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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6896099" data-attributes="member: 9546">10 Kuthona, 4716 - 7 Abadius, 4717 - New Enemies, Old FriendsWEEK 8"Me bored," Gropdar the Lame croaked, for perhaps the fiftieth time in the past half-hour."Stop saying!" Kimbo the Slicer snapped, also for the fiftieth time. The two boggards had been ordered by Zikomo Hears-the-Father to stand guard at this post, which was just an empty clearing in the forest. He didn't tell them why, nor what exactly they were watching for. He spoke, they obeyed, but being boggards, their attention spans tended did wander after a time. Some more than others. "Me hungry, too," Gropdar complained. "Bored AND hungry!""Me going to eat you if no shut...!" Kimbo threatened, but his words trailed off.Something had caught his eye in the distance."Run!" he hissed at Gropdar. "Run tell dread masters! More hoomans coming!"___________________________________________________________Tasker Twelve-Knives hacked viciously at the grasping, clinging vines that seemed to impede his every step, cursing all the while. He'd much rather be back in Auld'Irey enjoying the company of that wench he'd had last night, yet here he was, off on another of Traya's crazy schemes. The half-orc shook his head. Why he kept letting himself get talked into these things, he couldn't say. He supposed he just loved gold that much. He turned, ready to complain to Hassan that the big barbarian wasn't doing his job blazing the trail, when a flash of movement caused him to whip his head back around. "Company!" he whispered harshly. "They're moving!" Hassan looked around, his horned head swiveling right and left. Finally, he spied where Tasker was pointing, and in one swift motion he drew a javelin from the quiver on his back and hurled it, the muscles beneath his red skin rippling. "Damn!" he spat in his heavily-accented common. "Just missed!""Get me up there!" Tasker snapped at Posca, seizing the dwarf by the arm."Posca will do as you ask," the surly merchant replied, shaking loose of the rogue's grip, "but Posca will not dirty his hands in base brawling!""Whatever!" Tasker growled. "Let's go!"The dwarf began a guttural prayer, touching Tasker's sleeve as he did so. There was a flash of light and a feeling of rapid movement and disorientation. As Tasker's vision cleared, he found that he and Posca were now standing just a dozen feet from some kind of frog-man. Beyond it, another of the creatures fled into the forest. Tasker gripped his blades and stepped towards the nearby creature, slashing and feinting. He managed to graze it, but then it jabbed at him with its spear, puncturing a hole through his leathers and superficially into the skin beneath. Hissing, the half-orc drew back a step, but then he grinned as he looked over the frog-man's shoulder. Following his gaze, Kimbo the Slicer turned and saw the big, red human rushing towards him. He turned, raising his spear again, and that's when Tasker stepped in and plunged both of his daggers into the boggard's lungs.__________________________________________________________"Dread Masters," Zikomo said, bowing low before Kelvin and Dorian. "One of my warriors has returned with ill tidings. Speak Gropdar!"He struck the prostrate boggard across the back with his staff. Gropdar yelped and scrambled to his knees, lifting his head only slightly, afraid to make eye contact with the humans. "Me see more hoomans coming!" he began to babble. "Kimbo say to me run, so me run! Bad hoomans stab poor Kimbo!""I see," Kelvin nodded. "How long ago was this?"Gropdar turned to look at Zikomo, confused. The oracle sighed in exasperation."Gropdar returned perhaps ten minutes past. The clearing where he and Kimbo were posted lies perhaps one mile south of the Horn.""That gives us about twenty minutes," Kelvin replied, and turned to Dorian. "Notify the others. We'll assemble in the upper temple and have Hexor scry the lower entrances."______________________________________________________________"Hold!" Traya said, putting up one hand. Her companions paused on the ramp leading up to the second-floor entrance to the Horn. According to the journal she'd purchased from the estate sale of one Sir Martyn of Brandinghshire, who'd claimed to have accompanied the Victor on his original raid of the Horn, there was a hollow column in the middle temple. In it was a staircase which led to the upper sanctum where, she hoped, she would find the Eyes of Vetra-Kali, priceless emeralds which would make her and her partners rich beyond their wildest dreams. As they approached the entrance to the mountain, however, something about the foliage overgrowing it disturbed her. Their flowers in particular...Then it hit her!"Assassin vines!" she warned, snapping her fingers as she recalled her herbology lessons. "Stand back!"Tasker and Hassan did as she commanded, and she began casting, and sent a pair of scorching rays of fire at the vines. They didn't seem to have much effect. Traya frowned. She didn't remember that from her classes. Trying another tactic, she cast again, and that time a swarm of arcane bolts struck the plants. They reacted immediately, writhing and thrashing, and then one of them shot out a long tendril which wrapped around Tasker's neck. The half-orc clutched at it, but his face was already turning red, then purple. His eyes rolled up into his head and he went limp as the deadly vine began dragging him closer. Hassan cried out in rage and charged forward, his scimitar cutting a wide arc and slicing through the assassin vine at the base of its stalk. It crumpled to the ground in a heap of twitching vegetation, blood leaking from its stem. As Hassan moved to deal with the second vine, Posca rushed to Tasker's side and knelt beside the rogue."He lives still," he sighed in relief as he began tending the half-orc's wounds."A problem that will be soon remedied," a voice called from within the shadowy entrance of the mountain.Kelvin stepped out into the sunlight, followed closely by Roger, Lemmy, Kat and Dakota. As the adventurers looked up in shock, Kelvin hurled a ball of crackling electricity into their midst. The would-be heroes screamed as the shocking tendrils coursed through their bodies...all except Tasker. He simply died. And Traya. The sorceress had prepared for such an eventuality, wreathing a magical sheath around her which guarded her from electricity. "Clever," Kelvin nodded appreciatively. "Too bad you can't account for all of my tricks."He tossed another explosive ball their way, but that one erupted into caustic acid, and when the vapors cleared, all that remained of Traya's Raiders were the bones._____________________________________________________________WEEK 10"Dread Masters," Zikomo hissed, bowing low before Kelvin and the others. "I come to you with ill tidings.""What other kind are there around this place?" Tardaesha sighed."Speak," Kelvin instructed the boggard oracle, ignoring his sister's sarcasm."One of our hunting parties has not returned," Zikomo said, standing upright again. "Is that unusual?" Kelvin asked. "No offense, but your warriors do seem easily...distractible. Perhaps they just found something interesting and lost track of the time.""No!" Zikomo croaked angrily, and then seemed to remember himself. "No," he said more calmly. "These are veteran hunters. They know what will happen to them if they don't do their jobs.""Very well," Kelvin sighed. "Where were they going?""Lake Skye," Zikomo replied. "East of here. I have read the omens and they speak of a great hunting demon. Would the great and powerful emissaries of Father Dagon wish to investigate?"Kelvin rolled his eyes. "Well, since you put it that way...we would be happy to help."______________________________________________________________By that afternoon, all of the members of the 9th, save for Tardaesha, arrived on the shore of the the lake. Tardaesha had elected to stay behind, ostensibly to watch over the operations, but Dakota knew how much her twin abhorred tromping around in the humid, muddy bogs along the lake shore. "Look at this," Kat said, kneeling down in the moist earth. "There are blood stains here, and some sort of animal fur. A drag trail leads that way."She pointed up the shore line. The others followed her lead towards a stone spire that looked like a smaller version of the Horn. There the trail disappeared into a small cave at the base of the pillar."Looks like we'll find our answer in there," Kat nodded. Katarina motioned for her siblings and friends to hang back as she crept silently and unseen into the shadowy tunnel. She emerged into a large, dry cavern, its floor littered with bones and animal remains. Three of those carcasses were undeniably boggards. Several piles of fur and grass had been piled around the edges of the room, almost like crude beds, and against one wall was a jumbled pile of humanoid skulls. A long ledge ran along the back of the cavern, and crouched upon it was the largest tiger Kat had ever seen or heard of. Its upper incisors protruded down below its chin like sabers. One eye peered balefully out of the darkness, but the other was covered in scar tissue. As Kat came to an abrupt halt and tried to melt into the shadows, the tiger raised its muzzle into the air and sniffed. Before Kat could react, the tiger was up on its feet and lunging for her. It's teeth sank into her shoulder and it yanked her forward, tearing into her flesh with its razor-like claws. "Get down!" Kat heard Dakota shout from behind her.Instinctively she lowered her head just as two arrows whipped past her and sank into the great cat's chest. It hissed and spat but didn't release her. Then Kat heard Dorian's voice chanting, and a greasy, black miasma appeared around the tiger, scorching its fur and singeing its flesh. "Back! Back I say!" Roger boomed, hammering his sword against his shield.The tiger flinched and laid its ears back, its grip slightly easing on Kat. Then she heard a voice whisper in her ear."Hold still!" Kelvin said.Arcane words where spoken, there was a flash of light, and when Kat was aware once more, she was standing back at the mouth of the cave. She could see Lemmy and Roger advancing on the beast. It seemed to be cowering from the big half-orc. Then Lemmy blasted it once...twice, and it fell to the floor, its sides heaving. Roger sheathed his sword and stowed his shield. Then he bent and lifted the huge creature across his shoulders. "Trophy?" Dakota asked, arching one eyebrow. "I like a man who hunts.""That would be a waste," Roger shook his head. "I think I might just be able to train it."_________________________________________________________WEEK 11Another message arrived from Elise Zadaria that week, and it was by far the most disturbing one that the 9th Knot had received to date."Silver dragon seen over Farholde. Uncertain of whereabouts. Be ready. He may be on his way to the Horn. Z."____________________________________________________________"Dread Masters," Zikomo croaked."Yes, oracle," Kelvin asked in a long-suffering tone, "what is it now?""My warriors have reported a giant in the forest. It comes this way."This peaked the wizard's interest immediately, and he quickly assembled the other members of the Knot.Within minutes, the companions were on the move, leaving the Horn to meet the so-called giant out in the open. It didn't take them long to find him. As they entered a clearing, a large figure emerged from the other side. While he was certainly big, perhaps nine feet in height, he could hardly be called a giant. "Ogre," Kelvin snorted, amused at the exaggerations of the boggards."Not just any ogre," Dorian said quietly. "I think we may actually know this one."The ogre paused, staring at them for several long moments, and then his wide, tusked mouth broke into a huge grin."Friends!" he called. "I never expected to find you here!""Grumblejack?" Dorian replied. "How...why....what...?"The ogre loped across the clearing and seized the priest in a massive bear-hug, then swung him around in a circle."You thought I was dead, right?" he laughed"We saw you die!" Dorian wheezed, the air being crushed out of him."Thought so too for a minute," Grumblejack nodded. "Turns out I only got knocked unconscious. When I woke up, all the guards were gone, chasing after you lot. Wasn't too hard for me to slip out of the keep, go over the wall and dive into the ocean below.""You survived that??" Kelvin asked incredulously."Barely," Grumblejack nodded, setting Dorian back on his feet. "Was touch and go there for awhile.""But what are you doing here?" Dorian asked. "How did you find us?""Wasn't looking for you," the ogre shrugged. "Started having strange dreams a couple of months back. Saw a mountain covered in green fire. Felt like I was supposed to go there, so I started walking. Now, here I am, and here you are. What are you all doing here?""It's a long story," Dorian shook his head. "Come, we'll explain on the way home."________________________________________________________Grumblejack marveled at the interior of the Horn as the 9th Knot gave him the tour."All of this...," he breathed, "is yours?""Well, at least for the next few months," Dorian shrugged. "After that...who knows?"The ogre's eyes took on a faraway cast for a moment."There's something...upstairs...at the top...," he murmured."Umm...yes," Dorian said hesitantly. "The sanctum. How did you know that?""I...don't know....," Grumblejack replied. "Can I...see it?"Kelvin didn't see the harm. If the big ogre suddenly went crazy, Vexor would be there to put him down. So they escorted Grumblejack to the very top of the Horn, to the sanctum itself. For several long moments, he just stood staring at the statue of Vetra Kali and the Seal. "I've...been here," he said distractedly.He swayed on his feet for a moment, then put a hand to his throat."Thirsty," he rasped. "So thirsty."Before anyone could stop him, Grumblejack lunged towards the statue and plunged his face into the basin in front of it, lapping at the unholy liquid there like a dog. Vexor snarled and made to seize him."Wait!" Dorian commanded. The daemon paused, barely contained rage on his face."Something's happening!" Dorian shouted. "Look!"Grumblejack sat back on his knees, his head raised to the ceiling, his mouth stretched in agony...or ecstasy. The small horns that protruded from his forehead abruptly began to grow and curl upwards. Simultaneously, the leather jerkin he wore split up the back as a pair of large, bat-like wings sprouted from his shoulders. His tusks elongated to razor points and his eyes blazed with Hellfire. As the others watched in awe, he climbed heavily to his feet."I know who I am now," he rasped, turning to face them. "My ancestors once defended this place until the Victor came. Daemonic blood flows in my veins. I am home!"Vexor grinned."Welcome, little brother!" he said, clapping Grumblejack on the shoulder.Dorian stepped forward, also smiling."Tell me, my friend," he asked, "have you ever considered the teachings of Asmodeus?"_______________________________________________________________WEEK 12One week later, Katarina, Dorian and Kelvin stood in the meditation hall on the third level of the Horn, discussing the nature of the teleportation circle that lay in its center. Suddenly, the circle flared to life and a figure stepped out of it. He wore a  well-made breastplate, and carried a heavy shield in one hand. In the other he gripped a flaming sword. An amulet hung from around his neck, identifying him as an inquisitor of Iomedae."Well, well," he sneered as his gaze fell upon the Asmodeans, "looks like I'm in the right place."</blockquote>

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