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Corridors of old dark stone, illuminated by the flickering light of torches that caused every shadow to dance across the walls, were what comprised the dungeon of the dark stronghold. Rythan and Sideline continued to check the cells as they quietly made their way through those dank halls, but they found no more clues, no more signs, only the occasional corpse of captives past. It seemed that after capture the Undead who ruled here simply threw their victims into the cells, fated to die alone in the dark and never see the light of day again. That is, all save for Katherine. It seemed apparent that Katherine had either found the location of the long sought artifact or had stumbled upon some secret of equal importance to those who ruled here.

Rythan’s dark robes blended into the shadows well and he silently flowed through them like the forgotten memory of a shadow. Sideline’s clothing was not as well suited, but the rogue was a master of stealth, and remained within the shadows without making a sound as the two progressed though the dungeon. At the end of the hall before them was a final door, a large portal of solid steal sealed tightly by a large complex seeming lock. Rythan looked to Sideline as the silent thief knelt before the lock and pulled out the pick he had used to free them, “Can you open it?”

Sideline gave a small chuckle, “Can I? This thing is so outdated; I could probably pick it with a spoon.” he tilted his head slightly to the side, “Not having any spoons on hand though…” click, he stood, pocketing his pick and giving the door a light push that sent it opening outwards, “I guess I’ll have to make do with what I’ve got.”

Rythan arched an eyebrow, impressed, though it was probably too dark for Sideline to see the gesture. He slid into the darkness on the other side, leading for now because Sideline was still unarmed. The dark room seemed to be a guard station, with weapons mounted on racks arrayed on either wall with a large dust covered desk at the center. The dust on the ground was disturbed in wide swaths and bones littered the area, the battle had been recent, and whoever had resulted in the defeat of the guards stationed here. Rythan’s thoughts went back to the Demon who had visited him, what was the creature after? The assassin whispered back through the darkness, “The room is clear, though it is black as pitch.”

Sideline pushed the heavy door all the way open, allowing at least a small amount of light to trickle in from the corridor behind, and entered. Rythan stepped lightly over the scattered bones, going around the large desk at the room’s center, when he noticed a large chest behind it, equipped with a lock through the rusted loop to keep it sealed. Sideline saw the chest as well, while Rythan stood over it in curious study, “Don’t worry, I’ll have it open in just a second, so if—“ Rythan reached down, grabbing the lock, and with a sharp snap, tore it form the rusted bindings, “Or not,” he said with a small smile, “whatever works for you then.” Sideline drew up beside Rythan as the dark warrior lifted the chest’s lid. Resting at the very top was a blade of the deepest black, the word Paradox engraved across its surface. The rogue grabbed the hilt of his blade, pulling it out and twirling it for a moment before sheathing it, “Much better.”

Beneath where the sword had lay was an assortment of other weapons and valuables, things confiscated from captives over the many years. Rythan turned away and headed for the door at the other side of the room, “If you think any of that would be useful then take what you can, I would rather not return.” Opening the door Rythan surveyed the area ahead. A great chamber greeted him, lit by torches that were arrayed along the walls at intervals; the smooth surface of the floor spoke of a beauty that was held in this place, long ago. There was a pair of grand sweeping staircases ahead which led up to a balcony two floors above, and Rythan could just make out the top of a set of dark doors. Another set of doors lay directly ahead, between where the two sets of stairs began, and there was a door on both the left and right side of the large room.

As Rythan entered the chamber Sideline was not far behind, and the two came to stand at the room’s center. The rogue took a moment to take in his surroundings before slowly nodding his head, “They moved Katherine out of the dungeons, so if we are to find her it seems more logical that they brought her upstairs, where the stronghold is probably better defended.” He looked to the left and right, “That Lich had us brought into the dungeons through one of these three doors, which means that one of them will lead us back to the where we were before we were captured.” Sideline sighed, “But the others could have covered a lot of ground by now. Do you see anything suspicious in this room?”

Rythan looked around for a few moments, “Nothing.”

The rogue nodded slowly, “They haven’t been through here, if they had they would’ve left us some clue for which path they took…”

Rythan understood what Sideline was saying. The others had not come this way, which could mean they would arrive soon, that it would take them some time to reach, or that they had found another way up entirely. There were simply too many variables in the equation, no way to really know which way they should proceed or whether they should move on at all.

This post has been edited by Ragnar0k: 31 January 2007 - 07:40 PM

Katerei knelt swiftly beside Brianna, watching Silverfish work and prepared to lend her skills if need be. However, Silverfish seemed to know what he was doing. She looked on, impressed, as the blade finally slid out of the half-elf's body and the wound healed over. Although she couldn't tell in the dim light if the blade had been poisoned, it appeared that Silverfish's technique would have solved that too.

The small creature swayed slightly as he finished, then collapsed to the ground in a heap. Katerei picked him up in her arms and, deducing that he was alive, if only semi-conscious, looked critically around the other party members. "Here," she said roughly, settling on Alice, and passing Silverfish off to him to carry. Alice blinked, but didn't object.

Returning her attention to Brianna, she checked over the wound one last time. "It looks healed," she said in a quiet, measured tone. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, I think," the other woman replied, moving her limbs to make sure everything still functioned. "I should be able to keep up still-" and she tentatively stood up, noting with pleasure that nothing hurt, but in that 'healed' way rather than the 'numb' way.

"You'll have to be more careful, granddaughter," the Scribe cautioned. "We can't afford to keep having people injured left and right."

Meanwhile, two people were having a whispered discussion behind them. Alice was attempting to gesture while holding Silverfish, and the ghost was looking on in amusement. But it understood, and strode forward to the trap.

Indicating with a sweep of its translucent arm that everyone should stand well back, it stepped over the silver wire and waited patiently as a shower of daggers was flung through its body, clattering harmlessly to the floor and sliding down the staircase out of sight. The ghost turned and gave a bow, completely uninjured.

"Oh, I see," Brianna clarified for those that were looking around in confusion. "It wasn't a manual trip wire. There must have been a magical field of sorts set up over the wire that was set off when I walked through it. The ghost is just solid enough to set it off as well."

"Well, let's hope we don't find too many more of those," someone said, and everyone else voiced an agreement. They continued forward through the now-disarmed trap, heading to the bottom of the staircase.

They found themselves at a four-way intersection, forming a cross-shape. "Where now?" Adrian sighed.

Rapierian looked around. He remembered this area well and knew exactly where each path led to, but as he looked down the right-hand way, he thought he saw a furry ice-blue tail swish around the corner. Odd, he thought to himself.

Brianna was studying the walls, looking for any sort of sign or marking that might indicate where they should go next. "There might be something carved in here," she said, tracing her fingers over a small section, "but there's so much dirt and grime and the walls are so cracked that I can't tell for sure. Maybe if I could wash this filth off with some water or something... Katerei, could you lend a hand?"

Wizard looked around the small assembly of people. "I don't think she's here."

"What?" Brianna turned, exasperation and worry written across her face. "How did we lose her?"

"Does she, by any chance, have the shapeshifting ability that elves share?" Rapierian ventured, looking somewhat amused. "I happened to see some sort of animal disappearing down... that way..."

She followed the necromancer's indication with her gaze and nodded, leading the way down that corridor. In the dirt on the floor they could make out faint wolf prints, and from the stride Brianna could tell that it had taken off at a run. They wound their way through the dungeon-like passageway, praying not to stumble across any vagrant undead on the way, and in the distance up ahead came a faint 'yip', followed by a distinctive bark and the sounds of combat.

"That must be her," the Scribe said, and they quickened their pace, finally rounding a corner just as a small blue wolf came bounding towards them.

"What's it got in its mouth?" Adrian said. "Oh... urgh..." The elderly man paled as the wolf trotted up to them, holding a rotting zombie arm in its maw. It dropped the limb, barked happily, and transformed back into Katerei in front of them.

"Sorry," she said, kicking the limb with some measure of distaste. "Had to take down a couple of these on the way. It gets hard to fight the canine urges after awhile... anyway, I've found Katherine."

There was a choruses of "Really?" "Is she alive?" "How did you know?"

Katerei held up a hand for silence. "She's alive. I was able to smell her out while in wolf form. We'll have to find a way to get her out of the cell though. Come on... I'll lead you to her."

This post has been edited by iKaterei: 03 March 2007 - 03:21 PM

Perhaps half an hour had passed since the main body of the party had left. All three in the library were still immersed in their chosen subject, and the pile of books that Starfall wanted to take was reaching alarming proportions, fully five feet high. Cat was privately wondering how Starfall would transport them. Perhaps her love of books would enable her to carry them all.
She glanced at her own modest selection - mainly on self-defence - and went to practise some judo quietly in a corner.
Kerran was enjoying himself immensly, having found a complicated book of flute music. He'd managed to play two completely different tunes at the same time, and was about to demonstrate the fact to the others, when he started feeling tired. It could wait until he'd had a sleep. He tucked his book into a pouch in his belt, lay down on the floor and dozed off.
Cat and Starfall were feeling the same effects, but the latter hardly noticed, in a world of her own. Eventually, they both went to sleep as well, after putting their books away. For Cat, that was in various pockets in her clothing. For Starfall, however, she produced a pouch from somewhere under her cloak and put all the books next to her inside. The vast pile of books next to her fitted in nicely, and she didn't seem surprised that every last one could fit inside such a small pouch.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cat yawned, stretched, and woke up. The carpet under her had vanished, to be replaced by a hard, stone floor. And she was chained to the wall. Extending her claws, she cut through the metal in a few seconds, and jumped up, suspecting a trap. She was horrorfied to see she was alone in a small cell. She tried to cut the bars out of the door with her claws, but they skidded off. The door was of the same metal, impossible to cut.
Hissing under her breath, she paced around the tiny room, thinking hard.
After a while, she gave up, took a book out of a pocket, settled down and began to read.

This post has been edited by CrazyChick: 01 February 2007 - 02:30 AM

Cautiously, the group proceeded down the corridor, expecting some kind of trap. To their surprise, it was empty. The only guards had been disposed of by Katerei.

However, the cell door was now wide open and the cell was empty.

"Perhaps, they moved her?" Retsy suggested.

"I don't think so," Wizard replied grimly. He bent down and picked up a piece of parchment off of the floor. He read it aloud.

Dear "heroes" (a distasteful term, do you not agree?):

I am the daemon Kitran (a true gentleman always introduces himself to his enemies). Perhaps you remember me from our brief encounter at that elderly gentleman's home? (In case, you are wondering, you all acted appallingly rude!)

Anyway, I have taken the Lady Katherine hostage, and, if you do not meet my demands, I will be forced to kill her in a horrible manner.

These are my demands: go to the second Stronghold and steal both the artifact and the spell-book with it. I will then turn her over to you at a place to be arranged on your success.

Please, do hurry, since it is impolite to keep people waiting.

Your Enemy,
Kitran


Kitran, meanwhile, had already escaped the area. Under one arm, he carried Katherine, whom he had rendered magically unconscious. The spell would last until the lifted it, saving him the trouble of having to worry a lot about his prisoner. Being a cautious creature, he had also tied and gagged her with magically-strengthened rope, just in case. In moments, he was out into the sky and hovering above the Strongholds. Patiently, he waited. Kitran doubted that the adventurers would give in easily or at all, but he could live with that. He already had plans along that line...

This post has been edited by Selax: 09 March 2007 - 01:18 AM

The sound of swords striking stone, mingled with the incongruous snarling of a wolf, echoed through one of the three doors into the chamber in which Rythan and Sideline were debating their options. They glanced at each other and, without a word, dashed through the door and toward the source of the disturbance. They arrived just in time to hear the last few sentences of Rapierian's recitation.

"I guess we're looking for a way back out, now, then," Sideline sighed. "Wait a minute - where are Cat, Starfall and Kerran?"

Cat was intrigued by one of the techniques in her book, a type of kick with a spin in it. She got up to practise it, and soon had almost perfected. She was still halfway through a kick when the door opened, and she accidentally landed it in the face of the demon coming through. Stunned at finding the prisoner awake, free and attacking, the demon couldn't react fast enough to stop Cat landing another kick, this time with her claws out. She hit his face again, and her claws did enough damage to make him stumble back. Not letting him get an opening, she kicked him again, and again. He managed to retaliate, but his magical attack was feeble, certainly not enough to stop Cat's onslaught. Barely noticing the scorch-marks on her arm, she alternated kicks with punches, and the demon was forced to retreat further. Back against the wall, he tried to attack, but Cat was too fast for him, and eventually her attacks began to pay off - the demon was weakening. She responded with a will, and the demon vanished in a puff of smoke as her killing blow struck home.
Panting hard, Cat grinned in triumph. She went back in the cell to retrieve her books, and went off in search of her companions.

On a world called Aria:

Flynn stood atop a boulder next to the newly-beaten trail, and counted off the refugees as they stumbled past. Twenty-six. Yesterday, there were thirty-one. As good a combat unit as the Ronin were, less than half of them had come to this land. Incomplete, they were outnumbered and outclassed by the troops that had been thrown against them. Far too many and too heavily armed for the task of slaughtering defenceless peasants, Flynn thought. Someone had wanted to make a point.

He scanned the once trackless forest back the way they'd come, eyes narrowed against the setting sun. There was no sign of further pursuit, but still, uneasiness cloaked him. Something was out there, he was certain of it. Biding its time, waiting for more favourable terrain.

In the other direction, Sasha laboured at the head of the weary column. She had to hold her pace back to that of the people they'd collected along the way, in spite of the blood seeping through the bandage on her upper arm. That was another cause for Flynn to worry. The Ronin's legendary recuperative powers were almost ineffective here, as were the magics of their most potent weapons. Clearly, the Cytheran Elements held no sway in this very different world.

Lucas Hart brought up the rear of the column, his seemingly boundless energy strangely out of step with the silver hair that betrayed his advancing age. Besides his own gear, and someone else's pack that they'd been too weak to bear themselves, he balanced a young boy on his shoulders. He chatted cheerfully with the lad, but Flynn read the grimness in the older man's one remaining natural eye. Lucas had been a soldier most of his life, and Flynn knew his instincts mirrored his own.

Behind him, wood rattled against stone. Flynn had no need to turn to know who it was. Trinias clambered up beside him, and leaned tiredly on his plain wooden longbow - without the magic of the Cytheran Elements coursing through it, the Opal Sting was worse than useless; its crystalline shell made it far too rigid for the woodsman to draw. Flynn's gaze remained fixed to the West, as he waited for Trinias to speak.

"There's a cave system not far ahead," Trinias reported, after catching his breath. "We could reach it in under half an hour, just before sunset. Marginally defensible, about ten feet up a cliff face, but if these people don't rest soon, those bastards won't need to do a thing except count the bodies as they ride by." Flynn's eyebrow twitched upward at the mild profanity. Like himself, Trinias usually avoided it. It was a measure of the depth of his frustration, and the stress of the situation.

"Speaking of riding, any sign of that heavy cavalry?"

"No. They'd be ineffective in this part of the forest, anyway - terrain's too irregular, and the scrub's too dense. They could ride through it, slowly, but they'd never be able to charge."

"Small mercies," Flynn muttered. "All right, you'd better point Sasha in the right direction."

Trinias inclined his head in acknowledgement, and jumped down from the rock. Flynn scanned their backtrail once more. In spite of Trinias' news, the sense of foreboding still oppressed him. He sighed, and followed Trinias down off the rock.

Trinias' estimate proved accurate. A slim golden arc was all that remained of the sun when Flynn, characteristically last, levered himself over the lip of the small cliff and into the dark cavern beyond. The refugees had collapsed in exhaustion, wherever they could find an open space. After a brief inspection of the interior of the cave, Flynn returned to the entrance. He trusted his companions to keep watch, perhaps more than he trusted himself, but in his uneasiness he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He sat with his feet dangling over the edge, maintaining his vigil over the all-too-clear path they'd cut to reach this place.

Sasha slumped down beside him, as the last red gleam of sunlight winked at the world and was extinguished.

"How's the arm?" he asked.

"It aches, nachalnik, but I've had worse."

"I really messed up, this time," Flynn muttered, after a long pause. "Wolmark will be moving heaven and earth to find us and get us home, but we might not live long enough to see it."

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Some time ago, in Cythera:

"There's the portal, just like the scroll said," Leandra exclaimed, as the seven Ronin, Moonshadow and Lucas Hart entered the cavern at the end of their arduous trek, deep beneath Land's End volcano. To their certain knowledge, nobody had ever delved this deep before.

"But there's still no indication of where it leads," Moonshadow objected.

"Well, there's one way to find out," Flynn commented, stepping towards the glowing gateway. Moonshadow grabbed his arm, and pulled him a short distance away from everyone else - and the temptation of the dimensional doorway.

"Wait just a minute, Flynn O'Connor," she murmured. "You can't keep throwing yourself into these perilous situations without thinking it through. There's more than yourself to consider - you may believe the others have a choice to stay behind, but which of them would ever abandon you like that, hmm? They'd follow you into certain death, if that's where you were determined to go - and in this case, you don't even know where you'll end up! You can't keep doing that to your friends. You can't do that to me!"

Flynn shook his head, wearily. "We've been over this, Mada. The scrolls clearly state that the Displaced will 'find the Pole-gates and pass beyond; then return, strengthened, in time to face the apocalypse to come.' The clues in the first scroll led us here, and I guess this portal must be the first Pole-gate. We have to see this through!"

"Oh, and just because the scroll looks ancient and bears the inscription 'Temrel, the Seer', you automatically have to believe it, do you?"

Flynn looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if it's a trap? What if Boralis is setting you up, or any one of a dozen other powerful enemies you've made? We've meddled in a lot of people's plans over the years. What if someone is trying to get rid of us?"

Flynn thoughtfully shook his head. "Granted, that might be so, but hardly anyone's ever heard of Temrel. Timon only found these scrolls a few months ago. He took them straight to Wolmark as soon as he deciphered references to the Displaced, knowing that that's what the Seldane call us. We know Temrel. You've even met him yourself at least once - in the cave of crystal artifacts beneath this very volcano, on that little trip to the past. More than that, I trust him in my very bones. I can't explain why."

"Temrel's always linked with Kronos, and you know how erratic he's been behaving, lately. You never know where you are with him, from one moment to the next! If that makes any sense, when applied to a time elemental. But never mind all that - whenever there's the slightest hint of trouble, the audacious Flynn just throws all caution to the winds, and rushes off into danger. And I don't want to lose you!"

Flynn smiled down at her. "Nor I, you." He lifted Moonshadow's left hand, tapping the silver ring on her middle finger with his thumb; the ring's mirror image adorned the middle finger of his own left hand. "Temrel's rings, remember? We can't lose each other while we're wearing these. Tell you what - next time, we'll find out everything we can, first, and you can decide when we're ready to go. Agreed? Right," he said, addressing the rest of the group. "Let's get this show on the road."

As Flynn walked past Ulf, he caught the giant's eye and surreptitiously nodded toward Moonshadow. Ulf, understanding that he was to protect the comparatively petite winter elf, nodded in return and edged nearer to his charge.

Flynn took a deep breath and stepped through the portal, with Sasha, Lucas and Trinias close on his heels.

Moonshadow stared at the portal, mouth agape. "Of all the stupid, arrogant, unthinking, unfeeling - if he thinks I'm going to just tag along behind him after that, he can think again!"

Leandra hesitated, shocked at the outburst. She'd spent the time talking with her husband, Wolmark, and hadn't overheard the quiet argument. She touched the still fuming Moonshadow lightly on the arm. "Are you all right?"

Moonshadow took a long, shaky breath, then breathed it out loudly. "I will be. It's just, he can be so infuriating... and I just can't stand the thought - if anything happened to him..."

"I understand," Leandra said, giving Moonshadow a sisterly hug.

Wolmark, hovering at Leandra's side, cleared his throat. "If we're going through, we'd better move," he said. "The others will be waiting."

"Of that, you may be certain," Kwon contributed in his long-winded manner. "What of you, dear sister?" he asked Moonshadow. "Will you keep to your expressed intent to remain behind, or will you reconsider, and rejoin Flynn?"

For a few seconds, Moonshadow chewed her lower lip indecisively. Then, with a look of determination, she drew a deep breath.

The light from the portal went out.

"What happened?" Leandra's voice queried in the sudden darkness.

"It appears we have lingered too long," Kwon stated, mournfully. "The way is shut, and we may not pass - nor may our companions return."

"What we do?" Ulf boomed.

"Don't worry," Wolmark replied, the tone of his voice failing to live up to his words. "We'll find a way to get them back. If I have to burn a hole through the fabric of a dozen realities, I'll find a way to get them back!"

Moonshadow was grateful that, in the darkness, none of her friends could see the guilt and anguish she knew must be blazoned on her face.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Aria:

"Why do I keep getting us into these situations?" Flynn bemoaned to Sasha, staring blindly into the dark night outside their cavern refuge.

"That's simple, moy priyatyel. You have an innate sense of purpose, of destiny. If fate drops a mystery in front of you, you feel bound to follow it, wherever it leads, just in case this is the one you were born for."

Flynn grunted. "If I'm that obviously insane, why do you all keep following me?"

"Because, deep down, we're just like you."

"But isn't that self-destructive? Sooner or later, we'll probably all end up dead."

Sasha shrugged. "I read people, not tea leaves. If you want to know the future, go talk to Kronos."

"No thanks, I'm confused enough as it is."

Somehow, Flynn felt better for the conversation. The two old comrades-in-arms lapsed into comfortable silence

This post has been edited by cache22: 01 February 2007 - 03:29 AM

Silverfish groaned, and opened his eyes; a thousand lights swirled across the ceiling, and he shuddered, vaguely remembering a stab wound, and the searing pain of mana enfolding his body. He felt within himself for signs of the wound, but found nothing. Puzzled, Silver extended his senses; somebody was carrying him, and a little way off was the quickly fading evidence that, (he opened his eyes), Brianna had ever been stabbed.

"Stop wiggling." said Alice, as the tone returned to Silver's body, "Here, it might work better for you to sit on my shoulder, if you aren't ready to proceed on your own."

Silverfish gladly accepted, and Alice helped him shift to his shoulder. They continued on, each a bit more prepared for action than they had been.

"In a room upstairs with a lich," Rapierian answered Sideline nonchalantly, "who has most likely noticed them by now and had them taken to the dungeons. If we want to find them, we should probably head back the way that we came."

After a quick check back up the secret staircase, the group found that the little library was indeed empty. Having no other really good place to start, they quickly headed back down the stair and followed Sideline and Rythan cautiously into the dungeons. No one seemed to have noticed the earlier breakout and there were still no guards. Carefully, the group made their way through the dungeons, looking for the other three party members.

The guard room remained black as pitch when the group of adventurers entered. Brianna and Katerei were leading the others slowly though the dust covered room as they were among the few who could see anything. Brianna glanced over her shoulder to Sideline who followed closely behind, “Are you sure there won’t be guards waiting for us in the dungeon itself?”

In the darkness behind the group, a lone Hyperian stood, his lean muscular frame clothed and hooded in layers of tattered onyx robes, with a dark cloth hiding all but his eyes. His hands were held in unique night black gauntlets with a pair of wicked black serrated blades laid flat across the backs, their serrated edges faced away from each other and their points extending a hand’s length past the knuckles of his closed fists. Another serrated blade ran from the back of his wrists nearly the entire length of his forearms while a thumb sized spike which curved back protruded from a special guard upon each elbow. On his legs his shins were protected by guards of the same metal, each holding a razor thin serrated blade that faced outward and ran the entire length of the guard. A spike that curved upwards, slightly larger than those upon his elbows, topped a separate guard on each of his knees.

Rythan was the one to answer from where he stood studying the contents of the open chest which once held Sideline’s blade, “No.” Within the chest something caught the assassin’s eye, a dark crystal set into a silver amulet on a fine silver chain. He pulled the amulet out to study, within the shadowed room only the Elves could actually see what he was doing, and after a moment he placed it securely within his robes. He strode around the large desk at the center of the room in silence, invisible to everyone who lacked strong night vision, “Though if we find guards we are in the right place.” Someone jumped, possibly Adrian, at hearing Rythan’s voice so close without realizing the dark figure had moved from the other side of the room.

Brianna began to open the large door which would lead to the cells, Katerei reaching for her knife blade while Sideline’s hand hovered steadily over the hilt of his sword. A sliver of orange torch light crept into the guard room and Rythan stepped towards the widening opening cautiously, only to be greeted by a low feline growl. A lithe figure leapt out at him into the darkness with a flurry of blinding attacks that ended in a slash of the claws on her right hand, causing the warrior to quickly leap back and retreat until his back was nearly to the desk behind him. The nimble feline pressed her attack continuing her fluid spin to lash out with an arching back kick with her left leg, trying to smash Rythan across the temple with her heel. Reacting quickly Rythan caught her incoming calf as it audibly collided with his right palm, pivoted, and threw the creature over his shoulder, clear across the room. The acrobatic figure spun as she flew through the air and landed lightly on her feet on the opposite side of the center desk from the assassin settling into another attack stance while he did the same.

“Stop!” Brianna said quickly into the temporary lull in the action.

“Brianna?!” Cat’s voice was filled with surprised and her eyes widened as her breath was quickened by her pumping adrenaline, “I thought he was another demon.” She shook her head, seemingly embarrassed, “I’m sorry.”

Rythan waved it off, “I returned your attack; you and I are even. But if you are here, where are the others?”

Cat wasted no time in telling her tale, from the initial separation with the group to falling asleep in the library and awakening in a dark cell, “I’ve been calling for them but I they haven’t answered, they might still be sleeping in their cells.” She finished with a look of concern that said she had not thought of or refused to dwell on the darker possibilities.

The sound of something sharp lightly running across metal drifted out into the room from the direction of the cells; as Rythan looked within he could see a small wolf with gleaming cerulean fur and azure eyes, which seemed to glow softly in the fading light, standing near one of the cell doors lightly scratching its surface, “Sideline.” he said softly, bringing the rogue into view from the shadowy guard room.

The assassin inclined his head to the wolf and the door she was indicating. The thief smiled as he walked over to the cell pulling out his pick, “Katerei found one of them.” At his approached the cerulean wolf loped further down the corridor, taking a moment to raise her nose and test the air before continuing to a second cell.

As the rest of the group entered the corridor Rythan quietly drew up beside Rapierian and the black mage glanced his way. The assassin was the first to speak, in a low voice for only the sorcerer to hear, “After escaping Sideline and I checked every one of these cells and then took up post at the dungeon’s only entrance.” He looked directly into Rapierian’s eyes, “There is a secret passage into this room and it wraps around to the second path we saw as we entered this place, where is it?”

Rapierian seemed to debate on whether to tell the truth before he finally decided to speak, “I’ll tell you, but you must answer a question from me first.” He smiled darkly then, glancing in Cat’s direction, “Why didn’t you kill her? You could have, if you blocked her attacks with those blades. If you knew who she was you probably wouldn’t have fought her at all, so why did you show mercy when some stranger attacked you?”

Rythan glanced over his shoulder at Cat, at the rest of the group, before looking back to Rapierian with eyes like frozen orbs of ruby and sapphire, “These blades don’t reap lives, they burn away souls.” He looked down upon his serrated gauntlet blades as though traveling into an old memory, “Killing a mortal with them is a dark blasphemy, there is no return from that death, because it is not death it is simply Oblivion, the final end.” The assassin’s next words were cold and dark as a midnight in the heart of winter, “If you want the truth, the truth is that I was preparing to kill her with my bare hands. Now, where is the door?”

Rapierian smiled, clearly having been entertained by the exchange, “You are not what you seem assassin. Fine, this way.” The mage walked away, leaving Rythan no choice but to follow him down the hall. The pair stopped before the dead end Rythan saw when first escaping his cell, “Our exit should be through here.”

Rythan heard something approach from behind, striding lightly but quickly down the hall. He glanced over his shoulder to see a wolf whose hair began to grow longer as it changed in both shape and size. Fur gave way to a violet dress and black cloak, while bestial features gave way to Elvin beauty. Katerei approached the pair without breaking stride, as though her transformation was completely ordinary. Her face grimaced in disgust as she looked to the wall, or seemed to look past it, “There are undead on the other side of that, a lot of them.”

Rapierian frowned at the news, or simply frowned at Katerei personally, “And how would you know something like that?”

Her hand seemed to unconsciously drift towards her dagger, “Because their foul smell is heavy in the air. Of course, it could have been you Necromancer, I’ll admit it’s hard to tell your scent from rotting meat.” The two mages stood with eyes narrowed, starring lightning at each other as though they would try to kill one another based on force of will alone.

Rythan held his right hand straight up, palm towards the ceiling, and concentrated. Onyx flames began to rise up from among the tattered shreds of his robes, flowing along his body and gathering in the palm of his hand. Crimson fires began to join the dance, mixing with the black and beginning to swirl upon his palm. The spinning blaze took on a physical form, a disc of onyx metal the size of a large plate, ringed by a series of slightly curved serrated blades like those of a saw. The center of the disk was virtually hollow, save for three bands of metal which extend from the outer ring to form a grip at the weapon’s center which rested in Rythan’s palm. As he gripped the Razor Wind and lowered his arm the circlet’s serrated teeth spun slowly. The bladed ring was actually made of two interlocking rings; one within the other.

Rapierian arched an eyebrow, “What is that?”

“Dangerous,” Rythan replied, “move away from the wall.” The moment the mage stepped away the assassin drew back his arm, and with a mighty throw let his weapon fly. The spin he put on the inner ring forced the blades on the outside to spin in the opposite direction as they loosed an unearthly scream. The Razor Wind, no more than a dark blur, ripped cleanly through the stone wall ahead and flew freely though the corridor beyond. Distinct sawing sounds and the moans of the undead could be heard leaking from the hole left in the deadly ring’s wake. Abruptly the blade erupted back through the wall, streaking directly towards Rythan who caught its central grip expertly. The blades still spun for a few seconds after it had been caught.

Sideline approached from behind with the rest of the group, drawing his dark sword as he did, “If there are so many of them on the other side we can use this corridor as a choke point, only so many of them will be able to get through at a time.” He looked back over his shoulder, “Adrian, you should stay as far back as possible. Silverfish, you’ve done a great job so far, but you should hang back and build your strength, I have a feeling we’ll need it later if we want to make it through the next stronghold.” At last the rogue gazed back towards the stone wall ahead, “Now how do we get it open?”

Rapierian, who now stood off to one side, merely shrugged with a bored look and leaned back against the side wall. His elbow glanced against one of the stones, which retracted slightly, and with a low rumble the wall before them raised into the ceiling above, revealing a dark corridor, filled with the undead. The group held their weapons at the ready, prepared for any attack the undead would launch… except there was no attack.

The mass of rotting figures and skeletons merely stood within the hall, starring around blankly, their weapons held loosely as though they had no intention of using them. Sideline arched an eyebrow at the scene, “What’s going on?”

Rythan only nodded. Reaching into his robes he removed the silver amulet with the dark crystal set into it. Gripping the amulet by its silver chain he held it out towards the assembled undead and those of them closest all took a few steps back. So this was the power of Akheron’s charm, which seemed only to work when in contact with one of the living. Rythan gathered the amulet itself up and handed it to Katerei, who accepted it without a word as she looked questioningly to the undead now gripped by its power. Drawing back the Razor Wind to his left shoulder Rythan backhand threw the dark bladed weapon. It easily cut a straight line through the undead, severing limbs and shattering bone. The screaming saw returned to him after a single lap through the dark hall and he caught it once more, “We can probably use that charm to leave safely, but I won’t chance it failing while we are right in the middle of a group that size.” His eyes combed over everyone, “You can move forward, but kill every one of them as you do.” As everyone raised their weapons Rythan could tell they had no problems with that plan of action, “I’ll scout ahead.”

Without waiting for a response Rythan dashed into the mass of enemies ahead, slashing through them easily with his blades as he made steady progress through the darkness. The sounds of swords meeting bone filled the corridor as the rest joined the assassin in cutting the creatures down. Half way down the hall, several yards from the rest of the group Rythan slammed his knee into the chest of one of the undead, tearing into it with the dark spike mounted on his guard as he felt the monster’s ribs shatter under the force of the blow, but as the creature rocked back and began to fall Rythan saw some semblance of awareness return to it as it died.

Abruptly, all around him, the undead seemed to awaken, grabbing their weapons as the fires of hatred were reignited in their eyes. An undead warrior swung a rusted hand axe at Rythan’s throat from the left. The assassin raised his left arm in defense, causing the undead to nearly severe its own hand as it collided with the blade mounted on Rythan’s forearm. The deathly robed figure moved with a serpentine grace, striking the undead in the face with his gauntleted fist and driving his gauntlet blades through the creature’s skull.

Dodging past a flurry of other attacks Rythan pressed on even further from the group as he settled into his pure killing style. At the darkened end of the hall ahead a tall figure glided into view, crowned with small twisted horns and wearing flowing dark robes, a dark red light glowing out from the empty sockets of his eyes, right on cue. {{Let none live…}} the Lich’s rasping voice commanded. This was what disrupted the charm’s power, this creature had to die.

Rythan broke away from the undead who surrounded him, bolting towards the Lich who stood its ground confidently. Far behind, within the group that still cut down wave after wave of undead monsters, Brianna caught a glimpse of Rythan and where he went, and by the slightest chance she saw the reason the Lich bore its strange confidence as a single ray of light glinted off a trip wire directly in Rythan’s path. She yelled urgently in an attempt to get his attention, “Rythan!” but her call may have been swallowed by the fury of battle.

The assassin was a shadowed blur as he rushed forward, but he too saw the trap. Rythan threw his Razor Wind ahead straight for the Lich and leapt over the wire, diving to the ground to narrowly miss darts that had been triggered by a second trap and rolling under the swinging blades that had fallen from an unseen third. The warrior rose to his feet at the end of his roll, bringing the string of fluid motion to a close as he lashed out with a kick using his left leg. Still distracted from dodging Rythan’s first attack the monster fell victim to his second, the blades mounted on his shin guard bit into and tore through the Lich’s skeletal right leg at the knee while Rythan continued his spin to end with a backslash from the gauntlet blades on his right. With a loud spark and a sharp ring Rythan’s black blades met with a sword the Lich had pulled from his robes, an ivory long sword that seemed forged of bone. Without pause the assassin spun back around the other way and slashed with his left, throwing the Lich into a desperate defense. The two danced within the tight space as the Lich tried to gain some room, but Rythan’s hail of assaults was unrelenting. As the creature finally saw an opening it swung madly for Rythan’s exposed throat, but the warrior dipped below the attack and stepped into extreme close range. Rythan grabbed the Lich’s upper right arm in his left hand and viciously stabbed through its right shoulder using his left, severing the arm completely and letting it clatter to the ground with the ivory blade still clutched in its grip. As the Lich half staggered, half floated backwards Rythan tore the Razor Wind free of the stone wall and, with a final throw, used it to remove the Lich’s head.

As the skull fell to the floor the body followed to land in a pile of rags and bone. Within the hall the few remaining undead turned docile once more, though the adventurers showed the last of them no mercy. As Rythan studied the group and all of the bodies arrayed in the darkness, he could see that the Lich had tried to call its minions back to aid in the fight, but the other heroes had not let a single one make it…

This post has been edited by Ragnar0k: 01 February 2007 - 10:13 PM

Adrian, having been violently sick with fear and worry, regained control of his senses. Witnessing the ease at which their undead assailants had been dispatched by the adventurers had put stength back into his frail limbs.
The adventurers gathered in the main chamber, with few remaining to guard the doors in case any skeletal reinforcements should arrive.
"So, we find the other three, then proceed to the other stronghold and get this book? You must wonder why an enormous demon doesn't have the resources to get it himself." Brianna suggested.
"Probably too large to fit through the door." Some one quipped.
Adrian, wearing the light chain mail vest he had been given, felt decidedly out of place.
"Perhaps," he said quietly "I should go back to the Tavern and search for Olivia there, once we have left this damned place."
The Scribe nodded sagely "It is unlikely that she is some how caught up in all this, but stay with us at least until we have found Starfall and Kerran. If your granddaughter is being held for whatever reason, she would likely be held with other prisoners. The strongholds are large, but they have only so many cells."
Adrian resigned himself to follow the group through the now deserted corridors of the ancient Stronghold. Several times he nearly cried, sensing that he had truly lost Olivia. The Scribe was right: this was an adventure was one of mages, undead and demons, not one of little girls and old men.

Silverfish grinned when he heard Sideline's advice, and, slipping off of Alice, padded back to 'guard' Adrian, Retsy, and any of the freed prisoners who were not yet ready for a fight.

When the Battle was over, they cheered enthusiastically, yet in a subdued tone.

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 02 February 2007 - 09:25 AM

Cat fell back a bit to walk with Adrian, who looked as if he was trying not to cry.
"Hey, it's all right, we'll find Olivia. Don't worry!" she whispered. "I personally will look for her, even if no-one else will."
Adrian closed his eyes, took a deep, shuddering breath, and replied, "You don't know how it feels. No-one does."
She shook her head. "I had a sister, once. Six brothers, and only one sister. Alas, no longer." Staring into space, she was lost in memory.
"She was wonderful. Still a kitten when they got her. She used to suck her tail." Grinning, she said, "We never could train her out of that habit. She bit it once, and was alarmed when it hurt. I miss her, and everyone else. Sometimes, I wonder what they must be thinking. Who knows, I'm probably an aunt now!"

During the battle, Rapierian had calmly leaned against the wall, out of sight and notice of the lich. A few undead that had strayed to close had been disposed of—Rapierian of all people knew how to do that—but the lich had been mildly distracted by that time. After a quick headcount to make sure that the group was all present and accounted for, they headed off.


Rapierian was well aware that these secret tunnels had been booby-trapped and alterations made to them since his escape; however, it seemed that nothing had seriously changed. The most likely reason was that Rapierian had escaped from the other Stronghold, so the liches had made the more serious changes to that one. In addition, Tavara had wanted Rapierian to come back, so he'd left the means open for him to do so. The arch-lich intended to deal with the necromancer himself.

With the skills of the adventurers, the group easily beat the traps. Soon, they found themselves in the second corridor that they had found earlier and had not taken, but they were not here to explore now. Now, they were trying to find an exit. The Stronghold seemed empty: they had encountered no one in the tunnels and now the halls were deserted.

Everyone knew what this meant: Tavara was expecting them and he was going to let them come to his Stronghold to deal with them himself....

Rapierian "accidentally" stumbled upon a second secret exited ?another tunnel. The group members entered it and proceeded through the inky darkness. Here, there were no traps or undead, just an oppressive darkness.

However, it was not long before they found a ladder and, upon climbing it, found themselves outside at last in a grove of trees...

This post has been edited by Selax: 09 March 2007 - 01:20 AM

"Aaah, life at last!" Brianna exclaimed, stretching her arms wide and soaking in the moonlight, and the pungeant scent of living things. In the silvery radience, the stain on her tunic showed clearly.

"What happened to you?" Sideline asked, concern in his voice.

"What?"

Sideline pointed at the blood stain.

"Oh. I, uh, misjudged a trap."

"Well, you seem fine enough."

"Thanks to Silverfish and Katerei, yes," Brianna acknowledged, grimly, "but it was a near thing. If they hadn't been there... anyway, I'll leave the traps to those better qualified, from now on."

"Good. I'd hate to have to go back to your grandfather, one of these days, and tell him that something had happended to you."

In the silence that descended as the group forged a path to the second stronghold, Brianna pulled a dirk from a leg sheeth. The blade was about fourteen inches in length, curving upwards towards the tip. The handle curved in the opposite direction, so the weapon formed an elongated 'S'. Its mirror image was strapped to her other leg. She flipped the blade experimentally, then spun it in her hand, finding it exceptionally well balanced. She drew its companion, tested it, found it to be of identical quality. She then launched into a graceful series of spins and strikes, one weapon in each hand.

"I didn't know you could handle a blade," Katerei observed.

"I'm more comfortable with a bow," Brianna confided. "Besides, I lost my favourite pair of knives a couple of worlds back. Never found anything I liked as much, until now."

"Where'd you get those?"

"They were in that chest, back in that guardroom. Funny thing, they were glowing a little, at first. Not now, though."

Rythan stopped so suddenly, and blended in so well with the night, that Brianna almost walked into him."

"Let me see those blades," he demanded. Brianna shrugged, and handed them over. Rythan inspected them carefully, passing a hand above, but not touching, one of the blades.

"These are the weapons of an Undead Hunter," he declared, "although the power is not strong, and I'm unsure of its precise effect." He flipped the blades over and extended the hafts to Brianna. "Take care of them, and I'm sure they'll serve you well."

This post has been edited by cache22: 04 February 2007 - 02:45 PM

As they proceeded from the battle-grounds, Silverfish rode on Retsy's shoulder, and regaled her and Adrian the story of Hansel and Grethel. By the time he was done with the story, Retsy was sobbing for Toreon, and wishing she'd never become a wicked sorceress, and Adrian was feeling a little bit more hopeful that Olivia would be okay.

As the party rested for a moment, out in the grove, Silver tried to comfort Retsy, but to no avail. Then the rest was over, and they continued toward the second stronghold.

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 02 February 2007 - 10:38 PM

Wizard was tagging along behind everyone else in complete silence. He looked askance at Rythan, Where does he come into this? He, with his black robes, his covered face, shadowy form, and those deathly blades. He's almost as bad Rapierian! The old man moved mechanically, his mind lost in its thoughts.

He was jerked back into reality when he sensed another presence. "There's someone out there," he muttered more telepathically than audibly. Everyone seemed to have gotten the message, as they stopped in their tracks and listened.

"Let me see," a voice sounded out of the trees to the right. The voice was gentle and sweet. Though distinctly masculine, it's pitch was not very deep. "I really ought to be getting close to it now." Wizard's old eyes could just make out, by the moonlight, a dark figure approaching rapidly, but by his mind's eye, he could clearly see a young man in a flowing robe. The elves in the group could plainly see him.

He was not particularly muscular, nor did his face betray any hardness or cruelty that would be expected in the countenance of one wandering these woods alone. Yet, he looked competent enough to hold his own in a fight. The young man walked nearer to them, glancing down at some paper in his hands, perhaps a map. He stopped for a moment, only a few feet from Brianna. He was muttering to himself, but suddenly ceased. Even though every one in the group was hidden under the trees, the figure turned around.

"Oh, um, hello. I... uh... I'm," he cleared his throat to summon up courage, "I'm... sorry." With that he turned and walked away–well, at first. After a moment he broke into a dead run.

"Grab him!" shouted Rythan. The party acted as one and pounced on the newcomer. He struggled for a moment, but gave up fairly quickly. Cat pulled him to his feet, and the Scribe stepped forward to question the man. His interest was aroused by a person who dared these forests alone at night, if he was a man. "All right, let's hear it. Firstly, who are you?"

"I'm.... I'm Sécundus," he stuttered about an answer, still struggling a little.

"Sécundus? Don't I know you from somewhere?" Wizard queried. Sécundus looked puzzled. The old man took a closer look, "No, I guess it's just a passing resemblance. Well, Sécundus, what on earth are you doing out here?"

"Alone?" Rapierian added.

"In the middle of the night?" Sideline tacked on before Sécundus could reply.

"Right by Tavara's fortress?" Rythan finished.

The young man's eyes flitted around at everyone who had spoken. "Well, no reason."

"Come now, let us not hide anything," Brianna waved one of her new-found blades freely before the man's eyes.

"No, Brianna, he'll talk to me." Retsy audaciously (at least in comparison to her general timidity) stepped forward. "I am a powerful sorceress. It is only a matter of time before I conquer this whole land. You will tell me why you are here!"

Sécundus seemed horrified for a second and looked into Katerei's eyes, as she was about the only one who had not been unkind to him. "What's wrong with you people!? All I know is that there has been some talk of an artifact in this area. An artifact with some... fascinating properties."

Retsy felt pleased that she had made him speak. "What do you know of such an artifact?" Wizard took a step nearer.

"Well, who's asking?"

"I am," Rythan said darkly.

"Uh-huh. Well, you can kill me then, go ahead! I won't betray any more information to you... you Tavara toadies!"

"Tavara toadies?" Cat nearly clawed Sécundus' face off.

"Believe me, if we were Tavara toadies, you'd be dead. As it is, we would rather kill him—a long painful death actually, something he's been needing for some time—than work for him." Rapierian seemed amused by something, perhaps the thought of killing Tavara.

"You're not? What a relief!" Sécundus seemed much more relaxed. "Then I'm not alone in my goal."

"What goal?" the Scribe asked.

"Well, the artifact. I had heard that it has the power to stop undead. I am an archeological aficionado, and I know I've heard some things of this particular artifact. For instance, if I'm right, it can not only stop undead but also make them fight. If that's true, then it needs to be in the hands of sane, good people. Yet these things are always in the hands of the enemy. That is why I came here. I hope to find the artifact and take it! Who's more obvious to have a shard than Tavara?"

"A shard?" Alice questioned.

"Why yes. I assumed you knew, this particular charm is split into three separate pieces."

"I see," Wizard's was staring off into space.

"Well, that information can't help us now; we're still going after Tavara." Cat said, loosing her grip on Sécundus' cloak.

"I'm game for that," the young man actually had a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Can you fight?" Sideline abruptly asked.

"Magic or..."

"Any fighting."

"Well, yes, I guess I do know a little bit of sword play. Although, my preferred weapon is a mace."

"Fine, we'll bring him, but let's not tarry any longer," Wizard moved away quickly. "We need to get into that stronghold before dawn."

"How are we going to reach it? It's hidden by an illusion, Wizard, remember," the Scribe voiced a concern.

The other old man turned and looked into the Scribe's eyes. The two ancient intellects seemed to debate inside each other's heads. "Well, I was hoping that we could find a way to disrupt the illusion. That man is literally a magic-killer if the spell comes into contact with him," Wizard pointed at Rythan.

"There's no need for those primitive means," Sécundus joked. "I have another method. My amulet has some fascinating properties itself. One of them, supposedly, is its ability to act as one of the "742 Will To Union" rings.

"Let's hope your amulet is as useful as you say," Sideline stated.

* * *

"Well, how do we get inside this one?" someone asked. They stood next to the stronghold's wall, waiting for someone to come up with a brillian plan.

"Tavara's stronghold is designed uniquely. Behind this solid stone wall is a moat filled with Scylla. Then there is a second wall, after breaching that one, you enter the stronghold proper. It's nothing but a vast hall, filled with hordes of undead soldiers. Then you must breach the third wall to enter Tavara's personal chambers. I hear that that is where most danger lies, and that there is another layer of blockades after that, but beyond that, I am unaware." Sécundus seemed to say the whole statement in one breath. Everybody glanced at him. "Hey, I'm very interested in stuff like this."

This post has been edited by The Wizard: 04 February 2007 - 01:21 AM

"What about trying the front door?" Retsy asked.

Since no one else was able to think of a better idea (there seemed to be some kind of invisible barrier above the walls preventing any entry from above them) and Bellerophon had done the same, the group trudged around to the front door. They agreed that they would somehow attempt to duck Tavara's notice once they had entered the Stronghold and sneak into his sanctum, although everyone knew that he was expecting them. The door was old and heavy, made out of iron and obviously magically locked.

There was a brief debate about whether to death strike the door or use a bomb or some other spell. While the others spoke, Rapierian began to rummage around in his pockets.

"Ah, here it is," he said, pulling out a key. He inserted it into the keyhole, turned it, and pushed on the door. The door silently slid open, and the adventurers entered the Stronghold of Tavara...

This post has been edited by Selax: 04 February 2007 - 03:05 AM

The two door-guardian scylla, ancient, cunning, and strong, attacked the adventurers as they entered the stronghold.

Silverfish was the first to go, a scylla grabbed him off his perch on the wall, and (luckily for Silver) tried to drown him. The scylla's hide was much too tough for him to penetrate quickly, and after an attempt to stun the tentacle he realised that that wouldn't work either. Silver was being passed much too quickly from tentacle to tentacle to manage a real attack on the dread beast, but he was able to hand out a few papercuts per tentacle, and hoped that would make it easier for the others to defeat them.

This post has been edited by Jehezekel: 04 February 2007 - 07:45 AM

Gazing through the open portal the chill darkness beyond seemed to beckon the group further. All the land fell under the night’s caress, but there was something beyond that darkness, lurking within the stronghold, something sinister that awaited them all. A serene pool of clear water greeted them as they entered, its smooth mirrored surface reflecting the moonlight as the white orb hung gracefully overhead in a near starless sky.

The soft ground beneath Rythan’s boots gave slightly as he stepped forward; sand. The adventurers stood upon a tiny beach that overlooked the great lake of clear water. Still, as dark as it was, even the Hyperian’s eyes had trouble penetrating the liquid depths. A great shadow passed on the assassin’s left, just beneath the water’s surface, and his eyes followed the thing until it disappeared into the murky depths.

“Scylla,” Scribe’s voice carried from the group’s center, “powerful beasts that terrorize the sea. It appears that Tavara has several in thrall to him, protecting his fortress should the enchantments and locks both fail.”

Rythan turned from his study of the calm waters to face the Scribe and the others who had joined him in carefully watching the deep pool. Behind the elder elf, on the group’s other side, a long shadow rose sinuously from the lake’s surface, a thick tendril of darkness that silently emerged from the depths. Water ran down dark green scales that glistened in the moonlight as it poised itself to strike like a serpent. The assassin yelled to the others, “Look out, behind you!”

Becoming aware of the danger the adventurers were quick to mount a defense, but the tentacle lashed out far faster than Rythan would have thought it could. With a great splash of water it lunged forward like whip and wrapping itself around Silverfish’s leg. Brianna drew her new pair of blades as she rushed across the sand to help while Sideline pulled his sword free from its sheathe and did the same. Four more of the dark arms burst from the depths in a fountain of water and flailed wildly at the group while the first dragged Silverfish into the pool. Brianna and Sideline were forced to skid to a stop and defend themselves from the Scylla’s onslaught as it began to rain blows down around them.

Nimbly dashing to the side Rythan evaded a blow that slashed through where he had stood and crashed into the sand hard enough to shake the ground beneath his feet, “How many of these things are there?”

Sideline grunted and slid back in the sand as he blocked a glancing blow with his sword, then hazarded a fast look across the area, “Five tentacles means only one, there should be more hidi—“ he cut off as he was forced to dive away from another attack.

Opposite the Scylla the group now fought a shadow moved at the corner of the assassin’s vision, drawing his attention in time to witness as the tentacle rushed forward and grabbed him by the waist, ripping him right off of his feet and into the air above the lake. Rythan saw a dark shadow rising from beneath the surface; he traced the tentacle down to the head of some large reptilian creature. The beast’s eyes were mad with hunger and rage as it loosed a gurgling growl, showing a line of jagged teeth that gleamed eerily in the moonlight, and as those eyes fell upon the dark warrior he knew he was meant as the creature’s next meal.

Rythan could feel the monster’s powerful grip constricting, trying to crush the life from him. He could see its other arms wildly attacking the shore it had snatched him from, though he couldn’t turn far enough to see who it was trying to help him. The Hyperian grabbed the slick green scales of the beast that held him, trying to loosen its grip and pull free, but still he was weakened by poison and his struggle went in vain. Raising up his right hand Rythan slammed his fist down onto the beast’s hard scales, stabbing deep into the tentacle and causing it to bleed dark ichors. With a cry of pain the creature hurled him to the side and he plummeted into the water with a resounding crash.

Shaking off the initial shock from his heavy impact, Rythan began to swim towards the surface. Through the murky darkness he could see a massive shadow fast approaching, propelling itself on five long tentacles. Rythan had nowhere to go; weakened and injured he could not possibly escape the creature if he tried to flee. The monster opened its massive jaws as it sped forward and, swimming as hard as he could the assassin charged to meet it. In the last moment of his crazed plan Rythan tucked his body tightly into a ball to defend himself, and then… darkness…

**

The tentacle bearing Silverfish fell lifelessly to the sand, shattering into so many shards of ice. The rest of the Scylla floated where it was slain, its scales cut by myriad gashes and marred by patched scorched from deadly spells, a cold steam rose from the monster’s corpse. Many of the adventurers panted slightly, their hearts racing, and sweat glistened off of Katerei’s brow as she studied her handiwork written across the Scylla’s frosty remains.

Her cool blue eyes fell across the group, but though most were fine, one was missing. Both hands on the hilt of his sword, with the tip of its black blade buried in the sand, Sideline stood away from the rest of the group at the water’s edge, gazing at the water’s surface, trying to see beyond it though his human eyes would not let him pierce such darkness. Katerei caught his quiet words, the way only she and the elves would be able to hear them, “Come on Rythan…” Brianna glanced over to the rogue sadly, and then down to the moat’s mirrored surface, but the water was calm once more, as though the battle had never happened. The second Scylla which had claimed Rythan was no where to be seen. Katerei caught a glimpse of a shadow moving beneath the water’s softly rippling surface. It grew quickly as it raced towards the shore. Sideline wrenched his blade free of the sand, twirling it once in his hand, and the others held their weapons at the ready.

Without pause or preamble five green tentacles erupted from the water’s surface and unleashed a barrage of wild attacks that scattered the group across the sand. Her face contorted with anger Katerei raised her hands to the creature as its head appeared above the surface, its jaws were clenched tightly and what looked like black cloth was stuck between its jagged teeth. Without warning the Scylla shuddered violently, its attack ending abruptly as its tentacles went rigid. The beast groaned with pain as a thick dark fluid began to leak from its mouth and it began to make a gurgling sound, almost as though it were drowning.

In a spray of blood like a black mist a pair of blades punched out of the creature’s skull from within before roughly tearing back into the creature. With a sickening crack another pair burst outwards, just above the Scylla’s upper row of teeth, the serrated blades sawing raggedly through bone before being pulled back in. The Scylla convulsed, rendered immobile from the pain of savage internal injuries, and a moment later the blades ripped out once more, this time just below the lower row of teeth, methodically sawing for several seconds.

As the adventurers watched, some in stunned disbelief, a series of heavy muffled impacts that shook the Scylla’s teeth could be heard from within the beast. Silverfish was the first to rush forward, wading into the water and weaving metallic wires through the gaps between the creature’s jagged fangs, but several of the others soon joined to help. Together Silverfish and the others pulled upon the monster’s teeth and one final impact from with tore the fangs loose. Slick from head to toe with dark blood Rythan emerged from the darkness of the creature’s jaws…

**

It took a little time to wash away the Scylla’s blood from Rythan’s robes, even after he enlisted Katerei’s begrudging aid in the task, but being free of the foul ichors was well worth the effort spent.

Sideline gestured to a sandbar that wrapped far around the inner fortress, “We should be able to follow that to go further in. Tavara will be expecting our arrival more likely than not, so that’s where the real fun begins.”

Rythan rose slowly from where he sat, Katerei giving an annoyed grumble as he disrupted her search for his remaining injuries, “You all go ahead, I’m too injured to proceed without proper healing.” His words drew several eyes and Sideline turned to him questioningly.

The rogue shook his head, “We can’t just leave you here, what do you plan to do?”

Rythan turned away and headed for the doors they had used to enter, “I will go back to the mage Akheron, I saw many potions in his home, and it’s very likely at least some are meant to heal.” He looked back over his shoulder towards the group, “I will rejoin you as soon as I am able.” With that he passed through the doors.

A soft sound followed him off of the sand and into the forest outside. The moonlight shining off of her cerulean hair and flowing lightly over her smooth azure skin, Katerei cut him off and barred his path. Reaching behind her neck she removed the onyx amulet he had given her and angrily thrust it to him by its silver chain. Icy sapphires looked into his eyes in a way that dared him to question the act, “Tavara already knows we are here, if a normal Lich could counter this charm’s power then it will be worse than useless to me.” Rythan accepted the necklace, and as soon as it was secure in his grasp Katerei began to walk away. The assassin took a step forward but head heard her voice once more not far behind him, “That is not a gift. You must return and give it back to me.” After a moment of silence Rythan bowed his head without turning around and heard the Elvin woman walk away.

Amulet in hand Rythan traveled through the valley, reentering the secret passage that would take him back to the first stronghold…

"So which way do we go now?" asked Starfall.
Stretching to the north and south, apparently identical stretches of water punctuated by small sand-bars met the group's eyes.
"Bellerophon's group went south, according to Hector." replied the Scribe. "There is no way to get in from the north."
"Unless one cares to swim in Scylla infested waters." cut in a member of the group.
Cat was looking white at the thought of swimming.
"We go south. I can jump from island to island, but I'm not swimming!" she said firmly.
Before anyone could agree or disagree, the Scribe said, "Before we do anything, I think we need to set up camp for a while. Everyone needs a rest, and, at the least, we should wait for Rythan."

This post has been edited by CrazyChick: 03 March 2007 - 02:45 PM

Sideline looked around at the group warily. Although he was used to pushing himself to the full extent of his abilities, many of his companions were not so hardy. They were injured, exhausted, in many cases terrified (such as Adrian) and/or panicky (such as Cat), and he could sense morale quickly dropping.

"Maybe we should hold off going further in," he said, voicing what many people were afraid to say, for fear of coming across as weak-willed or obstinate. "We haven't really had any time to stop and rest yet, and I think everyone could use a night or two to catch their breath."

"I agree," Alice said, wincing and rubbing his side where a scylla tentacle had bashed into him. "Most of us aren't prepared to take on battles like the ones we've been through when we're fully healed, let alone tired and hurt. Of course, there's always the chance we could get eaten by zombies outside, so maybe we won't be any better off..."

He was silenced by a glare from Katerei. "Sideline's right," she said in her usual brusque way. "If someone else gets severely hurt, there'll be little we can do to help. Silverfish is obviously drained, and my healing supplies are running low, to say nothing of my mana reserves."

Sideline nodded. "All right then. We can set up camp outside in the woods. I don't think we're at risk of zombie attacks, though if we are, Rythan shouldn't be gone too long with the charm. These things," he gestured with his sword at a dead scylla's tentacles sprawled across the sand, "won't be going anywhere anytime soon. We should be able to leave and enter again without too much trouble, and pick up where we left off tomorrow."

~

The group organized a camp in a small clearing among the trees, a safe distance away from the stronghold. Although Retsy had seemed less than pleased with the idea, she cheered up with some encouragement from Silverfish that it would be fun to camp outside.

Katerei made the rounds of everyone, using her (quickly dwindling) supply of herbal mixtures to tend what wounds she could. Upon finding Cat and her friends huddled together for warmth against the night time chill, she took off her cloak and draped it over their shoulders with a rare smile, whispering, "You may it keep for the night."

When some of the more combat-oriented travellers returned proudly carrying fresh meat for supper (Alice complaining about how the ghost was scaring all the game off), a fire was quickly started to cook it on. Everyone gathered around enthusiastically to enjoy the warmth and smell of roasting meat. No one noticed Katerei slipping away into the shadows away from camp.

She picked her way through the forest, watching carefully and feeling around for herbs. Although the moonlight was bright and her vision better than the average human's, it was still difficult to identify the proper ones, so she relied mainly on her sense of touch and smell. Fortunately, luck was with her- these forests tended to be avoided by society, so many plants with a variety of healing properties grew untouched by mankind. She gathered up what she found and stored them in small pockets of her haversack. They would come in useful for the next part of their quest.

Having little else to do for the time being, Katerei sat down on a fallen log to rest and think for awhile. She would have to go back eventually, before anyone noticed her absence, but the fire made her distinctly uncomfortable, particularly after the incident from a few weeks ago. She shuddered at the memory. At her urging, Silvre had returned to the Amaroq den, but Katerei now felt herself longing for the company.

She ran her fingers experimentally down her side, feeling where the wolflizard bite had been. Katerei mentally scolded herself for letting her guard down in what should have been such an easy battle. Although her herbal cures had cleansed the poison from her system and prevented the wound from getting infected, the fact remained that it had been a nasty bite, leaving a long scar down the flesh. She sighed deeply. Hopefully it would heal properly in time- she couldn't afford to take many more liberties with her health, though. Living in the woods had caused her to develop some irregular sleeping and eating patterns that would need to be fixed.

"I trust you didn't get lost, right?" a friendly voice said, and Katerei turned in surprise to see Brianna behind her. Lost in thought, she hadn't heard the half-elf approach.

"No... I was just... collecting healing herbs," Katerei said. "I needed to replenish my stores before we return to the stronghold. I didn't want to be caught short."

"I see." Brianna sat down next to her on the log and smiled. "And that explains why you've been sitting here alone for about five minutes?" Surprised, Katerei didn't say anything, and Brianna patted her hand. "It's okay. I thought you might like some company, but I'll leave if you'd prefer."

"Oh... no... it's okay." Katerei shrugged awkwardly. "I appreciate it, actually. I didn't feel comfortable being near the campfire though... well, you know the reason why. I... it's a long story... I had to relive the experience not long ago, and it doesn't really leave you the same way, you know?"

Brianna nodded, her expression sympathetic. "I was pretty sure that's why you had left, so I just let the others know that I had gone to find you and that they had nothing to worry about. They're all enjoying a nice rest, I think... as am I; I did need to get my strength back after getting wounded. Speaking of which, it seemed like you were looking at an injury earlier too. Are you all right?"

"Well enough," the other woman responded, tracing her fingers over it again. "A wolflizard got its teeth into me. It's not bothering me much, I'm just waiting for it to finish healing."

"Really? When were you fighting wolflizards? We haven't met any along the way... I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions," she added quickly.

Katerei gave a brief smile. "It's fine. It happened before our trip began. I was actually living out in the forests on my own, and a pack of them stumbled across me. A friend helped to heal me, but after that, I decided I needed to come back and live among people again. Which means, I suppose, I shouldn't have come out here on my own tonight... it's just a difficult transition to make quickly."

"Well, I'm glad you chose to come along, I don't know what we'd have done without a healer." Brianna gave her a sideways grin. "That, and it's nice to have another woman along to talk to."

Katerei laughed appreciatively, the first time in what felt like ages. "Yes, I know what you mean. The men are very accomodating, and the young ones are adorable, but it's still not the same. Next time, we'll have to try and sway the numbers a little more in our favour." She stood and brushed the bark off her skirt. "But for now, I suppose it's time to head back. Thank you for coming to find me, though. I don't think I'm prepared to tell the others my story yet, but it was nice being able to talk to someone, all the same."

"It's quite all right," Brianna assured her, rising as well and leading the way back to the camp. "I suspect most of the others will be asleep by now, so I can put out the fire, if you'd like. And, if they listened to me, hopefully they'll even have saved some supper for you!"

This post has been edited by iKaterei: 03 March 2007 - 03:20 PM

Kitran hovered in the air high above, quite angry. True gentleman do not attack and run at the first sign of danger, he thought, sniffing disdainfully. He was getting annoyed: he disliked "babysitting" his still unconscious captive...


As the group sat quietly around the fire and debated what to do on the next day, Wizard suddenly noticed something and mentally kicked himself for not realizing it earlier, wondering how he could've missed it.

"Where's Rapierian?" he asked.

The other group members looked around in surprise, realizing that the necromancer was indeed not with them. In the darkness and confusion of the retreat from the Stronghold, no one could quite say where the black-garbed mage had gone, although they all could guess...


In the tunnels under the Stronghold, Rapierian made his way quietly forward. His job career gifted him with a fair ability to see in the dark. Coupled with a simple spell, this translated to essentially full night vision.

In the darkness, no one else had noticed him slip into a trapdoor hidden near the door during the scylla attack.

He knew that Tavara knew about these tunnels and that the lich and his followers should easily be able to overwhelm the lone necromacer if they attacked him; however, it made no difference to him. He didn't plan to get caught, and, if he did, he had a plan. Rapierian had lived in both Strongholds for some time, learning much from the liches and particularly Tavara; however, when they tried to involve him in their plots against the Undine (as he had known they would), he had escaped and had wandered the north for a while before returning to Cademia. Consequently, he knew both Strongholds quite well.

Rapierian figured that it was a safe guess that Tavara had known he would stay behind when the others left, even if the lich didn't know exactly where he was. Tavara had been wise to hide his possession of part of the Undead artifact from Rapierian. Although the undead mage had avoided teaching Rapierian his more powerful spell, Rapierian had slipped into the private libraries of the Strongholds and learned much that Tavara had not planned to teach him, although the necromancer had always been unable to find Tavara's complete journal. Had he known of the artifact, doubtless he would have attempted to steal it.

Now, Rapierian had plenty of time to wander about the Stronghold and obtain it, if possible. Of course, he had to avoid getting caught before he did find it.

Mentally, he laughed to himself.

Let the games begin, "master"...

Had they looked behind them as they left the fallen log, they might've - just might've - detected a dark shadow watching them. It stood up, and padded in the opposite direction.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Katerei and Brianna reached the camp, the shadow was watching them, past the flickering light of the fire. Its eyes gleamed red.
Brianna noted the gleam, and cautiously reached for her bow.
A massive wolf with black fur and gleaming red eyes came from behind the bushes, and padded softly towards the fire. It was fully a metre tall, and the elf knew from experience that it could use its great weight as an advantage in close combat. And when there was one Night Wolf, others would be not far behind.
Raising the alarm, she grabbed her bow, nocked an arrow, and was about to let it fly, when every magical item in the camp suddenly shone with a fierce, white light. A small voice called out, "Don't hurt Wolfie!"
A little girl, perhaps four, ran into the camp and leapt at the wolf, oblivious to the many arrows still pointed at the beast. The wolf landed in the dirt with the girl on top. Cat was about to leap in and save her, when the girl started scratching its back. The camp stared in amazement as the wolf started wagging its tail, then licked the girl's face.
Slowly the glare from the magical items died down, and all the while the girl was whining and growling at the wolf. Getting up, she went over to Brianna, and said, "I'm Enna, and that's Wolfie. Why were you going to hurt him?" She started sucking her thumb.

Silverfish was indeed glad for the break from action, and sat cross-legged by the fire, his paddle-like feet resting on his legs. When the food arrived he watched it cook, and kept randomly declaring "More spices!" when there was a lull in the activity. So he nodded off to sleep, and didn't even hear the alarm.