p><p></p><p>The others followed, leaving Rose at the entrance to the corridor.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Tavi and Twiggy burst around the corner, and Twiggy immediately directed the flaming sphere straight into the crowd of derro. They screamed, and Tavi felt Twiggy wince beside him. Several of them dropped dead at once, burnt to a crisp. </p><p></p><p>"Nice. Keep it up," he told Twiggy, stepping past her as his remaining enemies pulled themselves into a ragged battle line. He strode toward them, his sword burning with green fire, and released a <em>flame cyclone</em>. Fire fanned out from his blade as if swept by a whirlwind and blazed among the derro. They burned. One burned to death. <em>Now,</em> Tavi thought, grinning with fierce satisfaction, <em><strong>there's</strong> my first kill, Savina</em>. </p><p></p><p>Mena arrived at Tavi's side as Twiggy adjusted the sphere and set two more derro ablaze. Those two attempted to stab Tavi and Mena, but missed – distracted, understandably, by being on fire. Tavi and Mena dispatched them quickly. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: magenta">Too easy</span>, gloated Phoebe from a safe spot near the ceiling, just before another derro engaged Tavi. This creature had a little more skill with the blade, and they traded blows for a moment. Then a short sword burst out of his opponent's chest, stopping just shy of Tavi's own body and spraying a new layer of derro blood onto his armor. The derro sagged to the ground, dead, and revealed Arden behind him, grim-faced. That was it for this room; <em>too easy</em> indeed.</p><p></p><p>But Tavi's flash of annoyance at Arden for stealing his next kill was forgotten as the door ahead flew open and three more derro rushed in, crossbows raised. </p><p></p><p>Their bolts flew as one, and Mena cried out as one of them buried itself in her thigh. "It burns," she announced as she wrenched the bolt from her leg. "They're poisoned." </p><p></p><p>Mena raised her flail, and Tavi's heart skipped a beat as his tutor staggered, unnaturally weakened. "Savina!” he yelled, “Mena is—" and Savina interrupted him, praying for Mena’s health and then, almost in the same breath, blasting one of the archers with a <em>lance of faith</em>. </p><p></p><p>Arden ran past the flaming sphere and along the wall, aiming to slip in close to the archers, but they were too quick for her: one shot her at close range, the poisoned arrow burying itself between her ribs. Like Mena, Arden staggered, leaning against the wall near the room's open rear door, losing the battle against the poison. She was dangerously close to the bad guys – right where <em>Tavi</em> wanted to be, in fact. </p><p></p><p><em>Let's make this more interesting</em>, he thought. <span style="color: magenta">About time!</span> cheered Phoebe. He muttered an incantation and stabbed his sword into the bunk beside him. A vortex appeared where the sword had hit, and in a flash he and Arden were both pulled into it, switching places. He laughed at the slave's astonishment, turned, and drove his burning blade deep into the nearest archer, killing him.</p><p></p><p>Kormick dove in with his warhammers, swinging at both the remaining archers in quick succession. The two derro withdrew into the hallway, dropped their crossbows, and drew short swords as Tavi and Kormick's pressure forced them into close-quarters combat. One of them scored a vicious hit on the Justicar, driving his blade into Kormick's side. Kormick yelled in pain, nearly falling.</p><p></p><p>Then Tavi glimpsed a pit in the hallway, just a few steps behind the derro. "Come on," he called. "Drive them back!" </p><p></p><p>Corani responded to his exhortation with typical overzealousness, waddling too close to Twiggy's still-flaming sphere and burning herself. Arden, keeping her distance, whirled her sling and sent a rock flying straight through the sphere. Trailing sparks like a shooting star, it plowed into the face of one derro, who stumbled backward – farther backward – and plunged into the pit. </p><p></p><p>Kormick, with a mighty effort, rushed the final derro. "This" – he grunted – "is <em>justice</em>" – and, in a single strong motion despite his bleeding side, he kicked the derro in the chest, sending him flying over the pit's edge.</p><p></p><p>Kormick peered over the edge. Tavi joined him, but saw only darkness below. "I can't tell if they're dead," he said.</p><p></p><p>"I – can help – " gasped Twiggy. With a final exhausted effort, she gestured the flaming sphere forward until it plummeted between Tavi and Kormick down into the pit after the two derro. </p><p></p><p>As the sphere lit up a cavernous space, Tavi saw the second derro lying prone far below. It opened its eyes . . . just in time to be engulfed by flame. The light flared up, and then flickered out. </p><p></p><p>Twiggy steadied herself against the passage wall and let out her breath in a long, long sigh, almost a groan, almost a wail. She slid down the wall into a lump and held her head in her hands.</p><p></p><p>Everyone was still. The barracks were silent, filled with corpses.</p><p></p><p>The smell of burning flesh hung heavy in the air, inescapable.</p><p></p><p>Savina threw up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 4899531, member: 82687"] [b]4x05[/b] "Okay," said Kormick, turning to Arden. "Time for some breaking and entering." "Justicar, I wouldn't know how – " "Slave, slave, slave. [i]I[/i] see with the gaze of Kettenek. Do [i]you[/i] see any point in denying to my face that you're skilled at murderous sneakiness?" Arden opened her mouth as if to do just that, and then apparently thought better of it. She met his gaze for a moment, then turned and stalked toward the door to the left of the entrance. Kormick followed her, satisfied. He still half expected her to stab him in his sleep, but otherwise, they seemed to understand each other. Arden laid her fingers on the door's handle and, vindicating Kormick's words, bore down with the light touch of someone with a lot of practice opening doors silently. This one was easy: it wasn't locked, and it swung open smoothly. Arden and Kormick slipped through into a short corridor that turned sharply several feet ahead. With a glance at Kormick for permission, Arden tiptoed forward and glanced around the corner. Then she gestured for Kormick to join her. He did, and carefully, they crept down to the next corner and peered around it. Through a doorway, two derro were rummaging in what appeared to be a storeroom. Kormick considered killing them. But there was another door at the far end of the storeroom, just the sort of door that reinforcements could come pouring through at any moment. He gestured to Arden to retreat. They returned to the entry hall. Twiggy was trembling from continuing to maintain the flaming sphere, so they wasted no time approaching the second door, to the right of the entrance. Kormick stood by as Arden laid her fingers on the handle. Almost before he'd blinked, the door had been soundlessly cracked open and Arden had vanished through it. Kormick slipped through the door. Arden was waiting for him on the other side. "No wonder you were able to escape," he whispered. She smiled with faint humor and held up her cuffed wrist. "I wasn't," she reminded him. They could see a glimmer of torchlight and hear the clamor of many voices from around a bend up ahead. This time, Kormick gestured Arden forward alone, and she obeyed. Soon, she vanished out of sight around the corridor. Kormick waited tensely, listening for any change in the sound of the voices. ### Arden sneaked down the shadowy corridor toward the torchlight. There was a smell in the air that had been present since they'd entered and was growing more and more overpowering with every step: a ripe, musty smell. She supposed it was a relief from the smell of burned derro flesh in the entry hall, but she hated it. It was the smell of many unwashed bodies living together underground. It wasn't so long ago that [i]she[/i] had smelled like that. She edged toward a doorway that led into a larger chamber, stopping far enough back that she was still cloaked in shadows. The noise was loud now, because the chamber ahead was full of derro. They were sitting at rough tables and lounging on bunks, laughing and talking. Arden started to count them – [i]one, two – seven – [/i] and gave up. There were a [i]lot[/i] of them, jostling each other and miming violence. She saw no sign of the captured dwarves, just a very messy, very crowded barracks room. She turned and crept back down the corridor, collecting Kormick before sneaking back into the entrance hall and closing the door behind her. "There are many derro that way, gentlefolk," she said, and recounted what she'd seen. The group stirred uneasily. Then it was time to open the third door, the one opposite the entrance. Like the others, it was unlocked. Unlike the others, it didn't lead to a corridor but to a tunnel, roughly cut, descending steeply into darkness. Arden stifled a shudder. "If we go that way, we – we might not have to fight anyone," proposed Savina. [i]Oh, thanks for that, Blessed Daughter[/i], Arden thought, bracing herself for the order to explore the tunnel. "But if we go that way, we could be cut off by enemies behind us," answered Tavi. "I agree, unfortunately," said Mena. "We should deal with the derro in the barracks before going farther." "All right." Tavi straightened up and raised his sword eagerly. "I'll go first." Kormick glanced at Twiggy. "I can't believe I'm going to say this," he said, "but I suggest that the little lady-in-waiting with no prior combat experience should go first . . . with her flaming sphere of death, of course." Beads of sweat were standing out on Twiggy's forehead as she continued to maintain the sphere, but she managed a nod to show that she'd understood. "Very well," said Mena. "There is no use delaying." Arden walked back to the second door and laid her fingers on the handle, feeling the heat of Twiggy's magic at her back. This time, by some inexplicable malice of Sedellus, the door gave an almighty [i]squeak[/i] as she opened it, and it must have coincided with a lull in the merrymaking of the derro, because suddenly she heard only dead silence down the corridor, followed by orders barked out in a firm voice. [i]I hate this place[/i], Arden thought. "Damn," said Kormick. "Hurry." Twiggy and Tavi pushed into the corridor, Tavi guiding Twiggy with a courtly hand on her arm as she hurried toward the torchlight. The others followed, leaving Rose at the entrance to the corridor. ### Tavi and Twiggy burst around the corner, and Twiggy immediately directed the flaming sphere straight into the crowd of derro. They screamed, and Tavi felt Twiggy wince beside him. Several of them dropped dead at once, burnt to a crisp. "Nice. Keep it up," he told Twiggy, stepping past her as his remaining enemies pulled themselves into a ragged battle line. He strode toward them, his sword burning with green fire, and released a [i]flame cyclone[/i]. Fire fanned out from his blade as if swept by a whirlwind and blazed among the derro. They burned. One burned to death. [i]Now,[/i] Tavi thought, grinning with fierce satisfaction, [i][b]there's[/b] my first kill, Savina[/i]. Mena arrived at Tavi's side as Twiggy adjusted the sphere and set two more derro ablaze. Those two attempted to stab Tavi and Mena, but missed – distracted, understandably, by being on fire. Tavi and Mena dispatched them quickly. [color="magenta"]Too easy[/color], gloated Phoebe from a safe spot near the ceiling, just before another derro engaged Tavi. This creature had a little more skill with the blade, and they traded blows for a moment. Then a short sword burst out of his opponent's chest, stopping just shy of Tavi's own body and spraying a new layer of derro blood onto his armor. The derro sagged to the ground, dead, and revealed Arden behind him, grim-faced. That was it for this room; [i]too easy[/i] indeed. But Tavi's flash of annoyance at Arden for stealing his next kill was forgotten as the door ahead flew open and three more derro rushed in, crossbows raised. Their bolts flew as one, and Mena cried out as one of them buried itself in her thigh. "It burns," she announced as she wrenched the bolt from her leg. "They're poisoned." Mena raised her flail, and Tavi's heart skipped a beat as his tutor staggered, unnaturally weakened. "Savina!” he yelled, “Mena is—" and Savina interrupted him, praying for Mena’s health and then, almost in the same breath, blasting one of the archers with a [i]lance of faith[/i]. Arden ran past the flaming sphere and along the wall, aiming to slip in close to the archers, but they were too quick for her: one shot her at close range, the poisoned arrow burying itself between her ribs. Like Mena, Arden staggered, leaning against the wall near the room's open rear door, losing the battle against the poison. She was dangerously close to the bad guys – right where [i]Tavi[/i] wanted to be, in fact. [i]Let's make this more interesting[/i], he thought. [color="magenta"]About time![/color] cheered Phoebe. He muttered an incantation and stabbed his sword into the bunk beside him. A vortex appeared where the sword had hit, and in a flash he and Arden were both pulled into it, switching places. He laughed at the slave's astonishment, turned, and drove his burning blade deep into the nearest archer, killing him. Kormick dove in with his warhammers, swinging at both the remaining archers in quick succession. The two derro withdrew into the hallway, dropped their crossbows, and drew short swords as Tavi and Kormick's pressure forced them into close-quarters combat. One of them scored a vicious hit on the Justicar, driving his blade into Kormick's side. Kormick yelled in pain, nearly falling. Then Tavi glimpsed a pit in the hallway, just a few steps behind the derro. "Come on," he called. "Drive them back!" Corani responded to his exhortation with typical overzealousness, waddling too close to Twiggy's still-flaming sphere and burning herself. Arden, keeping her distance, whirled her sling and sent a rock flying straight through the sphere. Trailing sparks like a shooting star, it plowed into the face of one derro, who stumbled backward – farther backward – and plunged into the pit. Kormick, with a mighty effort, rushed the final derro. "This" – he grunted – "is [i]justice[/i]" – and, in a single strong motion despite his bleeding side, he kicked the derro in the chest, sending him flying over the pit's edge. Kormick peered over the edge. Tavi joined him, but saw only darkness below. "I can't tell if they're dead," he said. "I – can help – " gasped Twiggy. With a final exhausted effort, she gestured the flaming sphere forward until it plummeted between Tavi and Kormick down into the pit after the two derro. As the sphere lit up a cavernous space, Tavi saw the second derro lying prone far below. It opened its eyes . . . just in time to be engulfed by flame. The light flared up, and then flickered out. Twiggy steadied herself against the passage wall and let out her breath in a long, long sigh, almost a groan, almost a wail. She slid down the wall into a lump and held her head in her hands. Everyone was still. The barracks were silent, filled with corpses. The smell of burning flesh hung heavy in the air, inescapable. Savina threw up. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
Top