Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Black Bard
First Post
Great update, Lazy!!!
I was totally surprised by Mole's prestige class pick!! And I must say... I like it!!!
Bouncing gnome for goodness!!!
I was totally surprised by Mole's prestige class pick!! And I must say... I like it!!!
Bouncing gnome for goodness!!!
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 163
“There’s three of them, in a little room up above, and there’s a balcony on the far side that overlooks the corridor below, beyond the portcullis. There’s a winch on the wall, but it looks like it would take all of you men working together to even budge it.”
The six of them had withdrawn a short distance back down the canyon, so that they would out of the direct line of sight from the portcullis and the spy-hole above. Though it seemed doubtful now that the hole was used as a vantage by the guards.
After all, for them it was at ankle-level.
“Three hill giants,” Arun said. “That will be... difficult.”
“We’ve come to far to give up now,” Morgan said softly.
“I wasn’t suggesting we give up,” Arun replied, his own voice level.
“If you men can hold off comparing the size of your egos for a moment, I need to think,” Zenna said.
“I’d wager that there’s more guardians down the corridor, at ground level,” Dannel said. “Otherwise the giants wouldn’t be a sufficient deterrent, as you could sunder the portcullis and simply run through until the angle of the corridor cut off their line of fire. There may even be an additional barrier further on.”
“I don’ like it,” Hodge growled. “It be far too neat—giants, ‘specially them hill brutes, ain’t known fer their strategizin’, and certainly not fer buildin’ fancy-all forts.”
“Agreed,” Dannel said. “There must be someone—or something—behind them, calling the shots.”
“Well then, we must fight through the rabble until we can reach the leader, and destroy him,” Morgan said, his hand tightening on the grip of his sword.
“One thing at a time,” Arun said. “The portcullis, and the giants above.”
“I could deal with one, maybe two,” Mole said with gravity. “But not three at once, no way.”
“You!” Hodge snorted. “Yer might be able ter pop a boil on the foot o’ one, with that little sticker o’ yers, but ‘e’s just as like to step on yer by mistake!”
“My sword was sufficient against the dragon in Bhal-Hamatugn, and that demon that was tearing you to pieces yesterday,” Mole said, putting her hands on her hips and facing the dwarf with an indignant expression.
“Well, she does have you there,” Dannel said, nudging the dwarf with a grin.
Hodge glared at the elf, then at Mole, then threw up his arms and turned away. “Gnomes!” he said, gruffly, but there was an undercurrent of something else that was not unfriendly in his voice.
“And let us not forget who brought this vital intelligence to the group,” Mole added.
“We are grateful for your aid, small one,” Morgan said respectfully. “And your sword will be welcome in the forthcoming battle.”
“Any ideas?” Dannel asked, looking at Zenna.
Zenna shook her head. “I’m afraid my powers don’t offer an easy answer for this situation,” she admitted. She fixed him with a stare, waiting for him to make a jibe at the expense of her honesty, but he only nodded.
Arun rose and lifted his hammer. “Then we do things the plain, old-fashioned way—full-on frontal assault.” Morgan nodded, in full agreement.
Gods help us, Zenna thought, shaking her head.
“There’s three of them, in a little room up above, and there’s a balcony on the far side that overlooks the corridor below, beyond the portcullis. There’s a winch on the wall, but it looks like it would take all of you men working together to even budge it.”
The six of them had withdrawn a short distance back down the canyon, so that they would out of the direct line of sight from the portcullis and the spy-hole above. Though it seemed doubtful now that the hole was used as a vantage by the guards.
After all, for them it was at ankle-level.
“Three hill giants,” Arun said. “That will be... difficult.”
“We’ve come to far to give up now,” Morgan said softly.
“I wasn’t suggesting we give up,” Arun replied, his own voice level.
“If you men can hold off comparing the size of your egos for a moment, I need to think,” Zenna said.
“I’d wager that there’s more guardians down the corridor, at ground level,” Dannel said. “Otherwise the giants wouldn’t be a sufficient deterrent, as you could sunder the portcullis and simply run through until the angle of the corridor cut off their line of fire. There may even be an additional barrier further on.”
“I don’ like it,” Hodge growled. “It be far too neat—giants, ‘specially them hill brutes, ain’t known fer their strategizin’, and certainly not fer buildin’ fancy-all forts.”
“Agreed,” Dannel said. “There must be someone—or something—behind them, calling the shots.”
“Well then, we must fight through the rabble until we can reach the leader, and destroy him,” Morgan said, his hand tightening on the grip of his sword.
“One thing at a time,” Arun said. “The portcullis, and the giants above.”
“I could deal with one, maybe two,” Mole said with gravity. “But not three at once, no way.”
“You!” Hodge snorted. “Yer might be able ter pop a boil on the foot o’ one, with that little sticker o’ yers, but ‘e’s just as like to step on yer by mistake!”
“My sword was sufficient against the dragon in Bhal-Hamatugn, and that demon that was tearing you to pieces yesterday,” Mole said, putting her hands on her hips and facing the dwarf with an indignant expression.
“Well, she does have you there,” Dannel said, nudging the dwarf with a grin.
Hodge glared at the elf, then at Mole, then threw up his arms and turned away. “Gnomes!” he said, gruffly, but there was an undercurrent of something else that was not unfriendly in his voice.
“And let us not forget who brought this vital intelligence to the group,” Mole added.
“We are grateful for your aid, small one,” Morgan said respectfully. “And your sword will be welcome in the forthcoming battle.”
“Any ideas?” Dannel asked, looking at Zenna.
Zenna shook her head. “I’m afraid my powers don’t offer an easy answer for this situation,” she admitted. She fixed him with a stare, waiting for him to make a jibe at the expense of her honesty, but he only nodded.
Arun rose and lifted his hammer. “Then we do things the plain, old-fashioned way—full-on frontal assault.” Morgan nodded, in full agreement.
Gods help us, Zenna thought, shaking her head.
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Lazybones said:
Awesome!
That's exactly the way I would go about it.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Heh, I hope you give your players lots of rods of resurrection in your campaigns, broc... 
* * * * *
Chapter 164
They made their way cautiously back to the breach in the canyon wall, weapons in hand, all of their senses alert for any sign of danger. They knew that even if their enemies were not yet aware of their presence, a wager none of them would have taken, they soon would be.
Up close, the portcullis looked even more imposing than it had earlier. “That’s not gunna come down easy,” Hodge said.
“But it will come down,” Arun said, stepping forward, hefting his hammer.
“If you will let the blessing of Helm aid your efforts?” Morgan said, coming forward to stand beside him. Arun nodded, and the cleric called upon his patron, infusing the dwarf with strength and enlarging him until he stood nearly ten feet in height, his hammer transformed into a huge maul.
Dannel, having reclaimed his magic slippers from Mole, darted up the side of the cliff, finding a sheltered position in a rough niche in the rock where he could fire arrows into the corridor beyond the portcullis from relative security. The others drew back, but not far, covering their companion as he stepped up to the iron grille.
“Moradin, grant your servant the strength to prevail against evil,” Arun whispered in dwarvish. Already bolstered by Morgan’s spells, he felt a thrill of power as the divine favor of his patron came at his call.
The dwarf laid aside his shield, and took up his hammer with both hands.
The sound of the impact echoed throughout the canyon.
Zenna glanced around the edge of the boulder behind which she’d taken cover to see that the first blow had told upon the barrier, with a visible dent in one of the iron bars. But the dwarf did not stop with one blow. His arms were a blur as he rained assault upon assault against the portcullis, until the noise coming from the portcullis rivaled the blast of Vaprak’s Voice. The thought reminded her of something. Damn, we should have waited until the winds sounded! But it was too late to remedy that mistake now, and she doubted anyway that anything within a mile could have failed to hear the sound of Arun’s pounding upon the portcullis.
In the interval between blows she heard deep voices, coming from above. The giants, she realized. Not speaking their language, she did not know what they were saying, but she could tell that they were agitated. And no wonder, with a ten-foot dwarf laying waste to their outer defenses.
Arun lowered his hammer. The portcullis was a ruin, battered into a wreck of twisted metal, and the dwarf reached out and levered it aside, forming an opening wide enough even for him in his augmented size, if just barely.
Then Zenna caught sight of huge forms moving in the corridor beyond, approaching the barrier. Arun saw them as well, she saw, and he quickly recovered his hammer.
No, don’t charge! she thought, knowing that the giants above were waiting to pulverize an opponent entering the corridor with boulders from above.
The dwarf apparently recognized the same thing, and he held his ground, even moving back a pace to force their enemies to wedge through the remains of the portcullis, and to give him room to more effectively wield his hammer. Morgan and Hodge had moved out of cover to support the dwarf. Mole had disappeared somewhere, and Zenna belatedly followed the others, keeping an eye on the small opening above in case the giants were somehow able to mount an attack from that unlikely quarter.
Dannel opened fire from his high perch, sending arrows into the dark tunnel. The lumbering figures continued their approach, and as they entered the light, the companions saw what confronted them. They stood a good thirteen feet tall, clad in mangy, filthy hides, bearing massive morningstars and huge javelins.
And they had two heads.
Ettins, five of them, and the canyon walls shook with their coming.
* * * * *
Coming Next Week: MORGAN'S HELL
* * * * *
Chapter 164
They made their way cautiously back to the breach in the canyon wall, weapons in hand, all of their senses alert for any sign of danger. They knew that even if their enemies were not yet aware of their presence, a wager none of them would have taken, they soon would be.
Up close, the portcullis looked even more imposing than it had earlier. “That’s not gunna come down easy,” Hodge said.
“But it will come down,” Arun said, stepping forward, hefting his hammer.
“If you will let the blessing of Helm aid your efforts?” Morgan said, coming forward to stand beside him. Arun nodded, and the cleric called upon his patron, infusing the dwarf with strength and enlarging him until he stood nearly ten feet in height, his hammer transformed into a huge maul.
Dannel, having reclaimed his magic slippers from Mole, darted up the side of the cliff, finding a sheltered position in a rough niche in the rock where he could fire arrows into the corridor beyond the portcullis from relative security. The others drew back, but not far, covering their companion as he stepped up to the iron grille.
“Moradin, grant your servant the strength to prevail against evil,” Arun whispered in dwarvish. Already bolstered by Morgan’s spells, he felt a thrill of power as the divine favor of his patron came at his call.
The dwarf laid aside his shield, and took up his hammer with both hands.
The sound of the impact echoed throughout the canyon.
Zenna glanced around the edge of the boulder behind which she’d taken cover to see that the first blow had told upon the barrier, with a visible dent in one of the iron bars. But the dwarf did not stop with one blow. His arms were a blur as he rained assault upon assault against the portcullis, until the noise coming from the portcullis rivaled the blast of Vaprak’s Voice. The thought reminded her of something. Damn, we should have waited until the winds sounded! But it was too late to remedy that mistake now, and she doubted anyway that anything within a mile could have failed to hear the sound of Arun’s pounding upon the portcullis.
In the interval between blows she heard deep voices, coming from above. The giants, she realized. Not speaking their language, she did not know what they were saying, but she could tell that they were agitated. And no wonder, with a ten-foot dwarf laying waste to their outer defenses.
Arun lowered his hammer. The portcullis was a ruin, battered into a wreck of twisted metal, and the dwarf reached out and levered it aside, forming an opening wide enough even for him in his augmented size, if just barely.
Then Zenna caught sight of huge forms moving in the corridor beyond, approaching the barrier. Arun saw them as well, she saw, and he quickly recovered his hammer.
No, don’t charge! she thought, knowing that the giants above were waiting to pulverize an opponent entering the corridor with boulders from above.
The dwarf apparently recognized the same thing, and he held his ground, even moving back a pace to force their enemies to wedge through the remains of the portcullis, and to give him room to more effectively wield his hammer. Morgan and Hodge had moved out of cover to support the dwarf. Mole had disappeared somewhere, and Zenna belatedly followed the others, keeping an eye on the small opening above in case the giants were somehow able to mount an attack from that unlikely quarter.
Dannel opened fire from his high perch, sending arrows into the dark tunnel. The lumbering figures continued their approach, and as they entered the light, the companions saw what confronted them. They stood a good thirteen feet tall, clad in mangy, filthy hides, bearing massive morningstars and huge javelins.
And they had two heads.
Ettins, five of them, and the canyon walls shook with their coming.
* * * * *
Coming Next Week: MORGAN'S HELL
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 165
The lead ettin saw the mangled barrier and the huge dwarf behind it, and hesitated. While the two-headed giants were not cowardly creatures, within their dim minds they knew that they were not as powerful as true giants, and they preferred to attack from ambush rather than rushing headlong into battle with a difficult adversary.
Arun was having none of it, however. “Come on then, you blasted cowards!” he shouted, his words filling the tunnel. His challenge was accompanied by a withering barrage of missiles from his friends, several of which struck the lead creature.
The ettins could not easily retreat, motivated by fear of their masters, and so they charged, their terrible morningstars blasting shards of rock from the sides of the tunnel as they moved single-file through the relatively narrow passage.
The first ettin crashed into the remnants of the portcullis, pushing it aside with a powerful sweep of its massive left arm. As it forced through the barrier, its right arm, independently controlled by its second head, lifted its morningstar to pulverize Arun with a violent overhead blow.
That blow never landed, however. As the ettin pushed through the gap in the portcullis and straightened to its full height, an arrow vanished into the right side of its hairy, muscled chest, followed a moment later by a hurled javelin that pierced its left side. The wounds stung it, but even as it began its attack against Arun, the paladin’s massive hammer came around in a powerful two-handed arc that connected mightily with the creature’s side a foot above its waist. The ettin absorbed the blow, its own counterstroke falling uselessly aside. It tried to recover, but Arun’s blow, driven by his enhanced strength and own skill, had done too much damage to the interior of the monster. It stumbled, and fell back hard, both heads gasping out its last as it clutched at its ruined side.
But the doom of their comrade gave the other four creatures time to full enter the fray. The heavy, ruined gate came crashing down as two ettins struck it, and Arun had to retreat to avoid being crushed under its falling bulk. Morgan and Hodge, their missile weapons now discarded in favor of sword and axe, rushed in to try and pin them in the relatively narrow opening, to hold the last two at bay and to make it more awkward for them to use their giant weapons. But the ettins were double the height and many times the weight of the defending warriors, and the two were forced inexorably back as they withstood the powerful swings from those heavy morningstars.
Dannel’s bow sang as he fired arrow after arrow from his perch, just above the reach of the ettins. Some of his arrows stuck in the mangy hides that the ettins wore as armor, but the sheer volume of his barrage meant that many more would score hits. He targeted the creature on the right, the one facing Hodge, shooting an arrow into its thick arm a moment after it blasted the dwarf with a powerful blow. Hodge had caught the impact of the spiked ball on his shield, but it was clear from the way that he staggered backward several steps that he’d nonetheless felt it.
Zenna had loaded her crossbow, but she knew that the small weapon would have little effect against creatures of this size. Instead she called upon her magic, speaking the words that evoked a coruscating searing ray that erupted in a bright shaft of flame that she directed at the ettin facing Hodge. She aimed high at its chest to avoid jeopardizing the dwarf. The creature was huge and slow, so there was virtually no chance that she could miss.
Except that she did. The line of flame went high, slicing through the air between the creature’s heads. The ettin was startled but unharmed by the display, and it only took a moment before it refocused on Hodge, lifting both morningstars to strike again, ignoring another arrow that poked painfully into its shoulder.
But the arrows and the missed spell had distracted the giant for a moment, long enough for Hodge to recover. And even as it looked down at him again, it was too slow to react as Hodge ran in, and with a nasty curse took the ettin’s leg off at the knee with a single powerful swing of his axe. The ettin fell, stumbling into its fellow, who in turn was finding itself equally hard pressed.
As Arun had dodged back to avoid the falling grate, Morgan did not hesitate to fill the gap, although the ettin stood more than twice his height. A heavy morningstar ball came down with a crushing blow that glanced off his shoulder, sending a sharp stab of pain through the cleric’s torso. But Morgan was once again lost in the glorious song of Helm’s might, and ran in close enough to thrust his sword into the creature’s belly. The thick layers of hide that the giant wore turned what would have been a disemboweling thrust into a mere scratch, but it was clear from its twin roars that the thrust was painful nonetheless. The cleric stood his ground as the creature unleashed both of its arms in a pair of attacks that battered him, but when both spiked balls had rebounded from their hits the cleric still stood, battered but determined.
“You’ve had yours, giant, now feel the fury of Helm’s justice!”
The ettin didn’t like the feel of Helm’s justice, but he was even more concerned by the giant dwarf who rushed back into the fray, bringing with him that massive hammer.
The last two ettins found themselves momentarily blocked from entering the melee due to the confines of the narrow crevice and the violence of the melee wrought and wrought upon their companions ahead. They carried heavy spears, javelins the size of lances that they hurled at the nearest target they could see. In the case of the one of the left, that was Dannel, dangling from the cliff above. Fortunately for the elf the ettin was anything but agile, and both spears missed, one bouncing off of the cliff face a pace from where Dannel had positioned himself. The elf saw the giant, and with his companions doing well against the front two, he shifted his aim to return fire. Dannel’s assault proved far more effective than that of the giant, and soon the creature had two arrows stuck in its chest, trailing blood.
The last giant was close enough to see Zenna’s fire pass above it, harmless but yet a warning of what might be coming. It lifted a javelin to fire at her, but its comrade before it was blocking its line of sight. Then Hodge’s attack took off its leg, and as it fell, the ettin took advantage of the opening to throw.
Zenna had not forgotten to raise her defenses, however, and while the throw was unusually accurate, at the last moment it was turned by the layered defense of her shield and mage armor.
The ettin, frustrated, stepped forward to do battle, but it failed to mark the tiny form that had crept into the tunnel from outside. It paid for that oversight a moment later, as its next step shot an explosion of pain up through its foot, through its leg, into its body. Mole had rolled unseen into its path, carefully judging its stride, extending her arm and holding her sword point-up, its hilt braced against the floor, right where the massive foot was descending. The ettin hopped back in pain, the sword stuck to the crossbar in its foot, trying to avoid putting weight on the injured member. It never saw Mole, who quietly retreated back into a position of cover just outside of the tunnel entrance, already reaching for her crossbow.
It was increasingly clear how this battle was going to end. Even as Hodge finished the one he’d de-limbed, Morgan sank his sword to the hilt in the one that he and Arun faced, and it crumpled. The two still in the corridor, one still trying to get at the tiny steel barb sunk into its foot, realized that the speed with which the first three of their fellows had been dispatched boded ill for them, and they started to fall back. Morgan started after them, but Arun drew them up short, pointing with his hammer up at the balcony that they could not see from this angle, but which knew was above, and the giants that no doubt were waiting for them to show themselves.
“We just let them get away then?” the cleric asked angrily.
In answer Arun only glanced at his companions, who were continuing the assault in their own way. Dannel put his fourth arrow into the ettin he’d been targeting, but as it moved out of sight further down the corridor he turned his aim onto the one still hobbling behind it, adding insult to injury as he sank a shot into the calf of its unwounded leg. Mole and Zenna were both adding their own fire, although it wasn’t clear if any of their shots scored hits.
The cleric looked like he might defy them all and rush off in pursuit anyway, but Arun placed his huge hand upon the man’s shoulder. “The battle is far from over, priest. You are seriously injured, and Hodge as well. Let us take advantage of these few moments, while we have them.”
Recognizing the wisdom of the dwarf’s words, Morgan finally nodded. They withdrew a short distance back to their position of cover, where spell and wand again offered soothing relief from the injuries of battle. The spell of growth affecting Arun wore off, and he returned to his normal size. Dannel had returned from his perch atop the cliffs, but he continued to keep a close eye on the tunnel mouth.
Their healing power, wielded by Zenna, Dannel, and Morgan, was potent, and it took less than a minute for them to treat the party’s injuries.
“Well, now what?” Mole asked. “One of them giants still has my sword stuck in his foot, and I want it back.”
The companions shared a look.
“As our esteemed knight would remind us, we’ve come this far,” Dannel said. He’d reloaded his quiver from the spare he kept slung across his back, and now tested his bowstring, making sure it was ready for resumed hostilities.
“Them giants’ probably still up there, waitin’ for us to make a move,”
“I’m sure they are,” Zenna said. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”
They turned to her. “So, you have a plan?” Mole said.
The wizard shrugged. “Well, they may be strong... but the way I look at it, you can’t hit what you can’t see.”
And she smiled knowingly.
The lead ettin saw the mangled barrier and the huge dwarf behind it, and hesitated. While the two-headed giants were not cowardly creatures, within their dim minds they knew that they were not as powerful as true giants, and they preferred to attack from ambush rather than rushing headlong into battle with a difficult adversary.
Arun was having none of it, however. “Come on then, you blasted cowards!” he shouted, his words filling the tunnel. His challenge was accompanied by a withering barrage of missiles from his friends, several of which struck the lead creature.
The ettins could not easily retreat, motivated by fear of their masters, and so they charged, their terrible morningstars blasting shards of rock from the sides of the tunnel as they moved single-file through the relatively narrow passage.
The first ettin crashed into the remnants of the portcullis, pushing it aside with a powerful sweep of its massive left arm. As it forced through the barrier, its right arm, independently controlled by its second head, lifted its morningstar to pulverize Arun with a violent overhead blow.
That blow never landed, however. As the ettin pushed through the gap in the portcullis and straightened to its full height, an arrow vanished into the right side of its hairy, muscled chest, followed a moment later by a hurled javelin that pierced its left side. The wounds stung it, but even as it began its attack against Arun, the paladin’s massive hammer came around in a powerful two-handed arc that connected mightily with the creature’s side a foot above its waist. The ettin absorbed the blow, its own counterstroke falling uselessly aside. It tried to recover, but Arun’s blow, driven by his enhanced strength and own skill, had done too much damage to the interior of the monster. It stumbled, and fell back hard, both heads gasping out its last as it clutched at its ruined side.
But the doom of their comrade gave the other four creatures time to full enter the fray. The heavy, ruined gate came crashing down as two ettins struck it, and Arun had to retreat to avoid being crushed under its falling bulk. Morgan and Hodge, their missile weapons now discarded in favor of sword and axe, rushed in to try and pin them in the relatively narrow opening, to hold the last two at bay and to make it more awkward for them to use their giant weapons. But the ettins were double the height and many times the weight of the defending warriors, and the two were forced inexorably back as they withstood the powerful swings from those heavy morningstars.
Dannel’s bow sang as he fired arrow after arrow from his perch, just above the reach of the ettins. Some of his arrows stuck in the mangy hides that the ettins wore as armor, but the sheer volume of his barrage meant that many more would score hits. He targeted the creature on the right, the one facing Hodge, shooting an arrow into its thick arm a moment after it blasted the dwarf with a powerful blow. Hodge had caught the impact of the spiked ball on his shield, but it was clear from the way that he staggered backward several steps that he’d nonetheless felt it.
Zenna had loaded her crossbow, but she knew that the small weapon would have little effect against creatures of this size. Instead she called upon her magic, speaking the words that evoked a coruscating searing ray that erupted in a bright shaft of flame that she directed at the ettin facing Hodge. She aimed high at its chest to avoid jeopardizing the dwarf. The creature was huge and slow, so there was virtually no chance that she could miss.
Except that she did. The line of flame went high, slicing through the air between the creature’s heads. The ettin was startled but unharmed by the display, and it only took a moment before it refocused on Hodge, lifting both morningstars to strike again, ignoring another arrow that poked painfully into its shoulder.
But the arrows and the missed spell had distracted the giant for a moment, long enough for Hodge to recover. And even as it looked down at him again, it was too slow to react as Hodge ran in, and with a nasty curse took the ettin’s leg off at the knee with a single powerful swing of his axe. The ettin fell, stumbling into its fellow, who in turn was finding itself equally hard pressed.
As Arun had dodged back to avoid the falling grate, Morgan did not hesitate to fill the gap, although the ettin stood more than twice his height. A heavy morningstar ball came down with a crushing blow that glanced off his shoulder, sending a sharp stab of pain through the cleric’s torso. But Morgan was once again lost in the glorious song of Helm’s might, and ran in close enough to thrust his sword into the creature’s belly. The thick layers of hide that the giant wore turned what would have been a disemboweling thrust into a mere scratch, but it was clear from its twin roars that the thrust was painful nonetheless. The cleric stood his ground as the creature unleashed both of its arms in a pair of attacks that battered him, but when both spiked balls had rebounded from their hits the cleric still stood, battered but determined.
“You’ve had yours, giant, now feel the fury of Helm’s justice!”
The ettin didn’t like the feel of Helm’s justice, but he was even more concerned by the giant dwarf who rushed back into the fray, bringing with him that massive hammer.
The last two ettins found themselves momentarily blocked from entering the melee due to the confines of the narrow crevice and the violence of the melee wrought and wrought upon their companions ahead. They carried heavy spears, javelins the size of lances that they hurled at the nearest target they could see. In the case of the one of the left, that was Dannel, dangling from the cliff above. Fortunately for the elf the ettin was anything but agile, and both spears missed, one bouncing off of the cliff face a pace from where Dannel had positioned himself. The elf saw the giant, and with his companions doing well against the front two, he shifted his aim to return fire. Dannel’s assault proved far more effective than that of the giant, and soon the creature had two arrows stuck in its chest, trailing blood.
The last giant was close enough to see Zenna’s fire pass above it, harmless but yet a warning of what might be coming. It lifted a javelin to fire at her, but its comrade before it was blocking its line of sight. Then Hodge’s attack took off its leg, and as it fell, the ettin took advantage of the opening to throw.
Zenna had not forgotten to raise her defenses, however, and while the throw was unusually accurate, at the last moment it was turned by the layered defense of her shield and mage armor.
The ettin, frustrated, stepped forward to do battle, but it failed to mark the tiny form that had crept into the tunnel from outside. It paid for that oversight a moment later, as its next step shot an explosion of pain up through its foot, through its leg, into its body. Mole had rolled unseen into its path, carefully judging its stride, extending her arm and holding her sword point-up, its hilt braced against the floor, right where the massive foot was descending. The ettin hopped back in pain, the sword stuck to the crossbar in its foot, trying to avoid putting weight on the injured member. It never saw Mole, who quietly retreated back into a position of cover just outside of the tunnel entrance, already reaching for her crossbow.
It was increasingly clear how this battle was going to end. Even as Hodge finished the one he’d de-limbed, Morgan sank his sword to the hilt in the one that he and Arun faced, and it crumpled. The two still in the corridor, one still trying to get at the tiny steel barb sunk into its foot, realized that the speed with which the first three of their fellows had been dispatched boded ill for them, and they started to fall back. Morgan started after them, but Arun drew them up short, pointing with his hammer up at the balcony that they could not see from this angle, but which knew was above, and the giants that no doubt were waiting for them to show themselves.
“We just let them get away then?” the cleric asked angrily.
In answer Arun only glanced at his companions, who were continuing the assault in their own way. Dannel put his fourth arrow into the ettin he’d been targeting, but as it moved out of sight further down the corridor he turned his aim onto the one still hobbling behind it, adding insult to injury as he sank a shot into the calf of its unwounded leg. Mole and Zenna were both adding their own fire, although it wasn’t clear if any of their shots scored hits.
The cleric looked like he might defy them all and rush off in pursuit anyway, but Arun placed his huge hand upon the man’s shoulder. “The battle is far from over, priest. You are seriously injured, and Hodge as well. Let us take advantage of these few moments, while we have them.”
Recognizing the wisdom of the dwarf’s words, Morgan finally nodded. They withdrew a short distance back to their position of cover, where spell and wand again offered soothing relief from the injuries of battle. The spell of growth affecting Arun wore off, and he returned to his normal size. Dannel had returned from his perch atop the cliffs, but he continued to keep a close eye on the tunnel mouth.
Their healing power, wielded by Zenna, Dannel, and Morgan, was potent, and it took less than a minute for them to treat the party’s injuries.
“Well, now what?” Mole asked. “One of them giants still has my sword stuck in his foot, and I want it back.”
The companions shared a look.
“As our esteemed knight would remind us, we’ve come this far,” Dannel said. He’d reloaded his quiver from the spare he kept slung across his back, and now tested his bowstring, making sure it was ready for resumed hostilities.
“Them giants’ probably still up there, waitin’ for us to make a move,”
“I’m sure they are,” Zenna said. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”
They turned to her. “So, you have a plan?” Mole said.
The wizard shrugged. “Well, they may be strong... but the way I look at it, you can’t hit what you can’t see.”
And she smiled knowingly.
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Lazybones said:Heh, I hope you give your players lots of rods of resurrection in your campaigns, broc...
* * * * *
No, I just let them be Chosen and Saints
But they still get a run for their gold pieces.
See in this adv, so far so good...right?
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 166
For the third time, the companions returned to the dark corridor leading into the cliffs.
They were quiet, but Zenna knew that their passage would not go unnoticed, not with three armored men in the company. But that wouldn’t matter, if her plan worked. The only concern was being cut off, since her stratagem only provided a way in, not a route back...
Well, if it came to that they would confront it when it happened. The others had agreed, and were set on pressing their advantage, to face the unknown together.
The dark tunnel was quiet, as they moved into position. Zenna turned and tapped Arun’s shoulder; the dwarf nodded. She didn’t bother to confirm with Morgan; as long as he waited for her signal, she couldn’t have cared less what he did.
She waited for what she knew was coming. A minute passed, slow and heavy. Someone behind her shifted, a faint sound of metal clattering on metal disturbing the stillness. When she finally heard it, the rising moan that indicated the latest resumption of Vaprak’s Voice, she began casting her spells.
A loud roaring echo to the windy sound of the Voice rose up above them. Zenna hoped that between the noise in the tunnels and her ghost sound, the giants above wouldn’t have a chance of hearing them.
Now, to make sure they don’t see us, she thought, calling upon her second spell.
The upper half of the corridor became filled with a dark, cloying mist, within which drifted sinister forms and shapes, huge claws forming and dissolving a terrible thread of motion. Even though she knew it was an illusion, she felt a grim shudder at the impression of what she had wrought, and hoped that the giants responded in kind.
She felt Arun issue a command, and Clinger, the paladin’s giant celestial lizard mount, started quickly forward. Zenna was strapped into the saddle behind Arun, facing backward. The motion of the beast jostled her, but her iron focus was not disrupted, her concentration upon the spell absolute. Behind them came the others, moving swiftly down the corridors under the cover of the illusion.
A boulder appeared through the illusory mist, bouncing blindly off the walls, narrowly missing them. Arun gave a command and the lizard clambered up the wall, moving as easily on the sheer surface as it did on the solid floor below. Zenna swallowed at the disequilibrium but maintained her focus, and the mists held, growing even more ominous as Zenna had points of light that resembled eyes appear in the fog and move upward toward where the giants held their vigil. A cry of alarm in giantish was a reward for her efforts, but the mage was too focused upon the spell to notice.
Another boulder caromed down the passage, fortunately hitting no one. And then they were through, out of the line of fire from the balcony, emerging into a large, circular chamber. The place was of odd construction, its ceiling a great dome, the entire room resembling a sphere that had been cut in half. The walls were carved to resemble flowing liquid, and were done with such quality that the place maintained the illusion of water flowing down from above, even after all this time. A large construct easily ten feet high and fifteen feet across dominated the center of the room, a jumble of smooth swirls and jutting lines, the only element even remotely distinguishable being several slanted chairs, each flanked by triple arm-rests, that protruded from the overall formation. The room was lit by diffuse glowing panels set into the ceiling and floor, and had two exits in addition to the corridor they had just traversed, a smooth passageway exiting from the opposite wall, and a set of sheer panels that had the look of doors to their right.
But despite the odd wonders of the chamber, there was no time to examine the place in more detail, as the room was also occupied. The two injured ettins were present, one involved in pulling out arrows that jutted painfully from its chest; the second lying on its rear trying unsuccessfully to get its thick fingers on the tiny hilt of Mole’s blade sticking from its foot.
The ettins were both seriously wounded, but of more concern was the hulking hill giant that stood before the doors to their right. The giant was shorter than the ettins, standing perhaps eleven feet in height, but his arms were like tree trunks, knotted with muscle, and the huge club it carried looked quite sufficiently deadly.
“Dismount!” Arun commanded. Zenna’s concentration had already begun to slip, but their companions were right behind them, already out of the zone of danger from the giant guard post behind them. She let go of the spell and leapt down, barely letting go of Clinger’s back before the lizard leapt into a powerful charge, headed right for the hill giant.
The ettin with the arrow wounds quickly rose, grabbing its morningstars, only to cry out as another arrow sped from Dannel’s bow to strike it almost on top of the wound from the arrow it had just pulled out.
Morgan yelled a violent invocation to Helm as he entered the room, his sword blazing in his hand. “Your time has come, you godless hulks!”
Hodge, trailing behind slightly, entered the room and dodged aside just as another boulder rolled into the room from down the corridor, finally glancing off of the base of the sculpture in the room’s center. Apparently the giants behind them weren’t giving up just yet, even though they could no longer directly target them, instead angling their shots to bounce up the passageway. They hadn’t hit anything yet, but Zenna knew that if one of those heavy rocks connected with someone, that person would be very sorry.
But she was secure, out of the way of the corridor mouth, and while they had won surprise it was clear that the advantage wouldn’t last long. Even injured, she knew that the ettins were not foes to be underestimated. Therefore, as the one Dannel had injured rose and started toward them, she drew out her wand of acid arrows and fired a blast that caught it in the chest just below its left head, sizzling as it burned at the creature’s flesh.
Unfortunately it also got the giant’s attention, and it started right for her.
The second ettin dug at its bloody heel for another futile moment, and then with a frustrated growl drug itself up, using the wall as a prop as it hobbled toward the hill giant and the developing melee. Clinger’s charge had carried Arun into range before it could prepare an attack, but its reach gave it an advantage as it swept its club around reflexively. Fortunately the dwarf had recovered his shield earlier, but even so the impact knocked him back and nearly drove him off his mount’s back. But the dwarf was made of stern stuff, and he recovered in time to deliver a powerful blow to the giant’s gut that staggered it. Clinger joined in the fun by locking its jaws on the giant’s leg just above the knee, drawing from it a grunt of pain.
The giant, however, was a tough foe in its own right, and it quickly countered, tearing the lizard free and delivering a punishing blow to the side of its head with its club.
Morgan then joined the fray, the warrior of Helm canny enough to assault the giant from the flank, placing it between himself and Arun and his mount. The giant reacted slowly, bringing its club around in a sweep that the cleric ducked, before leaping in to thrust in with his sword. His luck failed him, however, and his foot slid in a patch of fresh blood that one of the ettins had dropped earlier, and his stroke went awry. Fortunately he recovered in time to dodge another swing from the club that would have spread his brains across the floor of the chamber, had it connected with full force. As it was it clipped the edge of his helmet, sending stars flaring through his vision for a moment.
Hodge saw the injured ettin heading toward Zenna, and he fired his heavy crossbow at it. The bolt punched into its belly, clearly hurting it, although now, fixed on its target, it was not going to stop short of death. Dannel obliged it, sending arrow after arrow into it until a final shot pierced its heart, and it fell to the ground two paces before Zenna’s feet.
The other ettin hobbled into a position where it could get at Arun, but before it could attack it felt a sudden sting. Looking down, it saw a torrent of blood issuing from a small tear under its left armpit. Surprised at the sudden weakness it felt, it sought its enemy, expecting another knight or fierce dwarf. What it was instead was a tiny gnome, backpedaling as she reloaded her crossbow.
Furious, the ettin started after her.
Arun and Clinger redoubled their assault upon the giant, drawing its attention away from the momentarily stunned Morgan. Clinger, despite the grievous wound it had suffered, bit down again on a meaty giant thigh, while Arun, all but standing on the lizard’s back now, rained blow after blow upon its torso. The giant’s thick hide absorbed some of the blows, but the dwarf only added more power to his strikes, and finally there was a loud crack as a rib gave way under an impact. The giant responded with its own assault, but Arun was of a race that was expert at fighting these huge creatures, and with perfect timing he threw himself backward across Clinger’s back, narrowly missing the club that swept empty air above him. He raised himself up to attack again before the giant could recover the momentum of its swing, but to his surprise the giant lashed out with the haft of the weapon, hitting Clinger again and knocking both mount and rider sprawling.
No sooner had the dwarf hit the ground, though, than he was up again, rushing at the giant with his hammer held high.
Mole retreated before the ettin’s advance, its injury allowing her to remain ahead of it, even though it gained ground. But then, as it lurched suddenly forward to strike, she bounded away in a sudden burst of speed, courtesy of her magical boots. Realizing it had been tricked, the ettin roared out a curse.
A futile one, as it turned out a moment later, when Dannel’s arrows started slamming into its body.
The hill giant was a powerful foe, but the combined strength of the adventurers was just too much for it. Even as Hodge entered the battle, with Morgan on one side and Arun coming again on the other, the giant tried to turn away, to head back toward the double doors and escape.
It got all of one giant-sized stride.
The companions gathered, breathing heavily after the brief but violent melee. Arun dismissed his seriously injured mount back to its celestial home to recover from its wounds, and Morgan used one of his few remaining spells to heal himself, drawing upon Helm’s power yet again to restore himself to full health after the punishing blow he’d taken from the giant.
“Don’t forget, there’s more of them,” Zenna warned. The others turned to the doors, wary of reinforcements, but when they came, they arrived via the corridor in the far wall.
And they weren’t at all what the six adventurers had expected to find.
For the third time, the companions returned to the dark corridor leading into the cliffs.
They were quiet, but Zenna knew that their passage would not go unnoticed, not with three armored men in the company. But that wouldn’t matter, if her plan worked. The only concern was being cut off, since her stratagem only provided a way in, not a route back...
Well, if it came to that they would confront it when it happened. The others had agreed, and were set on pressing their advantage, to face the unknown together.
The dark tunnel was quiet, as they moved into position. Zenna turned and tapped Arun’s shoulder; the dwarf nodded. She didn’t bother to confirm with Morgan; as long as he waited for her signal, she couldn’t have cared less what he did.
She waited for what she knew was coming. A minute passed, slow and heavy. Someone behind her shifted, a faint sound of metal clattering on metal disturbing the stillness. When she finally heard it, the rising moan that indicated the latest resumption of Vaprak’s Voice, she began casting her spells.
A loud roaring echo to the windy sound of the Voice rose up above them. Zenna hoped that between the noise in the tunnels and her ghost sound, the giants above wouldn’t have a chance of hearing them.
Now, to make sure they don’t see us, she thought, calling upon her second spell.
The upper half of the corridor became filled with a dark, cloying mist, within which drifted sinister forms and shapes, huge claws forming and dissolving a terrible thread of motion. Even though she knew it was an illusion, she felt a grim shudder at the impression of what she had wrought, and hoped that the giants responded in kind.
She felt Arun issue a command, and Clinger, the paladin’s giant celestial lizard mount, started quickly forward. Zenna was strapped into the saddle behind Arun, facing backward. The motion of the beast jostled her, but her iron focus was not disrupted, her concentration upon the spell absolute. Behind them came the others, moving swiftly down the corridors under the cover of the illusion.
A boulder appeared through the illusory mist, bouncing blindly off the walls, narrowly missing them. Arun gave a command and the lizard clambered up the wall, moving as easily on the sheer surface as it did on the solid floor below. Zenna swallowed at the disequilibrium but maintained her focus, and the mists held, growing even more ominous as Zenna had points of light that resembled eyes appear in the fog and move upward toward where the giants held their vigil. A cry of alarm in giantish was a reward for her efforts, but the mage was too focused upon the spell to notice.
Another boulder caromed down the passage, fortunately hitting no one. And then they were through, out of the line of fire from the balcony, emerging into a large, circular chamber. The place was of odd construction, its ceiling a great dome, the entire room resembling a sphere that had been cut in half. The walls were carved to resemble flowing liquid, and were done with such quality that the place maintained the illusion of water flowing down from above, even after all this time. A large construct easily ten feet high and fifteen feet across dominated the center of the room, a jumble of smooth swirls and jutting lines, the only element even remotely distinguishable being several slanted chairs, each flanked by triple arm-rests, that protruded from the overall formation. The room was lit by diffuse glowing panels set into the ceiling and floor, and had two exits in addition to the corridor they had just traversed, a smooth passageway exiting from the opposite wall, and a set of sheer panels that had the look of doors to their right.
But despite the odd wonders of the chamber, there was no time to examine the place in more detail, as the room was also occupied. The two injured ettins were present, one involved in pulling out arrows that jutted painfully from its chest; the second lying on its rear trying unsuccessfully to get its thick fingers on the tiny hilt of Mole’s blade sticking from its foot.
The ettins were both seriously wounded, but of more concern was the hulking hill giant that stood before the doors to their right. The giant was shorter than the ettins, standing perhaps eleven feet in height, but his arms were like tree trunks, knotted with muscle, and the huge club it carried looked quite sufficiently deadly.
“Dismount!” Arun commanded. Zenna’s concentration had already begun to slip, but their companions were right behind them, already out of the zone of danger from the giant guard post behind them. She let go of the spell and leapt down, barely letting go of Clinger’s back before the lizard leapt into a powerful charge, headed right for the hill giant.
The ettin with the arrow wounds quickly rose, grabbing its morningstars, only to cry out as another arrow sped from Dannel’s bow to strike it almost on top of the wound from the arrow it had just pulled out.
Morgan yelled a violent invocation to Helm as he entered the room, his sword blazing in his hand. “Your time has come, you godless hulks!”
Hodge, trailing behind slightly, entered the room and dodged aside just as another boulder rolled into the room from down the corridor, finally glancing off of the base of the sculpture in the room’s center. Apparently the giants behind them weren’t giving up just yet, even though they could no longer directly target them, instead angling their shots to bounce up the passageway. They hadn’t hit anything yet, but Zenna knew that if one of those heavy rocks connected with someone, that person would be very sorry.
But she was secure, out of the way of the corridor mouth, and while they had won surprise it was clear that the advantage wouldn’t last long. Even injured, she knew that the ettins were not foes to be underestimated. Therefore, as the one Dannel had injured rose and started toward them, she drew out her wand of acid arrows and fired a blast that caught it in the chest just below its left head, sizzling as it burned at the creature’s flesh.
Unfortunately it also got the giant’s attention, and it started right for her.
The second ettin dug at its bloody heel for another futile moment, and then with a frustrated growl drug itself up, using the wall as a prop as it hobbled toward the hill giant and the developing melee. Clinger’s charge had carried Arun into range before it could prepare an attack, but its reach gave it an advantage as it swept its club around reflexively. Fortunately the dwarf had recovered his shield earlier, but even so the impact knocked him back and nearly drove him off his mount’s back. But the dwarf was made of stern stuff, and he recovered in time to deliver a powerful blow to the giant’s gut that staggered it. Clinger joined in the fun by locking its jaws on the giant’s leg just above the knee, drawing from it a grunt of pain.
The giant, however, was a tough foe in its own right, and it quickly countered, tearing the lizard free and delivering a punishing blow to the side of its head with its club.
Morgan then joined the fray, the warrior of Helm canny enough to assault the giant from the flank, placing it between himself and Arun and his mount. The giant reacted slowly, bringing its club around in a sweep that the cleric ducked, before leaping in to thrust in with his sword. His luck failed him, however, and his foot slid in a patch of fresh blood that one of the ettins had dropped earlier, and his stroke went awry. Fortunately he recovered in time to dodge another swing from the club that would have spread his brains across the floor of the chamber, had it connected with full force. As it was it clipped the edge of his helmet, sending stars flaring through his vision for a moment.
Hodge saw the injured ettin heading toward Zenna, and he fired his heavy crossbow at it. The bolt punched into its belly, clearly hurting it, although now, fixed on its target, it was not going to stop short of death. Dannel obliged it, sending arrow after arrow into it until a final shot pierced its heart, and it fell to the ground two paces before Zenna’s feet.
The other ettin hobbled into a position where it could get at Arun, but before it could attack it felt a sudden sting. Looking down, it saw a torrent of blood issuing from a small tear under its left armpit. Surprised at the sudden weakness it felt, it sought its enemy, expecting another knight or fierce dwarf. What it was instead was a tiny gnome, backpedaling as she reloaded her crossbow.
Furious, the ettin started after her.
Arun and Clinger redoubled their assault upon the giant, drawing its attention away from the momentarily stunned Morgan. Clinger, despite the grievous wound it had suffered, bit down again on a meaty giant thigh, while Arun, all but standing on the lizard’s back now, rained blow after blow upon its torso. The giant’s thick hide absorbed some of the blows, but the dwarf only added more power to his strikes, and finally there was a loud crack as a rib gave way under an impact. The giant responded with its own assault, but Arun was of a race that was expert at fighting these huge creatures, and with perfect timing he threw himself backward across Clinger’s back, narrowly missing the club that swept empty air above him. He raised himself up to attack again before the giant could recover the momentum of its swing, but to his surprise the giant lashed out with the haft of the weapon, hitting Clinger again and knocking both mount and rider sprawling.
No sooner had the dwarf hit the ground, though, than he was up again, rushing at the giant with his hammer held high.
Mole retreated before the ettin’s advance, its injury allowing her to remain ahead of it, even though it gained ground. But then, as it lurched suddenly forward to strike, she bounded away in a sudden burst of speed, courtesy of her magical boots. Realizing it had been tricked, the ettin roared out a curse.
A futile one, as it turned out a moment later, when Dannel’s arrows started slamming into its body.
The hill giant was a powerful foe, but the combined strength of the adventurers was just too much for it. Even as Hodge entered the battle, with Morgan on one side and Arun coming again on the other, the giant tried to turn away, to head back toward the double doors and escape.
It got all of one giant-sized stride.
The companions gathered, breathing heavily after the brief but violent melee. Arun dismissed his seriously injured mount back to its celestial home to recover from its wounds, and Morgan used one of his few remaining spells to heal himself, drawing upon Helm’s power yet again to restore himself to full health after the punishing blow he’d taken from the giant.
“Don’t forget, there’s more of them,” Zenna warned. The others turned to the doors, wary of reinforcements, but when they came, they arrived via the corridor in the far wall.
And they weren’t at all what the six adventurers had expected to find.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 167
Zenna saw them first, and offered a warning to her companions. “Look out,” she said, but as they entered the chamber from the corridor to the west, she could not think of anything else to say, no further description that could do better than what the six of them could see with their own eyes.
There were three of them, clad in bright robes, with soft wings of voluminous white feathers arcing behind their backs. They were women, tall and stately, their features visages of beauty fashioned in glistening alabaster. They carried silver trumpets, the instruments so slender and graceful as to seem fragile. Their eyes, fixed on the companions, spoke volumes of knowledge and wisdom. When one spoke, her voice filled the room with the sound of a clarion song.
“You have done well, mortal heroes. You have defeated the giants, who have held us captive, dimming the glow of our eternal light. For the nobility of your deed, you have earned the right to drink the elixir of the gods.”
As she finished speaking Zenna belatedly noticed that another of the women bore a golden chalice, a squat, heavy object that sloshed slightly with a silvery liquid inside.
Morgan had stepped forward, his worn features shaped in an expression of awe. “I... we... we accept your gift, wondrous ones, scions of heaven...”
“Hold a moment,” Arun said behind him. Everyone, including the three archons, turned to look at him. “That’s all very well and good; we’re happy to help a couple o’ ladies in need, of course. But answer me one simple question. If you’re angels of heaven, why is that you REEK OF PURE EVIL TAINT?”
His last shouted words echoed through the chamber. The angels fixed the dwarf with a cold stare. One spoke to Morgan. “Lies! The dwarf has clearly fallen from the Light... you have clearly seen the bright purity of Heaven, golden knight... Surely you can see truth?”
Morgan’s expression had changed, although he was still half-turned from Zenna, facign the archons, and she couldn’t see his eyes. But there was a tightness in his voice as he lifted his head and addressed them once more.
“I once thought that I did, yes. But I have learned that evil often wears a pleasing face...”
And he spoke a command of power, invoking the pure light of Helm. His invocation cut through the magic surrounding the angels, shearing through the power of their disguise, and their forms shifted, the brilliant white and soft glow fading away.
What replaced them were creatures out of a nightmare. Still female, but three ancient hags, their flesh putrescent green, their skin the consistency of diseased bark. Their faces were permanently twisted into expressions of pure malice, and they cackled as they regarded the companions.
“You might have enjoyed your service to us, foolish child... but so be it!”
Their answer came immediately. Zenna lifted her magical wand, releasing an acid arrow that splashed onto the chest of the closest hag. The creature screamed. The one beside her also cried out as an arrow from Dannel’s bow bit into her shoulder. The hag’s thick hide absorbed most of the force of the attack, but she still snarled a curse at the elf, who calmly drew another arrow out of his quiver.
Arun and Hodge immediately leapt forward to the attack, rushing around Morgan, who was still recovering from the revelation unleashed by his dispel magic spell. But even as the dwarves lifted their weapons to strike down the hags, they let loose their dark powers upon the heroes.
Arun felt the full power of a hag’s gaze settle on him, and felt a wave of nausea and weakness flare over him. He clutched to the source of his strength, his commitment to the god he served, and the power of the eyebite passed, leaving behind only a burning rage to strike down these foul creatures.
Unfortunately, the others lacked the dwarf’s strength of will. The second hag hurled a wave of screaming, chaotic mental energy into the midst of her foes, scattering their minds with confusion. Dannel and Zenna were too far back to be affected, and Morgan and Arun both resisted the effects of the spell, but Hodge suddenly halted in mid-charge, his mind clouded by the hag’s evil power, and Mole abruptly lowered her crossbow, her head spinning as she slumped down to sit on the floor.
With their enemies already reeling, the third hag focused her attention upon Morgan. The cleric withstood her gaze and met it with a cold stare of fury, but even as he lifted his sword, he felt a sinuous finger force its way into his mind. He tried to fight it, but the hag was too strong for him, and the last thing he remembered was a sinister cackle that seemed to echo within the corridors of his own mind.
“Yes, my pretty one,” the hag laughed. “Yes, now you are mine.” Morgan turned, his glowing sword coming up again as he shifted to face his erstwhile companions. She grimaced again as the acid Zenna had cast upon her continued to smoke and burn, eating away at her hide. She turned to look at the tiefling, and Morgan’s gaze shifted to follow her own.
“Kill the wizard for me, sweetling,” the hag commanded.
And Morgan lifted his sword, and charged toward Zenna, his eyes vacant pools that promised only death.
Zenna saw them first, and offered a warning to her companions. “Look out,” she said, but as they entered the chamber from the corridor to the west, she could not think of anything else to say, no further description that could do better than what the six of them could see with their own eyes.
There were three of them, clad in bright robes, with soft wings of voluminous white feathers arcing behind their backs. They were women, tall and stately, their features visages of beauty fashioned in glistening alabaster. They carried silver trumpets, the instruments so slender and graceful as to seem fragile. Their eyes, fixed on the companions, spoke volumes of knowledge and wisdom. When one spoke, her voice filled the room with the sound of a clarion song.
“You have done well, mortal heroes. You have defeated the giants, who have held us captive, dimming the glow of our eternal light. For the nobility of your deed, you have earned the right to drink the elixir of the gods.”
As she finished speaking Zenna belatedly noticed that another of the women bore a golden chalice, a squat, heavy object that sloshed slightly with a silvery liquid inside.
Morgan had stepped forward, his worn features shaped in an expression of awe. “I... we... we accept your gift, wondrous ones, scions of heaven...”
“Hold a moment,” Arun said behind him. Everyone, including the three archons, turned to look at him. “That’s all very well and good; we’re happy to help a couple o’ ladies in need, of course. But answer me one simple question. If you’re angels of heaven, why is that you REEK OF PURE EVIL TAINT?”
His last shouted words echoed through the chamber. The angels fixed the dwarf with a cold stare. One spoke to Morgan. “Lies! The dwarf has clearly fallen from the Light... you have clearly seen the bright purity of Heaven, golden knight... Surely you can see truth?”
Morgan’s expression had changed, although he was still half-turned from Zenna, facign the archons, and she couldn’t see his eyes. But there was a tightness in his voice as he lifted his head and addressed them once more.
“I once thought that I did, yes. But I have learned that evil often wears a pleasing face...”
And he spoke a command of power, invoking the pure light of Helm. His invocation cut through the magic surrounding the angels, shearing through the power of their disguise, and their forms shifted, the brilliant white and soft glow fading away.
What replaced them were creatures out of a nightmare. Still female, but three ancient hags, their flesh putrescent green, their skin the consistency of diseased bark. Their faces were permanently twisted into expressions of pure malice, and they cackled as they regarded the companions.
“You might have enjoyed your service to us, foolish child... but so be it!”
Their answer came immediately. Zenna lifted her magical wand, releasing an acid arrow that splashed onto the chest of the closest hag. The creature screamed. The one beside her also cried out as an arrow from Dannel’s bow bit into her shoulder. The hag’s thick hide absorbed most of the force of the attack, but she still snarled a curse at the elf, who calmly drew another arrow out of his quiver.
Arun and Hodge immediately leapt forward to the attack, rushing around Morgan, who was still recovering from the revelation unleashed by his dispel magic spell. But even as the dwarves lifted their weapons to strike down the hags, they let loose their dark powers upon the heroes.
Arun felt the full power of a hag’s gaze settle on him, and felt a wave of nausea and weakness flare over him. He clutched to the source of his strength, his commitment to the god he served, and the power of the eyebite passed, leaving behind only a burning rage to strike down these foul creatures.
Unfortunately, the others lacked the dwarf’s strength of will. The second hag hurled a wave of screaming, chaotic mental energy into the midst of her foes, scattering their minds with confusion. Dannel and Zenna were too far back to be affected, and Morgan and Arun both resisted the effects of the spell, but Hodge suddenly halted in mid-charge, his mind clouded by the hag’s evil power, and Mole abruptly lowered her crossbow, her head spinning as she slumped down to sit on the floor.
With their enemies already reeling, the third hag focused her attention upon Morgan. The cleric withstood her gaze and met it with a cold stare of fury, but even as he lifted his sword, he felt a sinuous finger force its way into his mind. He tried to fight it, but the hag was too strong for him, and the last thing he remembered was a sinister cackle that seemed to echo within the corridors of his own mind.
“Yes, my pretty one,” the hag laughed. “Yes, now you are mine.” Morgan turned, his glowing sword coming up again as he shifted to face his erstwhile companions. She grimaced again as the acid Zenna had cast upon her continued to smoke and burn, eating away at her hide. She turned to look at the tiefling, and Morgan’s gaze shifted to follow her own.
“Kill the wizard for me, sweetling,” the hag commanded.
And Morgan lifted his sword, and charged toward Zenna, his eyes vacant pools that promised only death.
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