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Forgotten Lore (Updated M-W-F)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7555209" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>What's better than a Friday cliffhanger? A bonus Monday cliffhanger!</p><p></p><p>* * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 250</p><p></p><p>Held paralyzed by the fish-man shaman’s spell, Bredan could do nothing to stop the two creatures that came hurling up the stairs toward him.</p><p></p><p>But even as they started thrusting their spears at him, Xeeta appeared at his side. Holding out her rod, she poured a stream of fire down the stairs. The <em>burning hands</em> engulfed both creatures and spilled out onto the deck below, driving back several others that had approached the stairs. Xeeta tried to direct the flames up and away from the ship as much as possible, but in that confined space there was little she could do to stop exposed wood and rope from smoldering once the initial gout of fire faded. One of the creatures in the forefront stumbled backwards, clutching at its charred head, while the second slipped on the blood left from the first creature that Bredan had taken down and dropped to the deck. Bredan’s armor appeared to have stopped the worst of the spear-hits he’d taken, but Xeeta could see blood trickling down his side as he fought to throw off the effects of the spell.</p><p></p><p>“I can’t dispel this,” she told him. “You have to fight it off!”</p><p></p><p>But from the look in his eyes, he was already giving it his best effort. Xeeta scanned the lower deck for the enemy spellcaster, but it had already slipped back into the press of the creatures. Still more of them were gaining the main deck, and she knew that more would be charging up toward them within moments.</p><p></p><p>But familiar cries of battle told her that reinforcements had finally arrived. Both the forward and aft hatches had swung open, and both her friends and the crew of the <em>Gull</em> joined the fray. The first sailor to emerge was pierced by several spears and dropped to the ground, but others quickly followed, slashing at the fish-men with their cutlasses.</p><p></p><p>They might have been quickly overwhelmed, if not for the intervention of the ship’s passengers. Kosk and Quellan charged into a knot of the creatures, distracting them from the hard-pressed sailors. More of the fish-men rushed toward the fray, but were met by Kalasien and his soldiers, who quickly left one of the monsters bleeding out on the deck and several others sporting serious wounds. Glori and Rodan were last to arrive but quickly put their blades to work on stragglers that were still trying to clamber over the rail.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta shot the fish-man struggling to get back up at her feet with a <em>fire bolt</em> that put him down for good. She took up a protective stance in front of Bredan that gave her a good view of the main deck. Searching for the shaman, she finally spotted the bejeweled thing huddling in the lee of the forecastle. As she watched the creature made a gesture, and several fish-men who had appeared to be on the brink of death moments ago surged back to their feet and rejoined the fray. Xeeta lifted her rod, but she did not have a clear line of fire that wouldn’t risk a major blaze if she missed.</p><p></p><p>Instead, she yelled, “Kosk! The caster!”</p><p></p><p>The dwarf looked up, saw her, and followed the line of her pointed rod toward its target. He immediately charged into the mass of just-restored fish-men, knocking one of them back to the deck with a snap of his staff to its neck.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta turned back to check on Bredan, but was distracted by the appearance of another of the creatures on the aft rail. This one was big, almost twice the size of the ones they’d battled thus far, but as it climbed up onto the deck of the ship, she could see something else that sent a cold spike of fear through her gut.</p><p></p><p>The creature had <em>four</em> arms. Even as it gained the deck it used two of them to unsling a huge three-pronged spear from across its back. Spotting Xeeta and the still-helpless Bredan, it let out a hiss of challenge and then surged forward to attack.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7555209, member: 143"] What's better than a Friday cliffhanger? A bonus Monday cliffhanger! * * * Chapter 250 Held paralyzed by the fish-man shaman’s spell, Bredan could do nothing to stop the two creatures that came hurling up the stairs toward him. But even as they started thrusting their spears at him, Xeeta appeared at his side. Holding out her rod, she poured a stream of fire down the stairs. The [i]burning hands[/i] engulfed both creatures and spilled out onto the deck below, driving back several others that had approached the stairs. Xeeta tried to direct the flames up and away from the ship as much as possible, but in that confined space there was little she could do to stop exposed wood and rope from smoldering once the initial gout of fire faded. One of the creatures in the forefront stumbled backwards, clutching at its charred head, while the second slipped on the blood left from the first creature that Bredan had taken down and dropped to the deck. Bredan’s armor appeared to have stopped the worst of the spear-hits he’d taken, but Xeeta could see blood trickling down his side as he fought to throw off the effects of the spell. “I can’t dispel this,” she told him. “You have to fight it off!” But from the look in his eyes, he was already giving it his best effort. Xeeta scanned the lower deck for the enemy spellcaster, but it had already slipped back into the press of the creatures. Still more of them were gaining the main deck, and she knew that more would be charging up toward them within moments. But familiar cries of battle told her that reinforcements had finally arrived. Both the forward and aft hatches had swung open, and both her friends and the crew of the [i]Gull[/i] joined the fray. The first sailor to emerge was pierced by several spears and dropped to the ground, but others quickly followed, slashing at the fish-men with their cutlasses. They might have been quickly overwhelmed, if not for the intervention of the ship’s passengers. Kosk and Quellan charged into a knot of the creatures, distracting them from the hard-pressed sailors. More of the fish-men rushed toward the fray, but were met by Kalasien and his soldiers, who quickly left one of the monsters bleeding out on the deck and several others sporting serious wounds. Glori and Rodan were last to arrive but quickly put their blades to work on stragglers that were still trying to clamber over the rail. Xeeta shot the fish-man struggling to get back up at her feet with a [i]fire bolt[/i] that put him down for good. She took up a protective stance in front of Bredan that gave her a good view of the main deck. Searching for the shaman, she finally spotted the bejeweled thing huddling in the lee of the forecastle. As she watched the creature made a gesture, and several fish-men who had appeared to be on the brink of death moments ago surged back to their feet and rejoined the fray. Xeeta lifted her rod, but she did not have a clear line of fire that wouldn’t risk a major blaze if she missed. Instead, she yelled, “Kosk! The caster!” The dwarf looked up, saw her, and followed the line of her pointed rod toward its target. He immediately charged into the mass of just-restored fish-men, knocking one of them back to the deck with a snap of his staff to its neck. Xeeta turned back to check on Bredan, but was distracted by the appearance of another of the creatures on the aft rail. This one was big, almost twice the size of the ones they’d battled thus far, but as it climbed up onto the deck of the ship, she could see something else that sent a cold spike of fear through her gut. The creature had [i]four[/i] arms. Even as it gained the deck it used two of them to unsling a huge three-pronged spear from across its back. Spotting Xeeta and the still-helpless Bredan, it let out a hiss of challenge and then surged forward to attack. [/QUOTE]
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