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Heritage of Dragonsreach (UPDATED September 4, 2007)
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3667880" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>A Darkness on the Doorstep</strong></p><p></p><p>As we began to draw nearer the portal to the Village, Roland asked our guide's name. She declined to reply. I had turned to look at Roland when he spoke and did not see what happened next. When I turned my gaze back to our guide I found that she had burst into flames! She raised her paired swords and slashed at the air, though I saw nothing for her to attack. </p><p></p><p>I called upon the Lady's Blessing to increase my swiftness and ran toward the portal, intending to lend her some of the Lady's healing aid. Then Latan shouted that goblins mounted on dinosaurs were nearing our position. Our guide turned suddenly and thrust her twin blades into the portal ahead and it dwindled rapidly to nothing. </p><p></p><p>Roland called for the guide to take cover and we would face the goblin attackers. He then summoned his drakkensteed Beloved to his side and sprang upon her back. I held my place, waiting to see our foes. Hedrin hung back to allow Pimani to get ahead of us, and Latan sent Sapphire to hide among the trees and asked Isaura to fly above the canopy and apprise us of what she could see.</p><p></p><p>When Pimani had moved ahead of everyone but me, Roland dismounted and drew out a length of rope. He tied one end to a tree nearby and threw the other to Hedrin to do the same. Latan then scattered a mass of magically-summoned caltrops on the ground beyond the trip line. Once the rope had been secured, Hedrin and Fangrim the wolf hid from view.</p><p></p><p>Latan warned that more foes were coming through the canopy, presumably goblins astride spiders. But a pack of raptors were also headed in our direction, though it seemed they were fleeing the goblins and their trihorns rather than pursuing us. Hedrin ran out of his hiding place to emit a bestial roar at the raptors, causing most of them to turn aside and flee into the jungle.</p><p></p><p>Roland called on me to cover the canopy, asking Pimani and Mellon to do the same. I drew out my bow and nocked an arrow, watching the tree branches overhead anxiously. </p><p></p><p>It has always been my sorrow that I am not as sharp-eyed as my <em>Ada</em>. Perhaps I should learn some magic to aid me in this, though <em>Ada</em> would say it is best to rely on one's own skills rather than arcane trickery.</p><p></p><p>There were indeed spiders above us, as Latan confirmed when she spotted them clearly. Two trihorns bearing goblins had also emerged into the area and were rapidly approaching us. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly I caught sight of a small lizard rushing toward me. At first I thought it merely frightened by the raptors. But it ran right up to me and abruptly I found myself engulfed in flames! The flames were swiftly extinguished, but not before they had burned me badly.</p><p></p><p>I retreated behind a nearby tree to employ the Lady's healing Blessing. As I did so I saw Beloved snatch the lizard up in her jaws. Roland chanted the words of a spell at the approaching goblin infantry. Several of them ran away, others began to babble incoherently, and two goblins attacked one another. Then one of the raptors that had not been driven off attacked Hedrin viciously.</p><p></p><p>Having recovered somewhat from my burns, I fired on the raptor but my arrow failed to penetrate its hide. Hedrin struck it a fierce blow. Then Fangrim, who has become quite attached to Hedrin despite their short acquaintance, rushed the raptor's legs and knocked it to the ground. </p><p></p><p>Just as the raptor fell, a burst of fire landed in our midst, catching Roland, Latan, Beloved and Mellon in its flames. Mellon slumped to the jungle floor, her woody flesh smoldering. I caught a glimpse of Beloved dropping something from her jaws - not the small lizard, but a startled goblin! </p><p></p><p>Pimani thankfully rushed to Mellon's side and used his enchanted belt to save her life, though I could see with the Lady's aid that she was still badly hurt. In the meantime Hedrin slew the raptor Fangrim had felled. I darted past him to extend the Lady's Blessing to Mellon and get her back on her feet as one of the trihorns moved nearer. </p><p></p><p>Using the swiftness the Lady grants me, I also fired on one of the spiders that had come down from the trees to threaten us. The spider then turned its mandibles on Fangrim. Hedrin moved to defend his new friend. </p><p></p><p>I dropped my bow and drew my thinblade, then brought down one of the goblins with my blade. Something I couldn't identify flew past my head. At least one of the goblins astride the two trihorns was a mage of some sort, as was the lone spider-rider, I believe. Sadly though only one goblin rode a spider, it was not the only spider menacing us.</p><p></p><p>One of the trihorns charged toward Hedrin, crushing two spiders in its wake before slamming into him and bearing him to the ground. Hedrin bounded to his feet and sprang at the huge dinosaur. </p><p></p><p>I felt the Lady's swiftness fade from me and my limbs were suddenly weak and weary. I hissed my draconic word to myself and was filled with renewed vigor. But my fresh energy didn't give me the accuracy to prevent my <em>orb of cold</em> from going wide when I aimed it at one of the goblin spellcasters. </p><p></p><p>I dodged aside to avoid being run down and glimpsed Latan striking the goblin squarely with a beam of icy cold. A quick look around at my companions showed me that Mellon had melded herself with a neighboring tree only to reemerge higher among the tree's limbs, suspended head-down with her feet still embedded in the wood! From this clever vantage she attacked the spider-rider with her poisonous thorns. </p><p></p><p>Pimani aided the thornmaiden by hurling his peculiar weapon, which he calls a bola, at the goblin astride the spider, entangling it in the weighted cord. I saw a globe of flame shoot past Hedrin uselessly from one of the other goblin mages. Then Roland called for help. </p><p></p><p>I turned to see that the second trihorn was threatening to impale him against a tree bole. Beloved had vanished, evidently returned to the Lady's realm to heal her wounds. Hedrin dodged past the trihorn's sweeping spiked tail. I was prepared to join him, but Latan was now threatened by a spider that stood between me and the trihorn.</p><p></p><p>Fangrim sprang out to attack the spider, and I stabbed it twice with my blade. Latan then turned her attention to the trihorn looming over Roland, scattering another mass of caltrops on the ground at its feet. One would think that such a creature's horny feet would be too tough to be affected by such small objects, but this is not the case. The trihorn attempted to avoid moving into the area occupied by the caltrops.</p><p></p><p>At Latan's behest, Isaura came flying down in the form of a small whirlwind and swept the goblin from his trihorn mount, dropping him from a crushing height among the trees. The second trihorn, which had earlier threatened Hedrin, abruptly vanished, called away by some thaumaturgy. </p><p></p><p>Latan struck the other mounted goblin with a blast of chill energy and he slumped to the ground, dead. His huge mount wandered off aimlessly in the absence of any rider to control it. </p><p></p><p>As we stood panting and dripping our blood upon the jungle floor, our guide reappeared. She introduced herself as Kyril as we quickly searched the corpses of the fallen goblins. Then drawing her twin blades once more, she again cut away the fabric of ordinary reality to reveal the portal to the Blessed Village. We stepped through into a sunlit valley.</p><p>___________________</p><p></p><p><strong>Quips & Quotes:</strong></p><p></p><p>Zora: "There he was on the trihorns of a dilemma."</p><p></p><p>Zora: "Beloved drops the goblin from her mouth."</p><p>sniffles: "The goblin says, 'Why am I wet?'"</p><p>Jubilee: "'Was I doing something fun?'"</p><p></p><p>Devo: "You can't control all of the spiders all of the time..."</p><p>Jubilee: "...but you can control some of the spiders some of the time."</p><p></p><p>Devo: "When I say, 'I take a look around', I mean 'I roll another 4 on my Spot check.'"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3667880, member: 30035"] [b]A Darkness on the Doorstep[/b] As we began to draw nearer the portal to the Village, Roland asked our guide's name. She declined to reply. I had turned to look at Roland when he spoke and did not see what happened next. When I turned my gaze back to our guide I found that she had burst into flames! She raised her paired swords and slashed at the air, though I saw nothing for her to attack. I called upon the Lady's Blessing to increase my swiftness and ran toward the portal, intending to lend her some of the Lady's healing aid. Then Latan shouted that goblins mounted on dinosaurs were nearing our position. Our guide turned suddenly and thrust her twin blades into the portal ahead and it dwindled rapidly to nothing. Roland called for the guide to take cover and we would face the goblin attackers. He then summoned his drakkensteed Beloved to his side and sprang upon her back. I held my place, waiting to see our foes. Hedrin hung back to allow Pimani to get ahead of us, and Latan sent Sapphire to hide among the trees and asked Isaura to fly above the canopy and apprise us of what she could see. When Pimani had moved ahead of everyone but me, Roland dismounted and drew out a length of rope. He tied one end to a tree nearby and threw the other to Hedrin to do the same. Latan then scattered a mass of magically-summoned caltrops on the ground beyond the trip line. Once the rope had been secured, Hedrin and Fangrim the wolf hid from view. Latan warned that more foes were coming through the canopy, presumably goblins astride spiders. But a pack of raptors were also headed in our direction, though it seemed they were fleeing the goblins and their trihorns rather than pursuing us. Hedrin ran out of his hiding place to emit a bestial roar at the raptors, causing most of them to turn aside and flee into the jungle. Roland called on me to cover the canopy, asking Pimani and Mellon to do the same. I drew out my bow and nocked an arrow, watching the tree branches overhead anxiously. It has always been my sorrow that I am not as sharp-eyed as my [I]Ada[/I]. Perhaps I should learn some magic to aid me in this, though [I]Ada[/I] would say it is best to rely on one's own skills rather than arcane trickery. There were indeed spiders above us, as Latan confirmed when she spotted them clearly. Two trihorns bearing goblins had also emerged into the area and were rapidly approaching us. Suddenly I caught sight of a small lizard rushing toward me. At first I thought it merely frightened by the raptors. But it ran right up to me and abruptly I found myself engulfed in flames! The flames were swiftly extinguished, but not before they had burned me badly. I retreated behind a nearby tree to employ the Lady's healing Blessing. As I did so I saw Beloved snatch the lizard up in her jaws. Roland chanted the words of a spell at the approaching goblin infantry. Several of them ran away, others began to babble incoherently, and two goblins attacked one another. Then one of the raptors that had not been driven off attacked Hedrin viciously. Having recovered somewhat from my burns, I fired on the raptor but my arrow failed to penetrate its hide. Hedrin struck it a fierce blow. Then Fangrim, who has become quite attached to Hedrin despite their short acquaintance, rushed the raptor's legs and knocked it to the ground. Just as the raptor fell, a burst of fire landed in our midst, catching Roland, Latan, Beloved and Mellon in its flames. Mellon slumped to the jungle floor, her woody flesh smoldering. I caught a glimpse of Beloved dropping something from her jaws - not the small lizard, but a startled goblin! Pimani thankfully rushed to Mellon's side and used his enchanted belt to save her life, though I could see with the Lady's aid that she was still badly hurt. In the meantime Hedrin slew the raptor Fangrim had felled. I darted past him to extend the Lady's Blessing to Mellon and get her back on her feet as one of the trihorns moved nearer. Using the swiftness the Lady grants me, I also fired on one of the spiders that had come down from the trees to threaten us. The spider then turned its mandibles on Fangrim. Hedrin moved to defend his new friend. I dropped my bow and drew my thinblade, then brought down one of the goblins with my blade. Something I couldn't identify flew past my head. At least one of the goblins astride the two trihorns was a mage of some sort, as was the lone spider-rider, I believe. Sadly though only one goblin rode a spider, it was not the only spider menacing us. One of the trihorns charged toward Hedrin, crushing two spiders in its wake before slamming into him and bearing him to the ground. Hedrin bounded to his feet and sprang at the huge dinosaur. I felt the Lady's swiftness fade from me and my limbs were suddenly weak and weary. I hissed my draconic word to myself and was filled with renewed vigor. But my fresh energy didn't give me the accuracy to prevent my [I]orb of cold[/I] from going wide when I aimed it at one of the goblin spellcasters. I dodged aside to avoid being run down and glimpsed Latan striking the goblin squarely with a beam of icy cold. A quick look around at my companions showed me that Mellon had melded herself with a neighboring tree only to reemerge higher among the tree's limbs, suspended head-down with her feet still embedded in the wood! From this clever vantage she attacked the spider-rider with her poisonous thorns. Pimani aided the thornmaiden by hurling his peculiar weapon, which he calls a bola, at the goblin astride the spider, entangling it in the weighted cord. I saw a globe of flame shoot past Hedrin uselessly from one of the other goblin mages. Then Roland called for help. I turned to see that the second trihorn was threatening to impale him against a tree bole. Beloved had vanished, evidently returned to the Lady's realm to heal her wounds. Hedrin dodged past the trihorn's sweeping spiked tail. I was prepared to join him, but Latan was now threatened by a spider that stood between me and the trihorn. Fangrim sprang out to attack the spider, and I stabbed it twice with my blade. Latan then turned her attention to the trihorn looming over Roland, scattering another mass of caltrops on the ground at its feet. One would think that such a creature's horny feet would be too tough to be affected by such small objects, but this is not the case. The trihorn attempted to avoid moving into the area occupied by the caltrops. At Latan's behest, Isaura came flying down in the form of a small whirlwind and swept the goblin from his trihorn mount, dropping him from a crushing height among the trees. The second trihorn, which had earlier threatened Hedrin, abruptly vanished, called away by some thaumaturgy. Latan struck the other mounted goblin with a blast of chill energy and he slumped to the ground, dead. His huge mount wandered off aimlessly in the absence of any rider to control it. As we stood panting and dripping our blood upon the jungle floor, our guide reappeared. She introduced herself as Kyril as we quickly searched the corpses of the fallen goblins. Then drawing her twin blades once more, she again cut away the fabric of ordinary reality to reveal the portal to the Blessed Village. We stepped through into a sunlit valley. ___________________ [B]Quips & Quotes:[/B] Zora: "There he was on the trihorns of a dilemma." Zora: "Beloved drops the goblin from her mouth." sniffles: "The goblin says, 'Why am I wet?'" Jubilee: "'Was I doing something fun?'" Devo: "You can't control all of the spiders all of the time..." Jubilee: "...but you can control some of the spiders some of the time." Devo: "When I say, 'I take a look around', I mean 'I roll another 4 on my Spot check.'" [/QUOTE]
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