a new quest....
9 Ches , 1373 Year of Rogue Dragons: To Twillight Hollow
The Heroes awoke and it was already raining. Ellysidell and Meliane were the only ones who were pleased. Khirin began browsing through a stack of maps and suggested that the party travel to Iriaebor, which he estimated was three days away. There the party could, he prompted, buy much needed magical supplies. Grim nodded his approval, but Benito held to where his superior had suggested, Twilight Hollow. Plus it was only one day away and closer to the Sunset Mountains. Benito wanted expediency and he wanted to get moving before the rain became worse. Khirin countered, looking at his maps again.
"Asbravan is two days away by my estimate. It is not as large as Iraiebor, but could still be a profitable place to go and it will have the magic that you so desire, Grim."
Grim looked to Benito. Benito looked to Ellysidell. Ellysidell was looking at Meliane, but not thinking about their current predicament. Benito sighed and decided to look to Tyr and his celestial servants.
"Fine merchant, I will petition Tyr and determine which location would best further his and therefore our goals: The Quest for Mourn."
"Can't you people make your own decisions without running to your gods for help?!"
Exasperated, Khirin threw up his hands and began hefting his backpack. "Souliss, with me. This way," he motioned. "We are going to Iriaebor."
He started walking south. Benito shrugged his shoulders and began the divination, sacrificing to Tyr a precious healing potion so that the link to the heavens could be established.
No one followed Khirin; not even Souliss. The merchant turned back once and asked if Souliss were coming. Seeing no reply he cried out in frustration and continued, confident that the group would see the logic in his decision. Plus he was the executor to Aris's estate. They were penniless without him, right?
Time stretched as the priest continued his spell. Some time later, Tyr answered.
Seek the soul of the lost in the hollow of the hills.
Benito came out of his reverie, "Tyr has decreed that we go to Twilight Hollow."
Ellysidell and Grim looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. In the absence of a clear party leader, perhaps the guidance of a god would suffice. Ellysidell then took off at a jog to recover the stubborn merchant before he ran into trouble.
After much haggling and a little dragging, the party began sloughing through the rain and muddy fields towards their destination. A steady rain fell throughout the day. Finally, the party reached rolling and lightly forested hills. During a respite in the rain, Khirin decided to once again make a plea to travel to a more civilized locale and not some backwater, one horse village. Benito, not liking the will of his god questioned, began a heated exchange of words with the merchant (at about 20 paces distance). Grim, hearing the noise from his forward scouting position, and realizing that if he could hear them so could any baddies in the forest decided let the party know what was up. He stealthily crept past the party and behind Khirin and 'politely' asked him to shut up.
Completely caught unawares by the ghostwise halfling, Khirin reacted on instinct. He turned and fired his crossbow in one smooth motion. Grim not expecting this rash action, was still able to uncannily dodge the crackling bolt. Where Grim had stood, a smoking hole appeared and the smell of ozone lingered. Ellysidell drew his golden, flaming falchion, but Benito arrived at Khirin's side first. His mind clouded with rage, Benito struck Khirin across the face. Khirin hit the ground and felt his cheek. The ring that Grigor and given Benito had left a brand of the scales and hammer of Tyr where the merchant had been hit.
Ellysidell realizing the group was disintegrating before his eyes, put a strong hand on Benito's shoulder and gently pulled him back. Fortunately for the party, Grim heard a crashing in the brush, coming toward all the noise (just as he had predicted...).
We've got company! he yelled in his companions' minds as he drew his weapons and took a defensive stance.
Moving to the ridge, the heroes eyes grew wide as they spied a pair of huge, two-headed giants crashing towards them. Two flamestrikes and a few well placed sword strikes later, the ettins lay crumpled and smoldering on the ground. Luckily, the rain had dampened the forest preventing the casually thrown about flame spells from engulfing the surrounding woods. Meliane grimaced as she thought about what havoc the party might have caused in a drier climate.
Quickly, the party moved on since there had been no injuries and they did not want to attract any more unwanted attention in the area. Curiously, the mark on Khirin's face was gone, seemingly as if it had been healed by divine magic. The next few hours passed uneventfully with intermittant rain. Evening now was approaching and Meliane pointed at storm clouds rolling down from the mountains.
At that point, Souliss called out "Incoming!" (relaying a message from Grim, scouting ahead) as wolves crashed through the underbrush and attacked the party.
Benito recalling his former leader's words called out, "To Arms! To Arms!"
Grim remained hidden as the beasts tore past him. Realizing that his friends were going to be rapidly overwhelmed by the wolves, he uncharacteristically attacked the strongest looking creature, perhaps the leader of the pack.
Souliss, meanwhile, showed his worth by stepping to the side and unleashing rippling waves of psychic energy at the oncoming foes (reminiscent of Milo), stunning a few of them. The fighters waded in while the druidess dropped her own flamestrike in a tree-free area. Khirin added a shocking bolt or two to the fray complimenting the front-line warriors, Ellysidell and Benito.
Grim was bravely holding off the pack leader, a creature with baleful red eyes, and two of his subordinates. His own blood ran from several bites. The majority were from the leader. Grim gave better than he received,though. His dual short swords flashed in the semi-darkess as he fought. As Benito and Ell caught up to his forward location, he finished off his adversaries, gutting one's belly and tumbling underneath to then slice through the midsection of the other. Twirling the blades in his hands, Grim laid a fatal blow upon the leader, stabbing deeply into the beast's skull. The creature convulsed and then lay still.
"Grim, Grim, Are you hurt?" Benito cried. Two of the wolves they had fought transformed into humans upon their deaths.
Grim looked down at the corpse and to his horror, saw it change back into a human also. He looked at the torn and inflammed flesh on his arm--a wound inflicted by the werewolf...A silence fell upon the trio.
"I've been bitten."
