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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7579499" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 269</p><p></p><p>Galendra made one last effort to break free, but only managed to fall back onto her side. The bars of the cage that had so stymied her would be no barrier at all to the dragon-man’s spear, she knew.</p><p></p><p>She tensed as it lifted the weapon to strike, but the expected blow did not come. Instead the creature just stood there stiffly. Galendra blinked at it in surprise, but her confusion transformed into something else as the guard suddenly went limp and toppled to the floor. A figure that had been concealed behind it caught it and eased it down, even managing to shoot out a foot that interrupted the spear before it could clatter on the hard floor of the hut.</p><p></p><p>The familiar figure shot her a quick grin. It was Rodan, the tiefling scout and archer. He finished easing the dead guard to the floor, then quickly wiped his bloody sword clean before sliding it back into its scabbard. He produced a dagger as he crossed to the small cell.</p><p></p><p>“Just hold on, I’ll have you out of here in a blink,” he said. Galendra, blinking back tears, nodded.</p><p></p><p>The leather throngs that held the cage shut parted after a few strokes of his knife. Galendra winced as he lifted her out of the cage. She flushed at the thought of how she must look in her current state, but he only touched her face lightly and then carefully cut her free.</p><p></p><p>Fresh pain shot down her arms as blood flowed back into them, but this time she welcomed it. As Rodan cut away her gag she said, “My crew.”</p><p></p><p>“Xeeta and Kalasien are getting them. We have allies.” He handed her his waterskin, and she gratefully accepted it.</p><p></p><p>“The others are making a distraction?” she asked when she’d finished clearing the worst of the nastiness from her throat.</p><p></p><p>The tiefling cocked his head toward the continued sounds of confusion coming from outside the hut. “Trying to, anyway. Can you walk, or do I need to carry you?”</p><p></p><p>Just the thought of walking sent slivers of pain through Galendra’s body, but she shook her head. “You’ll need your hands free. I can walk. And do more, if needed.” She dug in the pockets of her soiled trousers. The dragon-men had taken her spell-bag, but it was a habit to keep a collection of items in her pockets, and she quickly came up with a small piece of mica that she clutched tightly in her hand. “You have an exit strategy?”</p><p></p><p>Rodan nodded. “Sneak as far as we can, then run like hell.”</p><p></p><p>“Works for me.”</p><p></p><p>Galendra had expected confusion from what she’d heard inside the hut, but that hadn’t prepared her for the chaos she witnessed when Rodan took her outside the hut. He quickly led them around the base of the structure, pausing for a moment under its supporting poles as a couple of the dragon-men rushed past. With both of them concealed under the shelter of his dark cloak they were almost invisible unless someone looked right at them. Galendra swallowed as one of the creatures passed no more than five feet away, but it didn’t even glance in their direction.</p><p></p><p>Once the tiefling judged the way clear enough they rushed forward again, this time into an alley between two larger huts a stone’s throw away. There was a lot of smoke in the air, and as they moved forward Galendra glanced back and caught a glimpse of the raised roof of the chieftain’s hut. The entire place was a pyre, with flames shooting up under the eaves in an eerie echo of the wings that had spread their before. Rodan tugged on her sleeve, and with a final inner curse directed at the dragon-man chief and his priest she followed him onward.</p><p></p><p>The layout of the village was complicated, with rings of huts punctuated by animal pens and other enclosures, but the tiefling seemed to know where he was going. Dragon-men were still visible everywhere they looked, but most of them seemed to be gathering around the central hut or hurrying off toward additional disturbances on the other side of the camp. Galendra could hear noises that sounded like fighting coming from that direction, and she hoped that her rescuers hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew.</p><p></p><p>They got as far as the outermost ring of huts without being detected, but as they came around one last raised structure to see the jungle ahead their luck ran out. Galendra caught a hint of movement and hissed a warning, but Rodan was already spinning to meet the dragon-man that was lunging at him with a knobby club. The tiefling avoided the swing that would have cracked his skull if not worse, but before he could counter the creature lunged forward and drove its shoulder into his chest, knocking him off his feet.</p><p></p><p>Galendra didn’t hesitate. Clutching the bit of mica tightly in her hand, she unleashed a <em>shatter</em> spell that exploded with a roar of sound. The impact of the spell knocked the creature backward into a pen of wooden stakes that extended round the base of the hut. It toppled through the wall and didn’t immediately move.</p><p></p><p>Rodan had already rolled to his feet. “Well, they might have heard that,” he said. “Nothing to do now but make a run for it. Let’s go!”</p><p></p><p>They sprinted toward the jungle. The cleared space around the village hadn’t looked that big at first glance, but now that they were running for their lives it looked like an eternity. At first Galendra didn’t hear any signs of pursuit, but they were only halfway across the gap when shouts issued from behind them. She glanced back to see two of the dragon-men rushing after them, one holding a spear, the other another of those nasty clubs.</p><p></p><p>Galendra started to slow, but Rodan urged her forward. “Keep going,” he said. “Don’t stop until you get to the trees.”</p><p></p><p>“But…” she said.</p><p></p><p>“Just go!” he yelled. To her amazement he turned and sprinted back toward the two creatures. She almost stumbled at the sight of it; he was <em>fast</em>. The two dragon-men seemed taken aback at first, but they quickly closed upon their adversary.</p><p></p><p>Galendra kept on running, hoping that the tiefling knew what he was doing. She rushed past some old stumps where the forest had been cleared back, but didn’t slow until the resurgent growth had begun to thicken around her. The actual edge of the jungle proper was still a good thirty feet ahead, but she stopped to take a quick look behind her to see if Rodan was all right or needed her help.</p><p></p><p>What she saw only confirmed that her passengers were no ordinary travelers. She’d seen that in the encounter with the giant crocodiles and the fight with the dragon turtle, but now she saw it again in action. One of the two dragon-men was already down, flames blackening its body. The other one was trying to keep Rodan at bay with its spear, but the tiefling darted and weaved around its wild thrusts. Even as it started to retreat, he dropped into a crouch and sprang forward, rolling past it and stabbing it in the side with his rapier. The blow did not look that serious, but the dragon-man was knocked off its feet. It fell and rolled to a stop a few feet away. When it stopped moving Rodan was almost back to where Galendra waited.</p><p></p><p>“That was impressive,” she said.</p><p></p><p>“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Rodan said. “Or into them, as the case may be.”</p><p></p><p>They continued their flight. The jungle slowed their progress considerably, but Galendra was happy to exchange that for the cover it offered. If there was a trail here, she couldn’t see it, but Rodan was careful to blaze a path that she was able to follow.</p><p></p><p>As the forest swallowed them up, the sounds of violence and confusion behind them diminished somewhat. Galendra didn’t hold any illusions that this meant that they were safe. Her lungs burned with the effort of their brief but intense dash from the dragon-man camp, but she forced herself forward to catch up to Rodan. He was moving at a more or less normal speed again, but his longer legs made it difficult for her to keep up with him. “Crew,” she said.</p><p></p><p>He came to a stop and said, “Why don’t you see for yourself?”</p><p></p><p>Galendra looked ahead and belatedly became aware of figures moving in the trees just ahead. At first she tensed reflexively, but then rushed forward as she recognized the members of her crew. There were several of the cat-men with them; those had to be the allies that the tiefling had mentioned. They were clustered around a few others of their kind that looked horribly abused, and she realized that they must have come from the camp of the dragon-men as well.</p><p></p><p>The men of her crew gathered around to greet her. Their faces showed a mix of relief and shame, and she forced herself to put on a reassuring smile. She greeted several of them by name, then walk over to a figure sitting slumped against the protruding root mass of a large tree.</p><p></p><p>“Torrin,” she said. “Are you all right?”</p><p></p><p>“Fine, captain, just fine… thanks to these cats and our… passengers.” He coughed weakly.</p><p></p><p>Galendra stepped up next to him. “Just take it easy for a moment,” she said.</p><p></p><p>“I’m sorry… I’m sorry we let you down, captain.”</p><p></p><p>“You didn’t let me down.” She looked at the gathered survivors; there were fewer than a dozen of them visible. “Is this all that’s left?”</p><p></p><p>“I’m afraid so. Those things… they… they’re monsters, feral monsters!”</p><p></p><p>He coughed again, but before she could say anything more one of the cats came over and growled something. “We have to keep moving,” Rodan said. “We’re too close to the camp.”</p><p></p><p>The former prisoners dragged themselves up again, the stronger ones helping those less able to continue on their own. Rodan brought up the rear, and she saw Kalasien talking with him. The Arreshian blended into the shadows of the forest with the skill of someone who had carried out these kinds of missions before.</p><p></p><p>Their escorts finally paused at a small clearing a few hundred yards from the dragon-men’s camp. Galendra wasn’t as bad off as some, especially the ragged-looking cat-men that had to be virtually carried from the camp, but she slumped to the ground with the same relief as the others. A cat came around, offering a gourd of water and small balls of some kind of root paste. She nodded at it in gratitude and quickly consumed her portion.</p><p></p><p>Her body demanded that she stay right where she was, and maybe even lie down for a bit, but she forced herself up and went over to Rodan. The tiefling was looking back the way they had come, possibly checking for signs of pursuit.</p><p></p><p>“See any of them?” she asked.</p><p></p><p>“Not yet,” he reported. “But Kalasien said that the break-out at the main pens won’t go unremarked for long.”</p><p></p><p>“You’re hurt,” she said.</p><p></p><p>He glanced down at his right arm, where the sleeve of his tunic had been burned away, leaving his skin scarred with ugly gray blotches. “Yeah, some of those bastards can spit acid, apparently. I’m good for now.”</p><p></p><p>“The cleric and the singer?”</p><p></p><p>“They’re with the other group. They can tend to you and your injured men when we all get clear, but there was no way that the half-orc could have gotten into the camp undetected.”</p><p></p><p>“I wasn’t second-guessing your plan,” she said. “But shouldn’t we get further away?”</p><p></p><p>“We’re waiting for someone,” he said. He looked back in the direction of the camp, but the dense jungle growth made it difficult to see more than a dozen yards away. He looked over at the cats, but they were focused on tending to their injured companions. “All right, you all had better get moving, I’ll stay and…”</p><p></p><p>He was interrupted as a burst of flames erupted in the center of the clearing. The sailors and cats all fell back in alarm, which only intensified as a figure stepped through the fire. Galendra had her magic ready to cast at the intruder, but she managed to catch herself just in time as she recognized the newcomer.</p><p></p><p>Rodan was even faster. He was at Xeeta’s side even as the flames of her <em>dimension door</em> faded, easing her down as she slumped to the forest floor. Her clothes were bloody from several wounds, and a dragon-man spear was embedded in her side.</p><p></p><p>“What happened?” Rodan asked. He quickly took a bandage out of his pouch and carefully pulled the spear out of the wound. Thankfully the dragon-men didn’t barb their weapons, but even so it was a nasty injury.</p><p></p><p>“Apparently they got upset when I set their big house on fire,” the sorceress said.</p><p></p><p>“Were the others with you?” Galendra asked.</p><p></p><p>“No, the main distraction was on the other side of the camp,” Xeeta said. “Good to see you intact, captain.”</p><p></p><p>“And you, but I think we’d better save our reunion for later,” Galendra said. “Those creatures seem like the sort to bear grudges.”</p><p></p><p>“She’s not wrong,” Rodan said. “Can you walk?”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t think I’ll be managing any feats of acrobatics, but I can move,” Xeeta said. “Makes me wish we hadn’t drunk all those healing potions back in Li Syval.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, maybe we’ll find a friendly temple where we can buy some more,” Rodan said, helping her up. She grimaced a bit, but was able to remain upright.</p><p></p><p>Kalasien suddenly burst out of the underbrush a few feet away. “Bad news. We’ve got a party of trackers coming after us, looks like about twenty or so.”</p><p></p><p>“Looks like I didn’t draw them off as effectively as I thought,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>“This could be another group,” Rodan said. He unlimbered his long bow. “You all go on ahead. I’ll hang back, see if I can delay them a bit.”</p><p></p><p>“Those are not good odds, Rodan,” Galendra said.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta straightened, pressing her hand against her wounded side. “I am almost out of power, but I have one more surprise left for those bastards.”</p><p></p><p>Rodan met her gaze and then nodded.</p><p></p><p>“I should stay as well,” Galendra said. “I can manage a few spells.”</p><p></p><p>“No,” Rodan said. “Your place is with your crew. Keep them safe. We’ll catch up.”</p><p></p><p>Kalasien looked back toward the jungle. “Whatever you’re doing, better do it now,” he said. “They’ll be on top of us in moments.”</p><p></p><p>The battered survivors of the <em>Golden Gull</em> and the cat-man prisoners dragged themselves to their feet and reentered the jungle on the far side of the clearing. One of the cat-men, who was being all but carried by Graaka, briefly turned around and gave the two tieflings a measured look. Then they were gone, swallowed up by the forest. Even as the sounds of their progress faded, they were replaced by the crash of the dragon-men quickly approaching.</p><p></p><p>“What did you have in mind?” Rodan asked.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta went over to the far side of the clearing, choosing a spot somewhat off to the side from where the others had disappeared. She tapped a large tree with her rod. “This will do. Get their attention.”</p><p></p><p>Rodan took an arrow from his quiver and set it against the bowstring. He had been recovering his shafts whenever possible, but he was down to fewer than a dozen. “Right,” he said.</p><p></p><p>They didn’t have long to wait; they’d barely taken cover behind the tree when the bushes on the other side of the clearing rustled and the first dragon-man appeared. It was one of the green ones, its face flanked by a flaring crest that added to its ferocious visage. It carried a pair of long spears.</p><p></p><p>Rodan stepped out from behind the tree, his bowstring taut, the feathered end of the arrow close to his cheek. The creature saw him and let out a cry of warning, but before it could lift a spear his shot slammed hard into its chest. It staggered back into the undergrowth, but others were already coming at its call, black and green forms taking on substance from the surrounding jungle. A few of them unleashed attacks as they came into view, spears hurtling across the clearing. One spat a stream of acid at the tiefling, but he’d already stepped back behind the cover of the tree, and the missiles either shot past or slammed into its trunk.</p><p></p><p>Rodan concentrated and summoned a globe of <em>darkness</em> that engulfed the area of the jungle where the dragon-men were concentrated. The two tieflings could hear them crashing around, shouting questions at each other.</p><p></p><p>“Nice,” Xeeta said. “I was wondering if you’d picked up that trick.”</p><p></p><p>“One of the less repugnant gifts of our common ancestor,” Rodan said. He cocked his head. “Some of them are circling around, no doubt trying to flank us and cut us off.”</p><p></p><p>“We need to draw them in,” Xeeta said.</p><p></p><p>Rodan nodded. He leaned around the reassuring bulk of the tree and shouted, “Hey, you cowardly reptiles! We can’t wait all day here!”</p><p></p><p>The dragon-men couldn’t understand his words, of course, but the mocking tone of his voice clearly made it through, based on the furious roars that answered. The crashing noises intensified, and a moment later one of the dragon-men stumbled clear of the <em>darkness</em>. Rodan immediately shot it, but this time the arrow hit something hard and didn’t fully penetrate.</p><p></p><p>“Now might be a good time!” he said, ducking back.</p><p></p><p>“I can only do this once,” Xeeta said. She took a quick look and only narrowly avoided having her head impaled by a spear that shot past. More of the dragon-men had emerged from the black globe and were rushing forward, while the sounds from the jungle to either side of the clearing had intensified. A gout of caustic gas hit the tree, causing the leaves on the surrounding bushes to instantly wilt and turn brown.</p><p></p><p>“Now?” Rodan suggested.</p><p></p><p>Xeeta didn’t respond, as she was already summoning her magic. Her eyes flashed with fire as she unleashed the Demon, and those flames spread until they formed a blazing halo around her. She lifted her rod, and a sheet of intense fire rose up in front of her, forming another <em>wall of fire</em> that extended out for thirty feet in either direction.</p><p></p><p>The closest of the dragon-men were engulfed in those flames, their screams of pain overpowering the angry shouts from before. One staggered through, its green hide now blackened with char. It did not even see Rodan before the tiefling stabbed it through the neck.</p><p></p><p>“That won’t hold them for long,” he said. “Can you run?”</p><p></p><p>“If the alternatives are running or dying, I can run,” she said. The two of them rushed off into the jungle even as the flames from Xeeta’s spell continued to surge upward, spreading up into the canopy until it seemed like the whole world behind them was afire.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7579499, member: 143"] Chapter 269 Galendra made one last effort to break free, but only managed to fall back onto her side. The bars of the cage that had so stymied her would be no barrier at all to the dragon-man’s spear, she knew. She tensed as it lifted the weapon to strike, but the expected blow did not come. Instead the creature just stood there stiffly. Galendra blinked at it in surprise, but her confusion transformed into something else as the guard suddenly went limp and toppled to the floor. A figure that had been concealed behind it caught it and eased it down, even managing to shoot out a foot that interrupted the spear before it could clatter on the hard floor of the hut. The familiar figure shot her a quick grin. It was Rodan, the tiefling scout and archer. He finished easing the dead guard to the floor, then quickly wiped his bloody sword clean before sliding it back into its scabbard. He produced a dagger as he crossed to the small cell. “Just hold on, I’ll have you out of here in a blink,” he said. Galendra, blinking back tears, nodded. The leather throngs that held the cage shut parted after a few strokes of his knife. Galendra winced as he lifted her out of the cage. She flushed at the thought of how she must look in her current state, but he only touched her face lightly and then carefully cut her free. Fresh pain shot down her arms as blood flowed back into them, but this time she welcomed it. As Rodan cut away her gag she said, “My crew.” “Xeeta and Kalasien are getting them. We have allies.” He handed her his waterskin, and she gratefully accepted it. “The others are making a distraction?” she asked when she’d finished clearing the worst of the nastiness from her throat. The tiefling cocked his head toward the continued sounds of confusion coming from outside the hut. “Trying to, anyway. Can you walk, or do I need to carry you?” Just the thought of walking sent slivers of pain through Galendra’s body, but she shook her head. “You’ll need your hands free. I can walk. And do more, if needed.” She dug in the pockets of her soiled trousers. The dragon-men had taken her spell-bag, but it was a habit to keep a collection of items in her pockets, and she quickly came up with a small piece of mica that she clutched tightly in her hand. “You have an exit strategy?” Rodan nodded. “Sneak as far as we can, then run like hell.” “Works for me.” Galendra had expected confusion from what she’d heard inside the hut, but that hadn’t prepared her for the chaos she witnessed when Rodan took her outside the hut. He quickly led them around the base of the structure, pausing for a moment under its supporting poles as a couple of the dragon-men rushed past. With both of them concealed under the shelter of his dark cloak they were almost invisible unless someone looked right at them. Galendra swallowed as one of the creatures passed no more than five feet away, but it didn’t even glance in their direction. Once the tiefling judged the way clear enough they rushed forward again, this time into an alley between two larger huts a stone’s throw away. There was a lot of smoke in the air, and as they moved forward Galendra glanced back and caught a glimpse of the raised roof of the chieftain’s hut. The entire place was a pyre, with flames shooting up under the eaves in an eerie echo of the wings that had spread their before. Rodan tugged on her sleeve, and with a final inner curse directed at the dragon-man chief and his priest she followed him onward. The layout of the village was complicated, with rings of huts punctuated by animal pens and other enclosures, but the tiefling seemed to know where he was going. Dragon-men were still visible everywhere they looked, but most of them seemed to be gathering around the central hut or hurrying off toward additional disturbances on the other side of the camp. Galendra could hear noises that sounded like fighting coming from that direction, and she hoped that her rescuers hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew. They got as far as the outermost ring of huts without being detected, but as they came around one last raised structure to see the jungle ahead their luck ran out. Galendra caught a hint of movement and hissed a warning, but Rodan was already spinning to meet the dragon-man that was lunging at him with a knobby club. The tiefling avoided the swing that would have cracked his skull if not worse, but before he could counter the creature lunged forward and drove its shoulder into his chest, knocking him off his feet. Galendra didn’t hesitate. Clutching the bit of mica tightly in her hand, she unleashed a [i]shatter[/i] spell that exploded with a roar of sound. The impact of the spell knocked the creature backward into a pen of wooden stakes that extended round the base of the hut. It toppled through the wall and didn’t immediately move. Rodan had already rolled to his feet. “Well, they might have heard that,” he said. “Nothing to do now but make a run for it. Let’s go!” They sprinted toward the jungle. The cleared space around the village hadn’t looked that big at first glance, but now that they were running for their lives it looked like an eternity. At first Galendra didn’t hear any signs of pursuit, but they were only halfway across the gap when shouts issued from behind them. She glanced back to see two of the dragon-men rushing after them, one holding a spear, the other another of those nasty clubs. Galendra started to slow, but Rodan urged her forward. “Keep going,” he said. “Don’t stop until you get to the trees.” “But…” she said. “Just go!” he yelled. To her amazement he turned and sprinted back toward the two creatures. She almost stumbled at the sight of it; he was [i]fast[/i]. The two dragon-men seemed taken aback at first, but they quickly closed upon their adversary. Galendra kept on running, hoping that the tiefling knew what he was doing. She rushed past some old stumps where the forest had been cleared back, but didn’t slow until the resurgent growth had begun to thicken around her. The actual edge of the jungle proper was still a good thirty feet ahead, but she stopped to take a quick look behind her to see if Rodan was all right or needed her help. What she saw only confirmed that her passengers were no ordinary travelers. She’d seen that in the encounter with the giant crocodiles and the fight with the dragon turtle, but now she saw it again in action. One of the two dragon-men was already down, flames blackening its body. The other one was trying to keep Rodan at bay with its spear, but the tiefling darted and weaved around its wild thrusts. Even as it started to retreat, he dropped into a crouch and sprang forward, rolling past it and stabbing it in the side with his rapier. The blow did not look that serious, but the dragon-man was knocked off its feet. It fell and rolled to a stop a few feet away. When it stopped moving Rodan was almost back to where Galendra waited. “That was impressive,” she said. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Rodan said. “Or into them, as the case may be.” They continued their flight. The jungle slowed their progress considerably, but Galendra was happy to exchange that for the cover it offered. If there was a trail here, she couldn’t see it, but Rodan was careful to blaze a path that she was able to follow. As the forest swallowed them up, the sounds of violence and confusion behind them diminished somewhat. Galendra didn’t hold any illusions that this meant that they were safe. Her lungs burned with the effort of their brief but intense dash from the dragon-man camp, but she forced herself forward to catch up to Rodan. He was moving at a more or less normal speed again, but his longer legs made it difficult for her to keep up with him. “Crew,” she said. He came to a stop and said, “Why don’t you see for yourself?” Galendra looked ahead and belatedly became aware of figures moving in the trees just ahead. At first she tensed reflexively, but then rushed forward as she recognized the members of her crew. There were several of the cat-men with them; those had to be the allies that the tiefling had mentioned. They were clustered around a few others of their kind that looked horribly abused, and she realized that they must have come from the camp of the dragon-men as well. The men of her crew gathered around to greet her. Their faces showed a mix of relief and shame, and she forced herself to put on a reassuring smile. She greeted several of them by name, then walk over to a figure sitting slumped against the protruding root mass of a large tree. “Torrin,” she said. “Are you all right?” “Fine, captain, just fine… thanks to these cats and our… passengers.” He coughed weakly. Galendra stepped up next to him. “Just take it easy for a moment,” she said. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry we let you down, captain.” “You didn’t let me down.” She looked at the gathered survivors; there were fewer than a dozen of them visible. “Is this all that’s left?” “I’m afraid so. Those things… they… they’re monsters, feral monsters!” He coughed again, but before she could say anything more one of the cats came over and growled something. “We have to keep moving,” Rodan said. “We’re too close to the camp.” The former prisoners dragged themselves up again, the stronger ones helping those less able to continue on their own. Rodan brought up the rear, and she saw Kalasien talking with him. The Arreshian blended into the shadows of the forest with the skill of someone who had carried out these kinds of missions before. Their escorts finally paused at a small clearing a few hundred yards from the dragon-men’s camp. Galendra wasn’t as bad off as some, especially the ragged-looking cat-men that had to be virtually carried from the camp, but she slumped to the ground with the same relief as the others. A cat came around, offering a gourd of water and small balls of some kind of root paste. She nodded at it in gratitude and quickly consumed her portion. Her body demanded that she stay right where she was, and maybe even lie down for a bit, but she forced herself up and went over to Rodan. The tiefling was looking back the way they had come, possibly checking for signs of pursuit. “See any of them?” she asked. “Not yet,” he reported. “But Kalasien said that the break-out at the main pens won’t go unremarked for long.” “You’re hurt,” she said. He glanced down at his right arm, where the sleeve of his tunic had been burned away, leaving his skin scarred with ugly gray blotches. “Yeah, some of those bastards can spit acid, apparently. I’m good for now.” “The cleric and the singer?” “They’re with the other group. They can tend to you and your injured men when we all get clear, but there was no way that the half-orc could have gotten into the camp undetected.” “I wasn’t second-guessing your plan,” she said. “But shouldn’t we get further away?” “We’re waiting for someone,” he said. He looked back in the direction of the camp, but the dense jungle growth made it difficult to see more than a dozen yards away. He looked over at the cats, but they were focused on tending to their injured companions. “All right, you all had better get moving, I’ll stay and…” He was interrupted as a burst of flames erupted in the center of the clearing. The sailors and cats all fell back in alarm, which only intensified as a figure stepped through the fire. Galendra had her magic ready to cast at the intruder, but she managed to catch herself just in time as she recognized the newcomer. Rodan was even faster. He was at Xeeta’s side even as the flames of her [i]dimension door[/i] faded, easing her down as she slumped to the forest floor. Her clothes were bloody from several wounds, and a dragon-man spear was embedded in her side. “What happened?” Rodan asked. He quickly took a bandage out of his pouch and carefully pulled the spear out of the wound. Thankfully the dragon-men didn’t barb their weapons, but even so it was a nasty injury. “Apparently they got upset when I set their big house on fire,” the sorceress said. “Were the others with you?” Galendra asked. “No, the main distraction was on the other side of the camp,” Xeeta said. “Good to see you intact, captain.” “And you, but I think we’d better save our reunion for later,” Galendra said. “Those creatures seem like the sort to bear grudges.” “She’s not wrong,” Rodan said. “Can you walk?” “I don’t think I’ll be managing any feats of acrobatics, but I can move,” Xeeta said. “Makes me wish we hadn’t drunk all those healing potions back in Li Syval.” “Well, maybe we’ll find a friendly temple where we can buy some more,” Rodan said, helping her up. She grimaced a bit, but was able to remain upright. Kalasien suddenly burst out of the underbrush a few feet away. “Bad news. We’ve got a party of trackers coming after us, looks like about twenty or so.” “Looks like I didn’t draw them off as effectively as I thought,” Xeeta said. “This could be another group,” Rodan said. He unlimbered his long bow. “You all go on ahead. I’ll hang back, see if I can delay them a bit.” “Those are not good odds, Rodan,” Galendra said. Xeeta straightened, pressing her hand against her wounded side. “I am almost out of power, but I have one more surprise left for those bastards.” Rodan met her gaze and then nodded. “I should stay as well,” Galendra said. “I can manage a few spells.” “No,” Rodan said. “Your place is with your crew. Keep them safe. We’ll catch up.” Kalasien looked back toward the jungle. “Whatever you’re doing, better do it now,” he said. “They’ll be on top of us in moments.” The battered survivors of the [i]Golden Gull[/i] and the cat-man prisoners dragged themselves to their feet and reentered the jungle on the far side of the clearing. One of the cat-men, who was being all but carried by Graaka, briefly turned around and gave the two tieflings a measured look. Then they were gone, swallowed up by the forest. Even as the sounds of their progress faded, they were replaced by the crash of the dragon-men quickly approaching. “What did you have in mind?” Rodan asked. Xeeta went over to the far side of the clearing, choosing a spot somewhat off to the side from where the others had disappeared. She tapped a large tree with her rod. “This will do. Get their attention.” Rodan took an arrow from his quiver and set it against the bowstring. He had been recovering his shafts whenever possible, but he was down to fewer than a dozen. “Right,” he said. They didn’t have long to wait; they’d barely taken cover behind the tree when the bushes on the other side of the clearing rustled and the first dragon-man appeared. It was one of the green ones, its face flanked by a flaring crest that added to its ferocious visage. It carried a pair of long spears. Rodan stepped out from behind the tree, his bowstring taut, the feathered end of the arrow close to his cheek. The creature saw him and let out a cry of warning, but before it could lift a spear his shot slammed hard into its chest. It staggered back into the undergrowth, but others were already coming at its call, black and green forms taking on substance from the surrounding jungle. A few of them unleashed attacks as they came into view, spears hurtling across the clearing. One spat a stream of acid at the tiefling, but he’d already stepped back behind the cover of the tree, and the missiles either shot past or slammed into its trunk. Rodan concentrated and summoned a globe of [i]darkness[/i] that engulfed the area of the jungle where the dragon-men were concentrated. The two tieflings could hear them crashing around, shouting questions at each other. “Nice,” Xeeta said. “I was wondering if you’d picked up that trick.” “One of the less repugnant gifts of our common ancestor,” Rodan said. He cocked his head. “Some of them are circling around, no doubt trying to flank us and cut us off.” “We need to draw them in,” Xeeta said. Rodan nodded. He leaned around the reassuring bulk of the tree and shouted, “Hey, you cowardly reptiles! We can’t wait all day here!” The dragon-men couldn’t understand his words, of course, but the mocking tone of his voice clearly made it through, based on the furious roars that answered. The crashing noises intensified, and a moment later one of the dragon-men stumbled clear of the [i]darkness[/i]. Rodan immediately shot it, but this time the arrow hit something hard and didn’t fully penetrate. “Now might be a good time!” he said, ducking back. “I can only do this once,” Xeeta said. She took a quick look and only narrowly avoided having her head impaled by a spear that shot past. More of the dragon-men had emerged from the black globe and were rushing forward, while the sounds from the jungle to either side of the clearing had intensified. A gout of caustic gas hit the tree, causing the leaves on the surrounding bushes to instantly wilt and turn brown. “Now?” Rodan suggested. Xeeta didn’t respond, as she was already summoning her magic. Her eyes flashed with fire as she unleashed the Demon, and those flames spread until they formed a blazing halo around her. She lifted her rod, and a sheet of intense fire rose up in front of her, forming another [i]wall of fire[/i] that extended out for thirty feet in either direction. The closest of the dragon-men were engulfed in those flames, their screams of pain overpowering the angry shouts from before. One staggered through, its green hide now blackened with char. It did not even see Rodan before the tiefling stabbed it through the neck. “That won’t hold them for long,” he said. “Can you run?” “If the alternatives are running or dying, I can run,” she said. The two of them rushed off into the jungle even as the flames from Xeeta’s spell continued to surge upward, spreading up into the canopy until it seemed like the whole world behind them was afire. [/QUOTE]
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