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The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4248743" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 49</p><p></p><p>THROUGH THE GAUNTLET</p><p></p><p></p><p>The Seer’s lips tightened into a scowl. “You owe me for this,” he said, pointing and firing off a <em>disintegrate</em> that hit the mummy right as it reached the edge of the ogre’s defensive aura. The creature was transformed instantly into a cascade of fine ash. </p><p></p><p>But while Ozmad had been granted a respite, the others were still hard pressed by their foes. Falah and Aerim still faced two mummies each, and there were two others that had nearly broken free of Navev’s <em>chilling tentacles</em>. The mummy that Ozmad had knocked down got up and leapt at the Seer, who drew back in sudden alarm, while Jasek darted back just in time to avoid being cut in half by the mummy he’d attacked. “If you have a scroll that can stop these things, now would be the time to use it!” he yelled, trying to protect his side, where a red blossom had appeared where the tip of the mummy’s sword had scored him. </p><p></p><p>Falah took another hit, and fell to one knee, his khopesh clattering on the floor as it fell from his grip. The mummies brought their swords up together, and the Razhuri’s career would have come to an immediate end at that point had Zafir Navev not been present. The undead warlock lanced a slashing <em>eldritch blast</em> into both mummies, knocking them off their feet and back into the reach of his <em>chilling tentacles</em>. The mummy warriors started to get up almost immediately, but the tentacles slowed their efforts, snaking around their legs and arms. </p><p></p><p>Aerim, infused with the unnatural power of the Bloodways, was a bit more durable than the other fighter, but even he could not absorb the degree of damage that the two mummy warriors were dishing out for long. He was forced to withdraw, luring the pair after him with a series of feints, retreating back toward the corner of the chamber, trying not to leave himself open to a full attack. But there just was not enough real estate in the place for that strategy to work for long, and as the walls reared up behind him, it was clear that he’d run out of time. </p><p></p><p>With obvious reluctance, despite the fact of his allies falling all around him, Ghazaran withdrew a small crystal from the pouch at his neck. It pulsed in his hand even as he uttered the words from another scroll taken from the cache at his hip. The Seer fell down just a pace away, clutching his hip where a mummy’s sword had bitten deep even through his <em>stoneskin</em>, but the cleric paid him no heed. The words upon the scroll flashed with blue light and vanished, and as the spell released the crystal in his fist flared with an echo of white light, transforming his hand into a shining beacon. The crystal amplified the power of the spell from the scroll, and that white light was echoed again as holy eruptions appeared around each of the mummies, sundering the dark energies that sustained their existence in unlife. All but two of the mummies collapsed into heaps of bone and fragments of alchemically-treated fabric as the <em>mass cure</em> wrought its effects. The two survivors came under immediate attack as the cleric’s spell gave the warriors a second wind, and both fell within seconds, hacked apart by magical blades backed by mundane strength. </p><p></p><p>The lich was unaffected, protected within Ozmad’s <em>antimagic field</em>, but it could clearly see that the battle had gone against it. The ogre had driven it forward, smashing his prisoner against the nearest wall, smashing bones with the force of the impact. Ozmad’s own body bore numerous wounds, but the ogre fought on with an unprecedented ferocity, refusing to release his captive. For a moment it looked as though the ogre would emerge victorious, but his charge had jostled his arm enough to allow Amurru to break free. The lich fell back into the back of the alcove. Ozmad turned, a bit dazed, and started toward it, but as Amurru retreated into the corridor at the rear of the alcove, it slipped out of the <em>antimagic field</em>. The lich cast a spell, and suddenly just wasn’t there, without flicker or afterimage to hint that it had ever been there at all. </p><p></p><p>Ghazaran’s final <em>mass cure</em> had brought Parzad back from death’s door, and as the ogre returned to them he had already started to go to work with another of his many healing wands. All of them had taken serious injuries in the brief but bloody fray. Ozmad kept his distance, so that his <em>antimagic field</em> would not interfere with the cleric’s healing. </p><p></p><p>“You should have used that crystal right off,” the Seer was saying, although the cleric, focused on his task, seemed to pay him little heed. “Had you given it to me, my lightning would have obliterated the entire group at the start. Instead, your... allies nearly died, and all of us could have all been killed, had Ozmad not rushed the lich and neutralized its magic. With the creature still ahead of us, it would be prudent to share all resources that might ensure our success.”</p><p></p><p>“I have only one more of the <em>Tears</em>, and it is not here; I have already promised its use to another,” Ghazaran said. He glanced at Aerim; the Duke met his gaze with a cold stare that did not waver. Finally, the cleric glanced down at the small crystal in the palm of its hand. It no longer glittered, and looked almost opaque, clouded through with gray. “I would have liked to have kept this one for the last confrontation, but its use was necessary here. It does mean that we will not have that resource to call upon when we reach the Ravager’s prison.”</p><p></p><p>The Seer’s lips tightened into a dour expression. “I am nearly out of higher-order spells. Let us hope that the lich has no further surprises of its own.”</p><p></p><p>“It will be waiting for us, ahead,” Ozmad said. He had taken up his <em>mattock</em> again, but without the enchantment that allowed him to reduce its size, he could barely hold it in his right hand. His left arm was still obviously broken, although he flexed it slightly, grimacing as his natural regenerative powers worked upon the damaged limb .</p><p></p><p>“Is there anything else you would tell us, cleric, about what lies ahead?” the Seer asked. </p><p></p><p>But Ghazaran merely turned from healing Falah’s wounds, and nodded to the ogre mage. “If you would like me to treat your injuries, you will have to let down your protective aura.”</p><p></p><p>The ogre shook his head. “I will be well enough within a few minutes. We are close to our destination; I can feel it. We must continue, and it would be wise to remain within the radius of the <em>antimagic field</em> for as long as it lasts. The cost in terms of the loss of our magical abilities is more than offset by the protection that it will offer.”</p><p></p><p>“A sound precaution. Shall we, then?”</p><p></p><p> They gathered together and set out again, all of them remaining within the bubble of antimagic wrought by the ogre’s magic. Even the Seer entered that radiance, reluctantly, as it meant that his spells and items would be of no avail so long as the ogre’s spell persisted. But it also meant that the lich would be unable to strike them with its own magic. </p><p></p><p>By the time that they reached the end of the far passage, the ogre had recovered sufficiently to carry his huge weapon in both hands. He cradled it before him like a scepter, the long black blades atop the mattock extending out above him like the markings of legionary standard, almost scraping the ceiling above. The weapon was almost as long as he was tall, but within the <em>antimagic field</em> it was just an oversized tool, its magical properties suppressed. </p><p></p><p>The corridor ended in another of the vault doors that deposited them into a large square chamber. Deep alcoves were set into each of the walls, but their attention was drawn to the floor, which was detailed in an intricate pattern that resembled the corridors of a maze. Just looking at it caused their heads to swim, but nothing else happened as the ogre led them across the chamber toward the nearest of the alcoves.</p><p></p><p>“Remain close,” Ozmad rumbled. He did not have to repeat himself. </p><p></p><p>Jasek’s sharp eyes detected a hidden panel in the far wall of the alcove in the left wall. He could not immediately discern the means of operating the secret door, but Ozmad solved the problem with a few powerful swings of his <em>mattock of the titans</em>. Even without its magical powers, the adamantine blades made short work of the thin stone, and soon there was an opening large enough for even the ogre to step through without being crowded. </p><p></p><p>The chamber beyond the door was slightly larger than the last, but it seemed much smaller due to the clutter of materials that filled it. The place was obviously a magical laboratory, with dozens if not hundreds of strange and wondrous items laid out on the low stone tables that stretched across the breadth of the room, or were arranged upon the shallow shelves built into the walls. Some of the items were easily recognizable, ancient scrolls and wands of bone or ebony, sitting among weapons that still looked sharp despite their obvious age. There were books, too, ancient tomes resting on the shelves along the far wall, bound in cracked and faded leather, plates of wood or metal, or even, in a few cases, the scales of some long-dead creature. </p><p></p><p>“Wondrous!” the Seer hissed, his expression covetous as he started toward the nearest of the worktables. </p><p></p><p>“Remain within the <em>field</em>!” Ghazaran warned, but the wizard paid little heed. “These items fall within my remit, per our bargain!” the mage said. He stopped beside a cluster of parchment scrolls, and reached for one with reedy fingers. </p><p></p><p>But as he touched the scroll, it... <em>moved</em>. Animated by some unseen force, it slid away from him, across the table. Frowning, the wizard reached for the next scroll, but it too moved away, followed a moment later by the rest. </p><p></p><p>“Looks like the owner of this place doesn’t want you messing with his stuff,” Jasek said. His words were light, but there was a hint of an edge in his tone, and his hands clenched. </p><p></p><p>“There is a entity here,” Ghazaran warned. Falah and Aerim had raised their weapons, but they remained close to the ogre, and the potential protection of his aura of antimagic. </p><p></p><p>The Seer, wary now, stepped back. But even as his boots scraped against the stone floor, the various items on the tables and nearby shelves began to rattle and shift, as if everything in the room had become possessed. And then, everything flew into the air, weapons and wands and scrolls alike dancing wildly around the chamber. It looked like utter chaos, but it was obvious that there was an intelligence behind it, a fact made obvious a moment later as one of the weapons, a gleaming shortsword, suddenly spun and dove straight toward the Seer, making a beeline toward the wizard’s heart.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4248743, member: 143"] Chapter 49 THROUGH THE GAUNTLET The Seer’s lips tightened into a scowl. “You owe me for this,” he said, pointing and firing off a [i]disintegrate[/i] that hit the mummy right as it reached the edge of the ogre’s defensive aura. The creature was transformed instantly into a cascade of fine ash. But while Ozmad had been granted a respite, the others were still hard pressed by their foes. Falah and Aerim still faced two mummies each, and there were two others that had nearly broken free of Navev’s [i]chilling tentacles[/i]. The mummy that Ozmad had knocked down got up and leapt at the Seer, who drew back in sudden alarm, while Jasek darted back just in time to avoid being cut in half by the mummy he’d attacked. “If you have a scroll that can stop these things, now would be the time to use it!” he yelled, trying to protect his side, where a red blossom had appeared where the tip of the mummy’s sword had scored him. Falah took another hit, and fell to one knee, his khopesh clattering on the floor as it fell from his grip. The mummies brought their swords up together, and the Razhuri’s career would have come to an immediate end at that point had Zafir Navev not been present. The undead warlock lanced a slashing [i]eldritch blast[/i] into both mummies, knocking them off their feet and back into the reach of his [i]chilling tentacles[/i]. The mummy warriors started to get up almost immediately, but the tentacles slowed their efforts, snaking around their legs and arms. Aerim, infused with the unnatural power of the Bloodways, was a bit more durable than the other fighter, but even he could not absorb the degree of damage that the two mummy warriors were dishing out for long. He was forced to withdraw, luring the pair after him with a series of feints, retreating back toward the corner of the chamber, trying not to leave himself open to a full attack. But there just was not enough real estate in the place for that strategy to work for long, and as the walls reared up behind him, it was clear that he’d run out of time. With obvious reluctance, despite the fact of his allies falling all around him, Ghazaran withdrew a small crystal from the pouch at his neck. It pulsed in his hand even as he uttered the words from another scroll taken from the cache at his hip. The Seer fell down just a pace away, clutching his hip where a mummy’s sword had bitten deep even through his [i]stoneskin[/i], but the cleric paid him no heed. The words upon the scroll flashed with blue light and vanished, and as the spell released the crystal in his fist flared with an echo of white light, transforming his hand into a shining beacon. The crystal amplified the power of the spell from the scroll, and that white light was echoed again as holy eruptions appeared around each of the mummies, sundering the dark energies that sustained their existence in unlife. All but two of the mummies collapsed into heaps of bone and fragments of alchemically-treated fabric as the [i]mass cure[/i] wrought its effects. The two survivors came under immediate attack as the cleric’s spell gave the warriors a second wind, and both fell within seconds, hacked apart by magical blades backed by mundane strength. The lich was unaffected, protected within Ozmad’s [i]antimagic field[/i], but it could clearly see that the battle had gone against it. The ogre had driven it forward, smashing his prisoner against the nearest wall, smashing bones with the force of the impact. Ozmad’s own body bore numerous wounds, but the ogre fought on with an unprecedented ferocity, refusing to release his captive. For a moment it looked as though the ogre would emerge victorious, but his charge had jostled his arm enough to allow Amurru to break free. The lich fell back into the back of the alcove. Ozmad turned, a bit dazed, and started toward it, but as Amurru retreated into the corridor at the rear of the alcove, it slipped out of the [i]antimagic field[/i]. The lich cast a spell, and suddenly just wasn’t there, without flicker or afterimage to hint that it had ever been there at all. Ghazaran’s final [i]mass cure[/i] had brought Parzad back from death’s door, and as the ogre returned to them he had already started to go to work with another of his many healing wands. All of them had taken serious injuries in the brief but bloody fray. Ozmad kept his distance, so that his [i]antimagic field[/i] would not interfere with the cleric’s healing. “You should have used that crystal right off,” the Seer was saying, although the cleric, focused on his task, seemed to pay him little heed. “Had you given it to me, my lightning would have obliterated the entire group at the start. Instead, your... allies nearly died, and all of us could have all been killed, had Ozmad not rushed the lich and neutralized its magic. With the creature still ahead of us, it would be prudent to share all resources that might ensure our success.” “I have only one more of the [i]Tears[/i], and it is not here; I have already promised its use to another,” Ghazaran said. He glanced at Aerim; the Duke met his gaze with a cold stare that did not waver. Finally, the cleric glanced down at the small crystal in the palm of its hand. It no longer glittered, and looked almost opaque, clouded through with gray. “I would have liked to have kept this one for the last confrontation, but its use was necessary here. It does mean that we will not have that resource to call upon when we reach the Ravager’s prison.” The Seer’s lips tightened into a dour expression. “I am nearly out of higher-order spells. Let us hope that the lich has no further surprises of its own.” “It will be waiting for us, ahead,” Ozmad said. He had taken up his [i]mattock[/i] again, but without the enchantment that allowed him to reduce its size, he could barely hold it in his right hand. His left arm was still obviously broken, although he flexed it slightly, grimacing as his natural regenerative powers worked upon the damaged limb . “Is there anything else you would tell us, cleric, about what lies ahead?” the Seer asked. But Ghazaran merely turned from healing Falah’s wounds, and nodded to the ogre mage. “If you would like me to treat your injuries, you will have to let down your protective aura.” The ogre shook his head. “I will be well enough within a few minutes. We are close to our destination; I can feel it. We must continue, and it would be wise to remain within the radius of the [i]antimagic field[/i] for as long as it lasts. The cost in terms of the loss of our magical abilities is more than offset by the protection that it will offer.” “A sound precaution. Shall we, then?” They gathered together and set out again, all of them remaining within the bubble of antimagic wrought by the ogre’s magic. Even the Seer entered that radiance, reluctantly, as it meant that his spells and items would be of no avail so long as the ogre’s spell persisted. But it also meant that the lich would be unable to strike them with its own magic. By the time that they reached the end of the far passage, the ogre had recovered sufficiently to carry his huge weapon in both hands. He cradled it before him like a scepter, the long black blades atop the mattock extending out above him like the markings of legionary standard, almost scraping the ceiling above. The weapon was almost as long as he was tall, but within the [i]antimagic field[/i] it was just an oversized tool, its magical properties suppressed. The corridor ended in another of the vault doors that deposited them into a large square chamber. Deep alcoves were set into each of the walls, but their attention was drawn to the floor, which was detailed in an intricate pattern that resembled the corridors of a maze. Just looking at it caused their heads to swim, but nothing else happened as the ogre led them across the chamber toward the nearest of the alcoves. “Remain close,” Ozmad rumbled. He did not have to repeat himself. Jasek’s sharp eyes detected a hidden panel in the far wall of the alcove in the left wall. He could not immediately discern the means of operating the secret door, but Ozmad solved the problem with a few powerful swings of his [i]mattock of the titans[/i]. Even without its magical powers, the adamantine blades made short work of the thin stone, and soon there was an opening large enough for even the ogre to step through without being crowded. The chamber beyond the door was slightly larger than the last, but it seemed much smaller due to the clutter of materials that filled it. The place was obviously a magical laboratory, with dozens if not hundreds of strange and wondrous items laid out on the low stone tables that stretched across the breadth of the room, or were arranged upon the shallow shelves built into the walls. Some of the items were easily recognizable, ancient scrolls and wands of bone or ebony, sitting among weapons that still looked sharp despite their obvious age. There were books, too, ancient tomes resting on the shelves along the far wall, bound in cracked and faded leather, plates of wood or metal, or even, in a few cases, the scales of some long-dead creature. “Wondrous!” the Seer hissed, his expression covetous as he started toward the nearest of the worktables. “Remain within the [i]field[/i]!” Ghazaran warned, but the wizard paid little heed. “These items fall within my remit, per our bargain!” the mage said. He stopped beside a cluster of parchment scrolls, and reached for one with reedy fingers. But as he touched the scroll, it... [i]moved[/i]. Animated by some unseen force, it slid away from him, across the table. Frowning, the wizard reached for the next scroll, but it too moved away, followed a moment later by the rest. “Looks like the owner of this place doesn’t want you messing with his stuff,” Jasek said. His words were light, but there was a hint of an edge in his tone, and his hands clenched. “There is a entity here,” Ghazaran warned. Falah and Aerim had raised their weapons, but they remained close to the ogre, and the potential protection of his aura of antimagic. The Seer, wary now, stepped back. But even as his boots scraped against the stone floor, the various items on the tables and nearby shelves began to rattle and shift, as if everything in the room had become possessed. And then, everything flew into the air, weapons and wands and scrolls alike dancing wildly around the chamber. It looked like utter chaos, but it was obvious that there was an intelligence behind it, a fact made obvious a moment later as one of the weapons, a gleaming shortsword, suddenly spun and dove straight toward the Seer, making a beeline toward the wizard’s heart. [/QUOTE]
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