Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)

[Lazybones]

Chapter 70

“Do you think anyone heard that?” Illewyn asked, a few minutes later.

“Naw, the outer door was shut, and I doubt that much sound got out through those cable openings,” Mole said authoritatively, as she reloaded her small crossbow.

Zenna turned her attention to the two bodies lying on the floor, watching Dannel search them quickly and efficiently. The two guards had not been alert, and one had gone down before they even really realized that they were under attack. The second had gotten his sword out and tried to bull rush his way past them, but Arun had placed himself in the man’s path with grim finality, and his hammer had made short work of the guard’s escape.

“We’re fortunate that they were lax in their duty, and that they hadn’t placed the alarm-stone in here, where one of them could get to it without coming through us,” Dannel observed as he rose and faced them. He held up two small vials, similar to the ones they’d found on the warriors at the Lucky Monkey, and which likely held healing draughts. He handed one to Mole, and offered the other to Arun; when the dwarf harrumphed and turned away, he smiled and instead gave the other potion to Zenna.

“No doubt there will be more of them further in,” Zenna said pragmatically, tucking the vial into her pouch.

“Well, it looks like we’ll have to ride down into the cavern to find out!” Mole said, clearly excited about the prospect of navigating down in the iron cage. By the looks on the faces of the others, it was likely that she was alone in that sentiment.

The guardroom was unremarkable save for a table and a few chairs, and an adjacent closet that contained a small stockpile of supplies. The companions returned to the winch chamber, giving the alarm stone a good berth just in case.

“So, how are we going to work this?” Zenna asked. “Even if the cage can support our combined weight, someone will have to work the winch.”

“I’ll stay and operate it,” Dannel offered.

“How will you get down, then?” Mole asked.

The elf’s smile was a bit rakish. “Don’t worry, I’ll manage it.”

“Just don’t jump off the cliff,” Zenna said. “While our experiences together have gone a long way toward convincing me that all men have heads full of rocks, I don’t think that landing on yours would do much for your conversational skills.”

Dannel laughed, even as Arun let out a loud harrumph.

The elf remained behind while the others returned to the ledge, and the waiting cage. They brought one of the long boards, which were obviously used as an aid to boarding the dangling conveyance. Mole hopped lightly over to the cage and quickly opened the grate, her steps barely affecting it. Illewyn looked far more unsteady as she crossed to the waiting opening, and Arun’s face was uncharacteristically tight as he approached the plank. Had the dwarf been possessed of a fair complexion, Zenna thought, he’d be deathly pale right now.

“Are you all right?” she asked, softly so that the others wouldn’t hear.

“I’m fine,” the dwarf said, and he started across the plank. His weight on the plank caused the cage to twist slightly, and he froze, a brief look of disquiet—not quite fear, as paladins were supposedly immune to that emotion—shooting through his eyes.

“Come on, you can do it!” Mole said. Illewyn was holding onto the bars at the far edge of the cage, her eyes tightly closed, and she offered no comment.

Arun growled and crossed over into the cage. The cage swayed back and forth as it settled with the new weight, and the dwarf joined the cleric inside, grasping the bars.

“Don’t look down,” Mole offered, trying to be helpful.

Zenna made it over to the cage without difficulty, and as she entered the cage Mole reached out and heaved the plank back over to the ledge. She let out a faint whistle—the signal they’d agreed upon—and the cage started down into the cavern.

It took a few minutes, and while the cage creaked some under their weight, soon Zenna could see their destination draw near as they approached the bottom of the cavern. Most of the cavern was apparently taken up by a vast underground lake, as she’d guessed earlier. But her attention was drawn to the far wall of the cavern, behind the lake, toward where the cage was descending.

The entire far end of the cavern was occupied by a massive citadel, apparently carved into the sheer rock of the cavern face. The structure bore an air of ancient permanence about it, and was formed of odd angles and bulbous domes that seemed to bulge out from the cliff like the eyes of a goggling fish. To Zenna the entire thing seemed alien and forbidding, and she felt a shudder as she imagined the fortress itself watching their descent.

Or maybe it wasn’t imagination.

“Is that a building there?” Mole asked. Zenna remembered that her friend lacked darkvision, and would only be able to see shadows in the gleam of Illewyn’s partially shielded light.

“No dwarf crafted that... or any other race I’ve encountered,” Arun said.

Zenna saw that they were approaching the floor of the cavern. The ropes of their conveyance vanished into a small structure separate from the citadel, but before they reached it, the cage began to scrape along the hard, uneven stone floor of the cavern. The waters of the underground lake came up almost to their position, lapping softly against a shore littered with broken shards of rock and tiny stones worn smooth by wind and water.

The cage scraped noisily for a few more feet, tilting awkwardly to the side, before it came to a halt. Evidently Dannel had adjudged that the device had reached the end of its course. Mole opened the cage door and the companions filtered out, staring about them at their new surroundings.

“What a fantastic place!” Mole exclaimed. “Illewyn, shine some more light over here!”

“Careful,” Zenna cautioned. “There are probably more guards.”

“No doubt they’ll have heard us coming, with all that racket,” Arun grumbled. He came forward, unlimbering his hammer and hefting it experimentally.

But no foes emerged from the citadel to trouble them. They observed a number of doors, flat heavy slabs of unadorned stone, along the front face of the fortress, and a few narrow slits that showed only blackness beyond. The front face of the complex stretched for a few hundred feet before them, with protruding cylinders and boxy squares layered upon each other as though the architect had sought to combine every style of construction into one medley. The small building housing the lower end of the lift assembly seemed fairly unremarkable, if more recent construction, so they turned their attention to the various entrances in the cliff face.

Zenna lingered back, glancing up at the twin cables of the lift, wondering how Dannel would manage the descent. Her question was answered a moment later as she perceived a shadow moving down the ropes, discernable a moment later as the elf, sliding down quickly on an object he’d slung over the cable and now held onto with both hands, his feet dangling below as he picked up speed. Dannel’s mouth was open and his eyes were wide as he shot down the rope toward the watching wizard; belatedly Zenna realized that he was coming right for her and she quickly leapt out of the route of his descent. For an instant it looked as though Dannel would slam at full speed into the waiting cage, but at the last moment he let go and landed hard on the uneven ground, transferring his momentum into an awkward roll that carried him with a splash into the waters of the lake. Zenna was there in seconds to help him, as he rose and limped over to where the rest of them waited.

“Are you all right?” Mole asked.

“That was pretty reckless, elf,” Arun said.

“Well, I had to get down one way or another,” he said with a grin, although it turned into a grimace as he probed at his side. “Damned hilt caught me hard when I landed, and I think I may have twisted my ankle as well.” Illewyn started forward, but the elf forstalled her. “Best save your talents, priestess; I’ll use my wand.”

Mole had picked up the object he’d used to slide down the rope; it was a spare leather baldric from one of the slain guards above. “I wouldn’t mind trying that sometime,” she said, tossing the belt into the lake.

Dannel winked at her as he straightened, the glow from his wand already fading into his body. “It was... interesting, although the landing part’s a bit rough.”

“Are we going to chat here all day, or be about our business?” Arun asked. “If you’re quite ready, elf.”

Dannel tucked his wand back into its pocket, and unlimbered his bow. “Lead on, dwarf.”

They selected the nearest visible exit, and after checking their weapons and other gear once last time, Arun shouldered the heavy portal open and they entered the citadel.

 

[Lazybones]

Chapter 71

The stone door grated open on its pivot, revealing a quiet, dark space beyond.

They moved inside, Illewyn’s light playing out over the spacious interior of what appeared to be a considerable entry hall. Thick columns of stone carved in flowing, twisting patterns rose up along the walls to buttress a domed ceiling a good forty feet above. Condensed moisture shone on the walls, and the entire place had a musty odor. A second exterior door was visible to their left, and several interior doors provided access to other parts of the complex, including a large set of double doors directly across from the entry. A long wooden table dominated the center of the room, ringed by functional wooden chairs.

“Looks like nobody’s home,” Dannel said.

“Don’t bet on it,” Arun offered.

“Which way?” Illewyn asked, holding the light aloft with one hand, and clutching her mace tightly with the other.

“We should try the side doors,” Mole suggested. “See what we can find, without stirring up the whole place.”

“A sound approach,” Dannel said, and they moved together to the single door in the wall to their left. The portal was of similar construction as the exterior door, if not quite as thick or imposing. Arun was able to open it without difficulty, but what they saw beyond gave them pause.

The room was small, roughly square, with walls of plain unadorned stone and a single other door in the wall to their right. However, strung across the floor, maybe a hand’s span above the surface of the stone, was a network of thin white cords. The cords formed a lattice, crossing and crisscrossing each other and forming little spaces of varying size between their matrix.

“Well, that’s a trap, obviously,” Dannel said, looking in. “Though I can’t quite make out what it sets off...”

“Some sort of alarm, no doubt,” Mole said. “I think I can make it through, though.”

“Are you sure we want to risk it?” Zenna asked. “We can try another way.”

“Well... maybe the trap means that there won’t be as many guards this way,” Mole said. “And there’s no guarantee that the other ways won’t be warded by other traps, less obvious than this one.”

A sound of something heavy dragging across the floor drew their attention around. Arun was there, bringing one of the chairs from the table. Zenna was the first to see what he intended, and she quickly stepped in to intervene. “Um... I don’t think that’s a good idea...”

“Why risk one of us?” the dwarf said. “We set off the trap, go charging in, and even if an alarm is sounded, we’re doing damage before there’s time for the guards to react.”

“While it will no doubt cause my honored ancestors to cry out to hear my agreement with a dwarf, I have to say, there might be something to his logic,” Dannel said. “No doubt the trap is obvious for a reason, and there may be a hidden danger to complement the obvious one.”

“Well, I say why risk it at all?” Zenna persisted. “When there are other options...”

As the others debated, Mole turned and looked into the room once more, examining the network of tripwires and the walls and ceiling. After one more glance over her shoulder to verify that the others weren’t looking, she nimbly hopped forward into the room and started across toward the door.

Illewyn happened to turn and spot the gnome’s action, and her startled exclamation drew the attention of the others around. “Mole!” Zenna hissed, darting to the doorframe with the others close behind. The gnome didn’t turn, her attention on her feet as they darted into the tight spaces between the wires, already halfway to her destination.

“Ah, the inevitable logic of chaos,” Dannel commented, an arrow held to his bowstring in readiness for a quick draw. “For a group with two practitioners of lawful faiths in its midst, we certainly do seem quite devoted to it.”

“Quiet, elf,” Arun said, still holding the chair.

Mole darted through the maze of wires, her magical boots lifting her in precise little hops that made her seem like she was bouncing across the room. The others held their collective breaths as she reached the door, which had a small open space before it that was devoid of the tripwires. With a grin, she turned and offered a low bow to the others.

“Careful, there may yet be something dangerous beyond,” Zenna cautioned.

“You worry too much,” Mole said, but her actions belied caution as she scanned the door for traps and then lowered her ear to the flat stone to listen. Satisfied, she reached up and tugged at the door’s handle.

Mole was strong for her size, but the door resisted her pull stubbornly. She grimaced and pulled harder... and the door suddenly sprang open, moving smoothly on its greased pivot. Caught off guard, she tried to adjust, and for a moment she teetered off balance...

...before stepping back into a mess of tripwires.

 

[Dungannon]

I'm actually starting to enjoy this group more than the one from TTtWW. These guys & gals seem a touch more lighthearted without all the personal angst that seemed to plague Lok, Benzan, Delem, Dana & Cal. I hope you don't misunderstand me, I loved that SH and thought the characters were wonderfully detailed and all, I just like the different flavor of this band so far.

 

[Broccli_Head]

Clearly Mole is a gnome of action!

Hmmm...not Friday, so I guess we will see the outcome of her 'oops!'

can't wait until tommorrow!

 

[wolff96]

I'm actually starting to enjoy this group more than the one from TTtWW. These guys & gals seem a touch more lighthearted without all the personal angst that seemed to plague Lok, Benzan, Delem, Dana & Cal. I hope you don't misunderstand me, I loved that SH and thought the characters were wonderfully detailed and all, I just like the different flavor of this band so far.

I have to admit that I like Arun better than any of the other characters from either story hour.

I do think, though, that you're not giving the first crew a fair shake. They *were* light-hearted and fun early on. But later, with all that happened along the way, things naturally got darker. They lost a member (pretty much permanently) to demons. That's a joy-killer right there.

As time goes on (IMO, naturally) any group is going to gather more baggage. This group is only on its second adventure... things will accrue. They always do.

 

[Lazybones]

Regarding the mood of the story: it's almost inevitable that this campaign will get "heavy," I think, given the nature of the source material. Thus far the modules in this campaign have already featured child abduction and slavery, torture, political manipulation, and decapitation/corpse mutilation. The triad of bad guys in "Flood Season" are a pretty nasty lot, and I suspect (based on the hints given in the Campaign Notes in the magazine's marginalia) that things are going to get even darker before too long.

And, of course, my characters all have considerable baggage of their own. I suspect that the personalities of Mole and Dannel will come to serve as a necessary balance to the seriousness of Zenna and Arun, as time goes on. As Dannel noted, you gotta keep those Lawfuls rooted in a bit of Chaos here and there.

And naturally, we'll learn more about each of the main characters as we go, including a few surprises...

* * * * *

Chapter 72

The results were swift. The white cords drew taut and a few snapped, the sound followed immediately by a series of louder snaps that seemed to come from within the walls. The ceiling, lost in shadows a good ten feet above, seemed to shiver, and then a black mess detached and fell onto the floor below.

Mole saw it coming, and without hesitation leapt forward through the open door, into the unknown beyond.

The heavy curtain fell across the floor; it was a net, blackened to blend in with the dark ceiling, weighted with small iron bells in the strands that made a loud clatter as they fell against the hard stone floor. The sound was loud enough to carry some distance, allowing the trap to serve both as prison and alarm at once. But fortunately, none of them had been snared by it.

Whatever relief they might have felt was tempered by the fact that Mole was separated from them, and further dampened by the shouts of surprise that came from beyond the open door.

Dannel was the first to react, slipping forward into the room. He only got one pace in, however, for as he stepped on the net, the material of it adhered to his boot, dragging at him, forcing him to arrest his progress lest he get further entangled.

“It’s sticky!” he said in warning to the others.

Arun came forward, still holding the chair, thrusting it before him like a farmer driving a plow. The dwarf caught up the edge of the net and thrust it ahead of him, pushing it back and clearing a path for them to the door. Dannel was knocked off balance and barely kept his footing, wrenching himself free of the net to fall against the near wall. Arun continued to push the net, which bunched up around the legs of the chair like a dislodged carpet.

Zenna and Illewyn came after him, rushing toward the open door. The sound of steel clashing on steel, followed by a sharp exclamation of pain, clenched Zenna’s heart with fear for her friend, and she rounded the door to find herself staring into the face of a lanky, muscular young man perhaps a year or two older than she. The man was clad in the familiar armor of the mercenaries that they’d fought at the Lucky Monkey, and in his hand he clutched a fat ceramic flask.

Man and woman stared at each other in surprise for a moment, then he hefted the flask to throw, at the same instant that Zenna recognized what it was.

Instinct took over, and mystic phrases rolled off of Zenna’s tongue as the energy of a spell flooded through her. The power focused into a single word, which Zenna felt echo through her mind as she spoke it.

“Drop!”

The man hesitated as the power of the spell hit him like the force of a blow. In response, his hand opened, and the flask fell from his hand. Belatedly he realized what he’d done, and he made a desperate grab for it, but was too late as the container struck the hard stone and shattered.

Flames exploded as the volatile alchemist’s fire erupted upon contact with the air. Instantly the man’s lower torso was sheathed in fire, and he stared down in horror, too startled even to scream as he staggered backward. Zenna, too, stumbled backward, lifting her hands to protect her face. Gobs of liquid flame caught on her cloak and trousers, eagerly claiming the fabric. Zenna could hear the sounds of confusion and melee mixed with the roar of the fire, the acrid tang of smoke, and the dancing shadows as the burning mixture consumed its fuel. But her attention was more immediately drawn to stamping out the flames before they captured her entire outfit. With her bare hand she smothered the little burning droplets, her innate resistance to fire thankfully protecting her from more than just minor burns. The flames died out, but she coughed as the smoke filling the room continued to grow denser. Confused, she looked around—and realized that the net had caught fire, and flames were even now spreading aggressively outward through the small antechamber.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Illewyn said, drawing her attention back up as the cleric grasped her arm. Zenna looked around, and realized that she and the cleric were alone in the room. With her head starting to swim, she staggered toward the door to the room where Mole—and presumably the others—had vanished.

She entered into the midst of a still-raging melee. The bodies of two guards lay bloody on the floor, including the charred figure of the man who’d been caught in the fire, one side of his face caved in by a blow from Arun’s hammer. Mole lay on her side on the ground, propping herself up on one elbow, blood from several wounds streaking her clothes. She was warded by Arun, who continued to exchange blows with another guard. Dannel fought the last defender by the only other door that exited the place, forcing the man to fight him rather than attempt flight. Zenna saw that the elf was favoring his side, where a patch of red indicated that at least one of the defenders’ thrusts had scored. Even as she watched the warrior made a desperate lunge at Dannel, forcing him back a pace, before turning and darting toward the door and escape.

She didn’t hesitate; calling upon a cantrip she clouded the mind of the enemy fighter for a few moments, dazing him long enough for Dannel to run him through with a deadly thrust of his sword. In the same heartbeat Arun laid into his foe with a mighty blow of his hammer, crushing his breastbone with an audible and ugly snap. Both brigands collapsed, gasping out their last moments upon the floor.

Zenna moved quickly to where Mole lay, followed a step later by Illewyn. “Are you all right?” Zenna asked, noticing that Mole had drawn out a potion vial.

“I will be in just a moment,” she said, uncorking the vial and downing its contents quickly. The magic worked as expected, and the gnome’s wounds closed immediately, allowing her to stand up, if still a bit groggily.

“That was pretty foolish, all around,” Zenna said sternly.

Mole flushed slightly. “Well...”

“At least we avoided the trap, and killed the guards without any of them getting an alarm out,” Dannel suggested.

“Others might have heard the clatter,” Illewyn said. She had closed the door to the net-chamber behind them, but wisps of smoke continued to drift in from around the jamb.

“Well, if they didn’t, no doubt someone will smell the smoke,” Zenna observed. “We should be quick.”

“For once, that’s something I can agree with,” Arun declared, leading them to the door. Mole paused only long enough to quickly search the bodies, an action that proved fruitful as they discovered several more healing potions that hadn’t benefited their previous owners. She also found a few more clay flasks of alchemist’s fire, which covertly made their way into her handy haversack. Zenna caught sight of the maneuver, however, and shook her head wryly.

The door led onto a small chamber with two other exits. The first was securely locked, and Mole’s efforts to work it open met with failure. Electing to leave it for the moment, rather than draw attention by attempting to force it, they turned to the other door. Beyond that portal lay a long hallway, extending to their left and right for as far as their light penetrated. A few more doors were visible in either direction.

Dannel bent to examine the floor briefly. “Some faint tracks this way,” he said, indicating the left passage. “Someone came through here wearing muddy boots.”

“All right then,” Arun said, leading them in that direction. The passage curved slightly to the right, then straightened and ran another forty feet or so before ending in a trio of closed doors.

They started in that direction, but hadn’t gotten very far when the door in the wall to their right at the end of the passage opened, and a small figure stepped into the corridor. He was a halfling, clad in a bright red cloak and with a serious expression fixed on his face. At first he didn’t notice the adventurers, apparently preoccupied by some other matter, but as he turned from the door he looked up and saw the quintet standing about twenty feet ahead of him. Instantly his expression changed, souring into a look of clear disapproval.

“What’s this?” he said. “How did you get in here?”

“We’ll be the one asking the questions, shorty,” Arun barked, even as Dannel chimed, “Lax guards.”

The halfling was clearly dissatisfied with both answers, but seemed disinclined to further parley. Moving quickly, he drew something out of a pouch at his waist, and started chanting a string of strange-sounding syllables.

“He’s spellcasting!” Zenna warned.

 

[Broccli_Head]

“What’s this?” he said. “How did you get in here?”

“We’ll be the one asking the questions, shorty,” Arun barked, even as Dannel chimed, “Lax guards.”

The halfling was clearly dissatisfied with both answers, but seemed disinclined to further parley. Moving quickly, he drew something out of a pouch at his waist, and started chanting a string of strange-sounding syllables.

“He’s spellcasting!” Zenna warned.

Next time we sneak into the fortress of the bad guys, let's just shoot first and ask questions later!!!

 

[busker]

This is both a bump and a "Hey, where's the update?" post.

-busker

 

[Liolel]

Two weekdays without updates. Where are the updates.

and

Bump

 

[Lazybones]

Heh, clearly I created expectations with my recent post-a-day history. Thanks for the bumps; it's nice to be able to come back from a vacation and find the story without digging around on page 4.

* * * * *

Chapter 73

Even as Zenna shouted her warning, Dannel was moving, lifting his bow and drawing back the arrow already fitted to the string. However, in his haste the arrow improbably slipped off the string, falling aside before the elf could react. Rather than going for the arrow, Dannel bit off an elvish curse and dug into his quiver for another shaft.

Arun likewise responded quickly, if not as swiftly as Dannel. However, his throw went wide, and the light hammer spun easily a full pace over the halfling’s head, crashing into the door behind him.

Mole, who’d been lagging behind, hefted her crossbow and came forward even as Dannel fitted his second arrow to the string and drew. But the delay had given the halfling enough time, and he faded from view, shooting them one last hostile smirk as he vanished. Dannel’s arrow sliced through the air where he’d been standing a moment later, but it hit nothing.

“Spread out, block the passage!” Zenna urged. “And watch those doors, don’t let him get away!”

They moved forward, wary, in close ranks to keep the halfling from slipping past, weapons at the ready. But they were still a good fifteen feet from the doors when Mole paused, hearing a faint sound that seemed to come from up above.

“He’s casting again!” Mole warned. She pointed her crossbow up in the direction of the sound, but held her fire, uncertain. How could he have gotten up there?

A loud voice filled the corridor, seeming to come from right where the five of them were standing. “INTRUDERS IN THE COMPLEX! TO ARMS!” The sound was so loud that it seemed as though a dozen men were shouting at the top of their lungs, and it continued uttering the same warning repeatedly, effectively covering any noise that the hidden wizard might make.

“We’re in trouble!” Dannel shouted, trying to make himself heard over the din.

“Fall back!” Zenna warned.

But before they could retreat, the door in the far wall opened, revealing a rather irate-looking armored woman warrior, her sword ready in her hand. Light shone into the corridor from the room behind her, clearly outlining the forms of additional guards. Without hesitating, she hefted her sword and charged, shouting a battle cry that was lost in the continuing din from the halfling’s spell.

Dannel drew and fired, and this time, didn’t miss. His arrow caught the woman in an armored shoulder, penetrating the steel plate with a heavy crunch and jabbing into the muscled flesh beneath. She staggered but still came on, bringing up her shield in time to catch the bolt from Mole’s crossbow. Behind her came a second warrior and a pair of rogues clad in the familiar style of the Alleybasher gang, drawing slender rapiers as they moved forward in tandem.

Arun held his ground to meet their charge, but even as he lifted his own shield to meet the overhead stroke from the injured woman, Zenna leaned over him and unleashed a color spray down the corridor.

In the close quarters, there was no chance that she could miss. The blazing colors swam over the woman warrior and the armored man a few paced behind her, and caught the two rouges as well. One, a young red-haired woman who’d shaved one side of her head bald, turned away in time to avoid the blast, but her companion caught the colors square in the face, and like the two warriors slumped unconscious to the ground. The woman rogue hesitated, clearly not liking the odds as they had just been recalculated.

“Nice work!” Mole yelled, as she reloaded her crossbow.

“Surrender or be slain!” Dannel shouted. Despite his slight frame, his words carried clearly even over the continued warning. Her response wasn’t quite clear, but it was clear from her expression was the gist of her comment was. Dannel nodded and drew out another arrow, even as Arun hefted his hammer and stepped forward with a grim look on his face.

Zenna felt a sudden tingle of power, a stirring in the air that made strands of her hair rise up and stand on end. In horror she turned just as a jagged bolt of liquid energy exploded down the corridor. She threw herself back against the wall as the lightning bolt blasted through the middle of the corridor. Illewyn was hit square on by the bolt and screamed as she fell, her torso blackened where the bolt had seared through her. Arun, next in line, was also hit squarely, though the dwarf remained standing as the electrical discharge flowed through him. Dannel, on the far side of the passage, was narrowly missed by the bolt, which continued down the corridor in a blazing streak, sending tendrils of death into the fallen warriors as it went. It narrowly missed the still-standing rogue, who threw herself down to the floor, and finally blasted into the door at the far end of the passage, sundering it off its hinges.

Zenna turned to see the halfling, shorn of his invisibility, standing on the ceiling a good ten paces back down the corridor behind them. The halfling’s figure was still shadowy and indistinct, as though some vestiges of his magical invisibility still clung to his form. Even as she fumbled for her crossbow, Mole—who had also dodged out of the path of the bolt—lifted her own bow and fired. The shot was true, but the halfling clearly had some sort of magical protection up, for the bolt jerked aside at the last instant.

Meanwhile, the door to the left of the passage had opened as well, discharging another trio of Alleybashers to the fray. Clearly these three had been resting, for their clothes and armor were clearly hastily donned, and sleep still lingered in their eyes. For all that they recovered quickly with the prospect of a battle taking place right in front of them, and they drew their rapiers, quickly joining their thus-far extremely lucky companion in rushing to attack.

Dannel drew and fired, grazing one of the rogues with a shot that drew a red gash along her side. He knew that the magic-user behind them was a significant threat, but he could also see that Arun, weakened by the lightning bolt, wouldn’t stand long alone against four enemies. He grasped one last arrow and quickly fired, hitting the woman he’d just wounded with a more significant injury to the leg that definitely gave her cause for concern. Then he drew his sword and moved to support the dwarf.

Arun leapt over one of the fallen fighters—now charred from the passage of the lightning—and engaged the first pair of rogues. As in the Lucky Monkey, the Alleybashers moved quickly and efficiently to coordinate their attacks, slipping around the dwarf to flank him. This time, however, the enemy was clearly not hindered by drink, and almost immediately one dug his rapier into a gap in Arun’s armor, scoring a hit that was clearly serious. The dwarf, now in trouble, refused to budge, bringing his hammer around to strike back at his adversary. The hammer connected, but it was only a glancing hit that did little to hinder the canny rogue.

“We’ve got a problem here!” Mole yelled, as she reloaded her crossbow. The halfling wizard laughed, and with a wave of his hand conjured a series of magical bolts that darted unerringly to hit Mole and Zenna. The tiefling’s body clenched as pain stabbed into her with the pair of impacts, but she forced her attention to the body of the woman lying in front of her. She knew that they had to deal with the wizard, but she’d seen the effects of the lightning bolt on Illewyn and knew that the cleric would die if she didn’t intervene immediately.

Kneeling beside the fallen cleric, Zenna called upon the power of Azuth to stabilize her. The healing power flowed into the unconscious woman, who stirred as the positive energy drew her back from the brink of death.

Mole fired at the wizard again, this time getting through his defenses to score a minor gash as a bolt drew across his thigh. The halfling stamped one foot against the ceiling in fury, and began casting once more.

Arun fought on with an almost blind rage, laying about him with his heavy hammer, keeping his foes at bay though sheer effort. The one he’d hurt darted back to avoid another powerful stroke, and his friend on the other side just barely missed another opening that would have likely meant the end of the paladin. The rogue shifted to come in for another try, but was forced to dart back as Dannel leapt into the fray, slashing with a tight stroke that cut the Alleybasher in the cheek before he could get free. The man snarled, and faced off against the elf in the tight space of the corridor. To his side stood Arun, who continued to exchange blows with the other man, with neither able to deal a telling blow for the moment. Behind the two rogues the other two Alleybashers, unable for now to reach the melee in the crowded space, drew out their bows.

Having aided Illewyn, Zenna glanced up at the halfling, lost in his next no doubt deadly spell. Knowing that she didn’t have time for her own casting, she swallowed her hesitation about drawing on her natural powers and called down a globe of darkness around the halfling’s position. The cry of frustration that she heard told her that she’d interfered with whatever the enemy wizard had been about to unleash upon them. Streams of red fire emerged from the darkness, twin blasts that were aimed in the general direction of her and Mole, but without sight to guide them, both missed their targets. Zenna was quite glad of that, as one scorching ray seared the wall just a foot above where she crouched, close enough that she could feel the heat that quite possibly would have killed her, had it struck her dead-on.

The ghost sound summoned by him earlier called out one more warning and then ceased. As the deafening noise ended, the echo of the shout still ringing in Zenna’s ears, she turned to see Arun and Dannel fighting for their lives against the Alleybasher rogues, while Illewyn had drawn herself up against the far wall of the corridor and was casting a spell to channel further healing into her battered body. Mole held her loaded crossbow at the ready, in case the halfling presented himself again through the darkness.

Apparently, however, the enemy wizard had had enough of this impromptu confrontation. “Get Triel, you fools!” he shouted from somewhere still beyond Zenna’s bubble of blackness.

The battle with the rogues was clearly turning, and they were quick to take their leader’s advice to heart. As Arun’s foe lunged once more at him, trying in vain to penetrate his defenses, the dwarf abruptly lurched forward, catching the Alleybasher off guard as Arun drove his hammer up into his jaw. The impact crushed the entire lower half of his face, and he crumpled backward. Behind him one of the women rogues shot him with her bow at point-blank range, but the arrow likewise skittered off of his armored form. Arun didn’t hesitate, continuing his rush and slamming his hammer with bonecrushing force into the woman’s midsection. Her face twisted in pain as she collapsed to the ground, trying in vain to suck in breath as her heart continued to pour blood into her savaged torso.

The last woman, the one who had avoided both the color spray and the lightning bolt, wasn’t sticking around to press her luck. Like a flash she darted through the open door at the far end of the corridor, and was gone.

Arun turned to help Dannel, but the elf already had his situation well in hand. Before the dwarf could strike, the last Alleybasher slumped to the ground, clutching a deep puncture in his side.

Dannel offered the heavily wounded dwarf a healing potion, and this time the paladin did not refuse.

Zenna had likewise drawn out a healing draught, and as she drank it she felt the sting from the halfling’s magic missiles ease and quickly fade away. She moved to help Illewyn up back to her feet; the cleric’s divine magic had eased her hurts somewhat but she still looked a sight, with her white robes blackened and charred where the lightning bolt had struck her.

Mole’s voice drew their attention back down the corridor, where the globe of blackness still hung over the upper two-thirds of the passageway, leaving a clear space a few feet high below. “Come on, he went this way!” she cried.

The others hurried in that direction. “What was that about not rushing headlong into danger?” Dannel offered to Zenna as an aside, as he slipped ahead of her, his bow again unlimbered with an arrow set to the string.