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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Kendrik" data-source="post: 153450" data-attributes="member: 123">The quest through the Halfax Wood continues..........The trip out of Axbridge was quite uneventful with Callin and Sir Kendrik taking the lead, Fr Arton in the middle and Marban and Friar Leo bringing up the rear as they rode through Sir Kendrik’s lands. The gentle rolling hills of the young lord’s demesne making way for the more wooded terrain of the king’s forest, the Halfax Wood. After a few hours of riding through the Halfax, the routine journey was interrupted by a soil and turf being violently flung upwards, startling the horses. A gigantic insect, came lumbering out of it’s burrow, and snatched Marban’s hound in its great, acid dripping mandibles, attempting to crush the life out of it. Callin, the first companion to regain his wits, let loose a volley of arrows at the insect, drawing blood and angering it more. With the trees of the Halfax preventing a charge on his steed, Valiant, Sir Kendrik leaped off the warhorse and drew his longsword. The insect flung aside the hound, and made an attack at Sir Kendrik, grabbing his shield in its jaws and attempted to unsuccessfully rip it out of his hands. Fr Arton, Friar Leo and Marban followed the knight’s lead and dismounted, and prepared to enter the fray. Fr Arton drawing on the power of Pelor raised his holy symbol and a blast to of pure light shot out at the creature. Friar Leo raised his hands and wove an arcane spell, but no effect was evident upon the creature. The sight of the gigantic insect moving towards them was enough to spook Marban and Friar Leo’s horses which bolted into the forest. Callin moved forward, tumbling by the creature, but the gigantic insect snatched him in his mandibles, dealing horrific damage to the rogue. Father Arton moved forward and took hold of Marban’s dog and dragged him out of the combatant’s way as Marban flew into a rage and attacked the insect, landing a telling blow. Sir Kendrik followed up Marban’s blow with one of his own, and the creature reared back in pain, and proceeded to retreat back down it’s burrow with Callin in its’ mouth. Callin called out for help as he struggled, but was unable to extricate himself from the creature’s jaws. Fearing his best friend was about to be killed, Sir Kendrik followed the creature into its forsaken hole. “Unhand him you unholy aberration.” Sir Kendrik yelled, a note of desperation in his voice, driving his longsword deep into the insect’s side. Fr Arton determined not to see Callin become the creatures meal called upon Pelor’s aid and felt the creator’s might flow through him and out towards the beast as a pure and searing light again hit the creature, but still it did not release the rogue from it’s clutches. Marban grabbing his longspear, his eyes almost rolling back is his head in anger charged the insect driving the spear into its upper body. With this thrust the creature flung Callin away as it collapsed in its death throws. Fr Arton rushed to Callin and tended to his serious wounds. Once Callin was made safe the young priest healed Marban’s dog. Marban suggested to Sir Kendrik that Friar Leo and he go after their horses. The young lord agreed that it would a good idea and they departed. Callin, through the grace of Pelor, was healed and decided to investigate the insect’s lair, just in case the insect had laid eggs, however he found nothing. The remaining three heroes, realised it was close to lunch and decided that the location of the combat was a good a place as any to stop. Over an hour passed, and the heroes were tending to their horses when all three of the now concerned heroes spotted some movement within the trees near Callin. Callin, always watchful, had his shortbow ready for use, but didn’t fire till he could identify who it was, wary that it might have been Marban and Friar Leo returning with their horses. However it was not one of their companions, but a gnoll, stealthily making its way through the trees towards the party. The gnoll was unusual in that its armour and weapons, appeared to be of high quality, and strange design, unlike that of gnolls the party had faced before with their patchwork armour, cobbled together roughly from the armour of their defeated foes. This gnoll was wearing a very strange suit of armour, which consisted of a well made breastplate, a skirt of armoured plates and well made sandals. To the three heroes this armour was nothing new as they had seen a similar design worn by Caligulus, professed son of the evil legion god, Virakus. Thinking this gnoll would be easy prey, Callin let fly with three arrows but as he did this, four similarly dressed gnolls attacked his Sir Kendrik and Father Arton from behind. Angered and surprised at the gnolls dishonourable tactics, Sir Kendrik yelled out as he sliced at the gnoll to his right with his trusty longsword, which bit deep. Pulling his sword out from the gnolls side he slashed again, once more hurting the gnoll gravely. Also turning to face his attackers Fr Arton, his mace in his hands, slammed the weapon into one of the other gnolls. The gnoll that had been first seen charged in to attack Callin, but the rogue was too quick, and dodged the gnoll’s blows. Callin answered the attack with his shortsword, causing the beast to stagger slightly from its wounds. The other gnolls continued to attack the heroes, but could not penetrate their defenses. Sir Kendrik spitted a gnoll on his blade, and barely noticed it slide off his blade and drop to his feet as he focused his attentions to the second gnoll. With the skills learnt through countless hours of practice he was able to attack the second gnoll without breaking his stride. The blows staggered the gnoll and it collapsed, with the knight finishing it off with a sword plunge into its skull. Fr Arton, his mace swinging, connected with the gnoll’s head twice, and it dropped. Callin checked the area to see if there were any more gnolls in the area, moving stealthily through the forest. Sir Kendrik moved toward Fr Arton to help him dispatch the last of the gnolls, but the priest did not need his aid as he dispatched the final gnoll without trouble. Callin returned from his scouting, having seen no further sign of gnolls or other threats. The three heroes stripped the dead gnolls of their armour and weapons for evidence of Legion activity and threw the bodies in the insect’s hole. Once that was completed they returned to waiting for Marban and Friar Leo to return. Sir Kendrik was getting anxious about the missing heroes but thought better of going after them. Soon the sound of movement came from the trees to the right of the camp. The heroes yet again readied themselves for an attack, however this time it was friends not foes that came toward them as Marban and the friar led their now settled horses back to the camp. Once they had all eaten their lunch the party moved on toward the base camp that the Axbridge born heroes had used on their previous forays to the Caves of Chaos. The trip to the base camp was without further incident and the heroes set up camp for the night. 21 Storing 1353 The morn dawned fine but cold and the heroes quickly prepared to move on to the Caves of Chaos. The gentle rolling hills returned as they approached the unnamed foothills that hid the gorge in which the caves are located. After several hours ride the heroes reached the Goblinwash Creek, which has the caves as its source. Creek was probably a bit too ambitious a term as it was barely more than a tiny trickle that had cut its way through the fertile soil of the area. After a decent ride hugging the trail the followed the creek the heroes reached the outcropping of rocks where they had discovered in the past was a safe place to leave their horses. Sir Kendrik ordered Valiant to guard and protect the other horses at the protected outcrop and the heroes, now on foot, continued on their way to the cave complex. Along the way they came would pass near the area they remembered as the place they buried the evil necromancer. Much to their dismay the heroes saw that the gravesite had been disturbed. Approaching the grave, a more grisly sight could not have awaited them. Propped up next to the dug up grave was the rotting disfigured corpse of the necromancer, the front of him sliced open and drawn back exposing his innards. Both Marban’s hound and Friar Leo’s pet weasel cowered and refused to approach the body, the weasel digging its claws into Friar Leo in fear. Sir Kendrik in particular, made signs against evil and along with the others fought back their lunch as they discussed what this all meant and what to do next. Marban and Sir Kendrik were going to rebury the body, wary of touching the rotting corpse, they could not find anything suitable to move the body back into its resting-place. Fr Arton was not happy to deal with this evil character and asked Pelor to reveal if any evil auras were present in the area. Much to the priest’s dismay, the corpse and the area gave off an incredibly palpable presence of evil, unnerving him. Fr Arton suggested moving on and dealing with the corpse later. The others didn’t argue as they wanted to get as much distance as they could from the grave.</blockquote>

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