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Steel Dragon's "Tales of Orea"
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<blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 5759043" data-attributes="member: 92511"><p><strong>An Unwelcome Meeting</strong></p><p></p><p>No sooner had the pixies scattered and disappeared then a breeze whipped up out of the west. It rustled through the most stubborn remaining leaves and bare branches of the wood they'd recently passed. </p><p></p><p>The evening which had been quickly becoming more and more chilled as the sun finally gave up its final light took on a decided icy feeling.</p><p></p><p>Alaria shivered despite her thick traveling robe and cloak.</p><p></p><p>Several of the party members visibly jumped as a score of black birds took wing out of the woods. Alaria could not be sure what they were in the shifting light as the faltering twilight gave way to the partial silver moon.</p><p></p><p>Ravens, Fen confirmed from the size and shape. </p><p></p><p>"Quickly!" Alaria commanded. "Unyoke the ox. Fen, hitch your horse and mine to the cart. I will ride with Erevan. We must make more time. I fear Farthing Cross is not our destination."</p><p></p><p>"What?!" Coerraine and Duor both questioned.</p><p></p><p>Haelan looked confused as well. "What are we supposed to do with Mr. Oxybritches?" the daelvar asked.</p><p></p><p>"Seriously?" Duor muttered under his beard with a roll of the eyes at the halfling. "I've had it up to my fairy-cursed nose with 'cutesy' for today."</p><p></p><p>Fen, also questioning, but moving to do as Alaria said as the magess looked with great concern toward the woods to their west and south.</p><p></p><p>"Erevan, be ready with your light spell." Alaria said again. Her tone taking on the commanding notes that they had become very accustomed to before becoming a "company of equals" in Bridgetower.</p><p></p><p>The elf nodded ever so slightly. His bow was already knocked. He too, felt something uneasy in the wind and the pixies' sudden and seemingly alarmed departure.</p><p></p><p>"Alaria, I think the long day's travel may be getting to you. We'll be to the town in a few moments." Coerraine offered as kindly as he could.</p><p></p><p>He looked down upon the lit lanterns and flickering from behind windows below them in Farthing Cross. To call it a "town" was being more than generous, the paladin realized. The collection of buildings, no more than five or six structures, surrounded a large open square at the crossing of the road they had traveled all day and one that seemed to run west to east.</p><p></p><p>Truth be told, the Redstar admitted to himself, if they did stop at the inn there, they were certainly not in an easily or well-defensible position. </p><p></p><p><em>"Arkanivis</em>" was Alaria's response.</p><p></p><p>She scanned the woods and almost immediately saw what she suspected the pixies meant by "dark ones". Long slender shapes curved and slithered their way among the trees, a few feet above the forest floor. Their shadowy length becoming visible as they passed through momentary moonbeam breaks in the darkness, only to utterly disappear in the thick shadows. Only her arcane detection spell allowed her to make out the violet glow of their serpentine forms as they passed through the trees' shadows and drew nearer.</p><p></p><p>"Shadow snakes are coming. Two from what I can tell." Alaria blurted.</p><p></p><p>At this, Coerraine immediately put himself between the cart and Duor (and Alaria) and the woods. An unheard prayer caused the golden light of the paladin's protective field to flare into view for a moment. Its circumference easily encompassed the whole cart and party members. Erevan, still astride his mount, sat just at the edge.</p><p></p><p>The party had explained to Festus their previous encounter with the shade creatures and dove under the tarp covering the cart's load of trasure sacks and chests. He began rifling through them. </p><p></p><p>Duor pulled his ethereal dagger from its scabbard and nocked his hand crossbow, anticipating Haelan's blessing of their weapons that would allow the band's mostly mundane blades and bolts to strike the creatures.</p><p></p><p>Fen had gotten the ox unhitched and was hooking up his own horse as quickly as he could.</p><p></p><p>Alaria dismounted in preparation for her horse to be haphazardly attached to the cart as well. Her hand slipped into the pouch holding the Ihs Repahl. She gripped her staff in the other, her knuckles turned white around the shaft for anyone who would have been able to see.</p><p></p><p>"They are larger than the others we saw. Much longer! They're almost here. Make ready." the wizard apprised her companions.</p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em></em>"Deisa Faerantha, dicteus beneficia spiritos y tiem paras!"</em> the holy words flew from Haelan's lips.</p><p></p><p>The reassuring honey-colored glow flickered across the weapons of himself, Alaria, Duor and Erevan. Festus was still under the tarp, but it was presumed his weapon as well was enchanted due to proximity to Haelan. Fen's spear tip did not take the goddess' blessing, as usual. Coerraine's own spear blade already pulsed with the golden light of his Lord and God.</p><p></p><p>The shadow snakes broked the edge of the trees making straight for the party.</p><p></p><p>"Now, Erevan. Over the cart!" Alaria called.</p><p></p><p>Without a questioning thought, Erevan threw his ball of magic light into the air, as Alaria had asked.</p><p></p><p>With the burst of yellow white light, the two serpentine creatures became easily visible in the magical radiance. Each was easily about ten feet long and a solid two or three feet around. Their glowing red eyes became visible just before their darkness seemed to solidify and become visible to normal sight in the new light source.</p><p></p><p>"Krikey! What happened to those four-foot jobbies?" called Haelan as the giant snakes became visible.</p><p></p><p>"Bollux!" was Duor's exclamation of choice before going on to mention, "Gonna need more'n my green dagger fer these ones!"</p><p></p><p>The creatures swooped straight for the cart only to be momentarily halted about twenty feet away by Coerraine holy field.</p><p><em></em></p><p><em>"Everx zaar!"</em> Alaria conjured. The two bolts of blue-violet energy shot forth and struck one of the serpents. A foot or so section of its shadowy form seemed disrupted where the magic missles struck, losing cohesion before it quickly reformed, replaced the darkness, until it looked again like a whole undamaged solid blackness.</p><p></p><p>The monster let out a defiant hiss. Its opened maw visible by the same unearthly red glow which showed the location of its eyes.</p><p></p><p>The second creature, recovered from the initial shock of the Redstar Knight's protection, again dove for the cart. It pierced the field with visible golden sparks trailing along its length as it passed through and wove its way through the air straight for Alaria.</p><p></p><p>Coerraine interceded with a decisive stab of his spear. The paladin was disappointed that these creatures, like their smaller species, did not register to his divine sight as "evil". But no matter, the young blond warrior thought, I know why they've come and who they were sent by.</p><p>The Redstar's glowing spear sunk deeply into the creature's side, leaving a visible slice of red light as the creature coiled passed and hissed in pain.</p><p></p><p>An arrow struck it from Erevan's bow. The bolt, one of the enchanted arrows collected from the kobolds' treasure room also struck the solid looking blackness and held there. The elf, satisfied with the strike, drew another of the limited few magic arrows in his quiver. </p><p></p><p>The other shadow snake (which Alaria's spell had struck) also made its way into the protected area and made to float itself over the cart toward Alaria.</p><p></p><p>At this time, Festus came bursting out from beneath the tarp, the enchanted short sword from the kobold's trove in one had and his falchion in the other. The short sword shimmered with a pale silver light of its own while his falchion glowed with the honey-colored light of Haelan's invocation.</p><p></p><p>The satyr lept up to strike the passing snake with both weapons. The trailing slices of red light against the creature's shadow form were apparent and the snake, in total surprise and what they presumed to be pain, reared up higher into the air. It coiled around and hissed down at the ranger before making a dive straight for him.</p><p></p><p>A telling blow from Haelan's mace and a slash of the ethereal green dagger whizzed out from Duor. Both struck, diverting the snake's attack. Duor's blade did not leave a red strike upon the creature but instead seemed to ignite the creature with its green "fire".</p><p></p><p>Remarkably fast, the whole length of the shadow snake was writhing about in the air over the cart, entirely engulfed in the smoky green energy. An instant later, the creature simply dissipated in a cloud of green and shredding shadow. Its "death-throw" hissing echoed away as the strange ethereal energy faded from view.</p><p></p><p>"Huh. Maybe we don't need more'n my dagger." Duor looked at the green glowing blade in satisfied surprise.</p><p></p><p>The snake that had been injured by Coerraine also coiled about to face its attacker. In a blur of blackness, it coiled around the Redstar Knight's horse. Coerraine either dove or fell off from the assault, it was difficult to tell which as he landed in a symphony of clangs and grunts.</p><p></p><p>The paladin regained its footing and readied his next strike in time to watch in horror, as did the rest of the party, as the horse shrieked, reared and kicked with the serpent around it.</p><p></p><p>The horse's coat, mane and tail seemed to drain of all color. Its skin began to shrivel and cling to the skeleton beneath as it seemed the entire creature were being aged and desiccated before their eyes. The fearful shrieking and thrashing ended in a moment.</p><p></p><p>The equine corpse fell over, most completely dead, as the serpent released its prey and wove its way back into the air. It looked down at Coerraine for a moment before twirling around and "slithering" through the air toward Alaria again.</p><p></p><p>Fen, who had just completed his make-shift harnessing of the riding horses who balked and whinnied in fear, jabbed the slight green-glowing leaf-shaped blade of his spear into the air as the creature passed over him, diving down toward Alaria. The spear blade sank into the belly of the creature and continued to tear several feet of the snake's length as it continued its dive. </p><p></p><p>The creature hissed in unexpected pain as its face drew closer and closer to the magess.</p><p></p><p>Alaria thrust the silver tip of her staff before her, closing her eyes out of reflex as she did so. She opened them when no impact occured in time to see the creature writhe in the air before her to separate and shred into pieces of inky blackness that faded out of view not an arm's length before her staff. </p><p></p><p>Erevan's two arrows which had been stuck in the snake fell harmlessly to the ground.</p><p></p><p>All of the party stood for a moment in tense expectation. Waiting for the creatures to re-manifest. When they did not, Alaria ran over to Erevan's horse and with a helping arm from the elf, swung herself up onto the mount behind him.</p><p></p><p>"Let's go. Hurry! We're not stopping at Farthing Cross. We make straight for the Vale." the wizardess commanded. Fear was evident in her voice.</p><p></p><p>Coerraine jumped up into the cart seat. This shoved Duor uncomfortably to the side. The shifting dwarf, further, nearly sent Haelan flying off the cart on the other side. Without complaint, the daelvar's child-like face full of worry, jumped over into the back of the cart with Festus.</p><p></p><p>"Let's go half-blood! Get outta the way!" the testy dwarf shouted at the druid.</p><p></p><p>Fen was seemingly talking to the horses in soft tones. "Alaria," the druid eventually said, "the horses are exhausted. They've been ridden all day. I've calmed them a bit and they've agreed to push themselves as far as they can. But I sincerely doubt we will make the Vale without stopping."</p><p></p><p>"As far as we can go then. We must get ourselves into the protection of the Dragonmage as soon as possible. Stopping here would be folly." the magess said as Erevan swung his horse around to face the cart again.</p><p></p><p>Fen nodded and relayed this, or something like it, to the horses before running around the back of the cart and jumping in with the satyr and halfling.</p><p></p><p>"Uh...Alaria..." Haelan said, pointing up the road from them, causing all of the party to follow the halfling priest's fearful gaze.</p><p></p><p>About fifty feet ahead of the party, a black "bump" formed in the middle of the road. The blackness grew to about the height of a man before the darkness receded to reveal a small dragon skull visor shrouding the top half of a grey bearded face. Cascading layers of black robes hung off of the slightly hunched form that held a gnarled staff of black wood in one hand.</p><p></p><p>While any details were difficult to see in the rising moonlight, all in the party could "hear" the smile on the figure's lips as it spoke.</p><p></p><p>"Greetings, Magess Alaria of Ablidon. It is so nice to finally make your acquaintance." said Tresahd.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="steeldragons, post: 5759043, member: 92511"] [b]An Unwelcome Meeting[/b] No sooner had the pixies scattered and disappeared then a breeze whipped up out of the west. It rustled through the most stubborn remaining leaves and bare branches of the wood they'd recently passed. The evening which had been quickly becoming more and more chilled as the sun finally gave up its final light took on a decided icy feeling. Alaria shivered despite her thick traveling robe and cloak. Several of the party members visibly jumped as a score of black birds took wing out of the woods. Alaria could not be sure what they were in the shifting light as the faltering twilight gave way to the partial silver moon. Ravens, Fen confirmed from the size and shape. "Quickly!" Alaria commanded. "Unyoke the ox. Fen, hitch your horse and mine to the cart. I will ride with Erevan. We must make more time. I fear Farthing Cross is not our destination." "What?!" Coerraine and Duor both questioned. Haelan looked confused as well. "What are we supposed to do with Mr. Oxybritches?" the daelvar asked. "Seriously?" Duor muttered under his beard with a roll of the eyes at the halfling. "I've had it up to my fairy-cursed nose with 'cutesy' for today." Fen, also questioning, but moving to do as Alaria said as the magess looked with great concern toward the woods to their west and south. "Erevan, be ready with your light spell." Alaria said again. Her tone taking on the commanding notes that they had become very accustomed to before becoming a "company of equals" in Bridgetower. The elf nodded ever so slightly. His bow was already knocked. He too, felt something uneasy in the wind and the pixies' sudden and seemingly alarmed departure. "Alaria, I think the long day's travel may be getting to you. We'll be to the town in a few moments." Coerraine offered as kindly as he could. He looked down upon the lit lanterns and flickering from behind windows below them in Farthing Cross. To call it a "town" was being more than generous, the paladin realized. The collection of buildings, no more than five or six structures, surrounded a large open square at the crossing of the road they had traveled all day and one that seemed to run west to east. Truth be told, the Redstar admitted to himself, if they did stop at the inn there, they were certainly not in an easily or well-defensible position. [I]"Arkanivis[/I]" was Alaria's response. She scanned the woods and almost immediately saw what she suspected the pixies meant by "dark ones". Long slender shapes curved and slithered their way among the trees, a few feet above the forest floor. Their shadowy length becoming visible as they passed through momentary moonbeam breaks in the darkness, only to utterly disappear in the thick shadows. Only her arcane detection spell allowed her to make out the violet glow of their serpentine forms as they passed through the trees' shadows and drew nearer. "Shadow snakes are coming. Two from what I can tell." Alaria blurted. At this, Coerraine immediately put himself between the cart and Duor (and Alaria) and the woods. An unheard prayer caused the golden light of the paladin's protective field to flare into view for a moment. Its circumference easily encompassed the whole cart and party members. Erevan, still astride his mount, sat just at the edge. The party had explained to Festus their previous encounter with the shade creatures and dove under the tarp covering the cart's load of trasure sacks and chests. He began rifling through them. Duor pulled his ethereal dagger from its scabbard and nocked his hand crossbow, anticipating Haelan's blessing of their weapons that would allow the band's mostly mundane blades and bolts to strike the creatures. Fen had gotten the ox unhitched and was hooking up his own horse as quickly as he could. Alaria dismounted in preparation for her horse to be haphazardly attached to the cart as well. Her hand slipped into the pouch holding the Ihs Repahl. She gripped her staff in the other, her knuckles turned white around the shaft for anyone who would have been able to see. "They are larger than the others we saw. Much longer! They're almost here. Make ready." the wizard apprised her companions. [I][I] [/I]"Deisa Faerantha, dicteus beneficia spiritos y tiem paras!"[/I] the holy words flew from Haelan's lips. The reassuring honey-colored glow flickered across the weapons of himself, Alaria, Duor and Erevan. Festus was still under the tarp, but it was presumed his weapon as well was enchanted due to proximity to Haelan. Fen's spear tip did not take the goddess' blessing, as usual. Coerraine's own spear blade already pulsed with the golden light of his Lord and God. The shadow snakes broked the edge of the trees making straight for the party. "Now, Erevan. Over the cart!" Alaria called. Without a questioning thought, Erevan threw his ball of magic light into the air, as Alaria had asked. With the burst of yellow white light, the two serpentine creatures became easily visible in the magical radiance. Each was easily about ten feet long and a solid two or three feet around. Their glowing red eyes became visible just before their darkness seemed to solidify and become visible to normal sight in the new light source. "Krikey! What happened to those four-foot jobbies?" called Haelan as the giant snakes became visible. "Bollux!" was Duor's exclamation of choice before going on to mention, "Gonna need more'n my green dagger fer these ones!" The creatures swooped straight for the cart only to be momentarily halted about twenty feet away by Coerraine holy field. [I] "Everx zaar!"[/I] Alaria conjured. The two bolts of blue-violet energy shot forth and struck one of the serpents. A foot or so section of its shadowy form seemed disrupted where the magic missles struck, losing cohesion before it quickly reformed, replaced the darkness, until it looked again like a whole undamaged solid blackness. The monster let out a defiant hiss. Its opened maw visible by the same unearthly red glow which showed the location of its eyes. The second creature, recovered from the initial shock of the Redstar Knight's protection, again dove for the cart. It pierced the field with visible golden sparks trailing along its length as it passed through and wove its way through the air straight for Alaria. Coerraine interceded with a decisive stab of his spear. The paladin was disappointed that these creatures, like their smaller species, did not register to his divine sight as "evil". But no matter, the young blond warrior thought, I know why they've come and who they were sent by. The Redstar's glowing spear sunk deeply into the creature's side, leaving a visible slice of red light as the creature coiled passed and hissed in pain. An arrow struck it from Erevan's bow. The bolt, one of the enchanted arrows collected from the kobolds' treasure room also struck the solid looking blackness and held there. The elf, satisfied with the strike, drew another of the limited few magic arrows in his quiver. The other shadow snake (which Alaria's spell had struck) also made its way into the protected area and made to float itself over the cart toward Alaria. At this time, Festus came bursting out from beneath the tarp, the enchanted short sword from the kobold's trove in one had and his falchion in the other. The short sword shimmered with a pale silver light of its own while his falchion glowed with the honey-colored light of Haelan's invocation. The satyr lept up to strike the passing snake with both weapons. The trailing slices of red light against the creature's shadow form were apparent and the snake, in total surprise and what they presumed to be pain, reared up higher into the air. It coiled around and hissed down at the ranger before making a dive straight for him. A telling blow from Haelan's mace and a slash of the ethereal green dagger whizzed out from Duor. Both struck, diverting the snake's attack. Duor's blade did not leave a red strike upon the creature but instead seemed to ignite the creature with its green "fire". Remarkably fast, the whole length of the shadow snake was writhing about in the air over the cart, entirely engulfed in the smoky green energy. An instant later, the creature simply dissipated in a cloud of green and shredding shadow. Its "death-throw" hissing echoed away as the strange ethereal energy faded from view. "Huh. Maybe we don't need more'n my dagger." Duor looked at the green glowing blade in satisfied surprise. The snake that had been injured by Coerraine also coiled about to face its attacker. In a blur of blackness, it coiled around the Redstar Knight's horse. Coerraine either dove or fell off from the assault, it was difficult to tell which as he landed in a symphony of clangs and grunts. The paladin regained its footing and readied his next strike in time to watch in horror, as did the rest of the party, as the horse shrieked, reared and kicked with the serpent around it. The horse's coat, mane and tail seemed to drain of all color. Its skin began to shrivel and cling to the skeleton beneath as it seemed the entire creature were being aged and desiccated before their eyes. The fearful shrieking and thrashing ended in a moment. The equine corpse fell over, most completely dead, as the serpent released its prey and wove its way back into the air. It looked down at Coerraine for a moment before twirling around and "slithering" through the air toward Alaria again. Fen, who had just completed his make-shift harnessing of the riding horses who balked and whinnied in fear, jabbed the slight green-glowing leaf-shaped blade of his spear into the air as the creature passed over him, diving down toward Alaria. The spear blade sank into the belly of the creature and continued to tear several feet of the snake's length as it continued its dive. The creature hissed in unexpected pain as its face drew closer and closer to the magess. Alaria thrust the silver tip of her staff before her, closing her eyes out of reflex as she did so. She opened them when no impact occured in time to see the creature writhe in the air before her to separate and shred into pieces of inky blackness that faded out of view not an arm's length before her staff. Erevan's two arrows which had been stuck in the snake fell harmlessly to the ground. All of the party stood for a moment in tense expectation. Waiting for the creatures to re-manifest. When they did not, Alaria ran over to Erevan's horse and with a helping arm from the elf, swung herself up onto the mount behind him. "Let's go. Hurry! We're not stopping at Farthing Cross. We make straight for the Vale." the wizardess commanded. Fear was evident in her voice. Coerraine jumped up into the cart seat. This shoved Duor uncomfortably to the side. The shifting dwarf, further, nearly sent Haelan flying off the cart on the other side. Without complaint, the daelvar's child-like face full of worry, jumped over into the back of the cart with Festus. "Let's go half-blood! Get outta the way!" the testy dwarf shouted at the druid. Fen was seemingly talking to the horses in soft tones. "Alaria," the druid eventually said, "the horses are exhausted. They've been ridden all day. I've calmed them a bit and they've agreed to push themselves as far as they can. But I sincerely doubt we will make the Vale without stopping." "As far as we can go then. We must get ourselves into the protection of the Dragonmage as soon as possible. Stopping here would be folly." the magess said as Erevan swung his horse around to face the cart again. Fen nodded and relayed this, or something like it, to the horses before running around the back of the cart and jumping in with the satyr and halfling. "Uh...Alaria..." Haelan said, pointing up the road from them, causing all of the party to follow the halfling priest's fearful gaze. About fifty feet ahead of the party, a black "bump" formed in the middle of the road. The blackness grew to about the height of a man before the darkness receded to reveal a small dragon skull visor shrouding the top half of a grey bearded face. Cascading layers of black robes hung off of the slightly hunched form that held a gnarled staff of black wood in one hand. While any details were difficult to see in the rising moonlight, all in the party could "hear" the smile on the figure's lips as it spoke. "Greetings, Magess Alaria of Ablidon. It is so nice to finally make your acquaintance." said Tresahd. [/QUOTE]
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