NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1237874" data-attributes="member: 143">Trust me, against her, it wouldn't have mattered.A short week, but enough time for the climax of "Flood Season": * * * * * Chapter 80The companions choked as the smoke continued to thicken in the web-choked confines of the narrow corridor, a reminder that they were rapidly running out of choices.“What do we do now?” Illewyn asked, her eyes wide with the hints of a growing panic. “Bah, we can handle this wench and her lackeys,” Arun said, hefting his hammer.  Mole, meanwhile, crept forward, moving like a shadow until she neared the doorway.  The corridor beyond was well-lit, and she gave the threshold a wide berth as she crouched low, and listened. “There’s that other side passage,” Zenna suggested. “I suspect that just connects to the other door we passed in the main corridor,” Dannel replied.  “I don’t imagine that Triel would have been so audacious to appear to us, if she didn’t know that we were well and truly trapped.”“Let’s get this over with, then,” Arun said, adjusting his helmet.  “We remain here, with all this smoke, and those bandits won’t have to bother with killing us.”“I agree,” Zenna said, a hint of her former fire returning as they confronted the hard reality of their situation.  “But we need a plan.”Mole had crept back to join them.  “There’s a bunch of them on either side of the door,” she reported.  “Most of them sound like they’re armored.”“Waiting for us to come out,” Illewyn said grimly, her hands trembling from the tension, or from the lingering effects of the spider venom.  “Well then, let us give them what they want,” Dannel said.  * * * * * On the far side of the doorway, flanked by her warriors, Triel Eldurast felt a conflict of emotions.  On the one hand, fury at the damage already wrought to her plans caused her jaw to tighten almost painfully, her eyes burning like pits of coals lying in braziers.  Her soldiers, mercenaries though they were, knew her moods and tried not to draw her attention, focusing on the dark opening where smoke continued to issue out in a soft haze.  Triel had ordered the doors between here and the main cavern wedged open, and the resulting breeze kept the smoke from gathering too heavily, interfering with their effectiveness. Her anger was complemented, however, with a fierce anticipation, an eagerness for the fray that would commence shortly.  The smoke would drive the enemy out, and this corridor would turn into a storm of noise and pain and blood.  She bit her lip, savoring the taste of her own blood in her mouth.  Her lean, muscular body felt alive under the steel shell of her armor, and the haft of her flail felt as light as a wooden switch in her gauntleted hand.  Bane was with her; she could feel the dark power of her bond floating within her mind, awaiting only her call.  Her soldiers were competent enough, if lazy and indulgent fools for the most part.  She’d ordered contingents to guard both the entrance to the treasure vault and the main cavern, in case this intrusion was part of a larger assault.  But thus far the reports were all negative.  Skaven hadn’t reported; no doubt the intruders had chased him into the lair of his beloved spiders, and perhaps they’d finished him there.  Triel wasted little concern on the diminutive mage, either way.  He’d been useful enough, but of course she hadn’t been foolish enough to invest him with her full trust.  No one had been worthy of that gift for years... perhaps, given what she had become, never would anyone again.  A noise drew her attention to the dark tunnel, and her soldiers tensed, hefting sword or drawing bow.  They would have to depart, now that the secret of this lair was compromised, and her forces already dealt heavy losses by the intruders.  The fury returned, and this time Triel let it surge through her like a tidal wave, exulting in the rush of battle. The clank of metal announced the arrival of the dwarf a moment before he burst into the passage. Chaos ensued.* * * * * Tomorrow: BLOOD!</blockquote>

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