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
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
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="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4585369" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 56</p><p></p><p></p><p>Elevaren felt a strange calm come over him. The pain of his wound was real, but it seemed almost ephemeral, something unimportant. Reaching up with his good hand, he seized the head of the arrow and snapped it off, then pulled the shaft free. His right arm was slick with blood and weak; he could barely lift it. </p><p></p><p>It didn’t matter; his power was not derived from the strength of his body. </p><p></p><p>He looked up and saw Mara and Devrem, fighting for their lives against the hobgoblin line, the pair slowly giving ground despite their best efforts. His friend was taking hits, and as he watched, one struck her in the head with his flail, leaving her dazed. </p><p></p><p>The warchief. He was the key, the force that drove and bound the line together. Elevaren rose, and moved closer to the battle. He was careful to stay clear of the staircase, and the line of sight of the archer who had shot him before. But his focus was on the warchief, and he felt his magic building within him, the fey power that he both commanded and served. </p><p></p><p>“I curse you,” he whispered, and extended his good hand. Flashes of rainbow-colored light surrounded his hand, and lanced out in a stream into the warchief’s face. This time, the <em>eldritch blast</em> had an obvious effect, and the hobgoblin snarled as he shook his head to clear it of the lingering magic. The attack had hurt him, but he was by far the toughest combatant on the field, and it wasn’t clear how even the warlock’s full powers could bring him down. </p><p></p><p>But Elevaren wasn’t the only one helping the pair holding the line. Jaron leapt up onto the stone lip of the stairs, deliberately exposing himself to fire from below. An arrow came up at him almost immediately, but the halfling wasn’t done; he twisted and rolled, somehow keeping his footing on the narrow line of stone. He came up with his bow drawn, and fired a shot directly into the small of the hobgoblin warchief’s back. The chief’s armor protected him to some extent, but it was obvious by the way that he stiffened that the shot had penetrated. But even that wasn’t enough to bring him down, and he lifted his sword for a strike that would bring the melee in front of him to a close. </p><p></p><p>A tinny halfling yell sounded over the noise of the battle, as Beetle appeared, charging at a full run through the tumbled rubble of the ruins. He sprang up onto the stone lip of the stairwell as Jaron had, but this was just the first step of a leap that carried him over the open space below, flying out in a wild arc over the shaft, a trajectory that ended with him landing hard on the shoulders of the hobgoblin warchief. Snagging precariously onto a protruding ridge of the chief’s helmet with one hand, the halfling—now roaring with laughter as much as battle rage—stabbed down with the knife in his other hand, sliding the short length of steel into the narrow crevice between the chief’s gorget and helmet. </p><p></p><p>Blood shot up in a narrow jet from the nasty wound, and Beetle hallooed as the hobgoblin spun around, dropping his sword as he tried to clutch at the hilt of the knife protruding from his neck. Mara, drawing upon some deep reserve of <em>boundless endurance</em>, half-lunged, half-staggered into the hobgoblin soldier facing her has he glanced distracted at the stricken warchief. Knocking aside his shield with her left hand, she jammed her longsword hard into his torso with her right. The steel blade slid up under the metal scales and through the leather underneath into his flesh. The thrust did not penetrate too deeply, but the hobgoblin staggered back, seriously injured. </p><p></p><p>Devrem had taken a beating from the pair of soldiers facing him, but the power of the Raven Queen still came readily at his call, and he was using it both to assail his foes and bolster his comrades. The two hobgoblins would have overcome him shortly, but the collapse of the right side of their line changed their situation for the worse. As the warchief finally fell, Beetle still shouting as he rode his body down onto the stairs, the hobgoblins started to fall back, holding up their shields to protect their retreat. While this offered a united front against Devrem and Mara, it offered less protection from behind, a fact that Jaron exploited a few seconds later as he fired an arrow into the back of one of them. Now feeling utterly surrounded, the hobgoblins picked up the pace of their retreat. Unfortunately, that retreat brought them back to Beetle, who cut the right hamstring of one of them, causing him to crumple in agony with his next step. The halfling rogue narrowly avoided getting shot by the archer, and sprang up onto the wall of the stairwell, pulling himself up to rejoin the others. The halfling barely paused before running to grab another big rock to throw down at the retreating foe. </p><p></p><p>Mara and Devrem were in no condition for pursuit, and the cleric had to hold the fighter upright as he summoned healing magic to treat her wounds. “Why’d they give up?” she asked. “They almost had us, even with the death of their chief.”</p><p></p><p>“I suspect these hobgoblins fight for money, rather than loyalty to Kalarel’s cause,” Devrem replied. Another arrow shot up from below, clipping Jaron’s arm but inflicting only trivial damage. The halfling ranger fired off a last shot and then dropped back into cover, while Beetle finished off the one he’d crippled before it could crawl away after his companions. The heavy thud of the rock as he dropped it onto the hobgoblin’s neck marked the end of the battle, as no further attacks issued forth from the bottom of the stairs. </p><p></p><p>Once he was certain Mara could support herself, Devrem stepped away and walked over to the top of the staircase. He stood there exposed for a moment, his robe flaring out behind him, his staff clanking hard against the stone as he slammed it down onto the first step. </p><p></p><p>“Our fight is with the cleric of Orcus,” the priest intoned. “Any who stand in our way will suffer his fate, but we do not seek additional distractions at this time.”</p><p></p><p>No answer came from below, and after a moment, Devrem turned and walked back to the others. He couldn’t see the bottom of the stairs, where the archer had lifted his bow as soon as the cleric had stepped into view. But the warcaster put a hand on his arm, and shook his head. Even as the cleric drew back out of sight, the hobgoblins, most of them nursing serious injuries, turned and retreated back the way they had come.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4585369, member: 143"] Chapter 56 Elevaren felt a strange calm come over him. The pain of his wound was real, but it seemed almost ephemeral, something unimportant. Reaching up with his good hand, he seized the head of the arrow and snapped it off, then pulled the shaft free. His right arm was slick with blood and weak; he could barely lift it. It didn’t matter; his power was not derived from the strength of his body. He looked up and saw Mara and Devrem, fighting for their lives against the hobgoblin line, the pair slowly giving ground despite their best efforts. His friend was taking hits, and as he watched, one struck her in the head with his flail, leaving her dazed. The warchief. He was the key, the force that drove and bound the line together. Elevaren rose, and moved closer to the battle. He was careful to stay clear of the staircase, and the line of sight of the archer who had shot him before. But his focus was on the warchief, and he felt his magic building within him, the fey power that he both commanded and served. “I curse you,” he whispered, and extended his good hand. Flashes of rainbow-colored light surrounded his hand, and lanced out in a stream into the warchief’s face. This time, the [i]eldritch blast[/i] had an obvious effect, and the hobgoblin snarled as he shook his head to clear it of the lingering magic. The attack had hurt him, but he was by far the toughest combatant on the field, and it wasn’t clear how even the warlock’s full powers could bring him down. But Elevaren wasn’t the only one helping the pair holding the line. Jaron leapt up onto the stone lip of the stairs, deliberately exposing himself to fire from below. An arrow came up at him almost immediately, but the halfling wasn’t done; he twisted and rolled, somehow keeping his footing on the narrow line of stone. He came up with his bow drawn, and fired a shot directly into the small of the hobgoblin warchief’s back. The chief’s armor protected him to some extent, but it was obvious by the way that he stiffened that the shot had penetrated. But even that wasn’t enough to bring him down, and he lifted his sword for a strike that would bring the melee in front of him to a close. A tinny halfling yell sounded over the noise of the battle, as Beetle appeared, charging at a full run through the tumbled rubble of the ruins. He sprang up onto the stone lip of the stairwell as Jaron had, but this was just the first step of a leap that carried him over the open space below, flying out in a wild arc over the shaft, a trajectory that ended with him landing hard on the shoulders of the hobgoblin warchief. Snagging precariously onto a protruding ridge of the chief’s helmet with one hand, the halfling—now roaring with laughter as much as battle rage—stabbed down with the knife in his other hand, sliding the short length of steel into the narrow crevice between the chief’s gorget and helmet. Blood shot up in a narrow jet from the nasty wound, and Beetle hallooed as the hobgoblin spun around, dropping his sword as he tried to clutch at the hilt of the knife protruding from his neck. Mara, drawing upon some deep reserve of [i]boundless endurance[/i], half-lunged, half-staggered into the hobgoblin soldier facing her has he glanced distracted at the stricken warchief. Knocking aside his shield with her left hand, she jammed her longsword hard into his torso with her right. The steel blade slid up under the metal scales and through the leather underneath into his flesh. The thrust did not penetrate too deeply, but the hobgoblin staggered back, seriously injured. Devrem had taken a beating from the pair of soldiers facing him, but the power of the Raven Queen still came readily at his call, and he was using it both to assail his foes and bolster his comrades. The two hobgoblins would have overcome him shortly, but the collapse of the right side of their line changed their situation for the worse. As the warchief finally fell, Beetle still shouting as he rode his body down onto the stairs, the hobgoblins started to fall back, holding up their shields to protect their retreat. While this offered a united front against Devrem and Mara, it offered less protection from behind, a fact that Jaron exploited a few seconds later as he fired an arrow into the back of one of them. Now feeling utterly surrounded, the hobgoblins picked up the pace of their retreat. Unfortunately, that retreat brought them back to Beetle, who cut the right hamstring of one of them, causing him to crumple in agony with his next step. The halfling rogue narrowly avoided getting shot by the archer, and sprang up onto the wall of the stairwell, pulling himself up to rejoin the others. The halfling barely paused before running to grab another big rock to throw down at the retreating foe. Mara and Devrem were in no condition for pursuit, and the cleric had to hold the fighter upright as he summoned healing magic to treat her wounds. “Why’d they give up?” she asked. “They almost had us, even with the death of their chief.” “I suspect these hobgoblins fight for money, rather than loyalty to Kalarel’s cause,” Devrem replied. Another arrow shot up from below, clipping Jaron’s arm but inflicting only trivial damage. The halfling ranger fired off a last shot and then dropped back into cover, while Beetle finished off the one he’d crippled before it could crawl away after his companions. The heavy thud of the rock as he dropped it onto the hobgoblin’s neck marked the end of the battle, as no further attacks issued forth from the bottom of the stairs. Once he was certain Mara could support herself, Devrem stepped away and walked over to the top of the staircase. He stood there exposed for a moment, his robe flaring out behind him, his staff clanking hard against the stone as he slammed it down onto the first step. “Our fight is with the cleric of Orcus,” the priest intoned. “Any who stand in our way will suffer his fate, but we do not seek additional distractions at this time.” No answer came from below, and after a moment, Devrem turned and walked back to the others. He couldn’t see the bottom of the stairs, where the archer had lifted his bow as soon as the cleric had stepped into view. But the warcaster put a hand on his arm, and shook his head. Even as the cleric drew back out of sight, the hobgoblins, most of them nursing serious injuries, turned and retreated back the way they had come. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Lazybones's Keep on the Shadowfell/Thunderspire Labyrinth
Top