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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4120022" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p><strong>Captured!</strong></p><p></p><p>Kifla moves away from the low-banked fire, casting her eyes about furtively. Well, okay, she’s not really furtive about it. She’s looking for a bush to hide behind, so nobody can see her while she pees.</p><p></p><p>But our heroes have camped in a depression with a good view of the surrounding area. </p><p></p><p>Pinching her legs together, she spends a moment doing the pee dance and then hurries up and out of the depression, blushing at her own modesty. <em>There has to be somewhere,</em> she thinks. Desperately, she scans the surrounding areas- aha! There it is, silhouetted against the night sky- a tree. Quickly, she scurries over to it. A few seconds of fumbling with her robes- you can’t be a dignified illusionist if you pee on yourself- and she sighs with relief, at last unclenching her bladder.</p><p></p><p>A blissful minute later, Kifla composes herself. She starts walking back towards the camp, still straightening her robes- and freezes.</p><p></p><p>In the light of the campfire, she can see battle. </p><p></p><p>In fact, it is the <em>end</em> of a battle. </p><p></p><p>Horrified, Kifla can only watch as Striker’s team herds her companions off. She recognizes the earl’s chief henchman.</p><p></p><p>“Oh no,” she whispers. “Oh no, oh no.” </p><p></p><p>The figures vanish all too quickly into the dark night. The meager radiance of the campfire is not enough to keep them in view even long enough for the gnome to reach the camp, but as she comes closer, she stops. <em>I’m alone,</em> she reminds herself. <em>What if they left a guard behind? I’m no warrior, I’m just a gnome.</em> </p><p></p><p>For a moment her face screws up in indecision. Then, slowly, something else dawns on her. <em>Yeah, I’m just a gnome- but I’m a </em>gnome.<em> We’re tricky. Sure, maybe these big mean human ruffians could take me in a fair fight... but I’m a </em>gnome.[/i] </p><p></p><p>Lots of things can out-fight me- but I don’t think that there are many,[/i] Kifla thinks, <em>that can out-trick me.</em></p><p></p><p>She sneaks up to the campsite. There is no guard behind, but there are a couple of dead men-at-arms. One of them doesn’t have a mark on him, but he seems to have fallen dead instantly clutching at the strange, frog-hilted sword that the party captured from the Mouth of Bleak.</p><p></p><p><em>Interesting,</em> thinks Kifla. She gingerly retrieves the sword; it does no harm to her. Puzzled, she straps it to herself and then resumes her pursuit of her captured friends. She can’t keep up with them, especially once they mount up- but she knows where they’re going.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>When Kifla reaches the area around the earl’s camp- which she can see from a good mile off, thanks to their campfires- it is late, late, late. Many of the rough men-at-arms in service to Thyrozim are dozing, some at the crude tables that they eat at. More are still awake, drinking or drunken or both.</p><p></p><p>She spies her friends immediately. They are painfully obvious. They have been left in small cages along the edge of the earl’s camp, with their hands bound behind their backs and their ankles bound. Severin’s face looks broken.</p><p></p><p><em>There are a lot of guards,</em> Kifla sighs mentally.</p><p></p><p>She watches for a few moments, keeping her distance, circling the area. After she circles around twice, she decides on her approach- the least observed approach that she can spot that will get her up to the cages. Fortunately, as a gnome, she is very small, and thus she manages to get perilously close to the cages unnoticed. Careful to act when nobody is looking her way, Kifla casts a <em>ghost sound</em> as far away on the other side of the camp as she can, and suddenly the sound of marching soldiers comes from that direction.</p><p></p><p>There is an immediate commotion from the conscious men-at-arms, and others begin to rouse from a bleary half-awake state. Interest turns heavily in that direction. The earl cries out, “What’s that?” He frowns, staring off into the darkness. </p><p></p><p>“YOU WILL GET YOUR DUE!!” Barouk roars at the earl and his men. And Romdar. <em>Especially</em> Romdar. </p><p></p><p>Romdar, who looks more uncomfortable with every passing second. </p><p></p><p>As Kifla reaches the cages, she sees the earl speaking to Romdar, attempting to distract him from Barouk’s baiting. “What do you remember about losing your memory?” the earl asks him. </p><p></p><p>Romdar stares at him. “As important as that is to me, I feel that I first need to ask- what is your interest in this dwarf?”</p><p></p><p>“He stole from my family,” the earl answers glibly. “And now our fortune shall be restored, and <em>he</em> will face justice.”</p><p></p><p>“Shh,” Kifla whispers to Barouk, “it’s me, Kifla.” She saws at his bonds, cutting his wrist slightly in the process. Once that is done, she glances over to where her distraction is. <em>They’re going to realize there isn’t anything over there,</em> she thinks, <em>unless I </em>make<em> something over there.</em> </p><p></p><p>“Watch this!” she tells Barouk quietly.</p><p></p><p>Again, she weaves a spell. This time, she summons three celestial dogs near the Thyrozim men. Immediately, a melee breaks out. More attention is drawn over there. </p><p></p><p>“I hope that I can count on you to be in the right side in this, Romdar,” the earl comments. </p><p></p><p>“I will not stand in the way of justice,” Romdar replies cautiously.</p><p></p><p>“Then we understand each other.”</p><p></p><p>“Those dogs came out of nowhere,” the duskblade points out.</p><p></p><p>The earl stares at him. “It is time for you to prove yourself yet again, Romdar,” he says. </p><p></p><p>Romdar draws his sword. “I’ll check on the prisoners.” He begins moving towards the cages. </p><p></p><p><em>Oh crap,</em> thinks Kifla. She saws madly at Severin’s bonds, finally slicing through them. “Here, I brought you something,” she whispers, and hands over <em>Frogspaw.</em></p><p></p><p>Barouk emerges from his cage just as Romdar comes around the corner. He halts for a moment, blade down. </p><p></p><p>Barouk darts into the darkness. </p><p></p><p>Severin emerges from his cage and stares at Romdar. He shakes his head, and follows Barouk. Kifla darts after him, motioning for Romdar to follow.</p><p></p><p>Romdar hesitates for a long moment. The face of a woman- one of the only clues he has had, outside of this group of thugs and ruffians- appears in his mind for an instant. <em>Who am I?</em> he cries. <em>I need to know!</em></p><p></p><p>Yet... something is plainly wrong here. This earl is asking him to betray his friends. He has shown no sign of honor or honesty yet. He has a shabby entourage that lives in a camp outside his neglected keep. What kind of earl is this?</p><p></p><p>Romdar casts <em>swift expeditious retreat</em> and rushes after his friends. </p><p></p><p>Severin glares as the duskblade runs up towards him, and then past him. “Keep going! Keep going!” Romdar urges him. Severin blinks in confusion; he had expected an attack. </p><p></p><p>They rush away, as the <em>ghost sound</em> fades and the Thyrozim men dispatch the celestial dogs. Into the night they go, running off for about twenty minutes before slowing to a walk.</p><p></p><p>But almost immediately, Severing demands, “What were you doing in the tents with them? Why didn’t you help us?”</p><p></p><p>“I thought they could help me... they knew me. I don’t remember anything. Loyalty- I had ties to them, even if I don’t remember them.”</p><p></p><p>“Loyalty! How about loyalty to us, your friends, your companions! If we’re going to travel together, we need to know that we can count on you in a fight. When there is trouble, we need to know that you’re on our side. We put our lives in each others’ hands every day, man! We need to know that you’re reliable!”</p><p></p><p>“I’m reliable! I just...”</p><p></p><p>Barouk, angry past the point of containment, yells incoherently and throws a deadly blow at Romdar. The duskblade rocks back, taking the blow without defense or complaint. His eye starts to swell and turn black immediately. “Feel better?” he asks Barouk sarcastically.</p><p></p><p>“That wasn’t very nice!” Kifla cries. “Barouk, you shouldn’t do that, he’s our friend!”</p><p></p><p>“No, he’s not,” Barouk retorts. </p><p></p><p>“Can we just keep moving?” Romdar asks.</p><p></p><p>“And you!” Kifla impales him with her eyes. “You shouldn’t have been hanging out with them. They were bad, bad men!” </p><p></p><p>He shrugs uncomfortably. </p><p></p><p>Kifla storm off in a huff. Which is to say, she leads the way in a huff as the party continues on, becoming more and more aware of their weariness. They haven’t slept, and the eastern sky is starting to turn light and pink. They continue along for another couple of hours; they want to put some distance between themselves and the earl’s men. </p><p></p><p>Severin climbs a tree as the dawn starts to peek out of the east. He looks all around for a likely place to camp, and spots what appears to be an abandoned thorp of several buildings, at least one of which still looks intact. </p><p></p><p>By mid-morning, our heroes are, at last, bedded down- though they always leave one on watch. And not Romdar; oh no, a <em>trustworthy</em> party member. </p><p></p><p><em>I made a pretty bad mistake,</em> Romdar thinks. Again, that woman’s face. <em>Who am I?</em></p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> The drawbacks to going to the authorities to complain about the nobility!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4120022, member: 1210"] [b]Captured![/b] Kifla moves away from the low-banked fire, casting her eyes about furtively. Well, okay, she’s not really furtive about it. She’s looking for a bush to hide behind, so nobody can see her while she pees. But our heroes have camped in a depression with a good view of the surrounding area. Pinching her legs together, she spends a moment doing the pee dance and then hurries up and out of the depression, blushing at her own modesty. [i]There has to be somewhere,[/i] she thinks. Desperately, she scans the surrounding areas- aha! There it is, silhouetted against the night sky- a tree. Quickly, she scurries over to it. A few seconds of fumbling with her robes- you can’t be a dignified illusionist if you pee on yourself- and she sighs with relief, at last unclenching her bladder. A blissful minute later, Kifla composes herself. She starts walking back towards the camp, still straightening her robes- and freezes. In the light of the campfire, she can see battle. In fact, it is the [i]end[/i] of a battle. Horrified, Kifla can only watch as Striker’s team herds her companions off. She recognizes the earl’s chief henchman. “Oh no,” she whispers. “Oh no, oh no.” The figures vanish all too quickly into the dark night. The meager radiance of the campfire is not enough to keep them in view even long enough for the gnome to reach the camp, but as she comes closer, she stops. [i]I’m alone,[/i] she reminds herself. [i]What if they left a guard behind? I’m no warrior, I’m just a gnome.[/i] For a moment her face screws up in indecision. Then, slowly, something else dawns on her. [i]Yeah, I’m just a gnome- but I’m a [/i]gnome.[i] We’re tricky. Sure, maybe these big mean human ruffians could take me in a fair fight... but I’m a [/i]gnome.[/i] Lots of things can out-fight me- but I don’t think that there are many,[/i] Kifla thinks, [i]that can out-trick me.[/i] She sneaks up to the campsite. There is no guard behind, but there are a couple of dead men-at-arms. One of them doesn’t have a mark on him, but he seems to have fallen dead instantly clutching at the strange, frog-hilted sword that the party captured from the Mouth of Bleak. [i]Interesting,[/i] thinks Kifla. She gingerly retrieves the sword; it does no harm to her. Puzzled, she straps it to herself and then resumes her pursuit of her captured friends. She can’t keep up with them, especially once they mount up- but she knows where they’re going. *** When Kifla reaches the area around the earl’s camp- which she can see from a good mile off, thanks to their campfires- it is late, late, late. Many of the rough men-at-arms in service to Thyrozim are dozing, some at the crude tables that they eat at. More are still awake, drinking or drunken or both. She spies her friends immediately. They are painfully obvious. They have been left in small cages along the edge of the earl’s camp, with their hands bound behind their backs and their ankles bound. Severin’s face looks broken. [i]There are a lot of guards,[/i] Kifla sighs mentally. She watches for a few moments, keeping her distance, circling the area. After she circles around twice, she decides on her approach- the least observed approach that she can spot that will get her up to the cages. Fortunately, as a gnome, she is very small, and thus she manages to get perilously close to the cages unnoticed. Careful to act when nobody is looking her way, Kifla casts a [i]ghost sound[/i] as far away on the other side of the camp as she can, and suddenly the sound of marching soldiers comes from that direction. There is an immediate commotion from the conscious men-at-arms, and others begin to rouse from a bleary half-awake state. Interest turns heavily in that direction. The earl cries out, “What’s that?” He frowns, staring off into the darkness. “YOU WILL GET YOUR DUE!!” Barouk roars at the earl and his men. And Romdar. [i]Especially[/i] Romdar. Romdar, who looks more uncomfortable with every passing second. As Kifla reaches the cages, she sees the earl speaking to Romdar, attempting to distract him from Barouk’s baiting. “What do you remember about losing your memory?” the earl asks him. Romdar stares at him. “As important as that is to me, I feel that I first need to ask- what is your interest in this dwarf?” “He stole from my family,” the earl answers glibly. “And now our fortune shall be restored, and [i]he[/i] will face justice.” “Shh,” Kifla whispers to Barouk, “it’s me, Kifla.” She saws at his bonds, cutting his wrist slightly in the process. Once that is done, she glances over to where her distraction is. [i]They’re going to realize there isn’t anything over there,[/i] she thinks, [i]unless I [/i]make[i] something over there.[/i] “Watch this!” she tells Barouk quietly. Again, she weaves a spell. This time, she summons three celestial dogs near the Thyrozim men. Immediately, a melee breaks out. More attention is drawn over there. “I hope that I can count on you to be in the right side in this, Romdar,” the earl comments. “I will not stand in the way of justice,” Romdar replies cautiously. “Then we understand each other.” “Those dogs came out of nowhere,” the duskblade points out. The earl stares at him. “It is time for you to prove yourself yet again, Romdar,” he says. Romdar draws his sword. “I’ll check on the prisoners.” He begins moving towards the cages. [i]Oh crap,[/i] thinks Kifla. She saws madly at Severin’s bonds, finally slicing through them. “Here, I brought you something,” she whispers, and hands over [i]Frogspaw.[/i] Barouk emerges from his cage just as Romdar comes around the corner. He halts for a moment, blade down. Barouk darts into the darkness. Severin emerges from his cage and stares at Romdar. He shakes his head, and follows Barouk. Kifla darts after him, motioning for Romdar to follow. Romdar hesitates for a long moment. The face of a woman- one of the only clues he has had, outside of this group of thugs and ruffians- appears in his mind for an instant. [i]Who am I?[/i] he cries. [i]I need to know![/i] Yet... something is plainly wrong here. This earl is asking him to betray his friends. He has shown no sign of honor or honesty yet. He has a shabby entourage that lives in a camp outside his neglected keep. What kind of earl is this? Romdar casts [i]swift expeditious retreat[/i] and rushes after his friends. Severin glares as the duskblade runs up towards him, and then past him. “Keep going! Keep going!” Romdar urges him. Severin blinks in confusion; he had expected an attack. They rush away, as the [i]ghost sound[/i] fades and the Thyrozim men dispatch the celestial dogs. Into the night they go, running off for about twenty minutes before slowing to a walk. But almost immediately, Severing demands, “What were you doing in the tents with them? Why didn’t you help us?” “I thought they could help me... they knew me. I don’t remember anything. Loyalty- I had ties to them, even if I don’t remember them.” “Loyalty! How about loyalty to us, your friends, your companions! If we’re going to travel together, we need to know that we can count on you in a fight. When there is trouble, we need to know that you’re on our side. We put our lives in each others’ hands every day, man! We need to know that you’re reliable!” “I’m reliable! I just...” Barouk, angry past the point of containment, yells incoherently and throws a deadly blow at Romdar. The duskblade rocks back, taking the blow without defense or complaint. His eye starts to swell and turn black immediately. “Feel better?” he asks Barouk sarcastically. “That wasn’t very nice!” Kifla cries. “Barouk, you shouldn’t do that, he’s our friend!” “No, he’s not,” Barouk retorts. “Can we just keep moving?” Romdar asks. “And you!” Kifla impales him with her eyes. “You shouldn’t have been hanging out with them. They were bad, bad men!” He shrugs uncomfortably. Kifla storm off in a huff. Which is to say, she leads the way in a huff as the party continues on, becoming more and more aware of their weariness. They haven’t slept, and the eastern sky is starting to turn light and pink. They continue along for another couple of hours; they want to put some distance between themselves and the earl’s men. Severin climbs a tree as the dawn starts to peek out of the east. He looks all around for a likely place to camp, and spots what appears to be an abandoned thorp of several buildings, at least one of which still looks intact. By mid-morning, our heroes are, at last, bedded down- though they always leave one on watch. And not Romdar; oh no, a [i]trustworthy[/i] party member. [i]I made a pretty bad mistake,[/i] Romdar thinks. Again, that woman’s face. [i]Who am I?[/i] [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] The drawbacks to going to the authorities to complain about the nobility! [/QUOTE]
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