The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
Lazybones
Adventurer
Okay, I'm off for a nice long holiday weekend in San Diego, so here's the cliffhanger for the weekend. Back on Monday!
* * * * *
Chapter 38
A WATERY GRAVE
“Dar... hold...”
The fighter paused at Varo’s voice, scowling as he waited for the cleric to catch up. The priest’s mace glowed with a light spell, allowing them to see as they made their way back up the path of the underground stream. “How much longer is your spell going to last?”
“Not much longer,” Varo admitted. “But we must wait for the others nevertheless.”
“Why? They seemed eager enough to get themselves killed; I didn’t tell them to attack that golem.”
Varo paused; he had to put this in terms that the fighter would accept. “Without them, and especially without the healer, we have little chance of surviving long enough to find another way out of the dungeon.”
Dar sighed. “Assuming that there is another way out.”
Varo looked at the fighter critically. They had left behind the lingering effects of the emotion-dampening aura that infused the vicinity of the Well, but if Dar’s spirit had been broken, then his own plans would be cast into significant jeopardy.
“Screw it,” the fighter finally said, spitting loudly and drawing out his punching dagger. In the close confines of the tunnel, it was his most effective weapon. “Let’s go rescue those clueless idiots.”
But as the pair turned around, they could already see a glow approaching up the course of the stream. The light resolved into the flame atop Aelos’s staff, accompanied by all five of the survivors of Talen’s team. Argus still looked terrible, but he was moving under his own power, under the watchful eyes of Allera. Shaylara was bringing up the rear, casting frequent looked back behind them, alert for any signs of pursuit.
“Hey, glad you guys could make it,” Dar said.
“No thanks to you, coward!” Talen snapped.
“Hey, jerk, just because I’m not stupid enough to go charging a gods-damned iron golem...”
“Gentlemen!” Varo interjected. “We have only a few minutes before our water walk spells expire... I suggest we get moving.”
“We’ll never make it back to the far cavern,” Talen said.
“We’ll, we’re sure as hell not going to make it if we keep yammering here,” Dar said. “Let’s move it!”
The seven hurried back up the stream as fast as they could, helping each other past the inevitable low stretches and tight squeezes. They passed the fork in the tunnel, and here Varo bid them pause.
“We can’t stop here!” Dar exclaimed. Already, water was starting to froth around the soles of his boots; the spell was beginning to fade.
“As soon as the spell fails, we’re going to be shot down the river, right back into the waiting hands of those golems,” Shaylara said. “I’m a good swimmer, but there’s no way I can fight that current.”
“We have one other option,” Varo said. “As a contingency, I prepared a water breathing spell this morning. It won’t get us back to the worm cavern, but it may let us survive being washed down this fork.”
“But we don’t know what lies that way,” Shaylara said. “What if it pours off a thousand-foot cliff, onto rocks?”
“It can’t be worse than the alternative,” Dar said. He was holding onto a rock, now; the water was up to his ankles, and the current was beginning to tug at him. “Whatever we do, we have to do it now!”
Varo looked at Talen. “Do it, then,” the captain said.
“Gather around me,” Varo said. They did, with Aelos lingering the longest, expediency warring with preference in his expression.
The cleric cast his spell, touching each of them in turn.
“How long?” Talen asked.
“With all of you? A little less than an hour.”
“If we’re going to do this, we might as well get started,” Dar said. He led them into the side tunnel. He barely got thirty steps before the current grabbed him, and he fell into the water, the others close behind.
* * * * *
Dar’s head broke the water. His entire body felt battered and bruised, and he knew that had he not been able to breathe water, he would have certainly drowned. The river had been as fast and as nasty as they’d predicted, and it had not taken it easy on him.
He grabbed a rock and pulled himself half out of the water, gasping for air. It was dark, and the air felt cold. He looked around, but didn’t see any sign of his companions. Not that he could have seen them in any case.
No, wait. There was a flicker of light, under the surface of the water nearby. Trying to ignore the protests of his body, he made his way over to it. The current was still pushing at him, but it wasn’t as insistent as before; he must have ended up in a rivulet or pool of some sort.
“Varo? Allera? Anybody there?” he hissed.
“I am here,” Varo’s voice came from somewhere nearby. The cleric’s voice sounded as beat up as he felt.
“The others?”
“I don’t know,” came the response.
“There’s a light here,” Dar said. He reached down, and pulled out Aelos’s staff from where it had been jammed between two rocks.
Lifting the staff, he could finally see more of their surroundings. The magical flame revealed a large cavern, its ceiling beyond the range of the sphere of light. To his left, on the far side of the stream, a pair of massive stone formations rose up into the air. On the near side of the stream the cavern floor was relatively flat, rising slightly the further it got from the water. Lying on the strand there, the light shone on the prone forms of Shaylara and Talen.
“The captain and Shay are over here,” he said to Varo. He pulled himself out of the water, even that meager action taking a considerable effort. He wanted to lie down and pass out, but his battle-worn instincts were telling him that this place wasn’t safe. He saw that his pack had been ripped open, and his shortbow, stuffed through the loops for storage, had been snapped in two. A number of his weapons had been lost in the flood; the magical warhammer, the silver-edged greatsword, the orc cleric’s morningstar. But he still had his personal weapons, and one of the throngs holding the magical club had held, keeping the weapon bound to him. He shrugged off the waterlogged pack, and looked around.
“Help!” came a faint cry from the water. Dar turned and shone the light in that direction, revealing Allera, back near the mouth of the stream, only her head visible above the surface of the water. She was struggling with a heavy burden, which Dar identified after a moment as Aelos.
“Help the others, I’ll get them,” Dar said to Varo. Poking the staff into a gap in the rocks, so its light clearly illuminated the area, the fighter jumped back into the water, and pushing himself toward Allera and Aelos. The cleric was bleeding from a cut just above his left eye, and there were a few obvious bruises darkening in other places where the rocks had battered him. Dar took the man’s weight onto his, wrapping the unconscious cleric’s arm around his shoulder.
“Get him to shore, and I’ll heal him,” Allera said.
“I think we can all use some healing,” Dar said. “Where’s Argus?”
“I think I saw him over there,” Varo said, pointing. The cleric had pulled himself out of the water, and knelt beside Talen and Shaylara. The captain was stirring and groaning; he was alive, at least.
Dar looked at where Varo had indicated. There was a lump lying face-down in the stream, apparently caught on an obstruction just under the surface of the water. Argus.
And standing directly above him, leaning out over the water, was the largest troll he had ever seen.
* * * * *
Chapter 38
A WATERY GRAVE
“Dar... hold...”
The fighter paused at Varo’s voice, scowling as he waited for the cleric to catch up. The priest’s mace glowed with a light spell, allowing them to see as they made their way back up the path of the underground stream. “How much longer is your spell going to last?”
“Not much longer,” Varo admitted. “But we must wait for the others nevertheless.”
“Why? They seemed eager enough to get themselves killed; I didn’t tell them to attack that golem.”
Varo paused; he had to put this in terms that the fighter would accept. “Without them, and especially without the healer, we have little chance of surviving long enough to find another way out of the dungeon.”
Dar sighed. “Assuming that there is another way out.”
Varo looked at the fighter critically. They had left behind the lingering effects of the emotion-dampening aura that infused the vicinity of the Well, but if Dar’s spirit had been broken, then his own plans would be cast into significant jeopardy.
“Screw it,” the fighter finally said, spitting loudly and drawing out his punching dagger. In the close confines of the tunnel, it was his most effective weapon. “Let’s go rescue those clueless idiots.”
But as the pair turned around, they could already see a glow approaching up the course of the stream. The light resolved into the flame atop Aelos’s staff, accompanied by all five of the survivors of Talen’s team. Argus still looked terrible, but he was moving under his own power, under the watchful eyes of Allera. Shaylara was bringing up the rear, casting frequent looked back behind them, alert for any signs of pursuit.
“Hey, glad you guys could make it,” Dar said.
“No thanks to you, coward!” Talen snapped.
“Hey, jerk, just because I’m not stupid enough to go charging a gods-damned iron golem...”
“Gentlemen!” Varo interjected. “We have only a few minutes before our water walk spells expire... I suggest we get moving.”
“We’ll never make it back to the far cavern,” Talen said.
“We’ll, we’re sure as hell not going to make it if we keep yammering here,” Dar said. “Let’s move it!”
The seven hurried back up the stream as fast as they could, helping each other past the inevitable low stretches and tight squeezes. They passed the fork in the tunnel, and here Varo bid them pause.
“We can’t stop here!” Dar exclaimed. Already, water was starting to froth around the soles of his boots; the spell was beginning to fade.
“As soon as the spell fails, we’re going to be shot down the river, right back into the waiting hands of those golems,” Shaylara said. “I’m a good swimmer, but there’s no way I can fight that current.”
“We have one other option,” Varo said. “As a contingency, I prepared a water breathing spell this morning. It won’t get us back to the worm cavern, but it may let us survive being washed down this fork.”
“But we don’t know what lies that way,” Shaylara said. “What if it pours off a thousand-foot cliff, onto rocks?”
“It can’t be worse than the alternative,” Dar said. He was holding onto a rock, now; the water was up to his ankles, and the current was beginning to tug at him. “Whatever we do, we have to do it now!”
Varo looked at Talen. “Do it, then,” the captain said.
“Gather around me,” Varo said. They did, with Aelos lingering the longest, expediency warring with preference in his expression.
The cleric cast his spell, touching each of them in turn.
“How long?” Talen asked.
“With all of you? A little less than an hour.”
“If we’re going to do this, we might as well get started,” Dar said. He led them into the side tunnel. He barely got thirty steps before the current grabbed him, and he fell into the water, the others close behind.
* * * * *
Dar’s head broke the water. His entire body felt battered and bruised, and he knew that had he not been able to breathe water, he would have certainly drowned. The river had been as fast and as nasty as they’d predicted, and it had not taken it easy on him.
He grabbed a rock and pulled himself half out of the water, gasping for air. It was dark, and the air felt cold. He looked around, but didn’t see any sign of his companions. Not that he could have seen them in any case.
No, wait. There was a flicker of light, under the surface of the water nearby. Trying to ignore the protests of his body, he made his way over to it. The current was still pushing at him, but it wasn’t as insistent as before; he must have ended up in a rivulet or pool of some sort.
“Varo? Allera? Anybody there?” he hissed.
“I am here,” Varo’s voice came from somewhere nearby. The cleric’s voice sounded as beat up as he felt.
“The others?”
“I don’t know,” came the response.
“There’s a light here,” Dar said. He reached down, and pulled out Aelos’s staff from where it had been jammed between two rocks.
Lifting the staff, he could finally see more of their surroundings. The magical flame revealed a large cavern, its ceiling beyond the range of the sphere of light. To his left, on the far side of the stream, a pair of massive stone formations rose up into the air. On the near side of the stream the cavern floor was relatively flat, rising slightly the further it got from the water. Lying on the strand there, the light shone on the prone forms of Shaylara and Talen.
“The captain and Shay are over here,” he said to Varo. He pulled himself out of the water, even that meager action taking a considerable effort. He wanted to lie down and pass out, but his battle-worn instincts were telling him that this place wasn’t safe. He saw that his pack had been ripped open, and his shortbow, stuffed through the loops for storage, had been snapped in two. A number of his weapons had been lost in the flood; the magical warhammer, the silver-edged greatsword, the orc cleric’s morningstar. But he still had his personal weapons, and one of the throngs holding the magical club had held, keeping the weapon bound to him. He shrugged off the waterlogged pack, and looked around.
“Help!” came a faint cry from the water. Dar turned and shone the light in that direction, revealing Allera, back near the mouth of the stream, only her head visible above the surface of the water. She was struggling with a heavy burden, which Dar identified after a moment as Aelos.
“Help the others, I’ll get them,” Dar said to Varo. Poking the staff into a gap in the rocks, so its light clearly illuminated the area, the fighter jumped back into the water, and pushing himself toward Allera and Aelos. The cleric was bleeding from a cut just above his left eye, and there were a few obvious bruises darkening in other places where the rocks had battered him. Dar took the man’s weight onto his, wrapping the unconscious cleric’s arm around his shoulder.
“Get him to shore, and I’ll heal him,” Allera said.
“I think we can all use some healing,” Dar said. “Where’s Argus?”
“I think I saw him over there,” Varo said, pointing. The cleric had pulled himself out of the water, and knelt beside Talen and Shaylara. The captain was stirring and groaning; he was alive, at least.
Dar looked at where Varo had indicated. There was a lump lying face-down in the stream, apparently caught on an obstruction just under the surface of the water. Argus.
And standing directly above him, leaning out over the water, was the largest troll he had ever seen.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Richard Rawen
First Post
Well, wake up the mage, cast Immolate on the troll, then flame weapon on Dar's beatin-stick and let Dar do Dar's thing.
The others might pitch in too, or they could just nap.
heh heh... well, optimism and ridiculous flights of fantasy are sometimes hard to tell apart =-)
The others might pitch in too, or they could just nap.
heh heh... well, optimism and ridiculous flights of fantasy are sometimes hard to tell apart =-)
Lazybones
Adventurer
Had to cut the trip sort; my wife sprained her ankle. I've basically spent the weekend hanging out around the house, fetching things for her, and playing Xbox 360 (tough life, I knowRhun said:I'm starting to suffer from withdrawals!!! Come on LB, where's the new post? Hope you had fun in San Diego!
). * * * * *
Chapter 39
PAY THE TROLL
The troll reached down, and grabbed Argus with a meaty claw. The creature lifted the two-hundred-pound fighter easily, drawing him up to stare into his face with its beady yellow eyes.
“Gurunga, tod nok,” it rumbled.
Argus, only semiconscious, muttered something incoherent.
Talen, restored to full awareness by a powerful healing spell from Varo, stood up and drew his sword. “Let him go!” he shouted at the troll. He moved to the edge of the stream, but the troll and Argus were on the far side, and there was no way for him to get to them.
The troll laughed and responded with another comment in the Giant tongue.
Dar turned to Allera. “Help him,” he said, pushing Aelos’s unconscious form up onto the shore. He considered swimming across to the troll’s side of the stream, but only for a moment. He pulled himself up on the near side. Reaching for the small pile of his belongings, he drew out his heavy club.
Talen had taken out his small shortbow, and was hastily fitting a new string to it to replace the waterlogged and ruined one left on from before. If the troll seemed threatened by his actions, it gave no sign of concern. In fact, it seemed almost casual as it shook its prisoner, and checked him for valuables. Finding little of interest, it glanced over its shoulder, and barked something else, “Zoolbing!”
Dar saw the second approaching form first. If the first troll was large for its kind, this one was truly monstrous. Standing well over ten feet tall, it carried a tower shield easily on one arm, and a large metal gauntlet covered its other clawed fist.
“Oh, we’re screwed,” the fighter muttered to himself.
The first troll tossed its captive back to the second troll as it lumbered forward. The creature caught Argus in its huge claw, locking its thick fingers around the helpless fighter’s waist. Argus was conscious now, and aware of the dire circumstances of his situation; he struggled to get free, but against the troll’s strength his efforts were feeble.
Talen drew an arrow from the quiver at his hip, and lifted it to his bow. But before he could act, the second troll smashed Argus hard against the nearer of the two stone spires. A loud crack echoed through the chamber, and the fighter fell limp in the troll’s grasp at once. Argus’s helmet had fallen from his head, and his hair, matted with blood and brains oozing from his shattered skull, left a greasy smudge on the stone as the troll dragged him across the ground. Seeing that this prey was done, the troll tossed him over his shoulder.
“Damn it, you bastard!” Talen cried, drawing his bow and firing at the troll that had killed his comrade. The hasty shot hit the troll’s shield, glancing away harmlessly.
Shaylara was up now as well, and she shouted a warning as the first troll came forward. The companions saw with surprise that the troll merely stepped onto the surface of the stream, charging forward with surprising speed. Dar hurled his throwing axe at it, but even though the weapon opened a gash on its right arm, the attack did nothing to hinder its charge. Within a few long strides, it was on their side of the cavern, and coming fast.
The second troll came forward as well. It looked as though its intent was to merely hurdle the stream, and as strong as it had already proven itself to be, it looked as though the obstacle would prove no barrier to its rush. Had it smashed into the defenders at the same time as its brother, the adventures of the Doomed Bastards would have likely come to an end right then and there. But Argus’s death had bought them a few seconds, a delay that gave Varo time to call upon the intervention of Dagos once more.
A pair of huge monstrous centipedes came into view around the two stone spires, converging upon the onrushing troll between them. The troll arrested his rush as one of the summoned creatures stabbed its mandibles deep into its shoulder. The second came up behind it, but the troll’s sharp senses detected the second attacker an instant before it struck, and it brought its huge shield up under the centipede’s head, knocking it aside. With the other centipede locked on its shoulder it couldn’t bring its claw into play, but it brought the shield around like a club, smashing it into the giant vermin’s body, tearing it free. The wound it left behind was a vicious one, but the troll’s regenerative powers were already working to close it, the flow of blood and venom from the injury quickly easing.
Dar, Talen, and Shaylara met the other troll’s charge, spreading out to flank it. The troll’s considerable reach gave it the first attack, smashing Dar with a painful blow to the chest from its leathery fist. Dar grimaced and staggered back, but he was quick to recover with a potent two-handed strike that caught the troll in its arm. The creature’s tough hide absorbed much of the force of the attack, but by the way it snarled at him, it was clear that the blow had hurt it.
Talen, dropping his bow, drew his magical sword and rushed to join the attack. His first thrust was ineffective, glancing off its skin as it turned to respond to Dar. Shaylara, however, was able to exploit its distraction, coming up from behind, and stabbing her small sword deep into its flank. The troll reacted quickly, turning on the scout. She ducked under its first sweeping claw, but it abruptly grabbed her with the second, digging its talons painfully into her side. Shaylara cried out and tried to break free, but as she lifted her sword to stab it, the creature lunged and seized her wrist in its powerful jaws. She screamed as the troll bit down hard, breaking her arm, and as the other fighters desperately pounded on it, trying to force it to free her, it spun its head around, sending her flying. She hit the ground hard, rolled, and came to a stop in a battered heap, unconscious and dying.
Allera and Aelos had not been idle during those first chaotic moments of battle. The healer had followed Dar’s instructions, ignoring her own hurts as she channeled a powerful stream of healing energy into the battered priest. Aelos’s eyes shot open, and he looked at Allera with surprise, as if surprised to see her there. The wound above his eye knitted shut, and the purpling bruises faded to a more normal color as the potent healing spell, augmented by the healer’s natural talents, worked its course.
Allera, exhausted, sagged back into the water. Aelos grabbed onto her, and pulled her to the edge of the shore, placing her hands firmly on the rocks.
“Heal yourself, child,” he said to her. “I must help the others against this dire foe.”
Channeling his own divine magic, the cleric summoned a spiritual weapon, a shimmering field of force in the shape of a flaming torch. Seeing that the other troll was still distracted by Varo’s summoned centipedes, and that his companions were being hard pressed by the other, he mentally directed the weapon to aid them in melee.
Neither he nor Allera saw the third troll that crept around the southern spire, near where the river entered the cavern. The troll, blending into the shadows, slipped silently into the water, and surged toward them.
Allera was just reaching up to pull herself up onto the shore when a pair of huge claws seized her from behind, and dragged her deep under the surface.
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