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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kumagroo" data-source="post: 4943237" data-attributes="member: 83866">The Solei Palancis knight sat on the grey, ash-colored stone, his armored legs dangling over the dried up basin of the fountain.  The clack of metal on stone echoed in the silent air, accompanied only by the crackle of ever-burning trees and the hiss of air being released in the flames.  Behind him, the stone door into the shrine hung ajar, sundered by the might of the dwarf that had threatened him before his companions could settle him down.He was once known as Eteranth, trusted advisor to Shaaladel, king of Shahalesti, slain in battle by the Emperor Coaltongue himself over four decades ago.  His god had brought him back on the whispered prayers of an unknown priest to ward this shrine until the day that Innenotdar’s justice was served.  Looking at the burning woods around him, that justice would avail no one but the restless spirits of the dead.Eteranth sighed.  He was convinced now that it was his own people to blame.  Forty years ago, Aurana, Shaaladel’s other aide, had spoken of working with the “yellow ones” and it seemed clear now that it was goblins she meant.  Torfendar may have just been following her orders, but clearly the weight of this cataclysm could not be so easily unburdened.  The knight wondered if he had done himself in or of he had truly fallen in battle.  He looked up and out towards the sound of the fray going on in the remains of the village.  Smoke clouds blocked his view and his radiant bindings prevented him from helping those who awakened him, but Eteranth wondered if he would help anyways.  The Halfling was a convincing liar; being in the Shahalesti court for over a century had trained him, in life, to detect half-truths and lies easily enough.  Where Torfendar lay in his final rest, however, he probably would not find out, but it was impossible to think that the Halfling could have met him in his mortal span.  Undoubtedly, those who awakened him were looting on their way through the woods.  His only hope now lay in this party’s bringing to light what happened here.  It would shame his people, but surely the spirits of the people who died here deserved that much.  And then, perhaps, he could rest and leave this hell on earth.The sounds of combat had stopped, or the fight had migrated beyond his keen sense of hearing.  Alone then…***Kazyk snarled and kicked the seela in the ribs.  “Raaaaargh!!!” he screamed in frustration and spun his glaive down severing the fae’s hand from her arm.  Steaming blood and smoke sprayed from the stump as she screamed.  While her skin had slowly regenerated, her wailing proved that the pain of immolation could be layered with other agonies.  These foolish mortals had defeated him twice now, despite his precautions.  The devil stared down at the burning forest sprite until her suffering restored a smile to his face.  “Very well then,” he mused aloud, “third time is the charm.  How to go about it though.”  These mortals had the blessings of dwarven spirits among them, and not the kind one consumed in drunken revelry.  The one adressed as Ozric then.  He would have to die first so that the others would stay down.  The Halfling and the other dwarf could be burnt, but the former would need to be held down somehow and the latter’s ax was proving to be a bane to his minions.  The other two, the tiefling and the half-orc…they would be a problem with their seeming immunity to fire.“Rule one,” the devil announced to his bound and screaming captive, “if they fall, finish the job.  No mercy, no second chances.”  The seela didn’t seem overly interested, so Kazyk offered her another solid kick.  She seemed more in tune with the pain of her missing hand, but apparently severed limbs could regenerate in the woods too.  Interesting… “Rule two: Hit them when they’re resting or weakened.  Drop their watcher and then slit their throats in their sleep.”“RULE THREE!” boomed a voice around the devil, causing him to spin around in confusion, “AGREE TO AID MY ESCAPE AND WE WILL DESTROY THEM TOGETHER!”  Kazyk stepped back in inadvertent fear as a face made of swirling smoke and fire materialized in the blaze of a large tree before him.  Blue flames danced in a parody of moving lips, “IN GOING UPRIVER, THEY HAVE DEFIED MY ORDERS AND RENEGED ON THE DEAL!  THEY WILL SEEK TO HELP THE FORTY TONGUES AND MUST BE DESTROYED!  YOU WILL FREE ME, DEVIL!”Kazyk reeled back from the deafening voice but nodded his head in agreement.  “AS A SIGN OF GOOD FAITH, YOU WILL PROVE YOUR LOYALTY!  WHEN YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED, FINISH HER!  THEN THERE WILL REMAIN THIRTY-NINE!”The devil grinned.  Slaying the seela might deprove him of his fun and his ability to rejuvenate, but her use was nearly expended anyways.  These mortals didn’t have a chance…Third time would be, indeed, the charm. "I am willing and eager to lend my help," Kazyk said.</blockquote>

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