NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Funeris" data-source="post: 2813526" data-attributes="member: 22792">Chapter 12: Bloodshed (Continued)Motega cocked his head, listening closely at the entrance of the mine.  “I don’t hear anything,” he whispered to his companions.  The shadows of the mine, stretched back into a winding passage which obscured their vision.“They’re waiting for us,” the mage stated coldly, a spell already forming upon the edges of his fingers, the tip of his tongue.“We wouldn’t want to disappoint,” Tobias intoned sardonically.  The paladin had already drawn his greatsword.  The blade reflected the morning sun, creating an illusion—was it really an illusion?—of being encased in a shimmer of bright fire.  “Mo’ and I will go first.  Then the mage.  Fitz, bring up the rear.”“Aye, aye, Captain,” quipped Magnus as the party moved into the entrance.  The passage descended quickly.  The stone was rough, jagged and seemed to close in the farther they traveled, although this could have been a simple trick of shadow and light.  The entrance had consisted of a small area with barely enough room for the four travelers to stand comfortably beside each other.  The only exit from the entrance was a passage two men wide that slithered deeper into the earth, back and forth like a great serpent.Motega and Tobias led the band wearily into the passage.  Both knew that if a caster waited beyond, the passage could quickly turn into a death trap.  Each moved quietly, eyes and ears open for the ambush they were expecting.  A few paces behind, Fitz and Magnus trailed.  The cleric had his blade in hand.  Despite moving forward, he continuously threw glances behind.  The mage did not seem to care about an attack from the rear.  His eyes were forward, an open scroll—no doubt another fireball—clutched in his hand.Fitz sighed.A doorway suddenly opened at the end of the winding tunnel.  Motega’s arm shot up, silently signaling a halt.  Within that gateway, flickering red-orange light cast its rays into the darkened hallway.  It seemed a large chamber lie beyond.  The exact dimensions were impossible to tell.Warily, Tobias stepped forward.Motega cringed, a soft, familiar sound reaching his ears:  arcane syllables being woven together.  He grabbed for the paladin just as a large form stepped to block the door.  The creature was large, ugly, and smelled of death.  It was an ogre.It laughed.  Tobias charged.And then the tunnel was filled with poison.Tobias struck the double doors which slammed shut after the spell was completed, after the roiling cloud of poison threatened to choke his companions to death.  The poison was no different than normal air for the paladin, protected by his nearly inhuman fortitude.  Behind though, Tobias could hear Magnus crash against the rock, a hacking cough decimating his lungs.  Motega was to his left and slightly behind.  The Rorn was holding up better than the mage, but he, too, was beginning to succumb.Tobias slammed against the door with all his strength.  It groaned against the force and shattered inward.  As the paladin stepped into the room, a gigantic arm—attached to an equally huge ogre—crunched into his face, breaking his nose.     *     *     *     Fitz felt Magnus collapse beside him.  There was nothing the priest carried that could save the wizard from the poisonous fumes which filled the passage.  There was only one chance.He lifted his scythe and intoned a prayer to Ceria.  Feeling for the divine connection that was forged in the deepest part of his soul, the priest summoned one of Ceria’s blessings[1].  A wind poured into the tunnel, swirling around the priest who stood as still as a statue.  The wind continued to cycle around his form, pushing the vapors away.  Fitz stepped toward the prone mage, bringing a gap of fresh air with him.     *     *     *     Tobias reeled as another arm slammed into his back.  He heard something pop—he thought it was a bone; maybe one of his—as he fell back.  The poison continued to cloud the air, ruining visibility.  But he did not need his eyes to know he faced two ogres.  His broken nose and other wounds practically screamed it in his mind.  Slowly, the poison was filling the paladin’s lungs.  If he did not escape the cloud, even his stamina would not protect him.Tobias reached out with his senses, trying to find the ogres with his power.  A brief, feral coldness brushed against the paladin’s senses.  He ducked, just as the Rorn-wolf hybrid leaped over him.Another fist pounded into the paladin, staggering him.  No second blow landed.  The other ogre had to be distracted by Motega.Closing his eyes, trusting his senses, Tobias took a deep breath and charged through the cloud.     *     *     *     Fitz let Magnus lean against him as they slowly plodded toward the double doors.  The whirlwind continued to circle both, clearing the air.  Fitz hoped he could hang on to the blessing long enough to reach clean air.They passed through the doorway…-------------------------------------[1] – From the <a href="http://www.diffworlds.com/valus.htm" target="_blank">Valus</a> sourcebook.  Each cleric gains two abilities from their deity.  One such ability is Cerian Buffeting, which allows the dispersal of “vapors, fumes, fogs, and the like”.  These abilities are only accessible when the deity is ascendant.</blockquote>

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