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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 984642" data-attributes="member: 1210">The Knights of Crush&quot;Zonzor,&quot; Sir Breaker grunts with disdain.&nbsp; &quot;We meet again.&quot;Zonzor laughs heartily.&nbsp; &quot;You are champion here?&nbsp; Bah!&nbsp; Zonzor smash you if you get in Zonzor's way!&quot;&quot;I owe you,&quot; Sir Breaker snarls, &quot;for two brothers.&quot;&quot;What are they saying?&quot; Lester says from outside the firelight, his keen half-elven eyes and ears picking up only part of it and understanding the tone but not the words.&quot;Not sure,&quot; Sybele says, &quot;but it sounds like there might be trouble.&quot;Grumbling, Lester hisses for Orbius, who falls back to cast tongues on the Elementalist so that he can understand.By the fire, the crowd is forming a loose circle around the towering Zonzor and the mounted knight.&nbsp; (Our heroes left their horses outside the wall, as they couldn't climb the rope.)&nbsp; There's a palpable excitement as a fight seems more and more imminent.&quot;Zonzor will kill you as well!&quot; Zonzor roars.&nbsp; &quot;Zonzor calls you out, Breaker!&quot;&nbsp; And he draws forth his axe with a Sir Breaker's retainers exchange smug looks.&nbsp; They have no doubt as to who will win this battle- but they've never seen Zonzor before.&nbsp; They do not understand the fury that drives him, the rage that fuels his blows.&nbsp; Still-&quot;I accept,&quot; Sir Breaker growls, throwing down his helm's visor, couching his lance and spurring his horse forward in a charge.&nbsp; While perhaps not strictly fair, Zonzor did draw first, and so Sir Breaker- heartened by the thought of destroying his brothers' killer- doesn't worry too much about it as he slams his mace home in Zonzor's chest.&nbsp; There's a terrific boom as the impact knocks Zonzor almost from his feet, but with a howl of anger and rage, the barbarian's vision goes red and he starts hewing at his foe.&quot;Crap!&quot; Lester cries, and casts a stoneskin on himself.&nbsp; Then, spreading his bat-like wings wide, he ascends into the air and shouts, &quot;Ho there, I am the devil Lester!&nbsp; I have come for Zonzor!!&quot;&nbsp; At the sight of this fantastic apparition in the sky, several of the crowd shriek and turn to flee.&nbsp; Pandemonium erupts.&nbsp; Sir Breaker's men pull out their crossbows, the rest of the party draws as well- there's a moment of incredible tension as the fight threatens to spread from Breaker and Zonzor- but for a moment, it stays contained.Then Angelfire notices a hand in his pocket.&nbsp; Someone in the crowd has just made a lethal mistake.&nbsp; &quot;THIEF!&quot; the scarlet-skinned Coilite cries, and brings his falchion around in a deadly arc.&nbsp; There's a spray of blood, a scream of pain, and the hand is still in his pocket- but the rest of the body is falling away.&nbsp; Then there's the singing of crossbow bolts as Sir Breaker's men fire at the devil Lester.&nbsp; Confusion erupts as the crowd splits and runs almost to a man, Sybele fires a shot at one of Breaker's retainers.&nbsp; There's a blur of motion in the center of things as Zonzor staggers back from another massive hit to the chest, but his axe whistles through Breaker's armor like a hot knife through butter.&nbsp; The sound of metal rending metal and bone is unmistakabale.&nbsp; With a loud cry of pain, Sir Breaker lands awkwardly on the ground, unhorsed, and Zonzor's axe swings wildly down, burying itself in the erstwhile knight's face.&nbsp; The party moves together, Malford tumbling under a table to stick one of the lackeys in the kidneys, an arrow from Sybele zinging through the other one's cloak, stapling him to a cask of ale near the fire.&nbsp; Struggling, the lesser knight is suddenly pushed away as Lester magically repels the cask.&nbsp; &quot;I AM YOUR CHAMPION NOW!!&quot; Zonzor roars at the retreating crowd, but his message seems lost to them as they flee.&nbsp; All except one man, who is watching things with avid interest. &quot;You there,&quot; Zonzor growls, stomping up to him.&nbsp; &quot;You Zonzor's lackey now!&quot;The man, dark of hair and wearing somewhat nicer clothes than most around here, nods quietly.&nbsp; &quot;Perhaps,&quot; he says soothingly, then turns to the rest of the group.&nbsp; There's an odd, perhaps hopeful, look on his face.Something seems different about this fellow.&nbsp; Malford and Orbius exchange glances.&nbsp; &quot;Are you from here?&quot; the gnome-king says in Forinthian, but the stranger merely shrugs.&nbsp; Malford tries again, speaking in different languages, until-&quot;No,&quot; the man cries out in Draconic.&nbsp; &quot;You are strangers as well!&nbsp; Thank the gods- I knew, as soon as I saw you all.&nbsp; I am a traveler from a far place- as, I suspect, are you!&quot;&quot;Indeed,&quot; Malford agrees.&nbsp; &quot;Do you have a way out of this terrible plane?&quot; the man asks desperately.&nbsp; &quot;I've been trapped here for so long...!&quot;&quot;We may,&quot; Malford nods.&nbsp; &quot;We have to finish our business here first, but we may.&nbsp; If you are in need, you may join us.&quot;&quot;My name is Chairo, and I thank you!&nbsp; I am from a land called Perisophis, but I need not go back to my own plane immediately- indeed, just to a realm from which it is possible to plane shift.&nbsp; Oh thank you!&quot;&nbsp; He nearly weeps.A few dozen minutes later, after some questions, our heroes are overjoyed to learn that Chairo knows where the Library of Voldaith is.&nbsp; &quot;I'll guide you,&quot; he tells them, and the group sets off through the ruins.&nbsp; It's apparent to the group that Zonzor regards Chairo as his lackey now, just as it's apparent that Chairo is simply playing along with Zonzor...Next Time: The Library of Voldaith!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 984642, member: 1210"] [b]The Knights of Crush[/b] "Zonzor," Sir Breaker grunts with disdain. "We meet again." Zonzor laughs heartily. "You are champion here? Bah! Zonzor smash you if you get in Zonzor's way!" "I owe you," Sir Breaker snarls, "for two brothers." "What are they saying?" Lester says from outside the firelight, his keen half-elven eyes and ears picking up only part of it and understanding the tone but not the words. "Not sure," Sybele says, "but it sounds like there might be trouble." Grumbling, Lester hisses for Orbius, who falls back to cast [i]tongues[/i] on the Elementalist so that he can understand. By the fire, the crowd is forming a loose circle around the towering Zonzor and the mounted knight. (Our heroes left their horses outside the wall, as they couldn't climb the rope.) There's a palpable excitement as a fight seems more and more imminent. "Zonzor will kill you as well!" Zonzor roars. "Zonzor calls you out, Breaker!" And he draws forth his axe with a Sir Breaker's retainers exchange smug looks. They have no doubt as to who will win this battle- but they've never seen Zonzor before. They do not understand the fury that drives him, the rage that fuels his blows. Still- "I accept," Sir Breaker growls, throwing down his helm's visor, couching his lance and spurring his horse forward in a charge. While perhaps not strictly fair, Zonzor did draw first, and so Sir Breaker- heartened by the thought of destroying his brothers' killer- doesn't worry too much about it as he slams his mace home in Zonzor's chest. There's a terrific boom as the impact knocks Zonzor almost from his feet, but with a howl of anger and rage, the barbarian's vision goes red and he starts hewing at his foe. "Crap!" Lester cries, and casts a [i]stoneskin[/i] on himself. Then, spreading his bat-like wings wide, he ascends into the air and shouts, "Ho there, I am the devil Lester! I have come for Zonzor!!" At the sight of this fantastic apparition in the sky, several of the crowd shriek and turn to flee. Pandemonium erupts. Sir Breaker's men pull out their crossbows, the rest of the party draws as well- there's a moment of incredible tension as the fight threatens to spread from Breaker and Zonzor- but for a moment, it stays contained. Then Angelfire notices a hand in his pocket. Someone in the crowd has just made a lethal mistake. "THIEF!" the scarlet-skinned Coilite cries, and brings his falchion around in a deadly arc. There's a spray of blood, a scream of pain, and the hand is still in his pocket- but the rest of the body is falling away. Then there's the singing of crossbow bolts as Sir Breaker's men fire at the devil Lester. Confusion erupts as the crowd splits and runs almost to a man, Sybele fires a shot at one of Breaker's retainers. There's a blur of motion in the center of things as Zonzor staggers back from another massive hit to the chest, but his axe whistles through Breaker's armor like a hot knife through butter. The sound of metal rending metal and bone is unmistakabale. With a loud cry of pain, Sir Breaker lands awkwardly on the ground, unhorsed, and Zonzor's axe swings wildly down, burying itself in the erstwhile knight's face. The party moves together, Malford tumbling under a table to stick one of the lackeys in the kidneys, an arrow from Sybele zinging through the other one's cloak, stapling him to a cask of ale near the fire. Struggling, the lesser knight is suddenly pushed away as Lester magically repels the cask. [b]"I AM YOUR CHAMPION NOW!!"[/B] Zonzor roars at the retreating crowd, but his message seems lost to them as they flee. All except one man, who is watching things with avid interest. "You there," Zonzor growls, stomping up to him. "You Zonzor's lackey now!" The man, dark of hair and wearing somewhat nicer clothes than most around here, nods quietly. "Perhaps," he says soothingly, then turns to the rest of the group. There's an odd, perhaps hopeful, look on his face. Something seems different about this fellow. Malford and Orbius exchange glances. "Are you from here?" the gnome-king says in Forinthian, but the stranger merely shrugs. Malford tries again, speaking in different languages, until- "No," the man cries out in Draconic. "You are strangers as well! Thank the gods- I knew, as soon as I saw you all. I am a traveler from a far place- as, I suspect, are you!" "Indeed," Malford agrees. "Do you have a way out of this terrible plane?" the man asks desperately. "I've been trapped here for so long...!" "We may," Malford nods. "We have to finish our business here first, but we may. If you are in need, you may join us." "My name is Chairo, and I thank you! I am from a land called Perisophis, but I need not go back to my own plane immediately- indeed, just to a realm from which it is possible to plane shift. Oh thank you!" He nearly weeps. A few dozen minutes later, after some questions, our heroes are overjoyed to learn that Chairo knows where the Library of Voldaith is. "I'll guide you," he tells them, and the group sets off through the ruins. It's apparent to the group that Zonzor regards Chairo as his lackey now, just as it's apparent that Chairo is simply playing along with Zonzor... [i][b]Next Time: [/b][/i][b][/b]The Library of Voldaith! [/QUOTE]

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