The Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #233b] ...They Go Down Fast!

Tears began to squirt from the halfling's eyes and he became a furious bundle of energy. His nimble hands worked to free the strange blackberry sling stone he'd found inside the locked building at the elves' compound, load it into the leather pouch of his sling, and start it spinning. "Get away from my friend!" he screamed as loudly as his tiny lungs could muster and then he let the bullet fly.

Whether his accuracy was born of desperation or natural skill was immaterial. The stone flew across the clearing and thudded against the giant's left bicep as it turned to face its two remaining foes. It had time to grunt at the sting and then the bullet exploded, releasing an expanding mass of webbing. One end of the web anchored itself to the standing stone behind the giant and the other stretched all the way to the altar. The rat-headed giant was trapped amidst the strands rather like the center tent pole of a travelling minstrel show. It didn't seem particularly happy about it and it was further enraged when four big spiders swarmed up out of the webs.

"Good job, little one," Ixin said as she withdrew another vial from the folds of her cloak. Like the potion of Divine Favor (whose effects she could still feel) it bore the symbol of the fey goddess, Rhiannon, but unlike the last this elixir wasn't meant to be drunk. Ixin sprinkled the Oil of Magic Weapon over her crossbow, raised it to her shoulder and fired. The quarrel sailed off into the trees and the mage cursed under her breath.

The four large spiders scurried out of the webbing and up onto the giant's rat head. It thrashed around and wailed as it struggled against the sticky mess holding it in place. Two of the arachnids injected their venom into the monstrous creature, but it seemed to do little more than enrage it further. With a mighty roar and the sound of both tearing webs and tearing fur, the creature began to force its way to the edge of the webs.

Vade's knees shook as he loaded another bullet into his sling. He was all out of his special, weird bullets and had only those that, while well balanced, looked just like ordinary missiles. The stone made a perfect arc and then pinged ineffectually off of the giant's temple. The halfling let out a small, "Yipe!" and turned to flee through the portal, but with Ixin no longer anchored to it, the archway was filled again with luminous green mist. Vade whined in abject terror

Ixin slipped a quarrel free of her case and began the arduous process of cranking her heavy crossbow.

The spiders continued to swarm over the giant's rat-like head, but only one of them was able to bypass its naturally tough hide. It showed no signs of succumbing to the spiders' poisonous bite.

With a final, defiant roar it burst free of the confining webs.

"Turn on the door! Turn on the door!" Vade urged, bouncing up and down behind Ixin. "Turn on the door! Turn on the door!"

"Not yet!" the sorcerer corrected as she gave her crossbow a final crank and raised the weapon again. "Ruze is still under your webs!" She fired and this time the bolt struck the webbing several feet to the creature's right.

The giant began going to work on the spiders. It swatted two into pulp on its head and plucked a third off its shoulder with its teeth. It crunched its many-legged tormentor between its jaws with relish.

"We should go!" Vade implored. "It's gonna kill us! And it's barely hurt! We should go!"

Ixin was busy reloading her crossbow, but she shook her head. "We're not leaving Ruze behind!" She glanced to the side in order to catch the halfling's eye, but Vade had activated the Ring of Invisibility and disappeared.

The giant clawed the last of the spiders into a broken mess on its neck and let out a roar of such volume that the ground vibrated beneath the sorcerer's feet.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #234] Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

"Damn," Ixin cursed, returning the crossbow to its hidden pocket. "Vade, come help me drag Ruze from the webs and let's get out of here," she called to the halfling, but Vade wasn't near enough to hear her request. And anyway... he had a plan of his own!

"Hey limburger breath..," the halfling called out invisibly some distance to Ixin's left, away from the webs. "Over here!"

The giant turned its rat-like head toward the sound of the halfling's voice and sampled the air with its sensitive nose but Vade's voice rang out again from a spot ten feet further on from where it had been. "No wait!" the halfling giggled. "I'm over here! Hahahaha! Dumby!"

Ixin gestured at the creature's back with both her hands and uttered the final words to an incantation. At once, the shadows of the standing stones (which were pooled at the bases of the plinths in the early afternoon light from Orin's Shield) shuddered along the ground, stretching up to envelope the enormous monster in a night-dark net. At the last instant, however, the giant stepped out of the area of effect and the net collapsed at its feet.

It whirled back around then and came at Ixin. The mage grimly stood her ground as the beast thundered toward her trailing thick white ropes of saliva from its open jaws, its eyes blazing with inhuman hatred. Enormous claws came at her in rapid succession, striking like lightning. Her Shield spell deflected both attacks harmlessly.

Ixin took a step back and summoned the power that had flowed through her bloodline since before the Fall. The rat-thing took an opportunistic swipe at her with its claw as she began to cast, but again, her Shield turned the blow aside. She felt drained by the effort to manipulate the Weave and realized that if this didn't work, she'd get no third chance. She could power no more spells of the first circle today. "Vuthasjach!" she shouted and swept her arms toward the giant. Again the shadows snaked unnaturally along the ground and wove their way up over the monster. This time, however, it couldn't resist the effects of Ixin's magic and the dark net fell over it like a shroud.

The monster roared in frustration and slashed blindly at where it had last seen Ixin. One of its claws slashed the air several feet above her head and the other was deflected by her Shield.

Vade, meanwhile had taken the opportunity to put some distance between himself and the giant. He stood, invisibly, on the other side of the clearing, hurling insults and the occasional handful of pebbles to attract the thing's attention. "You are going to look pretty stupid among your rat friends after this halfling kicks your hairy, smelly rat butt!"

It worked, and the enshrouded monster lumbered blindly in the halfling's direction, leaving Ixin a few moments to contemplate freeing Ruze. He was clearly visible lying some 15 feet from the edge of the webs, but he was completely covered by them and there was no way to get close to him without become ensnared herself. Cutting was futile as well. She knew well enough from watching the Dragon's Claw at work that the one sure way out of a web spell was to burn it and she thanked Io, The Ninefold Dragon that she possessed a bloodline of fire.

"Valignat," Ixin hissed under her breath and a flame-substituted Acid Splash spell flicked from the ends of her clawed fingers. It was one of her weakest spells, but the droplets of fire fell on the web strands and burned away a 5-foot patch in an instant. She smiled and moved closer to the fallen Battleguard.

"Ouch!" Vade was shouting - this time from the creature's right. "Boy! You hurt my tummy! I am mad!"

With a roar, the giant lunged at Vade. Ixin's Net of Shadows concealed everything from the rat creature's sight, and while it could smell and hear well enough, that did nothing to reveal the location of the altar until it was too late. It tripped over the black stone block and went sprawling with an earthquake of a thud.

The mage repeated her spell and a fine spittle of fire dripped from her hands, turning another 5-foot section of webs into so much smoke. She could see Ruze lying just a bit further on, but couldn't tell whether or not he was still breathing.

"I bet that poison is making you feel sleepy, mouse man," Vade taunted. "You had better go wash out those bites before you go nite-nite and we skin your retched hide."

The giant got awkwardly to its feet and slashed at the air where it thought the halfling was standing, but it connected with only empty air. Vade's taunting laughter drifted maddeningly to its ears.

"Valignat," Ixin muttered again and burned away the last of the strands that stood between her and the unmoving cleric. He was still firmly entangled, but she was close enough now to see the blood that slicked his armor.

Vades laughter suffered a choked death in his throat as Ixin's spell ran its course and the shadows fell away from the rat thing. It was standing 20 feet away and facing the wrong direction when the spell dissipated and the halfling used the opportunity to sneak another 10 feet further away from the creature. He stopped short when he reached the edge of the webs and for a moment stood on his tippy-toes, pin-wheeling his arms invisibly to avoid falling into the sticky mass. When he'd regained his balance, an idea struck him and a mischievous grin spread across his face. Of course, no one could see it, but if someone could - someone who knew him, like Papa or Mama or Rherram - they would have known to become frightened and begin protecting their valuables.

Ixin, meanwhile was trying without success to pull the Battleguard free of the webbing on its opposite side. She was strong as mages went, she knew, but she was no powerhouse and she was making exactly no progress toward extricating her friend. She let his foot go and her hands came away red and wet. There wasn't much time left for the cleric, she knew. "Forgive me," Ixin moaned as she reached out to the Weave again.

"Hey, ugly!" Vade called, as he deactivated the Ring of Invisibilty and blinked into sight. The rat monster turned quickly and let out a growl that the halfling could feel in his stomach. It charged and Vade struck a tindertwig on his belt buckle. As the giant came at him, he touched the flame to the smokestick he'd borrowed from Ledare and feinted left. The smokestick instantly exploded in a thick cloud of black, sooty smoke that the giant tore into, expecting to find Vade. What it found was the sticky mass of webbing. The halfling had tumbled expertly to safety several feet to the right.

Sparks of fire dripped from Ixin's fingers onto the strands that held the cleric, and although she did her best to shield Ruze from the flames, he was still burned a bit by the ordeal. Ixin, of course, was completely uninjured by the blaze; the protection of red dragonblood shielded her from the heat, and she used her immunity to pull fistfuls of the burning webs away from the Battleguard's inert body. As soon as he was freed, she grabbed his arms and began dragging him as fast as she was able toward the portal.

"We need to get out of here!" Vade's disembodied voice said into Ixin's ear as she went. He had activated the ring again. " I don't want to be a sugar coated mushroom!"

"Help me with Ruze and we'll get going!" Ixin agreed.

"Now you are speaking my language, dragon lady!" the halfling exclaimed happily. He grabbed hold of the Battleguard's leg and did what he could to lighten Ixin's load. "I am so into getting out of here quickly!"

The rat-headed giant, had become completely ensnared within the confines of the web and although it struggled titanically, it couldn't free itself before Ixin and Vade had reached the portal with their burden. The sorcerer activated the portal with a simple touch and the green vapors parted revealing the dark cave and Draelond and Ledare's unmoving forms. The halfling and the drakeling struggled to get maneuver the Battleguard through the opening and the giant had still not extricated itself from the strands.

At the threshold, Vade paused, deactivated the Ring of Invisibility and waved at the huge monster. The wave turned into an obscene gesture the instant before the halfling dived through to the other side. Ixin stepped through after him and quickly unanchored herself from the nexus, deactivating the portal.

"We made it! We made it!" Vade was joyously crying over and over again. Ixin's darkvision revealed that he was kissing the stone floor of the cave in between exclamations. "We made it! We made it!"

"Saltatus iubar," Ixin said, tracing patterns in the air with her fingers. The dark chamber was quickly lit by the ruddy glow of Dancing Lights.

"Thanks," Vade said as his vision returned. "It was kinda dark in here."

"This spell will only last for a short while, so we'll need to find the torches," Ixin said, gesturing toward Draelond. "I think he's got them in his pack."

While Vade hunted through Draelond's belongings, Ixin checked on Ruze's health. She moved then to Ledare and quickly to Draelond, performing the same test for a lifebeat on each of them. She sat down heavily, her back against the wall of the cave, and buried her face in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Vade asked as he lit one of the torches he'd found. For a moment Ixin couldn't answer, but at last she heaved her head up to look at her little companion.

"Dead," she said flatly. "Draelond and Ruze are dead."

 

[Dakkareth]

I have only read the first few parts of the story hour so far ... but there's already a question: Where are the first 178 parts?

Whatever the answer I'm sure I will enjoy reading this SH.

If it is the custom here, that intrusive replies are deleted, I will not object. I can't be the first replier, can I?

-Dakkareth

 

[Jon Potter]

I have only read the first few parts of the story hour so far ... but there's already a question: Where are the first 178 parts?

Right here. Or at least mostly. There are a few bits missing, but not much. The early stuff is in more of a digest format rather than individual posts.

Whatever the answer I'm sure I will enjoy reading this SH.

I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'll try not to disappoint.

I can't be the first replier, can I?

Pretty close to it! Of the 100-ish posts to this thread, I think 98 of them are story. Enjoy...

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #234a] Interlude

The dream that had intruded nightly on Windstryder's sleep was always the same. In it a child fell, plummeting from the night sky amidst a cascading explosion of feathers. The young girl's arms and legs flailed uselessly against the air, her beautiful face contorted into a rictus of fear. Below her, from the darkness, arose a malignant claw of enormous size that spread its taloned fingers to pluck the girl from the heavens. As the clutching hand neared the girl she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound issued forth. Her glittering green eyes pleaded for protection but, although Windstryder reached out her right hand to catch the girl, she quickly disappeared beneath a rising tide of darkness.

Starday, the 10th of Wealsun, 1269 AE

She awoke suddenly to find the sky lightening with the dawn. Feln was already up, sitting cross-legged atop his sleeping mat, and the half-orc stared at her across the smoldering embers of their campfire. "You're awake early," the ranger said as she forced her tired body to a sitting position. She knew that the dreams had started only nine nights previous, but it felt like a moonsdance since she'd had a good night's sleep.

"You were screaming," Feln replied simply and Windstryder found it difficult to meet his eye. The half-orc, oblivious to her embarrassment, continued to regard her with interest. "Was it the dream again?"

"Yes," the elf answered, rubbing sleep from her eyes with her left hand while she braced herself with her right fist.

"Then we should get ready to move," the monk observed and rose to his feet in one graceful motion. "We are still many days away from the girl. If she is the right one."

"Not too many strange orphan girls fall from the sky, Feln," Windstryder said. A note of irritation had crept unbidden into her voice. "She's the one."

"Some of the tales say she came up from the earth," the half-orc responded as he carefully tended to his minimal gear. "The rumors are..." He stopped in mid-sentence, struggling for the right word.

"Inconsistent?" the elf offered and Feln nodded gratefully.

"Inconsistent," he repeated.

"She's the one," Windstryder assured him and looked at her right fist. It had remained tightly closed since her waking and she willed it open with some effort now. There, crushed from the force of her fingers, lay a feather. She recognized it immediately as one of the feathers she had seen raining down around the falling girl. It also matched the color and patterning of her hawk companion, Anta. "She's the one," she said again.

"Some say her showing up is a sign of the end days," Feln cautioned. "What if they are right and your dreams are wrong."

"Then we have failed," she said flatly as she got to her feet. "Either she has the cure or our questing is for naught. The king will die and Barnacus will be reduced to a plague-haunted graveyard within a fortnight."

The half-orc nodded. Without a hint of irony, he said, "So long as you know where we stand, Windstryder."

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #234b] A Chance Encounter

Feln crouched low, avoiding the creature's flailing tentacles and spinning on the ball of his left foot even as he drove his right piston-like into its side. The giant cuttle worm staggered sideways from the impact, blood spraying in a dark cloud from its sphincter mouth. It took one half step and then collapsed in a boneless heap, its lifeblood continuing to pour from amidst its rubbery tentacles.

The half-orc rose slowly, easily to his feet. A pair of eight-foot long carrion crawlers lay dead in the underbrush around him. He wasn't even breathing hard. A few paces distant, Windstryder went about the business of collecting those of her arrows that were still serviceable. Anta regarded them both from a nearby tree branch.

The worms had struck without much warning as the two companions passed through this forest north of the caravan trail, Merchant's Way. Only Windstryder's ability to resist paralysis kept her from falling during the creatures' initial attack, but the two combatants, long used to acting in concert on the battlefield, soon turned the combat around. Feln relied on his superior speed as well as his uncanny ability to avoid the worms' attacks in order to take control of the melee while Windstryder stayed on the periphery, pumping arrows into the carrion crawlers two-at-a-time. Neither needed to speak to the other; their counterattack was silent, swift, and brutal.

Windstryder suddenly froze nearby, her head cocked to one side.

Instinctively, Feln melted silently into the shadows cast by the noonday sun while the ranger crouched low, following the faint sound she had heard coming from just over the ridge to the southeast. She eased herself onto her belly and crept forward to peer over the edge into the clearing below.

There she spotted a halfling slinking out of a cave that opened in the ridge almost directly below her vantagepoint. He was wearing an overstuffed backpack and bore a shortsword at his hip. He was rather filthy, and his shirt and trousers were stained with blood. As he turned, surveying his surroundings, Windstryder was obliged to duck back down lest she be spotted. But in the brief glimpse of his turning she saw that he had a rather large and very fresh wound to his belly.

Feln crawled out of the shadows to her right and looked pointedly at her. Windstryder shrugged and held up one finger. She gestured for him to circle around to the south while she moved around to the east; the ridge was less-pronounced there and would provide them both with an easier descent if it became necessary. The half-orc nodded and pulled out his Hat of Disguise. In a moment, he looked like an elf; his features were similar enough to Windstryder's that he might have been confused for her brother. With practiced grace, he moved silently away to the south.

Windstryder stole another look over the edge of the ridge and saw that the halfling had disappeared - most likely back into the cave. She rolled to her feet and moved along the edge of the ridgeline, darting expertly from tree to tree. When she heard a rattle and clank from the clearing below, she dropped to the ground and crept back to the edge for a look.

The halfling had returned, but this time he wasn't alone. With him was a redheaded woman the same size as Feln, if not larger. She was dressed in leathers with a basket-hilted sword at her waist. Over that, she wore a voluminous cloak trimmed in cloth-of-gold. It was clear from the unnatural tint of her coppery skin that she wasn't human, but what race she did belong to the ranger couldn't say.

The tall woman was struggling backward, dragging an armored warrior, her hands threaded beneath the smaller figure's arms. Considering the numerous dents in the smaller figure's half-plate armor, and the glistening patches of blood that adorned it, the warrior was either dead or very lucky to be alive.

As they moved further away from the cave and Windstryder's view improved, she was able to recognize the cut of the half-plate armor as that worn by the King of Elcadan's elite Janissaries. The ranger eased forward a bit more to a better angle... and dislodged a clump of dirt from the edge of the ridge.

As it started to fall, she was already jerking her head back out of sight, but Windstryder feared it was already too late. An owl that she hadn't noticed previously launched itself from a nearby tree and began circling over the trio in the clearing below. The elf silently cursed her clumsiness.

Sequestered silently and invisible amidst the trees, Feln watched the scene unfold. The way the owl hooted and the way that the tall woman reacted to it told him that this was no ordinary animal. She lowered the injured fighter to the ground and gathered her cloak around herself. The halfling had already disappeared beneath its folds.

"Show yourself!" the redhead cried. Her voice was rich and clear in the mid-day air. "Be warned! I have powerful magic at my disposal! My companion may be injured, but if you mean us ill, you must still deal with me!"

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #235] Wandering... Monsters?

At Ixin's pronouncement, Vade's lower lip began to quiver. His eyes grew wet and he was soon crying in earnest, draped across Ruze's body. "Th-that... That meanie!" the halfling sobbed. "That m-meanie killed my b-b-best friend!"

Ixin felt the little rogue's pain, and turned away to give Vade a moment to mourn in peace.

The sorcerer bent over Ledare's body and checked to make sure that she was indeed stable. She looked terrible, but her breathing was normal and her wounds had all closed to some degree. She was no longer bleeding, although she was slick with the stuff. Whatever had been in the potion Vade had poured down her throat had no doubt saved her life.

When Ixin looked up, Vade had his backpack sitting on the floor next to him and was stuffing Ruze's scimitars into it as best he could. When he noticed the mage looking at him, the halfling wiped tears off his cheeks and sniffed loudly. "We should take their stuff," he told her. "They would want us to have it." Ixin couldn't argue, but when she went to check Draelond, she found that he had little on him besides his clothing and armor.

"Where's Draelond's sword?" she asked and Vade shrugged.

"Back there?" he suggested, gesturing toward the glowing portal. If that's where it had fallen, Ixin considered the weapon lost. There was no way she was reactivating the portal to go retrieve it.

"We need to drag Ledare back to Rherram's as quickly as possible," Ixin observed. Reflecting on both Ruze and Draelond, she added, "I suggest we burn the bodies here and say a prayer over them."

"B-burn them?" Vade whimpered and he started crying again.

"We don't have any chance at all of carrying them out," the mage explained. "And I couldn't live with myself if I allowed even the possibility of Ruze turning undead."

Vade had to agree and they quickly went about the business of laying the two men side-by-side atop a bed of tinder - which included strips of both men's cloaks, two unused torches, and scraps of blank parchment that Vade had in his pack for some reason. They then arranged Ruze's holy symbol on his chest and bowed their heads.

"Ruze's queen, Shaharizod!" Ixin said awkwardly, her hands clasped as she had seen other penitents do, and casting her eyes upward. "Your Battleguard fought valiantly for you. He did his very best to turn the tide of Evil and Chaos. Please grant him a place in a better realm where he can be at peace. And please also send your blessings to Draelond - a strong honorable and brave warrior - as he journeys to the other side. They will both be sorely missed."

She lay a comforting hand on Vade's head briefly and the halfling sniffed loudly. "I am sorry you had to die, Ruze," he said. "Thank you for saving us. You were my best friend and the Dragon Lady and I will miss you." Looking over at Draelond he said with genuine awe, "Man, you were big. I hope they have extra large chairs for you to sit on in heaven."

There was a moment's silence and then they could hear the very faint sound of wet movement coming from back inside the warren of caves. Vade looked quickly up at Ixin and Ixin glanced down at him. "Grab Ledare with me and let's get the hell out of here! Now!" she said.

Vade nodded vigorously, wiped his nose on the back of his hand and whispered to Ruze's body, "Do not worry. I will take care of your wife and see that no harm comes to her."

As the two companions hauled Ledare off the cave floor, Ixin gestured at the two bodies and spoke the command that activated her last cantrip, "Valignat!" A fiery spray fell across the two bodies, igniting the tinder. As the flames licked up they shuffled awkwardly out of the small cul de sac.

"Come now, Kitten," Vade grunted as he heaved against the Janissary's foot. "Let's go."



The journey up and out of the caves, while uneventful, was lengthy and tiring. It took Ixin and Vade (Well, Ixin, mostly, since Vade was barely able to handle the weight of his overstuffed backpack) over an hour to drag Ledare's limp body up from the Devourer's lair and out to the upper cave. There, they lowered the Janissary to the floor of the cave and Ixin rested, panting from exertion. She freed Martivir from his pouch and sent him and Vade outside to see if either the carrion crawlers or the winged skaven were waiting in ambush. Vade returned a few moments later to tell her the coast was clear and she dragged Ledare out into the sunshine of early afternoon.

They made it to the center of the clearing when Martivir took flight from a nearby tree branch where he'd been waiting. He hooted a warning and circled overhead.

"There is a person hiding on top of the ridge," Ixin conveyed the owl's message to Vade in a hushed whisper as she lowered Ledare's body to the ground. "I am fresh out of magic, so there's no way we're fighting our way out of here."

Vade moved close to her and clutched her knee, quaking with fear. "Oh, no. Oh, no," he was whimpering over and over.

"Follow my lead," Ixin said and gathered her cloak around herself. Then taking a deep breath she bellowed, "Show yourself!" Her voice rang out rich and clear in the mid-day air, but there was no immediate response. "Be warned! I have powerful magic at my disposal! My companion may be injured, but if you mean us ill, you must still deal with me!"

When there was still no response, Ixin spoke to Martivir flying overhead. "Show me where this person is hiding, Marty," she hissed. "But don't take any risks. If he tries to hurt you come straight back here." The owl hooted in reply and then took off for the top of the ridge, a little to the right of the cave opening. He began to circle.

After a moment, a figure rose up from the grass there as if she had just sprung whole from the earth. She was fae, Ixin could tell, wearing a silvery chainmail shirt and carrying a reinforced longbow. She regarded the mage with grey eyes and then gestured with her left hand as if signalling to others that waited in the weeds nearby.

"I seek no trouble from strangers," she said and began to move easily along the ridge line. "Keep hands off weapons and do not incant, for I am very familiar with spell casters." She nocked an arrow in her bow, but kept it pointed at the ground as she moved down the slope to join them in the clearing. "Mygroup has you covered from a higher elevation. No sudden moves."

"Who are you?" Ixin demanded. Beneath her cloak, her hands neared one of the few scrolls she had left.

"You may call me Windstryder," she said, her eyes moving appraisingly over both Ixin and the fallen Ledare. "I see you have a fallen Janissary from Barnacus. Once I have determined whether or not you follow the tainted path and decided whether you wounded her, we can determine what you are about. The King, although sick, still does not take kindly to bandits wounding his honor guard."

The brown-haired woman made another gesture with her hand. and a second fae moved noiselessly from the underbrush at the south end of the clearing. Ixin was unsure how alike the fae looked on this world, but from all appearances, he could have been the female's brother. He carried no bow, but had a well-worn staff in one hand.

"I'm no bandit," Ixin hissed angrily. Vade's fingers dug into her leg beneath her cloak.

"What are you?" the second elf asked in response. "You are strange looking."

Ixin fixed the male with her golden eyes and said angrily, "My name is Ixin, daughter of Ventisjir the Red, granddaughter of Lady Dominor Corastrixarosvith of Clan Vermillion. Ur-Corastrixarosvith serves as Grand Councillor for Clan Vermilion to the Council of Wyrms. Her daughter, my mother, Ventisjir the Red is a Clan Champion."

The male elf blinked in response but seemed otherwise unimpressed.

"I can offer my help to heal you as I may," the female elf spoke up. She was crouched over Ledare, but had put her bow on the ground beside her. "It's not safe to administer aid to your wounded here in the mouth of this cave. We just dispatched two worm crawlers up above." Despite this pronouncement, she shrugged off her pack and removed a healing satchel from within.

A large hawk settled on a nearby tree branch and shrieked once.

"Oh, and Mage," Windstryder added, cocking her head towards the kestrel. "I suggest your owl keep its wits about it, lest Anta chases it for sport."

Ixin opened her cloak and Martivir flew inside, disappearing into his extra-dimensional pouch. In the process, the sorcerer revealed Vade clinging fearfully to her leg. The male elf looked at him quizzically.

"A halfling on the trail," he remarked. "How strange."

"I- I move around a lot," Vade told him in a small voice.

"Yes," the elf replied. "But what use are you in combat?"

"I-" Vade started, his pride injured. "If I- There was this-"

"Come here, little one," Windstryder said, holding up her healing kit. Ixin urged Vade to step forward, and he did so reluctantly. The female elf examined the claw wound to the rogue's stomach.

"Say," Vade smiled cheerily. "That's a very pretty bow you have." The elf grunted.

"Halfling, let's make one thing clear. I do not wish to find any of my weapons, gear, supplies, or items missing from my person without my expressed permission," she said as she worked. Her eyes never left the wound she was tending, and her tone was very matter-of-fact. "I do not accept apologies afterwards on how it accidentally fell out of my pouch and you were just keeping it for me. If a gem falls in the woods, then it is for Brogine. Not you."

"I'm no thief," Vade said then added, "I'm a rogue."

"I mean no offense. I am merely stating my intentions to you," she told him and then looked up, staring intently into his eyes "Or... I may accidentally poison you when I really meant to heal you. Yes?"

Vade nodded mutely and the elf stood, patting him on the head. "Good boy," she said.

"We have administered aid," she said to Ixin, looking up at the drakeling. "Now we are off on some King's business that must be attended to immediately. But it occurs to me that we would be aided in a mission for the King with one of the elite guards on our side." She looked down at Ledare's battered body.

The male elf snorted. "What use is this 'King's Soldier'?" he asked. "She will slow us down and we do not have time to waste, Windstryder."

"There is a healer nearby," Ixin suggested. "Help us get her there and we can talk more of your King's mission."

The two elves stared silently at one another and finally, the male produced a vial and tossed it to Ixin. "Make her drink this," he said. "It will get her on her feet."

"Which way is it to this healer?" Windstryder asked.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #235] Comparing Notes

The elf's potion further closed Ledare's wounds and roused her immediately to consciousness. She got to her feet and was briefed by Ixin and Vade as to the fates of Draelond and Ruze. Her face darkened and for a moment she looked close to tears, but then a look of resignation settled on her delicate features and she nodded grimly. Next she was introduced to Windstryder. The male elf merely nodded at her and said, "You are indebted to me for a very expensive elixir, Janissary."

"I'm beholden to everybody," Ledare replied, brushing filth off her armor. Windstryder approached her and stepped in very close, muttering elvish into her ear.

"Are you all right? Have you been taken hostage?" the ranger asked. "I normally do not see the King's elite exit a cave's mouth with a dragon born and a halfling thief! What can you tell me to rest my fears aside, for I must tell you I could use your aid in the King's mission."

Ledare took a step back and smiled politely. "Diola lle. Lle ume quel," she said before switching to the common tongue and indicating Vade and Ixin with a gesture. "These are my comrades."

Windstryder looked the pair over appraisingly and then nodded to Ledare. "We should make haste," she said.

"OOOH! I know the way to the healers!" Vade exclaimed jumping in the air with his hand raised high. "Tell me about your mission from the king, guys! Kitten, Ruze's widow, is on a mission from the king too. Maybe she can tell you about it. I have never met a king before. Boy I would like to do that. I bet he knows a lot of stuff. I met a Baron once, but I really did not like him to much." The halfling stuffed his right hand into his pocket after studying it for a moment.

Windstryder chuckled darkly and shook her head. "A Ranger such as I knows not the King!" she told him. "I imagine my Guild Captain, Thornstryker, knows the King but my mission comes from the Wardens in Barnacus and I intend to complete it. Now which way to this healer?"



"Boy! I am glad that Ledare made it or it would be just you and me, Ixin!" the halfling mused as they walked along. "And I can't even say your whole name, it is so darn long." He bounced over toward the two elves and told them, "My name is long too: Vadenhuffer T. Briarhopper, the IV. Bet you did not know that! You all can call me Vade."

Windstryder and the male elf regarded him blandly but neither spoke.

"Do you want to know what the 'T' stands for? Trouble!" Vade announced proudly. "After my Uncle Trouble. He was always in trouble... Gods rest his soul. His wife lives with Mama and Papa. We took care of his wife after he was caught... I mean, after he went away for awhile. I will take care of Ruze's wife just like we did with my aunt. Us Briarhoppers take care of our people! And there's a lot of us!"

"I have two brothers Duece and Trey," Vade went on, oblivious to the newcomers' disinterest. "My Papa was Vadenhuffer the first, but he lacks any originality and named all of his sons after him. Vandenhuffer II and III - Duece and Trey, get it." He giggled and went on without waiting for an answer. "My mama always hoped I was a girl. I did put on a dress once to get out of.... well, you do not want to hear that story."

"I do not wish to hear any stories," the male elf replied gruffly. "Will your blather ever stop little one?"

Windstryder grinned at her companion and then turned to Vade. "Say, little one, how is that stomach wound of yours?" she asked. "I think all this talking may be loosing the bandage. Let me tighten it for you."

"No. I think it's fine," the halfling replied brightly, dodging out of the Windstryder's reach. "What is it like being an elf and living thousands of years? How old are you two? You look 25, but I bet you are 200 years old at least."

"Have you not learned from your mother that it is impolite to ask a woman her age? My age is my own," the elf replied coolly. "Know this, I am no stranger to the ways of the forest. And you know as well as I do, boy, of the life span of a full blooded elf."

"Age and wisdom must bring meaning and consideration to conversations," the male elf added rather cryptically.

"Great Grandpa Bumbler lived to be 174... oldest halfling I ever heard of," Vade said by way of answer. "People tell me to act my age. I am 26. What does a 26 year old elf look like? Is he a child? I bet I act a lot like a 26 year old elf. I must be part elf! Uncle Trouble did have awfully pointed ears. He said that they got caught in a headlock by an angry guard at the jewelry store. He could have been part elf, I betcha, though... Kind of lean, pointed ears. Yep that is it!"

"I know not the entire history of your race," Windstryder told him, as she was inexorably drawn in by the halfling's babble despite her best efforts to resist. "Your race steals from our blood, that is sure, but a pair of ears do not make an elf. And know this, halfling, I was scouting deer older than you while you were still stealing the milk from the breast. As for acting your age, I know not the proper age for one such as you. I have only heard of your race. I have not met one before this day, although my ears are worse for it."

Vade laughed, oblivious to the ranger's insult. "I think elves are neat. Kind of snooty, but they make really nice stuff," he told her. "My best friend Ruze was human. He was not snooty. His wife is half-snooty, though."

"Umm, hmm," Windstryder intoned and quickened her pace, quickly out-distancing the halfling although he trotted along briefly in an effort to keep up but his heavily-laden backpack slowed his progress

"Snooty," Vade muttered before turning on the male elf. "Do you like spiders?"

"I make no distinction between one critter and the next," the elf answered, his eyes looking a little after Windstryder. "I just ask that they don't bite me."

"I never really cared about them either, until we fought the rat man. I shot a weird little pellet out of my sling and POW! out come a dozen big spiders!" He waved his sling about and punctuated his tale with excited gestures. "The rat man ate them all though. But they bit him good and they had a really neat sticky kind of web! It is a good thing Ledare was not awake for that. Poor little Kitten is afraid of spiders." He ran up and briefly hugged the Janissary's leg. "Bad hair cut, but a nice lady, once you get to know her."

"Thank you, Vade. I-," Ledare started to say, but the halfling bounded toward the elf again.

"Sure. Sure," Vade waved her off and went on with his tale. "Some elves gave me that sling stone. Have you ever heard of elves making slings that shot webs? It was pretty cool. Anyway, I went over to examine the web and the giant rat man and he came over to grab me and the big guy got stuck. It is a good thing too because, man, this really hurts." Vade lifted his shirt to show the bandages Windstryder had wound around his midsection. "He sure packed a whallop. He killed two of our comrades."

The elf snorted again. "Were your friends and you trying to steal something... rogue?" he asked. "It's a pity your line of work costs your friends so dearly."

"Hey!" Vade snapped back. "If you people would keep track of your stuff, I would not always have to find it! I always have to pick up after you people! And I'm trying to be so nice, too!"

"I care not for your pleasantries or your inane stories, thief," the elf growled. "You must learn to shut up if you are to walk along my path." And saying that, he leapt up, grabbed a low-hanging tree branch of a bronzewood tree and vaulted up acrobatically into the canopy. Vade grinned and started to use the Slippers to follow, but Ledare put a hand on his small shoulder and shook her head.

"Let him go," she advised with a wry smile. "I think you've tormented him quite enough for one day."



The three Grey Companions were left alone in the woodlands, but each knew the way to Rherram's and they kept marching in that direction. They walked for a while in silence and at last Ledare broke it by saying, "It seems that daily I have someone to thank for saving my life. This time it is you two."

Vade beamed up at her. "Like I said: us Briarhoppers take care of our people!"

"I owe much to Io to balance the scales," Ixin said gravely. "I could not leave you behind."

"But, you have risked your lives for a mission that isn't even your own," the Janissary said, placing a hand on their shoulder. "I am indebted to you both."

"What we should do with these?" Vade asked, producing two of the three pierced mithril coins that he had taken from Finian, Ruze and Draelond. The third, he already wore around his own neck. "I want to give one to Ixin, since I am starting to like her, but I do not know about those elves yet. Awfully defensive if you ask me."

"The way is clear all the way to the bluff you mentioned," Windstryder said, stepping soundlessly from behind a nearby tree. Vade let out a yelp and Ledare's sword was half way out of its sheath before she realized who it was. Windstryder chuckled. "Say, halfling, those ears might be pointy but they do not hear like an elf's, do they?"

Vade stuck his tongue out at Windstryder's back as the ranger walked away.



Those who had been there before, found Rherram's home to be just as they'd left it. A bit of smoke still rose from the blackened funeral pier that Ruze had burned for Finian near the compost pit in the back yard. The many aromatic herbs planted in the extensive gardens around the building almost masked the odor of charred wood. Despite the warm day, smoke drifted from the chimneys set into the roof of Rherram's lab.

The courtyard was empty save for a solitary elf with pale skin and white hair. He was dressed in a suit of fine scalemail that fit him like gleaming fishskin. He bore an enormous silver greatsword that he spun and thrust through a series of intricate practice moves. As he caught sight of them he lowered the sword and leaned on it. The weapon was half-a-hand taller than he.

"Hail and well met," he called out in common.

Ledare returned the greeting and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am called Morier," he told her. They could see now that his eyes were a pink that verged on red. He seemed to be an albino. "You'll find the healer in his infirmary."

As Ledare, Ixin and Vade made their way to the far door, Windstryder and her companion hung back. "Once you have been tended, Janissary, please come outside that I might talk with you."

"And be quick about it," the male elf added, glowering at Windstryder. "People are dying while we waste time here."
Ledare nodded and she and her companions ducked into the infirmary. The albino watched the two elves arguing tersely with each other in low tones for a moment and then went back to his weapons practice.



"Have you been to Barnacus lately?" Windstryder asked Ledare later that evening, after Rherram had grumpily tended to her many wounds. "The situation there is dire and grows dimmer by the moment." She gestured toward the other elf. "Ugly Boy, over there and I must finish our mission or Barnacus could fall."

"It has been just over a week since I left Barnacus," Ledare told her. "Is this illness somehow associated with the Festival of Ibrahil? I am aware of some tainted meat pies that were causing trouble."

"I do not know," the ranger replied. "No one knows for sure where the plague started."

"But the King, himself, is stricken?" the Janissary asked and Windstryder nodded. "This is truly frightening news."
"Surely a King has the very best healers," Ixin suggested. "I would not worry on his health."

Ledare shook her head. "You don't understand. The King is physically and spiritually tied to the land by divine edict. The land’s health is the King’s health and vice versa. He should be immune to even magical ailments unless there is something seriously wrong with the kingdom itself." Turning to Windstryde again she asked, "Can you be more specific about this cure that you seek?"

"To you? Yes," the ranger replied and then pointed to Ixin and Vade. "To them? I am unsure."

"If you would have my help, then you must trust them as well," Ledare countered and Windstryder grew thoughtful for a moment before turning to Vade.

"Little Boy, if a gem falls in the woods, who's is it?" she asked the halfling. "Is it yours to keep?"

"First of all: I am not a little boy. I am 'Rescuer of the King's Janissary'," Vade said, puffing out his tiny chest and sneering at the elf. "But I do digress. Oh, what was the question again? Oh yeah - the gem. Well, I would certainly not let a gem just sit in the woods where anyone could just take it. It could fall into a thief's hands! I would keep it safe until the right person came along. Did you lose a gem? I have quite a few" he fished in his belt pouch and produced some brightly-colored stones and showed them to Windstryder. "Are any of these yours... I didn't think so. What are you trying to imply anyway?"

Windstryder ignored the halfling's question and looked at Ixin. "And you, Dragon Born? If your mana is near spent and you face the option to escape combat but in doing so you will leave your 'mallon' to meet the combat alone, what do you do?"

Casting her eyes down as she considered the question, Ixin paused before answering. Vade picked up the silence at once. "What kind of a question is that? What does it mean? I do not get it!" he said. "Ixin does some cool stuff with her fingers. You should see it up close."

"My life is worth nothing if I can not live it in the company of trusted comrades," the sorcerer said gravely. She flexed her hands and grinned displaying both claws and fangs to the ranger. "I would not hesitate to risk myself for the good of my comrades. I am strong and I have other resources than my spells. I would stay and fight and live with honor."

Windstryder nodded at her before turning back to Vade. "I know not your group. I cannot make you stay behind or leave, Half Boy, for I am not the Janissary. But my elven eyes are sharp."

"Enough of this, Windstryder," Ledare said quickly. "Stop insulting my comrades and tell me about your 'urgent' mission."

The ranger nodded and threw up her hands in a gesture of acceptance. "As you wish, Janissary. Barnacus has fallen under a quickly spreading rot. It spreads as fast as root rot. It seems with the casting of any spell, a plague is multiplied among the denizens of Barnacus. The King has caught this plague and the clerics state he will die immanently. If the King dies, Baranacus falls to the plague within a fortnight. The Augers claim a miracle cure might be found in a town called Hillville Junction that could save the King and in doing so, Barnacus. I have been sent to get the cure and bring it back to the King."

"We've heard rumors of this disease already. But tell me, why wouldn't the king send Janissaries along with the ranger units in order to find this cure?" Ledare asked and the elf shrugged.

"I do not know the King's mind," she said. "Perhaps the Janissaries are too busy keeping the city contained. They've locked the gates, you know. No one gets in or out."

"What about this cure in Hillville Junction?" Ledare pressed. "What is it?"

"A girl," Windstryder's companion spoke, his voice deep and gravelly. A girl who performs miracles. A girl who fell from the sky." the ranger shot him a reproachful glance and the male elf shrugged. "We have no time for your double talking, Windstryder."

"Who has seen such a girl?" Ledare asked the male. "What do you know of her?"

"Rumors only," Windstryder answered quickly. "We have heard tales from travelers and the words of the Augers."

Ledare nodded and quickly shared with the two eves her own assignment to rid Barnacus of the skaven. At the end of the tale, she added, "Ridding Barnacus of skaven is a task which is proving larger than life... larger than several lives, it turns out."

"Will you abandon your quest to help us with ours?" Windstryder asked and Ledare shook her head.

"I cannot abandon my own assignment," she told the ranger. "However I will accompany you at least for now. I am fairly certain that somehow all this evil is connected. And to be quite honest, I have gained too little ground and lost too much in pursuit of the skaven. I need to find a better way to navigate that course. Perhaps in journeying with you an answer will come."

"What of these two," Windstryder asked, gesturing to Vade and Ixin. "There is no reward offered - nothing except your honor to do the right thing in Barnacus' time of need."

Ledare shrugged and looked at her two comrades. "Once again, you are not bound to participate in this. I cannot and do not expect you to risk your lives for the king's purpose," she explained to them. "I can make no promises about what lies in store; the path has already proven too deadly. But, I would value...I would cherish your company."

Vade jumped up and threw his arms around her suddenly, pressing his face against her chest. "Yes! I will come with you and help you!"

"I would not abandon you now," Ixin said with a nod that Windstryder took as a cue to stand.

"Tall One and I leave in the morning," she said cocking her thumb at the male elf. "Pack lightly, for we will be traveling swiftly."

"Excuse me," a voice said from the darkness and the albino elf approached with his hands held out in a gesture of peace. "I overheard your conference here and would like to offer my sword to your cause. If the situation is truly as grave as you claim, then how can I not pledge myself to your cause?"

 

[Jon Potter]

"Sure come on! The more the merrier!" Vade chirped, grinning up at the pale elf. "Do you like a good story? 'Cause I got a whopper!" The halfling inhaled, preparing to launch into a third re-telling of their exploits in Spiderwood, but Ledare put a hand on his small shoulder and urged him to be quiet.

"Yours is a rather unusual offer," the Janissary said, eying the newcomer appraisingly. He seemed unperturbed by her assessment and turned to face her as he spoke. His eyes, however, seemed to be regarding the ground at Ledare's feet.

"It is to you that the others here seem to look for leadership, so it is to you that I shall make my offer," He began quietly. He fidgeted nervously with a small coin while he spoke, rarely making eye contact with Ledare. "As I said earlier, I am called Morier. I know well, the way to Hillville Junction, and I may know of others in the demesne who could be able to lead you to the girl you seek upon our arrival. I ask only to be allowed to accompany your band of..." He turned to quickly survey the room, taking inventory of the companions. "...your followers on your adventure. Adventure courses through my very blood and toward that end I find myself currently without fulfillment. I require neither significant monetary reward nor great spoils of battle, for I seek little else but the experiences one finds only in adventure."

Windstryder's companion nodded once to the albino and grunted, "We need not squabble or talk on it for days; your sword is needed and you are welcome to travel with us." He grinned sardonically and added, "Not to mention: a treacherous albino elf should not be too hard to track down."

Ledare gave the elf a look before turning back to the newcomer. "I am certain that your sword would be beneficial to this cause, but to pledge yourself to something you have simply overheard for the sake of adventure only?" she said, incredulous. "You cannot blame us for being skeptical. How can we know you do not have foul purposes in mind?"

As Ledare spoke, Morier's eyes widened. He raised his eyes to study her features and a look of recognition played across his face. "If you understood the ways of the Eldritch Warrior, Ledare Eelsof'faw, niece of Lady Clebrylla, you would not misunderstand my intent. It is their very nature to seek adventure, often as both the means and the end to their purpose." He paused briefly and crafted his next statement carefully, emphasizing each word ever so slightly. "The Eldritch Warrior has even been known to volunteer for rescue missions of persons they have never met, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because adventure refines their soul. They do so not for praise, thanks, or reward. They do so for the same reason that a master craftsman creates a perfect piece and then refuses to sell it or display it."

"Hey I must be one of those guys," Vade said brightly. "I volunteered to help save Kirnoth and I never knew him. I just thought it would be fun." Then his face fell and he added, "It wasn't though." He blew his nose loudly into a handkerchief.

"Do I know you, sir?" Ledare asked the pale elf, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she studied him again as if for the first time. When he continued, Morier didn't answer her question, however.

"I'll not force my services upon you, but I would be grateful for the opportunity," he told her.

Windstryder stepped forward and offered her hand to the albino. "Morier, I have heard of your kind," she said. "The king will accept any sword he can; therefore, I will accept yours as well. As I see it this is my mission. You follow me and stay out of Feln's and my way. We move swiftly and lightly. Follow our lead." They clasped wrists and the ranger turned to look at Ledare. "The Lord Janissary of course has rank over me overall, as she is the King's direct emissary. But I have been granted this mission and I mean not to fail. The girl is rumored to be a miracle. Our mission is to go to Hillville Junction, find her, verify her abilities, and return her to Barnacus. I am sure the foul taint of chaos opposes us, as well as other ranger teams on our side.

Morier nodded and told her, "I hail from a forest near Hillville Junction but I do not claim to know of the girl you seek. I do know many in the town though, who may know who she is."

"Who are these others from Hillville Junction who can lead us to this girl?" Ledare asked and Morier turned his attention back to her.

"There are several men whose counsel we might seek upon our arrival in Hillville Junction," he explained. "A ranger who goes by the name Arwold Wyverneye would know if anything strange has happened on the frontier. A druid friend named Malcom comes and goes from reclusiveness, but if he has been about the town he'll know if anything is awry. The Greenbriar Inn is the place to look; Goodman Silverbush will be able to tell us what Malcom has been up to."

Ledare nodded as Morier went through his list of contacts. "I know of the druid, Malcolm, and Goodman Silverbush," she admitted. "They are both good men, although the druid and I view the world quite differently. The ranger of whom you speak is not known to me."

"Perhaps, Arwold Wyverneye is one of the rangers leading the other teams questing for a cure," Windstryder postulated, but Morier shook his head.

"I've known Arwold for a number of years," the albino told her. "His presence in the area is due to it being his home, not because of a quest."

"So it's agreed?" Vade asked. "The new guy comes with us?" There were nods all around and Feln cleared his throat.

"If we are to travel together I think we need to be clear as to our intentions," he said, choosing his words carefully as if he were little used to speaking. "I have made a promise to Windstryder to help her find this girl and aid her in cleansing Barnacus. You have your own quest, but I agree with Ledare that the solutions to our problems will likely be woven together. It must be agreed that traveling with trust in our hearts will make us a better party and so I pledge my service to all of you, so long as we travel towards the cure for Barnacus"

"I agree with Feln. We must pledge our allegiance to each other," Ixin said. "The journey ahead is likely to be treacherous, and we will require trust in each other and all of our best ideas. Not to mention supplies."

"I will buy more of the alchemy stuff from Rherram," Vade announced. "Whatever he has, I will buy... Healing, alchemist's fire, and I really like those smoke sticks. Plus any long lasting torchie type things." He began counting items off on his fingers but as his list mounted he ran out of digits and had to start again. "Can our basic stuff be hocked in town to buy more supplies?" Vade asked no one in particular. "We need gear."

"Gear?" Windstryder asked. It was plain from her tone that she didn't share the halfling's enthusiasm for shopping. "I agree that we need as much healing as we can get. But other than that, what supplies do we need? We have weapons and food right?"

"I just need a few more sling bullets," Vade said. "And a rope could come in handy."

"We could probably get those things in town," Ledare guessed and Windstryder rounded on her immediately.

"Lord Janissary, I must insist that we have not the time to travel into town," she said in elvish. "This healer of yours can outfit us each with basic healing supplies. I do have a healers kit that can aid in healing, but a cleric, I am not."

"I am not a 'Lord Janissary'," the half-elf told Windstryder in the common tongue. "You may call me: Ledare."

"Clearly, getting rid of this plague would be a service to Rherram, right?" Ixin offered. "There must be something he can give us in the way of healing, defense or food supplies."

The ranger nodded. "To the portal, we must, as I understand the journey to be greatly shortened by its use. We are lightly equipped so we should be able to move quickly."

"We're too lightly equipped, if you ask me," Vade muttered, looking imploringly at Ledare. The Janissary shook her head, however.

"You may voice your opinion, Vade," she said. "But since this is really Windstryder's mission, she should make the final decision."

All eyes turned to Windstryder and she seemed to shrink away from their scrutiny. "We leave in the morning," she said before turning and trotting off into the darkness. Feln rose and followed lightly behind.

"I guess I will resort to hurling rocks," Vade told the others glumly. Then he brightened as a story occurred to him. "I would have been the shire rock throwing champion, but Duece is just too good. He could knock a bird out of the sky at 200 feet! No exaggeration... Boy, we could sure use his help now."

"Yes, little one," Ledare said and got to her feet with some difficulty. "I am going to retire and heal as much as I may. Why don't you see to buying what you can from Rherram."



Sunday, the 11th of Wealsun, 1269 AE


In the morning, over a light breakfast, Vade showed off the supplies he had purchased from Rherram and the group distributed them is what seemed the most useful fashion. The night before Morier had been able to identify a random potion that Vade had found in his pack as being an elixir of Delay Poison simply by smelling it and testing a single drop's its consistency between his finger and thumb. The candle remained a mystery.

Windstryder walked in through the back door with a grim-faced barbarian in tow. The human was thickly muscled and naked but for a loincloth and a pair of buskin boots. A utilitarian longsword was strapped across his back.

"It's time to go," Windstryder said without preamble.

"Who's this?" Rherram asked, pointing at the muscled specimen behind the ranger and looking a trifle shocked that the pair had burst into his kitchen without knocking.

"There are enough elves in the party," the barbarian said and it was Feln's husky voice that came out of him. It suited a human barbarian a good deal more than it did an elf. "And besides, a barbarian will give people second thoughts about messing with us."

They had to agree. "You're full of surprises," Ledare said. "Do you have any other tricks we should be aware of?"

The barbarian grinned. "One or two," he said.



The trip to the caves was uneventful, although Vade persisted in singing despite the dirty looks from both Windstryder and Feln."On the road again... I just can't wait to get on the road again... All I want from life is to slay monsters with my friends, and I just can't wait to get on the road again!" He quieted down once they reached the caves themselves (for which everyone was silently grateful) and they descended back into the Devourer's lair. The traps had reset, and were sprung again, harmlessly now that the bars had been bent to allow passage. They saw nothing of the Devourer although they heard it clearly enough. It burbled and smacked its lips in the darkness beyond the limits of their vision, but didn't attack.

The horrible stench of raw waste and decaying offal that filled the creature's lair was blunted somewhat by the acrid smell of smoke. Both Vade and Ixin felt their hearts fall as they realized what it was they were smelling. And as they neared the portal, the odor grew stronger and stronger until they came upon the charred remnants that had been their friends, Draelond and Ruze. Lit as they were in the soft green glow of the portal, the group almost expected the blackened remains to rise up and attack, but they didn't.

Not looking directly at the remains, Ixin approached the portal and everyone got into position. "Everybody remembers the plan?" she asked and received nods from the group. "Okay then. Get ready."

She reached out and placed her hand on the rune that corresponded to Spiderwood.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #238] Heroes at the Gate

Feln went through the portal first, stepping out of the dim cave into a brilliant morning in Byr. The sky overhead was free of clouds and so deep and bright a blue that it looked as though it had been freshly scrubbed. The ground beneath the bronzewoods that girded the clearing was shrouded in light mist - the ghost of a fog ready to burn away at the barest touch of Orin's Shield. The crisp morning air was pleasant, but promised to become a Wealsun day that would be hot and humid. Feln's nose was filled immediately with the familiar earthy scent of the forest, but beneath it was an unwholesome hint of rot and corruption.

Of the giant, there was no immediate sign, so he followed the plan and crept gracefully westward, away from the portal, his staff held in one hand and his sling in the other. He saw scorch marks on the barren earth where Ixin's flames had burned away webbing, and noted the numerous gouges and splashes of blood that remained from the battle that had been fought there the day before. Vigilantly, he padded to the altar mound and looked at the weather-worn cube of black stone. Its surface was pitted from exposure to rain and wind and gouged by overzealous blows from a sacrificial knife. The whole was stained by years of blood-letting.

Across the clearing from where he stood, visible between two ancient stone plinths, were some fallen trees and a mucky area of crushed plants and rotting vegetation. It was from there that the others had said the giant came, but Feln could detect no sign of the creature. He continued to sidestep south-westwards, away from both the portal and the area of fallen trees, his sling ready for the first sign of the giant.

He motioned for Vade to come through and the halfling stepped out of the caves clutching his sling in one hand. The little rogue hadn't made it more than 15 feet when Feln caught sight of a shadowy movement amidst the trees. At once he spun his sling and let fly the scentbreaker he had cradled within its leather pouch. The bag wasn't particularly aerodynamic, but Feln's skill with the sling was excellent, and no sooner had the giant's rat-like head appeared from the shadowy bower of its lair than the scentbreaker struck it across the snout. An alchemical cloud erupted around the thing's head, eliciting a scream of discomfort from the giant.

Even from his position some sixty feet away, Vade could smell the distinct odors of camphor, menthol, licorice and pine. He grinned, watching the rat-giant's eyes and nose stream with liquid as it came forward, toward Feln. It made it as far as the nearest standing stone when Windstryder stepped through the portal and crouched down on one knee. She had a small tin of bladefire and she set the burning container down by her side and readied her bow.

Morier came through the portal next with Ledare right behind him. The albino had his glittering silver greatsword unsheathed and ready. His job was to protect Vade, and he moved up beside the halfling and readied his sword should the creature turn his way. Ledare stepped in and moved westward, away from Windstryder and Vade. She raised her hand crossbow and squeezed off a shot at the creature, but her arrow ricocheted off the giant's tough, rubbery hide.

Vade placed a flashpellet in his sling and spun it around over his head before sending it at the creature. The tiny bead of chemicals fell six feet short of his target, erupting in a burst of light that never the less caused the giant to wail and blink, dazzled by the flash. "Yes!" Vade shouted before activating the Ring of Invisibility and fading from view.

Ixin came through the portal last and as soon as she did so, an incantation was on her lips. She gestured at the dazed giant and shouted, "Vuthasjach!" The shadows that pooled beneath the monster began to writhe and claw their way up its body, but the giant did as it had done once before and managed at the last moment to step out of the spell's area of effect. The frustrated shadows collapsed across the ground.

His quarterstaff spinning defensively in his hands, Feln stepped up beside the nearest standing stone, seeking partial cover against the attack that he suspected would soon be coming from the rat-headed creature. The giant didn't disappoint and it charged toward him with an angry roar, its claws slashing outward. Feln was able to expertly dodge the attack and its long nails scrabbled uselessly across the standing stone.

Windstryder dipped an arrow in the tin of bladefire, took aim and sent it toward the giant's back. The flaming arrow arched up across the clearing, but clattered off the huge stone plinth behind the creature.

Morier could no longer see Vade, so he could no longer protect the halfling as he had been directed. So he did what he felt any warrior worth his sword would do: he charged the creature menacing one of his companions. The move would have been an unintentional mimic of Draelond's doomed assault, except that the elf failed to injure his target. His greatsword struck at an unwieldy angle and slid harmlessly off its grey-green flesh.

Ledare cursed and fired her hand-crossbow again. The bolt flew well wide of the mark, however.

Vade flickered momentarily into view as he tossed a jug of oil at the giant. He missed unfortunately, and the ceramic container shattered against the standing stone, splashing both the rat monster and Feln in the process. "Oops!" the halfling shouted before activating the Ring and disappearing again.

Ixin moved forward, getting within range to try her Net of Shadows again.

Feln backed up five feet, keeping the giant flanked between himself and Morier. His quarterstaff whirled in his hands, a ready defense against the dazzled monster's attacks. Of course, it now split its attention between the two companions, and slashed its claws in two directions. Again, the partial cover provided by the standing stone saved Feln from a nasty slash from the giant's claws. Morier had no such protection, and he suffered a claw wound to the face that opened the elf's pale flesh to the bone. Before he could recover, the giant's jaws descended and tore flesh away from his right forearm.

Morier reeled from the savage assault, realizing too late that he was probably overmatched by this creature in hand-to-hand combat. Still, he had to try. He put every ounce of his strength behind his sword and drove the weapon halfway to the hilt in the giant's right thigh. The silver blade scraped across the bone and sent a river of black blood streaming down the monster's leg when Morier withdrew the weapon. The giant let loose with a scream of pain unlike any they had heard from it yet.

Both Windstryder and Ledare, startled by the giant's roar, fired their missiles off into the trees.

Vade appeared long enough to toss another jug of oil onto the rat-monster and shout to Morier, "We're supposed to be trying to get passed this guy. Run away already!" This time the jug broke open across the creature's back, drenching half its body in oil.

"Vuthasjach!" Ixin intoned again, gesturing expansively as her magic urged the shadows up and over the rat monster. This time, there was no escape for the giant and it roared again as the Net of Shadows closed over it, completely concealing it from the Companions and concealing the Companions from it.