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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 903863" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #222] Question & Answer[/PLAIN]Draelond paused for a moment to adjust his grip on Ravager and then plunged into the tunnel after the glowing ball of light that he knew was Finian's invisible sunrod. Ixin followed close behind him. The warrior noticed the tunnel was brightening as soon as he reached the dogleg and saw the warm glow of firelight once he stepped out into the chamber beyond. The Archer's sunrod clinked to the ground nearby and Draelond hear Finian's disembodied voice  whisper down from above, "It is my job to stay out of the way. You do what you need to do and don't worry about hitting me."A dozen torches lit the cavern, Draelond saw. It was large and high-ceilinged and it seemed to be raining within. Water dripped down steadily from the stalactites above and flowed in from some underground source, trickling over the stone formations on the floor in slow sheets. The large, flat rock formations were spread throughout the cavern, giving it the look of a giant stack of coins. Den Lant was charging across the center of the room - or trying to at least. The weird elevations of the stone floor seemed to be giving him trouble and he was more lurching across the floor than he was charging. His course was meandering, but his target was clear. The highest formation in the room was covered by rugs and pelts, and the well-dressed leader of the werebats sat there on a cushioned chair. He seemed to have recovered from Ixin's scare and he sat watching Lant negotiate the uneven floor with a bemused expression on his dark, pointed face. A werebat in a purple cloak stood behind him. "Leave this place, old man, or end up as food for the crawlers!" the leader shouted to Lant."I'm not leaving without my daughter!" the man bellowed back, using his quarterstaff as a counter balance as he fought against the uncertain footing. "Where is she?"The leader scowled and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand and his elbow on his knee. "You keep going on about your daughter," he said. "But I'm quite sure I don't have a clue what you're talking about.""That's odd..," Ledare murmured as she eased over toward the unconscious werebat. "Draelond is most effective with his sword. It seems quite unusual that there would still be life in this body. In fact, there's not a mark on it that I can see.""In the heat of battle, it was difficult to say with certainty, but I think that creature may have been engaged with Ixin. But, any way Kitten, what say you we immobilize that skaven before it wakes up?" the Battleguard asked as he moved to join Ledare. Catching sight of the carrion crawler lying beside the werebat he stopped short and pointed at it with his scimitar. "Is that carrion crawler unable to attack?"Ledare turned and looked at the thing's crushed skull and the noxious soup of brains revealed within. She shook her head. "Not unless it turns undead," she told the cleric. "Dragongirl really did a number on it with her morningstar."Ruze gave the Janissary a stern look and touched his holy symbol. "Best not to make jokes about the undead," he said before crouching down beside the sleeping werebat. "Do we have any way to tie this creature so that it can't escape?"Ledare reached behind her back and unclipped the standard-issue manacles that she carried at her waist*. Letting them dangled from one hand she grinned. "Will these do?"Ruze craned his neck as if trying to get a look at Ledare's armored behind and asked, "What else do you have back there?"Now it was Ledare's turn to give a stern look. She tossed the manacles to Ruze and frowned. "Let's keep our minds on the task at hand, shall we?""You winged devils took her from the caravanserai last night!" Den Lant cried. "I know you have her here!""Oh. Her," the leader said and leaned back on his throne. He made an off-handed gesture and shrugged. "She's dead. Has been since last night, I believe.""What?!" Lant groaned, stopping short a half-dozen paces from the raised platform of stone on which the skaven leader sat."You can find what's left of her down below if you'd like," the werebat smiled a cruel smile. "I don't know why you'd want to though. She was an ugly thing, wasn't she?" The taunts were all the more Lant could stand. He charged, eyes dripping with bitter tears of rage and loss. The robed werebat spread its membranous wings and leaped over the leader's throne, drifting down to meet Lant's advance with its shortsword.Den Lant had spent most of his life as a caravan guard, the last twenty years travelling with Mikal Tobrannon. Before that, he had trained for a time with the Tuk Academy in Restenford and gained there an intimate knowledge of fighting with the quarterstaff. There was little that Lant hadn't seen over the years and he lived his life not being roused by the goings on in the world around him. When it came to his daughter, however, he was possessed of a single-minded ruthlessness that seemed at odds with the man's generally impassive nature. The news of his daughter's death provoked his violent excesses and it cost him his life.Lant swung his quarterstaff underhanded, intending to catch the advancing skaven on the chin. He struck the uneven floor, however, and left himself wide open to a savage slash across the throat. He gargled on his own blood, and staggered clamping his hand futilely over the vicious wound. Crimson rivulets pulsed through his fingers but somehow he didn't fall."You should have joined me when you had the chance!" the leader shouted. His laughter echoed and reechoed off the cave walls and ceiling, drowning out the stealthy sound of Finian's approach from behind."Wake up!" Ledare growled, slapping the unconscious werebat's snout. It took three more open-handed smacks to wake it, and when it came around, it was slowly. When the truth of its situation became apparent, it let out a mewling whimper.The skaven was lying on its back with its arms awkwardly manacled behind it. Ledare and Ruze stood one on either side of it with the points of their swords hovering dangerously close to its hairy neck. It fixed them with a red eye and bared its teeth impotently."Who was the bat man leader?" Ruze asked, prodding the werebat with his scimitar for emphasis. In response the creature curled its lip and let out a squeaking that might have passed for laughter."This is getting us nowhere," Ledare hissed and drew back her sword to stab the helpless prisoner. "I don't trust any skaven, breathing or otherwise.""His name is Valdymyr!" the werebat quickly blurted out. "He's my boss but he don't run the show 'round here. There's a guy name of Corben who really calls the shots. Now don't kill me. Please!"Ruze exchanged a look with Ledare and gave her a surreptitious wink. "What say you, Janissary?" the cleric asked. "Should we listen to what he has to say? I am sure this is not a chaos cell we need to worry about. They are too rag-tag to amount to anything.""I tend to agree," Ledare replied, picking up the bluff effortlessly. "Still I must think first about the safety of The Realms. Killing this thing would certainly make the world a better place.""Now wait!" the man bat protested. "I can tell you things!""I don't know," Ruze went on, paying no attention to the werebat's words. "I am sure they are just a bunch of bored, misled farmers. They certainly do not take the King's notice.""He's right, mi'lady!" The prisoner nodded as much as the swords hovering above its throat would allow. "I'm not much of a threat. But I know things that can help you!" Ledare squinted at the inhuman face that looked fearfully up at her."Start talking," she said with a scowl and the prisoner smiled."What do you want to know?" it asked.Ixin saw the two shadows detach themselves from the cave wall and swoop down toward the throne. They were enormous, wicked-looking bats with wingspans easily 8-feet across. They looked as though they were moving to attack the man seated on the throne, but that seemed unlikely given his position as leader of the werebats. She was too far away to do much more than shout a warning."Look out!" she cried. "Two bats! BIG bats!"Draelond paused momentarily in his advance across the cave to aid Den Lant if he could. He craned his head and spotted the two dark shapes, determined that they weren't a direct threat to him and continued onward. Lant and his opponent paid her no mind. On his throne, Valdymyr turned his head toward the creatures and grinned. Finian, crouched invisibly a half-dozen paces behind the throne looked up to see the two winged monsters dive right at him!They attacked in tandem. The first sank its needle-sharp teeth into the Archer's side, splitting open leather armor and flesh with ease. As soon as the first withdrew, the second darted its head in and took a bite of meat from Finian's left thigh.  He cried out in pain and slashed wildly with his two blades, but the winged rodents were simply too quick and he couldn't connect. The Archer staggered, his wound burning with pain even as the cold chill of blood loss began to settle into his limbs.Den Lant spun his quarterstaff expertly in his right hand; his left was plastered redly to his throat. He readied the staff to brain the skaven that faced him, but he never got the chance. The werebat stabbed outward with its shortsword, opening the artery on the side of Lant's neck. His face went ashen as his lifeblood pulsed out across the cave floor. This time, he sagged and fell despite the fierce hatred glowing in his eyes.Draelond stepped over Lant's bleeding form and struck outward with Ravager. The winged skaven raised its shortsword to parry the blow, but Draelond's great blade chewed through the creature's hand, snapping bones and shredding flesh. The werebat shrieked but maintained its feet."This isn't going well," Ixin groaned and raised her crossbow. She got off a lucky shot despite the distance and the fact that she was trying very hard not to hit Finian. One of the bats squealed as the mage's quarrel struck it in the flank. The wound was a minor one, but it did attract Valdymyr's attention. He whirled around and his eyes settled on Ixin."You!" he roared, his eyes blazing like hot coals as he rose from his throne. "I'll kill you myself!" "What foul rituals are going on here?" Ruze pressed and the prisoner turned to look at him."No rituals. We're here to build up our ranks," the werebat confessed. "That's all.""No it's not," Ledare corrected, sensing the creature's half-truth. She pressed the point of her sword solidly against its throat. "This blade is made in part from silver, you know.""Believe me, mi'lady. I can tell," the skaven gulped. "And you're right. We're also here guarding a portal down below. It leads somehow to other parts of The Realms. Don't ask me how it works, 'cause I don't know. But that's how we're going to move our troops when the Goddess says it's time.""What Goddess?" Ruze asked. "Who is your patron?" The werebat prisoner was visibly uncomfortable admitting its religious affiliation to a Battleguard of Shaharizod who was holding a scimitar to its throat, but one glance over at the Janissary's shrewd eyes was enough to convince it that the truth might be the better path."L-Lady Pestilence," it stammered. "I serve the Mistress of Decay. Aphyx.""No big surprise there," Ledare deadpanned. "Now let's talk about a relatively new member of the ranks. A tall elf with silvery hair and purple eyes.""Yeah. He's here," the prisoner admitted. "He's real important to the powers-that-be for some reason. Valdymyr's got him chained up down below until he can be trusted."</blockquote>

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