Travels through the Wild West: Book IV
- Thread starter Lazybones
- Start date
MasterOfHeaven
First Post
Is anyone else having a flashback to Mortal Kombat, here? 
Heh. Great posts Lazybones. I can't wait to see what happens. Nanoc must smash the Beast! The others can take care of the details.
Heh. Great posts Lazybones. I can't wait to see what happens. Nanoc must smash the Beast! The others can take care of the details. 
Lazybones
Adventurer
Book IV, Part 34
Confronted by the full awesome might and fell power of the demon, the companions, this time, did not hesitate.
Benzan, again, was the first to act, drawing and firing a magical arrow before the demon could unleash its abyssal powers upon them. The demon was prepared for the confrontation, its cloak of dark energies surrounding its form once again a like a grim halo, but the arrow enchanted by Gaera’s divine magic lanced through its defenses and bit into its flesh, sinking into its torso. Beside him the others lifted their bows as well, fitting their own enhanced missiles to their strings.
The demon reared up and uttered a mighty roar, the sound of which shook the very stones of the cistern walls around them. The roar echoed and reverberated and built in force until each of the companions felt as though their heads would explode with the sheer force of the sound. Most of the warriors, with their grim fortitude, resisted the power of that roar, but Cal staggered and fell to the ground, stunned, and behind him, Benzan screamed and clutched at his head, dropping his bow.
To the tiefling, it seemed as though the roar was sounding directly within his brain, blasting his senses from within. Even as the roar died away he crumpled, the world spinning around him as he fought to remain conscious.
But even with two of them taken at least momentarily out of the fight, the companions lashed back. Nanoc and Jerral missed with their first shots, but Lok fired an arrow that penetrated its layered defenses and stabbed deep into its thigh, drawing a roar of pain from the already enraged demon.
The demon took a step toward them, as if to close for melee, and Lok immediately dropped his bow and unslung his axe and shield. Before the genasi could charge, however, the demon unleashed another dark power from its bag of tricks. A wave of warped, perverted mental energy swept over the companions, twisting their minds and clouding their thoughts. Those with stronger mental discipline were able to hold their minds clear through force of will.
But Lok and Nanoc both succumbed to the effect of the demon’s confusion.
Dana felt helpless, her own weapons useless against the demon’s otherworldly resistances. Still, after witnessing the devastating effect of its first few attacks, she knew that she had to do something to aid her companions. Most of her spells were gone, cast in the earlier battles that day or expended for healing, but even as her companions fired their bows she took a scroll from a pouch, releasing the stored divine power there as she read the words written upon the vellum. A shimmering field of magical force appeared around her, bolstering her defenses beyond that already provided by Cal’s mage armor. Thus protected, she rushed at the demon, hoping that she could draw its attention to her, if only for an instant.
Her course took her past Lok, and she was completely unprepared when the genasi turned and struck at her with his axe.
The blow tore through her defenses, catching her with a glancing blow to the shoulder that spun her roughly around. She rolled with the force of the strike and came up into a defensive crouch, her entire side stinging with the pain of the wound. Awareness belatedly came as she saw the vague look in Lok’s eyes, and she darted quickly back, out of the genasi’s reach.
Meanwhile, Nanoc, also caught in the grasp of the spell, just stood there, a blank look on his face as his bow hung uselessly at his side.
Jerral realized that her companions were being pared away around her, but she kept up her attacks, firing arrow after arrow in a rapid sequence at the demon. Its thick hide still deflected most of the arrows, but she managed a pair of hits, each drawing the demon incrementally closer toward its destruction. The demon, however, was not standing there idly. It charged forward, nearly trampling the confused Lok as it came. Jerral held her ground before its rush, and as she drew her last magical arrow, the ghour descended upon her.
I’m coming, Seth, she whispered in her mind as the demon’s massive bulk loomed over her.
The arrow glanced off of the demon’s skull, but not before it dug a dark black runnel in the flesh above its eye. The demon bent its head forward nearly to the ground as it lashed into the ranger, twisting its head to and fro as it gored at her with its deadly horns and tore at her with its clawed hands. The brave ranger tried to grab her axes and fight back, but she took several hits and as the demon snapped its head back up, it smashed her solidly in the chest and knocked her a good dozen paces back to land hard in a crumpled heap on the floor.
She did not get up.
Just a few yards away, Nanoc shook his head, trying to clear it of the confusing welter of babbles and whispers that were playing loudly in his thoughts. He saw the demon smash into Jerral, and the sight of the woman being mauled drove a wedge of pure anger through the confusion in his mind. All of the abuse, the humiliation, the suffering he’d suffered at the hands of the ogres came pouring out in a cascade of rage as he picked up his spear and charged at the demon’s flank.
The magically enhanced steel head of the spear, backed by the strength of the barbarian’s muscles and his rage, tore into the demon’s side. The demon roared and staggered, and when it turned to face this new foe the promise of death shone in its eyes. The barbarian yelled out something in his people’s language as he twisted the haft of the spear and thrust deeper, but the demon did not relent. Instead it reached down and clutched the barbarian’s head with a clawed hand, crushing him as it lifted him into the air. Nanoc screamed and dropped the spear, clawing at his belt for his dagger as the demon tightened its grip. Before he could act, however, the demon slashed its head into the barbarian’s body. A long horn impaled Nanoc through the chest, and the young man instantly went limp as the demon reared its head back and roared in triumph, the barbarian dangling from the side of its head like some grim ornament.
Then it reached up with both claws, and tore the man to pieces.
Cal shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. Everything around him was quiet, although he could hear a ringing in his ears that refused to stop even as he fought his way to his feet. For an instant he wondered what had happened, then he turned and saw the demon.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lok, the genasi just standing there behind the demon. He wondered what fell magic the demon had unleashed upon his friend. As he looked that way he saw Dana, gesturing and saying something that he couldn’t hear. Then Lok turned to look his way, and when the gnome saw the vague look in his friend’s eyes, he understood.
Then that look was replaced by a sudden look of undisguised rage, and Lok started in his direction, already raising his axe.
Thinking quickly, Cal cast a spell. Since he could not hear, he could only trust to his skill to get the verbal components right. His luck held, and he could feel the magic flow in response to his call.
An image appeared in Lok’s path, a figure of a leering, armored ogre. Predictably, the genasi raised his axe and charged toward the figment, compelled by the power of the ghour’s glamour to attack. But the illusory ogre, controlled by Cal’s thoughts, retreated, giving ground before the genasi’s rush. Driven on to greater fury with each step, Lok rushed after it, and when it finally stopped and set its feet, he all but hurled himself at it with a powerful overhand strike.
Except that when he struck the illusion it vanished, revealing only the muscled leg of the ghour, facing the other way as it killed Nanoc.
Lok’s frost-frozen axe bit deep into the demon’s calf, opening a long gash that spurt forth fetid black ichor. The demon, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, staggered forward a step before it turned to regard the genasi with hatred in its alien eyes.
Already seriously wounded, the demon perhaps should have retreated once again, but with the taste of blood fresh on its tongue, and several foes already fallen before its attacks, the demon thrust on in a fury of violence.
Turning on Lok, the demon launched another series of attacks, but it found the genasi a difficult target. It slashed at him with its goring horns, and while one of the spearlike horns slammed hard into his armored shoulder, Lok refused to give ground or falter in his attacks. The ghour balled its hands into fists and slammed them down into the ground, intending to simply crush this troublesome warrior, but Lok spun smoothly out of the way, countering with a stroke of his axe that dug a long gash in the demon’s forearm.
Benzan, meanwhile, had staggered to his feet, still groggy from the aftereffects of the demon’s roar. As his gaze traveled around the battlefield, however, he felt something twist deep inside of him. He saw Nanoc—or rather, what was left of him, in two bloody piles on the floor. He saw Jerral, lying in a heap farther away, unconscious or maybe dead. Cal and Dana seemed all right, although Dana had suffered a serious wound to her shoulder, and Lok was tearing at the demon, the two exchanging a titanic series of blows that looked, for all of the genasi’s prowess, that it could end only one way.
Before he was even aware of the action, his sword was in his hand, and he was charging at the demon from behind. Even as he built up speed Lok tore again into the demon’s leg, adding yet another wound to its tally of injuries. The demon had been savaged by their attacks, its body a mess of tears and punctures, but it fought on as if unaffected by its wounds. Even as Lok raised his axe to strike again the ghour slammed its fists down once again, catching the genasi hard on the face and chest and staggering him. The ghour roared, reaching for him with its claws before Lok could recover and counter.
Strike true, a voice within his mind whispered. He felt himself lifting off of the ground, empowered by the levitation power of his sword, even though he could not remember consciously invoking its power.
He thrust deep, plunging the sword to its hilt into a crease in the demon’s back. Instantly a flood of black blood poured out over the blade down his hand, scoring him with hot pain as the ichor burned away his shirt and savaged his flesh.
The demon, however, suffered far worse. As Benzan screamed in pain and anger and drew out his blade, falling backward, the demon staggered forward, nearly crushing Lok beneath its bulk. Dana darted in and grasped the genasi warrior, pulling him free as the demon slumped and then collapsed in a noisome heap on the stone floor.
As the companions gathered around it, the demon seemed to deflate, like a waterskin that had suffered a tear. Its black blood poured out onto the stone floor, and as the toxic fluid gathered, a cloud of dark, roiling steam rose up out of it and began to gather above the corpse of the demon.
“What in the name of the gods…” Benzan breathed.
The cloud formed into a putrid, pulsating mass that seemed almost alive. As they watched in horror, they could see a single bright spot within the dark mist, like a flickering flame trapped within the enveloping folds of vapor.
For a moment, they could all hear a sound within their minds, a sound of twisted, mocking laughter.
Then the cloud broke apart, and disintegrated into nothingness.
With the death of the demon, the malaise holding Lok had faded, although he was grievously injured. Dana used her wand of healing to stabilize him, then she rose, heading toward the back of the room, still holding the coin that bore Cal’s light.
“Delem…”
“Dana, wait!” Benzan cried. But the young woman was already moving beyond his reach, and the tiefling’s attention was distracted as he saw Cal cross to where Jerral’s motionless form was lying.
“Is she…?”
“She lives,” Cal said, with relief. He glanced over at Nanoc’s remains, however, a look of sadness in his eyes.
There was no doubt there.
Benzan hurried after Dana, while Cal tended to Jerral. Dana had already crossed to the far edge of the cistern, where her light had reached the far wall of the place. Benzan’s boots crunched on fragments of bone as he moved quickly to where she stood, frozen, facing the wall.
“Oh, no…”
He saw what Dana had seen, and his blood froze. There, hanging about ten feet up on the face of the wall, was Delem. The young man’s face was frozen in a look of pure terror, but that was nothing in the face of what lay below. His chest had been torn open, and they could see the white spears of his ribs laid bare. All of his organs were gone, leaving only a gaping hole where once the heart of the young sorcerer had beat.
END OF BOOK IV
Confronted by the full awesome might and fell power of the demon, the companions, this time, did not hesitate.
Benzan, again, was the first to act, drawing and firing a magical arrow before the demon could unleash its abyssal powers upon them. The demon was prepared for the confrontation, its cloak of dark energies surrounding its form once again a like a grim halo, but the arrow enchanted by Gaera’s divine magic lanced through its defenses and bit into its flesh, sinking into its torso. Beside him the others lifted their bows as well, fitting their own enhanced missiles to their strings.
The demon reared up and uttered a mighty roar, the sound of which shook the very stones of the cistern walls around them. The roar echoed and reverberated and built in force until each of the companions felt as though their heads would explode with the sheer force of the sound. Most of the warriors, with their grim fortitude, resisted the power of that roar, but Cal staggered and fell to the ground, stunned, and behind him, Benzan screamed and clutched at his head, dropping his bow.
To the tiefling, it seemed as though the roar was sounding directly within his brain, blasting his senses from within. Even as the roar died away he crumpled, the world spinning around him as he fought to remain conscious.
But even with two of them taken at least momentarily out of the fight, the companions lashed back. Nanoc and Jerral missed with their first shots, but Lok fired an arrow that penetrated its layered defenses and stabbed deep into its thigh, drawing a roar of pain from the already enraged demon.
The demon took a step toward them, as if to close for melee, and Lok immediately dropped his bow and unslung his axe and shield. Before the genasi could charge, however, the demon unleashed another dark power from its bag of tricks. A wave of warped, perverted mental energy swept over the companions, twisting their minds and clouding their thoughts. Those with stronger mental discipline were able to hold their minds clear through force of will.
But Lok and Nanoc both succumbed to the effect of the demon’s confusion.
Dana felt helpless, her own weapons useless against the demon’s otherworldly resistances. Still, after witnessing the devastating effect of its first few attacks, she knew that she had to do something to aid her companions. Most of her spells were gone, cast in the earlier battles that day or expended for healing, but even as her companions fired their bows she took a scroll from a pouch, releasing the stored divine power there as she read the words written upon the vellum. A shimmering field of magical force appeared around her, bolstering her defenses beyond that already provided by Cal’s mage armor. Thus protected, she rushed at the demon, hoping that she could draw its attention to her, if only for an instant.
Her course took her past Lok, and she was completely unprepared when the genasi turned and struck at her with his axe.
The blow tore through her defenses, catching her with a glancing blow to the shoulder that spun her roughly around. She rolled with the force of the strike and came up into a defensive crouch, her entire side stinging with the pain of the wound. Awareness belatedly came as she saw the vague look in Lok’s eyes, and she darted quickly back, out of the genasi’s reach.
Meanwhile, Nanoc, also caught in the grasp of the spell, just stood there, a blank look on his face as his bow hung uselessly at his side.
Jerral realized that her companions were being pared away around her, but she kept up her attacks, firing arrow after arrow in a rapid sequence at the demon. Its thick hide still deflected most of the arrows, but she managed a pair of hits, each drawing the demon incrementally closer toward its destruction. The demon, however, was not standing there idly. It charged forward, nearly trampling the confused Lok as it came. Jerral held her ground before its rush, and as she drew her last magical arrow, the ghour descended upon her.
I’m coming, Seth, she whispered in her mind as the demon’s massive bulk loomed over her.
The arrow glanced off of the demon’s skull, but not before it dug a dark black runnel in the flesh above its eye. The demon bent its head forward nearly to the ground as it lashed into the ranger, twisting its head to and fro as it gored at her with its deadly horns and tore at her with its clawed hands. The brave ranger tried to grab her axes and fight back, but she took several hits and as the demon snapped its head back up, it smashed her solidly in the chest and knocked her a good dozen paces back to land hard in a crumpled heap on the floor.
She did not get up.
Just a few yards away, Nanoc shook his head, trying to clear it of the confusing welter of babbles and whispers that were playing loudly in his thoughts. He saw the demon smash into Jerral, and the sight of the woman being mauled drove a wedge of pure anger through the confusion in his mind. All of the abuse, the humiliation, the suffering he’d suffered at the hands of the ogres came pouring out in a cascade of rage as he picked up his spear and charged at the demon’s flank.
The magically enhanced steel head of the spear, backed by the strength of the barbarian’s muscles and his rage, tore into the demon’s side. The demon roared and staggered, and when it turned to face this new foe the promise of death shone in its eyes. The barbarian yelled out something in his people’s language as he twisted the haft of the spear and thrust deeper, but the demon did not relent. Instead it reached down and clutched the barbarian’s head with a clawed hand, crushing him as it lifted him into the air. Nanoc screamed and dropped the spear, clawing at his belt for his dagger as the demon tightened its grip. Before he could act, however, the demon slashed its head into the barbarian’s body. A long horn impaled Nanoc through the chest, and the young man instantly went limp as the demon reared its head back and roared in triumph, the barbarian dangling from the side of its head like some grim ornament.
Then it reached up with both claws, and tore the man to pieces.
Cal shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. Everything around him was quiet, although he could hear a ringing in his ears that refused to stop even as he fought his way to his feet. For an instant he wondered what had happened, then he turned and saw the demon.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lok, the genasi just standing there behind the demon. He wondered what fell magic the demon had unleashed upon his friend. As he looked that way he saw Dana, gesturing and saying something that he couldn’t hear. Then Lok turned to look his way, and when the gnome saw the vague look in his friend’s eyes, he understood.
Then that look was replaced by a sudden look of undisguised rage, and Lok started in his direction, already raising his axe.
Thinking quickly, Cal cast a spell. Since he could not hear, he could only trust to his skill to get the verbal components right. His luck held, and he could feel the magic flow in response to his call.
An image appeared in Lok’s path, a figure of a leering, armored ogre. Predictably, the genasi raised his axe and charged toward the figment, compelled by the power of the ghour’s glamour to attack. But the illusory ogre, controlled by Cal’s thoughts, retreated, giving ground before the genasi’s rush. Driven on to greater fury with each step, Lok rushed after it, and when it finally stopped and set its feet, he all but hurled himself at it with a powerful overhand strike.
Except that when he struck the illusion it vanished, revealing only the muscled leg of the ghour, facing the other way as it killed Nanoc.
Lok’s frost-frozen axe bit deep into the demon’s calf, opening a long gash that spurt forth fetid black ichor. The demon, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, staggered forward a step before it turned to regard the genasi with hatred in its alien eyes.
Already seriously wounded, the demon perhaps should have retreated once again, but with the taste of blood fresh on its tongue, and several foes already fallen before its attacks, the demon thrust on in a fury of violence.
Turning on Lok, the demon launched another series of attacks, but it found the genasi a difficult target. It slashed at him with its goring horns, and while one of the spearlike horns slammed hard into his armored shoulder, Lok refused to give ground or falter in his attacks. The ghour balled its hands into fists and slammed them down into the ground, intending to simply crush this troublesome warrior, but Lok spun smoothly out of the way, countering with a stroke of his axe that dug a long gash in the demon’s forearm.
Benzan, meanwhile, had staggered to his feet, still groggy from the aftereffects of the demon’s roar. As his gaze traveled around the battlefield, however, he felt something twist deep inside of him. He saw Nanoc—or rather, what was left of him, in two bloody piles on the floor. He saw Jerral, lying in a heap farther away, unconscious or maybe dead. Cal and Dana seemed all right, although Dana had suffered a serious wound to her shoulder, and Lok was tearing at the demon, the two exchanging a titanic series of blows that looked, for all of the genasi’s prowess, that it could end only one way.
Before he was even aware of the action, his sword was in his hand, and he was charging at the demon from behind. Even as he built up speed Lok tore again into the demon’s leg, adding yet another wound to its tally of injuries. The demon had been savaged by their attacks, its body a mess of tears and punctures, but it fought on as if unaffected by its wounds. Even as Lok raised his axe to strike again the ghour slammed its fists down once again, catching the genasi hard on the face and chest and staggering him. The ghour roared, reaching for him with its claws before Lok could recover and counter.
Strike true, a voice within his mind whispered. He felt himself lifting off of the ground, empowered by the levitation power of his sword, even though he could not remember consciously invoking its power.
He thrust deep, plunging the sword to its hilt into a crease in the demon’s back. Instantly a flood of black blood poured out over the blade down his hand, scoring him with hot pain as the ichor burned away his shirt and savaged his flesh.
The demon, however, suffered far worse. As Benzan screamed in pain and anger and drew out his blade, falling backward, the demon staggered forward, nearly crushing Lok beneath its bulk. Dana darted in and grasped the genasi warrior, pulling him free as the demon slumped and then collapsed in a noisome heap on the stone floor.
As the companions gathered around it, the demon seemed to deflate, like a waterskin that had suffered a tear. Its black blood poured out onto the stone floor, and as the toxic fluid gathered, a cloud of dark, roiling steam rose up out of it and began to gather above the corpse of the demon.
“What in the name of the gods…” Benzan breathed.
The cloud formed into a putrid, pulsating mass that seemed almost alive. As they watched in horror, they could see a single bright spot within the dark mist, like a flickering flame trapped within the enveloping folds of vapor.
For a moment, they could all hear a sound within their minds, a sound of twisted, mocking laughter.
Then the cloud broke apart, and disintegrated into nothingness.
With the death of the demon, the malaise holding Lok had faded, although he was grievously injured. Dana used her wand of healing to stabilize him, then she rose, heading toward the back of the room, still holding the coin that bore Cal’s light.
“Delem…”
“Dana, wait!” Benzan cried. But the young woman was already moving beyond his reach, and the tiefling’s attention was distracted as he saw Cal cross to where Jerral’s motionless form was lying.
“Is she…?”
“She lives,” Cal said, with relief. He glanced over at Nanoc’s remains, however, a look of sadness in his eyes.
There was no doubt there.
Benzan hurried after Dana, while Cal tended to Jerral. Dana had already crossed to the far edge of the cistern, where her light had reached the far wall of the place. Benzan’s boots crunched on fragments of bone as he moved quickly to where she stood, frozen, facing the wall.
“Oh, no…”
He saw what Dana had seen, and his blood froze. There, hanging about ten feet up on the face of the wall, was Delem. The young man’s face was frozen in a look of pure terror, but that was nothing in the face of what lay below. His chest had been torn open, and they could see the white spears of his ribs laid bare. All of his organs were gone, leaving only a gaping hole where once the heart of the young sorcerer had beat.
END OF BOOK IV
MasterOfHeaven
First Post
AUGGGGGGH! My two favorite characters, both dead in one post... Whyyyyyyy?! Damn it.
Lazybones said:
I hate to break it to you, but Delem isn't dead.
If that "flame trapped within the darkness" isn't Delem's soul, then I'm a Dire Ape's Uncle.
Great writing, as always, Lazybones. When can we expect Part V: The Search for Delem to start? Or will he be just coming back as an villain/trapped soul/petitioner?
MasterOfHeaven
First Post
wolff96 said:
I hate to break it to you, but Delem isn't dead.
If that "flame trapped within the darkness" isn't Delem's soul, then I'm a Dire Ape's Uncle.
Great writing, as always, Lazybones. When can we expect Part V: The Search for Delem to start? Or will he be just coming back as an villain/trapped soul/petitioner?
Duh... really, George? Tell me about the rabbits!
His soul is still around (and apparently trapped by a Demon.. beautiful) but his physical body has been destroyed. Thus, he's dead. When Cal got killed the first time, his soul was still around. But he was still dead. Just because your soul survives doesn't mean you're still alive.
Lazybones
Adventurer
Greetings, readers...
Well, we've come to the end of another book of Travels. I'll be starting the Book V thread shortly--I was going to just continue this thread, but we're not that far off from 200 posts and I don't want to have to cut over in mid-thread. I like to keep my reader comments, questions, etc. intact even though it means my view counts will never get as high as some of the other story hours.
Book V will contain the story of Lok's quest to free his people from slavery in the Underdark. Delem will not be forgotten, but the characters clearly aren't ready yet for what's needed to free his captive soul. I haven't plotted out the exact details yet, but suffice it to say, that plotline will include (subject to the whims of the author, of course):
Assuming I manage to write that far, it may even be an epic storyline...
Your support and comments have been what's kept me doing this for longer than I'd intended. This story was originally just going to be a short break between my regular writing projects, but it just sort of kept going! I guess I like praise more than constant rejections from agents and publishers. So thanks again for reading, and I'll see all of you in the new thread.
Ken aka Lazybones
Well, we've come to the end of another book of Travels. I'll be starting the Book V thread shortly--I was going to just continue this thread, but we're not that far off from 200 posts and I don't want to have to cut over in mid-thread. I like to keep my reader comments, questions, etc. intact even though it means my view counts will never get as high as some of the other story hours
. Book V will contain the story of Lok's quest to free his people from slavery in the Underdark. Delem will not be forgotten, but the characters clearly aren't ready yet for what's needed to free his captive soul. I haven't plotted out the exact details yet, but suffice it to say, that plotline will include (subject to the whims of the author, of course):
- a certain obsidian statuette of a six-fingered man that Benzan has carried throughout the entire story
- details of Benzan's bloodline (Benzan! I am your father... NO!!!)
- various demon lords and some abyssal politics
- Cyric
- a certain prophecy from book 2 (sorry, MoH )
Assuming I manage to write that far, it may even be an epic storyline...
Your support and comments have been what's kept me doing this for longer than I'd intended. This story was originally just going to be a short break between my regular writing projects, but it just sort of kept going! I guess I like praise more than constant rejections from agents and publishers
. So thanks again for reading, and I'll see all of you in the new thread.Ken aka Lazybones
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