Doom from Below: The Illithid Ascension (Last Updated: 1-1-03)
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
A very origional story. Please continue.
Phasmus
First Post
That night, as the others slept, Shayuri was on her watch shift when she noticed something strange. A pair of faintly luminous orbs hovering in the absolute darkness in the trees nearby. Like...eyes. Looking closer, she could faintly discern a blacker-than-black shape set against the shadows. The shape of a human being. It was then that she felt the fury rolling off of the thing in cold waves. Hastily, the sorceress roused Shar first, then Piklum, only to find that only Shayui seemed able to see it in the gloom. Shayuri cast a spell on a nearby stone that caused it to glow brightly, hoping to illuminate it more fully...but when the flash died down into steady brilliance, the thing was gone...
Before they could do much more, the intrepid party was forced to deal with monstrous animals that burst from the underbrush and fought like creatures possessed. Apparently attracted by the Light spell, the dire rats attacked viciously. To make matters worse, during the battle, the dark wraith-like form appeared again behind Shayuri as she cast her spells. Though it never attacked, the constant chill of its presence was a terrible distraction to the poor sorceress, making it hard for her to concentrate on casting.
For several rounds, things were starting to look unusually grim, as Shar's scythe was unusually ineffective in striking the unusually sized rodents and Piklum was forced to stay moving to avoid the things, and couldn't flank any. Just then an arrow flew from nearby underbrush and slew a rat outright. An oddly pale elven woman melted out of the midnight shadows there and put another arrow to nock as the others rallied around this opening. In short order, with help from the stranger, the rats were slain. The elf then nocked another arrow and watched the group warily.
Shayuri, by now almost frantic at being paced by this malicious spirit, pointed at the thing that hovered just outside the radius of her spell. "There!" she cried triumphantly. "There it is! You can see its eyes glowing."
Shar and Piklum exchanged dubious looks. "You sure one of those rats didn't bite you?" Piklum asked. The stranger shifted uneasily and looked over her shoulder. It was a strangely awkward moment, with no one sure what to say as Shayuri backed slowly away from, by all accounts, nothing at all.
The thing grew closer then, daring to edge inside the light...appearing as an utterly black silhouette of a man. Shayuri jumped back and drew the dagger she'd taken from the skeleton. It's semi-transparent blade whickered through the air in warning, but the creature's unnatural rage only seemed to intensify.
At the sight of the dagger, the elf perceptibly tensed, and the bow moved to cover Shayuri, though was still not completely raised and ready to fire.
"Hey! Calm down!" Piklum said, abruptly a little nervous.
"Yes," Shar agreed, subtly readying her scythe, just in case. "And put the dagger down at once."
The dark-skinned sorceress glanced at Piklum and Shar, realizing what was happening. "You can't see it," she said softly and looked back at the hovering terror. Its eyes were not on her, but on the dagger.
"See what?" Shar demanded. "There's nothing there!"
"Shar...take the dagger," Shayuri said, backing up towards the cleric. She held the hilt out.
The priestess scowled and muttered something not at all polite, but grudgingly snatched the dagger away.
Shayuri jumped as an audible howl of pure anger echoed in her for a moment, and the apparition vanished. Shar's eyes widened. "What is THAT?" she yelped in shock.
Piklum darted over. "Let me try!" he demanded eagerly. "I wanna see it too!"
Shar handed the halfling the ghostly dagger, and his eyes bugged out at the sight revealed to him. "Wow...that IS creepy," he gushed. "No wonder you completely panicked."
A delicate rosy tinge came over the sorceress' cheeks. "I did not panic," she replied primly. Then after a pause added on, "Not completely." Shar and Piklum exchanged another dubious look, and Shayuri hastily went on. "Anyway, it's clear that this...manifestation is tied to the dagger. What's more, it seems to avoid light, and it didn't come at all during the day...so... Let's try this. Piklum, put the dagger down on the ground there."
Piklum shrugged and did as asked, giving a little startle at the howl only he could hear. "Okay. Now what?"
The three waited, watching the dagger apprehensively. The thing...if it was a thing...did not reappear.
"Well, that's easy enough then," Shayuri said happily. "I'll just set it down by night, and it should be all right. I was afraid I'd have to discard it entirely."
At this point the elf coughed politely and said in a melodic contralto, "Are you actors then? Is this part of your performance? If so, I'm sure I won't be the first to tell you that it needs a great deal of work."
"Wha...who?" Shayuri whirled, startled, then flushed on seeing the delicate elven woman there. "Oh gods, I'm sorry. I was so wrapped up in that..." suddenly realizing she didn't really want to get into it right then, the sorceress shook her head and waved that line of conversation off. "I'm Shayuri. Thank you for your help."
"Semaki," the elf replied in a deadpan voice. "I suggest you put out that light before you bring more trouble."
Shar thumped her scythe meaningfully. "I am Shar, priestess of Delta. And *I* suggest you put up that bow, before you find more trouble."
"I'm Piklum!" the halfling chirped sociably.
"Delighted," said Semaki, the irony clearly implied though her voice was still expressionless. She did take the arrow away from the bow, but remained tense and alert.
With a furious look at Shar, Shayuri quickly injected, "We're all really grateful for your help. None of us mean you any harm."
"Mmm," the elf replied neutrally, eying Shar out of the corner of her unusually dark eyes.
"Not even her," Shayuri said miserably.
Shar grunted. "That remains to be seen."
Semaki opened her mouth, perhaps to answer, perhaps to give vent to a heartstopping battle cry...but was interrupted by another voice from out of the foliage. A tremulous, hissing whisper. "Is it...safe?" Semaki hesitated, then said, "I think so, Quadim."
"Nooo," came the siblant whisper, "It's not...it's never safe. We should go, Semaki. We should go." There was a momentary rustling in the bushes, cut off when Shar demanded sharply, "Whoever you are, come out where we can see you now."
Semaki's hands tightened around the bow angrily, but before she could respond, a shape ambled out of the brush. It was short and thick, almost looking dwarvish, until it uncurled out of the stoop it was in. Quadim turned out to be an ordinary man, perhaps on the youngish side. He was tall and a bit skinny when not doubled over. His hair and beard were scraggly, and his eyes were too wide, jerking from point to point without cease. Hunted eyes. He was wearing simple clothing, almost peasant garb. In contrast, Semaki was wearing cured leather, reinforced in places with metal strips. He bore no weapon at all, while she carried both a longbow and sword.
"You used to be thralls," Shayuri said abruptly, the realization dawning on her. "You're fleeing the illithid, right?"
Quadim wailed and cowered behind Semaki, who threw a glowering look at the sorceress and spared a hand from her bow to pat Quadim with stilted reassurance. "Not used to be!" Quadim whimpered. "I am, master! Am! I would not betray you...please don't punish me...not again..."
Uncomfortably, Semaki replied, "He is...not well. But I assure you, neither of us are playthings of mind flayers." A brief hesitation, then, almost guiltily, "Not anymore."
"A likely story," Shar sneered.
For a moment, Semaki and Shar's eyes met, struck sparks, then parted. Semaki stepped forward, into a small ray of moonlight that slipped deftly through the leaves overhead. With some startlement, the others saw that the elf was covered in strange, arcane-looking blue tattoos. Every bit of skin that showed crawled with them. And her eyes were black, like a pair of polished obsidian orbs. "I will tell you my story," she said woodenly, "And you will tell me yours. And we will decide if we believe any of us are yet pawns of those horrors." Quadim whimpered again and sank to the ground in a fetal ball, crying. Semaki sat easily down, crosslegged, and spoke to the man in a low, comforting voice. When his sobs diminished and ceased, she looked up at the others expectantly.
Piklum and Shayuri sat as well. Shar remained standing. After another moment staring unreadably at the priestess, Semaki began her tale.
"My memories of our..." her face hardened, and she nearly spat the next word, "captivity...are not completely clear. I was captured just under two weeks ago, not long after I arrived in Cedilla. I was made part of a group of others, and led by two of them to a large natural-seeming cavern entrance. There must have been nearly two dozen of us, all combat-trained and equipped. I don't know why we were there, but I remember what happened." The graven elf paused again, reliving the moment.
"I was in the rear of the formation," she said more quietly. "It was dark even to my eyes. I'm not sure how the humans kept their step. We went into the caves, followed the...flayers...though tunnel after tunnel. I have no idea how deep we'd gone, or how long or far...when I felt something cold wash over me. Ahead I saw a wave of darkness, solid darkness, moving towards us. The torches they'd had to light at the front...they went out. People started screaming, and I suddenly felt the illithid gone from my mind. We started running, scattering...none of us remembered how to get out." Semaki stopped again, breathing more heavily. She shook her head and forced herself to meet the eyes of the others, one by one. "I don't know what was in the darkness, but it followed us...chased us through the tunnels. And one by one...it took us. I could hear them screaming...and then silence. And I knew it was coming for me. When Quadim reached me, I nearly killed him I was so afraid. But of all of us, he knew the way out. He led me out." Her black eyes rested momentarily on Quadim. "We've been running from that place ever since. And from the mind flayers."
Shar sat heavily at last and propped her scythe over her knees, eying Quadim. "And him?"
"I'm not sure, exactly," Semaki said evenly. "He's been...prisoner, for much longer. He's not well."
"Where are you two going?" Shayuri asked, as much to change the subject as anything.
The elf's eyes flicked to Shayuri, but her head hardly moved at all. She seemed to weigh the question. "Dieresis."
Shayuri caught Shar's eye with a mute question. Shar shrugged, but both were spared the need for decision-making when Piklum spurted, "Hey, that's where WE'RE going too! You could come with us."
Shar sighed, and Shayuri quickly rallied. "Yes, do Semaki," the sorceress said. "It's a long journey, and a difficult and dangerous one." She didn't add, and none of us knows the woods from a set of brown pillars, but figured an elf would assume that anyway.
Semaki's eyes rested on Shayuri, and if she heard Shar's sigh, she gave no sign of it. Her face betrayed nothing of her thoughts or emotions. Very unusual for an elf, in fact, thought Shayuri. At least from what she'd been told of them. Finally Semaki said, "Very well. If there are no objections, Quadim and I will travel with you." An unstated but clear, for now hung palpably in the air however.
The two groups bedded down then, but Semaki kept her own vigil over Quadim's fitful, nightmare-ridden sleep. When day broke again, the adventurers, now five in number, set off across the untamed wilderness of Cedilla. Westward; always to the west. Towards Dieresis...and hope.
---------------
To be Continued
Before they could do much more, the intrepid party was forced to deal with monstrous animals that burst from the underbrush and fought like creatures possessed. Apparently attracted by the Light spell, the dire rats attacked viciously. To make matters worse, during the battle, the dark wraith-like form appeared again behind Shayuri as she cast her spells. Though it never attacked, the constant chill of its presence was a terrible distraction to the poor sorceress, making it hard for her to concentrate on casting.
For several rounds, things were starting to look unusually grim, as Shar's scythe was unusually ineffective in striking the unusually sized rodents and Piklum was forced to stay moving to avoid the things, and couldn't flank any. Just then an arrow flew from nearby underbrush and slew a rat outright. An oddly pale elven woman melted out of the midnight shadows there and put another arrow to nock as the others rallied around this opening. In short order, with help from the stranger, the rats were slain. The elf then nocked another arrow and watched the group warily.
Shayuri, by now almost frantic at being paced by this malicious spirit, pointed at the thing that hovered just outside the radius of her spell. "There!" she cried triumphantly. "There it is! You can see its eyes glowing."
Shar and Piklum exchanged dubious looks. "You sure one of those rats didn't bite you?" Piklum asked. The stranger shifted uneasily and looked over her shoulder. It was a strangely awkward moment, with no one sure what to say as Shayuri backed slowly away from, by all accounts, nothing at all.
The thing grew closer then, daring to edge inside the light...appearing as an utterly black silhouette of a man. Shayuri jumped back and drew the dagger she'd taken from the skeleton. It's semi-transparent blade whickered through the air in warning, but the creature's unnatural rage only seemed to intensify.
At the sight of the dagger, the elf perceptibly tensed, and the bow moved to cover Shayuri, though was still not completely raised and ready to fire.
"Hey! Calm down!" Piklum said, abruptly a little nervous.
"Yes," Shar agreed, subtly readying her scythe, just in case. "And put the dagger down at once."
The dark-skinned sorceress glanced at Piklum and Shar, realizing what was happening. "You can't see it," she said softly and looked back at the hovering terror. Its eyes were not on her, but on the dagger.
"See what?" Shar demanded. "There's nothing there!"
"Shar...take the dagger," Shayuri said, backing up towards the cleric. She held the hilt out.
The priestess scowled and muttered something not at all polite, but grudgingly snatched the dagger away.
Shayuri jumped as an audible howl of pure anger echoed in her for a moment, and the apparition vanished. Shar's eyes widened. "What is THAT?" she yelped in shock.
Piklum darted over. "Let me try!" he demanded eagerly. "I wanna see it too!"
Shar handed the halfling the ghostly dagger, and his eyes bugged out at the sight revealed to him. "Wow...that IS creepy," he gushed. "No wonder you completely panicked."
A delicate rosy tinge came over the sorceress' cheeks. "I did not panic," she replied primly. Then after a pause added on, "Not completely." Shar and Piklum exchanged another dubious look, and Shayuri hastily went on. "Anyway, it's clear that this...manifestation is tied to the dagger. What's more, it seems to avoid light, and it didn't come at all during the day...so... Let's try this. Piklum, put the dagger down on the ground there."
Piklum shrugged and did as asked, giving a little startle at the howl only he could hear. "Okay. Now what?"
The three waited, watching the dagger apprehensively. The thing...if it was a thing...did not reappear.
"Well, that's easy enough then," Shayuri said happily. "I'll just set it down by night, and it should be all right. I was afraid I'd have to discard it entirely."
At this point the elf coughed politely and said in a melodic contralto, "Are you actors then? Is this part of your performance? If so, I'm sure I won't be the first to tell you that it needs a great deal of work."
"Wha...who?" Shayuri whirled, startled, then flushed on seeing the delicate elven woman there. "Oh gods, I'm sorry. I was so wrapped up in that..." suddenly realizing she didn't really want to get into it right then, the sorceress shook her head and waved that line of conversation off. "I'm Shayuri. Thank you for your help."
"Semaki," the elf replied in a deadpan voice. "I suggest you put out that light before you bring more trouble."
Shar thumped her scythe meaningfully. "I am Shar, priestess of Delta. And *I* suggest you put up that bow, before you find more trouble."
"I'm Piklum!" the halfling chirped sociably.
"Delighted," said Semaki, the irony clearly implied though her voice was still expressionless. She did take the arrow away from the bow, but remained tense and alert.
With a furious look at Shar, Shayuri quickly injected, "We're all really grateful for your help. None of us mean you any harm."
"Mmm," the elf replied neutrally, eying Shar out of the corner of her unusually dark eyes.
"Not even her," Shayuri said miserably.
Shar grunted. "That remains to be seen."
Semaki opened her mouth, perhaps to answer, perhaps to give vent to a heartstopping battle cry...but was interrupted by another voice from out of the foliage. A tremulous, hissing whisper. "Is it...safe?" Semaki hesitated, then said, "I think so, Quadim."
"Nooo," came the siblant whisper, "It's not...it's never safe. We should go, Semaki. We should go." There was a momentary rustling in the bushes, cut off when Shar demanded sharply, "Whoever you are, come out where we can see you now."
Semaki's hands tightened around the bow angrily, but before she could respond, a shape ambled out of the brush. It was short and thick, almost looking dwarvish, until it uncurled out of the stoop it was in. Quadim turned out to be an ordinary man, perhaps on the youngish side. He was tall and a bit skinny when not doubled over. His hair and beard were scraggly, and his eyes were too wide, jerking from point to point without cease. Hunted eyes. He was wearing simple clothing, almost peasant garb. In contrast, Semaki was wearing cured leather, reinforced in places with metal strips. He bore no weapon at all, while she carried both a longbow and sword.
"You used to be thralls," Shayuri said abruptly, the realization dawning on her. "You're fleeing the illithid, right?"
Quadim wailed and cowered behind Semaki, who threw a glowering look at the sorceress and spared a hand from her bow to pat Quadim with stilted reassurance. "Not used to be!" Quadim whimpered. "I am, master! Am! I would not betray you...please don't punish me...not again..."
Uncomfortably, Semaki replied, "He is...not well. But I assure you, neither of us are playthings of mind flayers." A brief hesitation, then, almost guiltily, "Not anymore."
"A likely story," Shar sneered.
For a moment, Semaki and Shar's eyes met, struck sparks, then parted. Semaki stepped forward, into a small ray of moonlight that slipped deftly through the leaves overhead. With some startlement, the others saw that the elf was covered in strange, arcane-looking blue tattoos. Every bit of skin that showed crawled with them. And her eyes were black, like a pair of polished obsidian orbs. "I will tell you my story," she said woodenly, "And you will tell me yours. And we will decide if we believe any of us are yet pawns of those horrors." Quadim whimpered again and sank to the ground in a fetal ball, crying. Semaki sat easily down, crosslegged, and spoke to the man in a low, comforting voice. When his sobs diminished and ceased, she looked up at the others expectantly.
Piklum and Shayuri sat as well. Shar remained standing. After another moment staring unreadably at the priestess, Semaki began her tale.
"My memories of our..." her face hardened, and she nearly spat the next word, "captivity...are not completely clear. I was captured just under two weeks ago, not long after I arrived in Cedilla. I was made part of a group of others, and led by two of them to a large natural-seeming cavern entrance. There must have been nearly two dozen of us, all combat-trained and equipped. I don't know why we were there, but I remember what happened." The graven elf paused again, reliving the moment.
"I was in the rear of the formation," she said more quietly. "It was dark even to my eyes. I'm not sure how the humans kept their step. We went into the caves, followed the...flayers...though tunnel after tunnel. I have no idea how deep we'd gone, or how long or far...when I felt something cold wash over me. Ahead I saw a wave of darkness, solid darkness, moving towards us. The torches they'd had to light at the front...they went out. People started screaming, and I suddenly felt the illithid gone from my mind. We started running, scattering...none of us remembered how to get out." Semaki stopped again, breathing more heavily. She shook her head and forced herself to meet the eyes of the others, one by one. "I don't know what was in the darkness, but it followed us...chased us through the tunnels. And one by one...it took us. I could hear them screaming...and then silence. And I knew it was coming for me. When Quadim reached me, I nearly killed him I was so afraid. But of all of us, he knew the way out. He led me out." Her black eyes rested momentarily on Quadim. "We've been running from that place ever since. And from the mind flayers."
Shar sat heavily at last and propped her scythe over her knees, eying Quadim. "And him?"
"I'm not sure, exactly," Semaki said evenly. "He's been...prisoner, for much longer. He's not well."
"Where are you two going?" Shayuri asked, as much to change the subject as anything.
The elf's eyes flicked to Shayuri, but her head hardly moved at all. She seemed to weigh the question. "Dieresis."
Shayuri caught Shar's eye with a mute question. Shar shrugged, but both were spared the need for decision-making when Piklum spurted, "Hey, that's where WE'RE going too! You could come with us."
Shar sighed, and Shayuri quickly rallied. "Yes, do Semaki," the sorceress said. "It's a long journey, and a difficult and dangerous one." She didn't add, and none of us knows the woods from a set of brown pillars, but figured an elf would assume that anyway.
Semaki's eyes rested on Shayuri, and if she heard Shar's sigh, she gave no sign of it. Her face betrayed nothing of her thoughts or emotions. Very unusual for an elf, in fact, thought Shayuri. At least from what she'd been told of them. Finally Semaki said, "Very well. If there are no objections, Quadim and I will travel with you." An unstated but clear, for now hung palpably in the air however.
The two groups bedded down then, but Semaki kept her own vigil over Quadim's fitful, nightmare-ridden sleep. When day broke again, the adventurers, now five in number, set off across the untamed wilderness of Cedilla. Westward; always to the west. Towards Dieresis...and hope.
---------------
To be Continued
Son_of_Thunder
Explorer
You bet I'm interested
Shayuri and Phasmus, keep it up. I'm loving this story hour. I'm ranking it up there with Wulf's, Sepulchrave's and Lazybone's. Illithids have always been one of my favorite bad guys. I love the setting you guys have done. As an author of an oft unread story hour I encourage you to keep going.
Son of Thunder
Shayuri and Phasmus, keep it up. I'm loving this story hour. I'm ranking it up there with Wulf's, Sepulchrave's and Lazybone's. Illithids have always been one of my favorite bad guys. I love the setting you guys have done. As an author of an oft unread story hour I encourage you to keep going.
Son of Thunder
Son_of_Thunder
Explorer
Just a friendly neighborhood bump!
Bump!
To good to be on second page.
Bump!
To good to be on second page.
Phasmus
First Post
The haunted forest thinned noticibly as they went, and by the early afternoon had metamorphosed into a broad grassy plain broken only occasionally by copses of trees. The rippling of the grass made the entire vista seem strangely oceanic; a great sea of green, with tree-bearing islands scattered through it. With the gentle breeze and the twitter of birds, it was easy to imagine the world was unspoiled, that the events of the past were nothing more than sordid nightmares.
Semaki was the first to see something wrong.
"What is that?" the elf asked, a small frown curving her lips. She pointed.
The others squinted and shaded their eyes...except Piklum, who had trouble seeing over the top of the grass. "It looks almost like something...moving," Shayuri said.
Shar scowled. "Whatever it is, it will not find us unready."
Sure enough, a 'V' shaped wake was visible...something moving below the grass level. However, as the group watched apprehensively, two things became clear. There were in fact two wakes, and neither of them were headed for the party. They were crossing perpendicular to the party's path. Then, finally, the disturbances got close enough that two human figures could be seen, their heads and shoulders alone poking above the grass level. Behind them, gaining slowly, was a sharklike something that couldn't quite be seen beyond an occasional flash of reflected light from through the grass that covered it.
"Semaki..." Shayuri said, eyes narrowing. "Can you hit that thing?"
The elf was already preparing an arrow. "Yes," was all she said. The bow was lifted skyward, and Semaki's muscles bulged as she drew the arrow back...back...back. The wood arch creaked in protest.
"Ridiculous," Shar scoffed. "Let it catch up to them first. For all we know, those men may be thralls and the pursuer friendly to us."
"I don't think they're thralls," Shayuri demurred. "They look afraid. Thralls would only run if ordered to. They'd be more likely to attack whatever it is...oh dear."
The runners had passed into an area where the grass was thinner. The human beings were a young, but rough-looking warrior and an older man. As they frantically sprinted, the old man lost his footing and fell. The warrior didn't notice at first, then paused and looked back.
"No!" the man's voice could faintly be heard. "Keep going!"
From the grass behind him emerged a horrible spidery thing made of brass plates and iron joints. Puffs of white vapor issued from ports, and it made a wheezing noise that barely carried to the hill where the party stood.
"Gidi," Shayuri whispered.
The warrior cried, "No!" and drew his sword. Anyone could see though that he was too far, the machine too fast. The old man raised an arm over his face as the construct bore down on him, sharp scythe-like blades gaping wide like fangs...
It was interrupted by the *twang - zip* of Semaki releasing the arrow. Her hand, acting automatically, dropped to her quiver and neatly plucked another before the first was even halfway through its trajectory. Incredibly though, the second was not needed. Despite the distance, concealment, and sheer speed of her target, Semaki's arrow struck true. There was a loud metallic *CLANG* as it lodged itself into one of the ports in the thing, and the device slowed...faltered...
...and exploded in a titanic blast of scalding vapor and flames!
The warrior was blown backwards off his feet and landed face down at the outskirt of a wide circle of flattened grass. The old man was concealed in the hanging cloud of soot and steam that lingered over the center of the blast. Shayuri immediately broke into a run towards the scene, followed closely by Piklum and Shar. Semaki nocked the second arrow and proceeded forward slowly, already scanning the surroundings for more wakes, Quadim at her heels.
While Shayuri hovered anxiously nearby, Shar called on Delta's power to mend the warrior's wounds. The worst of the burns did indeed congeal back into healthy skin, and a few pieces of shrapnel were ejected as the holes they made in him filled in. Coughing and wide-eyed, the man awoke blearily, then sat up, groping for his sword.
"Who are you?! Where is..." His eyes fell onto the smoking crater. "Oh no..." Before Shayuri could urge him to take it easy, he was staggering up and towards the burnt ring that marked the middle of the explosion. Crumpled there was a dark heap of what had once been a man, scoured by fire, steam and fragments.
"I'm sorry," the sorceress said. "We couldn't help him."
"You," the man said, turning abruptly and pointing at Shar, who was getting to her feet. "You're a priestess. Can't you..."
"No," Shar replied frostily. "Now I suggest you begin by telling us who you are, and why you are here. It's not too late for you to join your companion."
"Shar!"
"The cleric is correct," Semaki said lightly, emerging from the grass, arrow still at nock, "...though not polite. In this place, in this time, we must assume any stranger is a threat." Her coal black eyes fixed on the warrior. "Who are you?"
The man's face hardened. "Mark del'Sol," he replied. "Of Caron. This is...was...Pique. If any of you have the means to help him..."
Shar gave an exasperated sigh, and Shayuri shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mark." Semaki just continued watching, somehow seeming both relaxed and ready to pounce at the same time.
Mark deflated a bit and looked down at the lump of ripped charcoal. He made a reverent gesture and closed his eyes in a moment of silence. When he opened them again, he was all business. "And you all are?" he asked crisply. Introductions were made and he absorbed each name without comment. "Good to meet you all. I thank you for the assistance." His deep blue eyes surveyed the group, lingering a moment on each of Quadim, Shayuri, and Semaki. "I will be frank. My life is in danger, as you have all seen. There will be more of these things coming for me. Will you let me accompany you?"
Piklum shrugged noncomittally and edged a bit closer to the smoldering body. "I don't mind." Shar smiled grimly, "Any enemy of Gidi is a potential friend of mine. Can you handle that sword?"
Mark simply nodded, his expression not changing.
Semaki merely put her arrow back in its quiver. "The day is getting on," she said calmly, "we should get moving."
"A moment," Mark said tightly, stepping between Piklum and his erstwhile friend. Piklum scuttled back a few steps and put on an innocent, nigh-cherubic expression. Mark paid no attention, grimacing as he knelt down and pried the remains of the backpack off the body. "Sorry, old man," he said quietly, fondly. "These will do you no good now though." With a sickening *ripping* noise, the backpack came free, and Mark hastily upended it. Much of the contents were ruined, but three things were conspicuously unharmed. A set of leather bracers with metal inlays, a simple bronze ring, and a metal segmented necklace made of gold. He looked at the others, "Are any of you..." he grimaced again, as if hating the sound of the word, "...magicians? These things have some power, I think, but he never told me much about them."
Shayuri darted forward, eyes widening. "Let me see them," she said, reaching out.
The sorceress intoned strange words of Shaping, and twists of arcane energy rippled around her fingers. The mystic auras of the items bloomed into her view as she examined each of them. "Oh yes," she said, "Definitely magical. The bracers and necklace were made with transmutation, as well as abjuration...odd combination, that..." She faded into a moment of thoughtful silence, then said, "The ring is pure transmutation, and is quite powerful by the look of it."
Mark held his hand out rather pointedly, and Shayuri, after an almost imperceptible pause, returned the items. "Are they safe to use?" Mark asked.
Shayuri shrugged. "I'm afraid I can't see that much detail. Didn't your friend talk about them? Where did he get them?"
"He was involved with a group of mages," Mark grumped. "He wouldn't talk about them though. They apparently liked their privacy. Unfortunately, someone must have found out...hence the...whatever it is." He indicated the crater where the Gidian construct had been.
"And you?" Semaki inquired in that quiet voice of hers. "Who are you involved with?"
Mark was silent for a moment. "I'm not ready to say yet," he said at last. "I do appreciate your help, but...you must understand. There are many more lives than mine at stake."
"Hold," Shar abruptly interjected. "We are followed."
Semaki whirled to look back at the forest. In the distance could be seen three human-shaped figures walking slowly out of the trees. Something like surprise flickered across her impassive features for a moment, but she said nothing; only reached to take an arrow and put it to nock.
"Who are they?" Mark asked, drawing his sword. The blade of it was an odd, unreflective black metal inlaid with peculiar runes. Shayuri's eyes immediately gravitated to it, though she did not say anything at once.
"I do not know," Semaki replied, though there was a brief hesitation before the statement.
Quadim flinched. "Masters, your servants...they are dead, or serve you no longer. It wasn't my fault! Please..."
Mark fixed Quadim with a cold expression for a moment, then strode out to intercept the three. Shar, not to be outdone, hastily followed. The others watched. Mark suddenly cried, "Zombies! Undead!" and charged forward, sword upraised. Semaki loosed her arrow, which arched high and buried itself into the chest of one. Closely following it was a brilliant shard of magic force that launched itself from Shayuri. Between the two, the lurching thing fell, it's midsection hanging in tatters. Then Shar and Mark reached the remaining two, and did their grisly work. In moments, the shambling corpses were dead once more.
Semaki, looking paler than usual, went forward to look at the remains. She didn't seem surprised when she reported, "I knew these men. They were with me. When we went into the caves."
"Caves?" Mark said confusedly, "What caves?"
"It's a long story, Mark. We'll tell you tonight, when we camp," Shayuri replied uneasily, looking from the mangled rotted bodies on the ground to Semaki.
"Faugh...fine," the warrior replied, wiping gunk off his blade and sheathing it. "Let's go quickly though. Too many enemies have found us here for my liking."
"Agreed," Semaki said, and without further comment set off westward, trailing Quadim like a lost puppy.
Shayuri quickly fell into step, and Shar hustled to take the lead. Piklum grinned companionably at Mark. "Women, eh?" Then pattered after them.
Mark watched them for a moment, debating with himself. Then with long, heavy strides, he followed.
---------------
To be Continued
Semaki was the first to see something wrong.
"What is that?" the elf asked, a small frown curving her lips. She pointed.
The others squinted and shaded their eyes...except Piklum, who had trouble seeing over the top of the grass. "It looks almost like something...moving," Shayuri said.
Shar scowled. "Whatever it is, it will not find us unready."
Sure enough, a 'V' shaped wake was visible...something moving below the grass level. However, as the group watched apprehensively, two things became clear. There were in fact two wakes, and neither of them were headed for the party. They were crossing perpendicular to the party's path. Then, finally, the disturbances got close enough that two human figures could be seen, their heads and shoulders alone poking above the grass level. Behind them, gaining slowly, was a sharklike something that couldn't quite be seen beyond an occasional flash of reflected light from through the grass that covered it.
"Semaki..." Shayuri said, eyes narrowing. "Can you hit that thing?"
The elf was already preparing an arrow. "Yes," was all she said. The bow was lifted skyward, and Semaki's muscles bulged as she drew the arrow back...back...back. The wood arch creaked in protest.
"Ridiculous," Shar scoffed. "Let it catch up to them first. For all we know, those men may be thralls and the pursuer friendly to us."
"I don't think they're thralls," Shayuri demurred. "They look afraid. Thralls would only run if ordered to. They'd be more likely to attack whatever it is...oh dear."
The runners had passed into an area where the grass was thinner. The human beings were a young, but rough-looking warrior and an older man. As they frantically sprinted, the old man lost his footing and fell. The warrior didn't notice at first, then paused and looked back.
"No!" the man's voice could faintly be heard. "Keep going!"
From the grass behind him emerged a horrible spidery thing made of brass plates and iron joints. Puffs of white vapor issued from ports, and it made a wheezing noise that barely carried to the hill where the party stood.
"Gidi," Shayuri whispered.
The warrior cried, "No!" and drew his sword. Anyone could see though that he was too far, the machine too fast. The old man raised an arm over his face as the construct bore down on him, sharp scythe-like blades gaping wide like fangs...
It was interrupted by the *twang - zip* of Semaki releasing the arrow. Her hand, acting automatically, dropped to her quiver and neatly plucked another before the first was even halfway through its trajectory. Incredibly though, the second was not needed. Despite the distance, concealment, and sheer speed of her target, Semaki's arrow struck true. There was a loud metallic *CLANG* as it lodged itself into one of the ports in the thing, and the device slowed...faltered...
...and exploded in a titanic blast of scalding vapor and flames!
The warrior was blown backwards off his feet and landed face down at the outskirt of a wide circle of flattened grass. The old man was concealed in the hanging cloud of soot and steam that lingered over the center of the blast. Shayuri immediately broke into a run towards the scene, followed closely by Piklum and Shar. Semaki nocked the second arrow and proceeded forward slowly, already scanning the surroundings for more wakes, Quadim at her heels.
While Shayuri hovered anxiously nearby, Shar called on Delta's power to mend the warrior's wounds. The worst of the burns did indeed congeal back into healthy skin, and a few pieces of shrapnel were ejected as the holes they made in him filled in. Coughing and wide-eyed, the man awoke blearily, then sat up, groping for his sword.
"Who are you?! Where is..." His eyes fell onto the smoking crater. "Oh no..." Before Shayuri could urge him to take it easy, he was staggering up and towards the burnt ring that marked the middle of the explosion. Crumpled there was a dark heap of what had once been a man, scoured by fire, steam and fragments.
"I'm sorry," the sorceress said. "We couldn't help him."
"You," the man said, turning abruptly and pointing at Shar, who was getting to her feet. "You're a priestess. Can't you..."
"No," Shar replied frostily. "Now I suggest you begin by telling us who you are, and why you are here. It's not too late for you to join your companion."
"Shar!"
"The cleric is correct," Semaki said lightly, emerging from the grass, arrow still at nock, "...though not polite. In this place, in this time, we must assume any stranger is a threat." Her coal black eyes fixed on the warrior. "Who are you?"
The man's face hardened. "Mark del'Sol," he replied. "Of Caron. This is...was...Pique. If any of you have the means to help him..."
Shar gave an exasperated sigh, and Shayuri shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mark." Semaki just continued watching, somehow seeming both relaxed and ready to pounce at the same time.
Mark deflated a bit and looked down at the lump of ripped charcoal. He made a reverent gesture and closed his eyes in a moment of silence. When he opened them again, he was all business. "And you all are?" he asked crisply. Introductions were made and he absorbed each name without comment. "Good to meet you all. I thank you for the assistance." His deep blue eyes surveyed the group, lingering a moment on each of Quadim, Shayuri, and Semaki. "I will be frank. My life is in danger, as you have all seen. There will be more of these things coming for me. Will you let me accompany you?"
Piklum shrugged noncomittally and edged a bit closer to the smoldering body. "I don't mind." Shar smiled grimly, "Any enemy of Gidi is a potential friend of mine. Can you handle that sword?"
Mark simply nodded, his expression not changing.
Semaki merely put her arrow back in its quiver. "The day is getting on," she said calmly, "we should get moving."
"A moment," Mark said tightly, stepping between Piklum and his erstwhile friend. Piklum scuttled back a few steps and put on an innocent, nigh-cherubic expression. Mark paid no attention, grimacing as he knelt down and pried the remains of the backpack off the body. "Sorry, old man," he said quietly, fondly. "These will do you no good now though." With a sickening *ripping* noise, the backpack came free, and Mark hastily upended it. Much of the contents were ruined, but three things were conspicuously unharmed. A set of leather bracers with metal inlays, a simple bronze ring, and a metal segmented necklace made of gold. He looked at the others, "Are any of you..." he grimaced again, as if hating the sound of the word, "...magicians? These things have some power, I think, but he never told me much about them."
Shayuri darted forward, eyes widening. "Let me see them," she said, reaching out.
The sorceress intoned strange words of Shaping, and twists of arcane energy rippled around her fingers. The mystic auras of the items bloomed into her view as she examined each of them. "Oh yes," she said, "Definitely magical. The bracers and necklace were made with transmutation, as well as abjuration...odd combination, that..." She faded into a moment of thoughtful silence, then said, "The ring is pure transmutation, and is quite powerful by the look of it."
Mark held his hand out rather pointedly, and Shayuri, after an almost imperceptible pause, returned the items. "Are they safe to use?" Mark asked.
Shayuri shrugged. "I'm afraid I can't see that much detail. Didn't your friend talk about them? Where did he get them?"
"He was involved with a group of mages," Mark grumped. "He wouldn't talk about them though. They apparently liked their privacy. Unfortunately, someone must have found out...hence the...whatever it is." He indicated the crater where the Gidian construct had been.
"And you?" Semaki inquired in that quiet voice of hers. "Who are you involved with?"
Mark was silent for a moment. "I'm not ready to say yet," he said at last. "I do appreciate your help, but...you must understand. There are many more lives than mine at stake."
"Hold," Shar abruptly interjected. "We are followed."
Semaki whirled to look back at the forest. In the distance could be seen three human-shaped figures walking slowly out of the trees. Something like surprise flickered across her impassive features for a moment, but she said nothing; only reached to take an arrow and put it to nock.
"Who are they?" Mark asked, drawing his sword. The blade of it was an odd, unreflective black metal inlaid with peculiar runes. Shayuri's eyes immediately gravitated to it, though she did not say anything at once.
"I do not know," Semaki replied, though there was a brief hesitation before the statement.
Quadim flinched. "Masters, your servants...they are dead, or serve you no longer. It wasn't my fault! Please..."
Mark fixed Quadim with a cold expression for a moment, then strode out to intercept the three. Shar, not to be outdone, hastily followed. The others watched. Mark suddenly cried, "Zombies! Undead!" and charged forward, sword upraised. Semaki loosed her arrow, which arched high and buried itself into the chest of one. Closely following it was a brilliant shard of magic force that launched itself from Shayuri. Between the two, the lurching thing fell, it's midsection hanging in tatters. Then Shar and Mark reached the remaining two, and did their grisly work. In moments, the shambling corpses were dead once more.
Semaki, looking paler than usual, went forward to look at the remains. She didn't seem surprised when she reported, "I knew these men. They were with me. When we went into the caves."
"Caves?" Mark said confusedly, "What caves?"
"It's a long story, Mark. We'll tell you tonight, when we camp," Shayuri replied uneasily, looking from the mangled rotted bodies on the ground to Semaki.
"Faugh...fine," the warrior replied, wiping gunk off his blade and sheathing it. "Let's go quickly though. Too many enemies have found us here for my liking."
"Agreed," Semaki said, and without further comment set off westward, trailing Quadim like a lost puppy.
Shayuri quickly fell into step, and Shar hustled to take the lead. Piklum grinned companionably at Mark. "Women, eh?" Then pattered after them.
Mark watched them for a moment, debating with himself. Then with long, heavy strides, he followed.
---------------
To be Continued
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
Very Nice
I wonder what Mark will think about sleeping with a dagger stuck in the ground. Please continue
I wonder what Mark will think about sleeping with a dagger stuck in the ground. Please continue
