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: 1646320" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 174The companions sagged as the adrenaline of battle faded.  Wary of another assault, they quickly tended their injuries and their weapons.  Arun’s hammer was ruined, while Mole’s sword was pitted and of little more use.  And Hodge’s feelings were quickly made evident to all of them. “Me axe!” he yelled.  “Look what the bastards did ta me axe!” Arun examined the weapon with a critical eye.  The acidic goo had etched the sharp edge of the blade, and even pitted a small hole entirely through the surface, but the damage was relatively minor.  “I can repair it once we get back to Cauldron,” he said, handing the axe back.  “Until then, it will have to suffice.”The dwarf’s mood did not improve when he discovered that the pan containing his hard-earned breakfast had been upturned in the melee, depositing the sloth steaks into the fire.  “Someone’s gunna pay,” he said, and he went and sat down by the mouth of the pipe, a thunderhead in his expression.  “I need some time to recover my spells,” Zenna said.  She’d healed her wounds, but she still looked a mess, with dried blood caked on her face and down her arm.  But in her own way, she reflected a determination that mirrored that on the vulgar dwarf.  “Well, now they have the cleric, too,” Arun said.  “I might have been able to bring him down without killing him,” Dannel said.  “But as beat up as he was...”“It wasn’t an accusation,” the dwarf said simply.  “In your place, I would have done the same.  He is not in control of his actions.”“Yeah, he’s a jerk, but at least he’s OUR jerk,” Mole added.  “Say, Arun, you wouldn’t happen to be able to do anything about this, could you?”  She handed the dwarf her sword, but he only took one look and shook his head, returning the weapon to her.  Glumly, the gnome tossed the pitted sword into the remains of their fire. “What?  No backup in the bag of holding?” Dannel asked her. Mole shook her head.  The elf knelt down beside her. “Cheer up, Mole.  As usual, we’re outnumbered, with few weapons and supplies, and basically trapped in a distant place confronted with a deadly enemy that can attack us at will.  In other words, it’s an adventure!” The gnome looked up at him, and after a moment grinned. Arun came over to them.  “What say you, dwarf?” Dannel asked.  The paladin’s face was limned in the bright light from Morgan’s sword as he lifted the blade to a ready position, and its gleam shone in his dark eyes.  “We finish this,” he said. * * * * * In their shadowed chamber, the hag sisters Tribata and Olomasta stood waiting.  “He comes,” Tribata said.  The two creatures watched as the sound of footsteps because audible in the corridor.  They grew louder, until a figure appeared in the doorway. “Come forward, manling,” Tribata commanded.  “It is a risk,” Olomasta said, following her sister as she descended from the platform to meet him.  “He may shrug off the magic, if we push him.”“No, I don’t think so,” Tribata said.  She remained on the lower steps, looking down at the battered man who came to stand before her.  “Not if we lead him in a direction that he already wants to go.”  She lifted her hand from under the cover of her dark cloak, revealing that she carried a golden chalice in her hand.  “Drink,” she said, offering the cup to Morgan. As the cleric drank the offered elixir, Tribata’s eyes shone with anticipation.  Finally, the man had drained the contents of the chalice, and she turned to her sister. “Begin your preparations.”  As Olomasta hurried off to comply, the elder hag turned her gaze back to Morgan.  “We have little time, my little manling, and there is much for you to tell me, if we are to prepare a proper welcome for your friends.”Morgan simply stood there, unable to do anything but obey.</blockquote>

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