Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 485477" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #199d] Showdown in the Courtyard[/PLAIN]There was no sign of Draelond or Kirnoth. By the time Finian had retraced his steps around fallen chunks of stone and the trampled bodies of those cultists unfortunate enough as to have fallen in front of their panicked fellows Rherram was rolling rubble aside. Ruze and Ledare were lying, half-buried beneath the cave-in. There was blood on Rherram's hands. The light from the Archer's drawn sword alerted the healer to his presence and he cried out, "Help me! They're bleeding to death! If we can get to the healing potions we might save them yet!""Better yet," Finian said and pulled out the one potion bottle that he'd kept. He crouched down and started to administer half of the curative to Ledare. "I was saving this for Draelond, but under the circumstances...""Help those in the most need, m'boy" the old man said. "It's the healer's code." Rherram checked the lifebeat in the Janissary's wrist; it was weak but steady. "She's stabilized," he informed the half-elf and Finian coaxed the remainder of the potion down the Battleguard's throat. Falling dust made it difficult to see."Let's hope this place stays together long enough for us to dig them out," Finian mused as he tossed the potion vial aside and started to haul rubble away from the fallen Companions.Over half of the cult had perished in the initial rain of debris. Another handful were trampled to death in the ensuing rout. Draelond had beaten two of them senseless when they failed to get out of his way. Three more were cut to pieces when they triggered the scything blade trap in the stairwell leading out. In the end, a congregation of more than fifty was reduced to a baker's dozen of torn and sweating individuals standing shakily in the courtyard of the ruined keep. The ground continued to rumble beneath their feet.Kirnoth maneuvered among them, keeping for the most part to the shadows despite his invisibility. He'd lost sight of Draelond when the large human had brained the two cultists who stood between him and the mist-filled portal. the warrior had plowed on through the crowd while the elf lurked in the rear, keeping himself away from any who might bump him and dispel his protective camouflage.He'd finally picked his way halfway to the gatehouse when he heard someone cry out, "Flor be praised!" This oath elicited several harsh looks from the cultists nearby. One of them hissed in disgust. Kirnoth followed their glances and spotted Finian, Ledare, Ruze and the old healer Rherram stumbling out of the dark throat of the stairwell. The Battleguard and the Janissary were both stained with their own blood, and all four of them were covered with dirt and dust, but the elf smiled at the sight of them just the same."These are the ones who brought ruin to us," a woman's voice rallied from amidst the crowd. She stepped forward, a mountain of a woman, with blazing eyes, and Ledare recognized Mother Bromson at once. Mom wore her unappealing human face, but the Janissary still vividly remembered her features shifting to that of a red-eyed wererat in the temple below. "These are the ones who must pay!" she said and stabbed a thick finger at the battered figures huddled around the entrance to the dungeon.</blockquote>

Verification