Session #94 (part iii)
Osilem, the 3rd of Ese – 565 H.E.
“
SPOKE TO CHOCHOKPI. AM GOING TO TIGER-PRINCE FOR HELP. MUST FIGHT WOLVES FIRST. WILL RETURN WHEN ABLE. HOPEFULLY WITH HELP. CAN YOU GET HERE?”
Bastian relayed the
sending he received from Roland the next morning. The others had waited many hours in terror, catching sleep when possible and were finally able to re-prepare spells.
“You tell him that he is to return immediately!” Kazrack roared.
“It is too late. You only have a moment to reply,” Bastian said. “And I already replied…”
“What did you say?” the dwarf asked.
“I said, uh… That’d I’d tell you all what he was doing and that we would try to reach him through the gate, and uh… good luck on his travels to the Tiger-Prince, and uh… if he could give us directions…”
“You said that?” Kazrack asked with disbelief. Bastian nodded, and the dwarf dropped his head into his own palm with a smack.
Ratchis placed an awkward hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We just have to go and get him and listen to what he has to say,” the half-orc said, unusually calm. “We have little choice now. Well… we could go on without him, but part of friendship is sometimes following along with something you know is stupid idea…” (1) He smiled showing his yellowed sharp crooked lined in black gums.
“But how could he just make this decision on his own to stay wherever he is?” Kazrack was dumbfounded. “It is just the most selfish… If he went to get aid and realized it would take this long he should have just come back.”
“Getting aid is secondary to him,” Ratchis replied. “He wants to bask in the grace of his goddess, and can you blame him? We just need to go and get him back, or go along with him if that is what we figure out we need to do.”
“If you view Roland as that selfish that he is making his decisions because of his own…” Bastian began, but Gunthar leapt into his face, bumping his chest against the soft-spoken bearded warrior.
“He’s a bloody Bastite!” Gunthar said. “Never trust a Bastite I said that when he joined the group. But nobody listens to bloody Gunthar! You can trust a Bastite with a party, but not with your back.”
“But we cannot afford to give up our gifts to Chochokpi yet,” Kazrack protested, still addressing Ratchis, but stepping between Bastian and the Neergaardian.
“From what Roland told me while we were in City of the Ancients, you have to convince Chochokpi to take the gifts to give back to you,” Bastian said. “So, even if you do end up meeting him, just don’t do the convincing. Do it another time.”
“But we can’t know that that was how it happened,” Martin the Green replied. “We are risking a paradox that could lead to anomalies we could not imagine.”
”They haven’t happened yet, have they?” Bastian asked. “It seems fairly clear to me. Maybe since it hasn’t happened, it never happens and we’re safe to do as we please.”
“That makes no sense,” Martin said.
“It doesn’t make any less sense than when you go on about it,” Kazrack grinned.
“I think you just misunderstand Roland,” Bastian said, turning to Ratchis. “He is not violent like you are, and will not bully others into agreeing with him, but just chooses to go his own way.”
Ratchis was silent for a long moment and then stepped away.
“Aw! I think you just hurt Snuffles feelings,” Gunthar guffawed. “You think he’s a murderous half-orc! Haw! Haw!”
Ratchis turned back around. “Are we ready to go?”
“Excuse me, sir,” Sergio came forward, trying hard to smooth out his fine clothes that were becoming increasingly bedraggled despite this. “But I am not sure that I want to go into the Beastlands. To me it seems a rather foolish and dangerous thing to do for no good reason. I mean, no offense to you… You may have a good reason to go, but I, my good orc, do not.”
“Then stay behind,” Ratchis said.
Sergio looked around nervously and pulled at his collar with obvious discomfort. “I am not sure I want to do that either…”
“You could make your way back to the Air Room and stay with Lady Aureliana,” Bastian suggested.
“But however should I find my way back?”
“Martin will cast his spell determining which portal leads where, in order to help you,” Ratchis said, looking at the watch-mage.
“I am not sure I want to use it yet if we are not planning to leave the room,” Martin protested. “We may need it more urgently later.”
“If you don’t to help him find some safety we may be leaving him to be killed,” Ratchis replied.
“Any room is as safe or dangerous as another as far as well know, what with Ora-Amira-El running around,” Martin reasoned.
“As your conscience dictates…” Ratchis said.
Martin the Green sighed profoundly. He cast his spell and looked around at the black portals looking out, and then took the opportunity to check the other gates behind the other screens.
The watch-mage pointed to the portal they had come through, “Control Room,” he said, and then pointing withershins from there he said, “Entrance, Library, Hell.”
The portal behind the statue of Ra went to the Heavens, the one behind the statue of Ptah was a shimmering hovering vertical plane of white light. It went to the Positive Material Plane. And of course, the one behind the Anubis statue went to the realm of the Jackal God. He was surprised that the painting of the Holy City of the Kalevala (2) was also a gate, as was the other which was a depiction of some white and blue icy realm. (3)
“Well, I do not like any of those choices one bit,” Sergio said, flattening his mustache with the tip of his pinky. “I think I would rather go to the Beastlands than go to any of those places alone.”
“The library could be an interesting to spend time,” Martin reasoned.
“A powerful wizard’s library? Probably the most heavily defended. Don’t you think?” the bard asked.
Martin nodded.
Sergio Fontane and the remaining members of the Keepers of the Gate crammed into the cubic blue field of
the Wurfel Kraft and slowly made their way around the screen to the gate into Beastlands. The tentacles of the otherworldly aberration coming through the wall slammed against the field futilely, but with such strength the whole thing shuddered. Martin maneuvered the cube so that it blocked the access of the tentacles to the gate itself. But he then had to quickly deactivate it to let people out two at a time to go through the gate, but put it back up to keep the tentacles from grabbing anyone.
Kazrack grumbled about having to give blood to the waiting mouths of the wooden frame, but he went first certain that there should be a doughty warrior to protect others from any danger as they passed through. A moment later her was sinking to the bottom of the pond in his full plate mail, watching the others appear from a square plane of blue light above him and break out at the surface, oblivious to the futile waving of his arms.
Meanwhile, Roland of Bast, still in his panther-form crept along a strip of woods back near the river. While Chochokpi had warned him that he would have to face the Wolves of Law eventually, the Bastite wanted to choose the battle ground, and he wanted to summon some allies and prepare them.
“Hrm… Remember, if you slay the alpha wolf the others will likely… Hoom, hrm… Hmmmmm… disperse. Yes, yes… mmmmmm,” Chochokpi had said to Roland by way of advice.
Chanting and praying in a small clearing within a branch of the woods that ran along the river, four lions appeared to help their mistress’ priest. With the howl of wolves before him, and the scent of a second group creeping through the woods from where the river was obscured, Roland cast another spell, and he and the four lions (three of them lionesses) grew to a great size. (4). Finally he called to Bast to fill him with
Divine Power increasing his strength, resilience and fighting skill.
Roland sent the great golden lions out of the brush in a staggered charge. He stepped clear to see about a half-dozen wolves heading towards them. The first lioness roared angrily as the dire wolves surrounded her, but this quickly became growls of pained confusion, as the dire wolves snapped at her from all sides, and pulled her off her feet despite her size. They worried her side and haunches, drawing great gouts of blood. In a moment she was already critically wounded, but the other summoned lions leapt in. The two other lionesses dragged wolves out of the circle, crunching down on their backs with their own powerful jaws, and trying to pin down the canines with a huge paw.
The male leapt into the thick of the fray scattering the remaining wolves, and allowing the first lion to get to her feet again.
Roland charged out into the clearing, but then pulled off to the left. It was a ruse to draw out the rest of the wolves, as the Bastite had smelled them coming around when the wind changed. From the brush came a huge wolf followed by three more of the dire wolves.
“Bast! In your own realm where your mere thought is made real, I beg to help thy humble servant and smite these foes that seeks to halt me from seeking your aid!” Roland cast the spell, but the as the
holy smite came down among the wolves, the alpha wolf disappeared. The other wolves howled as the divine energy washed over them, but they were did not seem to be that effected. (5)
Suddenly, the alpha wolf appeared behind Roland and grabbed the Bastite’s rear paw, trying to drag him to the ground with a twist of his great head. Roland was able to pull free and keep his footing, while he twisted away and around, to keep his eyes on all the approaching wolves. However, the alpha wolf disappeared again. Roland looked around wildly trying to get a bead on him, but could not. He did see the male lion shake his mane free of blood right after crushing the throat of one of the wolves. The two lionesses were finishing off another, but the first lioness was already gone. The other wolves were withdrawing and reforming a semi-circular cluster to attack from.
And then the wolves were almost on him, so Roland turned again as if to flee, but charged and pounced at the lead wolf instead. They tumbled together, clawing and biting. The other two wolves moved in biting at Roland. Suddenly, they howled strangely and their bites seemed stronger, as if biting down into the essence of his faith, and the wounds burned. (6)
Roland pulled himself free, leaving the first wolf dead beneath him, but had to turn around quickly to fend off the two wolves still hounding him. He could see the two lionesses killing another wolf, but the alpha wolf appear behind the male and pounced upon him, driving the noble beast to the ground.
Roland withdrew some more and called to Bast to close his wounds, and then had to leap right back into melee with the two wolves on him. He managed to kill another, but the alpha male appeared beside him and tore into him before disappearing again.
“Bast curse you!” Roland cried in agony and frustration. He leapt upon the other wolf to kill it, as he saw the alpha wolf finish off the male lion. One of the remaining lionesses was moaning in pain as two wolves worried her from each side over and over, but the other two wolves were bleeding out on the ground.
The dire wolf near Roland withdrew and tried to blindside the remaining lioness, but she spun around and snapped her jaws beneath its throat and twisted him around, slapping a heavy paw on its chest. Roland charged in and pounced on one of the wolves worrying the dying lioness. He tore its back open and it collapsed beneath him, just as the lioness’ body disappeared. The other wolf withdrew.
The alpha wolf appeared to finish the other lioness, but Roland spun around and called to Bast with a roar, shooting a ray of
searing light that hissed as it burned across the huge alpha wolf’s chest. It whined and disappeared.
“Yes! Go! Run! Do you see how cowardly he is?” Roland asked of the remaining wolves, but his voice was roars and growls in his fury.
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”I’m telling you there are demon octopus here,” Kazrack sputtered as the others dragged him away from the pond.
“It was a fiendish octopus that Bastian summoned to pull you up to the surface so you wouldn’t drown,” Martin the Green explained. “But you just batted it away…”
“I would rather drown than take aid from a fiend,” Kazrack sat up and coughed. He turned to glare at Bastian, but bearded warrior turned away and crept to the edge of the trees to have a look around. He sent N’kron off to have a look.
“Well, you nearly did drown,” Martin said, as Ratchis helped the dwarf to his feet. The half-orc squeezed water out of the red-brown nappy locks atop his head.
“Big lions are fighting wolves,” N’kron said to Bastian through their telepathic connection.
Bastian conveyed this to the others and they hurried down to the clearing in sight of the river. They were awed by how verdant his place was. They ran down towards the twinkling blue-green river, seeing the towering branches of Chochokpi off to their left. They saw the blast of
searing light burn through the morning mist as they approached in time to see Roland finish the last of the dire wolves. The lioness was long gone.
“Careful! The alpha male is still around and he
blinks!” Roland warned when he saw the others.
“Everyone around Roland, in a tight ring facing out,” Ratchis said, and the Keepers of the Gate closed ranks around their Bastite companion, weapons drawn. Sergio had drawn his rapier as well, but he entered the circle looking around quite nervously.
Roland took a long whiff and everyone waited expectantly for a long moment, but nothing happened.
“The coward fled,” Roland said, laying down in the grass to lick at his wounds. “I am so glad you came. It would have been lonely traveling to see the Tiger-Prince alone.”
Kazrack opened his mouth to protest.
“Before the arguing starts, I want to look around,” Martin said, and with a word he transformed into his Tanweil-form with a use of
alter self and he took off awkwardly with his stubby wings. He had not ascended very far when he noted a huge eagle swooping down in his direction.
End of Session #94
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Notes
(1) Nephthys is goddess of freedom, but she is also goddess of friendship and bravery.
(2) The pantheon of the Northern Reaches is an amalgam of Finnish, Norse and Celtic gods and folklore.
(3) This location remains a mystery.
(4) Roland cast
Cat Growth
(5) These wolves were not evil.
(6) These
axiomatic dire wolves used their
smite chaos ability.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
