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

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Medriev" data-source="post: 4863238" data-attributes="member: 21864">Chapter 18 - The Hall of Blizzards (Part 3)Thorn saw the elf wound Lavren and fired his crossbow, the bolt driving into the elf’s leg. Again, the warrior only flinched but elsewhere, the knight that faught Dulvarna staggered back as though the quarrel had struck him. On the ground, Telkya continued to roll back and forth as the elves around her stabbed at her and miraculously, she survived for a few moments longer. Another of the knights stabbed down with his blade to the left and then shifted the thrust as Telkya moved, the blade driving into the elf maid’s belly. She cried out and Lavren roared his own frustration and agony in answer. Then, Telkya’s bonds seemed to melt away and her arms were free again. More of the elves came forward but she scrambled away and as she did, Dulvarna swept her blade out and beheaded the knight that Enlishia had wounded. The elves hesitated for a moment and as they did, Telkya vanished in a shower of light motes. A bolt of light flashed from the doorway, seared through the chest of one of the blades of winter and the elf fell beside the slain knights. The elves hesitated again but then the blizzard speaker called out a command in elven and the warriors surged forward once more.An elf rushed at Erlmoor and stabbed its longsword beneath his guard and into his thigh. The dragonborn roared, conscious now that Telkya had escaped the elves and that he could spray acid on his enemies. As he rose from the ice and drew in a deep breath, Lavren loosed two purple bolts toward the elves from where he lay on the floor. Both flashed past the elves but before they could resume their attack, the paladin roared and spewed acid from his mouth that engulfed the elves. Only the knight showed any pain, crying out and shrinking back from the terrible spray of liquid. Erlmoor roared again and lashed out with his blade, another prayer on his lips. His sword clove into the belly of the nearest elf with a flash of light that sent new strength surging through Erlmoor and Telkya who stood in the doorway behind him. The paladin’s sword clove through to the elf’s spine and in a spray of blood and gore, the warrior collapsed to the ground beside its companions. The last knight levelled his blade at the dragonborn in challenge and rushed easily across the ice to meet him in battle. The elf slashed his sword in from the dragonborn’s left but Erlmoor parried, driving the blade downward. Still, the elf’s icy sword cut across the front of the paladin’s knee, forcing Erlmoor to stagger and nearly slip on the treacherous ice. In the doorway, Enlishia loosed one arrow and then a second toward the elves in front of Lavren. One drove into the chest of a warrior and the other pierced the second elf through his throat. Both gasped and fell back onto the blood stained ice. Thorn loosed a crossbow bolt at another of the warriors but the quarrel flew wide and clattered into the wall beyond the elf. Only then did the companions realise the peril that the defeat of the elves had put them in. The blizzard speaker began chanting an incantation while raising her left hand. A bolt of ice lanced out and struck the wall beside Lavren, missing the warlock by an arm’s length. The elf warriors and the last of the knights drew strength from this and with a roar of  defiance they charged at Dulvarna and Erlmoor, forcing them back a step. Dulvarna recovered quickly, holding an elf warrior at bay and then twisting her blade under his guard to drive it up into his belly. The elf gasped as blood gushed from the wound, dropping his sword in the doorway of the northern chamber. A moment later he collapsed on the floor to die beside his kin. Lavren loosed a bolt of black energy into the side of the knight, throwing the elf into the doorway and allowing Erlmoor to recover and advance himself. The knight lashed out wildly to defend himself and the paladin ducked under the reckless attack.From the doorway, Telkya surveyed the scene as Enlishia raised her bow and took aim at the blizzard speaker at the far end of the hallway. She loosed and arrow and then a second, both driving into the elf maid’s left leg and throwing her back a step. She hissed something under her breath in elven and raised her hand as she began another incantation. Thorn loosed a crossbow bolt that nicked the sorceress’s shoulder and then a furious icy wind erupted in front of the doorway. Telkya, Enlishia and Thorn shrank back from the wind and from the curses of the elf maid deduced that the spell had not landed where she had planned. They raised their weapons and moved back into the doorway with smiles upon their faces as the elf witch fixed them with a furious gaze. Dulvarna kept her footing as the elves fell back and stepped forward, weaving her blade before her. The elven knight watched her movements and as she darted forward, he tried to parry to his left only to find that the warrior woman had reversed her swing. Aecris plunged into the right side of his chest and clove through to his heart without stopping. The elf gasped and collapsed to the ice, dead before he hit the ground. Dulvarna stepped over him and started toward the blizzard speaker only to slip and fall a few steps beyond the fallen elf. Behind her, Telkya stepped out from the doorway and fell herself but Lavren kept his footing and loosed a bolt of black energy at the sorceress. The eldritch blast struck the elf maid in the shoulder and spun her back a step but still she did not fall.In the northern doorway, Erlmoor feinted to the left and then plunged his blade in from the other side, driving it through the chest of the last elf warrior until it pierced his back. The elf fell and the dragonborn stepped into the northern chamber to find firmer footing. From the end of the hallway, Enlishia’s bow sang again and again, sending two more arrows into the elf sorceress and driving her back step after step. Thorn loosed another crossbow bolt that drove into the elf maid’s leg and desperately, the sorceress began another incantation. A bolt of ice lanced out from her hand and struck Dulvarna in the chest, freezing the warrior woman where she had fallen for a few moments but still she managed to regain her feet. Telkya rose and then fell again and Lavren slipped and fell but still a bolt of black energy seared past the sorceress, missing her by less than an arm’s length. The elf maid looked toward Lavren and as she did, Erlmoor leapt from the northern doorway and made his way quickly along the left wall of the hallway. As he reached the sorceress, he lashed out with his blade, forcing what remained of his strength into the blow. His sword clove into the sorceress’s side and spun her to her left, blood gushing from the terrible wound the paladin had inflicted. An arrow thudded into the elf maid’s belly and she staggered back, spitting blood from her mouth. Another arrow and a crossbow bolt flashed past the elf maid and desperately, she stabbed out with her spear. Erlmoor parried the thrust but still the weapon nicked the paladin’s leg and filled him with an icy chill. He raised his blade again but as he did, a bolt of light from Telkya’s amulet flashed past the blizzard speaker. She flinched but it was already too late. A bolt of black energy flashed out from Lavren’s wand and seared into her chest, throwing her several feet down the corridor where she landed in a sitting position.“The Master will kill you and eat you,” she hissed and then fell back dead.Next.....Meeting the Master</blockquote>

Verification