Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Nerf Paladins!
Lazybones
Adventurer
I disagree, but of course, I know what's going to happen.Solarious said:
Thanks, and welcome to the story!Evil Ujio said:
Heh, there seems to be a lot of Arun-hate going on of late... yet the poll suggests he's still a fan favorite. That holy sword did make a big difference in his potency (anything evil he crits while smiting is pretty much toast, especially if he can toss some PA points in). Lok's still got him beat for sheer strength and durability, however.Broccli_Head said:
I came very, very close to picking up a night class for the summer session at a local college. I'm bummed that I missed out, but since it probably would have meant stopping writing for at least two months (it would have been on top of my 8-5 day job), I guess there's a silver lining for my readers. Post-a-day continues for the forseeable future...
* * * * *
Chapter 408
It was late in the morning, not far off from noon, when the companions gathered around a makeshift table in one of the shelters. The mood was grim. Spread across the table was a map of the region, and some of the items they’d taken off of the Cagewrights they’d killed the night before. Prominent was the cluster of four magical rings, each marked with the sigil of the Thirteen.
“We don’t even know that they’re still there,” Benzan said. “Like as not, Shatterhorn is an empty shell—except for deadly traps.”
“We need to make certain,” Cal said. “And Dana’s divination seems to indicate that we must return there.”
“As always, the gods were vague in their directions,” Benzan countered. Several of the others nodded; the spell had been rather more ambiguous than usual, offering only the following information:
Madness caged, the Cagewrights rage
While pieces on a chessboard shift
The theurge plots, lest all be naught
Waiting for a worthwhile gift
In shattered spire, yet still aspire
Her caged lord to yet uplift
“I heard one of them say something about Carceri,” Mole said. Arun nodded; he’d heard Kyan Winterstrike’s last words as well.
“We have to consider anything they tell us—intentional or no—as a possible trap,” Dannel said.
“Dana?” Cal asked.
The priestess looked haggard as she started, looking up from the far side of the table. “Shatterhorn is still secure from divination, at least inside the complex. The guards are still there, on the outside.”
“Too bad we couldn’t extract any information from the shadar-kai,” Dannel said. At Dana’s look, he hastily added, “I do not mean any criticism, priestess. The man was clearly insane.” They’d hoped to repeat the success they’d had before with Nulin Wiejeron, and gain more information from their prisoner. This time Lok and Arun had been poised to seize their captive’s arms and legs, while Benzan was kept at a discreet distance. Dana had stood ready to counterspell any magic he might attempt. But when Cal had dispelled his polymorph the fey Cagewright had spoken a simple word, ”Shadak”, and simply vanished before Dana could even react. Cal had believed that the shadar-kai rogue had possessed an item that had allowed him to plane shift to a predetermined location; they’d found something similar on the corpse of the drow eldritch knight. The whole episode had only added to the strain each of them already felt.
“We should have just left him a slug, dropped him into a bucket of salt, and been done with it,” Benzan had noted afterward.
“What of your other query, Dana?” Cal prodded.
The priestess again lifted her head, pulling back her tangled hair with a hand that still bore some flecks of dried blood. “Nothing useful,” she said. “The man is as insane in death as he was in life.” She was referring to her attempt to speak with dead on Alurad Sorizan, which had not been successful. “I think he believed that he was Adimarchus.”
“How these people can be so mad and yet so effective is a puzzle,” Dannel said.
“Someone else pulls their strings,” Beorna growled.
“Yes,” Cal admitted. “We will not be truly done with them, I fear, until Adimarchus is dealt with.”
“Someone who can summon a balor will not be easy to deal with,” Benzan said.
“We have our own allies,” Dannel pointed out.
“No,” Dana said, gripping the table. “No, I will not summon another celestial this day. Already I am responsible for the destruction of several…”
“Dana, our cause…” Cal began.
“No, Cal, I am resolute. Summonings are one matter; the essence of the being is preserved. But I will not call another entity to this plane, merely to serve as fodder. No, Benzan, do not say it. I’ve made up my mind.”
“I understand your decision,” Benzan said. He looked at his companions. “And you others may not know that those callings drain the caster as well. I know that Dana will not use that as her reason, but you should know.”
“We will fight with what we have,” Arun said, simply.
“And this time, I will be at your side,” Beorna said, as if defying him to deny her words.
“What of Hodge?” Mole asked.
“He will remain,” Arun said. Dana had raised the fallen dwarf earlier, but although healthy, it was clear that the doughty warrior was greatly diminished by his recent and repeated paths across the boundaries between realities. Arun met Dana’s gaze; the two had agreed that Dana would use her charm abilities, if necessary, to ensure that Arun’s cohort remained behind with the refugees this time.
“I need but a little more time to finish replenishing my spells,” Cal said. “Are there any other questions?”
There were none, only a shared look of fierce determination. They were committed, only more so after the disaster of last night, and would see this to its conclusion, for better or for ill.
Richard Rawen
First Post
Marvelous! Love the simple interactions and complex backgrounds... and good old fashioned "Butt-Kicking for Justice" never hurt a SH either 
Thanks for some good reading!
Blessings
Richard < > <
Thanks for some good reading!
Blessings
Richard < > <
Lazybones
Adventurer
Thanks for the kudos, guys.
Short update today, but a lot happens tomorrow, and we're moving toward the end of Book X, which should wrap this week with a double-post on Friday.
* * * * *
Chapter 409
On their second visit, Shatterhorn did not put up much resistance, not at first.
They teleported into the same chamber that they had left, just a little more than twenty-four hours previous. They were alert for any ambush, trap, or even an all-out assault by the remaining forces of the Cagewrights. But the chamber was empty, dark, silent. Someone or something had cleared away the bodies of the medusae, leaving only ugly red splotches on the stone floor that stank of corruption.
They continued onward down the pillared hall, deeper into the old yuan-ti stronghold. Mole, back with Benzan in the van, detected a trap through virtue of her gnomish nose. While nearing the bend in the tunnel that Benzan had reported on their last visit, she recognized the familiar stench of demodands. She alerted Cal, who sensed for magic, detecting that a portion of the north wall was shrouded by an illusion. The image covered a slot barely the size of an arrow slit, and behind it lay a farastu that was quite displeased at being detected. It operated a pit that blocked the entire width of the tunnel, but Mole’s warning had given them sufficient alarm, and only Benzan was over the ten-foot gap when the trap doors fell open. The trap was a nasty one, with the pit lined with ugly iron blades attached to revolving stone cylinders, but Benzan was able to leap away before gravity took its inevitable course.
Dealing with the demodand was problematic, with it relatively secure behind the arrow slit, but Dannel found a secret door nearby that offered access to its sanctuary, and the fiend was swiftly dispatched.
Bypassing the pit, the companions pressed on, watchful for another trap. They entered a large chamber that was currently empty, and after a brief search continued further onward. The long hall split at its end, opening onto a grim chamber with a décor that suggested it had served as the lair of one of the Cagewrights. They did not linger long, scanning the chair covered in human hide, the jaws containing humanoid hearts soaked in brine, an iron chest with claws for feet, and other unpleasantries. The chest revealed its secrets to Mole’s chime of opening, and they discovered a considerable cache of magical weapons that were promptly wrapped and carefully stored in their assorted extradimensional containers.
They were not here to loot, however, so it was not long before they were continuing on, deeper into the stronghold. The fact that the Cagewrights had left a considerable cache of magical items essentially unguarded suggested that perhaps they had indeed abandoned the complex. But they would not stop until they had completed their search, so they returned to the hall and took the other passage into another pillared chamber.
“There is evil in this place,” Arun intoned, before they had covered five steps.
The companions readied weapons and spells, just as a creak of metal proved the paladin right, and a pair of heavily armored warriors stepped out of illusory pillars in the center of the chamber.
It took only one good look to confirm that these weren’t ordinary adversaries. They looked like half-orcs, but the iron plates that covered their bodies appeared to have been grated directly onto their frames, rather than attached to a suit of armor. Their eyes, deep within the cavernous interior of full helms, were cold and empty, and they carried massive shields with one hand, and axes of familiar black adamantine in the other.
They immediately lifted their weapons and charged into battle.
Short update today, but a lot happens tomorrow, and we're moving toward the end of Book X, which should wrap this week with a double-post on Friday.
* * * * *
Chapter 409
On their second visit, Shatterhorn did not put up much resistance, not at first.
They teleported into the same chamber that they had left, just a little more than twenty-four hours previous. They were alert for any ambush, trap, or even an all-out assault by the remaining forces of the Cagewrights. But the chamber was empty, dark, silent. Someone or something had cleared away the bodies of the medusae, leaving only ugly red splotches on the stone floor that stank of corruption.
They continued onward down the pillared hall, deeper into the old yuan-ti stronghold. Mole, back with Benzan in the van, detected a trap through virtue of her gnomish nose. While nearing the bend in the tunnel that Benzan had reported on their last visit, she recognized the familiar stench of demodands. She alerted Cal, who sensed for magic, detecting that a portion of the north wall was shrouded by an illusion. The image covered a slot barely the size of an arrow slit, and behind it lay a farastu that was quite displeased at being detected. It operated a pit that blocked the entire width of the tunnel, but Mole’s warning had given them sufficient alarm, and only Benzan was over the ten-foot gap when the trap doors fell open. The trap was a nasty one, with the pit lined with ugly iron blades attached to revolving stone cylinders, but Benzan was able to leap away before gravity took its inevitable course.
Dealing with the demodand was problematic, with it relatively secure behind the arrow slit, but Dannel found a secret door nearby that offered access to its sanctuary, and the fiend was swiftly dispatched.
Bypassing the pit, the companions pressed on, watchful for another trap. They entered a large chamber that was currently empty, and after a brief search continued further onward. The long hall split at its end, opening onto a grim chamber with a décor that suggested it had served as the lair of one of the Cagewrights. They did not linger long, scanning the chair covered in human hide, the jaws containing humanoid hearts soaked in brine, an iron chest with claws for feet, and other unpleasantries. The chest revealed its secrets to Mole’s chime of opening, and they discovered a considerable cache of magical weapons that were promptly wrapped and carefully stored in their assorted extradimensional containers.
They were not here to loot, however, so it was not long before they were continuing on, deeper into the stronghold. The fact that the Cagewrights had left a considerable cache of magical items essentially unguarded suggested that perhaps they had indeed abandoned the complex. But they would not stop until they had completed their search, so they returned to the hall and took the other passage into another pillared chamber.
“There is evil in this place,” Arun intoned, before they had covered five steps.
The companions readied weapons and spells, just as a creak of metal proved the paladin right, and a pair of heavily armored warriors stepped out of illusory pillars in the center of the chamber.
It took only one good look to confirm that these weren’t ordinary adversaries. They looked like half-orcs, but the iron plates that covered their bodies appeared to have been grated directly onto their frames, rather than attached to a suit of armor. Their eyes, deep within the cavernous interior of full helms, were cold and empty, and they carried massive shields with one hand, and axes of familiar black adamantine in the other.
They immediately lifted their weapons and charged into battle.
Solarious
Explorer
That's an unfair advantage!Lazybones said:I disagree, but of course, I know what's going to happen.
Knowing what's going to happen... you sly dog. ![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
I do like Aurn, I actually think he's pretty cool. I'm an equal opportunity sadist here though, and everybody needs to die.
It's not fair that he has yet to die and everyone else is feeling the strain of bouncing between life and death like pinballs in a pinball machine! Once is enough though, and I'll call off my eager anticipation once his lucky streak ends. And those polls are -old-. I voted for Mole, naturally. Sneaky types have a tendency to stick on me... a survival trait, I'm sure.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 410
“Let them have it!” Benzan urged, putting his own words into action as he lifted his bow and fired at the half-golem warriors. His shot was accurate but glanced harmlessly off a steel plate; given the amount of metal grafted to their bodies, it was almost impossible to tell where the golem ended and the living creature began.
Lok and Arun both tried to overcome that difficulty by the simple expedient of inflicting massive damage upon the enemy warriors. Both scored powerful hits, although the armor of the golem men diminished the effects of their assault. Beorna, however, had no such difficulty, her adamantine sword delivering a crushing blow to the solar plexus of one of the armored warriors.
Dana blasted one with a beam of searing light, but the ray had no effect.
“Immune to magic!” Cal warned. Realizing that his own spells would have no effect, he instead bolstered his allies with a haste spell. Mole got around the creatures easily and attacked one from behind, although they proved as immune to her sneak attacks as they were to the spellcasters’ magic.
The golems clanked and quivered before releasing gouts of sick yellow vapors in a spread directly before them. The toxin engulfed the warriors, although their fortitude was such that they were able to shrug off the worst effects. Benzan, unfortunately, had been standing too close when he’d fired his last arrow, and he sucked in a mouthful of the stuff. He staggered back, coughing.
Dannel fired his own bow into the nearest half-golem, not expecting much in the way of results. To his surprise, the missile shot off a spray of sparks as it hit, and the creature stiffened, noticeably affected by the shot.
“Your bow, Dannel!” Cal exclaimed. “They’re like iron golems… electricity slows them!”
The elf nodded, and promptly shifted his aim to the second creature, affecting it as well. But even without that impact, the outcome of the melee was a foreordained conclusion. One of the half-golems managed to deliver a punishing blow that injured Beorna, but that was all they could do before the warriors hacked them to pieces. When it was over, there was very little blood, only heaps of bent metal and crumpled limbs.
“Let’s move on,” Arun said.
They passed several apparently empty rooms, and found themselves in a passage that opened onto a broad chamber. The passage deposited them onto a ledge ten feet above the level of the chamber floor, with curving stairs to either side that linked the room and passage. The place was a jumbled mess of debris, and a strong odor that combined blood, farastu slime, and some other acrid stench filled the place. In the center of the room was a large pedestal upon which the remains of some sort of statue or stone object stood, and fragments of rock littered the floor, possibly all that was left of whatever it had been. Pillars lined the wall, forming small galleries to the sides and rear of the chamber.
“Looks like a battle happened here,” Benzan said, as they carefully descended the stairs into the room.
“Arun?” Cal asked.
“Nothing active. But there’s a strong lingering aura of Taint here.”
“I’m sensing the same thing, with regards to magic. Okay, spread out, everyone, and search, but stay alert.”
Benzan was the one to find it, this time; a hidden door concealed within one of the pillars near the back of the room. The door opened easily on recessed hinges, revealing a ladder leading up.
“Don’t like the looks of that,” Dannel said. “Too narrow; if there’s something waiting up there, you’re screwed.”
“If one of you can scout it out and tell me how far it goes up, I can dimension door the fighters up with me,” Dana said.
“I’ll go,” Mole said.
“Are you sure, Clarese?” Cal asked.
The younger gnome smiled. “Sure. And don’t forget, I can always ‘poof’ out if it’s a trap.” She flourished her magical cloak, and turned toward the shaft.
“Shout down how far you’ve gone, and we’ll be ready to join you in a flash if needed,” Dana said. She gestured to Arun, Beorna, and Lok, who joined her at her side.
But nothing terrible happened to the gnome as she quickly ascended the shaft. Dannel stood beside the opening, watching her progress. “She says that there’s another door about twenty feet up,” the elf reported to the others. “I’ll go up after her.”
“Cal, Benzan… I can take all of you,” Dana said.
“Twenty feet, directly above you,” the elf’s voice came down from the shaft opening. “There’s a room… come now!”
Dana spoke the word of her spell, and the she and the others were instantly transported twenty feet directly upward.
They found themselves in another chamber, smaller than the one they’d just left. The door to the shaft was open behind them, although there was no sign of Mole. A summoning diagram was etched onto the floor, empty, although the companions could guess as to its most recent occupant.
On the far side of the diagram, a stone bier stood before a row of pillars. Laying on the bier was a supine woman, clad in a flowing red robe draped suggestively over her voluptuous frame, apparently unconscious. Standing over her was a strange creature, a lean humanoid with utterly alien features, huge black eyes that revealed no emotion, and six long arms that ended in slender, multijointed fingers. It did not react as they entered, although its hands moved in soft, languorous motions, interweaving in an almost hypnotic movement.
“What in the hells is that,” Benzan exclaimed. He and the others held their weapons ready, but as the strange creature did not immediately threaten them, they held their attack.
“The creatures we found at Karran-Kurral, in the crystal blocks,” Dannel observed.
“I… I do not sense…” Arun said, swaying slightly, clutching his head.
“What is it?” Dana said, turning to the paladin in alarm.
Beorna lifted her adamantine sword. “Whatever you are, creature, we want answers, and right now! Who is that woman, and what have you done to her? Where are the Cagewrights?”
The entity did not reply, but suddenly Benzan lowered his bow, and walked forward.
“Ware the diagram, Benzan!” Cal shouted, but the tiefling merely walked through the circle, his boots smearing the silver lines that demarked its influence.
“Benzan?” Lok asked, perhaps sensing that something was wrong.
“What are you doing?” Dannel added, as the tiefling approached the bier, but Benzan did not respond. The six-armed creature still did nothing threatening, covered by their readied spells and missile weapons. It held something in two of its arms, close against its lower torso; a disk of metal perhaps a foot across that looked to be a different color from one moment to the next, depending upon the angle by which one viewed it.
Dana immediately turned away from Arun and rushed after her husband, but she was caught up short as a wall of force sprang into being between the bier and the companions, bisecting the room.
“Benzan!” Dana yelled, slamming the barrier with her fists.
The tiefling did not respond, coming to stand directly in front of the bier and its unmoving occupant, the six-armed creature looming over it with an unreadable look in its dark eyes.
“Cal! The wall!” Dana cried. But the gnome had already started casting his spell, summoning magic to disintegrate the barrier.
The six-armed creature handed something to Benzan. A green ray sprang from Cal’s hands, striking the wall of force, and the shimmering plane vanished. Benzan reached down, picking up the unconscious woman, holding her in his arms.
Dana charged forward, the warriors only a step behind. But before they could reach their friend, Benzan turned to face them, uttered the words of a spell, and disappeared.
“Benzan!”
“Let them have it!” Benzan urged, putting his own words into action as he lifted his bow and fired at the half-golem warriors. His shot was accurate but glanced harmlessly off a steel plate; given the amount of metal grafted to their bodies, it was almost impossible to tell where the golem ended and the living creature began.
Lok and Arun both tried to overcome that difficulty by the simple expedient of inflicting massive damage upon the enemy warriors. Both scored powerful hits, although the armor of the golem men diminished the effects of their assault. Beorna, however, had no such difficulty, her adamantine sword delivering a crushing blow to the solar plexus of one of the armored warriors.
Dana blasted one with a beam of searing light, but the ray had no effect.
“Immune to magic!” Cal warned. Realizing that his own spells would have no effect, he instead bolstered his allies with a haste spell. Mole got around the creatures easily and attacked one from behind, although they proved as immune to her sneak attacks as they were to the spellcasters’ magic.
The golems clanked and quivered before releasing gouts of sick yellow vapors in a spread directly before them. The toxin engulfed the warriors, although their fortitude was such that they were able to shrug off the worst effects. Benzan, unfortunately, had been standing too close when he’d fired his last arrow, and he sucked in a mouthful of the stuff. He staggered back, coughing.
Dannel fired his own bow into the nearest half-golem, not expecting much in the way of results. To his surprise, the missile shot off a spray of sparks as it hit, and the creature stiffened, noticeably affected by the shot.
“Your bow, Dannel!” Cal exclaimed. “They’re like iron golems… electricity slows them!”
The elf nodded, and promptly shifted his aim to the second creature, affecting it as well. But even without that impact, the outcome of the melee was a foreordained conclusion. One of the half-golems managed to deliver a punishing blow that injured Beorna, but that was all they could do before the warriors hacked them to pieces. When it was over, there was very little blood, only heaps of bent metal and crumpled limbs.
“Let’s move on,” Arun said.
They passed several apparently empty rooms, and found themselves in a passage that opened onto a broad chamber. The passage deposited them onto a ledge ten feet above the level of the chamber floor, with curving stairs to either side that linked the room and passage. The place was a jumbled mess of debris, and a strong odor that combined blood, farastu slime, and some other acrid stench filled the place. In the center of the room was a large pedestal upon which the remains of some sort of statue or stone object stood, and fragments of rock littered the floor, possibly all that was left of whatever it had been. Pillars lined the wall, forming small galleries to the sides and rear of the chamber.
“Looks like a battle happened here,” Benzan said, as they carefully descended the stairs into the room.
“Arun?” Cal asked.
“Nothing active. But there’s a strong lingering aura of Taint here.”
“I’m sensing the same thing, with regards to magic. Okay, spread out, everyone, and search, but stay alert.”
Benzan was the one to find it, this time; a hidden door concealed within one of the pillars near the back of the room. The door opened easily on recessed hinges, revealing a ladder leading up.
“Don’t like the looks of that,” Dannel said. “Too narrow; if there’s something waiting up there, you’re screwed.”
“If one of you can scout it out and tell me how far it goes up, I can dimension door the fighters up with me,” Dana said.
“I’ll go,” Mole said.
“Are you sure, Clarese?” Cal asked.
The younger gnome smiled. “Sure. And don’t forget, I can always ‘poof’ out if it’s a trap.” She flourished her magical cloak, and turned toward the shaft.
“Shout down how far you’ve gone, and we’ll be ready to join you in a flash if needed,” Dana said. She gestured to Arun, Beorna, and Lok, who joined her at her side.
But nothing terrible happened to the gnome as she quickly ascended the shaft. Dannel stood beside the opening, watching her progress. “She says that there’s another door about twenty feet up,” the elf reported to the others. “I’ll go up after her.”
“Cal, Benzan… I can take all of you,” Dana said.
“Twenty feet, directly above you,” the elf’s voice came down from the shaft opening. “There’s a room… come now!”
Dana spoke the word of her spell, and the she and the others were instantly transported twenty feet directly upward.
They found themselves in another chamber, smaller than the one they’d just left. The door to the shaft was open behind them, although there was no sign of Mole. A summoning diagram was etched onto the floor, empty, although the companions could guess as to its most recent occupant.
On the far side of the diagram, a stone bier stood before a row of pillars. Laying on the bier was a supine woman, clad in a flowing red robe draped suggestively over her voluptuous frame, apparently unconscious. Standing over her was a strange creature, a lean humanoid with utterly alien features, huge black eyes that revealed no emotion, and six long arms that ended in slender, multijointed fingers. It did not react as they entered, although its hands moved in soft, languorous motions, interweaving in an almost hypnotic movement.
“What in the hells is that,” Benzan exclaimed. He and the others held their weapons ready, but as the strange creature did not immediately threaten them, they held their attack.
“The creatures we found at Karran-Kurral, in the crystal blocks,” Dannel observed.
“I… I do not sense…” Arun said, swaying slightly, clutching his head.
“What is it?” Dana said, turning to the paladin in alarm.
Beorna lifted her adamantine sword. “Whatever you are, creature, we want answers, and right now! Who is that woman, and what have you done to her? Where are the Cagewrights?”
The entity did not reply, but suddenly Benzan lowered his bow, and walked forward.
“Ware the diagram, Benzan!” Cal shouted, but the tiefling merely walked through the circle, his boots smearing the silver lines that demarked its influence.
“Benzan?” Lok asked, perhaps sensing that something was wrong.
“What are you doing?” Dannel added, as the tiefling approached the bier, but Benzan did not respond. The six-armed creature still did nothing threatening, covered by their readied spells and missile weapons. It held something in two of its arms, close against its lower torso; a disk of metal perhaps a foot across that looked to be a different color from one moment to the next, depending upon the angle by which one viewed it.
Dana immediately turned away from Arun and rushed after her husband, but she was caught up short as a wall of force sprang into being between the bier and the companions, bisecting the room.
“Benzan!” Dana yelled, slamming the barrier with her fists.
The tiefling did not respond, coming to stand directly in front of the bier and its unmoving occupant, the six-armed creature looming over it with an unreadable look in its dark eyes.
“Cal! The wall!” Dana cried. But the gnome had already started casting his spell, summoning magic to disintegrate the barrier.
The six-armed creature handed something to Benzan. A green ray sprang from Cal’s hands, striking the wall of force, and the shimmering plane vanished. Benzan reached down, picking up the unconscious woman, holding her in his arms.
Dana charged forward, the warriors only a step behind. But before they could reach their friend, Benzan turned to face them, uttered the words of a spell, and disappeared.
“Benzan!”
Richard Rawen
First Post
Solarious said:Andddd... Benzan becomes a sacrifice to Nerul! Dun-dun-dun!
When is Aurn due?
Jeez Solarious you are like a dog after a bone . . . a bit Fixated, rooting for the death of a Paladin no less! That cannot be healthy
Besides, you KNOW something is coming up... the Cagewrights are cracked and splintered but crazy and bent on vengeance... so if I had to see Arun croak it wouldn't be to a couple metal-hide orcs or a spike trap... he *should* go out in a blaze of Glory . . . if he does at all!
Blessings
Richard
Similar Threads
