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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spider_Jerusalem" data-source="post: 301863" data-attributes="member: 5507">[Edit]Edited 6th September 04 into past tense[Edit]Ice, Luck and HonourChapter 9: Eye of the BlizzardPart 1 of 3Middle Winter, Realms Date 1372 Surveying the beginnings of the skirmish at the base of the steps, Torious watched as five men rushed out of the hall to join the fray. Stepping into the light, Torious glanced back to check for any remaining volunteers. Instead, his eyes met the sight of the wild-haired man carefully helping an aging woman from the basement. Draped over her wiry body were sleek red robes, a heavy crimson hood shadowing her face from the afternoon light…- - - - - - - - - -Milo feinted left then tumbled sideways, rolling tightly through the ettin’s legs. The ettin tried to follow, but collapsed heavily to the ground with a grunt of surprise as it chased the elusive halfling through it’s own legs. Milo pounced forwards and stabbed the fallen ettin in the side. “Stay down, filthy beast!” cried Milo enthusiastically as Vampire bit deep, his veins suddenly flaring in ecstasy with the half-giant blood. The villagers around the ettin took heed from the daring halfling and swarmed onto the downed creature, their weapons hacking with fury into the roaring giant.The woman in red dashed forwards, her body slung low to the ground as she rushed at the second ettin. Thalin back-pedalled away from the powerful swings of the enraged giant, its two monstrous heads snarling in unison as the mage ducked under another swipe. The ettin stepped forwards with a thud, emitting a guttural growl from one head and a snorting laugh from the other. The ettin loomed over the mage, it's club ready to bring down a final crushing blow. Suddenly bellowing with pain, the ettin dropped to its knees as the woman in red rushed past, her sword tracing across the hamstrings of the giant.   A shower of frozen shards into the crippled ettin from Thalin's outstretched hands. The giant's skin cracked and snapped away as frost crawled across it's chest. Undeterred, the ettin lurched forwards and smashed Thalin to the side with a heavy swing. Lifting the mage off of his feet, Thalin was sent crashing through a half collapsed wall and into the remains of a smouldering house. The ettin roared with a mix of triumph and pain as it watched the roof of the house give way and collapse heavily onto the crumpled mage.- - - - - - - - - -Turning away from the frail red robed woman and the questions that her presence has created, Torious instead bounded down the steps of the church as the cries of battle echoed from outside. - - - - - - - - - -“Please Merrick, you must not go out there,” breathed the old woman, her words almost a whisper, “you must be kept safe”. Straightening herself up and reaching up with hands mottled by age, the woman in red drew the hood away from her face. Her eyes were hollow and her skin loose, as if her skull had shrunk and left the rest behind. Grey hair, what little of it remained, was pulled tightly back from her head. Smiling thinly at Merrick, her eyes softened slightly as she saw the illusion of immortality that all humans of that age possess.“I can go where I want Errilinth, you said that yourself,” Merrick said with a hint of rebellion in his voice, “so I’m going”.Conceding defeat, Errilinth watched as Merrick turned and jogged to the town hall doorway. His silhouetted form paused for a moment to look back at the woman who had guided him thus far, then stepped out into the afternoon light.Errilinth stood motionless, watching with trepidation as the child that she had been charged to defend all those years ago left her side of his own free will. Clasping the pendant around her neck with a gnarled hand, Errilinth gazed past the scattered beams and the burnt timbers to the gallery of frightened faces huddling against the far wall. All their eyes were now on the woman in red standing alone in the centre of the town hall. She watched them for a moment. Their fearful eyes, their burnt clothes, their undying hope.Turning away from the cowering townsfolk, Errilinth followed into the light, lifting her hand to protect herself from the glaring sun. Squinting out across the skirmish below, she saw Merrick join the townsfolk as they circled a dead ettin. Their frenzied attacks dared not slow to see if the beast is dead. Their leader was a halfling who slid his blood-slick shortsword into the fallen giant again and again.She will know soon. Errilinth stood calmly at the top of the steps, waiting for what shall inevitably come.- - - - - - - - - -Torious staggered his attack again, driving Freedom’s Edge hard into the belly of the creature. Backing away a step, he found himself next to the woman in the red armour. Both watched as the ettin staggered backwards, one of it's heads lolled useless and dead on it's chest. “Who are you?” grunted Torious as his shield guided a flailing blow from the ettin into the ground.“You shouldn’t ask a lady that,” came the reply as she circled to her right,  purposefully knocking against Torious as she sidestepped, “who are you?”Torious gritted his teeth as the ettin bellowed again and lumbered forwards with its club, “I’m Torious Mangrane. I am a descendant of Tyr the even-han…”“Great,” interrupted the woman in red as she suddenly pulled herself dangerously close to Torious, “I’m Vaerana Hawklyn. Pleased to meet you.” Vaerana grinned wickedly at Torious then thrust away from him with a powerful kick, sending the bewildered Torious skidding onto his back with a crash. A second later the ettin’s huge club thundered into the ground where the two warriors once were. Vaerana landed in a crouch, then immediately darted forwards to attack the stooped giant. But she was stopped short as the ettin collapsed in on itself in a cascade of crystallised ice.Thalin stood haggard on the mound of smouldering rubble around him; his hand outstretched towards the frosted ettin. His eyes glared at the sundered corpse of the giant with a blaze of vengeance, “Bastard”. His energy spent, Thalin wavered once then toppled sideways with a gasp of pain.</blockquote>

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