The Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #252c] The Light That Rent The Sky

Contrary to how it might seem, the celestial in this post is not a direct response to Hairy Minotaur's recent inclusion of a pit fiend in his story hour.

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"The tenants of canon law dictate that I must offer succor to those who serve Lord Arundel's fief," Maerwynn was telling Vade and Feln. "In return, his lordship affords the shrine exception from all taxes. It is a well-balanced and orderly accord, blessed fully by Sato, himself."

"So we don't owe you anything?" Vade said again. The expression on his face indicated that he was having trouble getting his mind wrapped around the concept of something for nothing - at least in so far as he didn't have to do anything sneaky to get it. Everything about this place made him uneasy.

"It is we who owed you," the cleric explained. "You came to Hillville Junction's aid and were injured in the process. My church's charter clearly indicates that it is my duty to heal those injuries as is within my power."

Feln bowed. "Thank you, Orderbringer," he said. "No matter what you might think, I am in your debt."

Maerwynn smiled sweetly and placed her hand on the martial artist's shoulder. "Go forth in a spirit of community and do the good works of Law that-" she started. Windstryder throwing open the double doors of the shrine cut her short.

"Ah, Feln!" the ranger said, moving easily toward the gathered three. She clasped wrists with the half orc and nodded to the cleric. "Holy One. I have returned to seek your help with my wounds."

"Of course," Maerwynn smiled and channelled healing energy into the elf. When she was done, she carefully arranged her robes. "I would thank you again for retrieving our Gift of the Star and for eliminating the nest of Chaos that festered unknowingly so close to our very hearths."

"I was charged by the king to find the girl and return her to Barnacus," Windstryder replied. "And I cannot say with certainty that the bug man threat is eliminated. I have scouted the area and have not seen signs of a new attack to reacquire the Holy One, but that does not mean it is not on the horizon." The Orderbringer looked shocked.

"The threat remains?" she asked and Windstryder shrugged.

"Perhaps," she answered. "But I have been charged to return the Holy One to Barnacus and I intend to do so. Feln and I started this journey and we need to finish it."

"Surely you can abide a short delay," the cleric told her. "Time enough to ensure that the lair of our enemies does lie empty." Windstryder shook her head.

"I think we should leave as soon as we can be provisioned to go," she told the cleric.

"Then I will be compelled to require monetary recompense for the healing I have given," Maerwynn said, her face gone suddenly stern. "The cost for foreigners is 360 pieces of gold."

"But you said that it was all free," Vade protested.

"The canons require me to aid those who serve Lord Arundel's demesne. They also provide me great latitude in deciding who I feel should qualify," she stated. "You have not given me sufficient cause to believe that the threat to Hillville Junction has been eliminated. You may have stirred up more trouble than you have alleviated. Until I am convinced that the lair is truly empty, I cannot in good conscience consider you to have served this community."

Vade shot Windstryder a reproachful look.

"Good job, blabbermouth," he scolded.



Ilea had spent the day as she had spent so many since she found herself in Hillville Junction. She sat on the greensward of the village commons, gazing up at the firmament with the River Druett muttering and splashing at her back. She spoke to no one, but people were drawn to her presence none the less. They gathered in groups of two or three and watched her as she watched the sky.

Ledare trudged down from Arundel Manor in the afternoon glow of Orin's Shield. the Janissary met Vade, Feln and Windstryder and Morier and Ixin at the edge of the commons and she held up a twisted leaf for the others to see.

"I found this tacked to my door," she said and Morier held up a similar leaf. "There's a message on it that says to meet here."

"We found one too," the albino said and Windstryder nodded.

"I left them," she said bluntly. "We need to discuss our next move."

"I found some interesting information in that book Vade and Feln found," Ledare offered.

"And we found some interesting things in the bug men's lair," Ixin put in but Windstryder shook her head.

"Only the girl matters. I do not know the nature of the Holy One's power nor her role in the plague that I sense on the wind, but I do know to Barnacus she must go," the ranger said. "Will you all wish to continue with Feln and I? Lord Janissary, I know I hold no power to compel your attendance but I wanted you to know where I stand with you and your team."

Ledare ran her fingers through her closely shorn hair. "My duty, too, lies with the king," she admitted. "But I think that we would be remiss not to avail ourselves of any new information that might aid us."

"I understand new items have been obtained to assist us in our quest," Windstryder said with a wave of her hand. "I think, they should be distributed to those of us that can use them. Does anyone have anything el-?"

Just then the wind picked up and a cry of fear arose from amidst the commoners gathered on the greensward. A dark knot of swirling cloud had appeared without warning in the blue sky above the village green. The few sheep on the commons fled at once, bleating in fear. The peasants clutched one another, quaking in superstitious awe. Ilea had risen to her feet and had her arms spread welcoming to the heavens.

"Trouble!" Ledare said, her hand reaching for her longsword. Windstryder already had her bow out and was moving toward the girl. Feln was at her heels.

"What is it?" Morier asked even as his greatsword hissed from its scabbard.

"A gate," Ixin offered in a small voice.

With a thunderclap, the dark cloud parted and a solid column of light poured forth that was so bright it forced everyone present to look away. When they were able to look back once more, the brilliance was gone, replaced with a figure of such singular beauty that no one could speak. He looked like an elf with hair the color of sunshine and eyes that dripped with light. He stood naked and glowed as if he were limned in silver faerie fire. An aura of serenity and peace surrounded him despite the crackling sword of fire that he bore in one hand. He came toward the girl and where he stepped, he left footprints of flowers.

"Ilea," he said in a voice that was at once horrible and wonderful to hear. "I have come for you."

"The test is over?" she cried and threw her arms around his torso. He hugged her with one arm and smiled. Those commoners nearest him burst into tears at the beauty of that smile.

"There was no test, young one," he said and indicated the village with a sweep of his flaming greatsword. "This... All this... is for you no longer. You were stolen from us." And at this his face grew momentarily angry. Flames danced in his eyes and people shrieked and fainted all around. He had regained his composure when he spoke again.

"You six," he said and the Companions knew that he spoke directly to them. "You risked much to aid my charge and I would offer you a reward. I am privy to much information that is beyond your perception I would offer it to you in a manner of your choice. I can offer you ten questions answered by my masters through Commune. I can answer three questions in a more thorough manner such as I myself am able. Or I can tell you three things of my choosing which you do not know but that might well serve you to have answered."

"And this I tell you without condition," he added. "The same weapons that our enemies thought to make of Ilea are the very building blocks that will save your king. Look to their lair for the cure."

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Contrary to how it might seem, the celestial in this post is not a direct response to Hairy Minotaur's recent inclusion of a pit fiend in his story hour.

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"You six," he said and the Companions knew that he spoke directly to them. "You risked much to aid my charge and I would offer you a reward. I am privy to much information that is beyond your perception I would offer it to you in a manner of your choice. I can offer you ten questions answered by my masters through Commune. I can answer three questions in a more thorough manner such as I myself am able. Or I can tell you three things of my choosing which you do not know but that might well serve you to have answered."

"And this I tell you without condition," he added. "The same weapons that our enemies thought to make of Ilea are the very building blocks that will save your king. Look to their lair for the cure."

I hope for the party's sake they picked the 10 questions, I hope for the DM's sake they chose the 3 question version.

I don't think there's a correlation between the 2 outsiders at all, unless......

 

[Jon Potter]

I hope for the party's sake they picked the 10 questions, I hope for the DM's sake they chose the 3 question version.

I was surprised when they jumped at the threee things of his choosing. The rationale being that they wouldn't waste their questions asking about things that are irrelevant.

It wouldn't have been my first choice.

I don't think there's a correlation between the 2 outsiders at all, unless......

Nah. He's legit. A garden-variety celestial.

It would have been funny though.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

I was surprised when they jumped at the threee things of his choosing. The rationale being that they wouldn't waste their questions asking about things that are irrelevant.

It wouldn't have been my first choice.



Nah. He's legit. A garden-variety celestial.

It would have been funny though.

If I was in the party I'd want the 10 questions. Where can I find " "? could illicit a vague enough answer, yet still give direction.

However as the DM, 3 very clear and consise answers will get the party moving along the lines you want.

I wait almost patiently to read what info the party was given.

Keep up the great work Jon!

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #253] Mysterious Answers

His intense, glowing eyes studied the Companions as they sheepishly came forward into a group. They looked at one another but for what seemed a long time, no one spoke. Not even Vade.

At last Feln stepped forward and dropped respectfully to one knee. "By your leave," he said to the glowing figure who watched them all so closely and turned to his friends. "Windstryder, I defer to your better judgement," he announced. "I have given you an oath to help you in your quest and I will trust your judgement in this area." Looking at Ledare he added. "I feel that you and Windstryder should make the final decision."

The half-orc then reached down and scooped Vade into his arms like a child. "Come, Vade," he said. "Let us step aside and let them council."

"Hey!" the rogue protested. "We are all in this together! I am a half-LING, not a half-WIT. Put me down... please?!" Feln did so and looked apologetically at the halfling.

"I am sorry," he began. "I didn't think-"

"As Papa said, 'I know you have brains Boy, the question is are yous smart enough to use 'em?'," Vade said with a hurt look on his face. "I can help make good questions. You said you trusted me."

"I am sorry," Feln repeated as Vade darted back to the others. The half-orc sat down, cross-legged in the grass and waited for the others to come up with a strategy.

"I sense a lack of accord," the man said in his voice like musical thunder. His eyes studied them as if he were reading their very thoughts. "Decide quickly 'ere I must leave you. I may not linger long on this world lest I violate Umba's Injunction."

"I can think of lots of things I'd like to know," Vade chirped and three sets of hands reached out to clap over his mouth. He dodged them al and looked reproachfully at his companions. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Even as a newcomer, there are a thousand questions I would like to know answers to," Morier said before Vade could say anything more. "But our group has many agendas and we fight many battles on many fronts, even if we do work toward the same end. If we select to be enlightened by three pieces of knowledge, we can use those as the foundation of our new focus."

He stopped and looked at the faces of those gathered around him. "I have said my piece and will accept the decision of the group whatever it shall be, but my voice has been heard."

"You speak wisely, Morier," Ledare told him. "And if Windstryder has no objections, I agree with your course."

"Like Feln, I will defer to you, Lord Janissary," the elf explained. "You know more of the whole scheme whereas my mission is of a more limited scope."

"Then you have reached an accord?" the glowing figure asked although there was something of a statement in the question. Ledare nodded in reply and took a single step forward. She looked up at the man, who while he looked like an elf, seemed to stand as tall as an ogre. She had to squint her eyes against the brilliance of his countenance.

"We have not been together as a party long, and we each have our own private struggles and burdens," she told him. "I think we stand to gain more as a group from your divine guidance. We ask that three things be told to us, in hopes that they will unify and direct our efforts toward ridding this world of the evils which plague it."

"As you wish," the man said and he smiled down at her. "I speak now of the past. Twice has Oerune seen the death of a god. Most recently the Red God of Hule, Cretia the All-Seeing, slew Riane, the goddess of equality, freedom, and immortality. There was great lamentation amongst the gods and her corpse gave birth to Umba, the Devourer. It was he who decreed that the affairs of man and the affairs of god should remain forever separated and that Injunction has kept it so to this day."

"One who was once amongst you bore, all unknowingly, a bit of Riane's divine spark," the figure mused. "But Riane's death, while terrible, was merciful when compared to Dridana's murder at the hand of Aphyx. After her forces were defeated and her son locked away, the goddess of decay and disease ripped the living heart from the goddess of things that grow in the earth. Aphyx bound Dridana's essence to a red gemstone and secreted it away so that her spark could not be reborn into a new godform. For the Queen of Rot knew that the Fruitful One would always oppose her and thus has Brogine's twin languished since the Age of Pestilence."

He bowed his head and paused for a moment. A great melancholy had settled into him at the telling of his tale, and it made hearts ache to see sadness on a face possessed of such otherworldly beauty.

"I speak now of the present," he said at last. "The veil between worlds has been pierced. There is one amongst you who comes from another existence and there are those who seek her return. Ilea was snatched from Purgatorium a mere 11 days into her Walk of a Hundred Days and returned to the mortal coil before she could complete her ascension. It is all but unheard of for the god of endings to be denied, and her abduction was wrought by evil magics men were not meant to know. But where Calaam is cheated once, might he not be cheated again? Events in Battle City unfold that may have a profound effect on your lives if not your quest. For it is unwise that mortals should owe a second debt to Myrkhul and it is difficult to shed the baggage of a life once-lived."

"I speak now of the future. But it is a future as will likely be, not as it must," the man said. "Events transpire to the south that will lead to bloodshed across The Realms. One who the Janissary did not trust is suddenly not trusted by those who were once his staunchest supporters though the fault of it is not his own. Follow his trail and you will uncover a dark and twisted secret kept from the eyes of good and evil alike for millennia. I foresee ancient evils thought long buried brought to the surface and forces for good thought lost found once more. One who you counted as enemy will become as your friend. And one who was your friend will become the worst kind of enemy. I see dead friends avenged and living friends lost. I see one amongst you making a choice between following their heart or following their duty. And I see a scorned love trudge ever onward toward an unpleasant end."

And saying thus he sagged as if whatever ability he had used to divine the future had taken the strength from his body. He stooped there for what seemed a long time, but when he stood his face was filled with the same vigorous light it had held before.

"And now I must take my leave," he boomed. "Ilea must complete her Walk across the Seasons of the Soul. She has much to contemplate before she reaches Aoemzyre and completes her ascension to the celestial host. She has much bitterness about her death at the hands of one she called friend and she must rid her spirit of it lest Myrkhul judge her poorly."

Ilea looked up at him with a hesitant sort of expression - as if she were only now remembering what had come before for her. A glimmer of recognition crossed her serene face and she turned to look at Ledare even as the column of light descended once more from the heavens. Her green eyes locked onto the Janissary's and for an instant before the light became so bright that Ledare had to look away, she was sure that she saw another face overlaying the girl's - a face that bore the scars from an attack by a broad banded hawk.

"Soriah?" Ledare almost whispered as she squinted back in the direction of the girl, but both she and her protector were gone. Spots danced in front of Ledare's eyes and tears were wet on her cheeks.

"Well, did that make any sense to anybody?" Vade grumbled. He shook his head in an I-told-you-so fashion. "You guys should have let me as the questions."

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I couldn't resist being vague. And I also couldn't resist stealing a little from PirateCat with the celestial's prophecies.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

" But where Calaam is cheated once, might he not be cheated again? Events in Battle City unfold that may have a profound effect on your lives if not your quest. For it is unwise that mortals should owe a second debt to Myrkhul and it is difficult to shed the baggage of a life once-lived."
[/i]

Interesting, this is the part that is most intriguing to me.

Good work Jon.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #254] Back to the Caves

Windstryder scratched her head at and snorted derisively. "I'm beginning to agree with you, little one," she said.

"More riddles," Ledare grumbled. "And I certainly can't make heads or tales of it."

"I don't know," Vade mused, adopting a thoughtful expression and rubbing his chin. "I think we may have gotten good information from this guy. But it'll just take some time to process."

"We are at a crossroads, it is very plain," Feln offered. "Windstryder, my pledge to you has been fulfilled; we have found Ilea and although we did not get her to the king, I think she is where she belongs." Windstryder squinted at the half-orc for a moment and then nodded her head.

"Feln, you traveled with me when you did not need to. You were part of my team as if you were a ranger. Your team debt is now paid. You performed well, and may travel as part of my team any time," she told him and reached into a pouch at her hip. "Here, if ever in need and a Ranger is near present this. They will aid you." Feln took what she offered and looked at the acorn ensribed all about with tiny symbols.

"Thank you," he said and slipped it away.

"But for now, it seems my mission has been completed although I have not gone to the King," Windstryder said. Turning to Ledare she added, "As his direct emissary, I will follow your orders, Lord Janissary."

"My first charge is also from the King," the half-elf answered. "However, since it appears we will not be taking Ilea to him, and we may be able to find some kind of cure in the caves, it makes sense to go there first."

"Then how do you suggest we alert the King that we have found Ilea and still try to rid Barnacus of the Plague?" Windstryder countered. "I and Feln can travel to Barnacus if there is no other way." Feln shook his head at this.

"I agree that saving Barnacus is important, Windstryder," the martial artist said. "King and country and all. But I stand in Hillville Junction and these people have the taint of chaos stalking their fields at night and stealing sleeping babes from their windows. I will cleanse those caves and I ask that you join me in that. Once it is done I will accompany you to search for a cure for Barnacus."

"Without Ilea to deliver in person, I believe your task now falls in step with mine, Windstryder," the Janissary told her. "We should do whatever is necessary to help cleanse the city of Barnacus, and its king, from this plague. Of that there is no question. But hopefully the answers lie in the caves. We will need to be rested and at full strength before we enter them again."

"As you say," the ranger nodded. "We will to the caves tomorrow. In the meantime, I will follow your lead as to these prophecies the celestial spoke of. I have noticed the taint of Chaos on the winds and in the lands. I would like to see it rid of this evil."

"What of you?" Ledare asked, looking at Morier, Ixin and Vade. "What are your thoughts on our next course of action?"

"I am in full agreement with Feln in this matter," the albino said. "We must clean things up here before we move onward." Ixin nodded.

"We must go first back to the caves, using all of our weapons and abilities," the sorcerer said. "Once the cave is cleared, we can decide on our next step."

"We need to go and clean up the bug men," Vade said with what served him as a fierce scowl on his face. "It seems urgent to me."



So it was agreed and they spent the remainder of the evening going over the details of the prophecies, debating their meanings and committing them to paper lest they be forgotten. Ledare shared what she had read in the "Trials of Decay" and Ixin told the group about ap-Llewellyn's willingness to buy some of their acquired goods. They concluded that it would be a good idea to use Hillville Junction as a "home base" for a few days after they cleared out the caves. That would give Morier a chance to scribe a few scrolls, Ledare and Ixin a chance to read more of their books, Feln a chance to do a little weaponsmithing, and Vade the opportunity to visit some local shops that had attracted his attention.

Feln took the opportunity to approach Lord Arundel with a question that had been on his mind since first meeting the aristocrat. He held up the black dagger, displaying the eagle-shaped pommel for Arundel and asked, "Sir, I know your community has been through a great deal as of late but I beg you for a moment to tell me what you might know of the symbol on this dagger?"

Lorde Arundel knew nothing, but sent for Geneviève the Fair, a travelling bard who was performing that week at the Greenbrier Inn. She studied the dirk with interest, but could offer Feln little beyond the vague notion that it resembled the heraldry of the fallen Black Eagle Kingdom. Disappointed once again, the half-orc retired to his room to meditate while the others sat up listening to Geneviève's singing and lute playing.



"Roland! Roland!! Roland!!! Dekonic and Roland! Roland! Roland!! Roland!!! Brynn-toth!!!!" Vade sang the chorus to 'The Ballad of Roland of Leer' in his vest off-key voice on the way out of town, but he didn't need to be silenced as they drew near the wood. He could easily appreciate the seriousness of their situation this time.

The cave entrance was abandoned and Windstryder made a quick and silent pass through the surrounding woods, confirming the absence of any fresh tracks in the area other than their own. Once again, Feln went alone into the complex (although this time, paying closer attention for traps), and found no immediate signs that the caves were occupied. The others followed him inside.

They found three chambers that seemed to serve as living chambers of some kind - there were bits of molted exoskeleton, gnawed bones, and silvery splatters that Windstryder identified as droppings. A fourth, larger chamber was piled with miscellaneous items apparently looted from the Junction - mainly ruptured sacks of grain, a barrel half-full of pork jerky, and the like.

"Gellir will want to bring some men up here to recover this once we're finished," Ledare commented. "Most of it's still good."

"I'll say," Vade grinned with a strip of jerky clamped in his teeth like a cigar.

In the end, they determined that they had searched the entire complex with the exception of the chamber where they had previously heard the clicking and clacking of giant insects. It was here that they finally gathered and listened to the sound again.

"We're clearly not alone," Ixin whispered out of the side of her mouth. Morier nodded and adjusted his grip on his greatsword.

"This is why we're here," the albino remarked. He lay a reassuring hand on Vade's slim shoulder. The halfling was holding his glowing dagger like a tiny torch. He gulped audibly as they moved forward.

The narrow corridor opened suddenly into an enormous chamber. The floor was worked smooth and flat, the walls were tall and chiseled, the ceiling was some forty feet above. Heavy wooden counters skirted three walls, littered with bits of exoskeleton, metal and glass. A strange apparatus of steel and glass towered in the far corner, all rings and globes and twisted bits of wire. Ledare had seen something similar once before - in Andamacles' laboratory - but she didn't have time to remark on it before they heard the hissing and turned to see the aberration clinging to the wall above the door.

It looked as if it might have been a lunatic's idea of a huge scorpion - 15 feet long, not counting its tail - but it clearly wasn't a natural creature. Its shell was an amalgam of different-colored exoskeletons; the black of scorpions along with the bristly brown of spiders and the striped of wasps and bees were all present, held together with angry metal staples and thick silvery thread. Half its limbs were made of jointed steel that oozed greenish-black fluid; its pincers looked like solid blocks of metal. Its segmented tail was draped with flexible tubes and ended in a massive, polished needle. A single eye glowed red in the darkness as a strange device not unlike a mounted crossbow swivelled about on its back to target these interlopers.

 

[Jon Potter]

A tiny, tiny hint of what's to come...

"Eeep!" Vade cried, as he activated the Ring of Invisibility and promptly vanished.

The... thing... didn't move in reaction to the halfling's disappearance, but the strange crossbow-like device built onto its back swiveled slowly around to track a path in the direction of the weird machine crouched in the corner.

Ledare sheathed her sword and drew her six-shooter crossbow in one graceful motion. Unfortunately, the shot she squeezed off went horribly awry and her quarrel shattered against the stone wall. As if to show her how it was done, Windstryder drew and fired a pair of arrows in rapid succession, sending one arrow into the creature's head and another into the shoulder joint directly beside it. The aberration squealed in pain and shuddered as it shifted slightly to face the ranger.

"Telum magica!" Ixin shouted and pointed her right hand at the creature. Two crimson-tailed bolts of force arced from her fingertips and sizzled against the monster's exoskeleton. It shrieked in pain again and directed itself toward the sorcerer, but before it could react, Morier stepped up beside Ixin.

"Contuliath!" the eldritch warrior intoned, pointing his wand of Color Spray at the thing's head. A sheet of clashing hues washed over the aberration and it slumped on its perch. From his position in the shadows, Feln watched the creature's needle-tipped tail droop across its back and its metal-sheathed pincers hang slack against the wall.

He grinned.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #255] The One Left Behind

"What the hell kind of freak are you?" the half-orc taunted even as Ledare fired another shot from her hand crossbow. This time the Janissary's bolt stuck solidly in the first joint of the thing's foreleg and the creature let out a thin squeal. As Feln moved forward, his hands worked at his quarterstaff. He gave it a twist and it split into two clubs; he dropped one and gave the remaining piece another twist. It separated into two lengths of wood connected in the middle by a short chain. He got it spinning in one hand, jumped up, planted his foot on the wall and jumped again until he was eye level with the scorpion-thing for a moment. In that split second, he slammed the nunchaku in its face and the weapon clanked against the armor protecting the creature's brain.

From his vantage point near the machine, Vade watched Feln's acrobatic display with a grin. When he saw the thing's armor repel his companion's assault he looked at the sling in his own little hands and gave an inadequate sigh. He moved along the wall using the Slippers of Spider Climbing, loaded the weapon and sent a bullet at the aberration. It rattled across the monster's back without striking solidly and the halfling cursed as he became visible.

Ledare fired a third shot from her repeating crossbow, missing again while Windstryder sank a pair of closely spaced arrows into the creature's enormous metal forelimbs. It writhed in pain and let out another piercing wail.

"It's coming out of it," Ixin warned before she drew mana from the invisible web of magic that surrounded her, directing it through word and gesture into a pair of fiery missiles. They slammed into the creature's back, raising to four the number of scorched craters in its exoskeleton.

"No. It's not!" Morier told the sorcerer and activated his wand of Color Spray again. The patchwork scorpion had enough time to move forward half-a-step before the prismatic cone washed over the creature and it grew still once more. Feln shook his head in disbelief.

"This thing is no challenge!" the martial artist growled. "No wonder they left it behind!" He repeated his earlier feat of acrobatics - made easier now that the monstrosity had lurched forward before succumbing to Morier's Color Spray once more - and slammed his nunchaku against the thing's left pincer. A crack appeared in what was apparently a weakened section of its armor. Green-black ichor began to spill from the wound.

"Keep your mind on the battle," Ledare suggested as she fired another errant bolt from her crossbow.

"I seem to be doing alright," Feln grinned back. His nunchaku traced a dangerous pattern around his body as it spun.

"Are we going to use more spells because I want to stay out of the way!" Vade called from up on the wall. He whirled his sling around and sent a bullet into the aberration's tail at the base. There was a sputtering sound and a thin streamer of smoke rose from the impact site.

"Stay back for now, Vade!" Ledare advised as she sank another quarrel into the scorpion's forelimb. "Our tactics seem sound. Don't get in the way of Morier's magic!"

"Or my arrows!" Windstryder barked sending two more shafts at the thing in rapid succession. The first sank into its head a hand's width from its glowing red eye. The second struck the think armor at an odd angle and ricocheted off into the shadows.

"Telum magica!" Ixin shouted for the third time, sending another pair of sizzling force bolts into the scorpion's back. Morier grinned, his teeth merely a paler shade of white, in the semi-darkness as he raised his wand again.

"Contuliath!" he intoned and a disorienting burst of color slammed into the creature. When it cleared, the eldritch warrior's field of vision was filled with metallic death as a pincer as large as a good-sized chest came at him, propelled forward by six, rapidly pistoning legs. It was a clumsy attack, to be sure, but Morier was ill-prepared to avoid it. The claw snapped down, vise-like over his right forearm. Metal serrations on the pincer's inner surfaces bit into his bleached flesh and pain exploded up Morier's arm as he felt himself lifted easily off the ground. Feln moved forward, putting himself right in front of the thing and slammed his nunchaku against its arm in an effort to get it to release the elf, but it did no good.

Vade took careful aim and sent a bullet at the creature, striking the side of the crossbow-like device on its back. It appeared to do no damage.

Ledare fired the last shot from her repeating hand crossbow at the thing only to have it turned aside by its armor. She dropped the spent weapon and drew her silver-iron longsword. It cut a vicious arc through the air and drew sparks and a shriek of pain from the monster as it bit into its shoulder.

Windstryder switched to firing only a single arrow to increase her accuracy now that Morier was in the way of her target. She focused all of her concentration into aiming her arrow... and nearly fell as she stumbled on some loose rocks. Her arrow shattered against the chamber wall.

Ixin took a step back so as to not immediately draw the monster's attacks and cast Magic Missile a fourth time. The bolts of energy leapt from her fingertips, swerved to avoid Morier's flailing legs, and sizzled into the scorpion's armor. It squealed and turned to fix her with its glowing eye.

Morier, for his part, could think of little to do to save himself. The hand holding his wand was pointed at the ceiling and separated from him by the wall of metal that was the scorpion's pincer. He needed both hands to cast any spells or to wield his sword. The elemental powers of the storm raged within him, but he needed the cold steel of his sword to release them. He needed to free himself! He swung his feet around and braced them against one side of the scorpion's claw while he gripped the other side with his left hand.

And then he strained.

The scorpion gave him a contemptuous shake and dropped his limp body as it turned on Ixin and Ledare. Its other pincer licked outward and clamped down savagely on Ixin's right shin. Its needle-tipped tail arced down over its back and came at Ledare, but the Janissary was able to turn aside the javelin-sized stinger with a swipe of her shield. She could do nothing about the pale ray that came at her from the device mounted on the scorpion's back. It struck her full in the chest, with such force that it seemed to take her breath away.

It was only after a moment that she realized that it had taken away more than that. She was completely paralyzed.

Feln saw the Janissary halt in mid stride and he let out a battle shout that rang off the walls as he jumped up onto the scorpion's back and drove his fist down through the armor on top of its head. His arm sank into the thing's brain up to the elbow and for a moment he remained there - fist buried in his enemy, every muscle in his body standing out in harsh relief, his face a contorted mask of fury - with the last echoes of his ululating battle cry reverberating in everyone's ears.

The scorpion collapsed and there was silence for a moment before Feln rose to his feet, his arm dripping with oily gore. He sneered at the dead thing and growled, "They didn't build you so good, did they... freak?"

 

[Jon Potter]

[Draelond #11] Seeing the Sights

Draelond closed his eyes and tried to rest. It helped settle his mind when he couldn't see the strange form that housed him. His strength was nil, his ability to concentrate was obliterated by the thousands of questions stampeding through his mind, and he needed a plan.

All in all, being in Battle City was probably a fairly lucky draw, he thought. Of all of the places he could have been "brought back" to, at least he was within reach of where he needed to be. One of the last things he remembered was the Janissary saying something about "Little Boy Mountain" in the distance and Hillville Junction being nearby. If he recollected properly then, the Grey Companions had ported into Byr. But the past few days had been a blur.

Were they days? Hours? Minutes? Who knew if they were still there?

He thought about returning to Grey House in Barnacus. Sooner or later the group would return there... but when? Barnacus also meant returning home and he was sure that he wasn't ready to do that. He could trail them to Byr, but he felt sure that it would be days before he felt strong enough to walk across the room, let alone set out across the Realms. "Sooner or later," he thought, "Ledare will have to make a report to the King." So Barnacus it would be.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. His heart sank. He couldn't simply walk into Barnacus, knock on the door of Grey House and be given the hero's welcome.

For all intents and purposes, to everyone else he was Sir Alechtus of Gudiberg. Who would believe his story? He would be labeled a crackpot and locked up. He had to be Sir Alechtus of Gudiberg then too. How well known was he outside of Battle City? What enemies hunted him? He remembered Harcout's explanation about the Order of Endings and hunting the undead.

"There's a bit of irony for you," he thought.

None of this helped settle his mind. Things had certainly not played themselves out as he had envisioned. He just knew he'd had unfinished business and he wanted to come back and see it done. None of the complications he'd suddenly encountered had been planned for or even thought of.

He knew he needed rest now, but doubted he could summon sleep. The cold, hard slab upon which he had been laid made the idea of sleep even more remote, but he closed his eyes again and tried.



He was a little surprised to find that sleep had come after all. The shadows were long when he next opened his eyes. Clearly dusk was approaching and the empty library was filling with a darkness that lent it an otherworldly quality. For a moment, he was back in Purgatorium and he felt a shriek of fright building behind his lips but then he began to recognize his shadowy surroundings for what they were and the fear went away.

Was he the same man who had thrown himself at a giant to protect his friends not very long ago? In a very real sense, he realized, he wasn't that man any more. He did not remember fear coming to him so easily before... before... before he died. A dread feeling of despair began to stir in his guts. He didn't remember that happening to him either but he clenched his jaw and forced the feeling away.

His strength seemed to have returned, and with some effort, he got to his feet. It did him no good to lay on his back and wait for the world to find him. He needed to understand where he was and what was his situation. As he grimly wrapped his naked body in the bearskin blanket he recalled words that he had learned in his brief time training at the Janissary guildhall in Barnacus: "The warrior who chooses the field of battle is the warrior who gains the advantage."

There might not be battle in his immediate future, but there was sure to be conflict. And Draelond had precious few advantages just now. He intended to learn all he could about this strange place in which he found himself.



The city stretched out below him in all directions lit by the radience of two moons. Behind him, to the east was a dark warren of narrow streets and tired buildings that could only be a slum - the Rat Town that Harcourt had mentioned. The house in which he found himself lay in an area of well-lit shops and apartments stretching northwards to encompass what looked like a rough pentagon of barren earth in which no lights could be seen. The empty area butted up against a wide river that split the city in two. A fortified area rose up on the solitary island in the river's center, connected to both halves of the city proper by arching stone bridges. On the other side of the city, Draelond could make out merchant districts and temples. Far off, the walls of an arena rose above the surrounding buildings.

A chill night breeze ruffled the furred blanket and stung at Draelond's exposed flesh as he leaned against the rail of the house's widow's walk. He hardly felt it; a crushing weight was rapidly building on his heart.

He was a ghost...

A phantom of two dead men...

A stranger, adrift in a strange land.