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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1727952" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 208Caught off-guard by another involuntary teleportation, the companions found themselves attacked by another group of odd planar travelers. The lightly-armored men seemed insane, charging into battle with daggers against foes with the advantage of both superior gear and superior numbers.  But they moved incredibly fast, and even as Morgan lifted Alakast to strike, two flanked him, stabbing him with their daggers.  Both blows found openings in his armor, and the cleric staggered.  Zenna saw the greasy slickness on the knives as they struck, and shouted out a warning to her companions.  “Poison!” But her friends were already responding to the attack.  Arun shifted to avoid being flanked by the last rogue, who’d tried to put the dwarf between himself and one of the pair assaulting Morgan.  The rogue’s blade glanced harmlessly off of the dwarf’s armored torso, but Arun’s counter tore mercilessly through his robes, slicing through the layer of studded leather armor beneath and digging deeply into his body.The armored woman, meanwhile, began uttering words that Zenna recognized as a clerical spell.  She did not recognize the language, but recognized the familiar flows of divine energy, a spell of protection that settled around the woman.  “We should deal with the spellcaster,” Kaurophon, standing beside her, suggested. Zenna didn’t respond, having already come to that conclusion herself.  Lifting her hand, she drew upon her own magic, speaking the words that triggered her scorching ray spell.  The flaming blast seared into the woman, drawing a cry of pain from her.  Hodge was standing in the middle of the melee, too close to effectively use his spear.  Dropping the long weapon, he unlimbered his trusty axe, and hurled himself at one of the two rogues threatening Morgan.  The man dodged back, narrowly avoiding the dwarf’s first attack, but his evasion left him open to a solid blow from Alakast, which cracked him on the shoulder.  Arun’s foe tried to hold his ground, tumbling again to the flank, but the dwarf simply adjusted, slicing him again with a powerful blow that staggered him.  Seriously wounded now, he saw but could not avoid being flanked in turn as Mole rolled behind him, and cracked her mace solidly into his back.  With a groan, the man slumped to the ground, dying. The enemy cleric tried to call upon another spell, but even as she began her invocation two attacks poured into her; an arrow from Dannel’s bow and a quintet of glimmering magic missiles from Kaurophon’s wand.  Her concentration broken, she staggered backward, shouting a command to her allies even as she dug in the pouch at her waist for a scroll.  The two rogues drew back, taking up defensive positions around the cleric.“Should we finish ‘em?” Hodge said, lifting his axe.  “No, let them go,” Zenna said.  “This was largely a misunderstanding, I suspect, anyway.”The woman unrolled her scroll and read the words upon it, and the three strangers shimmered and disappeared.  “That was a mistake,” Morgan said, grimacing as his body fought against the lingering effects of the poison on the rogues’ daggers.  “They were clearly enemies, and may return with more forces later.”“I don’t think so,” Zenna said.  “And in any case, we’ll find plenty of fights here without looking for more trouble.”  She stepped over to the injured knight, to heal him.  But Morgan turned away.  “I’m fine,” he said.  “Let’s get this over with.”  Without waiting for her, he started down the familiar path again into the Plain of Cysts.“What about him?” Dannel said, glancing down at the last rogue.  “Dead,” Mole said, checking his body.  “It’s too bad... the first real people we’ve seen since coming to this place, too.”  She looked down at the dead man sadly, but that didn’t stop her from taking his dagger and a few other things she found on his body. “I guess they’ll know better ‘an to attack strangers, next time,” Hodge said.   “Where’s that blasted knight headed?” Arun said.  “Without the lantern, he’s going to get himself lost.”“Maybe he’s already lost,” Zenna said, too softly for the others to hear, as they hurried back into the maze, to catch up to the diminishing form of the injured knight of Helm.</blockquote>

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