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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1511222" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 133 It was Clinger who drew their attention, issuing a sibilant hiss that drew their attention up and down the trail.  The path ahead twisted up between a field of boulders before heading up a series of switchbacks to the crest of a rise ahead.  A number cloaked figures had emerged from the boulders, and regarded them with hard, greedy eyes. They were human men, for the most part, although one broad-shouldered brute looked like he had more than a splash of orcish blood in his veins.  There were eight in total, and they all shared a hunted look about them, with unkempt beards and garments that bore dirt and wear in roughly equal proportions.  They were armed; their weapons, a collection of various poking and cutting implements, seemed entirely functional.  Two of them, remaining back among the rocks with higher vantages, carried loaded crossbows.  The “armor” worn by the newcomers was a diverse medley of hides and shaped pieces of boiled leather.  One, a long-limbed fellow who was missing part of his left ear, actually wore a shirt of mail links, and it was he who addressed the companions. “Hail and well met!” he exclaimed, waving and offering a friendly smile that belied the hard looks of his fellows.“Well met,” Dannel offered.  He carefully laid Zenna’s stretcher down in a flat space beside the trail, but made no threatening move toward the crossbow—unloaded, unfortunately—at his hip.  He had left the cumbersome quarterstaff he’d used against Zenith in Bhal-Hamatugn, but had since equipped himself with a rapier taken from a fallen kuo-toa.  “It would seem that you have run afoul of the dangers of the mountains,” the man said companionably.  “I am Torlan, and this crew are my band of Guardians.”  He indicated the sweep of his fellows with a wide brush of his hand.  “You are headed back to Cauldron, then?”“Indeed,” Dannel said, his voice pleasant.  “Our friend has taken seriously ill from a nasty malady; you may wish to have your friends keep their distance, lest they catch sick.”“That is terrible news, and I hope that you find aid in Cauldron; the clerics there can treat many illnesses, if one has the coin.”“I thank you for your concern, and wish you good day; we must continue to make haste.”  The elf shot a quick sidelong glance at his companions; Arun’s expression looked like it could break stone, while Mole was nowhere to be seen.  “That there’s the ugliest horse I ever did see,” one of the men said, to the snicker of his neighbor, a rat-faced man carrying a hook-ended military pick.  Torlan silenced them both with a hard look, before turning back to Dannel and his friends.“Of course, I know you have no time for idle chatter.  However, I must ask your tolerance for one more moment; my Guardians have worked hard to keep the high trails clear, and our expenses are significant in this venture.  I am afraid that I am compelled to ask a toll, of travelers, to subsidize these efforts.”Arun muttered something unpleasant, but Dannel only smiled and nodded.  “A worthy goal, although as you can see, we are not wealthy travelers by any means.  What is the tally of this fee?”“We would not want to interfere with your ability to seek treatment for your friend,” Torlan said with a nod of magnanimity.  “We will take a mere twenty gold coins for the toll... and that nice suit of silvery mail links that you bear.  Such will greatly aid our efforts at keeping the peace.  Why, just a few months back, three of my men were harshly murdered on one of the lower trails.”“Sadly, I regret...”The elf was interrupted as Arun stepped forward.  “Enough of this garbage,” he said.  “We do not have time for this.”  He held up his hammer, its heavy iron head pointed at Torlan.  “Move yourselves out of our way, or you will be moved.”There were a few sneers and harsh comments from the gathered men, but Torlan’s smile only deepened, though his eyes gleamed with a nasty light.  “You might want to reconsider, ser dwarf.  That’s quite a smasher you’ve got there, but I must admit, Olog here has a certain fondness for cutting up dwarves.”  He indicated the half-orc, who unlimbered a massive two-handed greataxe. Arun did not falter, even though both crossbowmen had now drawn a bead on him.  “Last chance,” he said. One of the crossbowmen suddenly screamed, jerking roughly back, twisting around in a circle.  Everyone turned in that direction, and as the man turned, they could see the feathered end of a tiny crossbow bolt jutting from his left eye.  The attention of the bandits was drawn back to the companions as Arun bowled forward, his warhammer clutched tightly in both hands.  The half-orc Olog roared his own challenge and rushed ahead to meet him.  The huge axe came up above the bandit’s head, the thick muscles of his arms corded with amassed strength, but before he could strike the dwarven paladin leapt up and delivered an incredible blow to the brute’s chest.  The hammer, backed by the entire strength of the dwarf as well as by the divinely sanctioned justice of a smite evil, crushed the half-orc and drove him back three paces, to land in a heap across the trail.  For a long moment, everyone just looked at the corpse.  The silence was shattered as the second crossbowman aimed and fired.  The bolt stabbed into Arun’s shoulder, piercing deeply through the damaged links of his chain shirt.  “At him, boys!” Torlan yelled, drawing his own sword.  The bandits, their ardor for violence diminished somewhat, rushed the dwarf.  Four of them charged at his front and flanks, stabbing and cutting.  For a moment, the dwarf was obscured behind the ring of attackers.  But then Dannel leapt into the fray, followed but a heartbeat later by Clinger.  The elf ran one man through with a thrust from his rapier, the bandit collapsing as Dannel withdrew his blade from his lung.  Clinger took down another, seizing the man’s thigh with his powerful bite, and knocking him roughly aside with a shake of his wedge-shaped head. The second crossbowman quickly reloaded, but before he could take aim at another target he felt a sharp pain in his throat as another tiny bolt from the still-unseen Mole pierced him.  He clutched at the wound and fell.Arun, virtually unarmored, took a few hits but in turn unleashed a storm of death.  One man stabbed him with his rapier but paid for it with his life, as the warhammer crashed into the side of his skull.  The second turned to run but barely got one foot down before the hammer caught him in the small of his back, snapping his spine and knocking him down to flop out the last moments of his life in the dirt.  And then the battle was over.  They looked up to see Torlan’s departing form, already a good fifty paces down the trail and running fast.  Arun paused only long enough to yank the crossbow bolt from his shoulder.  “All right, let’s go,” he said.* * * * * Full two-handed power attack plus smite evil... ouch.  Without crit: 22-29 damage (the half-orc was a mere War3). Final post of "Zenith Trajectory" tomorrow.  I'll also post their post-adventure stats (up to ECL7, now).</blockquote>

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