Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6596618" data-attributes="member: 9546">The Blood-Feather Raven4 Pharast, 4715-5 Pharast, 4715It was after midnight, but only Piotr and Mazael slept. The others sat near the campfire in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Thus, it was quite unexpected when Helgarvarl, who rested atop Mazael's backpack, suddenly began to speak."I sense something...," he said, but his thought was interrupted by a high-pitched whine.Haroldo abruptly pitched forward, grunting in pain, and when the others turned towards him, they saw why: a long, black-fletched arrow protruded from between his shoulder blades. Boris cursed and rolled off the log he'd been sitting on, disappearing into the underbrush. Spivey spread her wings and rose into the air, gazing into the darkness from whence the shot had come. She saw a shadowy figure crouched among the trees several dozen feet away, and as she watched, it put a flask to its lips and vanished from view. The tiny priestess quickly began casting a spell, sending a quartet of dancing lanterns hovering over the spot where she'd last seen their assailant."There!" she pointed. Piotr awoke rudely after Zula kicked him roughly in the ribs. Though his thoughts were still fuzzy, months with his traveling companions had taught him the value of quickly adapting to a situation. He rose to a sitting position and looked around for a moment before seeing the floating orbs of light out in the trees. Acting on his first impulse, he wove a glitterdust spell and detonated it in that vicinity. As the gold sparkles settled over everything in the blast radius, a woman's form was revealed. She wore a chain shirt, and carried a large, curved bow. Haroldo charged towards her at the same time that Lucian fired his own bow, striking her in the leg. She pivoted as the blood-rager closed and put a shaft into his shoulder at point-blank range. Then she cried out in pain as Boris suddenly appeared out of the darkness and drove a blade into her back. Before she could recover, Haroldo reached her, ignoring the pain from his own wound and slashing savagely at her with his greatsword. She fell, twitching, to the ground. They searched her and found nothing identifiable. She was Ulfen, but she did not carry one of the jade raven statuettes that the thugs at Ravenscraeg bore. The following morning, Zula was able to follow her back trail, which led, strangely enough, towards Karlsgard. After a half-mile or so, they came upon a riding horse, saddled and picketed in a small clearing. In its saddle bags were 500 gold coins of Chelish mint."Didn't that damn wasp corpse say something about being captured by a Chelish wizard?" Mazael asked."Looks like someone has put a price on our heads," Piotr replied.________________________________________________________________________Once more, the intrepid heroes returned to the stairs of Ravenscraeg. This time, however, they had climbed no higher than the second landing, when bricks, rocks and other debris began raining down on them from above."Looks like they were expecting us this time!" Mazael growled as he ducked for cover. Spivey quickly took to the air from her perch on his shoulder, and flew to the upper landing, where she saw four Ulfen thugs crouched behind the railing, throwing detritus over the side."There are only four!" she called. "Move quickly!"Her friends wasted no time. Pitor cast a spell of haste upon them, and moving like the wind, they hustled up the switchback stairs, dodging falling rocks as they ran. Lucian guarded the rear, periodically sending arrows flying up at their assailants to buy his allies a little more time. Mazael was the first to reach the top level, but he was quickly followed by Haroldo, and even Boris. The Ulfens reached for their axes, but it was simply a formality. The war-priest and battle-rager tore through them, with the goblin taking advantage of the chaos to slip his sword into an exposed flank here and there. By the time Zula, Lucian and Piotr reached the top, the battle was over.They found the doors to the great hall were again closed, and when they pushed them open, the evidence of their last battle had been swept clean. Above them, however, the ravens called, and both Mazael and Haroldo spotted black-clad figures hiding atop the balcony."Alright boys and girls," Mazael sighed, "we know this music. Let's dance!"The companions had indeed learned from their past experiences. As the ravens swooped towards them, Piotr conjured fire to deter them, while Zula blasted them out of the air by the dozens with her thunderous voice. Mazael and Haroldo took the fight to the ninjas who sniped at them from the upper tier, while Lucian returned fire, and Boris crept through the shadows unseen until he was upon the assassins. Though the ninjas got off a few lucky shots, none were vital, and the heroes gave far worse than the received. The battle was over quickly, and this time, it seemed no further reinforcements were forthcoming. _____________________________________________________________________After dealing with their minor injuries, the group returned to the lab where they had faced the hellwasp swarm. Here, as in the great hall, there was little evidence of their previous battle. The wasps were gone, and the broken glass of the case had been swept away. More proof that the Rimerunners' resources were far from exhausted if they had time to tidy up after two incursions into their stronghold. There were two doors that led from the lab, as well as the broad stairs that wound further up into the keep's tower. The first door they tried gave onto a stairwell going down."Giants down there," Boris affirmed. "All the more reason to take care of business up here first," Mazael said. Boris pressed his ear to the second door, and then drew back with a look of surprise on his face.   He had distinctly heard the sounds of weeping on the other side. "Boris hear cry-baby," the goblin grinned. "Boris think it Lucian, but he standing right here."Lucian just scowled at him. Zula cleared her throat. "If you would allow me," she said, "among my people I was a Speaker. I have some skill and experience in handling...delicate...situations. Whoever is behind that door has surely been traumatized in some way. We may need to handle this with a bit more finesse than you are accustomed to.""Huh?" Mazael grunted."She says to let her do the talking," Piotr sighed," and don't kill the first thing you see."The war-priest shrugged. "Whatever."Zula nodded, and Boris quickly worked the lock on the door, then pulled it open. A cramped cell, ten-feet deep and no more than five-feet high, had been excavated in a corner of the tower's foundation. It was rank with the smell of sweat and urine, and a pair of rats scurried among the rib cage of some former inhabitant. A middle-aged Ulfen man, who appeared to have once been corpulent but was now a wasted shadow, lay curled up on the floor, his face battered and bruised. "Please...," he said in a ragged, hoarse whisper, "don't...kill me.""Tell us your name," Zula said calmly. "We mean you no harm.""Lute," he rasped. "Lute Haggersly. I'm from...Karlsgard.""We are here to deal with the masters of this hall," Zula told him. "We will take you from here when we leave and return you to Karlsgard safely, but it would help us if you could tell us everything you know about this place and its occupants."Lute nodded, a hopeful look in his eyes."I am a merchant," he began, after he had finished half of a water skin Zula offered him. "I serve on the Rimerunners Guild's board of shareholders.""The Rimerunners?" Piotr interrupted. "They are who we have issue with. They have made several attempts on our lives, and we have reason to believe their leader is here. Why would they hold one of their own prisoner?"Lute shook his head."I'm not certain, but I believe I earned the enmity of Thorborg Silverskorr when I voted against a measure that she had proposed. I was returning from a business trip to some of the outlying villages when I was abducted by brigands and brought here. I have only had contact with three individuals since.""Can you describe them?" Zula asked."The main one was a wizard of some sort. He is not human. I...can't say what he is. Perhaps some species of orc?  He never questioned me, only threatened. He kept saying that he was going to infest me with some sort of demonic wasps.""Not any more," Zula said. "We destroyed them."Lute nodded."Another was some kind of bear creature," he continued. "He didn't ask me questions either, just beat me periodically.""We met him as well," Piotr said. "He's dead too."Lute nodded appreciatively again."The last was a hideous purple ogre!" he said. "You won't believe me, and I can't prove it, but I would swear on my life that she was none other than Thorborg Silverskorr herself!""Why do you say that?" Zula asked."Because as soon as she left my cell," Lute said, "I heard first her monstrous voice, then suddenly, it was the voice of Silverskorr. I know her voice well.""Intersting," Zula pursed her lips. "Well, in any case, we will discover the truth soon. It's not safe for you to come with us now, so I suggest you stay here. If we have not returned for you in three hours, leave this place and flee as best you can."Lute looked frightened but he nodded again."Please, don't forget me," he said. "I will make it worth your while if you can get me back home."_______________________________________________________________________Single file, with Haroldo and then Mazael in the lead, the companions made their way cautiously up the tower stairs, passing a second floor landing. Ultimately, the stairs gave onto an airy chamber with windows open to the elements, bringing a chill to the room. A fireplace stood against one wall, its ashes cold, next to a stack of firewood. A trap door with a wooden ladder leading to it, opened in the ceiling. Several cots were spaced about the chamber, with small footlockers next to each. Crouched in combat stances about the area were seven of the bird-headed tengu ninjas.Haroldo didn't hesitate. He rushed headlong into the room, hacking savagely at the nearest assassin, while Lucian squeezed past Mazael on the stairs and positioned himself in a corner so that he could have a clear line of fire with his bow. Spivey flew in as well, and when she saw a trio of ninjas closing in on, she quickly cast a sonic blast in their midst, leaving all of them reeling. She whirled suddenly as a familiar noise reached her ears...ravens! Before she could shout a warning, a cloud of birds swarmed into the room from an adjoining chamber, engulfing her friends. Haroldo and Mazael beat at them, but they were rapidly in danger of being overwhelmed. Still on the stairwell, Zula saw the situation deteriorating, and she knew that she had to act. "Cover your ears!" she cried in warning, and then she unleashed the full fury of her thunder call.The results were devastating. The ravens were completely obliterated, but Haroldo, Mazael, Lucian and Boris were all caught in the blast as well. The four of them were left staggering and stumbling about, all bleeding from their ears and noses. Piotr quickly conjured a cloud of glitterdust in the center of the room, hoping to keep the ninjas from using their disappearing trick, but it didn't matter. Stunned from the thunder clap, the heroes could not defend themselves when the assassins came for them. Two of them flanked Haroldo, stabbing and slashing at him repeatedly until he collapsed to the floor. Another drove his sword into Lucian, and the oracle felt his blood begin to burn as the poison that was on the blade soaked into him. Still another came for Piotr, and though the sorcerer was not as helpless as his friends, he was unable to ward off the attack, and when the ninja struck, the sorcerer's skin first flushed and then paled as he reeled back, the toxin taking rapid effect. Suddenly, a whooshing sound began in the same small adjoining chamber from whence the ravens had come. It grew in intensity as it drew closer, and then the air in the room began to  whip about as if a strong wind had sprung up. Abruptly, two small whirlwinds, no bigger than Boris, came spinning into the main chamber, twirling through the air straight towards Spivey."Elementals!" she cried as they slammed into her. They circled around her, buffeting her to and fro, but her angelic make-up made her all but impervious to their blows. The bigger problem to her mind, was who or what had summoned them, and was that same individual controlling the ravens. Her question was answered a moment later when a large, black bird, about three-feet tall and with a single blood-red feather, came flying into the chamber from the adjoining room. As she watched in amazement, it began to speak the words of a spell, and a small ball of fire appeared at the tip of one wing.Mazael was the first to shake off the stupor from Zula's blast. He raised his sword and squeezed himself between Piotr and his attackers. From behind him, the sorcerer began to cast, and a sheet of flames arced over Mazael's shoulder, setting four of the ninjas ablaze. The reprieve was short-lived, however, as the other assassins surged forward, pinning Mazael, Piotr and Boris in the corner. Lucian, in the opposite corner, and feeling himself growing weaker by the moment, snatched a brittle snapleaf from his belt and crushed it, instantly rendering himself invisible. As quietly as possible, he began extricating himself from his precarious position. Spivey, completely ignoring the ineffective elementals, hurled another concussive soundburst into the midst of the trio of ninjas who had her comrades locked down. One of them fell dead instantly, while another staggered away, his head spinning. The last paused for a moment in his assault, and that was all Mazael needed. The war-priest slammed the pommel of his falchion into the tengu's head, and as it fell back, he ran it through cleanly. Spivey turned, trying to see the blood raven in the midst of the melee, and caught sight of it just in time to see it loose the ball of flame in its wing. The projectile sailed towards Piotr. Spivey cried out, and the sorcerer turned, but it was too late. The fire struck him in the chest, sending him careening into the wall, where his head struck with a sickening crack. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped limply to the flagstones.Boris was the next to fall. The goblin moved sluggishly from the poison flowing through his veins, but he still managed to shank one of the ninjas who was busy trying to fend off Mazael. Blood erupted from the tengu's mouth as Boris's blade pierced its heart, but a moment later it was the goblin's turn to bleed as another assassin slid its blade through his back. "That...hurt...Boris...," he wheezed just before he fell. The ninja stood over him, and prepared to deliver a coup de grace, but then a bowstring twanged as Lucian reappeared. The arrow took the tengu in the throat and if died strangling. Spivey could see that things were unravelling rapidly. Besides herself, only Mazael, Lucian and Zula still stood, and the former two were unsteady on their feet. Three ninjas were still up, not to mention the blood-feather raven and its pair of summoned elementals. The odds were not in their favor. She risked channelling her divine power to try and heal her allies, though she knew it would also benefit their enemies. She had no choice. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw both Piotr and Boris open their eyes. The sorcerer didn't waste time getting to his feet, knowing he would only be cut down again. He snatched a snapleaf from his spell pouch and promptly vanished. One ninja stared at the spot where he'd been, confused for a moment until Mazael ended his confusion permanently. Lucian snapped off an arrow at one of the remaining pair, and Zula quickly followed with another thunder blast, thankfully missing her friends this time and only catching the killers. One of them wobbled, and Mazael opened his throat. The last one danced away, slashing Mazael's sword arm as it went, but as it moved past Boris, the goblin stopped playing possum and rolled to his feet, driving his own wakizashi up through the tengu's groin. It opened its beak to shriek in agony, and that's when Lucian sent an arrow right down its throat. And then it was only the blood-feather raven. Even its elementals had disappeared, their summoning expired. Zula wasn't about to risk letting it escape, and she hurled the power of her voice at it, buffeting it as it flew. Piotr then reappeared as he sent a volley of arcane missiles flying at the bird. It's raspy voice croaked out another spell, and a billowing fog engulfed it, hiding it from view. Zula didn't care. She didn't have to see her enemy to bring it down. Another thunderclap exploded in the middle of the mist, and then the fog was swept away as Piotr sent a blast of wind through the room, nearly knocking the raven out of the air. The bird screeched again, but this time it was in fear as Mazael charged towards it. The war-priest swept his falchion before him, and blood and feathers flew. The raven shrieked again, and flew out one of the windows, reaching down with its beak to draw a small scroll from a band around its leg as it went. "Not this time, you little bastard!" Piotr snarled.He thrust his hands out, and another barrage of missiles flew, streaking through the window unerringly towards the raven. They struck the bird full on, and it fell, tumbling through the air to the valley far below.___________________________________________________________________________The companions gathered around Haroldo, his face pale, his lips blue and lifeless."It...it was my fault," Zula said softly, her voice breaking. "I...I'm so sorry...," "It was the right call," Mazael said. "We'd all be dead if you hadn't.""What we do now?" Boris asked. "We got no monkey-boy. We got no angry man. Boris still not feel so good."The others had no reply. All of them, save Spivey and Zula, were still suffering the after effects of the ninjas' poison, and their numbers were getting smaller, while the resources of their opponents seemed limitless. Their prospects looked bleak...</blockquote>

Verification