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Message: <blockquote data-quote="simmo" data-source="post: 1452801" data-attributes="member: 9744">chapter 7 The Rendering WorksKill it now! Andrew shouted via the mental link that Serena had formed between them. The flames were already dying away as the earth genasi stormed across the blasted threshold of the building and on to the stone workshop floor.Broken tables, small pools of molten metal and charred apparatus lay scattered around the ground of the Rendering works. The chain hanging from the ceiling had melted in the blast and only small streamers of bright steel and iron remained. As they swung aimlessly they collided and sounded almost musical, accompanied with the hoarse shouts of fear and pain coming from the covered pits in the far corner.At the back of the large ruined chamber stood the battered remains of the barricade that the Anakharim knights had swiftly erected when the alarm was raised. The front of the structure had taken most of the blast, but further back the defendable wall was mostly intact. The knights, led by black robed woman, were hastily rebuilding the barricade preparing for the next attack. A bariaur woman had cautiously come down the stairs and was holding a short blade in her quivering hand. She stared around in disbelief, feeling angry at the intrusion on her work and the destruction that it had brought with it.Caleb and Andrew sprinted across the chamber, their boots crunching through the dust of the modrons that were incinerated in the blast. A hot wind blew through with them promising further bloodshed and pain. As the earth genasi got close to the barrier he hefted Aggemam the Destroyer high above his head in an arc, bringing it around in a backwards stroke.The swing was timed perfectly at a weak spot in the barrier where it tore through the cooling metal as if it was paper. The hammer continued its forward momentum with Caleb pushing it and Aggemam ploughed the sheared off metal strip through the chest of the one of the knights. The young warrior did not even get a chance to cry out in pain before his body slumped to the ground.“Go on master, that's a superb hit!” the earth mephit shouted as it hurried to catch up with Caleb.“Oooh, that's gonna sting in the morning.” The ooze mephit cackled gleefully and shouted words of encouragement to its master.The bariaur woman backed away from the combatants, lowering the blade that she was carrying and seeking cover behind the others.Andrew had slipped in behind Caleb, using one of the rivets on the earth genasi's armour to give himself extra leverage as he swung himself bodily at one of the other knights with his longsword leading the way. The woman brought up her sword to block the strike, but the Indep battered it aside and buried his sword in her stomach.Zakar and Sir Osbourne charged in through the breach created by Caleb. The hound archon swung his great sword around in deadly arc keeping the enemies at bay. He saw the Andrew's sword wet with blood and slashed down at the fallen knight, bringing her suffering to a merciful end. Sir Osbourne leapt over the metal carnage and landed next to the black robed woman. With a prayer to Bahamut on his lips he launched several deadly strikes at her. Amazingly only one of them managed to injure her and the Sir Osbourne almost swore when he saw that her skin was as hard as granite.The Anakharim knights rallied and hit back at their attackers. The large chamber was filled with the sounds of weapons clashing that drowned out the pitiful cries for help from those dying in the pits. Caleb sent a mental command to his mephits to aid him and they began to sing praises to him and his mighty hammer. Andrew winced when he heard the words “it's hammer time” and “can't touch this”, which put him off enough that he was unable to decapitate one of the knights. His sword did got through the knights defences and left him clutching his neck with dark fluid pooling rapidly at his feet.Zakar and Caleb worked together to bring down one of the other dark knights and Sir Osbourne called upon the power of his pure faith to strike the wizardess. He almost succeeded in finishing her off, but through sheer will power alone she remained standing. The spell that was at the tip of her lips fizzled away as she struggled to stay on her feet. The woman wailed in despair at the loss of the arcing lighting enchantment that had fizzled away and she prepared another spell that would enable a hasty departure.Just as Caleb was musing aloud Maybe we should take her alive? to the others, Andrew snuck up on her and stabbed her in the side. The tip of his sword protruded from the other end and the wizardess fell to the ground in a pool of blood and metal. I'm sorry, you were saying? Andrew asked Caleb innocently.The last knight standing threw down his sword and held out the palms of his hands in a sign of surrender. The injured man collapsed and Zakar made sure that he would not bleed to death. The bariaur woman held out her hands in surrender as well and Cade approached her with a big smile on his face.Caleb and Sir Osbourne rushed over to the covered pits and saw several unmoving bodies inside. One of them was still moving slightly. Heaving with all his might the earth genasi attempted to push the bars aside. Sir Osbourne had a go as well, but was unable to get much further. On Caleb's second attempt Sir Osbourne knelt down and reached for the dying woman. The tips of his fingers brushed her head and he was able to channel the healing power of Bahamut in to the captive. A quick inspection of the other pits revealed that the humans and dwarves in them had either perished during the blast or shortly afterwards. Several of the pits were lined with a fine dust.Whilst the others were trying to save the dying woman in the pits, Cade decided to find out how much the woman knew in case there were any other nasty surprises awaiting them.“So then, what's up?” the halfling asked, smiling kindly at the bariaur woman. He could sense the ripples of fear in her mind and sifted through her emotions at the thoughts underneath.“You won't get away with this,” she spat at the halfling who easily stepped around it.“I rather think that we already have,” Cade replied with a triumphant smile.“Do you really think that this is an important base? You've not seen anything yet.” The bariaur woman felt something feathery brush against her mind and realised that the halfling or another was attempting to read her thoughts.“Of course not, we've only just got here.” The halfling looked around as if he was admiring the view of the devastated work-shop and continued to pick at the surface thoughts of the bariaur woman. He sensed her anger at disturbing her work as well as a fear for what they might find upstairs.“So why shouldn't we go upstairs?” Cade asked the woman with a warm smile that did not quite reach his cold, hard eyes. He was pleased to see the pupils of her eyes enlarge in fear and twirled his knife between his fingers. The woman tried not to think about her experiments upstairs and instead focused her anger on their leader Sethesis. She was sure that he would have fled at the first sign of trouble. 'To avoid being captured by the enemy' as he often put it.If you are at all interested, the chap that you are busily exchanging spells with or what ever it is you're doing out there is called Sethetis, the leader of the base. Cade was vaguely aware that Littleby was in a spell duel of some kind and wanted to pass on the information that he'd gathered so far.He has a name? Littleby asked from far away, trying to out-fly a swarm of locusts.Sethetisithetis or Sethetis or something. Cade said the name aloud just to confirm it with the bariaur woman. She did not reply but the change in her expression told him enough. He's some kind of leader so it's best not to kill him.</blockquote>

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