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Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
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<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 709" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>FORGE OF FURY (Part III)</strong></p><p></p><p>The journey to the mountain, a trip of just over a day, was mostly uneventful. Kellick's animal companion, a large wolf named Misty, ranged widely and helped to keep the party out of trouble. The party decided to move off the trail and bed down for the night so they could tackle the fortress during the day. As they prepared to pack up camp the next morning, the halfling's keen ears picked up the sound of an orcish raiding party, and he and Wulf crept up into the high grass near the road to observe. A party of about half a dozen orcs were moving up the path towards the mountain. As the orcs marched past their position, the halfling leaned over to whisper to Wulf. "Well, *I* think maybe we should..."</p><p></p><p>"Die, ye bastards!" Wulf leapt out of hiding and started hurling javelins into the midst of the orcs. Hearing the call to battle, Halma swept up his greatsword and moved with superhuman speed towards the sound of battle. The orcs were already drawing javelins of their own to return fire, but in mere moments the raging barbarian in their midst had them desperately reaching for their axes again. Wulf moved closer, picking off any orcs who shied away from melee with the barbarian. It was over almost before it started, despite the fact that these orcs seemed... tougher... than the ones they'd seen previously. The breastplates they all wore had something to do with it.</p><p></p><p>While the halfling rifled through their pockets for loose change, Wulf pointed out the real treasure at hand-- six nice breastplates, probably worth about a hundred crowns a piece, brand new. Keldas helped him dig a hole just off the path to bury this unexpected windfall. The only downside was the realization that the mountain was crawling with well-armed, well-armored, well-trained orcs.</p><p></p><p>The group was none too eager to approach the mountain by the front path. Keldas sent his familiar, an owl, circling high over the mountain to report any sentry posts and other avenues of approach. The good news was that the orcs only had two guards at the front door. The bad news was that the front door seemed to be the only way to approach-- a long path up the mountain that fell away on one side to a nasty ravine. There was <em>one</em>thing, though... farther up the mountain there was a hole, a chimney of some sort, with smoke wisping out.</p><p></p><p>The party crept up in range of Keldas' bow, but didn't dare get any closer. Halma was chomping at the bit to charge the front gate and kill some orcs, and it was everything Wulf could do to persuade him to sit tight. Wulf suggested that he circle around the guard post and climb up the mountain to investigate the chimney. Ever practical, Keldas was ready to help.</p><p></p><p>"I'll keep a <em>Feather Fall</em> handy in case you slip." It was a long way down to the bottom of that ravine.</p><p></p><p>"Ye daft fairy... the day a dwarf can't nick up the side of a bloody mountain is the day he deserves to die. Keep summat useful brewing for a change... like a fireball."</p><p></p><p>Wulf crept up the mountain, skillfully and quietly, and approached the chimney. A quick look confirmed that there was no way they'd get down it-- although it would be amusing to stuff the halfling down headfirst and wedge him about halfway. He returned to the group.</p><p></p><p>"Looks big enough for the halfling to fit down, if we grease him up good with lard first. I don't think the cookfires are burnin'. We'll just slip him in, an' he can come up the back way an' take out the guards."</p><p></p><p>"No way! NO WAY!"</p><p></p><p>"All right, all right, keep yer knickers on, we'll go with plan B then. You an' me, we'll just creep up to the front gate and take the guards out together, quiet like. One orc each. Right?"</p><p></p><p>Wulf explained the balance of the plan. The front path to the gate actually wound around a bit, so the rest of the party, with a bit of care, could move quietly up the path and still be out of sight of the guards, around the bend. No more than a few seconds mad-dash away from the scouts if they needed help. </p><p></p><p>It was a tense few minutes as Wulf and the halfling moved stealthily up the path towards the mouth of the cave. The guards lazed about just inside, out of the sunlight. When they were close enough, the two rogues sprang-- Wulf with axe and dagger, the halfling with his own wee dagger dancing from side to side. Wulf dropped one orc with his axe and flipped his dagger over, ready to throw it at the halfling's target if necessary, but his target was already dead. Seemed the halfling had slit a throat or two in his time, after all.</p><p></p><p>A low whistle from the halfling brought the rest of the group running. They rounded the corner to find Wulf rolling the two corpses over the side of the ravine-- a sensible enough way to hide the evidence, should any more orcs approach-- but it brought a shrill cry from the halfling. "Did you loot those guys first? Aww..." He spent a few moments looking at the battered and broken corpses at the bottom of the ravine, calculating how long it would take to climb down and, as always, how risky it would be. "I'll come back for them later."</p><p></p><p>Wulf dug another gold crown out of his purse and tossed it over the side. "Make it worth yer while."</p><p></p><p>Wulf moved into the darkness of the cave, ahead of the group, and surveyed the winding stone steps that led deeper into the cave. The party urged him to hurry as he checked the steps for traps and kept them shambling slowly after him. Halma was especially impatient. Eventually they came to a set of doors, still ajar; beyond that a rope bridge stretched about thirty feet across a deep crevasse. On the opposite side they could see a few thick rock outcroppings, and beyond that, a set of ornate double doors. Wulf set about searching the bridge for traps, and tied off a safety line of his own to the bridgeposts. As he turned to the group, dark shadows moved on the other side of the bridge.</p><p></p><p>"ORCS!" Before anyone could stop him Halma was racing across the rope bridge. It bobbed wildly up and down and the party prayed that the youth's gangly clumsiness wouldn't send him headfirst into the crevasse-- but much to everyone's surprise, he made it across. The orcs barely had time to miss with their bows before Halma stepped up and killed both in one cleaving blow.</p><p></p><p>Keldas was ready with the obvious observation. "Well, that's one way to find out if it's safe to cross." He crossed over behind Halma, followed shortly by the halfling who immediately started rifling over the orc's bodies for hidden treasure. Kellick had a little trouble getting Misty to cross, and Wulf crossed over last. He tied off the other end of his safety rope to the bridge supports. His knots would hold, if the supports would. "Keep one hand on that as yer run across... if yer *have* to run, of course."</p><p></p><p>The party carefully moved past the double doors and into the room beyond, an atrium of sorts. Several passages led off into the darkness, and Wulf once again cursed the inconvenience of having to travel with topsiders and their torches. Anybody down one of those passages could see the torches and come running.</p><p></p><p>A soft cry from the other side of the room got his attention. "Help us! Help us!" The party crossed over and found two halflings locked in a cell, begging for freedom. The party looked to Wulf-- he was handy with locks.</p><p></p><p>"Could be a trick. Dopplegangers or summat. Let em rot."</p><p></p><p>The party's halfling stepped up, no slouch with a lockpick himself. "No, *I* got it, I got it." He fumbled with the lock for a moment until Wulf grabbed his shoulder. </p><p></p><p>"Look, even if they're NOT dangerous, they're a lot better off in there than they are out here when the slaughter starts. We can come back for 'em when it's safe."</p><p></p><p>The party agreed with this logic-- but the captives didn't. "Nooooooooo! Please, you don't understand, they'll eeeeeeeeeeat us!"</p><p></p><p>Such sniveling cowardice. If he didn't already know better from their own little peck, Wulf would have been certain that such cowardice was a fiction cooked up by dopplegangers to lure the soft-hearted. The little halflings rattled the cage. "Let us out! Hurry!"</p><p></p><p>Orcish voices boomed out in broken common, "What's going on in there!? Quiet!" The guard rounded the corner just far enough to see the party standing there in their torchlight, and screamed out an ear-splitting alarm. "Intruders!" The sound of booted feet pounded through the halls.</p><p></p><p>"Back to the doors, quickly!" Keldas was already back at the rope bridge.</p><p></p><p>"Stop!" Wulf yelled. "If we fight from over there, we'll have no cover. We'll fight 'em here at the doors, and if we can't hold 'em back, then we cross the bridge and cut it behind us!" Wulf slammed the doors and spiked them shut.</p><p></p><p>Keldas cast Mage Armor, followed by a Shield, and readied his bow. The halfling strung his little short bow-- but was already eyeing his escape route. The faithful wolf Misty stood guard at the bridge, hackles raised. Wulf stood side by side with Halma, right at the doors. "We'll cut 'em down one at a time as they come through. Ach, Kellick! Yer just stand behind us and prop us up with healing, got it?"</p><p></p><p>It wasn't long before the pounding started on the doors, and the orcs slowly pushed them open despite the spikes. Wulf's axe sent the first unfortunate bastard howling to the floor, and Halma's sword swept across the doorway like a windmill. (A windmill of DEATH!)</p><p></p><p>Wulf cackled as orc after orc fell beneath their blades. Occassionally an arrow would sail past them into the throng of orcs at the door-- Keldas and the halfling pitching in. It was when the arrows started to come down thicker-- and much closer to his own ears-- that Wulf realized Misty's howling wasn't simply the excitement of battle.</p><p></p><p>A second contingent of orcs, led by a huge half-ogre of some kind, had taken a back way and come out through a secret door on the opposite side of the rope bridge.</p><p></p><p>"How the hell did yer miss THAT?" Wulf howled at the usually keen-eyed Keldas. The orcs were readying a second volley of arrows. Keldas moved to the edge of the bridge and levitated above Misty, who was holding the ground on the heroes' side of the bridge. While Wulf and Halma kept hacking at the first contingent of orcs at the doors, Keldas repositioned his Shield and bent his bow towards the orcs on the far side of the bridge, picking off the smaller ones and making an impressive and irresistable target for their fellows. Unfortunately, his Shield was too effective. Countless volleys bounced off harmlessly, and the mighty half-ogre grew impatient.</p><p></p><p>An orc drew his axe and tried to cross the bridge, but Misty snapped at him as he approached, tripping him up and sending him plunging to his death. There were no more volunteers for THAT duty, so the half-ogre called forward two wolves of his own. They trotted across the bridge and started in on Misty.</p><p></p><p>Wulf and Halma were keeping things under control at the doors, but they were slowly being worn down by the orcs. They didn't hit often, but they hit hard, and it was taking its toll. The situation was desperate.</p><p></p><p>And the halfling? He'd retreated behind the cover of one of the rock columns. ("Fight, damn yer, fight!") He was feverishly trying to tie an inch thick hemp rope into a knot around an arrow shaft. ("FIGHT!") Despite the fact that he obviously knew nothing about knots, ropes, arrows, or physics, he spent several precious moments locked in concentration on this single, monumental task. ("I'll kill yer myself if we live through this!") He had a PLAN.</p><p></p><p>Oblivious to the fact that his allies were slowly dying around him, the gods took pity, and he finally secured a rope to an arrow. At last! He sent it hurtling towards the huge half-ogre. Missed! ("Blood and bones, fight, dammit!") He reeled in his arrow and took another shot-- this time at an easier, less-nimble orc. Thunk! The arrow buried itself into the orc's breastplate. With a mighty heave the little halfling dragged the orc off his feet and into the crevasse. </p><p></p><p>The halfling had a brief, shining moment of personal glory before he felt a tug, and realized that he was holding the other end of the rope. He was about to have his 70-pound body disappear into the crevasse right after the 200-pound body of the orc. He slipped towards the edge, unable to understand why he couldn't hold on to the rope (...closer...), why he couldn't simply give the rope a good tug so the arrow would pop out of the breastplate (...closer...). He'd be damned if he was going to go through all the trouble of tying ANOTHER rope onto an arrow. (...closer...) Oh! What if he didn't even HAVE another rope? (...almost!...)</p><p></p><p>"Ahhhh! Dammit! Noooooooooo..." Right at the edge of the crevasse, he finally let go. He watched sadly as his rope-arrow snaked out of sight into the darkness.</p><p></p><p>Wulf quickly looked around. Everyone was pretty well occupied. He could probably slip away for just a moment to give the halfling a quick boot over the edge... No one would see... Probably no one would care...</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately there was no time for such pleasant distractions. Behind the growing pile of orcs at the doors, another orc stepped up. Magical energies flashed in the air and there was a tense moment as Halma and Wulf fought off magical sleep. Trouble, indeed-- the orc witch was standing well behind her warriors. Wulf and Halma couldn't get at her if they wanted to. They bellowed at the useless halfling. </p><p></p><p>"Shoot the witch!"</p><p></p><p>"I have a better idea!" The halfing was rummaging in his pack again. </p><p></p><p>"SHOOT THE WITCH!"</p><p></p><p>"Let's see how she likes... THIS!" He came up with a vial of the viscous greek fire, heaved back his arm, and prepared to fling it over the swirling melee onto the witch behind. The world slowed to slow motion as the fighters watched the vial tumble end over end...</p><p></p><p>"Nooooooooo..." They'd been privy to his carelessness before, and bore the scars to prove it. Halma especially-- he'd developed an unnatural fear of fire since he'd started travelling with the halfling. He flinched instinctively as the vial sailed overhead...</p><p></p><p>...and splashed down perfectly onto the stones at the witch's feet. Her bodyguards fell in smoldering heaps and she ran shrieking back into the darkness, still on fire.</p><p></p><p>Wulf dispatched the last of the orcs at the doors and Halma was off like a shot, his sword in one hand and a torch in the other. Wulf grabbed for him, but it was too late. </p><p></p><p>"Ach. Well. No offense, friend, but it was nice knowing yer." Wulf slowly shut the doors and spiked them shut. "Good luck."</p><p></p><p>Wulf turned to view the battle still raging behind him. Misty was down; Keldas had dropped his bow at his feet and dropped down with his longsword to hold the bridge against the orcs' wolves. Wulf dashed forward and grabbed the elf's longbow, positioned himself behind him and started grabbing arrows out of his quiver, sending deadly shafts into the orcs on the far side. "Pick off the weak ones, peck. Yer better fight now or the next arrow has yer name on it."</p><p></p><p>Kellick was the next to go down. There was no way for him to stay covered, and still perform the selfless task of keeping the party healed. Wulf and Keldas were running out of stamina; even the halfling was taking his fair share of fire from the other side. Things had never looked so grim... when suddenly...</p><p></p><p>Halma came smashing through the secret door like a hammer! (A hammer of DEATH!) His greatsword had ample room on the other side of the bridge, and he cleaved through orcs with a skill and glee even Wulf could not match. The great half-ogre stepped up to fight Halma for the briefest of moments, before he took a staggering blow that made him think better of his decision. "Flee! Flee!" Their leader was off and running with some half-dozen orcs at his heels.</p><p></p><p>Wulf and Keldas worked quickly to dispatch their foes on the bridge, but not quick enough. They watched as the raging barbarian-- battered and bleeding from a dozen wounds-- was off in hot pursuit of his foes. Halma knew they were no match for his savage speed. The first straggler fell to his sword, while his comrades tried to widen the distance. The next straggler, too, went down. They were halfway down the mountain before the barbarian finally came to his senses and realized that, should they orcs turn on him in desperation, they would easily take him down en masse. </p><p></p><p>Halma turned and sped back up the mountain to rejoin his friends.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 709, member: 94"] [b]FORGE OF FURY (Part III)[/b] The journey to the mountain, a trip of just over a day, was mostly uneventful. Kellick's animal companion, a large wolf named Misty, ranged widely and helped to keep the party out of trouble. The party decided to move off the trail and bed down for the night so they could tackle the fortress during the day. As they prepared to pack up camp the next morning, the halfling's keen ears picked up the sound of an orcish raiding party, and he and Wulf crept up into the high grass near the road to observe. A party of about half a dozen orcs were moving up the path towards the mountain. As the orcs marched past their position, the halfling leaned over to whisper to Wulf. "Well, *I* think maybe we should..." "Die, ye bastards!" Wulf leapt out of hiding and started hurling javelins into the midst of the orcs. Hearing the call to battle, Halma swept up his greatsword and moved with superhuman speed towards the sound of battle. The orcs were already drawing javelins of their own to return fire, but in mere moments the raging barbarian in their midst had them desperately reaching for their axes again. Wulf moved closer, picking off any orcs who shied away from melee with the barbarian. It was over almost before it started, despite the fact that these orcs seemed... tougher... than the ones they'd seen previously. The breastplates they all wore had something to do with it. While the halfling rifled through their pockets for loose change, Wulf pointed out the real treasure at hand-- six nice breastplates, probably worth about a hundred crowns a piece, brand new. Keldas helped him dig a hole just off the path to bury this unexpected windfall. The only downside was the realization that the mountain was crawling with well-armed, well-armored, well-trained orcs. The group was none too eager to approach the mountain by the front path. Keldas sent his familiar, an owl, circling high over the mountain to report any sentry posts and other avenues of approach. The good news was that the orcs only had two guards at the front door. The bad news was that the front door seemed to be the only way to approach-- a long path up the mountain that fell away on one side to a nasty ravine. There was [i]one[/i]thing, though... farther up the mountain there was a hole, a chimney of some sort, with smoke wisping out. The party crept up in range of Keldas' bow, but didn't dare get any closer. Halma was chomping at the bit to charge the front gate and kill some orcs, and it was everything Wulf could do to persuade him to sit tight. Wulf suggested that he circle around the guard post and climb up the mountain to investigate the chimney. Ever practical, Keldas was ready to help. "I'll keep a [i]Feather Fall[/i] handy in case you slip." It was a long way down to the bottom of that ravine. "Ye daft fairy... the day a dwarf can't nick up the side of a bloody mountain is the day he deserves to die. Keep summat useful brewing for a change... like a fireball." Wulf crept up the mountain, skillfully and quietly, and approached the chimney. A quick look confirmed that there was no way they'd get down it-- although it would be amusing to stuff the halfling down headfirst and wedge him about halfway. He returned to the group. "Looks big enough for the halfling to fit down, if we grease him up good with lard first. I don't think the cookfires are burnin'. We'll just slip him in, an' he can come up the back way an' take out the guards." "No way! NO WAY!" "All right, all right, keep yer knickers on, we'll go with plan B then. You an' me, we'll just creep up to the front gate and take the guards out together, quiet like. One orc each. Right?" Wulf explained the balance of the plan. The front path to the gate actually wound around a bit, so the rest of the party, with a bit of care, could move quietly up the path and still be out of sight of the guards, around the bend. No more than a few seconds mad-dash away from the scouts if they needed help. It was a tense few minutes as Wulf and the halfling moved stealthily up the path towards the mouth of the cave. The guards lazed about just inside, out of the sunlight. When they were close enough, the two rogues sprang-- Wulf with axe and dagger, the halfling with his own wee dagger dancing from side to side. Wulf dropped one orc with his axe and flipped his dagger over, ready to throw it at the halfling's target if necessary, but his target was already dead. Seemed the halfling had slit a throat or two in his time, after all. A low whistle from the halfling brought the rest of the group running. They rounded the corner to find Wulf rolling the two corpses over the side of the ravine-- a sensible enough way to hide the evidence, should any more orcs approach-- but it brought a shrill cry from the halfling. "Did you loot those guys first? Aww..." He spent a few moments looking at the battered and broken corpses at the bottom of the ravine, calculating how long it would take to climb down and, as always, how risky it would be. "I'll come back for them later." Wulf dug another gold crown out of his purse and tossed it over the side. "Make it worth yer while." Wulf moved into the darkness of the cave, ahead of the group, and surveyed the winding stone steps that led deeper into the cave. The party urged him to hurry as he checked the steps for traps and kept them shambling slowly after him. Halma was especially impatient. Eventually they came to a set of doors, still ajar; beyond that a rope bridge stretched about thirty feet across a deep crevasse. On the opposite side they could see a few thick rock outcroppings, and beyond that, a set of ornate double doors. Wulf set about searching the bridge for traps, and tied off a safety line of his own to the bridgeposts. As he turned to the group, dark shadows moved on the other side of the bridge. "ORCS!" Before anyone could stop him Halma was racing across the rope bridge. It bobbed wildly up and down and the party prayed that the youth's gangly clumsiness wouldn't send him headfirst into the crevasse-- but much to everyone's surprise, he made it across. The orcs barely had time to miss with their bows before Halma stepped up and killed both in one cleaving blow. Keldas was ready with the obvious observation. "Well, that's one way to find out if it's safe to cross." He crossed over behind Halma, followed shortly by the halfling who immediately started rifling over the orc's bodies for hidden treasure. Kellick had a little trouble getting Misty to cross, and Wulf crossed over last. He tied off the other end of his safety rope to the bridge supports. His knots would hold, if the supports would. "Keep one hand on that as yer run across... if yer *have* to run, of course." The party carefully moved past the double doors and into the room beyond, an atrium of sorts. Several passages led off into the darkness, and Wulf once again cursed the inconvenience of having to travel with topsiders and their torches. Anybody down one of those passages could see the torches and come running. A soft cry from the other side of the room got his attention. "Help us! Help us!" The party crossed over and found two halflings locked in a cell, begging for freedom. The party looked to Wulf-- he was handy with locks. "Could be a trick. Dopplegangers or summat. Let em rot." The party's halfling stepped up, no slouch with a lockpick himself. "No, *I* got it, I got it." He fumbled with the lock for a moment until Wulf grabbed his shoulder. "Look, even if they're NOT dangerous, they're a lot better off in there than they are out here when the slaughter starts. We can come back for 'em when it's safe." The party agreed with this logic-- but the captives didn't. "Nooooooooo! Please, you don't understand, they'll eeeeeeeeeeat us!" Such sniveling cowardice. If he didn't already know better from their own little peck, Wulf would have been certain that such cowardice was a fiction cooked up by dopplegangers to lure the soft-hearted. The little halflings rattled the cage. "Let us out! Hurry!" Orcish voices boomed out in broken common, "What's going on in there!? Quiet!" The guard rounded the corner just far enough to see the party standing there in their torchlight, and screamed out an ear-splitting alarm. "Intruders!" The sound of booted feet pounded through the halls. "Back to the doors, quickly!" Keldas was already back at the rope bridge. "Stop!" Wulf yelled. "If we fight from over there, we'll have no cover. We'll fight 'em here at the doors, and if we can't hold 'em back, then we cross the bridge and cut it behind us!" Wulf slammed the doors and spiked them shut. Keldas cast Mage Armor, followed by a Shield, and readied his bow. The halfling strung his little short bow-- but was already eyeing his escape route. The faithful wolf Misty stood guard at the bridge, hackles raised. Wulf stood side by side with Halma, right at the doors. "We'll cut 'em down one at a time as they come through. Ach, Kellick! Yer just stand behind us and prop us up with healing, got it?" It wasn't long before the pounding started on the doors, and the orcs slowly pushed them open despite the spikes. Wulf's axe sent the first unfortunate bastard howling to the floor, and Halma's sword swept across the doorway like a windmill. (A windmill of DEATH!) Wulf cackled as orc after orc fell beneath their blades. Occassionally an arrow would sail past them into the throng of orcs at the door-- Keldas and the halfling pitching in. It was when the arrows started to come down thicker-- and much closer to his own ears-- that Wulf realized Misty's howling wasn't simply the excitement of battle. A second contingent of orcs, led by a huge half-ogre of some kind, had taken a back way and come out through a secret door on the opposite side of the rope bridge. "How the hell did yer miss THAT?" Wulf howled at the usually keen-eyed Keldas. The orcs were readying a second volley of arrows. Keldas moved to the edge of the bridge and levitated above Misty, who was holding the ground on the heroes' side of the bridge. While Wulf and Halma kept hacking at the first contingent of orcs at the doors, Keldas repositioned his Shield and bent his bow towards the orcs on the far side of the bridge, picking off the smaller ones and making an impressive and irresistable target for their fellows. Unfortunately, his Shield was too effective. Countless volleys bounced off harmlessly, and the mighty half-ogre grew impatient. An orc drew his axe and tried to cross the bridge, but Misty snapped at him as he approached, tripping him up and sending him plunging to his death. There were no more volunteers for THAT duty, so the half-ogre called forward two wolves of his own. They trotted across the bridge and started in on Misty. Wulf and Halma were keeping things under control at the doors, but they were slowly being worn down by the orcs. They didn't hit often, but they hit hard, and it was taking its toll. The situation was desperate. And the halfling? He'd retreated behind the cover of one of the rock columns. ("Fight, damn yer, fight!") He was feverishly trying to tie an inch thick hemp rope into a knot around an arrow shaft. ("FIGHT!") Despite the fact that he obviously knew nothing about knots, ropes, arrows, or physics, he spent several precious moments locked in concentration on this single, monumental task. ("I'll kill yer myself if we live through this!") He had a PLAN. Oblivious to the fact that his allies were slowly dying around him, the gods took pity, and he finally secured a rope to an arrow. At last! He sent it hurtling towards the huge half-ogre. Missed! ("Blood and bones, fight, dammit!") He reeled in his arrow and took another shot-- this time at an easier, less-nimble orc. Thunk! The arrow buried itself into the orc's breastplate. With a mighty heave the little halfling dragged the orc off his feet and into the crevasse. The halfling had a brief, shining moment of personal glory before he felt a tug, and realized that he was holding the other end of the rope. He was about to have his 70-pound body disappear into the crevasse right after the 200-pound body of the orc. He slipped towards the edge, unable to understand why he couldn't hold on to the rope (...closer...), why he couldn't simply give the rope a good tug so the arrow would pop out of the breastplate (...closer...). He'd be damned if he was going to go through all the trouble of tying ANOTHER rope onto an arrow. (...closer...) Oh! What if he didn't even HAVE another rope? (...almost!...) "Ahhhh! Dammit! Noooooooooo..." Right at the edge of the crevasse, he finally let go. He watched sadly as his rope-arrow snaked out of sight into the darkness. Wulf quickly looked around. Everyone was pretty well occupied. He could probably slip away for just a moment to give the halfling a quick boot over the edge... No one would see... Probably no one would care... Unfortunately there was no time for such pleasant distractions. Behind the growing pile of orcs at the doors, another orc stepped up. Magical energies flashed in the air and there was a tense moment as Halma and Wulf fought off magical sleep. Trouble, indeed-- the orc witch was standing well behind her warriors. Wulf and Halma couldn't get at her if they wanted to. They bellowed at the useless halfling. "Shoot the witch!" "I have a better idea!" The halfing was rummaging in his pack again. "SHOOT THE WITCH!" "Let's see how she likes... THIS!" He came up with a vial of the viscous greek fire, heaved back his arm, and prepared to fling it over the swirling melee onto the witch behind. The world slowed to slow motion as the fighters watched the vial tumble end over end... "Nooooooooo..." They'd been privy to his carelessness before, and bore the scars to prove it. Halma especially-- he'd developed an unnatural fear of fire since he'd started travelling with the halfling. He flinched instinctively as the vial sailed overhead... ...and splashed down perfectly onto the stones at the witch's feet. Her bodyguards fell in smoldering heaps and she ran shrieking back into the darkness, still on fire. Wulf dispatched the last of the orcs at the doors and Halma was off like a shot, his sword in one hand and a torch in the other. Wulf grabbed for him, but it was too late. "Ach. Well. No offense, friend, but it was nice knowing yer." Wulf slowly shut the doors and spiked them shut. "Good luck." Wulf turned to view the battle still raging behind him. Misty was down; Keldas had dropped his bow at his feet and dropped down with his longsword to hold the bridge against the orcs' wolves. Wulf dashed forward and grabbed the elf's longbow, positioned himself behind him and started grabbing arrows out of his quiver, sending deadly shafts into the orcs on the far side. "Pick off the weak ones, peck. Yer better fight now or the next arrow has yer name on it." Kellick was the next to go down. There was no way for him to stay covered, and still perform the selfless task of keeping the party healed. Wulf and Keldas were running out of stamina; even the halfling was taking his fair share of fire from the other side. Things had never looked so grim... when suddenly... Halma came smashing through the secret door like a hammer! (A hammer of DEATH!) His greatsword had ample room on the other side of the bridge, and he cleaved through orcs with a skill and glee even Wulf could not match. The great half-ogre stepped up to fight Halma for the briefest of moments, before he took a staggering blow that made him think better of his decision. "Flee! Flee!" Their leader was off and running with some half-dozen orcs at his heels. Wulf and Keldas worked quickly to dispatch their foes on the bridge, but not quick enough. They watched as the raging barbarian-- battered and bleeding from a dozen wounds-- was off in hot pursuit of his foes. Halma knew they were no match for his savage speed. The first straggler fell to his sword, while his comrades tried to widen the distance. The next straggler, too, went down. They were halfway down the mountain before the barbarian finally came to his senses and realized that, should they orcs turn on him in desperation, they would easily take him down en masse. Halma turned and sped back up the mountain to rejoin his friends. [/QUOTE]
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