DEMODANDS IN THE MIST
“Well, I hope this isn’t your idea of a stealth operation.” As one, the Bright Axes turned towards the sound of the voice, weapons ready and still on the razor’s edge from their confrontation with the minotaur. They were stunned to see a familiar figure lounging against the doorframe at the entrance to Gau’s chambers. Houshang shook his head and smirked. “Doors left standing wide open, bodies strewn everywhere, and not to mention that garish light that Grimm insists on carrying around with him. It’s a wonder the whole place hasn’t come down on you yet.”
“What are ye doin’ here, baldy?” Rusty snapped, lowering his axe, but not returning it to his belt. “I thought ye’d had enough of us.”
“I don’t suppose you would believe that I had a bout of conscience thinking of you all taking on these mad Cagewrights all by your lonesome?” the wizard asked innocently. “No? Well then, suffice it to say that I was not exactly welcomed back to Thay with open arms, and I find myself temporarily displaced.”
“Ye mean they kicked ye out, and ye got no other place to go,” Rusty snorted.
Houshang shrugged. “Let’s just say I’ve had no better offers.”
“Suit yerself,” the dwarf said, turning away, “but if ye’re in fer a penny, yer in fer a pound. Don’t be cuttin’ out on us when the heat’s on, or it won’t just be yer wizard buddies that ye have to worry about.”
“I’m a man of my word,” Houshang said, smiling, but the mirth didn’t quite reach all the way to his glittering black eyes.
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The group retraced their steps to the chamber where the second group of farastus had been quartered. Gunther had located a hidden exit from the room on his initial sweep, and having no other alternative, it seemed the logical choice. “Kiko,” Houshang said, sidling up to the monk as the others proceeded thru the door, “I’ve noticed your fighting style. You’re very effective and deadly, but I think that maybe I could improve on your natural ability.” “How do you mean?” Kiko asked somewhat skeptically. “Well,” Houshang replied, rubbing his hands together, “if you’ll trust me, I can weave a simple spell that will vastly improve your strength, your stamina, and the thickness of your skin. Interested?” “Well…” the monk hesitated. “Excellent!” Houshang said. “Hold still!” Before Kiko could respond, the red wizard began an incantation, weaving intricate patterns in the air all around the monk. Then, before the startled eyes of his companions, Kiko’s body began to change, growing taller, more massive, his skin turning slate gray with the consistency of stone. When the spell was completed, Kiko found that he was no longer human, but a giant…a stone giant! “What…what have you done to me?” he asked incredulously, gazing down at his new form. “Only what I promised!” Houshang said gleefully. “Don’t worry, it’s not permanent, and like I said, now you’re more powerful than ever. Besides, I want to make sure there’s plenty of muscle between me and whatever these Cagewrights are going to be throwing at us.”
“I have to admit,” Rusty said chuckling, “it’s improved yer looks lad!”
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Beyond the door was a smaller, rough-hewn tunnel. Tilly took the lead once more, and before he’d gone more than a dozen yards, he came to a sudden halt. His sharp ears had picked up a faint noise from around a near bend. It almost sounded like the rustling of feathered wings. As he turned back towards his companions, he saw Grimm nodding and pointing at his ear, indicating that he had heard the noise as well. “Trouble,” the half-ogre grumbled to the others, and no sooner had the words left his mouth, than two concealed curtains on either side of the passage just beyond Tilly were flung to the side. From hidden alcoves emerged easily a dozen creatures that looked like anthropomorphic vultures. Vrock demons! The Bright Axes had met their kind before, most recently on the shores of Cauldron’s crater lake when they had been summoned by the morkoth. Tilly immediately began tumbling away from the onslaught, back towards his friends. Grimm braced himself for the rush, but found himself unprepared for the sight of Dalthon rushing past him. “Wait!” the sorcerer cried. “All is not as it seems!” With a word, Dalthon fired a volley of magic missiles from his fingers at the oncoming swarm. One missile struck each of the first five vrocks, and in a flicker of light, the creatures vanished. “It is as I suspected,” the sorcerer shouted. “They have created illusionary images of themselves. There are only two that are real!” Grimm nodded, and surged forward, striking at random at one of the remaining vrocks. By blind luck, his blow landed true, and instead of vanishing, the real demon shrieked in pain. In a flash, Tilly rolled into position behind the demon, first banishing another of its doubles, and then planting his sword firmly into the true culprit.
“Hey, save one for me!” Ike boomed, rushing towards the melee and leveling his hammer at the lead vrock. As the demon reeled, it shrieked again, but this time the timbre of its voice was suddenly different, and all of the Bright Axes found themselves involuntarily clasping their hands to their ears. Even as Houshang did so, his knees buckled, and the red wizard swooned to the floor. Next, the demon seemed to momentarily fold in on itself, and then an explosion of black, spiny spores erupted from its body, embedding in the flesh of Tilly, Ike and Grimm. Instantly the heroes felt the nettles boring into their skin and taking root. In a matter of seconds, leathery, black vines began to sprout from the wounds, quickly lengthening to the floor, and giving each of the adventurers the appearance of a large, freakish shrub.
Recovering from the stunning screech, Dalthon quickly launched another flurry of missiles at the second vrock, blasting away four of its protective images, and then hitting the demon itself with the remaining projectiles. Grimm, ignoring the pain from the sprouting vines, lunged like a huge shambling mound at the first vrock, hammering it to the ground with his chain, and then stepping over its broken body to flail away at its cohort. Suddenly, the half-ogre felt himself roughly pushed to the side as the giant form of Kiko tumbled past him. The large monk seized the vrock in a vice-like bear hug, lifting it bodily from the ground. As the demon struggled to free itself from the giant’s embrace, Tilly plunged his sword into its belly, and its attempts ceased.
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The narrow corridor ended at a non-descript pair of double doors. Beyond was a much larger hall running south to north. To the south, a glowing red light could be glimpsed from somewhere in the distance. Closer, to the north, the passage ended at a T-intersection. The Bright Axes chose this path first. Tilly was once more in the lead position, though the rustling vines which still sprouted from his body made it a bit more difficult for him to be discrete. At the intersection, the rogue cautiously peered around both corners. To the east, the hallway seemed to round a corner a dozen yards or so away. To the west, it opened into a large chamber only about fifteen feet from the intersection. Tilly crept forward and looked into the room. It reeked of a strong, acid odor. A pale, green ichor coated the floor, and strange, warped furniture stood among the chamber’s other contents. Against a far wall a rack had been attached, and stretched out on it were the burned and disfigured remains of at least seven humanoids. The halfling felt sickened at the sight, but his attention was rapidly diverted by the pair of loathsome creatures standing near the torture device. They were obviously demodands, though more bloated than the farastus, with a pair of stubby wings protruding from their backs. Tilly recognized them as kelubars. The Bright Axes had run into a pair in Cauldron trying to herd some hapless citizens into building their own prison. As silently as possible, the little scout began to move back toward his companions, but the telltale swishing of the vines was his undoing. The kelubars jerked their heads towards the chamber entrance, and began growling at each other in their unintelligible tongue. As Tilly turned to flee, he saw a third demodand suddenly appear in the center of the chamber, apparently summoned there by its brethren. Then everything went dim. A heavy, dense mist abruptly filled the entire hallway with noxious green vapor. Not only was it almost impossible to see where he was going, but Tilly felt as though he was walking thru quicksand. The fog would not part for him, and every step was an effort. Even worse, where the acrid vapor touched his skin, it burned like fire. The other Bright Axes were just as taken aback as the acidic fog enshrouded them. Gunther instantly recognized it for what it was, a powerful spell that was deadly with prolonged exposure, and an effective prison due to its hindrance of movement. He had to try to get rid of it. He quickly began reciting a prayer of dispelling, but when it was complete, the fog still remained. The demodands must be powerful spell casters indeed.
Grimm was not having the same problem that his friends were. Though the acid fog burned him, it did not impair his mobility thanks to the magical ring that he wore which gave him total freedom of movement, no matter the restriction. Quickly, he made his way out of the mist and into the demodands’ chamber, but just as quickly he found himself enveloped in a second fog bank…and then a third. Soon, the mist filled the entire chamber. Though Grimm was unhindered, he knew he was at a severe disadvantage without the ready support of his allies. The half-ogre turned this way and that, searching for his opponents, but they found him first. A thin beam of green energy struck him from out of the fog, and Grimm felt the familiar sensation of his great strength ebbing. A moment later, a wave of power washed over him, and the celestial brilliance that bathed him was snuffed out like a candle. There was movement all around him. A rustle of wings from behind him told him that he was surrounded. He whirled around, but not fast enough. Wicked claws tore into his exposed flank, and blood gushed. Clutching his side, the half-ogre began moving back towards the chamber’s entrance and his companions, but no sooner had he started to retreat, than the kelubars were on him. All three struck at him from out of the gloom, opening up more hideous wounds in his flesh. The great warrior staggered, then lunged towards the exit. He could hear the demodands following, and as the first one’s shadowy shape appeared in the hallway, Grimm lashed his chain at it, causing it to rock back on its heels to avoid the deadly blow. The second kelubar rushed past its brother, but Grimm was ready for it. He struck at it with wicked precision three times as it approached, giving it pause and allowing him to make it back to the relative safety of his friends.
Rusty and Gunther could hear the battle approaching, and knew they had to act fast. Acting in unison, they each began a prayer which granted the recipient the same freedom of movement afforded Grimm by his ring. Rusty’s target was Ike, while Gunther’s was himself. However, no sooner had the priests completed their spells, than Dalthon’s triumphant shout accompanied the abrupt disappearance of the fog bank. The sorcerer had successfully disrupted the spell, and now all the combatants stood revealed.
Tilly was first to Grimm’s aid. The halfling darted between the massive legs of the kelubars, planning to come up behind one of them and hopefully hamstring the behemoth. Though the rogue’s blade struck true, the size of the demodand belied its speed, and it rolled with the blow, coming up to face the halfling, bleeding but not crippled as he had hoped.
Ike was right behind the little rogue, but as he approached his intended target, the large demon swatted him aside, slamming the goliath into a wall. Never one to be deterred by such minor annoyances as broken bones, Ike bounced off the stone and allowed his momentum to carry him straight back towards the demodand. The kelubar’s eyes went wide in surprise, and then pain as the goliath’s great hammer hit with a meaty thud right between them. Down the beast went, and Ike roared out a tribal victory oath. His celebration was cut short, however, when one of the remaining demodands conjured up yet another acid cloud.
Houshang was caught on the far side of this cloud, and he could not see what was transpiring within. Never one for subtlety, nor one to be bothered by such concepts as collateral damage, the Archmage hurled an exploding ball of pure sonic force directly into the cloud, heedless of whom might be its target. The spell exploded with a thunderclap of sound, yet the kelubars' innate resistance to magic allowed them to shrug off its effects without harm. Fortunately, Houshang’s own allies were outside of the blast radius…that time.
Grimm found Rusty and Gunther in the fog. “Heal me priests,” he growled, staring back into the mist at the approaching shadows. Before either of the dwarves had a chance, one of the kelubars lumbered forward, slashing again at Grimm, and carrying him away from them with the force of its blow. As it passed, its foul stench assailed Gunther’s nostrils, and the theurge suddenly found himself overcome with nausea. He bent double, heaving and retching, and then finally collapsing to his hands and knees. Rusty looked down at his cohort, but knew that he didn’t dare take time to relieve the other’s illness. Instead, the senior priest uttered a different sort of prayer, and a wreath of baleful red light formed around his outstretched right hand. Moving as fast as the viscid fog would allow, Rusty followed after the demodand, until he was close enough to place his palm against its stinking flesh. Instantly the monster howled in agony as the necromantic magic literally began sucking the life out of it. Grimm didn’t waste the moment. Stepping forward, he flailed at the demodand. Enraged and in mortal pain, the beast lashed back at him, slamming him backwards with two great blows. Knowing this might be his last chance, Grimm redoubled his efforts, whipping and smashing at the kelubar, until finally it fell to his assault.
The last demodand found itself toe-to-toe with Ike and Tilly. The trio traded several glancing, but non-lethal blows, but the kelubar had the decided advantage, being able to move freely in the constrictive, burning mist while Tilly could not, and Ike felt his skin being melted slowly off him. From the gloom the two heard Grimm’s cry, “To me Bright Axes! We must fall back!” With one deft movement, Ike swept Tilly up in his arms, and then fled towards Grimm’s voice. Behind him, he could hear the ponderous steps of the kelubar as it pursued him. Finally, the goliath broke free of the mist and raced towards his comrades. As the kelubar emerged from the fog, a salvo of magic missiles, courtesy of Houshang and Dalthon, surged into it. Ike dropped Tilly unceremoniously to the ground, then turned back towards the demodand. With Grimm one step behind him, the liberator charged the brute. Like a tidal wave, the fury of the goliath and the half-ogre washed over the demodand, leaving nothing but a bloody mist in the air as the creature was banished back to Carceri.
