Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Forgotten Lore (Updated M-W-F)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7380032" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 139</p><p></p><p>When the enemy’s <em>fireball</em> had exploded above him, Kurok realized that he had underestimated these foes. The flames enveloped the top of the mound where he’d been standing just a moment before, but the luck of the Veiled One was with him and he managed to avoid the worst of the blast.</p><p></p><p>He crept around to the edge of the cover provided by the stone formation to see his forces engaged in a violent melee with the five champions of the human king. From what he saw, Vederos had sold them short in his descriptions. Most were holding their own despite being swarmed by Usk’s worgriders, but Kurok’s attention was drawn to the one who had hurled the <em>fireball</em> at him.</p><p></p><p>For a moment he was surprised to see that she was almost certainly one of the Blooded. But the obvious kinship they shared did not stay his hand long. His first <em>eldritch blast</em> caught her a glancing blow in her side, but she ducked under the second. Kurok quickly darted back into cover before she could respond.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps it had been a mistake to summon the <em>Hunger of Hadar</em> behind the foe, instead of in their midst. His plan had been to cut off their escape and let Usk’s forces destroy them. But it now seemed clear that he would have to take a more direct hand in things.</p><p></p><p>He drew up his cloak and let its magic conceal him. Then, moving slowly and carefully, he crept back up the side of the mound. He slowly lifted his head until he could see the battle once more.</p><p></p><p>What he saw was not encouraging. Their enemies had all suffered wounds, but more of Usk’s creatures were down than still up and fighting. A portion of their force had fled, no doubt affected by the magical <em>fear</em> conjured by the half-elven woman. They might be back, but it did not look like it would be in time to affect the outcome.</p><p></p><p>He took on the distribution of the remaining forces. He could channel the full power of the Veiled One only once more this day. He had no illusions about the outcome of a spell duel with the Blooded on the other side. He sensed that her gift was innate, rather than granted as his was, and based on what he’d already seen that meant that she was almost certainly more powerful than he.</p><p></p><p>But he still had one card left to play.</p><p></p><p>He opened his mind to the power of the Veiled One. The bargain he had struck was honored, and magic flowed into him.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, he rose. None of the enemy noticed him, but as his cloak fell away he saw Usk Bloodrider, clinging to his blooded mount, look up and meet his gaze. The betrayal in the goblin’s eyes turned into a bright hatred.</p><p></p><p>The enemy mage saw him when he let his cloak fall open, but it was too late for her to stop him. Kurok lifted his hands and prepared to release his <em>fireball</em>.</p><p></p><p>Pain exploded through him. He staggered forward, and only barely kept himself from toppling over the edge of the mound. He tried to keep hold of his spell but the magic was already dissipating, his conjured flames dissolving into nothing as the animating power behind the spell faded. The pain continued to radiate from a point in his back. He coughed and felt the iron tang of blood in his throat.</p><p></p><p>He turned around and saw a figure in the distance, at the very edge of the forest. His eyes widened in amazement as he recognized the distinctive features of yet <em>another</em> of the Blooded. The figure was already fitting another arrow to the longbow with which he’d obviously just shot Kurok. The hobgoblin could see others just emerging from the woods behind him, a small force of dwarves and humans who shouted as they spotted him. A few had missile weapons of their own that they quickly raised. They’d have to be insanely lucky to score a hit at that range, but Kurok had already seen the way his luck had turned.</p><p></p><p>Yanking his cloak around him again, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain the action reawakened in his back, Kurok leapt down from the mound. He hit the ground running, pulling the concealing elven fabric tighter around his body as he fled. He could hear Usk shouting commands behind him and hoped that the goblin was more focused on extracting the survivors of his force than on securing his revenge against the hobgoblin.</p><p></p><p>Kurok didn’t stop running until he reached the cover of the trees, and then paused only long enough to verify that there was no immediate pursuit. He could see worgs deeper in the woods, moving away, but made no effort to call out to them or otherwise reveal his presence. The arrow in his back was an agony, but there was no way to get to it right now. One of Usk’s acolytes had been left behind to guard their camp, but he doubted that he’d get to him before the surviving worg riders did. Somehow he doubted that he’d get a warm welcome at that moment.</p><p></p><p>Pulling his cloak close around him, he slunk off to the northeast until the thickening forest swallowed him up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7380032, member: 143"] Chapter 139 When the enemy’s [i]fireball[/i] had exploded above him, Kurok realized that he had underestimated these foes. The flames enveloped the top of the mound where he’d been standing just a moment before, but the luck of the Veiled One was with him and he managed to avoid the worst of the blast. He crept around to the edge of the cover provided by the stone formation to see his forces engaged in a violent melee with the five champions of the human king. From what he saw, Vederos had sold them short in his descriptions. Most were holding their own despite being swarmed by Usk’s worgriders, but Kurok’s attention was drawn to the one who had hurled the [i]fireball[/i] at him. For a moment he was surprised to see that she was almost certainly one of the Blooded. But the obvious kinship they shared did not stay his hand long. His first [i]eldritch blast[/i] caught her a glancing blow in her side, but she ducked under the second. Kurok quickly darted back into cover before she could respond. Perhaps it had been a mistake to summon the [i]Hunger of Hadar[/i] behind the foe, instead of in their midst. His plan had been to cut off their escape and let Usk’s forces destroy them. But it now seemed clear that he would have to take a more direct hand in things. He drew up his cloak and let its magic conceal him. Then, moving slowly and carefully, he crept back up the side of the mound. He slowly lifted his head until he could see the battle once more. What he saw was not encouraging. Their enemies had all suffered wounds, but more of Usk’s creatures were down than still up and fighting. A portion of their force had fled, no doubt affected by the magical [i]fear[/i] conjured by the half-elven woman. They might be back, but it did not look like it would be in time to affect the outcome. He took on the distribution of the remaining forces. He could channel the full power of the Veiled One only once more this day. He had no illusions about the outcome of a spell duel with the Blooded on the other side. He sensed that her gift was innate, rather than granted as his was, and based on what he’d already seen that meant that she was almost certainly more powerful than he. But he still had one card left to play. He opened his mind to the power of the Veiled One. The bargain he had struck was honored, and magic flowed into him. Slowly, he rose. None of the enemy noticed him, but as his cloak fell away he saw Usk Bloodrider, clinging to his blooded mount, look up and meet his gaze. The betrayal in the goblin’s eyes turned into a bright hatred. The enemy mage saw him when he let his cloak fall open, but it was too late for her to stop him. Kurok lifted his hands and prepared to release his [i]fireball[/i]. Pain exploded through him. He staggered forward, and only barely kept himself from toppling over the edge of the mound. He tried to keep hold of his spell but the magic was already dissipating, his conjured flames dissolving into nothing as the animating power behind the spell faded. The pain continued to radiate from a point in his back. He coughed and felt the iron tang of blood in his throat. He turned around and saw a figure in the distance, at the very edge of the forest. His eyes widened in amazement as he recognized the distinctive features of yet [i]another[/i] of the Blooded. The figure was already fitting another arrow to the longbow with which he’d obviously just shot Kurok. The hobgoblin could see others just emerging from the woods behind him, a small force of dwarves and humans who shouted as they spotted him. A few had missile weapons of their own that they quickly raised. They’d have to be insanely lucky to score a hit at that range, but Kurok had already seen the way his luck had turned. Yanking his cloak around him again, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain the action reawakened in his back, Kurok leapt down from the mound. He hit the ground running, pulling the concealing elven fabric tighter around his body as he fled. He could hear Usk shouting commands behind him and hoped that the goblin was more focused on extracting the survivors of his force than on securing his revenge against the hobgoblin. Kurok didn’t stop running until he reached the cover of the trees, and then paused only long enough to verify that there was no immediate pursuit. He could see worgs deeper in the woods, moving away, but made no effort to call out to them or otherwise reveal his presence. The arrow in his back was an agony, but there was no way to get to it right now. One of Usk’s acolytes had been left behind to guard their camp, but he doubted that he’d get to him before the surviving worg riders did. Somehow he doubted that he’d get a warm welcome at that moment. Pulling his cloak close around him, he slunk off to the northeast until the thickening forest swallowed him up. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Forgotten Lore (Updated M-W-F)
Top