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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6602073" data-attributes="member: 9546">The Return of the Monkey-Boy7 Pharast, 4715Neko was troubled. It had been more than two days since he saw Shalelu walking through the woods beneath his treetop perch, headed in the direction from which he'd just come. He had not called out to her, and that was part of what troubled him. She was going to find them...Boris and the others. She was going to help while he...well, he didn't quite know what it was that he was doing exactly. When the hellwasp swarm had attacked, he'd felt helpless, and all of the fear and trauma that had been a part of his daily life with the circus came back to him. He couldn't face that again, so he had let his fear turn to anger at his new friends, and then it had been easier to leave them. But the anger was gone now, and only the fear remained. Fear and shame. Those were the feelings that had kept him rooted in his tree for the past two days. Fear at rejoining his comrades, and shame at not. Ultimately, however, it was that image of Shalelu, striding purposefully and completely without fear, that made his mind up for him. He leaped from his branch to another one nearby, and then another, and another until he was racing through the canopy back towards Ravenscraeg.___________________________________________________________________The monks' cells that ringed the dojo were largely empty, save that each of them contained a shrine to a strange Tian deity that Spivey identified as the Yama King, a death god. However, in the chamber that seemed to belong to the ninja woman, they found a large trunk that contained, among other things, a set of peasant clothing, a disguise kit, and a handwritten writ signed by Sveinn Blood-Eagle himself that gave the bearer the authority to commandeer any of the Linnorm King's huscarls within 2 miles of Kalsgard for up to 12 hours. Boris, being the only one able to read Skald, tucked this away in his pocket after telling his comrades that it was simply a grocery list. Finally, in the last of the cells, Zula noted a large amount of grit and dust on the floor, as well as faint footprints that led to one wall. A careful inspection of it revealed a hidden seam, and with a little effort, she was able to push aside an entire section of the wall, revealing a corridor beyond. A single door stood in the lefthand wall of the passage before it continued on into darkness and then turned a corner. Mazael paused at the door, and then shoved it open before Boris could have a chance to examine it, earning himself a scowl of disgust from the goblin. A brazier in the corner of the room beyond glowed faintly with red coals, its smoke reminiscent of the stench of scorched flesh. A short bed with a headboard carved with the image of an open-mouthed demon stood against one wall, and a small table cluttered with books, scrolls, and a stuffed and mounted stirge sat across from it. A magic circle had been scribed in the center of the floor with chalk. Torn papers, bits of old food, and other debris were scattered about the room, collecting in corners and under the bed and table. "I sense something," Helgarvarl spoke from Mazael's brow just as the war-priest heard a faint scuttling sound coming from under the bed.Suddenly, a severed hand, easily the size of a shield and crawling along on its fingers, launched itself from beneath the bed towards Mazael. As it became momentarily airborne, it curled into a fist and slammed into his mid-section, forcing the breath out of him in a whoosh. It landed back on its fingertips, but before it could leap again, Lucian sent a pair of arrows into it. This gave Mazael time to regain his composure and bring Suishen crashing down on the horror. As the blade nearly split the hand in two, it erupted with putrid fluid that doused the war-priest, leaving him retching and gagging._____________________________________________________________________The secret hall continued around a corner and ended in another descending stairwell leading into Ravenscraeg's sub-cellar. Boris took the lead, not trusting Mazael's ham-handed tactics. It was lucky for the group that he did, for just at the bottom of the stairs his sharp eyes spotted a small tripwire from which several small bells dangled. "No step there," he pointed out to the others as he hopped over. His companions followed his lead. Another hallway lead off the stairwell, and at a point, it widened into a small chamber with a door on the south side, banded with wide straps of iron and bearing a large, heavy lock. A single brazier provided dim light to the area. Before they had even gotten a good view of the chamber, however, the heroes could hear moaning and shuffling. In the dim light, at least a dozen walking corpses milled aimlessly about, all Ulfens in various states of decay. As the zombies turned towards the intruders, Spivey flew above them, her body aflame with holy light as she channeled Desna's power. The walkers recoiled in pain, and boils and blisters erupted from their putrid flesh. They didn't pause for long, however, and came shambling forward en masse, completely clogging up the hallway ahead. Mazael stepped forward and held aloft his own holy symbol, channeling Desna's might again. This time, all but four of the zombies erupted into flames and fell into piles of smoldering ash. Those final four fell a moment later as they were blasted apart by Zula's thundering voice.Shalelu stepped forward past the ruined corpses, her brow furrowed. "What's that?" she asked pointing towards the wall opposite the one with the door. She had spied a small crack there that seemed to be widening before her eyes into another doorway. Suddenly, she felt the ground moving beneath her feet. She looked down as a pit, ten-feet across and at least twenty-feet deep opened right under Lucian and herself. Both of them jumped clear, with the elven ranger landing on the far side, but separated from the rest of her companions. From within the new doorway, a solitary figure had appeared. He was humanoid, but beyond that Shalelu could not guess his race. His skin was mottled and green, and large tusks grew from his lower jaw, but he was tall and lanky, not like an orc or hobgoblin. He carried a large pickaxe in one hand, and a necklace of small bones and fetishes hung from around his neck. She didn't wait for an introduction before she drew and loosed three arrows. Two deflected off the creature's chain shirt, but the third found its mark, knocking him back a pace or two. She turned to see what had become of the others, and was relieved to see Mazael walking on thin air over the pit, while Piotr got a running start and leaped, though not particularly gracefully, over the pit. As he landed, his hand flared with light that he threw into the rival spellcaster's eyes. The creature reeled, rubbing at his eyes, and clutching at his throat at Piotr's magic momentarily stole his breath and robbed him of his voice. At that moment, a brown-furred blur streaked over the heads of the companions and landed crouched on the far side of the pit."Neko??" Boris gasped, his mouth hanging open.The varra grinned and winked over his shoulder at the goblin."Looks like I came back just in time to save you again, Master!" he laughed, and then darted towards the mute and dazzled Goti Runecaster, for that was whom the heroes faced. Neko came to a stop right beside the sorcerer, his bow drawn tight from point-blank range."Not so big when you can't speak spells, are you?" he taunted.Goti's still-watering eyes turned on Neko balefully, and then, disconcertingly, an evil smile spread over his face. His features clenched in concentration, and then, before Neko's startled eyes, he abruptly grew to twice his original size, his arms rippling with muscle like corded steel. The little varra took a step back, and then pumped three arrows in rapid succession into Goti's chest. He grunted, but it was rage that showed on his face rather than pain. As Neko tore more shafts from his quiver, Goti raised his now-enormous pick in both hands over his head."Neko, move!" Boris shouted, but it was too late.Goti Runecaster drove down with the pick-axe, burying the point through the top of Neko's head. The varra went at first rigid, and them completely limp, sliding to the ground, blood and brain tissue leaking from his eyes and nose."Damn it!" Lucian cursed as he ran towards the pit and leaped. His boots touched the far side, his arms pinwheeling. He struggled for a moment to catch his balance, but then the weight of his pack and quiver pulled him back, and he toppled over the edge.  Zula cursed as well, but she formed her words into a sonic blast that rocked Goti on his heels. Then Mazael was there and he slashed with Suishen, the sword shouting its encouragement into his mind. Piotr followed this up by conjuring a rolling ball of fire and sending it into Goti's feet. The giant sorcerer roared, his voice returned. He raised his pick again, this time over Mazael's head, but before he could strike, Zula spoke the words to a spell, and covered the haft of the weapon in a greasy coating. It slipped from Goti's grasp and clattered to the floor. He snarled and cast his own spell, opening another pit beneath Zula and Piotr. Both of them leaped clear at the last second. He then bent to recover his weapon, and Mazael struck him again. As Goti rose to his feet again, he swung back, connecting solidly with the war-priest, driving him back. Mazael, blood dripping from his face, gripped Suishen in both hands and charged back in, driving the katana through the sorcerer's heart. Goti toppled, returning to his normal size as he died._____________________________________________________________________Boris stood silently over Neko's ruined form. The others kept a respectful distance while the goblin bid his friend farewell. "Boris come back for you," he said. "Bury you in special monkey place with lots of bananas."He sniffed, wiped his eyes, and turned back to his companions. "Boris ready," he said flatly. "Let's see who left here to kill."The large padlocked door proved to be a challenge. When Boris examined it, he found faint runes etched into the locking mechanism, a telltale sign of a magical ward. Fishing through his lock picks, he found a specially enchanted rasp and set to work scouring the rune clean before opening the lock itself. He was rewarded when he found that beyond the door was a veritable trove of valuables gathered into one place. Chests overflowed with gold and silver ornaments. Crates held trade bars of precious metals. Ornate, gilded drinking horns peeked out of a burlap sack, and coffers spilled forth gold and silver coins in quantities rarely seen in that part of the world. It looked they had found the bulk of the funds that Thorborg Silverskorr had been diverting from the Rimerunners."If only Neko still alive to see this," Boris bawled, tears of sorrow and joy streaming down his face.The hallway continued on and rounded another corner, revealing yet another stair that descended to a trio of alcoves flanking an ornate double door. Standing in each alcove was a bronze statue depicting a warrior dressed in the ornate garb and armor of a warrior of distant Tian Xia. Beneath their broad helmets, the statues wore demonic face masks with snarling, fanged maws, while their hands clutched gracefully curved swords in poses of battle. Boris led the way to the doors, eyeing the statues in distrust as he passed between them. He listened at the door, and then pulled back."More water," he said.Mazael grimaced, and then grabbed one of the opening rings. Just as he began to pull, however, the noise of stone scraping on stone drew his gaze upward. The statues had begun to move! One of them lumbered out of its alcove towards Shalelu, who snapped off a shot as it approached, only to see her shaft bounce from its stone hide, leaving only a small nick behind. Lucian tried the same trick with much the same results. Another one next to Mazael brought its katana down, slashing into his arm. He spun on his heel, counterstrikeing with Suishen, though when the sword connected, Mazael felt the reverberations all the way in his teeth.Boris found himself trapped in the middle of all three statues, a place where he absolutely did not want to be. He ran, ducking into a low tumble, trying to dart through the legs of the golems, but he was just a hair too slow. As he darted past the last one, its katana opened a gaping wound down the back of his leg. The guardian turned to follow the limping goblin, but then Piotr hurled a flaming sphere into its path, trying to slow it down long enough to let Boris make his getaway. The ball bounced harmlessly off the statue, and it continued to lumber inexorably forward. Zula, seeing that Piotr's magic had no effect on the construct, tried another tactic. She conjured a puddle of slippery grease beneath its feet, as well as a second one. The first's legs came out from beneath it, sending it crashing to the floor, while the next in line simply couldn't gain any purchase to keep moving. Lucian tried to ply his arrows again now that the momentum of the guardians had stalled, and though his shots were true, they failed to do more than scratch the surface of their stoney hides. The fallen golem climbed laboriously to its feet, but as it did so, Mazael lunged towards it, slashing with Suishen again. However, when he took his eyes away from the third guardian, it struck, driving its own blade deep into the war-priest's spine, sending him to his knees. Then, it was Piotr's turn to learn from his mistake. Following Zula's example, instead of trying to ply his magic directly upon the golems, he instead created a glitterdust cloud, unsure if statues could, in fact, be blinded. His question was answered a moment later when all three of the guardians began to stumble about aimlessly. Zula quickly followed this with her thundercall, and the impact of the blast sent one of them to the ground again as it slipped in the grease. Mazael, having levered himself painstakingly back to his feet, drove Suishen into that one's head, shattering it completely, and it did not rise again. After that, Boris darted back into the fray, stabbing at the joints of the remaining golems. Zula's voice blasted them again, and Mazael continued to deal devastating damage with the Amatasu ancestral blade until the last one crumbled. ______________________________________________________________________After the companions had a chance to tend their wounds, they turned once more to the pair of doors the samurai statues had been guarding. Mazael pulled them both open wide, revealing a vast, impressive chamber. The interior had been transformed into a multilevel architetural wonder. The room was divided into two tiers, the upper one lying twenty feet above the lower, and rotated forty-five degrees. The peak of the ceiling rose to a pyramid sixty feet above the floor. The diagonal orientation of the upper tier formed four twenty-foot high ledges above teh walls of the lower tier. A fountain issued from the southernmost of those ledges, pouring in a waterfall to a decorative pool in the floor containing several ruby-hued koi. Black-lacquered folding screens had been set at various places about the room, creating a veritable maze of panels. As soon as the doors were opened, the companions heard a female voice from somewhere within the labyrinth."Welcome to Ravenscraeg and my twisted pagoda," she said. "You have been very busy, and you have caused me no end of trouble."Abruptly, the voice changed. Though there was still something about it that identified it as female, it had become deep, guttural and booming."I trust you have enjoyed my hospitality," it continued, now seeming to come from somewhere above them. "Prepare to enjoy it one final time!"Boris quickly darted into the room and disappeared into the shadows of the lacquered screens. As he passed a passage between the barriers, he glanced down it and spied a figure crouched in the gloom. It was a ninja, but it did not seem to spot him. As quietly as he could, the goblin crept towards the assassin, and before it realized he was there, Boris slid his wakizashi between the man's ribs. When the others heard the commotion from within the maze, they all began to move, spreading out among the screens. As Shalelu stepped around a corner, a flash of movement caught her eye as another black-clad ninja darted at her and thrust a blade into her belly. She grunted and fell back, trying to bring up her bow to deflect the assassin's next blow, but then she heard a small but powerful voice call out from above her."HALT!" Spivey shouted, clutching her holy symbol in her hand and pointing it at the ninja.To Shalelu's amazement, the man complied, coming to a stop and simply staring up at the azata. A moment later, the ninja erupted into flames as Piotr stepped into view, fire spewing out of his fingertips. At that moment, the air above the companions filled with frigid air and razor-sharp ice crystals, blasting aside several of the screens, and rolling over Lucian, Shalelu and Mazael. As the blast cleared, a giant could be seen hovering on high.  Clad in beautiful armor, the exotically garbed creature roared, its tusks glistening and its eyes afire with murderous intent. She carried a large bow in her hands, and across her back rested an enormous spiked club. Mazael, his joints still stiff and frozen, ducked for cover, but found his path blocked by a pair of ninjas. "Swift as the wind. Quiet as the forest. Conquer like the fire. Steady as the mountain," Suishen spoke into his mind.Mazael grinned viciously as he crouched low and thrust the blade through his first enemy's chest, then rose, spinning, and took the other man's head from his shoulders. Boris's opponent was bleeding profusely from the goblin's first cut. His second solved that problem by opening the ninja's throat. Behind him, two more ninja appeared. One of them slashed at Piotr, but then both of them were blown off their feet by Zula's thundercall. One of them did not rise again, and when the other tried to, Piotr blasted him with a volley of magic missiles. Lucian tried to shake the chill from his bones as his numb fingers gripped his bowstring. He brought the bow up and loosed at the giantess still hovering above the fray. To his amazement, on of his shafts went straight through her left eye. She screamed a high, ululating cry that chilled the oracle even more than the cold blast had. "Keep her distracted!" Mazael shouted at him as he ran past.The war-priest closed to Boris, and touched the goblin with Suishen."The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim," Suishen said to Boris as the little rogue suddenly felt himself become lighter than air."You're with me!" Mazael snarled.Lucian kept up his barrage as Mazael and Boris charged into the air. Mazael reached the ogress first, but as he closed, she dropped her bow and drew her massive club in one swift movement, smashing it into the war-priest's chest. Boris used the opportunity to somersault through the air behind her, where he slashed viciously behind her knees. She screamed again as she flew towards the floor, swinging wildly at Lucian, whose arrows still peppered her. He club connected solidly with the oracle, flinging him against a far wall, where he lay stunned. Shalelu quickly took up where her apprentice left off, sending her own volley at the fiend. The ogress turned towards her, only to find Mazael, blood dripping from his mouth, standing above her. Suishen's flames flared as the war-priest swung, and the blade practically sang with power as it opened the oni's throat, spilling her life's blood to the floor. She sank to her knees, her remaining eye going dim before she collapsed completely. "What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease," Suishen said. "You have earned the title of Scion of House Amatatsu. I shall continue to reveal my full power to you."Mazael's eyes opened wide as the sword disclosed another of its secrets: the ability to resist even the most frigid of colds. He had the feeling this would be invaluable where they would soon by journeying.</blockquote>

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