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="NoOneofConsequence" data-source="post: 504860" data-attributes="member: 5400">Part 6: Evil in Holly Canal (2)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once we were all back on the street, Maglorix told us that we were in fact not far from one of his master’s warehouses, and that we should be safe there from any monsters. Continuing to feign panic, Kakita insisted that we be taken there immediately. Maglorix was all too happy to oblige. In spite of his apparent honesty, none of us fully trusted Maglorix and we were careful to keep a wary eye out for trouble as we followed him the short distance to the warehouse. In little time we were standing out the front of a single story group of buildings surrounded on most sides by a high wooden fence. The only entrance was by a kind of short alley between one of the buildings and the fence.“For a warehouse, it’s not exactly easy to enter,” I mused quietly, as Maglorix walked quickly down the alley.“Excellent place for an ambush,” agreed Kakita. We prepared for trouble and followed Maglorix’s path cautiously. Mark slipped away from us to scout the warehouse compound from the outside.The short alleyway emptied into a earth floored courtyard. Within the courtyard the night’s darkness was compounded by a thick mist which seemed to hover deliberately in the fenced space. It reminded of the magical mist which Aria had conjured on the docks of Fareach. Through the dense fog we could make out some shadowy figures moving towards us and, at a distance, we could here a voice intoning words of magical invocation.Kakita turned his blade to the iai position and stalked quickly along the side wall of one of the buildings. From out of the mist an armoured figure appeared, bearing a steel shield and a morning star flail. There was no doubt in Kakita’s mind that the figure meant trouble. With a shattering “kiai”, he drew his blade and slashed in one smooth motion. However, the mist deceived him and his blade bit only air. The armoured figure returned the favour by swinging wild with his morning star’s iron-spiked head. When no one called for calm, we knew indeed that Maglorix had been lying and we were betrayed.Other armed figures emerged from the darkness as Pax and I stepped up next to Kakita and joined the fray. In the confused, swirling melee it was a lucky blow from either side which landed effectively. However, one specific opponent made the mistake of stepping into the midst of all three of us and in a very short time suffered such an assault that he panicked and, throwing down his mace, fled through the mist. With her blood up, there was no way that Pax would allow his escape. She turned and pursued the fleeing man. We heard through the mist as first the fleeing thug and then the pursuing barbarian banged against the fence, as they made the turn back down the alleyway and out into the street. Pax’s war cry echoed off the quiet houses and shop fronts.Harmony, alerted by the intoning voice, used her own magic to sense out what she was sure was an enemy spellcaster. She swiftly located the individual and shouted warnings to us as her spell revealed more and more information. It appeared that the individual had covered himself in several magics; some to enhance his own capabilities, some to protect him from attack. Kakita and I fought our opponents while keeping a wary eye out for this mysterious spellcrafter. Kakita had just struck down the flail wielding opponent when the watched for enemy appeared from the shifting grey. It was Nataleod, the merchant who had hired us to go to Scalytown in the first place, only now his body seemed preternaturally swollen with muscular strength. He carried a magnificent steel shield and a heavy headed mace. Kakita nearly fell to his knees, so heavy was the treacherous mage’s first blow. Barely making Nataleod out through the mists, Harmony did her best to aid Kakita and I in our battle. First, by her druidic magic, she made all the metal on Nataleod’s body begin to chill, so that it became freezing to the touch. I realised just how effective her magic was when I could feel the coldness coming from the head of his mace as he struck me. There was no doubt that his shield was painfully icy on his left arm. Next Harmony intoned another spell and, with a sharp cracking sound, the wooden haft of Nataleod’s mace visibly warped, making the weapon much more unwieldy. In spite of these impediments though Nataleod still managed to hold Kakita and I off.Meanwhile, Mark had completed a circuit of the small warehouse compound and had determined that there was no one awaiting outside to add themselves to the ambush. He picked one corner of the fence and tried to climb up. In spite of his considerable skill however, he had great difficulty and in the end he pulled some rope from his pack and used that to climb. Scrambling deftly up the rope, he dropped down into the fog enshrouded courtyard and drew his sap. Using his keen night sight to guide himself as best he could, he headed towards the sounds of battle. As fate would have it, Mark stalked straight up behind Nataleod. Before the merchant had even noticed him, the plucky kobold laid him out with a single blow. Twice in the same night, Mark had done someone in with a single strike. He stood as tall and proud as a kobold can.The mist was just beginning to clear when Pax returned and told us the outcome of her pursuit. In her fury she had toyed with the fleeing scoundrel for a little while, tripping up and then raking him with the spikes before tripping him again as he tried to rise. Finally though, she had wrapped her chain about his neck and choked the life from him. Her look of grim satisfaction was mixed with an inhuman calm, which reminded us that her time in the forests of the Verdant Coast had wrought changes in her we had not begun to understand.</blockquote>

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