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Tales of the Legacy - Concluded
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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 2374210" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p>Okay, enough with the soap-opera romance crap, let's get on with the game! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>------------------------</p><p></p><p></p><p> Escorting the water wagon quickly became tedious.</p><p></p><p> After speaking with Jekar, the orcish commander in charge of the guard units, it was decided that the squads would be split evenly among the three wagons, one unit flanking each side. The party was assigned to guard the left flank of the last wagon. They marched along in relative silence; sound carried far in the open desert, and the orcs did not want to give their position away. Lanara, who had been hoping for a few loud orcish marching songs, sulked as she rode. Only Xu was able to occupy herself on the monotonous desert trek, poking at the occasional brush or overturning rocks with her long pole.</p><p></p><p> “What are you doing, Xu?” Lanara asked after watching the monk rattle the tenth sagebrush that morning.</p><p></p><p> “Looking for a scorpion,” she said.</p><p></p><p> “Why?”</p><p> “I wish to keep one,” she replied.</p><p></p><p> “Don’t you already have a snake?”</p><p></p><p> “Yes.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara sighed. “Okay, Xu.”</p><p></p><p> Noon came, and the wagon train stopped. The wagon itself was large enough that the troops and the party could rest in the shade underneath. A large canopy was unpacked and mounted on poles to give some shade for the horses. Waiting through the intense heat of mid-day was uneventful, save for the return of the celestial hawk that Autumn had summoned that morning. She learned from it that the enemy was camped a few miles ahead; Keth had chosen his course of travel wisely. This information was passed to Jekar, who said he would send a rider ahead to inform Keth as soon as they began moving again.</p><p></p><p> “What will happen then?” Kavan asked Lanara, after she returned from her conversation with Jekar.</p><p></p><p> “Hopefully we can get close to Orth’s forces without them knowing,” she said. During the march the party had finally learned the name of Keth’s brother – one of the squad captains commented that Keth so despised Orth that he almost never used his name. “Then it’s apparently rush in with everything they’ve got. Jekar guesses that the battle will take place near sunset. We’ll still remain behind with the water, in case Orth has a vanguard or sentries. So, if we’re sneaking up, I guess that means no singing.”</p><p></p><p> Autumn nodded. “Kyle, that includes you.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle looked confused and a little hurt by the comment. Osborn seemed confused as well. “Yeah, since he sings… so much.”</p><p></p><p> “And so well,” Tolly said dryly.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, I’ve known Kyle to sing a couple of times,” Lanara said. “Usually after a couple of drinks. We could arrange that, later on, if you want. But otherwise I’d agree – keep your mouth shut, Kyle.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle pressed his lips together and returned to studying his spellbook.</p><p></p><p> The midday break ended slightly sooner than the party expected, though they had to admit that a race that was born and raised in the desert probably had a higher tolerance for the heat than they did. A messenger was dispatched to Keth with Autumn’s information, and about an hour later the order came back to have the reserve forces begin moving forward. Later in the afternoon, the party got word that Keth’s scouts were reporting that Orth’s tribe was setting up camp for the evening, and so an attack was almost certain. The water wagons were soon left far behind as Keth’s forces began the push forward. The train turned away from following the main army, shifting their course slightly west as they apparently made for a pre-arranged rendezvous point away from the potential battlefield.</p><p></p><p> Just as the fiery disk of Karakor began to touch the tops of the tallest dunes in the distance, the wagon train dipped down between two large dunes. Jekar had said that they hoped to keep the water wagons out of sight in case Orth had any sentries about – not only to protect the water itself, but to keep Orth from finding out how close Keth was. As the wagons creaked along, Osborn glanced around at the walls of sand on either side. Then something odd caught his eye; something about the sand didn’t seem right for some reason. His nose began to itch.</p><p></p><p> “Hey, Tolly,” he said quietly to the priest standing next to him. “Look at that sand over there.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly glanced over. “It’s… sand, Osborn.”</p><p></p><p> “It doesn’t look right,” Osborn said. “I think someone’s under there.”</p><p></p><p> Suddenly a horn blasted out three sharp, high notes. The sand around the wagons erupted as several men came out of holes dug in the sand and covered with canvas. Men and horses sprung to their feet and began to move down the slopes of the dune. By far the larger force was on the right flank, consisting mostly of cavalry. Only Osborn had the presence of mind to act, throwing a dagger at an unarmored fire-touched man with a pair of wands on his belt. The dagger bounced off an invisible barrier surrounding him. High up on the dune, an man with a longbow and a chain shirt – a human, or possibly an orc-touched – fired on the party, sending a shaft into Kyle’s shoulder but missing Arrie and bouncing a third arrow off Autumn’s armor. A wolf stood next to the archer, watchful but still. Three large orcs with greataxes began charging down the hill, their eyes rolling back in their heads. The one in the center wore a suit of chainmail, while the others wore studded leather. Just behind them was a pair of creatures that were obviously devils. They both had long, nasty beards, and one wielded a wicked-looking glaive. Though the party had been assigned to the left flank, it was obvious the squad on the right would need reinforcements. Lanara, Xu, and Kavan moved to help them, while the others braced for attack, leaping off their horses and bracing for the charge.</p><p></p><p> The orc in the center reached the wagon first, seeming to glide down the sand dune as if it were smooth glass, sand spraying out behind him in a funnel. He laid into Arrie with his greataxe; as it bit deeply into her hip, she saw that it wasn’t made of a dark metal as she’d first thought, but some sort of black crystal. She whipped out with her spiked chain in retaliation, ripping into the orc’s shoulder.</p><p></p><p> One of the other orcish berserkers ran straight for the horses hitched to the wagon, hacking into one and sending it to the ground screaming. The other began to make for the rear of the wagon. The devils split up and began to make their way down the hill, though they were much slower, their progress through the sand as slow as any native.</p><p></p><p> The fire-touched pointed at Osborn and muttered, and a loud noise blasted out around the hin’s head, causing his ears to bleed. The roar of battle faded to a high-pitched whine. Osborn bared his teeth as he weaved and dodged in the sand, hurling more daggers at the offensive sorcerer.</p><p></p><p> Tolly finally managed to bark out the words to a spell, and the ground surrounding the wagon erupted in a field of sharp spikes. However, the loose sand did not hold an edge well, and the spell did not tear into the charging attackers as much as it might. One of the devils ignored the spikes completely, the points dissolving back into sand as it stepped through. Tolly left a narrow corridor through the spike field directly in front of Autumn, knowing she would want to engage the devils as quickly as possible. However, it was Kyle who took advantage of the corridor, maneuvering forward to get a proper angle for his spell. Opening his mouth wide, a blast of sound erupted forth, distorting the air in front of him. The blast caught one of the orcs and the glaive-wielding devil; though the spell’s energies seemed to flow around the devil harmlessly like a river around a stone, the blast caught the orc full on, and blood erupted from its ears, eyes, and nose. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make the orc mad, and he charged at Kyle. Kyle tried to backpedal, but was unable to give his feet purchase against the sand. The orc’s greataxe rose, glinting red in the late sun, and then fell. Kyle crumpled to the ground, a horrific gash in his ribcage. At the same time, a fireball from the sorcerer blasted into the battle line. Only Tolly was caught by the spell, and his armor protected him from the worst of the flames.</p><p></p><p> Autumn took a moment to bless her sword, filling it with holy power, before moving forward. She came up on Kyle just as he was cut down by the orc barbarian, and his blood splattered on her armor. She turned to engage the barbarian, but glanced over and saw Tolly running up, smoke from the fireball still trailing off his armor, the familiar glow of a healing spell on his hand. Then she noticed that the two devils had vanished, reappearing a second later behind them. One appeared next to Arrie, while the one with the glaive had appeared in the open close to Osborn. Autumn turned on her heels and went after the unoccupied devil.</p><p></p><p> Arrie, now confronted by two powerful opponents, shifted to a more defensive stance, whirling her chain in front of her to ward off blows from the orc’s crystal axe and the devil’s claws. The battle turned into a three-way stalemate, with no one able to land an effective blow. Osborn began to back away from the devil that had teleported close by, but then saw Autumn bearing down on it and returned his attention to the sorcerer. But his aim was hampered by the rain of arrows that suddenly descended on him from the archer on the hill. But Osborn was well-trained in the use of his throwing daggers, and decided that when pinpoint accuracy wasn’t an option, the best compensation was sheer quantity. Thus the sorcerer was rather surprised when a half-dozen daggers came flying at him, many passing through his magical force armor and sticking into his flesh. In response the sorcerer summoned a wave of force that pushed Osborn back, in the hopes of getting the hin out of range.</p><p></p><p> The devil grinned as the armored female charged, and he grinned as he raised his glaive and ran the saw-toothed blade under her shoulder plate, drawing blood. But then she closed and swung her own blade, and the devil howled in pain as the blessed weapon bit hard into his infernal flesh. Not expecting this, the devil began to back away, fending off the persistent warrior with his glaive. Autumn pressed her attack, ignoring the pain of the wound in her shoulder to hack into the devil again, calling upon the holy power of her order to ignite her blade with even more holy energy that burned at the devil’s flesh and muscles.</p><p></p><p> Kavan, Lanara, and Xu had moved off far to the right flank, engaging a cluster of four mounted orcs that was trying to circle around to the rear of the wagon. Lanara used her whip to catch and pull the riders off their horses, where they were quickly dispatched by Xu’s fists and Kavan’s sword.</p><p></p><p> Tolly knelt down quickly and touched Kyle, healing his wounds. At the same time he dropped the field of spike stones, seeing that most of their opponents had already crossed them, and they served no further purpose. The barbarian that had felled Kyle ran up and buried his axe in Tolly’s back, biting deep but not felling the priest. In response, Tolly backed away and cast another spell, calling upon Ardara to fill his foe with the unmoving essence of the earth. The barbarian froze in place, axe raised over his head. Kyle quickly crawled away and stood up next to the wagon, gathering his wits and his bearings. The enemy was pressed close around them, most of them engaged in battle with his friends. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to get in the way again, and then targeted the archer on the hill with an <em>acid arrow</em>, hoping to discourage him from firing at them.</p><p></p><p> The orc barbarian that had been cutting down the horses leapt up onto the wagon to attack the driver, who had been throwing javelins at the attackers on the right flank. The two orcs grappled with each other as the combat boiled around them. The sorcerer launched beams of fire laced with foul, black energy at Tolly and Osborn, missing the hin but striking Tolly in the chest. Tired of the sorcerer’s spells but now out of throwing daggers, Osborn charged in and engaged the fire-touched in melee, burying a dagger into his groin and twisting, sending the fire-touched down in a most unpleasant manner. Tolly was forced to pull back and heal the wounds he’d sustained, while the archer on the hill turned his attention to Autumn, though he was still unable to penetrate her plate armor. Kyle took advantage of an opening in the battle between Autumn and the devil, firing a beam of negative energy at the outsider as it backed up to try and bring its glaive to bear. The devil reeled as its life force was drained away, and its guard dropped just enough for Autumn to take its head off with her sword. The devil melted away into a cloud of smoke and flame.</p><p></p><p> With the sorcerer dispatched, Osborn moved around behind the held orc, and began jamming a dagger dripping with poison into his kidneys to dispatch it before the spell wore off. There was a thud as the barbarian was thrown roughly out of the wagon, his chest pierced by a half-dozen javelins. Autumn rushed in to attack the second devil on Arrie, while Kyle launched <em>magic missiles</em> from a wand at the orc with the crystal battleaxe. With some of the pressure on Arrie lifted thanks to her sister’s help, the exotic warrior began to press her attack on the barbarian. The orc, seeing that their ambush was beginning to stall, quickly rolled out of range of the spiked chain and came up next to the water wagon, burying his axe into the side of the huge barrel. Water sprayed out onto the sand, and the barbarian began to laugh. But Tolly had been prepared for just such an emergency, and with a magical word and gesture of his holy symbol, the gash in the side closed up. The orc’s laugh cut short.</p><p></p><p> The archer, still suffering from the burning acid from Kyle’s spell, put an arrow into Tolly. The cleric toppled, finally overcome by the battering he’d received throughout the battle. The archer then decided to withdraw, disappearing over the edge of the dune and denying the party their vengeance. Kyle, who had been ready to pepper the archer with more <em>magic missiles</em>, instead put the wand away and pointed at the orc with the crystal axe, blasting him with another ray of negative energy. This time, Kyle enhanced the spell’s power using the magical rod he carried, and it slammed into the barbarian. The barbarian screamed in pain and rage, and then dropped lifelessly to the ground.</p><p></p><p> Autumn stepped up to the second devil, her steely gaze locked on its black eyes. It leered at her, then leapt with claws extended. Autumn almost casually swung her blade as it advanced, and a moment later the devil vanished in a puff of sulfurous smoke. With the last enemy vanquished, Arrie immediately ran up to the unconscious Tolly and poured a healing potion down his throat. He coughed and sputtered as his senses returned. Looking around, he saw Autumn standing nearby, looking quite pale as an unusual quantity of blood poured from the wounds she’d received from the devil’s glaive. Tolly began to rise to heal her, but the world spun around him.</p><p></p><p> “Easy there,” said Arrie. “Better take care of you first.” She offered another potion, but Tolly frowned and waved it off, casting his own healing spell. When he felt his vitality return, he stood and did the same for Autumn. It took a bit more concentration than he expected, as if the wounds were somehow fighting Ardara’s power, but his will prevailed and the gashes sealed themselves.</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile the rest of the party had gone about examining the damage. They guessed that Tolly’s quick reactions in repairing the barrel meant that only a few gallons had been lost. Two of the horses had been killed, but Lanara, Xu and Kavan had managed to bring down their opponents without injuring their horses, so the losses were easily replaced. Xu and Arrie went off to dispatch any of Orth’s tribe that were wounded, while Autumn stood guard over the wagons. Osborn and Kavan busied themselves stripping the corpses and picking out the magical items. Tolly had started examining the crystal axe carried by the barbarian, studying it carefully. It was made of a type of crystal he’d never seen before, though it seemed in all respects as strong as steel. Some of its properties reminded him of some of the more exotic metals, like mithral and adamantium, though if this black stone had any special properties, they were beyond his ability to discern.</p><p></p><p> “Kyle,” Tolly called out, “do you see an aura of magic on this axe?”</p><p></p><p> Kyle, who was sitting on the sand next to the wagon wheel, looked up. “Let me come take a look.” He rose and walked slowly over to Tolly, leaning on his staff due to the pain from the terrible chest wound he was still suffering from. As he drew close, however, the staff began to vibrate and emit what sounded like an angry hum. A faint blue glow illuminated the runes that snaked up the bottom half of the staff. Kyle stopped in his tracks, feeling the staff vibrating in his hand. “What the…?” </p><p></p><p> Arrie, who had returned by this time, noted the flummoxed look on Kyle’s face. “Are you having a problem with that, Kyle?” she asked, doing a poor job of hiding her smile.</p><p></p><p> “It’s… angry,” he said slowly. He waved the crystal sphere atop the staff at the axe, noting that the vibration increased as he did so. “It’s angry at that axe.”</p><p></p><p> The others had started to gather around. “I wonder,” Osborn said, “this axe is causing your staff to react. The last time I saw it do anything strange was around Xerxes. Maybe your staff is capable of detecting pre-Cataclysmic weirdness.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle looked at his staff for a while, then at the axe. “Maybe,” he said slowly. “but looking at the axe with my aura sight, I don’t see any magical fields on it. So I don’t know why…”</p><p></p><p>As he talked, Kyle had relaxed his grip on his staff and let it drop slightly, bringing the crystal sphere in front of his face. When he glanced through it at the crystal greataxe, he stopped and nearly dropped his staff in surprise.</p><p></p><p>“What’s the matter?” Tolly asked.</p><p></p><p>“The axe. When I look at it through here, I can see an aura around it.”</p><p></p><p>“A magical aura?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes… no. I mean, it looks the same as magic, but the color’s wrong.”</p><p></p><p>“The color?” Osborn asked.</p><p></p><p>“When made visible by the proper divinations, arcane magic gives of an aura in shades of blue, and divine power in shades of yellow,” Tolly explained to him. “One can then discern more by studying the intensity and variations in the hue.”</p><p></p><p>“This axe is showing a green aura,” Kyle said, staring at the weapon through his crystal. He swept the staff around and glanced at the spoils the group had claimed, then pointed at the boots that were once worn by the same orc that carried the crystal axe. “Those boots are showing up as green, too.”</p><p></p><p>“So, that’s easy,” said Osborn. “Yellow and blue make green.”</p><p></p><p>Kyle shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. If this were simply a combination of divine and arcane magic, you’d see both colors distinctly. And besides, I should be able to see the aura without this,” he held out the staff. “No, I think this is that pre-Cataclysm power we’ve been talking about. It’s like magic, but different. I can’t really explain it. See, look.” Kyle held out the sphere so that it was between Osborn and the crystal axe. The hin peered through it, then shook his head. “Looks like an axe to me,” he said. “I don’t see any green stuff, or any other color.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, well, maybe you have to be able to use magic,” Kyle said. “Tolly, you try.”</p><p></p><p>Tolly looked through the crystal, and shook his head. “I see nothing unusual.”</p><p></p><p>“Really? Hey, Kavan, you have a <em>detect magic</em> spell prepared, right? Try using it and looking though my staff at the axe.”</p><p></p><p>The elven cleric complied with Kyle’s request, but his answer was no different. “I know my spell worked, because I can see the magical auras on other items, but that axe looks quite mundane to me.”</p><p></p><p>Kyle spent a few moments looking through the crystal, then pulling it away, then putting it back in front of his face. By this time Osborn, Xu, and Lanara lost interest and went back to sorting through loot.</p><p></p><p>“So Kyle,” Autumn asked, “how come your staff is being weird?” She glanced through the crystal, not really expecting to see anything but curious all the same.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll bet they have ointments for that,” Arrie said, biting her lip to keep from giggling. Tolly just shook his head at the warrior’s lack of restraint.</p><p></p><p>“I honestly don’t know,” Kyle said, shaking his head. “I mean, when I took this staff as my reward from Herion, it was just because I liked it. I mean, I’d been looking for a staff for a while, but I’d expected just to get a plain old stick of wood. But when I saw this one it just seemed… right to me. Heck, when I chose it, the Master of the Vaults tried to talk me out of it, just because as far as he knew it didn’t do anything. Told me that I should choose something more in line with what the rest of you all got. Guess he didn’t want me coming back to him thinking I’d been cheated. I almost let him talk me into it, but then I guess… well… I just didn’t want to, for some reason.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, it seems that in your hands, it is more than they suspected,” Tolly suggested.</p><p></p><p>“Or, he got clocked in the head harder than we thought,” Arrie chimed in.</p><p></p><p>“If you don’t mind,” Kyle said, ignoring Arrie’s jibes, “I’d like to spend some time examining that axe and those boots. Maybe I can figure out more about them, and about my staff, too.”</p><p></p><p>“Hey,” said Osborn, holding up two wands, one made of bone and the other of fire-blackened iron, “we have other stuff you need to look at, too.”</p><p></p><p>“Sure, sure,” he said, not really paying attention, “put it all together and I’ll get to it later.”</p><p></p><p>The party cut their discussion short as Jekar rode up and told them that they were taking the wagons to a safe location near the battle site. They rode for another hour before making camp. As they set up their tents, they were able to see the fight in the distance. The glowing forms of summoned fire elementals darted about, and summoned devils clashed on both sides of the conflict. The wagon teams fortified their positions as best they could, then waited.</p><p></p><p>About an hour later, Keth’s army returned from the battle, to the cheers and shouts of their companions. Kyle spent most of the night sitting by himself, studying the crystal axe and occasionally writing notes down on a piece of parchment. Eventually he put everything away, but strangely did not rejoin his friends. He sat quietly by himself, eyes closed as if deep in thought. He didn’t even get food when offered, and barely acknowledged anyone speaking to him. Even Kavan, who went over to finally finish healing his wounds, barely got more than five words out of him.</p><p></p><p>The others mostly went about their routines, though they were somewhat on guard due to being so close to the enemy. Arrie tried to volunteer to help chase down enemy stragglers, but when she was denied she occupied herself by helping with the wounded. Xu occupied herself by sparring with those orcish soldiers who hadn’t yet had their fill of battle, and talking with them about orcish philosophy. Osborn also mingled with the orcs, trying to trade more of his bacon for gemstones, and asking about their clan and their lifestyle. Autumn spoke for a while with Tolly while sharpening her sword.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you,” she said.</p><p></p><p>“For what?”</p><p></p><p>“For thinking of me, during the ambush. When you left that path open through your spell.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, well,” he said, blushing. “It was nothing, really.”</p><p></p><p>“No, I appreciate that you pay attention to things like that,” she said, placing her hand on his knee. “Not everyone would.”</p><p></p><p>Just then, the sand next to them began to shift and swirl, and a dog’s head poked out of the ground. “Good evening, Tolly Mulholland,” it said, looking at them. “Am I interrupting anything?”</p><p></p><p>“Not at all,” Tolly said, as Autumn pulled her hand away. “Do you have news?”</p><p></p><p>“I do,” the archon said, “though we should not discuss it here. Meet me alone beyond that dune to the northeast.” The dog’s head disappeared under the sand.</p><p></p><p>Tolly stood up and looked at Autumn regretfully. “I should go,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“Of course. I hope he has useful information for you.”</p><p></p><p>Tolly glanced across their area of the camp, to where Kyle was sitting, waving his fingers slowly in the air as a tiny mote of multi-colored light danced in the air. “Perhaps you should go try and talk to him. He is acting strangely.”</p><p></p><p>“Probably just the effects of that wound he took when he stepped in front of a raging barbarian,” she said.</p><p></p><p>Tolly shook his head. “Kavan healed him. It’s something else.”</p><p></p><p>“So have Lanara talk to him.”</p><p></p><p>“She was summoned by an aide-de-camp to debrief with Keth.”</p><p></p><p>“Xu?”</p><p></p><p>Tolly looked down at her. “I think you know as well as I do that conversation is not among Xu’s many talents.”</p><p></p><p>Autumn looked annoyed, but nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go see if he’ll talk.” She rose and began to walk toward Kyle as Tolly left.</p><p></p><p>It was a bit difficult for Tolly to find his way once he left the camp and the meager amount of light it provided, as a high cloud of dust and sand had partially obscured the moonlight, but after a few minutes he found the archon standing patiently at the bottom of the dune.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you for seeking out what I have asked, Archon.”</p><p></p><p>“You may call me Alexriel,” the archon said. “And you may thank me by completing the weapon you promised me as soon as possible. When it is complete, simply mention my name in your morning communion with our Goddess, and I will come.”</p><p></p><p>“Of course. Now, what have you learned?”</p><p></p><p> “The orc called Orth has his standard cadre of followers; barbarian bodyguards, a cleric of Grabakh, and so forth. Same for many of the troops. However, as I watched the battle from afar, I noticed several abominations. The pre-Cataclysmic force once called ‘psionics’ was at work on Orth's side. Indeed, two of his very retainers seem to employ it.” Alexriel continued to outline specifics, such as tactics used in combat, and obvious displays of psionic power, not really seeming to notice or care about Tolly's widening eyes.</p><p></p><p> “Fear not, though, sweet Tolly. I will be with you in this fight.”</p><p></p><p> “Huh?”</p><p></p><p> “The One, the Four, and the Many have always directed their servants to root out and destroy this abomination whenever and wherever it is found.” A frown seems to cross the dog’s face. “Though the fact that Grabakh’s followers seem to sanction these beings bodes ill. Perhaps they have been duped…but perhaps not.” </p><p></p><p> “Either way, Alexriel, your help is greatly appreciated. I just don’t know how we’re going to get to Orth and his followers.”</p><p></p><p> “I do.”</p><p></p><p>Tolly mentally grumbled; he wasn’t used to being perplexed by dogs this often, not even Rupert. “Really? How?”</p><p></p><p>“Patience, Tolly Mullholland. The answer will come shortly. For now, let us return to your comrades. I believe I should get to know them a bit better.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p>Shortly after Tolly returned, Lanara rode back to the party, and asked a nearby orc-touched soldier to go find Arrie, who was still out in other parts of the camp. Xu and Osborn were sitting in the sand nearby, working out the details on a trap to catch some of the desert mice that scurried about the dunes. Xu needed food for her snake, and though she usually caught small rodents, toads, and lizards herself as part of her training, in the desert such creatures were far and few between. Whatever conversation had taken place between Autumn and Kyle had ended long before, and Autumn now sat with Kavan, while Kyle seemed as though he hadn’t moved. When the entire party was finally gathered, Lanara ushered them inside one of their tents.</p><p></p><p>“Okay, guys,” she said, taking a deep breath, “here’s the situation...”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p> “You want us to do WHAT?!”</p><p></p><p> Keth frowned at the cansin. “Assassinate my brother. It’s tactically sound, will save the lives of my men, as well as those of possible future tribesmates, and is well within the capabilities of you and your group.”</p><p></p><p> “But…”</p><p></p><p> “As well, my men reported to me how you took down that strange warrior with his crystal axe that did not break. You seem to have experience in combating these strange magics that my brother’s men wield; it is most likely that he would keep the strongest source of that close to himself.”</p><p></p><p> “But…”</p><p></p><p> “Orth is not like me; he leads from behind, not from the front. None of any of my warriors, clerics, or sorcerers can accomplish this. Only you.”</p><p></p><p> “But…” Lanara trailed off one final time, and looked around the table. Two dozen eyes stared back at her, out of thirteen different faces. She could see, reflected in those eyes, just how much it cost these orcs to admit to the fact that there was something that they weren’t strong enough to do; and not only that, but that outsiders were stronger than they. Lanara came to a decision, and nodded firmly at Keth.</p><p></p><p> “We can do it…but we’ll need some help. There’s things that some of us just aren’t good at, and sneaking around in a big tin can is one of them.”</p><p></p><p> Gell, the Sorcerer-Captain spoke up. “My people can help with that, warchief. We can at least make them invisible, though they’ll likely have to carry their armor to whatever location they choose, and don it there. Less noise over the sand.” Many other heads nodded in agreement, and the captains murmured to each other. </p><p></p><p> Keth raised a hand, and the room fell silent. “Excellent. Here is what you shall do, then…”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p> “So, let me get this straight,” said Arrie. “We’re gonna be invisible, sneak around behind Orth’s army, wait for the battle tomorrow, and when everyone commits their reserves, we run up and kill him?”</p><p></p><p> “That’s the plan,” Lanara confirmed. </p><p></p><p> “Sweet!” Arrie exclaimed, launching a fist into the air. She stood exultant for a moment, then looked around at the faces of her companions. “What? What’d I say?”</p><p></p><p> “This is going to be harder than usual, Arrie. Kavan won’t be with us.”</p><p></p><p> The elven cleric tried very hard not to pout. Nature won out over willpower. “I won’t? Why not?”</p><p></p><p> “Keth’s healers are just too overworked, right now. Tolly’s far more of a front-liner, says Keth, but you, well…frankly, the orcs think you’re just too breakable.” </p><p></p><p> Kavan started to open his mouth, when Xu, surprisingly, spoke up. “Remember, Kavan, we did agree to a stint in the army. He is the leader. His orders must be followed, for the best of all who follow him.”</p><p></p><p> Kavan blinked at Xu, then sighed. “Well…I guess I’m not surprised that followers of gods of fire, murder, and vengeance are a little light on healers. I should go rest.” </p><p></p><p> The group nodded to Kavan, and wished the elf well, before they bent their heads and began to plan their tactics for the next day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 2374210, member: 5203"] Okay, enough with the soap-opera romance crap, let's get on with the game! ;) ------------------------ Escorting the water wagon quickly became tedious. After speaking with Jekar, the orcish commander in charge of the guard units, it was decided that the squads would be split evenly among the three wagons, one unit flanking each side. The party was assigned to guard the left flank of the last wagon. They marched along in relative silence; sound carried far in the open desert, and the orcs did not want to give their position away. Lanara, who had been hoping for a few loud orcish marching songs, sulked as she rode. Only Xu was able to occupy herself on the monotonous desert trek, poking at the occasional brush or overturning rocks with her long pole. “What are you doing, Xu?” Lanara asked after watching the monk rattle the tenth sagebrush that morning. “Looking for a scorpion,” she said. “Why?” “I wish to keep one,” she replied. “Don’t you already have a snake?” “Yes.” Lanara sighed. “Okay, Xu.” Noon came, and the wagon train stopped. The wagon itself was large enough that the troops and the party could rest in the shade underneath. A large canopy was unpacked and mounted on poles to give some shade for the horses. Waiting through the intense heat of mid-day was uneventful, save for the return of the celestial hawk that Autumn had summoned that morning. She learned from it that the enemy was camped a few miles ahead; Keth had chosen his course of travel wisely. This information was passed to Jekar, who said he would send a rider ahead to inform Keth as soon as they began moving again. “What will happen then?” Kavan asked Lanara, after she returned from her conversation with Jekar. “Hopefully we can get close to Orth’s forces without them knowing,” she said. During the march the party had finally learned the name of Keth’s brother – one of the squad captains commented that Keth so despised Orth that he almost never used his name. “Then it’s apparently rush in with everything they’ve got. Jekar guesses that the battle will take place near sunset. We’ll still remain behind with the water, in case Orth has a vanguard or sentries. So, if we’re sneaking up, I guess that means no singing.” Autumn nodded. “Kyle, that includes you.” Kyle looked confused and a little hurt by the comment. Osborn seemed confused as well. “Yeah, since he sings… so much.” “And so well,” Tolly said dryly. “Oh, I’ve known Kyle to sing a couple of times,” Lanara said. “Usually after a couple of drinks. We could arrange that, later on, if you want. But otherwise I’d agree – keep your mouth shut, Kyle.” Kyle pressed his lips together and returned to studying his spellbook. The midday break ended slightly sooner than the party expected, though they had to admit that a race that was born and raised in the desert probably had a higher tolerance for the heat than they did. A messenger was dispatched to Keth with Autumn’s information, and about an hour later the order came back to have the reserve forces begin moving forward. Later in the afternoon, the party got word that Keth’s scouts were reporting that Orth’s tribe was setting up camp for the evening, and so an attack was almost certain. The water wagons were soon left far behind as Keth’s forces began the push forward. The train turned away from following the main army, shifting their course slightly west as they apparently made for a pre-arranged rendezvous point away from the potential battlefield. Just as the fiery disk of Karakor began to touch the tops of the tallest dunes in the distance, the wagon train dipped down between two large dunes. Jekar had said that they hoped to keep the water wagons out of sight in case Orth had any sentries about – not only to protect the water itself, but to keep Orth from finding out how close Keth was. As the wagons creaked along, Osborn glanced around at the walls of sand on either side. Then something odd caught his eye; something about the sand didn’t seem right for some reason. His nose began to itch. “Hey, Tolly,” he said quietly to the priest standing next to him. “Look at that sand over there.” Tolly glanced over. “It’s… sand, Osborn.” “It doesn’t look right,” Osborn said. “I think someone’s under there.” Suddenly a horn blasted out three sharp, high notes. The sand around the wagons erupted as several men came out of holes dug in the sand and covered with canvas. Men and horses sprung to their feet and began to move down the slopes of the dune. By far the larger force was on the right flank, consisting mostly of cavalry. Only Osborn had the presence of mind to act, throwing a dagger at an unarmored fire-touched man with a pair of wands on his belt. The dagger bounced off an invisible barrier surrounding him. High up on the dune, an man with a longbow and a chain shirt – a human, or possibly an orc-touched – fired on the party, sending a shaft into Kyle’s shoulder but missing Arrie and bouncing a third arrow off Autumn’s armor. A wolf stood next to the archer, watchful but still. Three large orcs with greataxes began charging down the hill, their eyes rolling back in their heads. The one in the center wore a suit of chainmail, while the others wore studded leather. Just behind them was a pair of creatures that were obviously devils. They both had long, nasty beards, and one wielded a wicked-looking glaive. Though the party had been assigned to the left flank, it was obvious the squad on the right would need reinforcements. Lanara, Xu, and Kavan moved to help them, while the others braced for attack, leaping off their horses and bracing for the charge. The orc in the center reached the wagon first, seeming to glide down the sand dune as if it were smooth glass, sand spraying out behind him in a funnel. He laid into Arrie with his greataxe; as it bit deeply into her hip, she saw that it wasn’t made of a dark metal as she’d first thought, but some sort of black crystal. She whipped out with her spiked chain in retaliation, ripping into the orc’s shoulder. One of the other orcish berserkers ran straight for the horses hitched to the wagon, hacking into one and sending it to the ground screaming. The other began to make for the rear of the wagon. The devils split up and began to make their way down the hill, though they were much slower, their progress through the sand as slow as any native. The fire-touched pointed at Osborn and muttered, and a loud noise blasted out around the hin’s head, causing his ears to bleed. The roar of battle faded to a high-pitched whine. Osborn bared his teeth as he weaved and dodged in the sand, hurling more daggers at the offensive sorcerer. Tolly finally managed to bark out the words to a spell, and the ground surrounding the wagon erupted in a field of sharp spikes. However, the loose sand did not hold an edge well, and the spell did not tear into the charging attackers as much as it might. One of the devils ignored the spikes completely, the points dissolving back into sand as it stepped through. Tolly left a narrow corridor through the spike field directly in front of Autumn, knowing she would want to engage the devils as quickly as possible. However, it was Kyle who took advantage of the corridor, maneuvering forward to get a proper angle for his spell. Opening his mouth wide, a blast of sound erupted forth, distorting the air in front of him. The blast caught one of the orcs and the glaive-wielding devil; though the spell’s energies seemed to flow around the devil harmlessly like a river around a stone, the blast caught the orc full on, and blood erupted from its ears, eyes, and nose. Unfortunately, this only seemed to make the orc mad, and he charged at Kyle. Kyle tried to backpedal, but was unable to give his feet purchase against the sand. The orc’s greataxe rose, glinting red in the late sun, and then fell. Kyle crumpled to the ground, a horrific gash in his ribcage. At the same time, a fireball from the sorcerer blasted into the battle line. Only Tolly was caught by the spell, and his armor protected him from the worst of the flames. Autumn took a moment to bless her sword, filling it with holy power, before moving forward. She came up on Kyle just as he was cut down by the orc barbarian, and his blood splattered on her armor. She turned to engage the barbarian, but glanced over and saw Tolly running up, smoke from the fireball still trailing off his armor, the familiar glow of a healing spell on his hand. Then she noticed that the two devils had vanished, reappearing a second later behind them. One appeared next to Arrie, while the one with the glaive had appeared in the open close to Osborn. Autumn turned on her heels and went after the unoccupied devil. Arrie, now confronted by two powerful opponents, shifted to a more defensive stance, whirling her chain in front of her to ward off blows from the orc’s crystal axe and the devil’s claws. The battle turned into a three-way stalemate, with no one able to land an effective blow. Osborn began to back away from the devil that had teleported close by, but then saw Autumn bearing down on it and returned his attention to the sorcerer. But his aim was hampered by the rain of arrows that suddenly descended on him from the archer on the hill. But Osborn was well-trained in the use of his throwing daggers, and decided that when pinpoint accuracy wasn’t an option, the best compensation was sheer quantity. Thus the sorcerer was rather surprised when a half-dozen daggers came flying at him, many passing through his magical force armor and sticking into his flesh. In response the sorcerer summoned a wave of force that pushed Osborn back, in the hopes of getting the hin out of range. The devil grinned as the armored female charged, and he grinned as he raised his glaive and ran the saw-toothed blade under her shoulder plate, drawing blood. But then she closed and swung her own blade, and the devil howled in pain as the blessed weapon bit hard into his infernal flesh. Not expecting this, the devil began to back away, fending off the persistent warrior with his glaive. Autumn pressed her attack, ignoring the pain of the wound in her shoulder to hack into the devil again, calling upon the holy power of her order to ignite her blade with even more holy energy that burned at the devil’s flesh and muscles. Kavan, Lanara, and Xu had moved off far to the right flank, engaging a cluster of four mounted orcs that was trying to circle around to the rear of the wagon. Lanara used her whip to catch and pull the riders off their horses, where they were quickly dispatched by Xu’s fists and Kavan’s sword. Tolly knelt down quickly and touched Kyle, healing his wounds. At the same time he dropped the field of spike stones, seeing that most of their opponents had already crossed them, and they served no further purpose. The barbarian that had felled Kyle ran up and buried his axe in Tolly’s back, biting deep but not felling the priest. In response, Tolly backed away and cast another spell, calling upon Ardara to fill his foe with the unmoving essence of the earth. The barbarian froze in place, axe raised over his head. Kyle quickly crawled away and stood up next to the wagon, gathering his wits and his bearings. The enemy was pressed close around them, most of them engaged in battle with his friends. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to get in the way again, and then targeted the archer on the hill with an [I]acid arrow[/I], hoping to discourage him from firing at them. The orc barbarian that had been cutting down the horses leapt up onto the wagon to attack the driver, who had been throwing javelins at the attackers on the right flank. The two orcs grappled with each other as the combat boiled around them. The sorcerer launched beams of fire laced with foul, black energy at Tolly and Osborn, missing the hin but striking Tolly in the chest. Tired of the sorcerer’s spells but now out of throwing daggers, Osborn charged in and engaged the fire-touched in melee, burying a dagger into his groin and twisting, sending the fire-touched down in a most unpleasant manner. Tolly was forced to pull back and heal the wounds he’d sustained, while the archer on the hill turned his attention to Autumn, though he was still unable to penetrate her plate armor. Kyle took advantage of an opening in the battle between Autumn and the devil, firing a beam of negative energy at the outsider as it backed up to try and bring its glaive to bear. The devil reeled as its life force was drained away, and its guard dropped just enough for Autumn to take its head off with her sword. The devil melted away into a cloud of smoke and flame. With the sorcerer dispatched, Osborn moved around behind the held orc, and began jamming a dagger dripping with poison into his kidneys to dispatch it before the spell wore off. There was a thud as the barbarian was thrown roughly out of the wagon, his chest pierced by a half-dozen javelins. Autumn rushed in to attack the second devil on Arrie, while Kyle launched [I]magic missiles[/I] from a wand at the orc with the crystal battleaxe. With some of the pressure on Arrie lifted thanks to her sister’s help, the exotic warrior began to press her attack on the barbarian. The orc, seeing that their ambush was beginning to stall, quickly rolled out of range of the spiked chain and came up next to the water wagon, burying his axe into the side of the huge barrel. Water sprayed out onto the sand, and the barbarian began to laugh. But Tolly had been prepared for just such an emergency, and with a magical word and gesture of his holy symbol, the gash in the side closed up. The orc’s laugh cut short. The archer, still suffering from the burning acid from Kyle’s spell, put an arrow into Tolly. The cleric toppled, finally overcome by the battering he’d received throughout the battle. The archer then decided to withdraw, disappearing over the edge of the dune and denying the party their vengeance. Kyle, who had been ready to pepper the archer with more [I]magic missiles[/I], instead put the wand away and pointed at the orc with the crystal axe, blasting him with another ray of negative energy. This time, Kyle enhanced the spell’s power using the magical rod he carried, and it slammed into the barbarian. The barbarian screamed in pain and rage, and then dropped lifelessly to the ground. Autumn stepped up to the second devil, her steely gaze locked on its black eyes. It leered at her, then leapt with claws extended. Autumn almost casually swung her blade as it advanced, and a moment later the devil vanished in a puff of sulfurous smoke. With the last enemy vanquished, Arrie immediately ran up to the unconscious Tolly and poured a healing potion down his throat. He coughed and sputtered as his senses returned. Looking around, he saw Autumn standing nearby, looking quite pale as an unusual quantity of blood poured from the wounds she’d received from the devil’s glaive. Tolly began to rise to heal her, but the world spun around him. “Easy there,” said Arrie. “Better take care of you first.” She offered another potion, but Tolly frowned and waved it off, casting his own healing spell. When he felt his vitality return, he stood and did the same for Autumn. It took a bit more concentration than he expected, as if the wounds were somehow fighting Ardara’s power, but his will prevailed and the gashes sealed themselves. Meanwhile the rest of the party had gone about examining the damage. They guessed that Tolly’s quick reactions in repairing the barrel meant that only a few gallons had been lost. Two of the horses had been killed, but Lanara, Xu and Kavan had managed to bring down their opponents without injuring their horses, so the losses were easily replaced. Xu and Arrie went off to dispatch any of Orth’s tribe that were wounded, while Autumn stood guard over the wagons. Osborn and Kavan busied themselves stripping the corpses and picking out the magical items. Tolly had started examining the crystal axe carried by the barbarian, studying it carefully. It was made of a type of crystal he’d never seen before, though it seemed in all respects as strong as steel. Some of its properties reminded him of some of the more exotic metals, like mithral and adamantium, though if this black stone had any special properties, they were beyond his ability to discern. “Kyle,” Tolly called out, “do you see an aura of magic on this axe?” Kyle, who was sitting on the sand next to the wagon wheel, looked up. “Let me come take a look.” He rose and walked slowly over to Tolly, leaning on his staff due to the pain from the terrible chest wound he was still suffering from. As he drew close, however, the staff began to vibrate and emit what sounded like an angry hum. A faint blue glow illuminated the runes that snaked up the bottom half of the staff. Kyle stopped in his tracks, feeling the staff vibrating in his hand. “What the…?” Arrie, who had returned by this time, noted the flummoxed look on Kyle’s face. “Are you having a problem with that, Kyle?” she asked, doing a poor job of hiding her smile. “It’s… angry,” he said slowly. He waved the crystal sphere atop the staff at the axe, noting that the vibration increased as he did so. “It’s angry at that axe.” The others had started to gather around. “I wonder,” Osborn said, “this axe is causing your staff to react. The last time I saw it do anything strange was around Xerxes. Maybe your staff is capable of detecting pre-Cataclysmic weirdness.” Kyle looked at his staff for a while, then at the axe. “Maybe,” he said slowly. “but looking at the axe with my aura sight, I don’t see any magical fields on it. So I don’t know why…” As he talked, Kyle had relaxed his grip on his staff and let it drop slightly, bringing the crystal sphere in front of his face. When he glanced through it at the crystal greataxe, he stopped and nearly dropped his staff in surprise. “What’s the matter?” Tolly asked. “The axe. When I look at it through here, I can see an aura around it.” “A magical aura?” “Yes… no. I mean, it looks the same as magic, but the color’s wrong.” “The color?” Osborn asked. “When made visible by the proper divinations, arcane magic gives of an aura in shades of blue, and divine power in shades of yellow,” Tolly explained to him. “One can then discern more by studying the intensity and variations in the hue.” “This axe is showing a green aura,” Kyle said, staring at the weapon through his crystal. He swept the staff around and glanced at the spoils the group had claimed, then pointed at the boots that were once worn by the same orc that carried the crystal axe. “Those boots are showing up as green, too.” “So, that’s easy,” said Osborn. “Yellow and blue make green.” Kyle shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. If this were simply a combination of divine and arcane magic, you’d see both colors distinctly. And besides, I should be able to see the aura without this,” he held out the staff. “No, I think this is that pre-Cataclysm power we’ve been talking about. It’s like magic, but different. I can’t really explain it. See, look.” Kyle held out the sphere so that it was between Osborn and the crystal axe. The hin peered through it, then shook his head. “Looks like an axe to me,” he said. “I don’t see any green stuff, or any other color.” “Oh, well, maybe you have to be able to use magic,” Kyle said. “Tolly, you try.” Tolly looked through the crystal, and shook his head. “I see nothing unusual.” “Really? Hey, Kavan, you have a [I]detect magic[/I] spell prepared, right? Try using it and looking though my staff at the axe.” The elven cleric complied with Kyle’s request, but his answer was no different. “I know my spell worked, because I can see the magical auras on other items, but that axe looks quite mundane to me.” Kyle spent a few moments looking through the crystal, then pulling it away, then putting it back in front of his face. By this time Osborn, Xu, and Lanara lost interest and went back to sorting through loot. “So Kyle,” Autumn asked, “how come your staff is being weird?” She glanced through the crystal, not really expecting to see anything but curious all the same. “I’ll bet they have ointments for that,” Arrie said, biting her lip to keep from giggling. Tolly just shook his head at the warrior’s lack of restraint. “I honestly don’t know,” Kyle said, shaking his head. “I mean, when I took this staff as my reward from Herion, it was just because I liked it. I mean, I’d been looking for a staff for a while, but I’d expected just to get a plain old stick of wood. But when I saw this one it just seemed… right to me. Heck, when I chose it, the Master of the Vaults tried to talk me out of it, just because as far as he knew it didn’t do anything. Told me that I should choose something more in line with what the rest of you all got. Guess he didn’t want me coming back to him thinking I’d been cheated. I almost let him talk me into it, but then I guess… well… I just didn’t want to, for some reason.” “Well, it seems that in your hands, it is more than they suspected,” Tolly suggested. “Or, he got clocked in the head harder than we thought,” Arrie chimed in. “If you don’t mind,” Kyle said, ignoring Arrie’s jibes, “I’d like to spend some time examining that axe and those boots. Maybe I can figure out more about them, and about my staff, too.” “Hey,” said Osborn, holding up two wands, one made of bone and the other of fire-blackened iron, “we have other stuff you need to look at, too.” “Sure, sure,” he said, not really paying attention, “put it all together and I’ll get to it later.” The party cut their discussion short as Jekar rode up and told them that they were taking the wagons to a safe location near the battle site. They rode for another hour before making camp. As they set up their tents, they were able to see the fight in the distance. The glowing forms of summoned fire elementals darted about, and summoned devils clashed on both sides of the conflict. The wagon teams fortified their positions as best they could, then waited. About an hour later, Keth’s army returned from the battle, to the cheers and shouts of their companions. Kyle spent most of the night sitting by himself, studying the crystal axe and occasionally writing notes down on a piece of parchment. Eventually he put everything away, but strangely did not rejoin his friends. He sat quietly by himself, eyes closed as if deep in thought. He didn’t even get food when offered, and barely acknowledged anyone speaking to him. Even Kavan, who went over to finally finish healing his wounds, barely got more than five words out of him. The others mostly went about their routines, though they were somewhat on guard due to being so close to the enemy. Arrie tried to volunteer to help chase down enemy stragglers, but when she was denied she occupied herself by helping with the wounded. Xu occupied herself by sparring with those orcish soldiers who hadn’t yet had their fill of battle, and talking with them about orcish philosophy. Osborn also mingled with the orcs, trying to trade more of his bacon for gemstones, and asking about their clan and their lifestyle. Autumn spoke for a while with Tolly while sharpening her sword. “Thank you,” she said. “For what?” “For thinking of me, during the ambush. When you left that path open through your spell.” “Oh, well,” he said, blushing. “It was nothing, really.” “No, I appreciate that you pay attention to things like that,” she said, placing her hand on his knee. “Not everyone would.” Just then, the sand next to them began to shift and swirl, and a dog’s head poked out of the ground. “Good evening, Tolly Mulholland,” it said, looking at them. “Am I interrupting anything?” “Not at all,” Tolly said, as Autumn pulled her hand away. “Do you have news?” “I do,” the archon said, “though we should not discuss it here. Meet me alone beyond that dune to the northeast.” The dog’s head disappeared under the sand. Tolly stood up and looked at Autumn regretfully. “I should go,” he said. “Of course. I hope he has useful information for you.” Tolly glanced across their area of the camp, to where Kyle was sitting, waving his fingers slowly in the air as a tiny mote of multi-colored light danced in the air. “Perhaps you should go try and talk to him. He is acting strangely.” “Probably just the effects of that wound he took when he stepped in front of a raging barbarian,” she said. Tolly shook his head. “Kavan healed him. It’s something else.” “So have Lanara talk to him.” “She was summoned by an aide-de-camp to debrief with Keth.” “Xu?” Tolly looked down at her. “I think you know as well as I do that conversation is not among Xu’s many talents.” Autumn looked annoyed, but nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go see if he’ll talk.” She rose and began to walk toward Kyle as Tolly left. It was a bit difficult for Tolly to find his way once he left the camp and the meager amount of light it provided, as a high cloud of dust and sand had partially obscured the moonlight, but after a few minutes he found the archon standing patiently at the bottom of the dune. “Thank you for seeking out what I have asked, Archon.” “You may call me Alexriel,” the archon said. “And you may thank me by completing the weapon you promised me as soon as possible. When it is complete, simply mention my name in your morning communion with our Goddess, and I will come.” “Of course. Now, what have you learned?” “The orc called Orth has his standard cadre of followers; barbarian bodyguards, a cleric of Grabakh, and so forth. Same for many of the troops. However, as I watched the battle from afar, I noticed several abominations. The pre-Cataclysmic force once called ‘psionics’ was at work on Orth's side. Indeed, two of his very retainers seem to employ it.” Alexriel continued to outline specifics, such as tactics used in combat, and obvious displays of psionic power, not really seeming to notice or care about Tolly's widening eyes. “Fear not, though, sweet Tolly. I will be with you in this fight.” “Huh?” “The One, the Four, and the Many have always directed their servants to root out and destroy this abomination whenever and wherever it is found.” A frown seems to cross the dog’s face. “Though the fact that Grabakh’s followers seem to sanction these beings bodes ill. Perhaps they have been duped…but perhaps not.” “Either way, Alexriel, your help is greatly appreciated. I just don’t know how we’re going to get to Orth and his followers.” “I do.” Tolly mentally grumbled; he wasn’t used to being perplexed by dogs this often, not even Rupert. “Really? How?” “Patience, Tolly Mullholland. The answer will come shortly. For now, let us return to your comrades. I believe I should get to know them a bit better.” [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] Shortly after Tolly returned, Lanara rode back to the party, and asked a nearby orc-touched soldier to go find Arrie, who was still out in other parts of the camp. Xu and Osborn were sitting in the sand nearby, working out the details on a trap to catch some of the desert mice that scurried about the dunes. Xu needed food for her snake, and though she usually caught small rodents, toads, and lizards herself as part of her training, in the desert such creatures were far and few between. Whatever conversation had taken place between Autumn and Kyle had ended long before, and Autumn now sat with Kavan, while Kyle seemed as though he hadn’t moved. When the entire party was finally gathered, Lanara ushered them inside one of their tents. “Okay, guys,” she said, taking a deep breath, “here’s the situation...” [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] “You want us to do WHAT?!” Keth frowned at the cansin. “Assassinate my brother. It’s tactically sound, will save the lives of my men, as well as those of possible future tribesmates, and is well within the capabilities of you and your group.” “But…” “As well, my men reported to me how you took down that strange warrior with his crystal axe that did not break. You seem to have experience in combating these strange magics that my brother’s men wield; it is most likely that he would keep the strongest source of that close to himself.” “But…” “Orth is not like me; he leads from behind, not from the front. None of any of my warriors, clerics, or sorcerers can accomplish this. Only you.” “But…” Lanara trailed off one final time, and looked around the table. Two dozen eyes stared back at her, out of thirteen different faces. She could see, reflected in those eyes, just how much it cost these orcs to admit to the fact that there was something that they weren’t strong enough to do; and not only that, but that outsiders were stronger than they. Lanara came to a decision, and nodded firmly at Keth. “We can do it…but we’ll need some help. There’s things that some of us just aren’t good at, and sneaking around in a big tin can is one of them.” Gell, the Sorcerer-Captain spoke up. “My people can help with that, warchief. We can at least make them invisible, though they’ll likely have to carry their armor to whatever location they choose, and don it there. Less noise over the sand.” Many other heads nodded in agreement, and the captains murmured to each other. Keth raised a hand, and the room fell silent. “Excellent. Here is what you shall do, then…” [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] “So, let me get this straight,” said Arrie. “We’re gonna be invisible, sneak around behind Orth’s army, wait for the battle tomorrow, and when everyone commits their reserves, we run up and kill him?” “That’s the plan,” Lanara confirmed. “Sweet!” Arrie exclaimed, launching a fist into the air. She stood exultant for a moment, then looked around at the faces of her companions. “What? What’d I say?” “This is going to be harder than usual, Arrie. Kavan won’t be with us.” The elven cleric tried very hard not to pout. Nature won out over willpower. “I won’t? Why not?” “Keth’s healers are just too overworked, right now. Tolly’s far more of a front-liner, says Keth, but you, well…frankly, the orcs think you’re just too breakable.” Kavan started to open his mouth, when Xu, surprisingly, spoke up. “Remember, Kavan, we did agree to a stint in the army. He is the leader. His orders must be followed, for the best of all who follow him.” Kavan blinked at Xu, then sighed. “Well…I guess I’m not surprised that followers of gods of fire, murder, and vengeance are a little light on healers. I should go rest.” The group nodded to Kavan, and wished the elf well, before they bent their heads and began to plan their tactics for the next day. [/QUOTE]
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