Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 3910734" data-attributes="member: 812">Frying Pan, Fire: 3"So, here we are...""Here we are...""...breaking into the Caliph's Palace...""...breaking into the Caliph's Palace...""...to rescue the dumb-ass who gave his name to the Kishaks so they could come and arrest him."Elena did not repeat Isaac's whispered words this time. She pointed silently down into the garden where a pair of guards patrolled. The Kishak warriors disappeared behind a tall fern and the two Saijadani dropped down from the top of the wall.Not in total silence. Elena's foot crunched on some twigs and the guards whirled, spears at the ready, and closed in on where she and Isaac crouched."Come on out of there. We know you're in there. We won't hurt you.""We will."The guards turned in surprise as Etienne emerged from a rhododendron behind  them. One collapsed, clutching at his throat, and the other drew breath to scream.Zuleika's scimitar lashed out and his head rolled down the garden path to where Elena and Isaac straightened up. They watched as Zuleika, her face twisted with anger, delivered another two-handed blow to the corpse of the Kishak guard at her feet.Etienne touched the woman's arm and they stared at each other for a second. Zuleika nodded."Clear."Isaac ran back to the garden wall and tossed one end of a rope over. He felt it tug and began hauling.Kani's creepy weird body/corpse/thing appeared at the top of the wall and, mastering his disgust, Isaac lowered it to the garden path. He tossed the rope back and soon Arrafin stood next to the nasty "gift" she'd received from Madame Yuek."You know, Arrafin, I'm not so sure studying sorcery is a great idea."Arrafin scowled, one hand stroking the soft feathers of her owl familiar."Let's find him and get out of here. Gral is sure something bad is coming. Come on, Kani. Come with me."Watching that thing obey Arrafin's instructions and walk along behind her was by far the creepiest thing Isaac had seen in.He shook his head sourly.In hours, at least."So, here we are...""Here we are...""...letting one friend lose her own soul in order to rescue another.""Yeah."Elena managed a grin at her old friend."We can't let her go alone, now can we?""Oh, no. Can't have that."*****To everyone's surprise, Arrafin knew the layout of the Caliph's palace rather well. She had picked the Lesser Fern Garden as their point of entry as it led into the Old Wing, where the Kishaks had situated their City Barracks, and where rumour had it most "political prisoners" were held.Gral swooped down the dark hall ahead of the little band of rescuers, and the others watched Arrafin for indication as to which way to go. The slender Naridic girl pointed."There's two guards just around that corner."Etienne nodded and he and Isaac drifted forward in silence. They stepped around the corner and after a moment, Etienne leaned back and waved them forward.They moved down the narrow hallway, careful to step lightly on the polished flagstones. Two Kishaks sprawled on the floor in spreading pools of blood. Arrafin considered for a second, then pointed again."This way. There's a locked door and a room full of guards.""How many?""More than two. Gral can't count very high."Zuleika snickered."That's okay, neither can Etienne.""Hey!""Shush. The guards we've already killed will be found soon enough. Let's move."The group followed Isaac's advice. They burst into a guardroom of dark stone, low ceilings and rough wooden furniture. Kishak soldiers leapt to their feet and drew steel.Isaac, Zuleika and Etienne were first in. Isaac spun off to the left and feinted high at the guard still getting up, and when he raised his longsword to block, the Saijadani's heavy blade came swooping down to slam into his stomach. The Kishak groaned and collapsed across a table. Zuleika whirled her scimitar overhead and kicked out, knocking a chair at one guard while she chopped down right through the parry of another, her weapon shearing through collarbone and shoulder in a spray of blood.Etienne took advantage of flying furniture to thrust one of his longknives into the distracted guard's kidney, and as that soldier dropped to his knees, screaming and clutching at his side, the half-breed spun low, ducking a wild strike and coming up underneath, planting his other blade up into the ribcage of his second opponent.Elena fired her crossbow down the length of the room, catching the guard nearest the far door in the face with an explosive burst of bone fragments and blood.Still, another six or seven guards filled half the room, no longer off guard but forming up into a tightly coordinated group. Isaac pushed forward but one effective parry and another dangerous counter-thrust sent him stumbling back just barely staying clear. Zuleika showed even less caution and took a deep cut to her leg before breaking off.Elena yanked at her crossbow to reload it but looked up as two figures strolled past her. Arrafin led Kani into the room.The Naridic girl ran a hand up the forest of pins that emerged from Kani's flayed back. Arrafin shuddered with easy flow of Shadow energy that came spilling out of Madame Yuek's gift, but she began her spell and all else passed from her mind.Flagstones at her feet erupted in a deafening explosion of dust and stone, which then ripped forward, hurling furniture and bodies aside and blasting right through the iron door where the Kishak guards had taken their stand.Zuleika reeled from the sudden thunder, but both Isaac and Etienne plunged forward to take advantage of the stupefied guards. Elena just stared at Arrafin. Her friend was grinning with delighted glee at the aftermath of her spell. She turned to Elena."It worked! Wow, that was really something, wasn't it? Did you see that?""Yeah. Saw it. Heard it, too. And so did the whole palace, I'm sure. Zuleika, wait. I want to try something."Elena put her hand on Zuleika's leg and concentrated. She grunted as a wound on her own leg suddenly opened, even as Zuleika's leg healed. She recalled seeing this happen on the body of that ancient undead warrior, Laughter of Stones.As Zuleika stood up, shocked, Elena turned her attention to herself, and willed her body to repair itself. Flesh knitted and skin sealed itself and, with only a certain fatigue to tell her anything had happened, Elena got to her feet."That'll come in handy with you lot, I'm sure."The group scrambled past bleeding and torn bodies and into the dark hall beyond.*****Nevid had always assumed that his imaginative pictures of dungeon cells would turn out to be wrong, but no. The Caliph of Al-Tizim, at any rate, went in for the standard stone walls and single iron-clad door with a small barred window at face height.He sat on the bench and sighed. Isabella would be so disappointed with him.A blue, flickering light shone through the barred window. Whatever it was, it moved, sending rectangles of light sweeping across the cell walls. Nevid got to his feet and was about to rush to the window when a sudden mechanical clattering stopped him.He'd heard that sound before. It sounded like nothing so much as an enormous metallic spider.A harsh, grating voice snarled something in no language Nevid had ever heard. Cringing replies and slapping footsteps told of a good-sized group outside. Echoing bangs and clangs reverberated down the hall outside.They were banging on the doors of the cells.Looking for someone.A sudden memory of an elderly Lohanese man sitting in the midst of articulated metal arms came to Nevid. He shuddered and with a quick motion, ran to the wall where the door stood, crouching down so he could not be seen from the window.The clanging grew louder. Somebody screamed in Naridic, and there was a sudden eruption of voices and struggle. The screaming rose up higher, frantic. Butcher shop noises filled the hallway and the screaming cut off. Laughter, and then that harsher voice, snarling out commands.With a distant rumble dust drifted down from the ceiling. Nevid looked up with a frown. It seemed the noise had startled the interlopers outside as they paused in their searching. It was only a matter of moments before they came to Nevid's cell. They would see it was locked and they would know somebody was in there.Nevid ran over his options. They were few enough.The cell next door was thrown open, the iron door banging against the wall. Somebody heaved against Nevid's door. Voices chattering. That strange blue light shone more brightly through the window and Nevid could hear breathing, angry voices. The Saijadani youth huddled down against the wall, willing the searchers to move on to the next cell, to assume somebody accidentally locked an empty cell, to leave and not notice him.But no.Some terrific force thundered against the door and it tore open with a spray of rock and dust. Nevid choked and then struggled as cold hands grasped his arms. Despite his heaving and wrenching, he was dragged out into the hall.Before him sneered Matai Shang, the wizened sorcerer who sat in a bizarre array of mechanical limbs. He who had fought the dread vampire Madame Yuek toe-to-toe and not been immediately turned into a pile of dust. He looked five thousand years old. And very, very unhappy.That ancient face leaned forward. He spoke in halting Imperial Kishak."I need your brain."Nevid couldn't think of a thing to say. To his surprise, however, somebody else answered."I wouldn't bother. It doesn't seem to work very well."Cringing minions turned to gape down the hall behind their master. Shang himself levered himself around to look at who had spoken. At last Nevid, realising he was unattended to, leaned to his right to see past Shang.At the far end of the hall stood Isaac, fists on his hips, and with him Arrafin, Etienne, Zuleika and Elena, with varying degrees of confidence on their faces.Arrafin waved."Hi, Nevid. We're here to rescue you."Shang gestured. His impatience sent minions scuttling forward."I will attend to you once I have what I came for."Shang turned back to Nevid.But Nevid had gone.Isaac and Elena sighed."So, here we are...""Here we are..."</blockquote>

Verification