Medriev's FR Keep on the Shadowfell - Concluded Nov 7

[Medriev]

Chapter 13 - Chauntea's Blessing (Part 4)

“There was a scroll tube,” said Lavren suddenly, looking across at Thira with a desire, no doubt inflamed by the wine he had drunk, that he had not felt since meeting her. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows, the curious curved horns that betrayed her demonic heritage shifting as she did so. They had bought a cask of wine at the bar of the inn and retired to the tiefling’s room as soon as they had returned from the temple. Neither wished the company of the others. Now, Thira was sprawled on her side on the bed of the chamber while Lavren was perched on its edge.

“A scroll tube?” the tiefling questioned at last, pushing herself up onto her elbow.
“On the island,” Lavren elaborated. “Along with the shield and the healing potion.” Thira pulled herself across the bed then until her face was inches from the elf’s.
“Tell me,” she whispered, and he felt her breath on his face.
“There was a map,” said Lavren nervously. He had met his share of women but the tiefling actually made him nervous. The thought excited him a little and inflamed his desire still further.
“A map?” Thira prompted and as she did so she leaned forward until their lips all but touched. At the last she recoiled.
“A map showing the way to the keep from the East Way and marking the kobold lair we defeated,” Lavren answered and leaned forward himself to try to kiss the tiefling. As he drew near, Thira drew back. “And two messages,” he said then, hoping to encourage Thira with information.
“Show me,” she answered, and Lavren did as he was bade without questioning.
“Remember, don’t wet the nodule – unless Kalarel is not receptive to the offer,” Thira read, once Lavren had produced the two messages from his belt. “Then, wet it only from a distance, and then, turn and run. Water will bring the creature out of its dormancy, and it will consume anything it can reach.”
“It means nothing,” said Thira. “Useless.”

Then she laughed and pulled Lavren to her, kissing him fleetingly on the lips before pulling back just as quickly.
“The other,” she demanded, and Lavren obeyed.
“Greetings, Kalarel,” she read aloud once Lavren had handed her the message. “I have recently learned of your activity in the area and have an offer for you. During your time in this region, if you should capture any humanoids, we are eager to buy them. We have duergar allies in Thunderspire in need of slave stock. If you are interested, send an envoy back to me. My messengers will show the way.”
“It is signed, Chief Krand of the Bloodreavers,” Thira finished.
“Thunderspire, is a peak on the western edge of this range,” Thira said then. “It is said to loom over the Hullach Forest to the north of the East Way.” Lavren nodded, wondering why he did not know that and the tiefling did.
“We must go there,” Thira said.
“We must,” Lavren agreed.
“But first….” Thira said.

She did not finish the sentence but simply leapt across the bed and embraced the elf. They tumbled to the wooden floor and began tearing at each others clothing. All thought of the messages, the map and the next day’s journey was gone as at last, they gave in to their passions.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 13 - Chauntea's Blessing (Part 5)

Thira looked around the bustling city streets beyond the arch as she passed through the Eastgate, hooded once more as she had learned to always be around those who were deemed to be civilised folk. She looked over at Kel who was similarly hooded and then turned her eyes to Lavren. She winked at him and he smiled. It was late and Thira was anxious to conclude their business so that she and Lavren could retire to one of the city’s inns that he had told her so much about as they had travelled down from the mountains.
“Shall we find the Harvest Altar?” she asked the others then, turning away from Lavren. She made her way over to one of the gate guards, clad as they all were in tabards emblazoned with the Purple Dragon of Cormyr. The tiefling was thankful that her stave was not considered a weapon else she would have been asked to peace bond it as the others had done when they left Winterhaven. Lord Padraig rarely enforced the peace-bonding rule in his small part of Cormyr’s frontier, but elsewhere it was rigidly adhered to.
“We seek the Harvest Altar,” said Thyra softly. “Do you know of it?”
“Aye,” answered the guardsman. “On the far side of town, near the High Horn Gate. Next to the Red Sword.”

Thira thanked the man and the five companions moved off, heading through the centre of Arabel towards the High Horn Gate which Lavren told them was the west gate, directly opposite the East Gate through which they had entered the city. The Red Sword proved to be a tavern and the Harvest Altar a small covered shrine to Chauntea, the Great Mother who brought bountiful crops to all who honoured her. Black wheat sheaves and rotten fruit lay at the foot of the altar while a small shelter had been squeezed against the western wall of the place. A ragged curtain, once fine perhaps, barred the doorway and as the light around the companions faded, a faint orange glow could be seen around the curtain. Kel started toward the doorway but Dulvarna held her back as she and Erlmoor took the lead.
“They are unlikely to welcome hooded strangers,” said the warrior woman.
“Or hooded drow,” rumbled Erlmoor with a fierce glare at the dark elf.

Dulvarna pulled the curtain aside and stepped into the small and cluttered chamber in which the priest of the shrine lived. An unremarkable man with messy brown hair and a short beard turned towards her from the fire at the far end of the chamber. He reached for a mace with his left hand while letting go the spoon he held in his right, allowing it to settle gently into the pot of broth that hung over the fire.
“Who are you?” asked the priest. “What brings you to seek Chauntea’s blessing.”
“We bring a letter from Sister Linora in Winterhaven,” Thira answered as she pushed into the chamber behind Erlmoor.
“We seek unguents and herbs for a ritual to save our friend from death,” said Dulvarna producing the letter from her belt. “We have gold and will pay.”

The priest cracked open the seal of Linora’s letter and read quietly for a moment before looking up at the strangers with sad eyes.
“Alas, the unguents and herbs you require are not here,” he said at last. “They were in a wagon coming from Suzail that was attacked on Calantar’s Way just four days ago. Kobolds took all that was carried and slew three guards.”
“And where do these kobolds lair?” asked Kel. “Have any tracked them or seen them elsewhere.”
“I followed their tracks,” answered the priest. “For Brother Milos is no coward. They dwell within the northern edge of the King’s Forest, in a hidden hall.”
“Then why have the Purple Dragons not sought them out?” asked Erlmoor.
“Alas they worry little about one small wagon and a band of kobolds,” answered Milos. “There are said to be Banites abroad in the city and the garrison worries more about them than anything else.”
“Then we shall seek them out,” said Dulvarna. “For your sake as well as for our friend’s.”
“Can you draw us a map?” asked Lavren.
“I can do better than that,” answered Milos. “I can show you the way.”

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 14 - Kobold Hall (Part 1)

Thira called light to her staff as Dulvarna led them down the steps into the darkness of the place that Milos named Kobold Hall. He hand wanted to accompany them into the underground chambers but Dulvarna had convinced him that someone was needed to keep watch lest more kobolds return while they were within. He had accepted guard duty grudgingly for Brother Milos was nothing if not courageous though he was often grim and morose as well.
Once out of sight of the priest both Thira and Kel pulled back their hoods so as to be able to see more clearly around them and no sooner had they done so, than the stairs emerged into a chamber. Dominating the room before them was a long trench filled with a glowing green substance. Beyond the trench, a small reptilian humanoid stood in a shadowy chamber, gaping at the newcomers. It carried a sling, and quickly reached into the pouch at its belt for a stone. It hissed and shouted, “Intruderss! Intruderss!”

Dulvarna charged into the chamber, drawing her sword as she ran, and darted right around the pit. She immediately saw two more kobolds lurking behind a portcullis that barred a corridor to the east.
“He’s not alone!” she called back to the others.
“Why am I not surprised,” answered Lavren.

The elf followed Dulvarna into the chamber, darting right and then backpedalling as he saw the kobolds behind the portcullis. He drew his wand and levelled it at the iron grill, hoping that his aim would be true and that the magic he was about to unleash would pass between the bars. He spoke a word and black, crackling energy seared forth from his wand and passed between the bars. The two kobolds ducked down and the blast passed over their heads. Across the pit, a kobold with a spear emerged from the shadowed far chamber and circled to its right around the pit to come at Lavren from the left. The elf looked back anxiously seeking aid from his companions as another kobold emerged from the far chamber. This one circled the other way and met Dulvarna with its spear. The running warrior woman sought to parry but the spear point drove into her right shoulder and spun her around, dangerously close to the edge of the pit. A sling stone whirred across the pit then and struck Lavren’s arm painfully. He cried out and turned back to face his new opponent.

Kel was next into the chamber and she ran left to meet the kobold coming that way. Her morning star swung out and connected with the kobold’s shoulder, halting its charge and spinning it around on the spot. To the right, one of the kobolds slipped through the portcullis bars and came at Dulvarna with its spear. She half turned to parry but the point drove into her thigh and forced her back a step almost to the edge of the slime-filled pit. Erlmoor came into the chamber last and paused to survey the scene before deciding where best he might aid his companions. He glanced at Kel, battling a kobold alone and despite Lathander’s teachings that told him to welcome any into the light of the morning, he turned to the right to aid Dulvarna.

Thira came into the chamber last and turned her stave at once upon the kobold that Kel fought. She loosed a silver bolt into the creature’s side and sent it reeling away from the dark elf. A sling stone flew out from the portcullis then and struck Erlmoor’s breast palate, jolting him for a moment. He looked towards the kobold behind the iron bars and wondered whether he should deal with that threat first. He decided against it and raised his blade to aid Dulvarna.

Dulvarna herself recovered from the blows struck to her and spun on the spot, her blade scything around her and cutting across the chest of one kobold while gouging the shoulder of the other. Both cried out and stepped back, allowing the warrior woman the chance to move a step away from the edge of the pit. Lavren meanwhile, cursed the kobold slinger and loosed more crackling black energy from his wand, this time towards his new foe. The blast struck the kobold in the chest and sent it staggering backwards.

To the left of the pit, the kobold Kel faced recovered for a moment and jabbed low with its spear. The dark elf darted to her left, away from the pit but the spear’s blade drove along the side of her ebon-skinned calf, gouging a painful wound. To her right, a sling stone whirred across the pit and struck Lavren on the shoulder, spinning him away to his right. The elf cursed and raised his wand towards his enemy again. Kel glanced briefly at her companion and then lashed out with her morning star, striking the kobold’s side again and sending it dancing back a step.

Another kobold spear stabbed into Dulvarna’s leg and the warrior woman felt her strength waning with the pain of the wounds she had suffered. Beside her, Erlmoor called out a challenge to one of the kobolds and then breathed acid upon the creature and its companion beyond the portcullis. His blade followed the acid breath but the kobold was ready and danced back beyond the reach of the dragonborn’s huge sword.

Thira levelled her staff at the kobold battling Kel once more and loosed another silver bolt of energy. It struck the kobold in the side of the head and seared through the creature’s reptilian skull, felling the creature where it stood. Kel nodded her thanks to the tiefling and then started around the pit again to meet the slinger who yet dogged Lavren on the other side.

From the side passage another sling stone struck Erlmoor, this time on his shoulder and again he wondered whether the slinger beyond the portcullis was worthy of his attention. Again he decided that it was not for even as he advanced on the kobold he faced again, Dulvarna weaved her blade in a graceful figure of eight only for the kobold to deftly duck under it and come at her anew. The warrior woman took a step back and parried the kobold’s spear thrust, swatting the weapon aside.

Lavren tried to conjure fire within the kobold slinger but the little creature faught off the magical attack and launched a round globe that struck the elf in the chest. It shattered on impact and showered him with sticky glue that held him in place, unable to move from the spot. Kel was on the slinger a moment later, her morning star swinging at the creature. The kobold ducked and then threw down its sling, fumbling for the dagger at its belt. A silver bolt from Thira’s stave struck the creature in the side then and panic filled its eyes.

To the right of the pit, Erlmoor cursed as a spear drove into his leg above the knee. He slashed out with his blade across the chest of the kobold and drew blood but the creature would not fall. A sling stone glanced off the side of the dragonborn’s head and he cursed again, wondering how long it would be before the slinger struck a truly lethal hit. Beside him, Dulvarna stabbed low at the kobold and drove her blade through its hip. It staggered, as blood gushed forth from the terrible wound, and then collapsed to the floor of the chamber.

Lavren’s wand loosed more crackling black energy at the panicked kobold slinger but the blast flew wide and struck the wall beyond the creature. It drew its dagger and darted forward, driving the blade into Kel’s right arm as she moved her morning star to parry. The dark elf brought the weapon up high despite the wound she had suffered and then brought it down on the kobold’s skull. The reptilian creature collapsed to the floor, dead long before it hit the stone.

Erlmoor and Dulvarna advanced on the remaining kobold before them. It darted to its left and stabbed out with its spear, nicking Erlmoor’s arm but then retreated, slipping through the bars of the portcullis. Erlmoor sheathed his blade and grabbed the bars of the portcullis, heaving with all his strength to lift it. The kobold stabbed at him and struck the bars but still Erlmoor could not lift the portcullis. Thira came over to lend what aid she could but Lavren had a more innovative solution. With a word, the elf vanished, only to reappear in the passage beyond the portcullis beyond the two kobolds. He dropped his wand where he stood, pulled forth his sword and plunged it into the back of the kobold. The creature cried out, twisted around and stabbed at the elf with its spear. Lavren darted back and smacked the weapon aside.

Erlmoor tried to raise the portcullis again and this time, muscles flexing, he raised the gate. No sooner had he done so than he drew forth his sword and swung at the kobold. The creature screeched and ducked, the dragonborn’s sword striking only the stone wall of the passage. Thira lowered her staff a moment later and with an uttered spell, filled the passage with fire. The kobold just beyond the gate was seared to a blackened corpse in moments and collapsed where he stood. The remaining slinger screeched its own terror and pain and back away up the corridor. Dulvarna surged past her companions then with her blade before her and reached the kobold before it could flee. Her sword thrust out and drove into the creature’s chest, bursting forth from its back and piercing its heart as it went. The kobold stared wide-eyed at its killer and then slid off the blade to the stone floor.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 14 - Kobold Hall (Part 2)

After finding the northern side chamber empty, Dulvarna led the companions along the eastern passage to its end where it turned right and descended stairs deeper into darkness. The stairs emerged into a chamber containing four stone coffins, all of which showed signs of vandalism and abuse. To the left were six niches along the walls, each holding a suit of armour. At the far end of the chamber, to the east, was a raised section fo floor with a makeshift altar to Tiamat the Dragon Queen set atop it. Three kobolds carrying spears stood in front of the altar.
“More kobolds!” Dulvarna called back to the others who were still descending the stairs.

One of the kobolds immediately darted to its left toward the far wall of the room and moved in front of one of the alcoves. Erlmoor drew his blade in response to Dulvarna’s call and pushed past the others on the stairs to enter the room. He crossed the room diagonally to intercept the advancing kobold. Thira followed the paladin but instead moved left towards the centre of the chamber. As she passed the first coffin a dart the size of a small crossbow bolt flew out from the first alcove and struck the stone of the coffin just behind her. The tiefling turned instinctively and loosed a silver bolt from her staff that struck the suit of armour from which the dart seemed to have come. Her bolt blew off one arm of the suit but left it standing leaving Thira wondering whether she had disabled the trap or not.

Dulvarna drew her blade and charged along the near wall towards the kobolds at the far end of the chamber. She crossed in front of the altar and charged the nearest with her sword held before her. The kobold braced its spear against its foot and turned it to meet the warrior woman. At he last, Dulvarna twisted aside and the spear point drove painfully into her right hip. Another kobold came at Dulvarna from the right but she turned despite the pain of her wound and parried the spear thrust. From the far end of the chamber, Lavren cursed the kobold and loosed black eldritch power from his wand. The kobold ducked and it struck the far wall, searing the stone black. Kel rushed to Dulvarna’s aid moments later, coming at the second kobold from its left. The creature turned its attention to her and the battle began in earnest.

The third kobold saw Erlmoor round a coffin and screeched loudly before darting back at Kel and driving its spear into her side. The drow staggered and twisted around, trying to face both her foes. Without thinking that he was aiding the drow, Erlmoor rushed forward with his blade held high but just as he passed the coffin he was passing, he heard a click under his feet and then a stinging pain as a dart drove into his shoulder blade. He staggered and reeled as dizziness assailed him. The dart had been poisoned, he realised and panic gripped him.

Thira loosed her next magic missile at the kobold that had just attacked Kel and this time it struck home cleanly, searing into the kobold’s shoulder and spinning it around on the spot. Beyond Kel, Dulvarna slashed her own blade across the leg of one kobold and into the calf of another, forcing both to leap back from her. Both came back at her with spear thrust but in a blur of movement, she parried one and then the other. More black crackling energy struck the wall beyond the kobolds leaving Lavren to curse his ill luck while Kel retreated to stand beside Dulvarna. Kel swung out desperately and prayed to Lolth at the same time but her morning star struck nothing but air. Another spear drove into her right leg, this one piercing her thigh and she cursed as she gritted her teeth through the pain. Then, to Kel’s amazement, acid showered the kobolds and gave her a moment’s respite. Erlmoor was coming, she knew then, and she would be safe.

As Erlmoor still reeled from the poisoned dart, Thira loosed another silver bolt towards Kel’s kobold foe, striking it in the side and driving it back from her. Dulvarna meanwhile, thrust low at the kobold to her left, driving her blade into the creature’s thigh and forcing it back from her. The kobold staggered and almost fell before limping forward gingerly. The kobold stabbed tentatively with its spear, allowing Dulvarna to swat it aside easily. Her other foe thrust its own spear at her then and she twisted and parried that just as easily.

Lavren levelled his wand at Kel’s foe, determined to aid the drow this time. He uttered the arcane phrase of his spell and unleashed the deadly, black, crackling energy. The bolt seared into the kobold’s left side and burned a hole through the creature before narrowly missing its companion who faught Dulvarna behind it. The stricken kobold looked down at the gaping hole through its abdomen, turned to look at the elf and then pitched forward at the feet of its drow opponent. Kel turned her attention to the nearest of Dulvarna’s enemies but the warrior woman barely needed her aid. Erlmoor was upon the kobold a heartbeat later forcing the kobold to duck and dance to evade morning star and blade alike. Thira started forward to lend what aid she could to the battle only for her to hear another click underfoot and for a dart to drive into her right side. She had seen Erlmoor recover from the poison but that made the nausea and dizziness no less unpleasant. She reeled and staggered while Lavren rushed to aid her.

Dulvarna feinted to the left to deceive the kobold to her left and then slashed her blade back across, cutting open the creature’s throat. It staggered and fell as Dulvarna’s blade bit into the shoulder of the remaining kobold. The creature staggered and thrust out with its spear but Dulvarna’s blade was already there to meet the thrust, driving the spear low into the stone floor. A bolt of black energy struck the kobold a moment later, Lavren having decided that he could do little to aid Thira. The kobold staggered and made to raise its spear but it had no strength left. Kel’s morning star crushed its skull before it knew its doom and it collapsed beside its companions.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 14 - Kobold Hall (Part 3)

A pouch of gold had been left on the altar which the companions shared between them before binding the worst of their hurts and moving on. More stairs descended from the south east corner of the altar chamber and these emerged into a chamber that looked like it had once been a tomb. The kobolds had since transformed it into what the could almost be called a playground. Four stone coffins lay in the centre of the chamber with a sludge-filled pit between them. At the far end of the room was a pair of double doors flanked by two raised platforms, both ten feet above the floor level with two kobolds stood on each platform. Arrayed on the coffins were several animal skulls, all of them arranged in small piles. One kobold held a sludge-drenched stone tied to a long rope that was secured in the ceiling.

Lavren was first into the chamber, darting left along the nearest wall and drawing his wand as he went. He cursed the nearest kobold, a sling wielder and then loosed purple rays from his wand at both kobolds on the nearest ledge. One pitched backwards, a hole blasted in its chest while the other, the slinger, fell back wounded. The first dropped the slime covered stone to the platform and the rope fell slack. A kobold hurled a spear from the other ledge and Lavren flailed an arm at it to knock it aside.

Behind the elf, Erlmoor charged past Dulvarna and Kel, surveyed the scene for a moment and circled around the coffins to the far wall. He hoped to make it to the doors but doubtless the kobolds would have other ideas. Kel circled the other way, passing Lavren and making straight for the double doors. She reached them before the dragonborn and ducked back out of sight of the ledges while looking down to see whether the doors would be easily opened. She doubted it. If they were secured from the other side, which surely they must be, they would be tough to open as they were sturdily made of thick wood. She heard a skittering from the other side and knew that enemies lurked within. She and Erlmoor would have to attack together. A heartbeat later, Dulvarna reached the doors, also ahead of Erlmoor.

“Sounds like more kobolds,” said Kel, nodding her head towards the door.
“Then I hope they’ve made their peace with Tiamat,” answered Dulvarna.
A sling stone struck Lavren’s shoulder and knocked him back against the wall but then Thira was beside him, loosing a blue bolt from her stave towards the kobold slinger. It struck the kobold and sent it reeling back against the wall at its back. A stone whizzed past from the other ledge and struck the wall beside Lavren with a loud crack. Lavren looked to Thira and winked but as he did so, he saw a look of alarm cross her face. He looked back towards the platform and saw that another kobold had picked up the slime-covered stone and had swung it back on the rope before letting it go. The stone flew down towards Lavren and struck him full in the chest, spinning him away from the wall and pitching him into the pit of slime. The sticky sludge engulfed him and filled his mouth until he pushed himself to his feet and spat it out. He tried to climb out then but found himself held fast in the pit and all but helpless. He tried again with all his might and dragged his limbs free but no sooner had he done so and begun to climb the rough wall than his feet slipped and he tumbled back into the pit once more. As he recovered his balance once more and righted himself, another form that he realised must be Thira pitched over the edge to splash into the sticky slime beside him. With a gasp and a cough, she regained her feet and looked over to him.
“Nicely done,” she said.
“Likewise,” he answered.

Kel smashed into the doors with her armoured shoulder and with a great crack, they fell open, the bar on the other side broken in two. Within, two dragon-like creatures, the size of wolves hissed and spat before leaping at the intruders. One seized the dark elf’s arms as she raised her morning star and dragged her towards it, tearing flesh as it did so. Kel pulled her arms free of the creature’s dagger-sharp teeth but shed blood, skin and flesh as she did so. Dulvarna stepped into the corridor beside the dark elf and slashed her blade at both, drawing blood and forcing them back from the drow. Behind them, a pottery globe of sticky glue landed beside Erlmoor as the dragonborn moved to aid his companions, missing him by no more than a foot. He cursed and looked up at the sling wielder who still stood on the northern platform and wondered if he could yet get to him. A sling stone smashed into the coffin hurled from the other ledge and reminded Erlmoor of his vulnerability. He had to get up onto one of the ledges, he decided then, and started towards the northern one, ducking a hurled spear as he went.

Lavren pulled himself free of the slime at last and clambered up the wall to the chamber above. He looked down longingly at Thira, knowing he should have tried to aid her, but knowing also that he could likely do little. She would have to free herself. She would understand he assured himself. He turned towards the nearest ledge as the kobold there picked up the slime covered stone to swing at him once more. Levelling his wand he loosed black, crackling energy at the creature but at the last it ducked and the blast struck the stone behind its head. With a wicked grin, the kobold raised the stone and took aim.

Another javelin struck the floor near Erlmoor’s feet but he paid it no mind. He was almost at the foot of the northern ledge now and with a leap, he began to climb. A kobold stabbed at him clumsily with its spear while holding the slime-covered rock with its other arm and its chin. Erlmoor drew his sword, which he had sheathed while he climbed and turned to face the kobolds on the ledge. He roared and panic filled them. There would be no escape.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 14 - Kobold Hall (Part 4)

Kel prayed for healing as she watched the drake before her and then, as it darted forward, she changed her prayer and swung at the creature. She ducked left and struck its flank, forcing it away from her towards Dulvarna and marking it with a glowing symbol of a spider where her blow had struck home. The creature hissed, spat and then rushed at her, rearing back to tear and her throat and push her to the ground with its front legs. Kel fell but scrabbled out from under the beast as warm blood flowed down her chest from her torn throat. The dark elf pushed herself to her feet and spat out blood while holding her morning star before her. Her enemy looked for the moment of weakness in which it would finish her and Kel knew that she could do nothing to stop it when it took its chance. Thinking only to save herself, Kel retreated from the corridor and left Dulvarna to fight both drakes.

Dulvarna became a whirlwind then, filling the corridor with the steel of her single blade. She struck at one drake and then the other, leaving both bleeding and drawing screeches of pain from both. They surveyed their enemy with cautious, predatory eyes as if wondering whether this prey was truly worth taking down at all. They decided almost as one to try again at least and darted forward once more. Outside the doors, Kel crouched back against the wall as a sling stone skipped off the stone floor nearby and wondered how she could yet aid her companions in this battle. Even as she wondered, she felt blinding pain and looked down to see a spear protruding from her side. Raising her gaze, she saw a kobold on the southern ledge leaning out over the chamber so that his aim would be true. The dark elf felt a now familiar nausea and then blackness took her as she slumped down against the wall.

Thira pulled herself free of the slime and clambered up the rough wall of the pit only to slip as Lavren had and tumble back into the pit. Lavren heard her cry out and looked over the edge of the pit just as she splashed into the slime. He looked up at the two ledges and heard a whirring sound. From the ledge on the right came a sling stone, faster than her could see and as he turned to loo, the missile struck him in the forehead. Lavren saw blinding lights for a moment and then blackness took him.

The kobold before Erlmoor dropped the slime covered stone to the ledge and raised its spear. It stabbed at him but he swatted the spear aside and roared, spraying both kobolds on the ledge with acid. Both kobolds collapsed as the acid seared their faces and eyes and Erlmoor rushed down the stairs to join the battle with the drakes. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the dragonborn had a prayer on his lips and his blade glowed white as he drove it into the flank of the nearest drake. The creature screeched and collapsed but the dragonborn paid it no mind and strode on to meet Dulvarna. The warrior woman came forward to meet the paladin, slashing her blade across the snout of the remaining drake and driving it back before her. She smiled at the dragonborn and he roared again, this time in triumph. The drake darted forward but Dulvarna stepped back and dodged right to avoid its fiercesome jaws.

Erlmoor plunged his blade into its back leg and the creature reared and screeched but its agony was not over. As it came down from rearing, Dulvarna was waiting and her sword was before her. The beast drove itself onto that sharp point until it pierced the creature’s spine and emerged from its back. Dulvarna met its terrible gaze barely an inch from her face as the light faded from its eyes and then she turned her blade so that the drake slid down to join its companion. Without a second thought, Dulvarna waved Erlmoor on and rushed down the corridor to the right hand turn that she knew had to lead up to the second ledge. She rounded the corner and came face to face with a kobold and his spear. Erlmoor rounded the corner just behind Dulvarna and slashed out with his blade, cutting down the kobold without breaking his stride. Together, the two started up the stairs to the southern ledge.

Thira pulled herself up over the edge of the pit, grateful that she was free of it at last. She stayed low, knowing that the kobolds on the ledges would likely be waiting for her to emerge. Next to the pit she found Lavren, still breathing but with a nasty wound to the head that had bled badly to matt his hair with crimson. Hastily, she pulled rags from her belt pouch and began to bind the elf’s wounds, desperately trying to save him, without realising that she had sat up to do so. Thira heard whirring an instant before pain and white light exploded in her head and then the blackness took her. Thira collapsed across Lavren and with her last spark of thought, Thira wondered if she would die like this, draped across her lover. Somehow, she found it fitting.

Outside the doors, Kel felt blinding pain once more but recognised that as a sign that she still lived. Her eyes flicked open and she surveyed the chamber without moving, lest the kobolds on the ledge still be watching. She saw the fallen forms of Thira and Lavren and knew she had to aid them. She only hoped that she could cross the chamber to them without being hit by a sling stone or a spear.

Dulvarna reached the ledge first and found the two kobolds still facing the chamber seeking targets. The warrior woman rushed them silently, slashing her blade across the back of one and carrying the blow through to bury her blade in the side of the other. The second kobold fell but the other dropped its sling and turned, fumbling for a dagger at its belt. The kobold drew the dagger and stabbed at Dulvarna who swatted the small blade aside. Erlmoor reached the ledge then and the kobold began to panic. The dragonborn slashed at the creature wildly and forced it back to the edge but though it knew its cause was hopeless, it refused to yield.

Lavren’s eyes opened and he looked down at Thira who was draped across him. She needed his aid but he could not risk being struck again by the kobolds on the ledge. Desperately, he craned his head around to survey the eastern end of the room and saw Kel creeping across towards him. Twisting the other way, he saw the last of the kobold sling wielders had more to worry about than enemies in the chamber below.
“Kel, hurry,” he called out. “It is safe.”

The dark elf rushed over to the tiefling and the elf and knelt beside Thira. She began to pray softly while placing her hand on Thira’s forehead. Pale blue light spread over Thira and almost at once, her eyes flew open. She rose from where she lay warily, fearful of the slime covered stone as much as the slingshot and spears of the kobolds. Thira rose and turned towards the southern ledge, levelling her stave at the last kobold there. At a word, a silver bolt lanced forth and struck the wall close to the kobold. The creature screeched and jumped to its left only to meet Dulvarna’s blade as it slashed across.

The kobold slashed out desperately with its dagger, drawing blood along Dulvarna’s forearm. The warrior wondered what kept this creature fighting. Surely whatever kobold led this band must be fiercesome indeed for it to inspire such fear of surrender in its followers. Black energy crackled from Lavren’s wand to strike the ledge at the kobold’s feet but still the creature faught on. It ducked a swing from Erlmoor’s blade but as it came back up, Dulvarna’s sword cut across and cut through its neck, beheading it where it stood. Its headless body toppled backwards over the ledge while its bloody head landed at Dulvarna’s feet. The battle was won at last.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 15 - The True Threat (Part 1)

“We must rest,” said Thira once the companions had tended to the worst of their wounds and were gathered in the hallway beside the fallen drakes. “Kel has suffered most of all of us and will not survive another battle.”
“Though I am stronger than Thira suggests, rest would serve us all well,” said Kel. “We cannot fight on forever against these enemies.”

Lavren and Dulvarna nodded their agreement while Erlmoor only grunted his assent and so Dulvarna led the companions from the hall to the forest outside where it was now late in the afternoon. They had arrived at the hall a little after midday and it seemed strange that so little time had passed while they had faught three bands of kobolds in the tunnels below. Erlmoor and Dulvarna moved logs across the entrance to the hall and then the companions settled down at a camp that Brother Milos had already made. A broth hung over the fire that smelled much as the one he had been preparing at his shrine the day before and each made a bed of dead ferns and last year’s rotting leaves. They watched in turns with Milos insisting on taking his turn and the night passed quietly with none disturbing their rest either from the wider forest or from within the halls themselves.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 15 - The True Threat (Part 2)

The hall where the drakes lay dead led on until it opened into a wide chamber with a 20-foot tall ceiling. Ahead was a 10-foot tall wall that left passages open to both right and left but that was all that the companions could note for suddenly, the sound of cracking timbers echoed through the hall. The floor shook, dust cascaded down from the ceiling, and something big and heavy hurtled towards them.

From the shadows to the left swooped a pale white dragon-like creature with a birdlike beak filled with small needle-sharp teeth. It dived at Dulvarna with a shriek and then climbed away to swoop over the top of the wall in the centre of the room. A kobold appeared atop the central wall whirring a sling and with a flourish it hurled a stone at Dulvarna. It struck her shoulder with a loud crack and drove her back a step but though the pain was blinding, something else grabbed her attention then. From the right, a huge boulder, presumably the source of the shaking and rumbling, rolled down from a raised platform to the right. Lavren rushed into the room and darted right, crossing the boulder’s path even as it began to rumble towards the central raised wall.
“More kobolds on a platform on the far side,” Lavren called back and then he uttered a phrase in elven that summoned purple rays from his wand that lanced towards the kobolds on the platform. One hit home and sent a kobold reeling while the other struck the stone behind the kobolds.

Thira darted forth next, following Lavren and lowering her staff to loose a silver bolt that struck the unwounded kobold on the far ledge. This kobold was dressed in rag-tag robes and a leather jerkin while he held a wand in his hand. The bolt struck him and sent him reeling back around the corner of the ledge so that he had some cover. Thira heard the rumbling boulder and made to leap aside but she was too slow and the huge stone struck her and knocked her to the floor. The boulder rolled on, struck the central structure and then turned right following subtle gradients in the floor. A sling stone skipped across the floor close to Thira and she turned her attention to the central structure where a second kobold had climbed atop the whirl and was even now, loading another stone into his sling.

Dulvarna drew her sword and rushed around the central structure in the opposite direction to Lavren and Thira. She saw the ledge on the far wall and immediately saw the steps that led up to it. As a kobold turned his shield towards her, she started up the steps with her blade in her hands. With her blade held high, she rushed the kobold there as another turned its shield towards her and leveled its short sword. The first kobold stabbed out with its sword and she brought her heavy blade across to parry. She hoped that Erlmoor was behind her somewhere for she would soon need his aid.

Kel darted right after Lavren and Thira but kept closer to the central structure. There had to be a way in, she reasoned, and she would find it. The doors were in the south wall of the central structure but barred from the inside so once again, Kel shoved her shoulder against the wood. With a crack, the doors burst open, the bar within hanging loose from a broken bracket. Two ladders led up to the walls within and she ran for the nearest one.

Erlmoor drew his sword and followed Dulvarna, reaching the bottom of the stairs only a little behind her. The stairs were narrow and he saw no way to aid the warrior woman so he turned his attention back to the main chamber. He saw the drake swoop down into the central structure and, without knowing that Kel was within, wondered what it had seen. He looked back to Dulvarna parrying desperately and made up his mind. He would deal with the drake. Determinedly, and with one eye on the boulder rolling down from his left, he started towards the central structure.

 

[Medriev]

Chapter 15 - The True Threat (Part 3)

A sling stone struck Thira’s shoulder blade from behind and she twisted on the spot to seek out this new foe. The other slinger now stood on the corner of the central structure and was facing Thira and Lavren. From the far ledge, the robed kobold was chanting and the rest of the kobolds were now whooping with glee. Thira paid them no mind as she leveled her staff while beside her, Lavren cursed the robed kobold in elven. His black energy was loosed first and it struck the kobold full in the chest, sending him backwards into the alcove behind the ledge once more. Thira loosed her silver bolt at kobold who had just struck her with a stone but the creature ducked and the bolt blasted into the darkness at the far side of the room. The boulder rumbled around the central structure and cleared the view of the first kobold slinger then. His stone was ready but so was Thira. She ducked and the stone whirred over her head to strike the base of the ledge on which the boulder had sat.

Dulvarna lashed out with her sword but struck only the dragonscale shield of one of the kobolds before her. The creature feinted left and then stabbed its blade right, scoring a painful hit on the side of Dulvarna’s thigh. The other saw its chance and stabbed its blade in from the left, driving it into Dulvarna’s shoulder. She staggered and stepped back down one step of the stairway. She would need aid here as she had first guessed, though the stairs were too narrow. Her only option, she decided, was to lure the kobolds out.

Kel turned as the drake landed beside her and then leapt back as it tried to bite her. She drew her morning star and swung at the creature, striking its birdlike snout and causing it to recoil with a screech. Erlmoor burst into the room behind the creature and pulled up short as he saw the drow battling the drake. His hesitation was only momentary and in a heartbeat he was charging at the drake’s slashing tail to aid the drow he did not trust. The drake darted forward then and Kel reacted too slowly. It seized her leg at the thigh and tore at it, spinning her around to her left and almost dragging her from her feet. She hoped that Erlmoor had no second thoughts for the drake would surely finish her without him.

Another sling stone struck the floor near Thira emphasizing her exposed position. As if to add to the message, the robed kobold called forth a glowing blue orb that appeared in his hand. He threw it at Thira and it struck her upraised arm as she raised her stave to try to fend it off. A chilling cold settled over the limb and she cried out. Lavren roared his anger in response and loosed more black energy toward the ledge. It struck only stone this time and the robed kobold seemed to grin in response. Thira lowered her staff towards the kobold and loosed another silver bolt with unerring accuracy. The bolt struck the kobold in the chest, seared through his breastbone and pierced his heart. With a gasp, the kobold pitched from the ledge to the chamber floor below. Another sling stone struck the floor close to Thira but she could only smile as she watched the demise of her enemy.

Dulvarna slashed wildly at the kobolds and then danced backward down the steps towards the bottom. Sure enough, both followed her but they could no longer fight side by side. One led and the other followed and she parried the lead kobold’s attacks with ease. She looked across to see if anyone could aid her but Erlmoor and Kel had both disappeared into the central structure and Lavren and Thira seemed preoccupied with the sling wielding kobolds atop the walls. Dulvarna turned her attention back to her enemies and resigned herself to defeating them alone.

Kel prayed to Lolth and swung her morningstar again, striking the drake on the side of the head this time. She marked the beast with a glowing spider as her prayer ended and Erlmoor, despite his lip curling in distaste, rushed at the creature again. He prayed as he came at the creature, too and as the creature tried to turn, he plunged his blade, glowing now with radiant fire, into the drake’s back. The steel, now blessed by Lathander, drove through the creature’s spine and into its lungs. With a strangled screech, the drake collapsed on the stone floor and breathed its last.

A sling stone struck the side of Thira’s head hard and skittered off her curled horns to crack into the stone floor. She saw lights and felt the room spin around her but then she righted herself and picked out the enemy who had so wounded her. Lavren had picked him out too and the elf leveled his wand while uttering elven phrases. He tried to call fire from within the kobold but failed and so Thira leveled her stave. The tiefling loosed a silver bolt at the kobold but the missile flew wide of the target and vanished into the darkness at the far end of the room once more. The boulder rumbled round and ground to a stop, half blocking the broken doors to the central structure and from the right, another sling stone whirred past.
“We have to move from her!” Thira called to Lavren.
“Agreed,” he answered and they both started towards the central chamber.

Dulvarna weaved her blade in a graceful figure of eight and then darted forward, driving her blade into the kobold’s hip. The creature cried out and staggered and again the warrior woman darted back from her foe. The kobold tried to follow but staggered and nearly fell. Instead, its companion pushed past it and dived at Dulvarna, it’s blade piercing her shoulder and driving the scales of her armour into her flesh. She staggered and cursed but then raised her blade to defend herself again. The battle would be close, she decided, but perhaps she could defeat both foes after all.

Kel climbed the ladder and rushed along the wall towards the nearest kobold. She swung out with her morningstar but at the last the creature ducked and the dark elf nearly toppled off the wall. The kobold turned and threw down its sling while reaching for the dagger at its belt. Kel glanced behind her and saw Erlmoor climb up the ladder behind her and then circle around the wall the other way to attack the kobold opposite. Silently, she wished him well as she turned back to her own foe. The kobold had drawn his dagger now and darted forward, stabbing with the weapon. Kel swatted the thrust aside with her morningstar but stepped back to be sure of her footing. The kobold came on after her but then was struck from behind by black, crackling energy. A silver bolt struck the kobold a moment later and all but pitched it from the wall. Staggering and dazed, the creature raised its dagger again, seemingly determined, as all the others in the hall had been, to go down fighting.

Dulvarna twisted on the spot and slashed at the kobold’s hamstring but the sly creature jumped forward and dodged the blow while slamming its shield into Dulvarna’s chest to force her back. The kobold with the wounded hip leapt down from the steps, undoubtedly landing painfully but without a cry of pain, before Dulvarna. Its blade darted out and she parried the thrust and this time did not retreat. She could see her companions up on the wall, engaged in their own battles. No aid was coming for Dulvarna. It was up to her to defeat these two.

Kel slammed her morningstar into the chest of the dazed kobold before her and sent him tumbling from the wall into the outer chamber. She turned around and started back toward the ladder as Erlmoor slashed his blade across the chest of his own foe. Lavren cursed the creature from the main chamber floor and loosed his own crackling, black energy and then Thira sent a silver bolt towards the creature. The magic missile seared through the creature’s skull, bursting forth from the other side and narrowly missing Erlmoor as it did so. The kobold pitched from the wall into the inner chamber to lie beside the drake and Erlmoor made his own way down from the wall.

Dulvarna feinted to the right and then reversed her blade, sweeping it across towards the wounded kobold. With its hip crippled, the creature reacted too slowly to the changer of direction and the blade slashed in under its shield and into its belly. With a gasp, the creature staggered and collapsed at Dulvarna’s feet. Kel charged from the central chamber and rushed across the room, her morningstar swinging out to strike the remaining kobold in the small of the back. It staggered but turned to meet this new foe, only to see Erlmoor rushing to join the drow and roaring as he came. Acid spewed from the dragonborn’s mouth and his blade sang out as he raised his voice in prayer. The kobold shrank back against the side of the stairs and threw down its blade.
“Sssurrender,” it said in poor common.
Dulvarna nodded and the kobold became a prisoner.

 

[Caldarion]

This is great Medriev! I'm thoroughly enjoying it! Keep up the good work! Have you had a chance to visit my story site at D&D 4e The Order of the Vanguard | A Tale of Mythgara I'd be interested in your comments. Thanks =)