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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 8021" data-attributes="member: 11">Session #21Jana loaded her crossbow and brought it to bear on the elf at the top of the stairs, while Martin retreated further back into the entry hall.Kazrack stepped up to his blind opponent who was slowly trying to get away and with a low powerful blow, sent the elf flying off his feet.  The elf scrambled on his hands and knee and felt around for his sword.“Ratchis, I’ve got this guy. Cover my back,” Jeremy said as he made his way up the stairs, a sword in each hand.  He came in with a sudden fury, but the elf nimbly avoided the blows, and riposted with a shallow cut to the Neergaardian’s wrist. Ratchis held his position, looking around, especially up the broad dark hallway that went to the right further into the fort.The elf at the top of the stairs on Kazrack’s side fired his bow at the dwarf and the shaft went clear through his calf, making the dwarf cry out loudly, but he was able to knock the sword out of the blind elf’s seeking hand.Jeremy and his opponent continued to trade parries and feints, and seemed evenly match, Ratchis turned from cautiously watching the hall to watch the fight for a moment, wondering how he could get up the narrow stair to the elf.  Jeremy finally found an opening and shoved the hilt of his long sword into the elf’s gut. (46)   Ratchis saw this decided to check out the adjacent hall.The blind elf crawled away and got to his feet, stepping towards the dark hall for a second time, with his hands out in front of him. Kazrack made a run for the elf on the stairs, but the elf leapt down out of the way and the dwarf was forced to come back down and was able to catch the elf in the side of the head with the flat of his halberd’s axe head. The elf wobbled, but continued to brandish his sword (having dropped his bow when he leapt).  Jana, seeing an opening, fired her crossbow at the elf, but the bolt went wide.“Those had better be blunt crossbow bolts you are using!” Kazrack threatened, and heard movement behind him to the left.  Another elf was emerging from the dark hall.  He was taller than the others, and wore a cloak of bright green, and had bright blonde hair tied in thick braids. “Reinforcements are arriving!” Kazrack cried.Jeremy struck the elf again, as its reflexes slowed, but always he used the flat of the blade or struck with the pommel, not looking to kill these foes that were trying to kill him and his friends. Ratchis suddenly turned, his face bright red with a sudden idea and he charged at the second staircase that must go up to a lookout and leapt up on the stairs, and tried to bash the door.  It held against his strength and weight.   Jana knew this new elf coming towards Kazrack was no joke, and with an arcane word, a sickly green ray fired from her pointed finger and struck the new elf dead square in the chest.  The elf shook it off and grunted.  Martin stepped back into the hall and loaded his crossbow.Kazrack turned his halberd around and shoved the butt end into the gut of the elf he still struggled with, and then brought the flat of the halberd head onto the top of the elf’s head.  It collapsed in a lump on the g round.  The dwarf did not hesitate, making his way towards the newly arrived foe.“Are you ensorcelled as well?” Kazrack asked him.“Intruders are not allowed here,” the elf replied in a flat voice.“Okay, you are ensorcelled,” Kazrack said, grunting as an arrow from the new elf bit his shoulder.There was an audible pop and Janx appear beside the elf that Kazrack had just dropped, and the blink dog sniffed it.Jana moved to Janx, while Martin ran into the room and took a position by the wall, training his crossbow on the elf fighting Kazrack.   This new elf dropped his bow and pulled his sword, meeting Kazrack halfway.  The dwarf tried his fancy disarming trick he had practiced so often, but this elf seemed too skilled a warrior to fall for it. Kazrack had to duck to avoid what would have been a skull-splitting blow in reply.   Janx appeared behind the elf, snapping and biting to distract him from Karack a bit.Meanwhile, Jeremy felt his own arms growing heavy as he and his elven opponent struggled on the stairs.“What does it take to keep you down?” Jeremy cursed, as the door behind the elf burst open.It was Ratchis!  He had finally burst through the other door to the lookout and had run around and came up behind the elf Jeremy face.  The huge half-orc grappled the surprised elf and squeezed with all his might.  The elf gasped and crumpled.Jeremy and Ratchis came back down the stairs and could hear the combat from the other end of the hall echoing, but had not time to investigate, as yet another elf, in a cloak of silver and blue emerged from the shadows of the broad hall and fired an arrow that hung in Jeremy’s chain shirt for a moment before dropping down.  The Neergaardian could feel the bruise swelling up in his ribcage.Jana fired another ray of green light at the elf fighting Kazrack, but again the elf seemed to be made of stern stuff and shook off the effects of the enfeeblement.  Martin took the moment’s distraction to fire his crossbow at the elf, but the bolt went wide.“Stop shooting at them!” Kazrack roared.  “Tackle them! Throw stones at them! Do anything, but shooting them with crossbows!”“Sorry,” Martin said meekly, and slung his crossbow back on his back“Our people should not be at war,” the elf in the green cloak said to Kazrack, as he parried blow after blow from the dwarf’s halberd.“Uh, yeah… “ Kazrack replied, and then looked to Janx.  “Janx! Grab him by the sleeve! Hold him!.”The dwarf tried to disarm the elf again, and this time the long sword went flying into the air and landed at the elf’s feet.Jeremy scooped up the unconscious elf that Ratchis had beaten before and held his short sword to its throat.“Shoot again and your friend get it!” Jeremy said, throwing a wink at Ratchis.  “Drop your bow!”“Jeremy! Put the elf down!” Ratchis yelled and yanked the elf from Jeremy’s grip, and then was gently laying him down, when the elf did put way his bow and with a flick of sand and the word “dormu” a wave of drowsiness came over Ratchis and Jeremy.Ratchis shook it off, but Jeremy swooned and fell to the floor.Jana cast another spell, her face twisted into horrid visage as she clawed her hands forward and spoke an arcane word, but the magical fear dissipated even as it washed over the powerful elf, who moved deftly to grab his sword, but felt the heavy blow of Kazrack’s halberd blade, even if it were turned aside as to not cut him.But the elf was back on his feet and slashed downward on Kazrack’s foot even as he was still rolling up to a stable position.  Blood began to pool beneath the dwarf.Ratchis charged the spell-casting elf, and both his big hammy fist slammed into his face.  The elf stumbled back, but did not fall, saying something in elvish and spitting blood.“We’re going to need a prisoner,” Kazrack said, and Martin moved to tie up the unconscious elf in the middle of the floor.  Jana stepped in front of him to cover him from the darkened hall as he tied up the elf.Kazrack slapped the elf with halberd head again, using all his might, certain that the elf could take no more punishment, but he was wrong.  The dwarf felt the bite of the elf’s sword and all went black.  He was bleeding pile of armored flesh on the ground.“Damn,” Martin cried as the dwarf dropped, but Jana just gritted her teeth and pulled out the club she had taken from one of the goblins that had fought what seemed long ago now. (47) Janx blinked over to stand over Kazrack’s body as the elf moved towards Jana.  The blink dog seemed unwilling to attack the elves, but was doing everything he could to help the party.Jana ran towards the elf swinging her club with both hands, but he leapt away deftly.“Sorceress, why do you attack us?” the elf asked in his flat voice.Martin looked up from where he was tying the other elf, and spoke an arcane word and pointed at the elven warrior Jana faced, but no spell seemed to affect him.Jana felt the bite of the elf’s blade.At the other end of the hall Ratchis grappled the elf before him and again squeezed with all his might until the elf went limp.  He carried the elf over next to his kin and laid him down gently. Ratchis could hear the yelling from the other end of the hall, and threw a quick kick at Jeremy and then took off to help.Jeremy sat up startled, unsure what had happened.  He looked over at the second unconscious elf next to him and saw no one else around.  “Damn, I’m good,” he said to himself, and got up to run down the hall to his companions.  “Ratchis! Kazrack!” he yelled.The elven warrior must have been tiring because Jana’s club made contact and he grunted from the blow.  Jana was not holding back at all.  Martin hurried over to Kazrack and began to desperately try to close the dwarf’s wounds.Jana’s blow did not go unpaid, and again the sword cut her, making a deep gash in her right forearm. Ratchis ran up beside her, to draw the elf off.  Jana took the opportunity to move out of the fight.Martin seeing Jana was free to help with the dwarf, reached into his red leather bag and tossed from it a ball of fur that tumbled and grew into a gray wolf that bit at the elven warrior, but missed. However, now outnumbered and seriously wounded, the elf turned and ran hustled away down the dark corridor. Janx finally took a snap at the elf to try to stop his escape, but over-extended himself and plopped down on Kazrack’s body. Ratchis took off after the elf, and at Martin’s command the wolf followed as well.   They ran down a broad hall about ten feet wide, with ten foot by ten foot alcoves staggered on each side that held tall wooden statues.  Ratchis ignored them and the wolf passed him within striking distance of the elf.  However, the elven warrior spun around and drove his sword’s edge deep into the wolf’s shoulder. IT yelped in pain, and Janx appeared on the other side of the elf, to block his escape.Jeremy began to run down the hall as well, but Ratchis finished it, running in and ducking under the elf’s attack and slamming two fists into the elf’s face.  It dropped.Janx growled at the wolf.Ratchis came back up the hall carrying the elven warrior, and the wolf followed at Martin’s beckoning, but Janx disappeared and did not reappear.Jana stabilized the elf, while Ratchis looked to Kazrack, stabilizing him with a Cure Minor Wounds spell.  He then laid a hand on Jana and said, “Nephthys please lend your healing might to this young woman so we can flee this strange strange place.”“We need to get out of here,” Martin said.The others nodded.“Ratchis, you grab Kazrack so I can grab one of these elves and bring them with us,” Jeremy said.“Grab the one that cast that spell on you,” Ratchis suggested.“What spell?” Jeremy asked.“Don’t you remember when you fell down?”“No idea what you are talking about,” and he scooped up the elf Ratchis had just been carrying.The party gathered their things and met by the entry hall.“Wait,” Ratchis said. “Why are we bringing an elf?”“Kazrack said to grab a prisoner,” replied Martin.“And we can ask him what is going on at our leisure,” added Jeremy.“No, he’ll just slow us down when he wakes up and could alert other elves to wherever it is we are going to hide out for the night because we are not going to make it back to town in this condition,” Ratchis said.“But maybe it this place that has him ensorcelled,” said Jeremy.“And maybe not,” replied Martin.“Just leave him,” said Ratchis, and Jeremy put down the elf he was carrying.  Jana led the way out of the fort, but at that moment Jeremy cried out, “Wha-what is that?!?”A translucent white eye about six inches in diameter was floating down the hall at them.  Ratchis put down Kazrack and stepped towards it swinging.  The blow went right through it, and it never stopped moving passing through Ratchis himself. The eye stopped at Martin and wheeled back and forth and up and down examining closely.“What is this thing?” Martin said aloud.“You are not exactly inspiring confidence in us with your arcane knowledge, Martin,” Jeremy said, hustling after Jana. “Let’s get out of here!”Martin moved to leave as well and the eye followed him.  Martin shooed at it, “Go away!  What do you want from  me?  Leave me alone!”The wolf stood there in entry hall confused.“Wolf! Follow me, damn it!” Martin cried very annoyed, but the eye moved away and examined Jana who was waiting at the stop of the first stairway.Ratchis ran past, the dwarf over one shoulder and the dwarf’s enormous pack over the other.  He whispered a prayer of tanks to Nephthys for the great strength she gave him. The party took off out of the clearing and into the woods.  The eerie eye stopped at the bottom of the stairs and would not follow anymore.They hurried as best they could through the deep snow back to the game trail.“They got Janx!” Jeremy said, looking around.  “Tirhas is going to be mad.”“Does this group ever have an unquestionable victory?” Martin asked in an exhausted voice.  Ratchis scowled, “We go as far as we can and then we’ll go a little further to as safe a place as I can find us to camp.”Martin looked at the tawny wolf that followed at his side, and opened his bag and called to it.  The wolf leapt at Martin transforming into a perfectly tiny ball of fur that landed in the pouch.“Disturbing…” Jeremy said in awe.-----------------------------------------Notes:(46) DM’s Note: I usually describe fighting to subdue in this way, striking with the flat of the blade, the butt end of a weapon and in general trying not to hit as vital an area, but still strike hard.(47) Jana took a club from the shaman of the Na-Sor Goblins way back in Session #3.</blockquote>

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