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Message: <blockquote data-quote="abri" data-source="post: 1312296" data-attributes="member: 1080">They had spoken much more this night. This Caern was eager for information: the countries she had been to, the ones she had heard stories about, the monsters she had faced… It would have looked like needless chatter if he hadn’t insisted on so many details, even comparing what she had just told him to bits she had told him several hours ago!She still had some doubt about this guy, but she had no real choice in the matter: these kinds of adventures were her only escape to glory and fortune. And these adventures required magical knowledge. That was one of the lessons of her foster father…She was raised by grey elves in the forest of Ovel, never knowing whom her real parents where. From the elves she had learned an elegant form of combat and an intimate knowledge of nature. But she had to push her teacher to learn anything: they had all the time in the world. She did not…She stopped reminiscing as Caern make sign to stop: It was time to make camp. From a bag she thought empty he pulled two tents and several smaller bags.“I went for items that keeps well. I hope you like smoked ham and salted biscuits, because that’s all I brought. Well apart from some wine of course.” He was smiling as he opened a small earthen jar and poured some wine in two cups. One thing was for sure: this noble was rich and used to luxury. The wine was excellent, much more expensive than what she was used to. That reminded her that she still could not understand why someone like him would need to risk his life like that…Several days latter they had reached the outskirt of the ruins of shadow. She saw for the first time Caern use his magic: first he raised his fist to the sky, spoke in a strange tongue as his gold ring shone light, then he moved both arms in a strange pattern, each moves synchronized with an unknown syllable… The armor he summoned was both magnificent and utterly unpractical. Well, until she realized he was moving as if the armor had no weight! Now she knew for sure he was a real wizard. Grah, her wolf was the first to notice that something was wrong around the ruins they were going through. As he growled she stepped closer to Caern and readied her swords waiting for whatever might attack. Caern was again whispering in his strange tongue when six figures stepped from various cover and charged them. She could have sworn that only shadows were there a moment ago! She thought they were grey elves. That is until she realized that their clothes were torn and bloodied, they face wracked with pains, all from the horrible tortures that their bodies still showed traces: their eyelids had been removed, their mouths sewn shut, multiples black-iron needles and hooks pierced they flesh… Even through their pain and inability to speak, their curved double blades expressed their intention perfectly.Just has they were ending their charge and before she had time to act, Caern spoke in a loud voice and she barely had time to shut her eyes as a strong light engulfed her. When she opened her eyes she saw all her opponents were now blind. It only took the two of them nine more seconds to kill all of them. Neither even thought about taking prisoners: demonic influence was clearly at work and the tortured elves could not speak in the first place.Both were able to admire each other’s style: each of her strike connected with a throat killing her victim in a few moments; Caern used his fist in ways she had never heard of and as fast as elven blade masters!“We must find whomever did this. And soon, or we will end up fighting over a hundred of those. I don’t have enough power to cast this spell many more time.” “How many times?” “Well I have two more of those ready, as well as a spell to augment my fighting abilities for a short time.” “Good but where do you suggest we look? This is a whole town. The demon that created these horrors could be anywhere!” “Did you not observe how easily they merged from shadows, from cover both of us had looked at and seen nothing in them? They are in contact with darkness somehow, shadows… The demon that caused all this must share these traits: during the day he must take refuge in shadows. Our best bet is the temple in the center of town.” “Why a sacred place? There are bigger place to hide.” “A perverted temple would be most comfortable for a demon and make him feel like a worshipped good. Also such a place would magnify his power.” They rushed to the ruined temple of Dana. They had guessed right and twelve tortured elves were guarding the temple. Caern’s lightburst spell neutralized eight of them, which she took care of finishing before they recovered. Caern delayed the four intact ones, concentrating on not getting flanked. His version of not getting flanked involved breaking the skulls of the first two who tried… Soon she was covered in blood and she escorted the wounded Caern to the entrance of the temple. Many more elves where converging toward the temple, only visible when light directly shone upon them. Caern uttered a few words and her right sword started emitting light, several more and his fist were covered with strange runes…They rushed inside and she immediately thanked the gods that she could not see all the room. What she could see made her sick, it was too much horror for any human to observe. The depraved torture she saw in this room she would barely remember, only an intense feeling of horror has her brain blocked what she was seeing and made her fight as if in a nightmare. She never saw where the deadly breath came from, but she was able to dodge it at the last moment, so did Grah, but Caern took the full intensity of the magic attack. She could hear laughter from the center of the room, laughter that turned in a scream of rage as light exploded once again. She jumped on the demon with Grah and quickly slashed an artery on the demon’s leg. He was almost ten foot tall, with a muscular ebony body from which dark smokes emerged. From his lips she could still see frost forming from his cold breath. Caern charged a few seconds after her, striking the demon on his leg joint. For a demon who knew so much about pain he could not resist it well and was stunned…Grah took the opportunity and tripped the demon to the ground. Both Caern and her rained blows on the demon that never stood up.As they stopped she heard the demons: “Fools, you have doomed the elves. They will travel to the abyss as I die. You have only prolonged their torture. Only an elven wizard could have saved them” The demon was too weak to laugh so his grin had to express his cruelty.It was then that she realized she could no longer see Caern. Suddenly a pillar of light appeared in the middle of the temple and she saw Caern in its middle. The light quickly expanded, tearing the screaming demon apart, and soon covering the whole town.Only a normal slightly ruined temple was standing there. No traces of the horror she had seen where left.“What in Dana’s name happened?” “I saw a ring on a pedestal during the fight. The pedestal was covered with runes of protection but the ring was not elvish. I guessed the curse on the elves somehow had a link with this ring. Otherwise the demon would have possessed the ring by now.” “How did you neutralize the protections?” “I did not. I just make my soul appear like the one the protection were instructed to let pass.”</blockquote>

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