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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 1005276" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>Hey, guess what: Final Update!</p><p></p><p><strong>The Final Battle</strong></p><p></p><p><em>The Dark Druids moved through the forest as lords. They were home and the elves would once again rule the Darkwood. But they would not be so foolish as their brethren of old had been. Such idiocy to have tried to "live in harmony" with nature and live in such a way as to leave almost no mark on the woods. Their time in the north, beyond the Pillars of Heaven had taught them a lesson: Nature has no compassion and it will kill you if it can. Nature must be bent to the will of those who sought to live amongst it. Nature was a tool and once shaped properly, a weapon.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The army that attended them was an excellent example. These creatures would never have agreed to fight their enemies and help them reconquer the lands they had been driven from by the human scum of the so-called "Empire" to the south. But killed and returned to unlife, they were perfect for the task. Obedient, fearless, inexorable.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>While they would have preferred to gather a few more bands of Gnolls and Ogres to fill the ranks, the army they had was quite powerful enough. In fact, though he made sure that none of his lesser brethren knew it, the leader of the Dark Druids strained to maintain control of much of the army. Though the Rod that he weilded vastly increased his ability to command the unliving, he was still forced to give succinct orders to one group and then switch to another almost constantly. For that reason, the army marched in a perfectly straight line to the southeast.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He would be glad when they reached the town they were to destroy. Part of him almost hoped the humans would put up a worthy fight since that would cut down the size of his army to a slightly more managable size and weed out some of the weaker skeletons and zombies that filled its ranks. With Glynden destroyed, he could release many of the lesser undead to roam the Darkwood as pickets to deter any other wanderers while they consolidated their power within the forest. Many of his fellow Dark Druids from the north had thought his assault on the Darkwood to be foolish and suicidal. But they would quickly change their thoughts when they heard of his successes and saw the might that he controlled within these woods.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>On marched the army. In the vanguard were the undead animals, mostly wolves and bears. Behind them came some three score zombies followed by the bulk of the skeleton army, well over a hundred strong. These were trailed by the larger Ogre skeletons and the darting forms of the Shadows that still remained, serving as a personal bodyguard for the half dozen Dark Druids. Behind them were a rear guard consisting of a couple score more Gnoll skeletons.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>They marched toward the town of Glynden, tireless and unstopable.</em></p><p></p><p>"Now."</p><p></p><p>The woods exploded with fury.</p><p></p><p>An <em>Ice Burst</em> was the first thing to strike the center of the army, catching nearly all the Druids and most of the Shadows in its hail of razor sharp ice crystals. A split second later a column of Holy <em>Flame Struck</em> down from the heavens landing squarely on the leader and a pair of the Shadows. And then, like a spirit of vengeance, Scar burst out of the woods where he had waited behind the <em>Silent Image</em> of a cluster of bushes. He looked almost shadow-like himself due to the greyish cast of his skin as a result of the <em>Stoneskin</em> spell cast upon him by Lazarius. He charged the nearest of the Dark Druids with Raven's hammer in his grasp. The horror that dominated the Dark Druid's final moment was mercifully brought to an end as his head was caved in and he fell twitching to the ground (49 point critical by Scar).</p><p></p><p>The battle had started.</p><p></p><p>The <em>Invisible</em> Lazarius took to the air and appeared above the skeletal horde as he let loose a <em>Lightning Bolt</em> into the center of the Dark Druid core of the army, striking a pair of them including the leader and flindering a line of lesser skeletons also caught in its path. On a nearby tree branch, a falcon transformed into Kyndalyn the Younger, Guardian of Glynden. Even as his form solidified into its Half-Elven shape, he was drawing his bow and he sent an arrow slamming into another of the Dark Druids.</p><p></p><p>Now recovered from the initial shock of coming under attack, the Dark Druids began to respond to the ambush. The leader had been a principal target and was badly wounded. He could spare only cursory attention to controlling his undead troops as he drank a potion that healed the worst of his wounds. Having just seen the 250 year life of his friend brought to an abrupt and messy end by Scar, another of the Dark Druids called down a <em>Flame Strike</em> on the Half-Orc, but it seemed to only slightly injure him. When another Dark Druid did the same, the effect was more pronounced. A third Dark Druid unleashed a <em>Flame Strike</em> on the pair of Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert who had now emerged from the illusionary bushes but, having heard the accounts of the battle at the Dark Druid camp, they had warded themselves against such magic and ignored the flames that fell around them.</p><p></p><p>Scar howled in defiance and charged one of the Dark Druids that had magically assaulted him and delivered a firm blow with Raven's hammer before dancing out of the Elf's reach and moving to threaten the other Dark Druid that had called down fire upon him. Now directly in the midst of the enemy, Scar figured that if they wanted to call down any more fire on him, the damned Elves could get burned too.</p><p></p><p>Speaks With Stone swooped below the treetops and called upon the plants of the forest to <em>Grow Spikes</em> behind the Dark Druids and ahead of the rear guard who, bereft of any commands by the Dark Druid leader, continued to march forward into the chaos of the ambush.</p><p></p><p>The Inquisitors were now alone amidst an army of evil who had begun to take notice of them. They called upon the protection of St. Cuthbert as Lucius <em>Consecrated</em> the area around them and Cornelius called forth a <em>Magic Circle Against Evil</em>. Even as they did so, a horde of zombies moved in to surround them.</p><p></p><p>Near the rear of the enemy army, the skeletons began to plow into the area of Speaks' spell and suffer the rending and shredding assault of the undergrowth. The front ranks escaped with minor damage but the ones further back were quickly ripped into individual bones by the thorn covered vines that had sprung from the ground.</p><p></p><p>A group of Ogre Skeletons had spotted Kyndalyn and moved toward the tree in which he was perched. Another group of the large undead moved to attack Scar and one landed a blow on the Half-Orc but he shrugged it off thanks to his <em>Stony Skin</em>.</p><p></p><p>Lazarius disappeared from sight as his invisibility reasserted itself. As he moved above the battle, he used another spell to create mutliple <em>Mirror Images</em> of himself. When he reappeared next, his enemies would have a nearly impossible time trying to target him properly. It was all just like the exercises back at the Academy.</p><p></p><p>Kyndalyn wasn't sure whether the Ogre skeletons were going to be able to shake him out of his tree or not, but he only had a moment before they arrived and he wanted to make it count. He let fly another arrow at one of the Dark Druids near Scar and was pleased as it struck home and the Dark Druid fell to the ground.</p><p></p><p>One of the remaining Dark Druids saw Scar in their midst and, not wishing to call down fire on his ally, he used his magic to fill the Half-Orc with a sense of <em>Doom</em>. Although he succumbed to the dark magic, Scar had been exposed to a lot of doom lately and kept it all in perspective.</p><p></p><p>Speaks wanted to make certain that his allies didn't lose track of their main objective and wreathed the Dark Druid leader in <em>Faerie Fire</em>. Below him, he could see that the skeletons were starting to cluster around his allies in groups and hoped that they would be able to fend off the superior enemy numbers.</p><p></p><p>Lazarius and his various doubles reappeared and unleashed another <em>Lightning Bolt</em> , catching another pair of Dark Druids and splintering more skeletons that clustered around them. But some of his enemies had been lying in wait and another Dark Druid sent a <em>Flame Strike</em> descending on the War Wizard and his images. Thankfully, he dodged the worst of it and had magically protected himself against Fire (and Cold, just in case) before the battle. But he was disturbed to see that a pair of the remaining Shadows had taken notice of him and began to rapidly approach.</p><p></p><p>The skeletal Ogres began hammering on the tree Kyndalyn occupied but the Half-Elf kept his balance and fired a pair of arrows at another Dark Druid but they missed their mark. The Dark Druid responded by calling down another <em>Flame Strike</em>, but not at Kyndalyn. Lazarius was hit yet again by a column of fire and this time more forcefully. His magic protected him some, but he wouldn't last much longer at this rate.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Druid leader found himself face to face with Scar again. Again, it seemed an imprudent place to be and he shifted form into that of a skeletal bat. Scar swung Raven's hammer at him as he did this but failed to strike the shrinking form of the Dark Druid. As the bat flew away low above the ground, the forest exploded around Scar as one of the Dark Druids took the opportunity to <em>Flame Strike</em> him while none of his allies were likely to get hit.</p><p></p><p>Scar didn't take the bait and charged after the Dark Druid leader who had, foolishly, not gained much altitude. He struck the bone-bat with the hammer of his fallen friend and it landed with a satisfying crunch. Behind him, a flash of light accompanied a wave of holy energy that rolled out from the Inquisitors. A full score of zombies turned to dust in an instant. But there were plenty more where those came from and they began to close ranks around the Inquisitors almost immediately.</p><p></p><p>At the opposite end of the battlefield, still without any contrary commands from their leader, the rear guard of skeletons continued to march into the spiked vegitation that Speaks had laid before them and were systematically torn to bits.</p><p></p><p>Braving further retribution from the Dark Druids, Lazarius maneuvered in mid-air and let fly with another <em>Lightning Bolt</em>, destroying a Shadow and severely wounding one of the Dark Druids that had hurled a column of fire at him just moments before. Below, Kyndalyn continued to hang on to the swaying branches of the tree he perched in and managed to fire a pair of arrows into the other Dark Druid that had attacked Lazarius.</p><p></p><p>The leader of the Dark Druids was becoming desperate. Above him was the eagle form of Speaks and the War Wizard who seemed to be able to blast out one bolt of lightning after another. He elected to stay near the ground but, as he tried to retreat, he found his path cut off by the vines and branches that were tearing his rear guard of skeletons to shreds. As he swooped first one way and then the other in indecision, he barely even saw the charging form of Scar. At the last second, the Half-Orc let loose a cry of triumph and sent Raven's hammer crashing down in a two handed blow that smashed the ribs of the skeletal bat form of the Dark Druid leader. It fell to the ground, lifeless and transformed back into the form of an Elf.</p><p></p><p>With their leader down, a couple of the more wounded Dark Druids decided to take flight into the forest. Two transformed into birds and began to retreat into the woods. Another spitefully called down another <em>Flame Strike</em> atop the Inquisitors, even though it incinerated a couple of Gnoll zombies at the same time. But the destruction of a pair of zombies was insignificant compared to the crowd of them that was pushing in on the adherents of St. Cuthbert.</p><p></p><p>Just as it seemed they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, first Lucius and then Cornelius held forth their holy symbols and holy energy burst from them. Where moments before had been a horde of zombies and skeletons, there were now only wisps of dust being carried on the forest breeze.</p><p></p><p>Speaks With Stone knew that if any of the Dark Druids got away, they could be looking at facing another undead army sometime in the unknown future. He streaked out of the air and marked one of the fleeing targets with <em>Faerie Fire</em>, seeing to it that even if they escaped, they could be quickly located.</p><p></p><p>Determined not to let the Dark Druids retreat and regroup, Lazarius flew after those retreating and let fly with an <em>Orb of Acid</em> but the ball missed its target and landed, sizzling and smoking, on the forest floor. Kyndalyn too tried to stop the fleeing avians and fired an arrow that hit its mark. Unfortunately the glancing shot was not enough to bring the bird down.</p><p></p><p>The pair of Dark Druids began to pick up speed now that they were away from the thick of the combat. Each began to climb toward the treetops where they would be in open air and could go even faster. One of the pair suddenly turned into a cloud of bloody feathers as an oak branch swatted it out of the air with a mighty blow. Great Root lunged at the other but it dodged out of his grasp and through a hole in the forest canopy...where it was met with the talons of a pair of Dire Eagles, coming to the aid of the true Lord of the Darkwood.</p><p></p><p>Scar bent and picked up the unholy Rod that had been the source of so much trouble and pain for he and his friends. As he stood, he roughly kicked the dead elven Dark Druid and spat on his corpse. "That's for Raven, you nancing elven bastard!" He turned and with a whoop of joy, he charged into the midst of the skeletal mob that was pressing in around the Inquisitors. Bones shattered in his wake.</p><p></p><p>Another wave of holy energy burst from the Inquisitors and skeletons became dust by the dozen. The animated animal skeletons had returned to do battle with them and were closing in but now other, live, animals were starting to emerge from the forest. Wolves, bears, even elk and deer were shattering the bones of their undead counterparts with hoof, claw, horn and tooth. The undead army was rapidly becoming a few disorganized pockets of skeletons who mindlessly attacked the closest target and were being destroyed in detail by the combined forces of Glynden and Great Root.</p><p></p><p>The last of the Dark Druids looked on dispairingly at what was taking place. How could this have happened in the scope of just a couple of minutes? But there was no time for regrets. His only chance was to flee. As he did so, Lazarius took flight after him and Kyndalyn took another parting shot with his bow but missed. Speaks, still in hawk form, locked on to the fleeing Dark Druid, determined not to lose him.</p><p></p><p>Alternating between smiting skeletons with their maces and waves of holy energy that destroyed nearly a score of them each time, the Inquisitors were making quick work of the few pockets of undead resistance. Scar leapt from one foe to the next, shattering and smashing them with Raven's hammer. He and the Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert suddenly found themselves face to face amid a pile of splintered bone with no enemies in sight. All were covered in the dust of the dead and it was nearly unbelievable to them that they had managed to destroy such an army of undead in so short a time. Scar howled in victory and even the Inquisitors broke their normally stoic manner as the clapped each other and Scar on the back in celebration. Kyndalyn jogged up a few moments later, his bow dangling from his hand and his quiver nearly empty. Looking about, they wondered what had become of Speaks and Lazarius.</p><p></p><p>As if in answer, the War Wizard and a hawk broke through the treetops and settled to the ground near them. For the first time since the start of the battle, Speaks assumed his human form.</p><p></p><p>Lucius asked, "Were you able to catch the last of them?"</p><p></p><p>After a pause Speaks answered, "He would not surrender."</p><p></p><p>"Would you have accepted it if he had?", Lucius replied.</p><p></p><p>Speaks With Stone and Lazarius exchanged a glance with each other but said nothing more on the matter. Throughout the forest around them, wolves, bears, deer and elk quickly retreated from the scene of undead carnage. Speaks knew exactly what they were thinking: Such a place was unnatural and so too was their being in such close proximity without some of them becoming prey of the others. While they were willing to put aside instinct for a short time to answer the call of Great Root, it was a situation best left behind and forgotten as quicky as possible. The thoughts of the animals could not possibly have been closer to those of the humanoids present.</p><p></p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>Midsummer approached quickly, and for most of the folks of Glynden, it was the same as the previous summer. The crops grew thickly in the rich soils of the Northlands and before they knew it, it would be time once again for the harvest festival.</p><p></p><p>This winter would see more traffic at Nan's and he was already counting the extra money he would make from the ale that would flow heavily as tales were told over and over. The Winter War, The Battle for Aquae Sulis, The Evil Temple of the Darkwood and The Battle of the Dark Druid Army of Death were all tales circulating thickly through the town. No doubt they would continue being refined and elaborated upon until, by the first snowfall, they would each be epics in their own right.</p><p></p><p>For a few, they already were.</p><p></p><p>Kyndalyn was having an easy time keeping the Glynden Guards in top form. Not only were all the town boys of suitable age (and many who were less than suitable age) clammoring for a chance to join the Guards, but those men already in the Guard knew exactly how dangerous these lands could be. They trained hard every day without being asked.</p><p></p><p>The Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert had departed for Oar weeks ago. They had quickly wrapped up their investigation and taken possession of the Rod of Unlife to return to the Church for destruction. Although they spoke little of the events that had transpired during their visit to the Northlands, they made it clear to Father Tomas and the rest of the townsfolk that no further suspicions fell on Speaks With Stone and that they considered him a man of honor who had fought beside them against the forces of Evil. Before departing, they participated in a brief service, during which Krase Sandoval and Irakthanbar Derin "Raven" Khazundam were honored by a marker placed in the graveyard behind the Church of St. Cuthbert.</p><p></p><p>Lazarius decided to stay on in Glynden for a while at least. It would be unseemly for him to arrive back in the south before the Inquisitors had vacated the area, lest they uncover some interesting information after he left. With Kyndalyn's blessing, he also moved into Uncle Claudius' residence to compile the old wizard's memoirs and notes as a former War Wizard of the Imperial Legions of Emor. Although the townsfolk treated him with a healthy dose of superstition and fear, they were gradually coming to accept him. Someone had even just recently left a pie on his doorstep.</p><p></p><p>Rhys had stayed on with Tadius Silvanus and was now earning a decent living helping the elven Wizard trade his wares. With his quick wit, easy charm and sorcerous abilities, he was a perfect front man for Tadius. He had also been trying to develop a relationship with the lovely and dangerous mercenary, Tarsheeva, Speaks With Stone's sister. She had been comforting and friendly but always seemed to pull away just when it seemed they were getting close. He hoped it wasn't because of his race. Although it was still tough coming to grips with his new skin, he was getting used to being an Elf. It was strange and painful to think that he would probably outlive by centuries all of his family and friends. He wished his great-grandfather, Cinhil Cameron, was still around as he had also lived to over a hundred years of age and could likely relate to what he was going through.</p><p></p><p>Scar had divided his time between Glynden and Aquae Sulis. A few of the Glynden miners had set up at the rich Aquae Sulis mines and started digging out ore and making repairs to the ore processing building there. Fearing possible attacks by the Gnolls or possibly a return of the Kobolds, they had hired Scar on as a bodyguard. He also sometimes lended his strength to the mining endeavors, which, more than anything else, earned the respect and admiration of the miners.</p><p></p><p>It happened that Scar was visiting Glynden to purchase supplies for the miners and deliver a load of unrefined ore when the dwarven delegation that had gone south in the spring returned through Glynden on their way back to the Novantae Lands. Scar and Speaks With Stone met with them and told them of Raven's fate and how nobly he had fought in the Temple and the Darkwood. Scar presented them with Raven's hammer and they assured him that this weapon would be returned to Raven's family and would be a weapon of honor that would be passed down to further generations of Dwarves. The Record Keepers even made an official record for their archives and went so far as to note Scar's clan name and draw his likeness in their books.</p><p></p><p>Speaks With Stone spent several weeks roaming the depths of the Darkwood, staying away from Glynden. He spent considerable time with Great Root and even finally began his project of carving the guidestones for other Druids to follow that had been his original goal in coming to the area. Mostly, he needed time to sort out his feelings about an awful lot of things. Chief among them was if and how he was going to raise the issue of the Druid's historical involvement with the Temple of Bane and the war against the elves. Knowing that there may or may not still be an order of Druidic assassins lurking about to silence anyone who uncovered the unsavory past of the Druids did not set his mind at ease on the matter.</p><p></p><p>One morning, he lay sleeping in a patch of sun near the Standing Stone at the center of Great Root's grove. He was awakened by the creaking of branches that he had come to recognize as Great Root moving around. He sat up and gazed up at the Treant.</p><p></p><p>"Good morning, Speaks With Stone."</p><p></p><p>"Good morning, Great Root."</p><p></p><p>"I have a bit of news you may wish to hear."</p><p></p><p>"What is that?", Speaks asked, his curiousity piqued.</p><p></p><p>"Your son is born." Great Root smiled in the wooden way that was his custom.</p><p></p><p>"What?! How do you know this?!"</p><p></p><p>Great Root smiled even broader, "A little bird told me."</p><p></p><p>Speaks sagged back against the Standing Stone, staring ahead, full of nearly every emotion he knew of and several that he didn't.</p><p></p><p>"His name is Ormgar, it means <em>Stone Jaw</em> in the tongue of the Suevi."</p><p></p><p>As the name of his son sank throught the layers of confusion he seemed mired in, Speaks stood up and his emotions settled on a faint smile. "Great Root, I thank you for the time you've let me spend here." He started to move about the grove, collecting his few belongings.</p><p></p><p>"I think I know where I'm going now."</p><p></p><p><strong>The End (for now)</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 1005276, member: 99"] Hey, guess what: Final Update! [b]The Final Battle[/b] [i]The Dark Druids moved through the forest as lords. They were home and the elves would once again rule the Darkwood. But they would not be so foolish as their brethren of old had been. Such idiocy to have tried to "live in harmony" with nature and live in such a way as to leave almost no mark on the woods. Their time in the north, beyond the Pillars of Heaven had taught them a lesson: Nature has no compassion and it will kill you if it can. Nature must be bent to the will of those who sought to live amongst it. Nature was a tool and once shaped properly, a weapon. The army that attended them was an excellent example. These creatures would never have agreed to fight their enemies and help them reconquer the lands they had been driven from by the human scum of the so-called "Empire" to the south. But killed and returned to unlife, they were perfect for the task. Obedient, fearless, inexorable. While they would have preferred to gather a few more bands of Gnolls and Ogres to fill the ranks, the army they had was quite powerful enough. In fact, though he made sure that none of his lesser brethren knew it, the leader of the Dark Druids strained to maintain control of much of the army. Though the Rod that he weilded vastly increased his ability to command the unliving, he was still forced to give succinct orders to one group and then switch to another almost constantly. For that reason, the army marched in a perfectly straight line to the southeast. He would be glad when they reached the town they were to destroy. Part of him almost hoped the humans would put up a worthy fight since that would cut down the size of his army to a slightly more managable size and weed out some of the weaker skeletons and zombies that filled its ranks. With Glynden destroyed, he could release many of the lesser undead to roam the Darkwood as pickets to deter any other wanderers while they consolidated their power within the forest. Many of his fellow Dark Druids from the north had thought his assault on the Darkwood to be foolish and suicidal. But they would quickly change their thoughts when they heard of his successes and saw the might that he controlled within these woods. On marched the army. In the vanguard were the undead animals, mostly wolves and bears. Behind them came some three score zombies followed by the bulk of the skeleton army, well over a hundred strong. These were trailed by the larger Ogre skeletons and the darting forms of the Shadows that still remained, serving as a personal bodyguard for the half dozen Dark Druids. Behind them were a rear guard consisting of a couple score more Gnoll skeletons. They marched toward the town of Glynden, tireless and unstopable.[/i] "Now." The woods exploded with fury. An [i]Ice Burst[/i] was the first thing to strike the center of the army, catching nearly all the Druids and most of the Shadows in its hail of razor sharp ice crystals. A split second later a column of Holy [i]Flame Struck[/i] down from the heavens landing squarely on the leader and a pair of the Shadows. And then, like a spirit of vengeance, Scar burst out of the woods where he had waited behind the [i]Silent Image[/i] of a cluster of bushes. He looked almost shadow-like himself due to the greyish cast of his skin as a result of the [i]Stoneskin[/i] spell cast upon him by Lazarius. He charged the nearest of the Dark Druids with Raven's hammer in his grasp. The horror that dominated the Dark Druid's final moment was mercifully brought to an end as his head was caved in and he fell twitching to the ground (49 point critical by Scar). The battle had started. The [i]Invisible[/i] Lazarius took to the air and appeared above the skeletal horde as he let loose a [i]Lightning Bolt[/i] into the center of the Dark Druid core of the army, striking a pair of them including the leader and flindering a line of lesser skeletons also caught in its path. On a nearby tree branch, a falcon transformed into Kyndalyn the Younger, Guardian of Glynden. Even as his form solidified into its Half-Elven shape, he was drawing his bow and he sent an arrow slamming into another of the Dark Druids. Now recovered from the initial shock of coming under attack, the Dark Druids began to respond to the ambush. The leader had been a principal target and was badly wounded. He could spare only cursory attention to controlling his undead troops as he drank a potion that healed the worst of his wounds. Having just seen the 250 year life of his friend brought to an abrupt and messy end by Scar, another of the Dark Druids called down a [i]Flame Strike[/i] on the Half-Orc, but it seemed to only slightly injure him. When another Dark Druid did the same, the effect was more pronounced. A third Dark Druid unleashed a [i]Flame Strike[/i] on the pair of Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert who had now emerged from the illusionary bushes but, having heard the accounts of the battle at the Dark Druid camp, they had warded themselves against such magic and ignored the flames that fell around them. Scar howled in defiance and charged one of the Dark Druids that had magically assaulted him and delivered a firm blow with Raven's hammer before dancing out of the Elf's reach and moving to threaten the other Dark Druid that had called down fire upon him. Now directly in the midst of the enemy, Scar figured that if they wanted to call down any more fire on him, the damned Elves could get burned too. Speaks With Stone swooped below the treetops and called upon the plants of the forest to [i]Grow Spikes[/i] behind the Dark Druids and ahead of the rear guard who, bereft of any commands by the Dark Druid leader, continued to march forward into the chaos of the ambush. The Inquisitors were now alone amidst an army of evil who had begun to take notice of them. They called upon the protection of St. Cuthbert as Lucius [i]Consecrated[/i] the area around them and Cornelius called forth a [i]Magic Circle Against Evil[/i]. Even as they did so, a horde of zombies moved in to surround them. Near the rear of the enemy army, the skeletons began to plow into the area of Speaks' spell and suffer the rending and shredding assault of the undergrowth. The front ranks escaped with minor damage but the ones further back were quickly ripped into individual bones by the thorn covered vines that had sprung from the ground. A group of Ogre Skeletons had spotted Kyndalyn and moved toward the tree in which he was perched. Another group of the large undead moved to attack Scar and one landed a blow on the Half-Orc but he shrugged it off thanks to his [i]Stony Skin[/i]. Lazarius disappeared from sight as his invisibility reasserted itself. As he moved above the battle, he used another spell to create mutliple [i]Mirror Images[/i] of himself. When he reappeared next, his enemies would have a nearly impossible time trying to target him properly. It was all just like the exercises back at the Academy. Kyndalyn wasn't sure whether the Ogre skeletons were going to be able to shake him out of his tree or not, but he only had a moment before they arrived and he wanted to make it count. He let fly another arrow at one of the Dark Druids near Scar and was pleased as it struck home and the Dark Druid fell to the ground. One of the remaining Dark Druids saw Scar in their midst and, not wishing to call down fire on his ally, he used his magic to fill the Half-Orc with a sense of [i]Doom[/i]. Although he succumbed to the dark magic, Scar had been exposed to a lot of doom lately and kept it all in perspective. Speaks wanted to make certain that his allies didn't lose track of their main objective and wreathed the Dark Druid leader in [i]Faerie Fire[/i]. Below him, he could see that the skeletons were starting to cluster around his allies in groups and hoped that they would be able to fend off the superior enemy numbers. Lazarius and his various doubles reappeared and unleashed another [i]Lightning Bolt[/i] , catching another pair of Dark Druids and splintering more skeletons that clustered around them. But some of his enemies had been lying in wait and another Dark Druid sent a [i]Flame Strike[/i] descending on the War Wizard and his images. Thankfully, he dodged the worst of it and had magically protected himself against Fire (and Cold, just in case) before the battle. But he was disturbed to see that a pair of the remaining Shadows had taken notice of him and began to rapidly approach. The skeletal Ogres began hammering on the tree Kyndalyn occupied but the Half-Elf kept his balance and fired a pair of arrows at another Dark Druid but they missed their mark. The Dark Druid responded by calling down another [i]Flame Strike[/i], but not at Kyndalyn. Lazarius was hit yet again by a column of fire and this time more forcefully. His magic protected him some, but he wouldn't last much longer at this rate. The Dark Druid leader found himself face to face with Scar again. Again, it seemed an imprudent place to be and he shifted form into that of a skeletal bat. Scar swung Raven's hammer at him as he did this but failed to strike the shrinking form of the Dark Druid. As the bat flew away low above the ground, the forest exploded around Scar as one of the Dark Druids took the opportunity to [i]Flame Strike[/i] him while none of his allies were likely to get hit. Scar didn't take the bait and charged after the Dark Druid leader who had, foolishly, not gained much altitude. He struck the bone-bat with the hammer of his fallen friend and it landed with a satisfying crunch. Behind him, a flash of light accompanied a wave of holy energy that rolled out from the Inquisitors. A full score of zombies turned to dust in an instant. But there were plenty more where those came from and they began to close ranks around the Inquisitors almost immediately. At the opposite end of the battlefield, still without any contrary commands from their leader, the rear guard of skeletons continued to march into the spiked vegitation that Speaks had laid before them and were systematically torn to bits. Braving further retribution from the Dark Druids, Lazarius maneuvered in mid-air and let fly with another [i]Lightning Bolt[/i], destroying a Shadow and severely wounding one of the Dark Druids that had hurled a column of fire at him just moments before. Below, Kyndalyn continued to hang on to the swaying branches of the tree he perched in and managed to fire a pair of arrows into the other Dark Druid that had attacked Lazarius. The leader of the Dark Druids was becoming desperate. Above him was the eagle form of Speaks and the War Wizard who seemed to be able to blast out one bolt of lightning after another. He elected to stay near the ground but, as he tried to retreat, he found his path cut off by the vines and branches that were tearing his rear guard of skeletons to shreds. As he swooped first one way and then the other in indecision, he barely even saw the charging form of Scar. At the last second, the Half-Orc let loose a cry of triumph and sent Raven's hammer crashing down in a two handed blow that smashed the ribs of the skeletal bat form of the Dark Druid leader. It fell to the ground, lifeless and transformed back into the form of an Elf. With their leader down, a couple of the more wounded Dark Druids decided to take flight into the forest. Two transformed into birds and began to retreat into the woods. Another spitefully called down another [i]Flame Strike[/i] atop the Inquisitors, even though it incinerated a couple of Gnoll zombies at the same time. But the destruction of a pair of zombies was insignificant compared to the crowd of them that was pushing in on the adherents of St. Cuthbert. Just as it seemed they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, first Lucius and then Cornelius held forth their holy symbols and holy energy burst from them. Where moments before had been a horde of zombies and skeletons, there were now only wisps of dust being carried on the forest breeze. Speaks With Stone knew that if any of the Dark Druids got away, they could be looking at facing another undead army sometime in the unknown future. He streaked out of the air and marked one of the fleeing targets with [i]Faerie Fire[/i], seeing to it that even if they escaped, they could be quickly located. Determined not to let the Dark Druids retreat and regroup, Lazarius flew after those retreating and let fly with an [i]Orb of Acid[/i] but the ball missed its target and landed, sizzling and smoking, on the forest floor. Kyndalyn too tried to stop the fleeing avians and fired an arrow that hit its mark. Unfortunately the glancing shot was not enough to bring the bird down. The pair of Dark Druids began to pick up speed now that they were away from the thick of the combat. Each began to climb toward the treetops where they would be in open air and could go even faster. One of the pair suddenly turned into a cloud of bloody feathers as an oak branch swatted it out of the air with a mighty blow. Great Root lunged at the other but it dodged out of his grasp and through a hole in the forest canopy...where it was met with the talons of a pair of Dire Eagles, coming to the aid of the true Lord of the Darkwood. Scar bent and picked up the unholy Rod that had been the source of so much trouble and pain for he and his friends. As he stood, he roughly kicked the dead elven Dark Druid and spat on his corpse. "That's for Raven, you nancing elven bastard!" He turned and with a whoop of joy, he charged into the midst of the skeletal mob that was pressing in around the Inquisitors. Bones shattered in his wake. Another wave of holy energy burst from the Inquisitors and skeletons became dust by the dozen. The animated animal skeletons had returned to do battle with them and were closing in but now other, live, animals were starting to emerge from the forest. Wolves, bears, even elk and deer were shattering the bones of their undead counterparts with hoof, claw, horn and tooth. The undead army was rapidly becoming a few disorganized pockets of skeletons who mindlessly attacked the closest target and were being destroyed in detail by the combined forces of Glynden and Great Root. The last of the Dark Druids looked on dispairingly at what was taking place. How could this have happened in the scope of just a couple of minutes? But there was no time for regrets. His only chance was to flee. As he did so, Lazarius took flight after him and Kyndalyn took another parting shot with his bow but missed. Speaks, still in hawk form, locked on to the fleeing Dark Druid, determined not to lose him. Alternating between smiting skeletons with their maces and waves of holy energy that destroyed nearly a score of them each time, the Inquisitors were making quick work of the few pockets of undead resistance. Scar leapt from one foe to the next, shattering and smashing them with Raven's hammer. He and the Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert suddenly found themselves face to face amid a pile of splintered bone with no enemies in sight. All were covered in the dust of the dead and it was nearly unbelievable to them that they had managed to destroy such an army of undead in so short a time. Scar howled in victory and even the Inquisitors broke their normally stoic manner as the clapped each other and Scar on the back in celebration. Kyndalyn jogged up a few moments later, his bow dangling from his hand and his quiver nearly empty. Looking about, they wondered what had become of Speaks and Lazarius. As if in answer, the War Wizard and a hawk broke through the treetops and settled to the ground near them. For the first time since the start of the battle, Speaks assumed his human form. Lucius asked, "Were you able to catch the last of them?" After a pause Speaks answered, "He would not surrender." "Would you have accepted it if he had?", Lucius replied. Speaks With Stone and Lazarius exchanged a glance with each other but said nothing more on the matter. Throughout the forest around them, wolves, bears, deer and elk quickly retreated from the scene of undead carnage. Speaks knew exactly what they were thinking: Such a place was unnatural and so too was their being in such close proximity without some of them becoming prey of the others. While they were willing to put aside instinct for a short time to answer the call of Great Root, it was a situation best left behind and forgotten as quicky as possible. The thoughts of the animals could not possibly have been closer to those of the humanoids present. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Midsummer approached quickly, and for most of the folks of Glynden, it was the same as the previous summer. The crops grew thickly in the rich soils of the Northlands and before they knew it, it would be time once again for the harvest festival. This winter would see more traffic at Nan's and he was already counting the extra money he would make from the ale that would flow heavily as tales were told over and over. The Winter War, The Battle for Aquae Sulis, The Evil Temple of the Darkwood and The Battle of the Dark Druid Army of Death were all tales circulating thickly through the town. No doubt they would continue being refined and elaborated upon until, by the first snowfall, they would each be epics in their own right. For a few, they already were. Kyndalyn was having an easy time keeping the Glynden Guards in top form. Not only were all the town boys of suitable age (and many who were less than suitable age) clammoring for a chance to join the Guards, but those men already in the Guard knew exactly how dangerous these lands could be. They trained hard every day without being asked. The Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert had departed for Oar weeks ago. They had quickly wrapped up their investigation and taken possession of the Rod of Unlife to return to the Church for destruction. Although they spoke little of the events that had transpired during their visit to the Northlands, they made it clear to Father Tomas and the rest of the townsfolk that no further suspicions fell on Speaks With Stone and that they considered him a man of honor who had fought beside them against the forces of Evil. Before departing, they participated in a brief service, during which Krase Sandoval and Irakthanbar Derin "Raven" Khazundam were honored by a marker placed in the graveyard behind the Church of St. Cuthbert. Lazarius decided to stay on in Glynden for a while at least. It would be unseemly for him to arrive back in the south before the Inquisitors had vacated the area, lest they uncover some interesting information after he left. With Kyndalyn's blessing, he also moved into Uncle Claudius' residence to compile the old wizard's memoirs and notes as a former War Wizard of the Imperial Legions of Emor. Although the townsfolk treated him with a healthy dose of superstition and fear, they were gradually coming to accept him. Someone had even just recently left a pie on his doorstep. Rhys had stayed on with Tadius Silvanus and was now earning a decent living helping the elven Wizard trade his wares. With his quick wit, easy charm and sorcerous abilities, he was a perfect front man for Tadius. He had also been trying to develop a relationship with the lovely and dangerous mercenary, Tarsheeva, Speaks With Stone's sister. She had been comforting and friendly but always seemed to pull away just when it seemed they were getting close. He hoped it wasn't because of his race. Although it was still tough coming to grips with his new skin, he was getting used to being an Elf. It was strange and painful to think that he would probably outlive by centuries all of his family and friends. He wished his great-grandfather, Cinhil Cameron, was still around as he had also lived to over a hundred years of age and could likely relate to what he was going through. Scar had divided his time between Glynden and Aquae Sulis. A few of the Glynden miners had set up at the rich Aquae Sulis mines and started digging out ore and making repairs to the ore processing building there. Fearing possible attacks by the Gnolls or possibly a return of the Kobolds, they had hired Scar on as a bodyguard. He also sometimes lended his strength to the mining endeavors, which, more than anything else, earned the respect and admiration of the miners. It happened that Scar was visiting Glynden to purchase supplies for the miners and deliver a load of unrefined ore when the dwarven delegation that had gone south in the spring returned through Glynden on their way back to the Novantae Lands. Scar and Speaks With Stone met with them and told them of Raven's fate and how nobly he had fought in the Temple and the Darkwood. Scar presented them with Raven's hammer and they assured him that this weapon would be returned to Raven's family and would be a weapon of honor that would be passed down to further generations of Dwarves. The Record Keepers even made an official record for their archives and went so far as to note Scar's clan name and draw his likeness in their books. Speaks With Stone spent several weeks roaming the depths of the Darkwood, staying away from Glynden. He spent considerable time with Great Root and even finally began his project of carving the guidestones for other Druids to follow that had been his original goal in coming to the area. Mostly, he needed time to sort out his feelings about an awful lot of things. Chief among them was if and how he was going to raise the issue of the Druid's historical involvement with the Temple of Bane and the war against the elves. Knowing that there may or may not still be an order of Druidic assassins lurking about to silence anyone who uncovered the unsavory past of the Druids did not set his mind at ease on the matter. One morning, he lay sleeping in a patch of sun near the Standing Stone at the center of Great Root's grove. He was awakened by the creaking of branches that he had come to recognize as Great Root moving around. He sat up and gazed up at the Treant. "Good morning, Speaks With Stone." "Good morning, Great Root." "I have a bit of news you may wish to hear." "What is that?", Speaks asked, his curiousity piqued. "Your son is born." Great Root smiled in the wooden way that was his custom. "What?! How do you know this?!" Great Root smiled even broader, "A little bird told me." Speaks sagged back against the Standing Stone, staring ahead, full of nearly every emotion he knew of and several that he didn't. "His name is Ormgar, it means [i]Stone Jaw[/i] in the tongue of the Suevi." As the name of his son sank throught the layers of confusion he seemed mired in, Speaks stood up and his emotions settled on a faint smile. "Great Root, I thank you for the time you've let me spend here." He started to move about the grove, collecting his few belongings. "I think I know where I'm going now." [B]The End (for now)[/B] [/QUOTE]
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