Chotto and Friends

[chaingunsamurai]

Three days later, Emmi stood nervously next to Yoshida Matsu at the gates in front of the Temple of the Order.
There was a group of five mismatched fledgling adventurers across from them, studying them openly in return.
“Seishoku-sha no kappuru ga arimasu. Sore wa yoi yochodesu.” Youshida Matsu observed. [“There’s a couple of clerics. That’s a good omen.”]
“Sore wa anshindesu” she replied. [“That’s reassuring.”]
He nodded absently looking the five over, with the same eye that he would have looked over her training. There was a half orc, an elf, a human, a half elf, and a Tabaxi. He stopped in front of each one, in turn. First was the half orc.
“Tell me about yourself.” Yoshida Matsu asked.
“I am Khaluss Majorca. My grandfather was born a Mamluk of Khasht-Vaag Hold, as was my father. I will be a great warrior, as they were.”
Emmi knew that Khasht-Vaag Hold was in Essola, a refuge for orcs of Kaashtak who rejected the theocratic rule of their country and fled. The Essolans allowed the orcs to build a hold, with the provision that each one had his face tattooed, and to swear allegiance to the Grand Duke Cullen Tescora and his descendants, in perpetuity.
“That remains to be seen.” Yoshida Matsu commented. The half orc frowned, but said nothing. Yoshida had already moved on, looking down at the elf. There was definitely no love lost between the Jen’ju’roh and the elves, and the haughty look of disdain on her face mirrored what she felt on the inside.
“And you are?” Yoshida Matsu prompted.
“Gil-Geferan.” She replied curtly. Yoshida Matsu looked her up and down, her coppery hair and grey eyes giving away her lineage. “Sijanei.” He observed. She didn’t respond, it was fairly obvious.
“Vilaadst-na-Fey, if I’m not wrong.” It was only half question. She grunted an affirmative. He nodded. She was wearing light robes with a summery dress under it, even though the morning was a little chilly. Temperature didn’t bother elves like it did some other races. She had a carved staff in her hands, some arcane symbols carved into it, but the symbols were inert; they were more for show. To let others she practiced the arcane arts. Slung under her arm was a haversack that had the telltale bulge of a book.
Yoshida Matsu moved on. The next was a human male in breastplate armor with a greatsword. On a thong around his neck was a symbol of Gorum. He had blue eyes and a shaved head and a full beard. He was older than the others, probably in his early thirties. Yoshida Matsu stood in front of him.
“Tell me about yourself.” He said. The man glanced up at Yoshida (he was well over 6 feet tall. Everyone looked up at him), measuring him and looking at the haloed sword of Kareevan that was displayed.
“I am Olam Belfort, of Conn, in Yfidri. I am a sworn sword and cleric of Gorum.” He replied. He seemed quite proud of that, as if he’d accomplished something that perhaps even surprised himself.
“Osoraku kare no jinsei no mottomo ippantekina bito.” Yoshida Matsu murmured. [Probably a commoner most of his life]
Emmi nodded. Olam was definitely the oldest here, aside from Yoshida Matsu.
The next in line was a swarthy skinned half elf with long black hair and brown eyes. He had on a chain shirt and there was a steel shield strapped to his left arm, a scimitar at his left hip. On a slim chain around his neck was a symbol of Sarenrae. “I am Raif Daralan” He said, without prompting. “Priest of Sarenrae.”
The last of the group stood a little off to the side. It was a Tabaxi, an anthropomorphic feline that resided down in the jungles of Magar and also found in small family units in the sprawling forest of Ashan’astelse.
She was orange with black stripes which could be seen on her face and tail. She wore minimal covering, and had a rapier at her hip; it was rare for their kind to use metal weapons, or at least those larger than a dagger.
Yoshida Matsu stopped in front of her. “And you are?”
“Malu o ka Mahina.” She replied in a softly slurred voice. “Pahi Kaua of the Ka lo’ihi lo’ihi Tribe.”
“Chotto?” He prompted.
Emmi stood forward. “I am Emilynn Yoshida.” She stated firmly, “Ordained priest of the Order of the Battle Saints.”
Yoshida Matsu backed away from them, then looked at each one, in turn. How many of you have heard of Killenshire?” He asked.
Both Gil-Geferan and Belfort nodded. The others had no response.
“Good. At least a couple of you know where it is.” He said, “For those of you who do not know, it is a small county some three weeks travel from here, in a southwesterly direction. Located about ten miles from a town of the same name is an old abbey that was once dedicated to Kareevan; now, who knows that is there.”
He waited for his words to sink in. “You will travel there, and you will explore the abbey, and you will eliminate anything that has made it a residence. Any questions?”
“What’s our payment?” Majorca asked.
“Two hundred gold crowns.” Yoshida Matsu replied, “Plus any wealth in the possession of the creatures you slay, if there are any. The Order reserves the right to retain any religious items that reflect our faith, as well as any books, scrolls, or written documents found anywhere on the grounds of the abbey. Everything else, you may keep.”
“And you have no idea what we may face?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“No.” Yoshida Matsu replied, “But you should expect some sort of resistance.”
“And in the case one of us dies?” Belfort asked carefully.
“Should your body be brought here, we will resurrect you from death, with the proviso that you are indebted to us, if you cannot pay.” Yoshida Matsu replied.
“Indebted how?” Raif asked.
“That depends on the one who resurrects you,” Yoshida Matsu told him, “But I would expect some sort of labor, if you do not have the funds.”
There was some grumbling, but the promise of a resurrection was something that most employers couldn’t guarantee. Things could be worse, from that perspective, and they all knew it.
“No more questions?” Yoshida Matsu asked. When there was no reply, he nodded. “I would suggest you all get whatever things you require for the trip, and get a good night’s sleep.” It was clearly a dismissal.
The next morning, Emmi arose with the sun. She took some time to do her morning ablutions, washing her face and scrubbing her teeth, chewing on a few mint leaves to wipe the taste of sleep out of her mouth. She gathered her things; her swords, her rucksack, a bedroll, a few other possessions and then headed out to the courtyard. Yoshida Matsu stood at the top stairs. She moved up beside him silently, looking over the courtyard.
“Ohayogozaimsu, sensei.” She murmured.
“Ohayo, Chotto.” He replied. “Junbi shita no?” [Are you prepared?]
“Hai.” She answered. “At least, I think so. I have everything I need, but it’s more worried about what I’ve forgotten than anything else.”
He nodded, “There will be many things you’ll need, but you’ll suffice.”
“This is the first time I’ve left the walls of the town.” She observed.
“The world is a large place, and you’ll see many things. Some you’ll wish to forget, but also things that you’ll treasure forever.” He took a step down the stairs, and she followed. “Stay to the roads, if you can. There will be times that you cannot, and those ways will be more dangerous. Stay alert.
Choose who you decide to depend on well. Not all people are as they seem, and you can only truly depend on yourself; give your trust sparingly.”
She listened without comment, nodding occasionally.
“It will be your instinct to build a campfire at night.” He said, “Do so only in daylight hours. At night, bank it well. There are many predators at night whom will be lured to the light of a fire because they have learned that there will be prey nearby.”
The two crossed the courtyard and stood at the open gate; Malu o ka Mahina was already present, leaning against the stone of the wall.
“Good morning.” She said, in that slurred speech of hers.
“Good morning.” Emmi replied politely. Yoshida Matsu grunted noncommittally.
Shortly, Gil-Geferan arrives, then Khaluss. Within a half an hour, Olam and Raif arrived. More pleasantries were exchanged between the six, Yoshida Matsu not really taking part.
Wordlessly, the six headed out into the morning.
The day was cool but not cold, the sun warming them comfortably. Gil-Geferan and Malu were engaged in quiet conversation, while Olam and Raif seemed to be comparing religious notes. That left Emmi in the company of Khaluss.
“What do you think we’ll find there?” Khaluss asked her, at one point.
She thought about it, “I’m not sure.” She replied. “I haven’t really thought about it, honestly.”
“I think there’ll be kobolds. Or goblins.” Khaluss offered.
“I’ve never seen either.” She commented.
He missed a step, then looked down at her. “Have you ever even left the town?” There was surprise in his voice.
“No.” She replied, “Not since I was very young. My aunt and uncle took me in, raised me as best they could. Put me to work in the Inn they owned. I was there until I was fifteen. That’s when my sensei offered to train me at the temple. I’ve only really been there for the past three years.”
“Sensei?” he asked.
“It means ‘teacher’.” She told him. “He trained me in use of sword, pushed me physically to be able to use it well.”
“This teacher, he is a great warrior?” Khaluss asked.
Emmi nodded, “Yes. Yes he is, but he is also very wise.”
Khaluss seemed to think about this, mulling it over in his mind. Emmi wasn’t sure exactly how bright Khaluss was. He didn’t seem it, all that much. But then, she’d only met him yesterday.
“A strong warrior uses his or her mind, as much as they use their weapon. As much as they train their bodies, they must also train their minds.” She said, “Yoshida Matsu is considered a very dangerous man. Not only because of the skill he wields with his blade, but also because his mind is sharp; in focus.”
“I will think on this.” Khaluss said, finally. She was certain that he was a barbarian, and that the idea of using his mind was a foreign concept. From what she’d heard, the common tactic of the average barbarian when they were losing a fight was to see red and kill everything that was on the opposing side, regardless of their own personal safety. The effectiveness of this was questionable to her, to say the least.
Most of the day travelling was like this. Small snatches of conversation, punctuated by silence. They didn’t know each other, they hadn’t been tested yet. Emmi wasn’t sure about any of them, and she didn’t think she would be, until they got into their first fight and she saw how they acted; only then would she make judgments on their abilities. It didn’t come, that day.
They finally made camp about thirty feet off the road near sunset. Bedrolls were laid out, a small fire was made. Emmi wasn’t in favor of that, but she said nothing, yet. Watches were assigned, and by general consensus, Gil-Geferan was allowed to sleep, although she only slept for about four hours. The rest of the time, she leaned against a tree with her eyes closed, her breathing even.
About midnight, Emmi was awoken for her time to keep an eye on things. The fire was banked, only the glow of coals could be seen. They were still fairly close to town, and they were in a wooded area, so she wasn’t terribly worried about trouble.
“You are not human.” Gil-Geferan’s eyes were hidden in the shadows of her hood, but her head was turned in Emmi’s direction, and Emmi could feel the weight of Gil-Geferan’s stare.
“No. I’m not.” She admitted.
“So, what are you?” Gil-Geferan asked. “If you do not mind me asking” She added, after a pause.
“I’m not sure.” Emmi admitted.
There was a long silence, then “How is it that you do not know?”
“I never knew my parents.” She replied, “I was raised by my aunt and my uncle. They’re both human, so I naturally assumed that I was too, but they treated me differently. I was told that I wasn’t human, but they never really told me anything else.”
“And that hobgoblin?” There was a twist to her words. There was a long-standing racial enmity between the Jen’ju’roh and the elves.
“His name is Yoshida Matsu, and he is… was, my Sensei.” There was a snap to her words, a protectiveness of her sensei.
“Was?” Gil-Geferan prompted, “Something happen?”
“Yes.” Emmi replied, “I became an Ordained Sister of the Order of Battle Saints; technically, he’d be my battle-brother, but he is still my Sensei.”
“You respect him?” Gil-Geferan’s voice was more curious than anything else, but there was still some scorn in her tone.
“Absolutely.” Emmi said, without hesitation. “He saw me, took me in. Trained me. Made me stronger. He was not exactly warm, but he was fair. And he always supported me. Had faith in me. He was the father I never had, even though I’ve only known him for three years."
Gil-Geferan grunted, resting her head against the trunk of the tree. Emmi stared into the coals, lost in thought.
“I do not trust his kind.” Gil-Geferan stated evenly. “But it seems it is good that you met him.” It seemed the only concession she could make to the nature of Emmi’s relationship.
Even after Emmi woke Olam for his turn to watch, she laid in her bedroll, lost in thought.
The next day dawned and the group continued on their way. While Gil-Geferan and Malu kept company often, there was more mingling and conversations between the six. Emmi found Malu to have a dry, sharp wit that sometimes got away from her. Olam had a warrior’s spirit, but also was very dedicated to his god, Gorum. Raif was equally religious, but more philosophical to the nature of things. Emmi thought that maybe he had a Bard’s heart and wanderlust.
Gil-Geferan was quiet and studious, somewhat judgmental, and seemed to prefer the company of the women of the party over that of the men.
Khaluss seemed insecure, in that his primary focus was being a great warrior, yet also was concerned that he would fail. His father and his father’s father were both considered great warriors. Khaluss only wanted to measure up.
“Greatness is measured in deeds.” Khaluss claimed, at one point.
“Greatness is measured in many different things, to many different people.” Emmi responded.
“We orcs value strength. We value courage.” Khaluss countered.
“And your human half?” She asked. It seemed that both his father and grandfather were both full-blooded orcs, he was not; it seemed central to his self-doubt.
“I am orc.” He stated firmly. Emmi shook her head, but didn’t bother arguing with him. It didn’t sit well to cause ill will with those you’re allied to.
It was then that Gil-Geferan paused, “Does anyone else hear that?”
Everyone stopped, listening carefully; most shook their heads, but Raif nodded. “Buzzing.” He said. Gil-Geferan nodded an affirmative as she gestured with her hands, “Ferro Circumdantibus!” she said, and around her came a shimmering, transparent aura of force that surrounded her.
Raif drew his sword from his hip, “Sarenrae, Guide my Hand” he murmured, looking around.
Khaluss, Olam, Malu, and Emmi all drew their weapons, Malu murmuring “Ferrum augeret” as she did.
They kept their eyes open as the buzzing became loud enough for all to hear.
“There!” pointed Olam, using his massive sword. There was a wasp. Of massive proportions. It was the size of a horse. All were now focused on the wasp as it neared.
“Certo Iactu!” Gil-Geferan called out, pointing a finger at the wasp… and a shining dart shot form from her fingertips to strike the wasp. Moments later, a lance of fire springs forth from Raif’s outstretched hand, also striking the wasp. It dipped, heading toward the party… strait toward Khaluss. Axe out, he waited.
Emmi planted her feet, calling upon her training, both swords drawn and ready.
The wasp came in hard and fast on Khaluss, and he swung as hard as he could, his axe smashing into the body of the wasp; but the wasp wasn’t killed. It struck back, the stinger flashing past Khaluss’s torso.
Malu moved first, her rapier flashing and stabbing the wasp in the side, green ichor oozing forth; Emmi was right behind, her left handed blade skirling along the chitinous armor of its abdomen, the second blade piercing the armor deeply. The wasp spasmed, curling up on itself. It fell to the ground, twitching on its side.
The six approached it, standing around it, each of them dealing with the adrenaline surge in their own way. Emmi was shaking, but not so much out of fear as unspent energy.
She glanced over to Khaluss. He was smiling.

“Is everyone okay?” Raif asked.
“He isn’t” Olam growled, pointing at the wasp with his sword.
“Khaluss, are you hit?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“No” Khaluss replied, “It grazed me, but my armor protected me.”
Emmi was looking at Malu, she was extraordinarily good with that sword. Malu had already sheathed it, and the group had gotten over the initial shock of the encounter. She’d have to talk to Malu later about her swordsmanship.
The next few days were uneventful, and they’d fallen into a routine while making camp. They rotated watches, and stopped at homesteads and Inns for food when they began to run low. While the homesteads didn’t have much to spare, still it was worthwhile to stop.
On the eighth night, Emmi was woken up by Raif, his finger across his lips. “I heard something. There’s something out there” he whispered. “Wake up Olam and Malu, I’ll wake up Gil-Geferan and Khaluss.”
Emmi got up quietly, moving over to Malu because she was closest. He touched Malu’s shoulder to wake her. “Shhh. Raif heard something.” She told Malu. Emmi moved over to Olam, waking him as well, and repeating what she said to Malu. Gil-Geferan didn’t need to be woken, she was already awake.
Emmi heard it. A loud noise, crashing through the brush.
“It’s big.” Khaluss growled, “it’s coming.”
“Very big” Gil-Geferan affirmed.
Weapons were drawn, and they spread out. “It comes!” Malu yelled.
From out of the trees crashed a huge bear like animal, with the head of an owl. It was easily the size of a brahma bull. Malu met it head on, stabbing it deeply with her rapier. Gil-Geferan stepped to the side, “Certu Iactu!” and a missile of light struck the beast. Raif swung his scimitar, missing badly.
Emmi came in hard and fast with her katanas, her right handed blade stabbing deep into the creature, and the creature lashed out with its claws, slamming into her and ripping her side open with its claws. Khaluss let out a roar, swinging his axe with all his might, deep within the infamous rage that Barbarians are known for. His greataxe bit into the creature with tremendous force, which seemed to anger it even more; it lashed out with it’s sharp beak, latching onto Khaluss for a moment, tearing flesh and the beak slid off the half orc’s arm. Olam came in from the side, chopping the sword into its side.
Malu moved in fast, her blade finding its target once again. A bloody froth burst from the creature’s mouth and it collapsed to the ground, dead.
“By Gorum.” Olam grunted.
“That was… invigorating.” Malu commented.
“Did we really just kill that?” Raif asked, stunned.
Emmi held her side, blood leaking out from between her fingers. “It could have just as easily killed us.” She observed.
“That was easy?” Olam asked with a twist to his words.
“It could have been worse.” Gil-Geferan remarked. She glanced over to Khaluss, “Are you back with us?”
He nodded, his breathing somewhat heavy.
Raif moved over to Emmi, looking over her arm. He was murmuring under his breath, a slight glow coming from his hands, and the wounds on her arm all but closed. Olam was by Khaluss, “May you live to fight another day” he intoned, and there was a response from the wound, but his casting was not as effective as Raif’s. He had to repeat the process; and this time it worked much better. Khaluss was also all but healed.
“What now?” Raif asked.
“We move.” Gil-Geferan replied, “half a mile or so.”
It seemed like a good idea. They moved.
In the morning, they carried on.
They travelled for a week and half more, somewhat a week away from their destination. It was getting towards evening, and they were looking for a place to camp.
Almost at once, Emmi, Khaluss, and Gil-Geferan all stopped and looked around, then looked at each other. Each one knew the other two heard it.
Olam noticed. “What?” he asked, now looking around.
“We’ve got company.” Emmi announced.
Weapons were drawn almost right away. “Ferro Circumdantibus” Gil-Geferan murmured, gesturing with her hands. The aura of force appeared around her.
Both Olam and Raif took their symbols in their hands, focusing on them and speaking low.
Furry creatures were coming at them from the trees, almost in an odd half lope on four legs, but it looked like they were carrying weapons. Large weapons. There was a pack of them, Emmi counted ten of them. They stayed about thirty feet away, surrounding the party and moving in. Emmi got a good look at them; they were rats. If rats were around seven feet tall and several hundred pounds. They wore battered leather armor, and carried greataxes or greatswords. Their weapons were in decent shape, much better than the armor was. They had oily looking black fur, maddened red eyes, and flattened tails. The pack of them had the group surrounded, moving in slowly, as if in an effort to create panic. Gil-Geferan was encircled wordlessly by the others, everyone’s back to her. Distantly, Emmi realized that the group was working as a unit and she was surprised at how little time it took for that to happen.
The group waited. Breaking formation was death at this point, and they all knew it.
The Rat-men, at some unspoken signal, they all came in at once.
Malu was ready as the first one came at her, but her aim was off, and her blade didn’t penetrate the armor; she hissed a curse at herself. Taigh swung, and missed badly, almost pulling himself off balance. The one in front of Malu swung in reply, striking her with its greatsword. The creature fighting Raif took advantage of the poorly aimed swing and delivered a vast overhand chop that crashed down into the half elf’s shoulder and biting deep, driving him to the ground.
Looking over her fallen comrade, Gil-Geferan gestured and cried out, “Eritque Arcus!” and a dazzling cone of color leapt forth from her fingers. Four of the creatures were caught in the arc of the spell, three of the four of them dropping unconscious. Across from where Raif fell, Emmi had her hands full. She missed completely with her right hand, but her follow up with the right-hand blade drove through the body of the Ratman, pulling the blade free, she kept her eyes open to the battle around her. The Rat-man to the side of the one she killed took advantage, and swung its greatsword, striking her in the side. She growled in pain, annoyed that she was finally getting over the soreness of the last time she took a wound. Two of them moved in on Khaluss, who dodged their attacks and then swung full force at the one on the right… somehow, he managed to miss his footing and his greataxe dropped to the ground in front of him. The look of shock and horror on his face would have been comical, if it wasn’t a life and death situation.
Olam was near Khaluss and knew that with one of them down and another one unarmed, things were dire... even though Gil-Geferan managed to incapacitate three of them with one shot. Silently, he called to Gorum to guide his blade, and he swung his massive blade; it smashed deep into the Ratman’s side, cutting it nearly in half. He dragged the blade free and moved to support Khaluss.
Malu recovered from her miss and got revenge for getting struck. She lunged, and the point of her rapier drove through the creature’s armor with ease. It was mortally wounded, but refused to die yet. Emmi’s left-handed blade made short work of the Rat man that struck her, dropping it with one well-placed shot. She rounded on the Rat man closing on Gil-Geferan, and slashed his flank, blood spraying from the wound. Its attention went to her, instead of Gil-Geferan. With the thing distracted, Gil-Geferan took a chance and stabbed her dagger into the creature’s side.
The two Rat men squaring off against Khaluss took turns attacking him, one with sword and one with axe, but neither could find their target. Khaluss was being herded away from his own weapon, but at least he was defending well and keeping the two busy.
Malu’s opponent struck her again, another wound welling blood, but the Tabaxi was still alive, with plenty of fight still in her. Olam took advantage of the distraction that Khaluss was creating to come up behind one of the two Rat men and put his blade into its side.
Even though Gil-Geferan stabbed it, the Rat man recognized Emmi as the true danger, and lashed out with its sword, hitting her in the leg. Between the cut in her side and the fresh one in her leg, she lost consciousness.
Khaluss was desperate, and he knew things weren’t looking good. He knew he’d have to chance it. He was near one of the Rat men corpses and saw went for the creature’s sword. One of the Rat men was still pressing Khaluss and swung with everything it had. The blow missed completely, digging the axe blade into the earth.
Malu’s blade flashed at her opponent, but she misjudged and missed her mortally wounded foe. She started swearing in every language she knew. She was cut off as the Rat man’s blade struck her with a wicked gash; she wasn’t just angry, she was fighting to survive, She knew she couldn’t take much more. Gil-Geferan knew she was too close to try and get off a spell, she knew if she tried, she’d leave an opening that the creature could take advantage of, so she pressed with the dagger, but the leather armor the creature wore turned her blade. It faced her, madness in its eyes, and although it was wounded, it was more than capable of finishing her. Olam was closest, but he had his own opponent to worry about. He swung, but the thing dodged the clumsy attack and returned the favor, dropping Olam in his tracks.
Gil-Geferan’s magic armor deflected the Rat man’s attack, but she knew it was only a matter of time… she saw the Rat man that was fighting Khaluss yank it’s axe free of the turf and swing wildly at Khaluss. The swing missed, and she heard the roar of fury that came from Khaluss. He brought the sword around in a hard arc, the Rat man backing away out of reach.
Gil-Geferan was desperate. She hurled the dagger at the creature, knowing her accuracy was better with throwing than it was with hand to hand; and the dagger sailed passed the Rat man harmlessly. The Rat man brought his blade around with an uppercut like slash, a shower of sparks cascading from where the armor deflected it’s blade a second.
The Rat man facing Khaluss moved in quickly, swinging its axe at the half orc, who spun out of the way and came around with a massive blow that caught the Rat man flush in the neck. The body fell while the head flew a few yards away. Khaluss let out another roar as his remaining opponent struck him with its sword.
Malu and her opponent attacked at precisely the same time, but she dipped low in a lunge, allowing his axe to swing over her head. Her rapier caught him in the abdomen, and he curled in on himself, falling over.
“Acidum Orbus!” Gil-Geferan had to do something. She gestured and a small green orb launched from her fingertip to strike the Rat man; it burned a hole through its armor even as it swung at her. Its attack was wild and it lurched passed her, dying even as it fell.
Khaluss faced the Rat man, purely enraged, and tried to disembowel it, but the Rat man sidestepped and slashed at Khaluss. Khaluss caught the swing on his blade, and he’d had enough. He brought the sword around chopping it into the creature’s thigh, the leg coming off in a gruesome display.
“Malu, Khaluss” Gil-Geferan said, “Kill those three that I incapacitated before they wake up. I am going to try to save the others”
She grabbed Taigh’s healer’s kit and grabbed bandages, binding his wounds to stop the bleeding. He’d lost a lot of blood, and her she wasn’t exactly skilled at this, but how hard is it to wrap a bandage around a wound?
The three fallen Rat men were taken care of, and Malu went to try and help Olam, while Gil-Geferan did the same for Emmi. Malu got Olam’s bleeding stopped, but Gil-Geferan was having a problem with Emmi’s wounds. Malu came over to help her, and together they got Emmi’s bleeding stopped, as well. Finally, Malu’s and Khaluss’s wounds were tended.
They had to get off the road and hidden somewhere for a few days while the priests recovered so that they could heal the party. Malu ranged out, looking for somewhere they could hole up, while Khaluss went through the corpses, looking for valuables.
After some ranging, Malu located an area with natural foxholes spread out. They were maybe five to six feet deep and ten to fifteen feet around. It wasn’t optimal, but it was something. It would provide some sort of cover. The first day was the roughest. Khaluss and Malu shared the watch responsibilities while their allies got stronger. Once Olam and Raif were stronger, they used their magic to heal themselves and the others so that everyone was at least out of danger, although no one was fully recovered. The next day, most everyone was healed fully, except Malu; but she was certain she was strong enough to continue.
They stayed an extra day so that everyone was fully prepared for the road ahead. They finally emerged from their foxhole and carried on. Our says later, they arrived at the little hamlet of Killenshire.
They were tired, dusty, and worn. There was a small inn that catered to the local populace with only 4 rooms. They took three. Olam and Taigh took one, Malu and Gil-Geferan shared another. Emmi and Khaluss shared the last. After spending a month on the road with people, privacy takes a back seat to pretty much everything.
All of them ate a large supper, even Gil-Geferan whom usually shied away from eating meat. Not tonight. She ate two game hens on her own. Plus a thick barley soup and slabs of peasant bread slathered with butter. Everyone else ate more.
When they woke, they ate a large breakfast and stopped off at the trading post to replenish their supplies. It was fairly expensive, but they had coins to spare from the Rat men whom all carried small trinkets and valuables.
After errands, Emmi sat in the common room of the Inn, with Raif and Gil-Geferan sitting with her.
“It would be smart to learn more about this abbey, before we head there.” Raif commented. Gil-Geferan nodded.
“I wonder if the mayor is busy.” Emmi murmured.
“We could check.” Gil-Geferan offered. Emmi nodded, “But we should wait until everyone else returns.”
“Fair enough.” Gil-Geferan replied. Raif agreed with a nod.
The other three wandered in one at a time over the next half an hour, and Raif informed them of the plan.
“Let’s go, then.” Olam agreed.
“Wait.” Gil-Geferan said, then moved over to the bar. She had a few words with the innkeeper, then slid a coin across the counter. She turned and strode past the rest of the group. “Now, let’s go.”
“What was that about?” Khaluss asked.
“Asking directions.” Gil-Geferan replied.
About a half an hour later, the group arrived at a moderately sized building with no markings; there were however, a handful of what looked like guardsmen moving in and out and around the building. Gil-Geferan went in first, the other five right behind. Khaluss was the last in.
The room was small, and crowded. The wooden desk that dominated the far side of the room didn’t help matter. Behind the desk was a bored looking guardsman who glanced up at the arrival of such a mismatched group.
“We’re here to see the mayor.” Gil-Geferan announced.
“He’s busy.” The guardsman replied.
“He’ll want to see us.” Emmi informed him.
The guardsman’s face mirrored a cross between irritation and amusement, “Oh, you think?”
“I do.” Emmi replied evenly.
“And what makes you think that, girl?”
Emmi’s expression went flat. “I am Emilynn Yoshida. Ordained Cleric of the Order of Battle Saints. Learn respect for your betters, old man.”
She was angry. Ever since she could remember, she was discounted, made to feel less. Until Yoshida Matsu changed her life. She earned respect from her peers through discipline and hard work. She hadn’t spent the last three years of her life eating, sleeping, breathing, and sweating training to be insulted by some lifer in a backwater town.
The guardsman’s face reddened and he stood, “How’d you like to spend a night in jail to cool your temper, missy.”
“Sit. Down.” Khaluss bit off each word as he moved to stand behind Emmi.
The man sat. He was more than willing to trade words with a five foot nothing girl that looked to weigh one-hundred pounds soaking wet with rocks in her pockets, but not with a six and half foot tall, two hundred fifty pound half orc.
“Mayor.” Khaluss grated, “Now.”
“Subtle.” Gil-Geferan murmured to Malu. She nodded in reply.
“I… I need to get up.” The guardsman stammered.
“Do it, then.” Khaluss growled. “Go.”
The guardsman went into the back room and by the sounds of it, up a flight of stairs.
“Be ready.” Olam grunted.
“A little paranoid?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“Better a little paranoid than a lot dead.” Olam replied.
“I second that.” Khaluss grunted.
“Let me do the talking.” Gil-Geferan said. “It’s better if only one of us is speaking as opposed to all of us.” There were nods all around.
There were footsteps on the stairs again, and then the heavy guardsman reentered and moved behind the desk, while a second man entered the room. His clothes were meant to be finery, at least for this small town, but they’d all seen much better clothing on shopkeepers in major cities.
“What’s the meaning of this?” There was an edge of annoyance to his voice as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Killenshire Abbey.” Gil-Geferan replied.
The man blinked. It definitely wasn’t what he was expecting.
“You’ve heard the name?” It was rhetorical, and they all knew it.
“Yes.” He replied.
“You are the mayor?” Gil-Geferan prompted.
“Yes.” He replied, “Haddard Alfort.
“Excellent.” Gil-Geferan replied, “What can you tell us about it?”
“It’s an abandoned abbey, about ten miles away. From what we understand, there’s some sort of infestation there. People who get to close to it go missing. There’s very little actual information, though.”
“We are here to cleanse the foul rot that has infested the abbey.” Gil-Geferan stated. She thought that statement was a little over the top, but coming from someone who’d probably never seen an elf up close, it seemed like an impressive thing to say. She was right.
The mayor rubbed his hands together, “Why, that’s great news!” He exclaimed, “The rumors and reputation of the place has caused us no small economic problems. With that place cleared, there’s a much better chance of merchants to start returning.”
“What are the chances of some sort of monetary reward?” Gil-Geferan asked.
The mayor frowned, crossing his arms over his chest again, tilting his head as he looked at her.
She spread her hands in a helpless gesture, “You’ve just said that prosperity may return to your town should the abbey be cleared of the things that are inhabiting it. Surely that’s worth something to you?”
Haddard bit his lip, then shook a finger at Gil-Geferan, but not in anger. More in amused capitulation. “If you get that abbey cleared, I think I can scrape together some sort of reward. It won’t be much, mind you, we’re a poor village, but I’ll figure out something.”
“Done.” Gil-Geferan replied. “We’ll head out in the morning.”

[chaingunsamurai]

“Are you sure that’s the right thing to do?” Emmi asked Gil-Geferan, once they were out of earshot. “What do you mean?” The elf asked
“Look around.” Emmi said with a gesture, “There’s not much here. They can’t have all that much money to start with. It seems… a little unfair.”
Gil-Geferan shrugged, “Then don’t accept what they offer.” She said.
They returned to the Inn, and spent most of the day in preparation and contemplation. As the sun set, they gathered in the Inn’s dining hall, and sat around the table.
“We don’t know what to expect.” Olam stated.
“No.” Emmi acknowledged, “We don’t.”
“So how do we do this?” Raif asked.
“In the front gate.” Khaluss stated.
Gil-Geferan shook her head, “Saw that one coming.” She grunted.
“He’s right.” Emmi agreed.
They all looked at her, like she’d lot her mind “What?” She asked, “He’s right. There’s bound to be at least one back entrance. Probably secret, finding it would be difficult. Members of the Abbey would know where it is, and I may know what signs to look for; but it will take too long and may alert whatever’s lurking in the abbey. Better to go straight in, and have them come right at us, if there’s even something there.”
Gil-Geferan frowned. “I don’t like it.” She objected.
Raif nodded agreement.
Olam nodded. “Better to go in the front, and face what comes.”
Malu shrugged. “I’d prefer to sneak in, if at all possible.”
“Night time?” Khaluss asked.
“Probably not.” Olam replied, “Three of us would be blind, and holding a light source would call attention to us; totally eliminates the reason to go in at night. Early morning, or later evening.”
“It’s ten miles?” Raif asked.
“Roughly” Emmi replied. “The terrain’s a little uneven, but there should be a path leading to the abbey. We should leave a little before sun-up, get there just as the sun’s coming up. Anything that’s there might be still sleepy, or at least less alert.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Olam stated.
The next morning, they were up before the rooster crowed. They gathered their things and all met down in the Inn’s dining room, setting coins down on the counter to pay for their lodging. Quietly, the six headed out of the Inn and out into the darkened streets. The sun had not yet peeked over the mountains, and there was a monochrome greyness to the world. Khaluss led, with Olam behind, followed by Gil-Geferan. Taigh, Emmi, and Malu brought up the rest of the group.
Emmi was right. There was a path, but it was fairly overgrown… a memory in the forest floor, Khaluss had to clear a few heavy branches from the path for those to follow, but he was strong enough to make it look easy. They wended their way along and the sun slowly crept over the horizon so that even Olam could see well.
The path they followed led to a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a large, walled abbey. One gate hung despondently from the rusted hinges that refused to let go of the stone wall, while it’s mate had seemingly long since gave up the struggle. The stone of the wall was in fairly decent shape, considering the condition of the gates and the amount of time the abbey had been abandoned… a testament to the craftsmanship of the builders.
“Stop.” Malu commanded, “Let me go first. Wait here.”
The others stopped, crouching where they stood, as Malu shrugged out of her cloak and slipped past. Her padded feet made no noise, even a foot away. Her tiger striped fur didn’t exactly blend in with the surrounding area, but she knew how to stay in the shadowy areas. She moved efficiently, and reached the wall with ease. Her nails found purchase in between the bricks of the wall, and she ghosted up the side until her head peeked over the top. A moment later, she was up and over the wall. They waited.
About a half an hour later, she drifted out the front gate and returned to the party.
“A few buildings, a garden, a pool, some sort of chasm; not much else.” She reported.
“No movement?” Khaluss asked.
“No.” Malu replied, “but I stayed out of the buildings.”
“What are we waiting for?” Khaluss asked.
With that, they moved. Khaluss took the lead, with Emmi and Malu flanking. Olam and Raif stayed with Gil-Geferan. When they reached the gate, they took a look around. The cobbled courtyard had grasses and other plants growing up through the spaces between. Strategically located were some trees that had most likely been planted by the original occupants for the abbey.
In the southwest corner was a small outbuilding with a few doors leading into it. Most of the southern portion of the grounds were taken up by a large raised pool covered in green algae, steam rising from its surface. Directly across from the gate is a mausoleum. In the northwest corner is the remains of what was once a large garden, now overgrown with weeds and grasses. To the north of the main gate there is a crevasse, some ten feet wide and sixty feet long; rising up from the crevasse were clouds of steam. In the northeast corner is the temple proper.
Emmi looked around. It was a large place. Much larger than the one she trained in.
Raif headed over toward the crevasse, while Khaluss was headed over toward the pool.
“Stay together!” Emmi snapped.
Gil-Geferan, Malu, and Olam were by her, keeping an eye open.
They were headed in the direction of the crevasse. Khaluss slowed, then sent to stand by Raif. As the three approached the crevasse, Raif spoke.
“It’s a hole in the ground, what’s the worst that could happen?”
He glanced over the edge, and leapt back as two small, winged creatures shot up from the depths of the crevasse; they were humanoid, but with oddly proportioned facial features… noses bulbous and large, the ears pointed and sticking out at almost right angles. Their skin was a light blue, and they were the size of small children… with horns on their heads. The two were enveloped in a steamy wreathe that obscured their outlines. One of the creatures raised it arms and gestured oddly, speaking in a grating tongue, and suddenly there was a downpour over Olam, Raif, and Gil-Geferan… but the raindrops were of boiling hot water, burning the skin of those caught under it. The three let our cries of surprise and pain, moving as fast as they could out from under the scalding heat.
At their distance, there’s really nothing Emmi can do, and she realizes none of them have ranged weapons. “Tawagoto!” she swore, looking around. The closest building was the small utility type building in the southwest corner, “There!” She pointed, “Make a run for it!”
Malu took off running, the others trying to catch up. Khaluss ran by Gil-Geferan, scooping her up over his shoulder like a sack of grain and they all ran for it, the winged creatures following.
Malu was the first to get to the door… she didn’t even slow down. She kept going, throwing her entire weight behind her shoulder as she slammed into the door and crashed through it. The door splintered under the impact and she tumbled into the room, about as gracelessly as she’s ever moved. The others came in behind her. Luckily for them, the room was empty. It looked like it could have been an area for penitents, or other members that may have been deliberately segregated from the rest of the abbey. There were overturned tables and benches, as well as smashed pottery and iron pots and skillets strewn about. Olam was the last person in, and he turned, facing the door with his greatsword drawn. The two creatures were coming in hard and fast. Malu was up, rubbing her shoulders, looking at the mass of splinters stuck in it. Khaluss put Gil-Geferan down, and reached for a heavy iron skillet.
Raif moved to the side of Olam, to keep the things out, while Emmi searched the place for something, anything she could use as a ranged weapon.
The first of the two creatures braked to a halt with a snap of its wings right in front of Olam, who stepped out of the doorway, swinging his sword with everything behind it, and somehow misses completely. The creature belches out a gout of steam directly into Olam’s face. He reels back into the room, Raif grabbing him and pulling him out of the doorway. The other creature swoops in, Khaluss hurling the skillet in the creature’s direction. The creature manages to spin and dodge the heavy iron projectile, coming up with raking talons aimed at Khaluss, ripping open his thigh and arm. Malu’s rapier catches the thing in the middle of the back, right between the wings. There’s a crunch of bone and the creature shudders, impaled on her rapier.
Raif crouched for better visibility, his outstretched hand loosing a bolt of flame, which goes wide of its target.
“Eritque Arcus!” Gil-Geferan spoke the words of the spell, and the multicolored spray of lights came forth from her hands. The creature got caught in the rainbow burst, and its flight became erratic as it flapped its wings.
“It’s blinded!” Gil-Geferan shouted, “Get it!” Malu was the first to react. She took three long strides toward the thing and pounced, drawing her rapier back and stabbing it forward as she got within arm’s reach and stabbed; the blade caught the blinded creature through the wing, dragging the creature down as he landed. Emmi dashed up, bringing her right handed sword up, and then down, stabbing the creature through the chest.
Emmi wiped the sweat off her brow and glanced over to Raif, “Do me a huge favor,” she said with a grimace, “Never ask me what the worst that could happen is, again… okay?”
He laughed, a bit ruefully. “Fair enough.”
Raif looked over at Gil-Geferan, “Are you okay?”
“No.” She grunted, “I’m the opposite of okay.”
Raif moved over to her, placing his hand on his symbol and then on her forehead, murmuring words of supplication. Most of the redness of her skin was gone. Raif looked over to Olam and Khaluss.
“I’ll heal myself.” Olam grunted. Raif gave him a sharp nod and went to help Khaluss, who was still pretty badly beat up even after the Healing.
“I’ve got one more in me.” He stated, as he repeated the process. Khaluss’s wounds closed up completely, and Olam also managed to Heal himself, as well. That left... Raif.
Malu had managed to bruise herself pretty good, but she assured them she was fine to continue.
“But, our Healers are spent.” She pointed out, “We should let them rest.”
“What? Here? “Taigh asked.
“Why not?” Malu countered, “It’s defensible and we’re hidden pretty well.”
“What if something comes out of the temple?” Raif asked.
“We hide, unless it comes to investigate. Then, we kill it.” It was a cold blooded, matter of fact statement.
Emmi nodded, “There’s no point in heading back to Killenshire. We’re already here. We’ve handled everything that’s come our way, so far.”
They took the time to explore the building they were in, and there was a narrow hallway that led to four ten by ten cells; that’s really the best description that any of them could come up with. Emmi recognized them; or at least what they were. Small rooms not unlike her own, back at the temple of her taining. They all went back to the large open room. Khaluss upended the long table and put in where the door was, propping it up with a bench, but leaving enough space that a watcher could keep an eye out over the rest of the temple grounds.
As it happened, Emmi was keeping watch when from the temple proper emerged a massive creature. Easily ten feet tall, thickly set, with layers of flab over muscle. Its features were puffy, its beady eyes set together over a wide slash of a mouth. In its grip was a steel shod club, at least as long as Emmi was tall. She couldn’t contain her sharp intake of breath.
“What?” Gil-Geferan asked quickly, as Khaluss moved over to spy out the crack. “Ogre.” He grated.
Olam whistled low, shaking his head. “I’ve heard bad things about them.” He said.
“Well, the reality is probably ten times worse.” Khaluss growled.
“So what do we do?” Raif asked. He looked nervous, and as well he should be. They all knew ogres from rumors and tales. They all knew this foe was something that would give them a serious fight.
“We kill it.” Khaluss stated. “We kill it as soon as we can.”
“We’re not up to it.” Olam replied.
“We’re going to have to be up to it.” Khaluss said, challengingly.
“Wait.” Gil-Geferan said, standing up. “Our Healers are drained. If this thing gets the best of one of us, that is it. We cannot afford to lose a member. ANY member.”
“Me, Malu, and Emmi.” Khaluss said, “We can take this thing.”
“No. We should wait until we’re better prepared.” Gil-Geferan reiterated.
“What if there’s more of these things?” Khaluss countered, “What if there’s a bunch of support fodder in there, and we can’t just fight it alone.”
“It’ll be missed.” Raif pointed out.
“I seriously doubt it.” Khaluss snorted, “They’re not all that fun to be around.”
“This isn’t a joke!” Gil-Geferan hissed.
“Khaluss has a very valid point.” Malu interjected. Khaluss grunted and smiled; but then Malu continued, “Gil-Geferan also has a very valid point.”
Gil-Geferan’s eyes shone.
“What’s more important?” Malu asked, “Eliminating an enemy at the possible cost of one of us, or hitting it later and being better prepared and equipped for the fight?”
“Preparation is key.” Emmi stated. “Yoshida Matsu drilled that into my head, every single day I was there. If you’re not prepared for battle, you will lose.”
Khaluss frowned. It was obvious he was impressed by Emmi’s Sensei. He took the words to heart. “We wait.” He growled.
Later on that day, maybe five hours later, the ogre returned and disappeared around a corner by the temple proper. They watched it go with no small amount of apprehension; Khaluss with something akin to longing. He still needed to prove that he was a great warrior. As the day wore on, they got more restless, but they stuck to the plan. They didn’t start a fire, rolling up in their bedrolls while one of the group always kept an eye on the rest of the abbey. The night went on uneventfully.
In the morning, after everyone had woken up and pack their things, the question was asked by Raif.
“Where to now?”
“Where to now?”
“That other outbuilding.” Emmi replied, “The mausoleum.”
“That sounds lovely.” Gil-Geferan growled.
“It’s either that, or the ogre.” Emmi pointed out.
“Mausoleum it is.” Gil-Geferan agreed.
“Let Raif and I go in first.” Olam instructed.
“No.” Malu replied. Olam opened his mouth, but Malu raised a furred hand, “Hear me out, ka’u hoaaloha.”
Olam raised a brow at the words he didn’t understand. They were somehow very musical, with her slurred speech. “It is important,” she continued, “that you and Raif are allowed free access to repel any creatures that may be unliving in the tomb. You cannot do that if you go in first. It would be best if a few of us entered first, just in case.”
Olam nodded. It only made sense.
“So who’ going in first?” Khaluss asked.
“You and I.” Malu replied. “And Emilynn. If there’s anything in there, it’s our job to protect the clerics.”
She waited for everyone to be ready to leave, “When we go out, stay low. Try to use the pool as cover, just in case. I don’t think anything will come out to look, but it’s entirely possible. Are we ready?”
Everyone nodded.
Malu pushed the table out of the way and moved low but quickly toward the mausoleum. Khaluss was the last one out, and he dragged the table back into the doorway. It wouldn’t bear close inspection, but from a distance, it would fool anything not really paying attention. The six of them made it to the mausoleum. The door was decorated with haloed sword of Kareevan in bas-relief. Khaluss pushed one of the double doors. It resisted at first, then slowly opened into a thirty by forty room, a statue of a swordsman with the sword point low, and the warrior prepared for battle. Around the perimeter of the room were doors, a dozen of them.
“I don’t like this.” Raif murmured.
“Don’t do that.” Gil-Geferan murmured, “You will jinx us, again.”
Slowly the six moved into the room, until they were all in. Nothing moved. Not a sound.
“I supposed we should check these doors” Khaluss observed.
“Which one?” Malu asked.
Gil-Geferan pointed to the door next to the one they came in, “That one. And we’ll work our way around.”
“You open the door.” Malu told Gil-Geferan, “Stay behind it, we’ll take care of anything that might be in there.”
Gil-Geferan did as instructed and pulled the door open when given the signal. Inside was a rotting corpse standing in the middle of a ten by ten room, the shelves lines with urns and small coffers. The thing turned at the sound of the door opened and let out a low moan, arms reaching for Khaluss. He let out a shout, and swung his axe, somehow missing badly.
It came at him, swinging, gouging the half orc badly. Khaluss stumbled back, shocked and surprised. It was then that the doors started opening. Several rotting corpses emerged, some of them moving faster than the other, as well as several creatures with too pale skin marked with lividity, stretched tightly over its bones, the mouths of these creatures filled with sharpened teeth.
“Now!” Gil-Geferan shouted, “Now! Do it now!”
Raif complied, raising his Symbol of Sarenrae, “Sarenrae! Show your light!” There was a burst of holy light from the symbol, bathing everything around in its radiance, causing the skin of the undead to burn.
Malu reacted nearly as fast, striking at one of the four emaciated corpses with sharpened teeth, but its quickness surprised her; and she missed as well. Another swung at Yoshida, tearing a gash in her midriff. A second of the corpses attacked Malu, missing her completely. Khaluss swung again, his axe hitting with a solid chunk, splitting its chest open, but still it came on. Another one, this one faster moving came at Khaluss, swinging wildly, but Khaluss was ready, and avoided its claws. The emaciated creature lunged at Malu, using claws and teeth, the clack of its jaws closing clearly audible.
Emmi planted her feet, whispering a fast prayer to Kareevan, her right handed blade sweeping off the head of the creature that came at her. She stepped to the side, her left-hand blade catching one of the emaciated beasts in the side. Green ichor spewed out its side as it collapsed.
“Any time now, Olam!” Khaluss yelled above the din. Olam reacted, raising his own Symbol or Gorum, “Lord of Battle, strike down your foes!”
And from this symbol also burst light, striking the undead around them like arrows. They shied away only momentarily, then kept coming in.
“Altilium!” Gil-Geferan called out, and with a gesture, she reached out and touched one of the corpses attacked Khaluss, delivering to it a jolt of electrical energy. One of them launched itself at Olam, missing widely with one claw, but tearing at him with the other, the wound bleeding badly.
Another one got through, attacking Raif, but he was ready and got out of the way. Emmi was struck twice more by one of the quicker of the corpses… she was badly wounded and knew it. “How do we get ourselves into this shit?” She yelled.
One of the emaciated corpses tore at Raif, ripping into him, bearing him down to the floor; Raif stopped fighting long before he hit the floor. One of the emaciated creatures tried the same with Olam, but he sidestepped, allowing the thing to pass. Malu sidestepped it as it came through, lunging over it to catch the emaciated creature that was attacking her through the eye. Its head snapped back and the body sagged like a puppet with the strings cut. Yoshida knew it was now or never and that the next hit would be her last, her right sword buried itself halfway through the head of the corpse attacking her, her left handed blade running one of the corpses focused on Olam; dropping it in its tracks. Khaluss swung hard at the corpse he was facing, but because of the press and jostle, he swung wide… he was not having a good day. Neither was Olam. He got struck hard from the side and fell, dying. The emaciated corpse that was attacking Olam had a new target.
Malu.
It fell on her, biting and tearing with its claws. Malu felt the chill of the grave, the call of death overwhelm her, and she fell, unable to move. Alive, her muscles frozen.
Emmi glanced around, Olam down. Malu down. Raif… being fed upon. Gil-Geferan was right there, and drew her dagger, stabbing down hard, catching it between the shoulder-blades. The creature coughed green ichor and fell upon Raif, the gobbets of flesh it chewed out of the half elf falling out of its mouth. Emmi saw the creature coming at her from the side, dodging out of the way, nearly missed by the thing’s claws.
The last of the corpses caught Khaluss by surprise, slashing him in the leg.
Gil-Geferan yanked the dagger free, lunging at the emaciated corpse feeding on Malu, nearly stabbing Malu in the process. Emmi got done what Gil-Geferan could not; her left handed blade taking one more walking corpse from the side, her sword cutting its life from it. In protecting Malu, she almost lost her life to one of the other corpses. Khaluss unleashed his fury, driving his axe deep into the walking body in front of him a second time, this time driving the thing straight to the floor.
There were four of their enemies left, including one of the emaciated creatures. They were three, all gravely wounded. They all knew that this could be the end.
Gil-Geferan was the first to move, taking a risk, hurling her dagger at the emaciated creature; the dagger struck home. The creature fell, whatever was animating it, leaving it. One of the corpses struck quickly, catching Emmi unawares, tearing her back open... she fell in her tracks, unmoving. Khaluss swung as it struck her, again missing badly. A corpse came slowly for Khaluss. It was much too slow to land a blow. The last of the remaining corpses attacked Gil-Geferan, striking her down in her tracks.
Only Khaluss remained standing. Malu moaned, her tail twitching as she started to come around. “Get up!” Khaluss roared. All three of them hit him then, bearing him down to the floor, ripping and tearing. Malu’s muscles started to respond, even though she felt terribly weak; it didn’t matter. She was getting up, on a knee, a hand bracing her, her rapier flashing. It stabbed into the side of one of the creatures, and it looked up, letting out an odd sound, the other two now focusing on her instead of the bloodied form of Khaluss.
She was on her feet as they came. She was struck once, returning the favor, putting the corpse back to rest. She was clawed again, more blood flying from her torn fur; with a quick whisper, she imbued her blade was arcane energy, impaling that corpse through the chest, and it quickly followed the others in death. It was only her now, and one more... it came for her, but she was too quick, as it went by, she ran it through the back of the neck... a killing blow on a breathing creature, but nothing much more than an inconvenience to this thing. As it turned, she stabbed it again, and this time, it fell.
She looked around, hissing a curse. All her friends lay dead or dying. Khaluss seemed the worst off. She bound his wounds, struggling as she did so, his blood still leaking out from the bandages. She wasn’t skilled at this, and it took her several tries to get it right. Olam was equally difficult for her. She could see that Gil-Geferan was slipping away; she checked on Emmi, whose pulse was stable. She was bleeding, but she seemed to be okay, although unconscious. She went back over to Gil-Geferan and nearly lost the elf; it was a close call.
Malu’s blood was matted with her own blood as well as the blood of her friends, but somehow she managed to keep them from dying. All but Raif, whose body was missing chunks of flesh from being fed on by that creature. “This was such a bad idea.” She murmured to herself, closing her eyes.
She didn’t remember falling asleep.
She didn’t know how long she was asleep for, but she heard the even breathing of her companions and got up to check on them. They were all sleeping peacefully, at odds with all the blood and bodies that were in the room. Moving them was too much for her. She was still weak, herself. She checked outside, cracking open the door. The moon was out, the temple shrouded in darkness. She sighed and leaned against the wall, using her pack as a makeshift pillow, trying to get comfortable. She could smell the blood and the rot in the air. It was nearly overwhelming; so she left the door to the mausoleum open slightly, so that fresh air would come in. She accepted the risk that something might notice, even though it could the deaths of all of them if it happened.
Again, she fell asleep.
The next time she woke, Gil-Geferan and Emmi were both awake. They were sitting quietly, looking around with no small amount of distaste at their surroundings.
“We should move” Emmi declared.
“Back to that other outbuilding?” Gil-Geferan asked.
Emmi nodded.
“Raif didn’t make it..” Gil-Geferan stated softly.
“No.” Malu replied. “There was simply too much damage. That… thing, was eating him.”
“This was a bad idea.” Malu said, after a long pause. Gil-Geferan nodded agreement.
“We accepted the risk” Emmi said, softly.
Malu and Gil-Geferan turned to look at her; Gil-Geferan with a frown on her face.
“It’s true.” Emmi said, with a shrug.
“It is true,” Malu agreed, “but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
“We’re in trouble.” Gil-Geferan observed. “We should go back. We need more help.”
“Go back where?” Emmi asked, “To Killenshire? There’s no help there. Back to the temple? It’s too far.” And she didn’t want to return, admitting that she couldn’t finish the task she was given.
The other two remained quiet for some time.
“Olam isn’t up to the task.” Gil-Geferan observed. “He’s not nearly as talented a healer as Raif was.”
“We’ll make do.” Emmi replied.
“We’re out of bandages.” Malu informed them. “We can’t survive another fight like that.”
It was Emmi’s turn to frown. She knew it was true. They got lucky twice. She knew their luck would run out, eventually. Raif’s already did.
“Should we wake them?” Emmi asked.
Gil-Geferan chewed her lip, “Yes. Let’s get out of here.” Malu nodded, “Agreed.”
They woke up Khaluss and Olam gently, both of them groaning at their injuries. Gil-Geferan filled them in with the situation and the plan.
“Give me a minute.” Olam said, “I’ll be ready, soon.” He took his symbol out, murmuring words, feeling the infusion of health he’d placed on himself. Maybe it was selfish to give himself healing, but he was the only one who could heal, keeping himself alive so that he could keep the others alive, was the wisest course of action.
“I’m ready.” He said.
Malu peeked out the door, it was all clear.
“Wait.” Khaluss said, “We should look around here, first. Perhaps there’s something of use to us, here.”
Gil-Geferan grimaced, impatient to be gone, but Emmi nodded. “It won’t take long.”
After a brief search, nothing of use was found, but they didn’t know until the checked. Malu looked out across the courtyard again, still no movement.
She pushed open the door, signaling them to move. She’d take up the rear, this time. She was in the best shape of the group, which really wasn’t saying much.
Back at the outbuilding, Khaluss pushed the table aside, allowing the others to get in, then he replaced the table and the group collapsed to the floor, tired from that bit of exertion.
For four full days, they rested. They weren’t fully healed, but they were running out of supplies and they were getting restless.
Over the four days, they saw the ogre a few times, as well as Jen’ju’roh.
“Is that going to be a problem?” Gil-Geferan asked Emmi, at one point.
“No.” She replied curtly. Gil-Geferan nodded.
At the dawn of the fifth day, they moved out. They crossed the courtyard, using the pool for cover, and then gathering at the mausoleum. Their goal was the temple proper. Emmi assumed the main doors were out of sight. She wasn’t sure that going through the main gate was the best way to go, anyway. There were four side doors in view, stretched across a ninety foot section of wall, the first of which being adjacent to the outer wall of the temple, to the east.
Emmi pointed at it, “That one, first.” They circled around the mausoleum, toward the back, staying between its rear wall and the eastern wall of the abbey, moving down a long alley and breaking across some cover. Malu was first at the door. She pressed an ear to it, listening. She shook her head, indicating she heard nothing. “Gil-Geferan. Open it.” She commanded. Khaluss, Emmi and herself all were ready to go in fast and hard. Olam brought up the rear. Gil-Geferan yanked the door open and Khaluss went in first, followed by Emmi then Malu, Gil-Geferan next, Olam bringing up the rear.
The room was empty of enemies, but had at least a dozen broken up cots and footlockers in the twenty foot square room. They made a quick search, finding nothing of interest or value. Malu was the first out. Ten feet along the wall was another door. They repeated the process, Gil-Geferan opening, Khaluss entering in, followed by the others. This room was obviously a dining hall; the long tables and benches broken and smashed. There was some shards of pottery laying around. There were two other doors off this room; one to the east, the other to the west.
“Which one?” Emmi asked.
Olam gestured to the door to the east, “That one.” Olam nodded, “It can’t go far. The wall of the abbey is only about 30 feet away.”
By now, they’d gotten into a rhythm. Gil-Geferan opened, Khaluss entered, followed by the others. A shattered oven and shattered pottery is scattered about the room, along with long rusted kitchenware. There are several overturned tables as well. Southeast corner of the room is a pile of refuse mixed with rubble. Perched on the pile were two rats the size of small dogs, with patchy fur and mangy tails. Their lips curls almost in unison, the one on the right hopping forward a few times. They began squeaking loudly.
“We… should get out of here...” Emmi murmured, eyeing the rats. Two more came out of the hole. Olam backed out the door, followed by Emmi. The four rats broke into a run, and as the first one leapt at Malu, it met the point of her rapier and the point came out under its tail. A second one came at her, but she shifted her feet and stepped away. The other two came at Khaluss, one of them latching onto his leg, the other cut in half by his axe. Khaluss swung at the second, but it was too close; it bit at him again, its teeth meeting only Khaluss’s greaves.
With a quick swipe, Malu skewered the second rat as handily as she did the first.
Three more of the giant rats appeared on the mound… there must have been a hole there.
“Khaluss! Kill that thing! We need to get out of here!” Malu growled. The other rats came at them, Malu readying herself. The rats would be upon them before Khaluss could finish the one at his feet; Malu readied herself, and then felt a presence beside her. Emmi was at her shoulder. The rats came.
The lead rat went for Khaluss, as he was closest to them as they came on. It latched onto his calf, biting deep. The other one again hit his greaves. The next one came at Emmi, who sidestepped as it came on. That gave Olam the opening to strike at it, cutting it in half. Khaluss abandoned his axe for the moment, reaching down with his right hand and grabbing the rat that was latched onto him by the scruff of the neck and then threw it down, as hard as he could. The sound of crunching bone was satisfying to his ears.
Emmi struck out at the rat that was chewing on Khaluss’s greaves; she missed with her right sword, but struck true the left. Two more were coming. The first targeted Khaluss, while the second went after Malu.
“Can we get out of here now?” Emmi growled, “Before more come?”
Malu quickly ran one through, while Emmi beheaded another; Emmi, Malu, and Khaluss all got out of the room, Gil-Geferan slamming the door shut behind them. Suddenly, Emmi burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Khaluss complained, “The little bastards bit me!”
That brought laughter from the others, low and short. Khaluss shook his head in annoyance and headed over to the other door. “Are you all coming?” he asked.
Stifling her giggles, Emmi was the first to follow. Malu approached the door, putting an ear to it. She looked up, shaking her head. Gil-Geferan opened it, standing behind it as she did. It was a library.
The shelves were mostly empty, books scattered about the floor of the chamber. Most had been torn to shreds, but some were whole. Gil-Geferan frowned, “That someone should do this to books!” She growled. “Spread out. Look around. Save any that you can.” So they searched.
“Here.” Khaluss announced, picking up a heavy, leather bound tome. He handed it to Gil-Geferan. She opened it, flipping through the pages.
“What is it?” Olam asked.
Gil-Geferan shook her head, “Have any of you ever heard of the Great Old Ones?” She asked. They all looked at one another, shaking their heads.
There was more searching, and Olam, Malu, and Gil-Geferan all came up with more books. Olam found some sort of binder speaking about a fountain in the garden. A fountain with magical properties. Malu discovered an encyclopedia of religious personas; delineating the various gods. And Gil-Geferan… Gil-Geferan found an arcane Spellbook. “Perfect.” She murmured. They searched for a little longer, but found nothing. There was a door on the east wall, right next to the door they entered. Malu put her ear to it, then moved away. Gil-Geferan was leafing through the Spellbook.
“Gil-Geferan!” Malu called, “Here. Pay attention!”
Gil-Geferan shook her head as if waking up, then packed the book away by her own. She opened the door, and beyond was a room that was open to the sky. A feeling of peace, solace swept over them as they entered. Thick, green grass carpeted most of the room and nine tall birch trees were set along the perimeter of the room, spaced evenly; where there was no grass, there was a long pool of water. In the center of the pool at whose south end a fountain splashes into a shallow bowl. From a spout in the bowl, the water flows back into the long pool. The water is cool and crystal-clear. The stones lining the sides and bottom of the pool are glistening white, and reflections of the birch leaves dance in the shimmering surface. Slowly, they entered, spreading out, health and vitality flowing into them even as they walked. There was no fear. No worries.
Gil-Geferan reached out a hand, feeling the bark of the birch tree under her fingertips, strangely there were tears in her eyes. “We stay here, tonight.”
No one argued.

[chaingunsamurai]

They spread out their bedrolls near one another, laying down on the soft grass. It called them to rest; not sleep... but to put aside their worries and fears. There was serenity here. Gil-Geferan was on her side, her elbow propping her up, as she read through the Spellbook.
Emmi had the book of the fountain on her lap, reading it almost as avidly as Gil-Geferan read the Spellbook. Olam flipped idly through the religious tome.
“This fountain,” Emmi said suddenly, “is magic.” Even Gil-Geferan looked up at her.
“What?” Khaluss asked. “What are you talking about?”
“This book.” She replied. “It’s… a journal, on the effects of this fountain. It has potent magic. It’s granted both benefits and banes to those whom drink from the water coming from the bowl.”
“Are you sure?” Malu asked. Emmi nodded. “Very sure, it describes this fountain in full detail, and that it has both weakened or strengthened those that have drank from it.”
“Weakened how?” Olam asked.
“By sapping their strength, their knowledge, their agility; by robbing them of health.” Emmi replied.
“And the benefits?” Khaluss asked.
“The exact opposite.” Emmi informed him.
“And what decides whether or not someone his harmed or benefits from the water? Gil-Geferan asked.
“Strength of character.” Emmi replied, “or at least, that’s what those whom have written in the book have concluded.”
They all turned to look out at the sparkling water falling out the spout of the bowl. They were all thinking the same thing, even though no one spoke.
“I’m going to drink.” Emmi declared. All heads turned back to her. “Are you insane?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“Is it safe?” Olam asked. Emmi shrugged, “No. But I’m fairly confident I’ll be safe.” She replied.
She stripped off her boots and stood up, the grass under her feet spongey and soft. She could feel the life in it. She stepped into the pool. It wasn’t deep, maybe a foot. She waded out to the bowl, placing a hand on the rim to balance herself, and bent over to drink. A thrill shot through her body, setting her muscles to quivering. She fell to her knees, gasping. The others were on their feet, Khaluss wading out into the pool and reaching Emmi, steadying her. “Are you well?” He asked, concerned.
“More than well.” Emmi replied. “I feel stronger.”
Khaluss helped her stand anyway, making sure she was well. “Should I?”
“Only you can answer that.” Emmi replied, “But I think that you are strong enough, inside, to gain benefit from it.”
Khaluss nodded, looking down at the bowl, biting his lip “I will do it.” He said. He did as Emmi did, drinking of the falling water, and his body, his muscles felt charged, invigorated. More capable than he ever had before. There was a weakness to his body, as well. As if he’d Raged and it fell quiescent; but not as deeply. Emmi headed back to the edge of the pool, Khaluss a step behind. The two stepped onto the grass and walked over to their comrades. The others could tell there was a difference in the both of them.
“You’re both… well?” Olam asked.
“Yes.” Khaluss grinned, “Better than I ever have.”
That made up Olam’s mind. He was next. And like the other two, he was invigorated, and weakened at the same time. He shook his head to clear it, then looked over to the others, “Do it.” He said to Malu and Gil-Geferan, “you will not regret it.”
Malu and Gil-Geferan glanced at each other; Malu shrugged and stood. It was her turn. She drank, and came away feeling as the others. She shook herself, somehow feeling suppler than ever.
Gil-Geferan was the last, and she also drank of the waters… and her reaction was somewhat different. She felt her mind expand, and it almost felt as if her head was going to burst. She sank to her knees, holding her head, as if it was all that was keeping it from splitting apart. Emmi and Malu rushed out to aid her, lift her up, but by then the pain was receding. She blinked her eyes several times, “Yes… I see.” She said.. Emmi and Malu shared a look, escorting her back to the edge of the pool. The five sat down, not speaking of what they just experienced; even though it was a shared experience, it was too private.
One by one, they drifted off to sleep.
They awoke with the sun peeking over the rim of the wall, each feeling better than they ever had. Khaluss’s and Malu’s wounds were completely healed.
“We’re going to have to remember this place.” Olam remarked. They all nodded. “I for one, will never forget.” Emmi replied.
They headed back to the door they came in… apparently, the only way out was the door they came in, or over the abbey wall. Khaluss, as usual, was first. Then Emmi and Malu. “Wait.” Gil-Geferan commanded.
They stopped, Khaluss kept looking around the library to make sure nothing changed, Emmi by his side. Malu turned, “What is it?” She asked.
Gil-Geferan was looking at the wall beside the door. She stepped in front of it, both hands now running over the stone. “There’s something here.” She kept running her hands over the stone, growing frustrated. “I know it’s here…”
“May I?” Khaluss asked. Gil-Geferan grunted, throwing her hands up in frustration, walking away. After half an hour, Khaluss couldn’t find it, either. “Next.” He growled.
Malu took over, searching the walls with her eyes and hands. Her fingers stopped. She started moving her fingers again, feeling around; returning to the same spot. She pressed and a section of stone slid in, and there was a click… She pulled the door open, and there was a five foot wide hall. Fifteen feet down the hall on the right was a door, and thirty five feet down the hall was the opening of a five foot wide hallway. The end of the hall was lost in shadow. Khaluss led. Emmi next, Malu, Gil-Geferan, and Olam brought up the rear. Malu moved over to the door, putting her ear to it.
“Voices.” She announced. “I don’t understand them.”
“Let me listen.” Gil-Geferan told her. She frowned, “I don’t hear them very well. Khaluss, listen to this.”
He moved closer, also listening to the door, “Slukk.” He announced. “Hobgoblins of the northern tribes, most likely. There’s more than a few in there. Are we going to do this?”
Malu and Emmi nodded. Olam drew his sword. Gil-Geferan placed her hand on the handle of the door, looking to each face, and waited for a nod. She pulled open the door.
Lining the western and eastern walls are six cots, each with its own footlocker. There are two long tables set in the middle of the room. At the closest table were three hobgoblins and two smaller creatures that were about 3 feet tall with yellowish skin and reddish hair. The five are armored, with weapons nearby, tearing into what looks like the remains of poorly cooked rats. Along the west wall, three of the six cots have sleeping hobgoblins in them. Along the west wall, four of the cots are occupied by the smaller creatures.
With surprising speed, the two smaller creatures were already off the benches, with their swords in hands charging the group.
“Move!” Gil-Geferan all but shouted… instinct, or faith perhaps, caused the others to give her room “Eritque Arcus!” she shouted, and a fan of prismatic color jumped from her fingertip, catching both the two smaller ones as well as the three at the table in its spray… the two smaller ones fell flat on their faces, while two out of three of the tall ones simply fell off their benches. All of them unconscious. Yoshida dashed in, scissoring both blades at the last standing hobgoblin, wounding him badly. Malu was right behind, not even bothering with her rapier, preferring her natural weapons. She hit him hard and bore him down, tearing with claws and teeth. She came up with a bloody muzzle, looking around.
“Kill them quickly.” She almost purred, referring to the still sleeping hobgoblins and their smaller fellows. It was quick and ugly. They searched the room, keeping an eye on the door at the other end as well as the hall that they just stepped out of. There was both gold and silver in the footlockers as well as the bodies. There were several bows, both long and short, set on weapon racks mounted on the walls. Gil-Geferan studied them, each one. She stopped in front of one, and pulled it down, running her hands over it. She rummaged through the footlockers, locating several spare bowstrings. She also found a few quivers of arrows; she chose one and slid it over her shoulder. She tested the bow and nodded. She slung the bow over her shoulder, as well. Khaluss stayed by the door to the hallway, while Emmi and Malu went to the door on the opposite wall. Gil-Geferan moved to the side of the door and opened it, revealing stairs down. Emmi and Malu glanced at each other. “Close the door.” Emmi said. “Let’s make sure everything up here is cleared out before we go downstairs.”
“Is the way clear?” Olam asked Khaluss. “Yes.” He replied.
“Then let’s go.” Olam said. Khaluss moved out into the hallway, followed by Emmi, Malu, Gil-Geferan, and Olam. Khaluss went right and followed the hall forty feet. The hallway went straight or left, straight ended in a blank wall from what they could see. To the left were two doors. One of which at the end of the hall, the second adjacent to the first on the right hand side. They went left and stopped at the right hand door, Khaluss listening. He heard nothing. He opened the door, axe ready, but the room was bare. He listened at the door ahead of them, and again, he heard nothing.
He put his hand on the handle and opened it, stepping in, axe at the ready. There were two eight foot tall creatures, layered in flab over muscle. One of the two was at a cauldron, the second standing in a corner, breaking up wood. The room stank of musk and something cooking. The one breaking up wood looked up and let out a shout of warning to the other, who also turned to face Khaluss.
Emmi stepped in behind Khaluss, stepping to the left… Malu coming in to stand between the three. “You have GOT to be kidding me.” Emmi groaned. Malu whispered something that was beyond Emmi and Khaluss’s range of hearing.
“Et Senes!” Gil-Geferan intoned, and a coruscating beam of light leapt from her hand, flying wide of her mark. Malu moved fluidly across the floor, darting in against the ogre breaking up wood. Emmi moved against the one by the cauldron, even as it reached for its steel shod club. Emmi planted her feet, knowing she’d sacrifice mobility for more forceful blows. It was a huge risk, but more than worth it. Her right katana caught is deeply across the stomach, yellow fat parted like butter, to expose the entrails beneath. It was a brutal cut, the left blade pushing into those exposed entrails, cutting and slicing into its innards… a look of surprise crossed its brutish features, its brain not comprehending that the body was already dead. It fell to its knees, momentum carrying it forward.
Khaluss let out a primal scream, unleashing his bestial nature, charging the remaining ogre and he came through. He struck it a crippling blow to the leg, nearly cutting it off. The ogre bellowed in pain and rage, falling to one knee, crumbling much like the other did.
“By every god…” Gil-Geferan murmured.
“Agreed.” Olam swore fervently.
Emmi was shaking. She could not believe what just happened. She looked around, over at the other fallen ogre and nodding to Malu and Khaluss.
“That was… unbelievable.” Emmi remarked, her voice shaking. “Khaluss…”
He turned when he heard her speak his name. She smiled, “Look at you, actually hitting things for once.”
He extended a hand, and then a certain finger on that hand. That got a laugh from everyone else.
“Let’s have a look around.” Malu recommended. And they did. There were two piles of furs that seemed to serve as beds, and with a more extensive search, a chest was found, and in one corner was a backpack and a wooden cane with one end curled in a near one-hundred eighty degrees. Inside the chest was packed with gold and silver coins.
“We can’t carry all this.” Olam remarked.
“We’ll come back for it.” Emmi replied.
“One more door.” Khaluss observed.
Gil-Geferan headed over to it, putting an ear to the door, and hearing nothing. She grabbed the handle, looking to the others. Khaluss was in front and ready. She tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. “Locked” she announced. “Look for the key.”
Olam moved to search to the two ogres, eventually coming up with a large key. He went over to Gil-Geferan, and handed to her wordlessly.
She slid the key in, and turned it, hearing the click of it unlocking. She pulled the door open, and moved aside, Khaluss moving in; the room was empty, save for what looked like a mound of rags against the far wall of the chamber. Emmi and Malu moved in behind her, then Olam and Gil-Geferan. They moved about, Gil-Geferan searching the rags. She jumped back with a sharp intake of breath, stumbling back in surprise.
Immediately, the other four were facing the pile, weapons at the ready; as one, they closed on the pile, ready for anything.
“Wait!” Gil-Geferan called, putting up her hands. “Wait…”
The pile of rags moved on its own, an alabaster hand pulled aside the rags, exposing a female. She looked human, her skin pale as milk, her hair two colors; the top half was as white as her skin, the lower half a shade of bright teal, as if dyed. Across her eyes was a strip of hempen material, tied behind her head. She sat up, wearing loose fitting clothing gathered at her wrists, waist, and ankles with strips of cloth and a sash. She tilted her head, looking to the side, as if using her hearing instead of her eyes.
“O eisi byr ondraer” she said.
“Bai. Shi’vi byr.” Gil-Geferan replied. “Pai o mael Aikellan?”
“Yes.” The pale skinned woman replied.
“I am Gil-Geferan” Gil-Geferan told her, “What is your name?
“Sangki.” She said.
“How did you come to be here, Sangki?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“Travelling too close to this place.” She replied. “My friends, dead. Me, captured. The last of my friends were taken from here yesterday. One by one. I am the last.”
“Can you walk?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“I am hurt, but I think so.” She replied.
“Back to the fountain.” Olam stated. They all nodded.
“What fountain?” Sangki asked.
“You’ll see.” Khaluss informed her. Four pairs of eyes set their gazes upon him, with varying levels of incredulity. Sangki just laughed.
Khaluss at least had the grace to look embarrassed. “I apologize for that.”
“I hope he’s a better warrior than he is a thinker.” She mused.
Gil-Geferan snorted. Khaluss grinned and shook his head. “At least she has a sense of humor.”
Gil-Geferan shook her head, taking Sangki’s hand and helped the pale woman stand. The woman had a serious grip. Gil-Geferan looped the woman’s arm under hers and guided her into the next room.
“My things?” Sangki asked. The backpack and cane were retreated and handed to her. She took the backpack and slung it over her shoulder, taking the cane by the curled end and started walking, waving the cane in front of her from side to side. When the cane struck an obstacle, she stopped, using the end to define the shape of what it hit. Some things she walked around, some things she stepped over. She seemed facile enough with it, so they assumed their normal marching order having her between Gil-Geferan and Olam. The retraced their steps back to the room of the fountain and stepped out into the grass. Immediately, the calming effect of the chamber washed over them. Sangki took in a deep lungful of air, letting it out slowly. “Sor air eistajol” She murmured.
“Yes. Yes it is.” Gil-Geferan replied.
Sangki went down to her knees, running her fingers through the blades of grass, bringing them up to her face to inhale its health deeply. She could smell the birch trees, feel the warmth of the sun on her face. She turned her gaze upward, staring at the sun. The others were unrolling their bedrolls, again getting comfortable. They hadn’t been gone long, but considering the shape that Sangki was in, by unspoken agreement, they decided to stay.
“Do you hear that fountain?” Gil-Geferan asked, finally.
“Yes.” Sangki replied.
"There is a magical quality to it." Gil-Geferan told her, "it grants to those that drink of it a blessing."
“What sort of blessing?” Sangki asked.
“Strength.” Khaluss replied.
“Agility and quickness.” Malu added.
“It opened my mind.” Gil-Geferan told her.
“And all of you drank of it?” Sangki asked, directing her attention around, head tilted to the side.
“We did.” Emmi answered.
“I will think on it.” Sangki said, finally.
The rest of the day passed quietly, Gil-Geferan studied her new Spellbook, Olam perusing the religious text, and Malu’s curiosity was piqued by the book on the god-monsters, The Great Old Ones.
Emmi was practicing her katas across the grass, slowly and precisely. She was barefoot at the springy turf felt good under her feet.
Sangki sat at the edge of the pool, her feet in it. She was moving them to and fro, feeling the cool water between her toes.
Khaluss napped.
As the sun went down, they settled in to sleep, Malu offered Sangki her bedroll.
Sangki shook her head, “I could not do that, in case you get cold.”
“Worry not,” Malu replied, “My fur will keep me warm.”
Sangki’s brow furrowed. “Then I accept your offer.” Malu gathered up her bedroll and brought it over to Sangki, placing it down and then taking Sangki’s hand in her own, placing it on the cloth. Sangki’s hand touched the cloth, then reached up and brushed Malu’s furred arm.
“May I?” She asked, politely. Malu glanced at her oddly, and nodded. Realizing what she’d just done, she answered. “Yes.”
Her hand followed Malu’s arm up to her shoulder, and then to her back. “So soft.” She observed. “Thank you.” She dropped her hand, and reached out to feel the bedroll again, spreading it out.
Khaluss stayed up until Gil-Geferan roused herself four hours later. When she saw him, she gave him a confused look.
“We don’t know her.” He replied. “I’d feel better if I saw what her worth to us is.”
“She speaks Sijanei.” Gil-Geferan told him, “She knows elves.”
“It is wisdom to know your enemies.” Khaluss countered. “I think she’ll be a danger to us.”
“How so?” Gil-Geferan asked with a frown.
“She’s blind.” Khaluss replied. “She’s a liability. One of us will have to stay by her side to protect her. That will weaken us as a whole.”
“I’ll stay by her side, if need be.” Gil-Geferan stated, her chin tilting up defiantly.
“And who will protect you?” Khaluss asked. With that, he stood up, went to his bedroll and slept.
The next morning, after they got ready to leave, Gil-Geferan found her way to Sangki. “Did you want to drink?” She asked.
Sangki was kneeling on the grass, her head tilted as she faced the water, as if listening to the sound of the fountain. She knew how she felt. Refreshed. She knew her body was healed. There was no fatigue, even after the weeks she’d been held captive. She knew she should still be hurting, sore. But she wasn’t. She believed the claims of her new companions, based simply on how she felt right then.
“I will drink.” She replied.
“Take my arm.” Gil-Geferan told her. “I will guide you.”
“Thank you.” Sangki said.
Looping her arm over Sangki’s, she guided the blind woman out to the fountain, placing her hands to the edge of the bowl. She searched with her hands until she found the spout, and then dipped down to drink. She felt her body infused with health, vigor. She felt as if she could run for hours. Fight for days. She clenched her fingers, unclenched them. Gil-Geferan held her up, for which she was thankful, her knees felt weak even though her body felt suffused with strength.
The elf guided her back out of the pool to the grass, and they made their final preparations.
“The stairs?” Khaluss asked.
“Yes.” Emmi replied.
Out into the narrow hallway and through the barracks they went, Sangki having very little trouble maneuvering over the corpses, and Gil-Geferan opened the door, stepping to the side. Khaluss went through first as usual. Emmi and Malu came through next. Then Gil-Geferan and Sangki, then finally Olam
The stairs were some sixty feet long, they went down some forty feet, and intersected with a north/south hallway some ten feet wide and around eight feet high. The halls were lit with torches in brackets mounted every twenty odd feet. To the north, the hallway went almost immediately west, while to the south the hall continued and intersected another hall, this one running west/east. “Which way?” Khaluss asked.
Emmi frowned, biting her lip for a long minute. “Left.” She finally replied. It was 30 feet to the ‘T’ intersection, and again Khaluss paused; to the left the hall went twenty feet and turned to the north. To the west, there was an archway on the left hand side about 30 feet down, then the hall beyond stretched quite a distance and then went southwest.
“Left.” Emmi announced, more sure this time. They went east then turned south almost immediately. Forty feet down, there was a door that ended the hall. Twenty feet down, to the right, was a hallway opening that led west.
“Door?” Khaluss prompted.
“Yes.” Emmi replied. “Malu, check to see if you hear anything.”
Malu went forward, pressing her ear to it. “No. I don’t hear anything.” She reported.
Gil-Geferan moved forward, grabbing the handle, and pushing it open. Khaluss stepped in and looked around. He almost wished he hadn’t. There was a torturer’s rack, an iron maiden a huge cauldron of bubbling oil, an iron boot, and other implements of the torture trade. There was a massive creature, easily larger than an ogre. Its body was malformed and twisted, with small beady eyes and sparse hair on its head and body, its mouth full of jagged teeth. Its heavy bodied, with slabs of muscle. It reached to the side, lifting a massive greataxe. Khaluss almost missed the two smaller creatures nearby, small, yellow skinned, with red hair. Emmi stepped in, Malu right beside her.
“How do we get ourselves into these situations?” Emmi growled. Malu shrugged, a wry look on her face.
The big creature bellowed and charged, Khaluss letting out a war-cry as he ran to meet it, feeling his blood boil with uncontrollable fury. The two met at the same time. Swung at the same time. Bled at the same time. Both axes struck true, and both attackers fell back, badly surprised by the force of each other’s attack. Emmi met one of the two smaller ones, its speed surprising her; both her swings missed. It raised its cleaver, chopping at her and gashing her open. It wasn’t serious, more a flesh wound than anything else. Malu met the second of the two smaller creatures, and like Khaluss and his opponent, they both struck at the same time as well; her blade sliced him open deeply, his return blow tore her open, but his blow wasn’t much more effective than the other small creature’s slash that struck Emmi.
Olam’s blade caught the monstrous creature in the stomach, emerging out the creature’s back. An arrow loosed by Gil-Geferan whipped by Emmi, and by her enemy as well. The small creature brought his cleaver back around, and missed her widely; her blades found their home in it. It died as it fell.
Khaluss shook off his fury and leaned heavily on a nearby device. Emmi stepped forward, tilting her head as she studied the creature. “What… the … hell… is… that?”
Malu rubbed the back of her neck in the thoughtful gesture. “Good question.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s dead now.” Olam observed.
“Look at the size of the axe.” Emmi murmured.
“Look at it?” Khaluss growled, “I got to see it coming, first hand”
“You’re still alive.” Olam observed. “What are you complaining about?”
“Are you hurt, then?” came a voice. Sangki walked in, waving her cane low in front of her, the occasional tap as it struck obstacles.
Khaluss looked down to his badly gashed shoulder, “You could say that.” He replied.
She turned slightly, homing on his voice until her can tapped his ankle, “Here, let me feel.” Her fingers stretched out, touched the ragged edges of his wound. She hooked the end of the cane over her wrist to hold it, and murmured under her breath, the ends of the wound coming together, sealing the edges, but not completing the middle. Sangki stepped back, taking the hook of her cane in her hand, and resting the tip on the floor. She was looking at a spot over Khaluss’s shoulder, her ear tilted to the side. “Do you require more?” She asked.
Emmi was looking at Gil-Geferan with a look on her face, quietly impressed. Gil-Geferan looked thoughtful.
“No.” Khaluss replied, “Save it for later. I’ll be okay, for now.”
There were four narrow doors, all along the south wall. They checked them all, one by one, and behind each one was a small five foot by five foot by five foot holding cell. They were empty.
Back out in the hallway, it was either go back the way they came, or take the tunnel to the left. Emmi chose left. It ran west forty feet, then south another seventy, then east yet another fifty feet. They’d gotten to yet another corner, this one heading south when Gil-Geferan called out “Wait.”
Khaluss stayed at the newest corner, keeping an eye on it. The others returned to where Gil-Geferan stood, staring at the stone wall. “Here.” She said.
“There’s something odd about the stonework.” She declared. “But… I can’t find out how to open it.”
“Allow me.” Sangki offered, “My fingertips are sensitive.” She ran her hands over the stone, searching with her head facing down, toward the floor, tilted slightly. She searched for long minutes, then shrugged. “I feel nothing.”
“Here.” Malu grunted, running her fingertips over the stone with her face very near the wall. One of her whiskers tremored slightly, and she moved her hands up, touching the space delicately, “Aha.” She said, with some satisfaction. She worked a stone and there was a click, and a passage was revealed.
Khaluss headed over, and the group went in, closing the door behind them. The hall ran south, with an archway twenty feet down heading east, and a doorway at the end of the hall, fifty feet down, on the west wall.
“Hallway, first.” Emmi decided.
Khaluss turned to look down it, and stopped. “Dead end.”
“We shall see.” Gil-Geferan murmured. She looked up, down, side to side. Pursed her lips, reached out to feel along the stone. Her fingers stopped confidently, and she pushed. A stone door started to slide to the side.
Beyond the door was a well-appointed room. The floor was padded with several bearskins, and four padded chairs were set around a low table, and niches with candles are set in the walls and a shelf holding four crystal goblets and two bottles of wine. There was a writing desk and a chair, upon the desk were sheets of parchment and an inkwell. Standing before the desk was a hobgoblin, holding a drawn katana, wearing what Emmi recognized to be Jen’ju’roh ceremonial armor of the order of the Samurai. Not their hardened o-yoroi, but something to look like it. Lighter, for more mobility. Standing beside the hobgoblin was a creature that was a mash up of wolf and hyena, with the worst trails of both. It had a shaggy, spotted coat with a bristled mane running down its back and a bushy tail.
Khaluss stepped in, followed by Emmi and Malu, who flanked him.
The Hobgoblin took the blade in both hands, confident. “Shinu junbi o suru, inu” He grated, [Prepare to die, dogs.]
As he moved forward, Emmi spoke, “Kyo wa dare ga shino nodesu ka” She replied. [It is you who will die this day]
He paused, and his pet stopped with him, “Yahata wa watachi o mamotte kureru on’nanoko” He told her. [Hachiman will protect me, girl.]
“Kore wa okoru hitsuyo wanai” Emmi informed him, “Ima kono basho o hanareru to, anata wa ikirudeshou” [This need not happen, leave this place now, and you’ll live.]
“Sono sentaku we watashi no monode wa arimasen” He informed her. [That choice is not mine to make.]
“Sorekara watashi o erabu hito ni tsureteitte kudasai.” She commanded. [Then take to the person whose choice it is to make]
“Watashi wa anata o shinjuru koto ga dekimasu ka” He challenged, [And how do I know I can trust you?]
She sheathed her sword, “Watashi was Yoshida ke no Yoshida Emilynndesu. Watashinoie no meiyode, onaji koto o yakusoku surunaraba watashi mo watashi no nakama mo anata o gaisuru koto wa arimasen.” She stated.
He laughed, “Anata wa Yoshidade wa arimasen” he said, his voice filled with scorn.[You are no Yoshida.]
She drew herself up, her gaze meeting his sternly, “Watashi wa Yoshida Matsu ni yoshini natta. Watashi wa Yoshida no iedesu.”
He blinked. He definitely recognized the name; she could see his indecision. She stepped aside. “Namari. Watashitachiha tsudzukudeshou.” She said.
[Lead. We will follow.]
“Kochiradesu.” He said, striding through them and past them. [This way.]
“What’s going on?” Olam asked.
“He’s taking us to whoever’s in charge.” Emmi replied.
That got raised eyebrows all around. Oddly, Sangki nodded as if this were the only choice they had.
He led them down a short hallway and passed through a door to a large chapel (dedicated to some warrior god, Emmi thought it might be Hachiman.) and through a double door to a hall going north to south. Their direction was generally north and east, passing through a door to go west only once for a short time. They passed doors and hallways and arrived at a ten foot wide double door, the hall angling out to thirty feet to have room of a large fresco depicting a major battle, Kareevan in the center of it, right about the double doors. The hobgoblin pulled them both open. Beyond was a large room, fifty feet across and thirty feet wide. On either side of the room were extensions, thirty feet wide and twenty feet deep. In the middle of the room was a huge fire pit, easily ten feet around, with a bed of red coals in the bottom. Across from the double doors was a throne of sorts, in which sat a hobgoblin that wore lamellar armor. He had a club across his lap, the club having a projected handle that came out at a ninety degree angle from the shaft of the club. Emmi recognized it as a tonfa. Tucked into the figure’s belt was a metal rod with a small parallel projection, a weapon Emmi recognized as a jitte. Flanking the figure on both sides to the rear were four hobgoblins, each wearing the traditional o-yoroi, replete with katana and wakizashi. The hobgoblin on the throne was talking to another of his kind, this one wearing armor much like that of the one that led them here, It was like o-yoroi, but made lighter. Finally, around the room were another half dozen hobgoblins in breastplate armor. Northern tribes. Beside their guide, his pet sat attentively.
Emmi began to think this was a very bad idea.
The hobgoblin that led them stepped into the room, and the group followed, subconsciously forming an arc by the door. Khaluss and Emmi near the apex, Malu to Khaluss’s left, Olam to Emmi’s right. Behind them were Gil-Geferan and Sangki.
The hobgoblin on the throne looked up, incuriously. The one beside him turned, looking directly at the hobgoblin that led them in.
“Asukai Noriaki.” He said, speaking to their guide, “Korero no hitobito was daredesuka, soshite karera wad ono yo ni shinde imasen?
[Who are these people and how is it they are not dead?]
“Kare o yurusu” Emmi replied, “Sore wa watashitachi o korosu chikara ga nakattackaradesu.” [Forgive him, for it was not within his power to kill us.]
The hobgoblin on the throne leaned back and smiled. The one that spoke blinked in surprise, but covered it quickly. “Sorekara kare wa shinda hazudatta.” He said with a negligent wave of his hand. [Then he should have died.]
Emmi turned to her gaze to the hobgoblin on the throne, “Watashi no shukun, Aikellan de hanasu koto o tanonde, watashi no nakama ga nani ga iwa rete iru noka rikai dekiru yo ni suru.” She said. [My Lord, I ask that we speak in Aikellan so that my companions may understand what is being said.]
The spokesman looked to his leader, who nodded his assent.
“Let it not be said that Daisuki Shoji is considerate to his enemies.” The spokesman said. “Now, what is it that you wish?”
“For you to leave.” Emmi replied.
The man on the throne raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The spokesman laughed, “I do not think so. We are many, we are strong. We will stay.”
“Then you will die.” Emmi told him. Her companions around her tensed.
“You need to learn a little diplomacy” Olam murmured.
“If we live” Khaluss added.
The man on the throne leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, hi chin resting on one hand as if he’d only just now noticed something.
“Is that… a threat?” The spokesman asked, his hand on the hilt of his katana.
“A warning.” Emmi countered. “This place is considered holy ground to the worshippers of Kareevan, and they wish to have it back.”
“Let them come.” The spokesman said angrily, “We shall slay them, as we will slay you.”
“I’m sorry,” Emmi said with a slow shake of her head, “but so far, your defenses have been sadly lacking. In fact, the most trouble we had was with those odd flying creatures in the steam chasm.”
“They were a pain.” Khaluss grunted in agreement.
“Shh!” Gil-Geferan hissed. Khaluss glance back and shrugged.
The spokesman narrowed his eyes, “Perhaps then, you should be faced with a more worthy challenge…” he told her.
“Perhaps.” Emmi replied, “Do you think you can find one?”
Daisuki Shoji barked a laugh as the spokesman’s eyes narrowed dangerous. “Watashi wa kanojo no seishin, itoko go sukiedesu.” Daisuki Shoji said, finally speaking.
“What he say?” Khaluss asked.
“That he likes my spirit.” Emmi supplied.
“Asukai Noriaki.” The spokesman said, “Your life was forfeit as soon as you led them in here. Defeat her in combat, and you shall be allowed to leave.” Their guide turned to face her, his katana coming free from its sheathe, his pet standing to face Emmi as well, it’s lip curling back from its teeth. It let out a low growl.
Emmi’s swords were already out, and she stepped sideways out of the little arc to give her more room; her blades came up as he came toward her.
“Time for you to die.” He announced.
“We shall see.” Emmi replied.
He was faster than she expected; his first slash caught her unexpectedly, and deep… she was already in trouble and she knew it. The pet moved in to flank, biting at her, but she was already out of the way. She ground her teeth in frustration, knowing this was not going to end well for her
“Stay back!” she commanded, as she watched her friends come forward to aid her. “Stay out of it!” She would abide by the rules of the duel, even if her opponent would not… she had a few tricks up her sleeve. She spun in place to her left, going low as she did, bringing her left blade out as she did. It caught the canine creature right below the ear, shearing through muscle and bone and brain, taking the top of the creature’s head clean off. The blade kept going, but Asukai Noriaki was faster than his pet and dodged out of the way, but he hadn’t counted on the right handed blade as it also came around, stabbing through his thigh. With a grunt, he hobbled back. Again he struck, and again his blade caught her flesh; she fell in a heap, swords clattering to the floor.
Khaluss roared in fury, charging forward and swinging his axe, catching the guide in the back, staggering him badly.
“KILL THEM!” The spokesman screamed, “KILL THEM ALL!”
The northern hobgoblins charged, drawing their curved swords as they came. The others took a single step forward in unison, hands on katana hilts, but went no further. The first one headed straight for Malu, swinging hard and missing badly. Her blade swung true, catching him high in the shoulder, punching through both armor and flesh. The second hobgoblin sought Khaluss, the arc of his sword falling short. The guide hoped to use this as a distraction to strike at the half orc, but was foiled by the rash attack of his northern brethren, equally foiled was Khaluss’s swing.
The next two hobgoblins sought out Olam, both of them missing their target. Another sought press Khaluss, wounding him across the ribs. The last of the six attacking Malu.
“Malu! Olam! DOWN! Gil-Geferan cried. The two reacted quickly, ducking out of the way of whatever Gil-Geferan had planned; she stepped to the side, targeting the four hobgoblins that were attacking Olam and Malu, without catching Khaluss in the effect. “Eritque Arcus!” She cried, her hand reaching out, fingers splayed. The rainbow of colors shot forth from her fingertips, catching all four her targets, yet affecting none of them.
“Where is Emmi?” Sangki called out.
“Over by Khaluss!” Olam called back as he stabbed at one of the hobgoblins attacking and missing him.
Malu struck at the one she’d already wounded, dropping him with a well-placed stab. Gil-Geferan switched targets, “Malu, watch out!” she called, and then “Eritque Arcus!” The spell caught the remaining hobgoblin that was attacking Malu as well as the two of the three attacking Khaluss. The Guide stayed standing, but he reeled back, scrubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hand, looking dazed.
“Is the way clear!?” Sangki called out, “To Emmi!”
Khaluss chopped his axe into the Guide as he stood there dazed, felling him where he stood. “It is now!” Khaluss called, “Come to my voice!”
Waving her cane low in front of her, Sangki hurried as fast as she could, stepping over a body to get to Emmi, and unslinging her pack. With a practiced hand she found her bandages and quickly bound the wounds that her fingers found.
Olam was attacked once; twice… both missing him. Olam swung his sword in a wide arc, catching one of them high in the side, almost buckling its knees. The other of the two swung again at Olam, again missing.
Sangki murmured as her hands ran over Emmi, and her eyes snapped open in surprise. “Owww.” She groaned.
If you can complain, you are still alive.” Sangki said with a smile, “Be glad.”
Olam brought his sword up, in an uppercut, missing his intended target. Gil-Geferan pulled her bow off her shoulder and knocked an arrow, loosing it at the wounded hobgoblin attacking Olam; there was a look of surprise on its face as his chest sprouted an arrow just before it toppled over. Olam took a hard swing at its companion and missed, badly. And it struck back, finally catching Olam.
With a few strides, Malu covered the distance to the last standing hobgoblin, catching him under the chin with the point of her rapier, punching through the back of his neck.
Emmi slowly got to her feet, Sangki standing beside her. Khaluss turned to the spokesman and the hobgoblin sitting on the throne. “That all you got?” He asked, with a feral grin on his face.
The spokeman’s eyes narrowed, and he turned to look at Daisuki Shoji. He took his tonfa in one hand, drawing his jitte with the other. “Sorera o korosu.” He said. [Kill them]
“You couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you?” Emmi grated.
The eight hobgoblins in o-yoroi came at them together, while the spokesman went left around the fire and Daisuke Shoji went right. Malu’s eyes focused on him, sword at the ready. She stepped over the bodies of the fallen, sticking the point of her blade in one of the ones that had fallen under the sway of Gil-Geferan’s spell.
Khaluss’s axe came up, positioning himself between Emmi and Olam; Emmi was in no shape to fight and everyone knew it. Sangki took a step to the left, away from Emmi. “Sangki! Come to my voice!” she called, but Sangki stayed where she was, about eight feet to the left of Emmi.
Two of the eight headed toward Khaluss, another pair toward Emmi. The last four divided themselves between Malu and Olam. Gil-Geferan stayed behind the small arc of Olam, Emmi, and Khaluss…
Daisuki Shoji was slightly behind the two aimed at Malu, while the spokesman had chosen Khaluss. “I’ve got one more spell left in me” She whispered, “so make sure you move when I tell you to.” Khaluss nodded.
“Gorum.” Olam intoned softly, “Give your servant strength. Watch over him and his companions; allow them to strike down their enemies.”
As the hobgoblin came in, Gil-Geferan yelled “Down!” There was quick gestures, and her hand flung out, “Eritque Arcus!” It hit the middle four hobgoblins full in the face and dropped all four in their tracks.
“You’d think they’d learn.” Khaluss laughed.
“You should be happy they didn’t.” Olam observed.
As the first one that came at Emmi, she brought her sword around in an arc and missed her mark with both weapons… one on the right hit her with a nasty gash, driving her to her knees. The second one swung his weapon, and it came around in a whistling arc… that was suddenly stopped short… the rounded half circle of the cane caught his wrist, and with a quick twist, the katana fell from his hand. The hobgoblin turned to see what happened, and got his jawed rocked for his trouble. He staggered from the force of, and Emmi saw an opening, and ran him through.
The second was surprised at turned to the pale skinned woman with the blindfold over her eyes and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. The other two closed in on Khaluss, one of them delivering a brutal cut, the other missing entirely. Khaluss swung at him with his axe, swinging wide of his mark. Olam moved to stand beside Khaluss, swinging at the same hobgoblin, and missing him as well.
Malu’s blade moved viper-quick, slicing Daisuki Shoji down his thigh, but he was still full of fight. With a backhand swing, he caught Malu with the tonfa, then brought the jitte around and caught her a second time.
The spokesman took a moment, and then moved in quick on Khaluss, but Khaluss saw him at the last moment and moved out of the way.
Gil-Geferan had her bow out in a flash, knocking an arrow and letting it fly, striking the spokesman in the shoulder. He jerked back in surprise, clearly not expecting it; it threw off his swing; Khaluss looked to capitalize, and missed his mark. Again.
But he managed to avoid the lunge and swing of the two others that he was facing. Olam swung at the closer of the pair, missing badly, but hitting Khaluss… his swing left him off-balance, prey to the closer of the two hobgoblins. Khaluss turned slowly, with a dumbfounded look on his face, then… he fell.
Emmi got herself to her feet and shifted into her stance, she knew she was sacrificing mobility, and she knew that she was near death; she would stand and fight as long as she could, and take as many of them with her she could. The first blade caught him in the chest, the second caught him through the thigh… when he fell, then she turned to Daisuke Shoji, who was focused on Malu. The two swung simultaneously…
She missed, he struck her twice. She reeled back, badly injured. Malu knew she was outmatched, but she’s distract him for as long as she could; and then Sangki was there, the cane not in her hands; her first strike caught him hard and low, the second catching him in the ribs. He adjusted his stance, taking her presence into account, clearly surprised by her appearance.
“What?” She asked, “Never seen a blind woman before?”
Olam took hard swing at one of the hobgoblins, managing to miss his target yet again. The spokesman lunged at him, missing widely.
One of the downed Hobgoblins began to stir, so Gil-Geferan aimed very carefully, and put an arrow in his back, right about where his lungs would be. He stopped stirring.
Emmi growled low in the back of her throat, and crossed the intervening space to the spokesman, with a quick flick of her wrists, reversed the grip on both her swords and came down with the both of them at the same time; their chisel tipped blades punched through the ceremonial armor and down deep in the length of the spokesman, one through each of his shoulders… driven to his knees, Emmi’s grip on the swords was the only thing holding him up.
Sangki moved in on Daisuki Shoji, but he was aware of her now and evaded her; he managed to evade Malu’s strike, as well. He stayed focused on Malu, catching her hard in the side with his tonfa… she went down as if all her bones had been turned to water. He lunged at Sangki with his jitte, and missed as she turned sideways to let his lunge pass.
Two of the fallen hobgoblins were coming to, and now the two in o-yoroi were focused totally on Olam. The pair swung on him, one after the other, and one after the other, they missed. Olam caught one of them with an overhand chop, crushing a dent it its armor. “Thank you, Gorum” Olam swore fervently.
Daisuki Shoji found his target with the tonfa, but only barely; Sangki seemed more annoyed than hurt… he pressed his advantage, coming at her, but stepped on the outstretched arm of Malu as she lay on the floor and he lost his balance; Sangki caught his wrist with her left hand and brought a fist up hard, striking him just behind the elbow, and then in the same motion, brought a hammer fist down on his collarbone. The jitte spun out of his hand, clattering away across the floor.
Olam was attacked by both his opponents yet again, and struck deeply by one but not the other. Olam sent a return blow his way, missing his target widely. Emmi moved up between the two, spinning the blades in her grip, reversing them yet again; while she missed with her left hand, the sword on the right punched strait through the unsuspecting hobgoblin’s armor. He turned to look, and Gil-Geferan took the opportunity to loose an arrow at him; missing him completely and narrowly missing Emmi.
The two northern hobgoblins who were hit earlier by Gil-Geferan’s spell were struggling to rise, feeling around on hands and knees; she knew they were blind, and they would be for a little while longer, but not long enough by the looks of it. One of the others, the southern hobgoblins in the o-yoroi was also starting to rise.
Sangki wasn’t done with Daisuki Shoji. She still had him by the wrist with one hand, and with her other, she grabbed him by the shoulder and drove her knee into his mid-section with terrific force.. she landed, shift her grip once again, this time taking his head in her hands and driving her knee into his face; there was a satisfying crunch of bone, and he went limp.
Gil-Geferan let another arrow go, striking the hobgoblin that was now caught between Olam and Emmi, striking him in the side. Emmi couldn’t capitalize on his moment’s distraction, and neither could Olam, Olam going so far as to over-swing and drop his weapon.
Emmi’s look of disgust at his inability to do anything right should have killed him where he stood. The Hobgoblin slashed at Olam, barely missing him.
“They’re shaking off my magic!” Gil-Geferan yelled, “Can we please finish this?!” She loosed an arrow at the hobgoblin facing Olam, the shot going wide. Emmi spun her blade in her grip, then lunged, skewering the hobgoblin through. She looked at the hobgoblin that just rose to his feet, finally shaking off the lingering effects of the spell, she pointed at him with the point of her katana, “Will someone please kill him!?” she shouted. He started heading directly towards Emmi, but Sangki cut him off and delivered a major punch to the side of his head; he staggered a few more steps, momentum carrying him forward, into the reach of Emmi’s blade; she swung, the edge of her sword deflected by his armor.
Olam swung a heavily armored fist at the hobgoblin’s head, crashing into the side of it, half caving it in… the hobgoblin fell twitching to the floor.
“About time, Olam!” Emmi yelled. “Sangki! Get bandaged on Malu and Khaluss. Olam, help he kill these others before them come to.” She limped to the nearest unconscious hobgoblin, and stabbed him in the neck, then she looked up, “And Sangki? We’re going to have a little talk.”
A half hour later, both Malu and Khaluss were mobile, all the hobgoblins were dead, and they’d located two room off the main room. One was a small barracks, the other was a well-appointed bedroom. Within the bedroom, among the luxuries, was a small iron lockbox filled with precious stones. Khaluss was busy having heated words with Olam; so heated that Emmi threatened to beat them both into unconsciousness if they didn’t stop. She almost had to carry out her threat, multiple times. Finally, she banished Olam to the bedroom.
“Why do I have to go?” He asked her angrily.
“Because you almost killed Khaluss.” She grated. She was trying very hard to keep from screaming.
“It was an accident.” He replied.
“Listen, Olam.” She growled, “He’s not in the mood for an apology right now, and I don’t blame him. Let him cool off. Get out of sight. And have a talk with your sword, because it’s not working very well for you.” Then, she pointed to the bedroom door. Reluctantly, he did as he was told.
“Kareevan save me from idiots” she growled, walking back over to where Malu and Gil-Geferan were talking with Sangki. Emmi gave her a look that she obviously couldn’t see, and walked up to Khaluss, “You.” She said. He turned and looked at her, a scowl on his face.
“Accidents happen, Khaluss. It was his intent to hit you” She told him. He opened his mouth but she held up a hand and rode over him objections, “We. Do. Not. Have. Time. For. This. Do you understand? We’re in an enemy hold. We can’t abide this kind of division. After this is done, if you want to challenge him to a fight and chop him into little pieces, I don’t give a rat’s ass. Right now, get your head where it belongs, or take your share of treasure and go.”
He arms were crossed over his chest, and he was frowning at her,
“Do you understand me, Khaluss?” She prompted.
“I understand.” He grated.
“Good. Because if you can’t pull yourself together and focus on what we need, all of us, we don’t need you.” She informed him.
With that, she went back over to where Malu and Gil-Geferan were with Sangki. “Do me a favor,” Emmi said, “Take one more look around, make sure we didn’t miss anything, and then we’ll head back to the pool.” Malu and Gil-Geferan nodded. Emmi stood next to Sangki, studying her.
“Yes?” Sangki asked.
“Later.” Emmi replied, “Too many questions for right now.” Sangki nodded and headed over toward the throne and sat down.
Gil-Geferan took a walk along the perimeter of the room slowly, studying the stone as she did. She arrived at a point by the southern extension, between where it started and where the eastern wall of the room was. “Here.” She called. Gil-Geferan headed over, as did Emmi. By the time they got over to Gil-Geferan, she already had the door sliding open. Beyond was not much more than an alcove with two chests.
When they were both opened, one of them had a mix of coins; platinum, gold, and silver. The other had four flask like bottles, each with a cork plugged into it tightly.
“How much do you think is there?” Khaluss breathed.
“A lot.” Malu replied, “Nut let’s not stick around to count it.”
“Grab the bottles, Gil-Geferan” Emmi told her, “I’ll get Olam to carry the chest. We’re headed back to the fountain.”
She went over to where she banished Olam and opened the door, where she found Olam pacing. “Go talk to Gil-Geferan. She has a job for you.” That was all she had to say. She turned and started heading toward the door, “Let’s go! We’re moving!” Almost as an afterthought on the way by, she picked up the spokesman’s sword and sheathe, and headed out the door.
They backtracked the path carefully, heading back up the stairs and through the narrow hallway to where the fountain was. Olam was sweating with the chest by the time he put it down. Khaluss was giving him ugly looks, but held his tongue; in fact, the effect of this chamber were gently washing away his resentment, as if the grass and trees and water and air had no tolerance for such things. Eventually, only peace remained.
They spread out their bedrolls and relaxed.
“This place… I could stay here forever.” Emmi remarked, as she laid back.
“Agreed.” Gil-Geferan murmured, right beside her
Emmi propped herself up on her elbows, looking over towards Sangki, who was again sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. “What do you make of her?” She asked Gil-Geferan.
“She’s been very helpful.” Gil-Geferan replied, “healing Khaluss and saving Malu’s life.”
:What do you think she is?” Emmi wondered, thoughtfully.
“I don’t know.” Gil-Geferan replied, “Let’s find out!” With that, she shucked off her boots and stood up, walking over to the pool where Sangki sat. Emmi blinked, then scrambled up, doing the same. As they approached, Sangki’s head turned slightly, as if she were looking over her shoulder, but her head was slightly tilted. Gil-Geferan approached, sitting down to her right. Emmi was there a moment later, taking up a place by her right.”
“Hello, Sangki.” Emmi greeted, somewhat awkwardly.
“Emmi.” She replied in acknowledgment.
“So, Sangki…” Gil-Geferan said abruptly, “Tell us about yourself?”
“What would you like to know?” Sangki replied
“Well…Is Sangki your only name?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“No.” Sangki replied, “My name is Sangki Ibiana.”
“Where are you from?” Emmi prompted.
“Toradaer os Jhori.” Sangi replied. Emmi frowned; she’d never heard of this place.
“Citadel of Life” Gil-Geferan translated, “What you humans call Sauscha Imray.”
Emmi frowned in thought, “So you trained at Sauscha Imray, but where are you from?”
“I grew up at Toradaer os Jhori. My earliest memories are being there.” Sangki replied.
“Were your parents healers?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“I don’t know…” Sangki replied, “I never met them. My mother left me at the gates, some of the monks there found me. I was raised there, learned some of the healing skills and self-discipline skills. I didn’t want to stay there my whole life, though.”
There was quiet between the three for some time. Instead of clearing up the mystery of the young woman, it was only deepened.
“I confused,” Emmi said, finally. “If you can see, why wear the blindfold.”
“I cannot see.” Sangki replied. Emmi looked over and Gil-Geferan, whom looked equally perplexed.
“Then how..?” Emmi began, as Sangki reached up behind her head to the knot on the blindfold and unworked it with her fingers. She held an end in each hand as she pulled it away from her face. Between her milk white eyebrows and her high cheekbones was smooth skin. No eyes, no eye sockets. Just uninterrupted skin where he eyes should have been. Oblivious to the shocked looks on her the faces of her companions, she retied the blindfold snugly, splashing the water with her feet.
“Then how...?” Emmi was trying to form the thought accurately and diplomatically.
“My other senses compensate.” She offered, “I can… feel… things around me.”
Gil-Geferan and Emmi shared another look; they thought they might find out more about Sangki, but every question answered created three more.
“How far away can you feel things?” Emmi asked.
“I’m not sure. Distance is abstract to me...” She tilted her head, turning slightly, then stopping, then pointed to Malu some twenty feet away, “That person. I can feel that person, but she’s almost at the range of my senses.”
“Can you tell who it is?” Emmi asked.
“Malu.” She replied.
Gil-Geferan’s eyebrows shot up, “How can you tell?”
“Armor has a certain feel to it, and they’re not armored” She replied, “I know Khaluss us taller. I have you and Emmi beside me, so it has to be Malu.”
Almost as if she could feel their attention on her, Malu turned to look at the three. Emmi waved her over. She put what she was doing and came over to where they were, sitting cross legged next to Gil-Geferan. There was a moment of mutual greetings before Emmi said, “What are we going to do about Khaluss and Olam?”
“You can’t blame Olam for being a little angry.” Maul said.
“I’m not talking about that.” Emmi replied, “I’m talking about their near inability to help at all in combat, except as a distraction for opponents until with get over to help them.”
Gil-Geferan gave a rueful laugh, “It does seem true, doesn’t it?” Emmi and Malu both nodded.
“This is something we’ll have to talk about further when we get back to town.” Emmi said, “We need them right now, and who knows? Maybe they’ll redeem themselves.”
“So we’re not heading back yet? Gil-Geferan asked.
‘No. We need to make sure there’s nothing else lurking in the tunnels below. That will give Khaluss and Olam time to show whether or not they’re valuable to us as members of the group.”
“And am I” Sangki asked.
Emmi smiled although Sangki could not see it. “You’ve already proven your worth, Sangki. I think to all of us.”
There was a low chorus of agreements from the others assembled. Sangki’s return smile was full of warmth.
They spoke a little longer of unimportant things, laughing as small jokes and comparing histories. Olam and Khaluss were both at their own bedrolls, a distance apart; the calming effects of the pool and the grass and the trees keeping the two from anger.
Eventually the four women found their own bedrolls and went to sleep.
In the morning, the six broke camp, gathered their things, and got ready.
“Where to?” Olam asked.
“Back downstairs.” Emmi replied, “We need to finish what we started.”

[chaingunsamurai]

Down the narrow hallway they went, through the barracks, and down the stairs. At the first intersection at the bottom of the stairs, Emmi instructed Khaluss to take a right instead of a left. It was a quick turn to the right, heading west. About sixty feet ahead was a door. Khaluss was in the lead with Emmi and Malu side by side right behind him. Gil-Geferan and Sangki were next, with Olam bringing up the rear.
It was Malu who pulled open the door for Khaluss, and when the door opened, a rank stench poured out; the smell of stale sweat and animal like musk, and smoke. In a fireplace, the remains of a fire smolder fitfully, over which hangs a sizable iron kettle. In the room are three large benches, two chairs, and a long table. On the table I a large stoneware jug with three dented ad stained goblets. Sitting at the table are four large humanoids wearing leather armor. Where the armor doesn’t cover, coarse hair covers their frames, and their mouths filled with sharp teeth; their noses oddly ursine.
The four creatures look up in surprise, grabbing their weapons as they get to their feet.
The closest of the four is on Khaluss before he can even get in the room it swings with its morningstar, Khaluss dodging out of the way; a second one has time to move up next to the first, attacking with a battleaxe, but it misses even worse than the first. Khaluss retaliates, hitting the creature on the right a wicked blow, knocking it back a pace. The others can’t get around him because of his size and the arc of his weapon makes it too dangerous to do so. Pressing his advantage, he swings again, but the creature is too far out of each. The closer of the two swings its morningstar, but still couldn’t seem to strike Khaluss. The wounded one came in, trying to get a piece of Khaluss, but he missed badly. Khaluss swung at the wounded creature, his swing getting foiled by the hall.
Malu, frustrated, lunged under Khaluss’s guard in an attempt to put down the morningstar armed creature, but she couldn’t reach. The two creatures attack nearly in unison’ once, then twice, Khaluss is struck. Emboldened, the creature with the morningstar moved to finish Khaluss off, but catches his weapon on the edge of the archway, misjudging his nearness to it. Khaluss tried to capitalize, but missed; Malu was close enough to stab upwards, catching the creature in the chest, having punched through its armor. The battle axe armed creature moved in and swung, Khaluss seeing the weapon come in, and avoided the blow; with a backhanded slash, Khaluss buried his weapon halfway through the creature’s torso.
With that, Khaluss stepped farther into the room, allowing his allied to do what was necessary; as he did, the creature with the morningstar struck Khaluss. Now that Malu had Khaluss out of the way, she moved in on the second creature that had been engaged with Khaluss and ran him through quite smoothly with her rapier. Khaluss had two more on him; he struck one with a brutal overhand swing. The last creature, unwounded, lashed out at Khaluss, striking him soundly.
Emmi came out, both blades moving quickly, putting down the wounded creature. There was only one left.
It swung at Khaluss, Khaluss returning the favor and both missing.
Malu took a step forward, missing badly as she stepped out one of the dead creatures, dropping her rapier as she did. Sangki has come in, moving around Khaluss on the other side, coming in hard and fast, her fists hitting the creature’s armor but the armor absorbed the blows.
Malu’s blade finally finds him, catching him in in the ribs; Sangki him from the side with a crushing elbow to the chin… the creature’s head spins so fast his neck snaps.
Emmi looks around the room, her gaze coming to rest on Khaluss. “Someone please heal him.” She growled, shaking her head as she checked around the room. Olam and Gil-Geferan took a moment to cut the belt pouches of their fallen enemies while Sangki healed Khaluss. By the time she was done, Khaluss wasn’t fully healed, but he was strong enough to go on. Olam and Gil-Geferan took quick looks inside the pouches, and Gil-Geferan came up with a key in one of them. Across the room was a door. Malu went over to listen at it, shaking her head to indicate she heard nothing. She opened the door, and there was a corridor beyond; thirty feet down was a hallway to the right; there was another hallway to the right about sixty feet down. About ninety feet down, the hall turned right.
Khaluss took the lead, then the rest in their usual order; he stopped at the first corner, glancing around the corner carefully. There was a short ten foot hall ending in a door. He gave Malu space to get around him and she listened at the door. Again, she shook her head. She opened it slowly, to reveal a small ten by ten cell. There was a cot and a bucket and not much else. A quick look around affirmed the initial impression.
They moved on to the next hallway, again, Khaluss peeking around the corner; and again there was a ten foot hall ending in a door. Malu moved over to it and listened, “Someone’s snoring.” She announced.
She tried the handle and pushed, but the door wouldn’t open.
“Here, let me.” Khaluss offered, getting ready to put a boot to the door.
“Wait!” Gil-Geferan told him, fishing the key from the beltpouch. “Try this, Malu.”
Malu took the key and slid it into the lock, turning. There was a click and the door opened. It was a thirty by thirty room, with a heavy wooden table and four equally heavy wooden chairs. Along the walls were three bunks, three of which had a large humanoid like the previous four sleeping in them. Malu, Emmi, and Khaluss made short work of the three while they were still sleeping. There was a quick search of the bodies and the room, then the group headed out of the room and went left. In thirty feet, the hall turned left. Around the corner was a quick right or thirty feet down was a door.
“Which way?” Khaluss asked.
“Door.” Emmi replied.
Malu put her ear to it, but heard nothing; she opened the door ad it was a ten by ten cell with one cot and a bucket. They didn’t even bother checking the room out. Backtracking, they turned left and found themselves faced with yet another door thirty feet down.
Malu listened, but shrugged. “Nothing.” She announced.
She opened the door, and beyond was a large natural cavern, it was about seventy five feet long, and twenty feet wide at its narrowest, running east to west. An underground stream came in from the west, running along the southern part of the room, to disappear in a hole in the west wall.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling, stalagmites forming on the floor. There was a narrow path through the stalagmites to the river. Malu went in, followed by Khaluss and Emmi.
“Anyone else hear that?” Olam asked.
“Like chirping?” Gil-Geferan replied.
“Yeah…” Olam affirmed. That got everyone on alert; “There!” Sangki pointed. About fifteen feet away, a group of what look like bat-winged mosquitoes some twelve inches long dropped out from between the stalactites and headed toward the group; Malu swung at the first one coming at her, but it was too small and quick, it landed on her, latching on tightly with its eight legs, stabbing it’s needle-like proboscis into her, sucking her blood, just like a mosquito would. Within seconds, one of the creatures was latched onto Gil-Geferan, while a second latched onto Malu.
Khaluss slashed at the next one coming in, but it juked to the side and landed on Gil-Geferan, stabbing her with its proboscis. A third one targeted Malu and was zooming in on her, but Sangki put an end to that, punching it out of the air. It landed with a wet splat against a stalagmite.
Olam slashed at the one that targeted him, it zipped back out of the way, then came in fast and struck his breastplate, bounding off and catching itself mid-air. Emmi’s right handed blade caught the one coming at her as it dove, splitting it in half, her left handed blade caught the one that was buzzing around Olam, knocking it out of the air; it struck the ground hard.
Gil-Geferan drew her dagger, trying to kill the one on her, missing and almost stabbing herself in the process.
Khaluss grabbed a hold of one of the two creatures on Gil-Geferan and pulled it off, squeezing it in his fist, the blood it drank from Gil-Geferan oozing down his wrist. Sangki grabbed the two off of Malu, smashing them together and causing a small explosion of red as the blood sacs burst.
With a well-aimed slash, Emmi cut the head off the last one that was feeding off of Gil-Geferan. They took a look around the room, but there was nothing else in the cave.
They filed out of the room and headed back down the hallway to where the stairs came down to meet the hall. They passed the stairs and kept going, arriving at the ‘T’ section, the sound of hammers ringing on steel coming from the right. Farther down on the left, a hallway intersected with this hallway. Fifty feet down was a second hallway intersecting from the left; the hall turned at about a forty five degree angle where the two halls met. Khaluss led, stopping at the first intersection, peeking down from around the corner. Twenty feet down, the hall opened up into a large room; the low, ruddy light from four furnaces lit the room, the steely ring of hammers echoing down the hall. Khaluss and Olam moved side by side down the hall; Emmi and Malu right behind, then came Gil-Geferan and Sangki. In the room were a pair of hobgoblins, one of which was very old, the other of youngish age. There were also half a dozen of the large coarse haired humanoids they’d been finding aplenty in these tunnels. The humanoids dropped their hammers and picked up various weapons, crossing the space to get to the group. The six came on fast, barely giving the warriors a change to set up an arc in front of the hallway. Khaluss met the first one with a wild swing that missed terribly; the creature’s aim was much better, its heavy pick spiking through Khaluss’s chain shirt.
Sangki stepped into the swing of the creature targeting her with a hard elbow to the chin, stepping back a pace then driving a sideways kick to its thigh, driving it back several steps: Emmi tried to meet the creature attacking her with her blades, but the creature stopped short of her range, only to burst forth to strike her with its morningstar, striking her a devastating blow. Olam swung an overhand blow that the creature side-stepped neatly, throwing its own attack off-time. Malu caught hers with her rapier, its leather armor unable to stop the blow; it retaliated, delivering her a wicked blow with its flail. A second targeted Malu, its attack foiled by the presence of its brethren. Gil-Geferan loosed an arrow, taking the creature that Sangki had already rocked, dropping him in his tracks.
Sangki moved in quickly to support Malu, unable to successfully hit her target, but still getting its focus on her instead of Malu; it swung wildly at her, already struggling after getting foiled by its brethren, misses Malu badly and crashes its weapon into the side of the flail armed creature. Khaluss and his opponent swing simultaneously; the creature missed, Khaluss’s axe splitting the thing’s skull right down to its shoulder-blades. Malu and her opponent trade blows; his lands hard, catching her in the side, throwing off her own counter attack, causing her to stab herself in the leg. Emmi catches her opponent in the chest, the chisel point of her sword piercing his leather armor through and through… the creature slides off her sword, dead. She steps forward to strike the creature fight Malu, but misses badly. Olam brought his sword around, crushing the leather armor into the side of the creature he was fighting, chopping through it and half way through it. Malu moved in, running her rapier through the thigh of the creature she was fighting; it screamed as it fell, dead. Gil-Geferan’s arrow caught the creature fighting Emmi in the chest.
Malu caught the creature Sangki by surprise from the side, slashing him deeply, as he turned to and moved to face the new threat, Sangki jumped up in the air, and brought her foot up over the creature’s head, bringing her heel down hard on its shoulder… there was a sharp crack on impact, and the creature fell.
Emmi came forward on her opponent, and it dodged backward; right into Khaluss’s axe blade. It caught him flush across the back, and the creature folded over it backwards.
“We really need to stop doing this. It’s getting ridiculous.” Emmi groaned.
“It’s… invigorating.” Sangki observed.
Malu hissed a laugh, “True enough.” She agreed.
“So, what do we do with them?” Khaluss gestured to the two hobgoblins.
“Kill them.” Olam offered.
“Wait.” Emmi grunted. Five sets of eyes shifted to her.
“Do you speak Aikellan?” She asked, directing her gaze at the older of the two.
“Not well Aikellan” The older one replied. She studied him thoughtfully, noting the clothes her wore.
“Anata wa Najania-go o hanashimasu ka?” Emmi asked him carefully [Do you speak Najanese?]
“Hai.” He replied with a nod. [Yes]
“Onamaehanandesuka?” Emmi asked. [What is your name?]
“Katsuke Akahito.” He replied.
“Kare wa?” Emmi asked, gesturing to the younger of the two. [And he is?]
“Watashi no minarai.” Katsuke Akahito informed her. [My apprentice.]
“Watashi wa anata ni ikirubekidesu ka?” She asked him, taking a step closer. His gaze shifted from hers to one of the swords strapped to her back.
“Sore wa Jiro Taro no kendesu.” He observed. [That is Daisuki Jiro’s sword.]
“Ie.” Emmi countered, “Sore wa watashi no monodesu.” [No. It is mine.]
“Wakarimashita.” He told her. “Watashi wa sono ha o tsukurimashita”
She drew it, looking at it closely for the first time. It was extremely well crafted.
“What’s going on?” Khaluss whispered softly to Gil-Geferan.
“How the hells should I know? Shhhh” She replied.
Emmi glanced back at Khaluss over his shoulder, “He said he crafted this blade.” She informed them. She turned back to Katsuke Akahito as she slid the blade back into its sheath. “Watashi wa anata o korosanai koto o konomurarou.” She said to him. .
“Watashi wa korosai retakunai.” He responded.
She snorted a laugh, momentarily lost in thought, his voice interrupting her. “Watashi wa mo~tsu to motte iro” he offered.
Her gaze shifted back to him, then she turned her attention to those behind her. “He says he has more.”
“More what?” Olam asked,
“More weapons, I believe.” Emmi replied, “And if they’re of equal quality to this, they’re masterwork.”
“Good.” Olam agreed, “So let’s get them.”
“It’s not that easy.” Emmi replied, “It’s in trade for his life.” While not entirely true, Emmi had too much respect for this kind of craftsmanship to kill the craftsman.
No one suggested that they get the goods, then kill him. She had expected no less.
“Anata wa nani o shimasu ka?” She asked Katsuke Akahito. [What will you do?]
He shrugged, “Watashi wa shiranai.”
She bit her lip, thinking. It was crazy, but it might work. She took her symbol off her neck and walked over to Katsuke Akahito, and handed it to him.
“Watashinonamaeha Yoshida Emirindesu. Kore o toru. Yaku ju mairu hanareta hokuto ni wa, machidesu. Naibu wa karivu~an no jiindesu. Yoshida Matsu o motomete kudasai. Chotto ga anata o okutta to tsutaete kudasai.” She told him. [My name is Yoshida Emilynn. Take this. To the northeast, about ten miles away, is a town. Inside is a temple to Kareevan. Ask for Yoshida Matsu. Tell him Chotto sent you.]
He looked down that the Haloed Sword of Kareevan in his hand, then back up to her, closing it in his fist. “
“Arigatogozaimashita” He said, with a deep bow. [Thank you.]
“What are you doing?” Olam asked her.
“Letting him go.” She replied, “I’m sending him to my Sensei, Yoshida Matsu.”
“Is that wise?” Olam asked carefully.
“I think it is.” Emmi responded. “And he’ll be of good use there.”
Katsuke Akahito was looking at her speculatively. “Watashi to kite.” He instructed her. [Come with me.]
She raised a brow at his note of command, and followed him. He led to the far end of the smithy, heading toward a door. He opened it, and beyond was a twenty foot by twenty foot cell. On the floor was a heavy carpet which he pulled aside. Under was a trapdoor. He grabbed the ring recessed in the door and pulled it open with a hard tug, his apprentice aiding him. Under was long compartment, in which were a handful of weapons; swords mostly.
“Naze anata wa korera o kakushimashita ka?” she asked him, genuinely curious [Why did you hide these?]
“Watashi wa hontoni shiranai.” He replied, “Shoji Daiki ni tewosashinoberu ni wa hoso sugiru to kanjitakarada to omoimasu.” [I don’t really know. I think because I felt they were too fine to hand over to Daisuki Shoji.”
“Korera wa kichona okurimonodesu” She said to him, bowing slightly in his direction. [These are a priceless gift.]
“Wakai hito wa imasen,” he replied, “Jinsei wa kichona okurimonodesu. Kore wa chodo kanari metarudesu.” [No, young one. Life is a priceless gift. This is just pretty metal.]
She couldn’t help but think Yoshida Matsu would like him.
She chose a katana from the pile, making it four now that she possessed. She took this one and matched it with the one she took from the spokesman, Daisuke Jiro. Malu looked through what was there, but saw nothing of interest. Katsuke Akahito got down on one knee and pulled out a wooden quarterstaff and stood up, handing it to Malu, who shook her head; staves were not her preference.
He put a hand on either end of the staff and pulled. The staff separated, exposing two short bladed, single edges swords that were perfectly balanced. Her eyebrows went up as she looked them over. He set the katana back together and handed it over to her again. Malu received it this time, pulling the staff apart and studying the keen edge. “I’ll have to learn how to fight with two weapons, I suppose.”
Olam pulled forth a single edged sword with a heavy, curved blade with a trio of saw teeth on the rear of the blade. Oddly, even the handle of the weapon was curved. He lifted it, tested its balance and nodded to himself. He sheathed it on his back, next to his greatsword. Gil-Geferan had taken no interest in any of the weapons, but Khaluss fished not just one, but two weapons out of the hoard. First was a massive sword, like a katana, but much bigger. The second was a dagger, shaped also like a katana. He had the massive sword in one hand, the dagger in the other, and he handed that to Gil-Geferan. Lastly, Sangki was studying what was in the hoard, but did not seem to be able to distinguish one from the other, at least not well.
“What’s that… is that a sickle and chain? She asked, finally.
“Kusarigama.” Emmi supplied.
“That.” Sangki decided. Emmi reach in and pulled it out for her, gathering the chain and small iron weight connected to the end. She handed it to Sangki, who took it and spun the chain lazily.
They all looked up, and thanked the craftsman in a quiet chorus.
“Arigatogozaimashita” She corrected them.
They all tried, with more than questionable levels of success. He smiled, nodding at their attempt. “Doitashimashite.” He replied.
“You’re welcome.” Emmi translated.
“Think they can be trusted?” Khaluss asked Emmi as the two walked out.
“Who are they going to tell?” Emmi countered.
“Good point.” Khaluss acknowledged.

Once they’d gotten themselves together, Emmi looked around, “Are we ready to go?” Once she got five nods, she led them out the door and to the west to east hallway. They went another thirty feet, Khaluss taking a quick look around the corner, seeing nothing but more hallway, with four doors on the right side of this one hundred and seventy foot long corridor, and a single double door on the left. They headed down the corridor, stopping at the first door; Malu pressed her ear to it, hearing nothing beyond. She tried the handle, but it was locked. She used the key that she had taken from one of the creatures, but it didn’t work.
“Time to do it my way.” Khaluss grunted. He positioned himself on the other side of the hall across from the door, took two steps and put his boot right in the middle of it. The door flung open. Inside where barrels, crates, boxes, and bags. Mostly with foodstuffs, supplies, and weapons.
There was a crate of unstrung bows, and after some searching, the strings were found.
“All of you that can use a bow, take one.” Emmi instructed. Khaluss and Malu both took bows and a quiver of arrows, while Gil-Geferan restocked her own supply of arrows. Once they’d taken what they felt they needed, they headed back out to continue down the hall. The next door on the right was unlocked and led into a large dining area with plenty of tables and benches. In the south wall was a door, which led into a kitchen. Against the east wall was a door; they opened it and it led into the long hall. They’d already passed the double doors, so they went back to investigate and it was the chapel that the hobgoblin guide had led them through.
The six went through a series of rooms; bedroom, study, sitting room, and chapel. A metal coffer was located, packed with gold coins. That was taken by Khaluss to be carried. They emerged from the chapel, back to the long hall. Down the hall was another couple doors.
“Let’s go check those doors.” Emmi told them. The rest followed, Khaluss setting the coffer down by the door so that his hands are free. He drew the new sword, feeling good about its balance. Malu put her ear to the door, listening.
“There’s quite a few in there.” She announced.
“What do we do? Do we go in?” Olam asked.
“No.” Emmi replied, “Back to the fountain. We’re injured, Malu and Gil-Geferan lost a lot of blood. We need time.”
“They’re going to notice everyone but themselves are dead.” Gil-Geferan observed dryly.
“Well, I certainly hope so.” Emmi replied. “Let’s go.”
-They were again at the fountain, bedrolls spread out and they were lounging comfortably, spread out yet fairly close together. They’d all gotten the feel for their new weapons, all except Gil-Geferan who was reading the new spellbook she found, and writing in her own, personal spellbook.
Emmi and Malu were near each other, each on an elbow, facing each other. “I’m surprised the patrols haven’t found us yet.” Emmi observed.
Malu shrugged, “I think that this place avoids conflict. I think that the patrols won’t come to this place, because this place won’t allow them to come.” Her slurred speech had become much easier to understand over the time they had spent together, “Notice that we’ve spent several nights here, without even posting a watch, and we were never once interrupted?”
Emmi nodded thoughtfully, “Now that you mention it, yes.” She agreed, “For some reason, I didn’t really think of it though.”
“Neither did I, honestly.” Malu admitted, “It just occurred to me.”
"it's a good thing to know." Emmi confessed.
“It’s only a theory.” Malu replied, “Don’t get too comfortable with it.”
“I should make Khaluss stay up to keep watch” Emmi laughed. Malu let out a small laugh, as well.
Sangki was over by the water, the kusarigama in her hands. It was almost a dance, the swirling weighted chain moving around her like a steel halo, occasionally she’s allow it to wrap around a limb, and then with a few practiced motions, the chain would come away from the limb whistling at a greater speed than it was at when it wrapped around her; all the while, the scythe blade chopped and sliced at imaginary opponents. Emmi saw exactly how graceful and lethal she was.
“What do you think she is?” Emmi murmured to Malu.
“I really don’t know.” Malu admitted. “She’s clearly not human.”
“No, no she’s not.” Emmi agreed.
“She’s arguably quicker than I am.” Malu observed.
“I’ve noticed.” Emmi confirmed.
“I wonder what she is.” Malu said, thoughtfully.
“As do I.” Emmi replied.
A little while later, Sangki gathered the length of chain in a few loops and gripped in the same hand as the sickle that was attached to it and moved to sit down cross legged next to Emmi and Malu. “Thank you.” She said to Emmi.
“For?” Emmi asked.
“Everything.” She said simply.
“You’re welcome.” Emmi replied.
Emmi laid back and closed her eyes.

In the morning, they gathered themselves, all feeling completely healthy. It was a curious thing, how no matter how badly injured they were, they awoke in perfect health. Emmi looked at the small collection of coins they collected in both chest and in coffer, and knew that she now had more wealth than she’d ever had before. It was a distant thought, because they still had more to do. Emmi went over and set her two original katanas down into the pile, keeping the two she’d acquired here on her. Khaluss slung his greataxe on his back, preferring the nodachi instead. Malu also placed her staff on the pile for now, preferring the use of her rapier and spells. Olam’s greatsword went into the pile for now, wanting to get used to his new weapon.
“That’s a Gosutoheddo no kogigo.” Emmi told him, “a ghost head broadsword.”
He held it in both hands, although it could be used in one. “Ghost head broadsword” He repeated, “I like the name.”
“Is everyone ready?” Emmi asked.
There were a round of nods and they headed out, back through the narrow hallway and into the barracks where the stairs led down. That’s where Khaluss stopped in surprised; there were a pair of hobgoblins and two of the smaller, yellow skinned and red haired creatures in the room. Gil-Geferan was the first to react. “Sphaera Ignis!” She cried, gesturing symbols in the air and a flaming ball some five feet in diameter appeared in the archway to the stairs that headed down, right behind the two smaller sized creatures. One of them somehow reacted fast enough to get out of the way; the second wasn’t so lucky. He caught fire and was quickly engulfed in flame; he screamed as he fell, but luckily for him, death came quickly.
Khaluss came forward after the hobgoblin on the right, stabbing with his massive nodachi, driving it straight through is opponent with nearly no resistance. With one foot, he kicked the body off of his sword. Malu was just as quick as Khaluss, going left, slashing her opponent with a near lethal blow. Emmi and Olam came in together, Olam finishing off the opponent Malu struck; Emmi coming up and over the table, coming down with her swords, both striking the creature on each shoulder, chopping down into its body. She drew both blades out and looked around, then back at the flaming ball in the archway.
Moments later, it winked out. “Impressive.” She observed.
“Thank you.” Gil-Geferan acknowledged with a nod.
“Shall we go down?” Malu asked.
“May as well.” Gil-Geferan replied. “They’re probably not going to come up here.”
Khaluss headed up the group, with Emmi and Malu, then Sangki and Gil-Geferan, and finally Olam. They headed down the stairs and reached the first North/ South intersection.
“Malu, do you have an idea of how many were in the room?” Emmi asked, “Even a guess?”
She shrugged, “Ten at least, by the sounds of it. Possibly more.” She reported.
“Well, crap.” Emmi swore. “I don’t like this idea, but at least two of us are going to have to have to head that way,” she pointed north, toward the barracks and cavern of the river, “and make sure there’s no one behind us. The rest of us should wait here to make sure none of them head up the stairs to surprise us.”
She looked at each face, and they were looking around at each other, trying to decide who should go and who should stay.
“Khaluss. Malu. Go.” She told them, “We’ll wait here.”; then she turned to the others, “Stay alert, for anything that may come, and for sounds of battle behind.”
The pair disappeared around the corner, and they waited. It didn’t take too long for them to return; Malu shook her head. “All clear” She reported
“Good.” Emmi replied. “Now, if you were these things, where would you hole up?”
“Where Katsuke Akahito brought us.” Gil-Geferan offered.
“That’s what I thought, too.” Emmi nodded.
So they located the chapel easily, and headed toward the place where they were brought to talk to the leader. Mostly south, then west, then south, then east. As Khaluss turned the corner, he looked down to the corridor, and saw hobgoblin guards at the double-doors. “Whoops.” He grunted.
Emmi and Malu were the next around, and they saw what he saw. “Crap.” Emmi swore.
The two hobgoblins pulled open the double doors and started calling in the room to their allies as they ran in. “GO! GO! GO!” Emmi yelled, pushing at Khaluss with her fist, still with a sword in it. Khaluss ran forward, the others running after him. From out of the double doors came four of the small, yellow skinned creatures with red hair, and four hobgoblins behind.
“NO! WAIT!” Gil-Geferan cried, “Khaluss fall back! Emmi, Sangki, in front of me!” Confused, but obeying, Khaluss fell back to allow Emmi and Sangki in front of her, Gil-Geferan behind the two, “Stop!” she commanded, and they did, all of her allies did, as the creatures that sought to kill them charged headlong at them.
They all but closed in, when Gil-Geferan shouted, “Eritque Arcus!” and the shimmering rainbow of colors burst forth from her hand. Where there were eight enemies charging, now there were only two. One of the small creatures and one of the hobgoblins; who were met with steel and fists. Both of them fell as soon as they were in range and those that were struck senseless, not long after.
Emmi looked over at Gil-Geferan with raised eyebrows, “Well that was easy enough.” She commented.
Gil-Geferan smiled in return.
After a quick check of the fallen, they went to the hall of Daisuki Jiro. Inside was as it was, but with bunks along the walls this time around.
They made a quick run through the rest of the halls under the abbey, and found it empty of hobgoblins and their little allies, alike.
The day was still early, and the decision was made to return home on that day.
They traveled by day, camped at night, with rotating guards; they stayed close while moving, keeping an eye out for enemies.
On the fifth day, they found them.
They were traveling on the road through the forest when Gil-Geferan paused, “Does anyone hear that?” Everyone stopped.
“I hear something” Olam replied. “Something big.”
Instinctively, they crouched. Well, all but Khaluss. They were all looking around, and Olam nodded to the southeast. “Over there.”
Olam drew his sword out and headed that way. The others followed suit. They moved forward, some thirty feet or so; that’s when they spotted two man shaped lizards. Easily nine feet tall and a good six hundred pounds with black scales and a powerful build. The eyes were deep socketed and the nasal ridges made them look skull-like with a finned crest starting at the top of its head running down the length of its back, along its five foot long tail.
The two of them were ripping apart a deer that had a heavy spear still sticking out its side.
“Spread out.” Khaluss told them, “hurry up.” Sangki backed up, but the rest spread out in a semi-circle, ducking behind trees. Around Sangki sprung an aura of darkness, making her quite hard to see. Khaluss knew she was back there and spared a look, blinking in surprise, then turned back to face the two lizard creatures. “Are you all ready?” He whispered, and waited for nods.
“HEY!” He called. Both heads came up and twin gazes stared at him. The rose slowly; one of them carrying an iron banded war club, the other with a broad headed spear. “What are you waiting for!?” he called; and they came for him.
One of the two bellowed and both charged straight for Khaluss. Khaluss let go of his fury as they came on; he let out a roar, swinging his sword down as hard as he could as it came on and the great blade sliced through the creature’s scales, bone, and everything else… the creature was dead before it hit the ground. The second stabbed with its spear, catching Khaluss flush; Malu came rushing in, but Sangki reached it first. She swung twice, connecting once solidly, the other blow glancing off the creature’s scales; then Malu arrived but mistimed her lunge. The creature was faced with foes around it and while outnumbered, it was also protected from the others by the presence of those it now faced.
Malu swung again, this time striking true; catching it through the jaw, the point of her rapier getting stopped only by the thickness of the inside of the creature’s skull.
The thing fell to the ground. They all stood around the two bodies, then looked from one to the other. “Okay, so… what the hell are those?” Olam asked.
“Dead.” Khaluss replied.
Olam snorted, “And before that?”
“Making a bad decision.” Gil-Geferan supplied.
Olam shook his head and walked away; Emmi glanced over to Khaluss. “Nice job.” She commented. He grunted, shaking off the effects of his battle fury. “Thanks.”
“Let’s get going.”

Three days later, the group set up camp for the night in a low hollow. They had a fire until around the sun set, then it was carefully banked. Around two in the morning, it was Olam’s turn at watch when he heard something. Something large. Very large. Olam glanced over to Gil-Geferan. She was resting against a tree with her eyes open, but she was distracted. “Gil-Geferan,” Olam whispered, “wake Malu and Emmi. I’ll get Sangki… there’s something out there, and I think it’s coming this way.” Gil-Geferan moved quietly over to Malu first, and then Emmi. Olam had Sangki awake.
The situation was described to the both of them. Weapons were ready, and soon they all heard it; but they weren’t expecting it when it finally appeared. It was a massive beast, easily forty feet long, with light blue scales on its underbelly, and heavy armored plates on its back. It had a dozen legs, and a massive reptilian, almost draconic head.
They fell back at its initial appearance but they quickly recovered.
“This. Is. Bullshit.” Emmi whispered.
Malu got over her shock first, she moved in, trying to get the point of her rapier in between its armor plates; the ground was uneven and she missed her footing; her blade sunk into the creature, but she lost her grip on her blade as the creature moved. Emmi and Sangki struck simultaneously on either side of the creature; Emmi’s swords skirled harmlessly off the heavily armored plates, but Sangki was more successful, striking at the softer underbelly. Gil-Geferan gestured towards the creature, “Sphaera Ignis!” she cried, and the flaming ball appeared under the beast; and somehow the creature arched and twisted its supple body to avoid the flame. Khaluss screamed a war-cry, his battle lust at its peak, and he swung his sword in a whistling arc. He connected soundly, viscous blood pouring from the wound. Olam came at it last, his sword also being deflected from the heavily armored scales. Angered by Khaluss, the creature’s head came around and it opened it mouth, a tremendous bolt of electricity issuing forth and striking Khaluss in the chest. Malu, unarmed, tried to reach her weapon, but the motions of the creature made it too hard for her to grab. Olam brought his sword around a second time, and this time he struck hard and true… more viscous blood spilled for from a ragged gash in its lower neck, just above its first set of legs.
Angered, the creature lashes out, grabbing Olam in its jaws and lifting him off the ground, his sword falling to the ground. Gil-Geferan had control of her flaming ball, but again, the creature’s coils squirmed and evaded the flames. Again Sangki managed to land a damaging blow, but her strikes seemed like flea bites in her mind, against such a massive creature. On the other side, Emmi had much better success, managing to land to blows that drew even more blood. Khaluss kept chopping away at its armored side; now the creature was bleeding from half a dozen wounds.
Sangki missed badly, slipping on the blood that had poured from the creature’s wounds, narrowly escaping its massive body as it moved. Emmi swung again, and again making solid contact, but unable to pierce the metal plates. The creature tilted its head back, Olam still in its jaws… and simply swallowed. Malu, focusing herself carefully, leapt forward and instead of trying to grab her weapon, she rammed the palm of her hand against the hilt of her rapier, pushing it in hilt deep. The creature screamed.
Howling with rage, Khaluss charged forward, running his own sword hilt deep in the creature. It screamed once more and it collapsed twitching.
Malu dragged his sword free of the creature’s body and she and Khaluss struggled to cut the creature open to free Olam; but it was far too late. He was already half digested by the thing’s powerful stomach acids.
The five of them stood around the body of their fallen comrade.
“We should bury him” Khaluss remarked.
“You’re absolutely right,” Emmi replied, “We should. It’s the least we can do for him. But if something else wanders by while we’re trying to bury him, we may need to dig more graves.”
“And you just ate a pretty bolt of lightning that would have fried me dead.” Gil-Geferan observed, “Sangki needs to look at that, since you’re the charge head-long guy”
Sangki perked up at her name, he head tilting somewhat as she moved over to Khaluss, She run her hands over his chest, murmuring as she did so. Some of the angry redness went away, but there was still some burns on his chest from the creature’s electrical breath.
Malu glanced around, “I liked him well enough” She said, “But not well enough to risk dying while we bury him. Let’s move.”
Emmi and Gil-Geferan both nodded; they didn’t like it either, but the risk was too great. They gathered their things and packed them up, they wouldn’t sleep any more tonight. As the three women headed out, Khaluss lingered a moment longer, then shrugged. He took the ghost head broadsword and slung it to his back and then grabbed the coffer that Olam had been carrying, along with the chest that he’d been assigned to carry.
In a few minutes, he caught up to the others. “Hey.” He said, “We need to split these coins up some, so that I can have my hands free if we come across anything that wants to kill us.”
“Give me the coffer.” Malu offered, “I can carry it.”
Khaluss shrugged and handed the coffer to her and she tucked it under one arm. “Let’s go.”
They traveled in silence for the next few days, speaking only when necessary. They all seemed to be a little shocked and surprised at the death of Olam; and while Sangki was less affected by his death than the others, she respected the silence of those around her. Each night they’d stop, make camp, bank the fire before sleeping and then move on as the sun rose. For another week, this routine uninterrupted.
It was on the thirteenth day since they left the abbey. The sky was overcast, and there was a strong northern wind. The group was traveling along the road when a pair of canine like creatures burst out onto the road from the underbrush, covering the distance to the road with incredible speed. They were hyena like, with a shaggy spotted coat, and a thick bristly mane that ran down their spine to the base of their bushy tail. Their heads with a combination of both wolf and hyena, and the two slowed as they got closer to the group, circling to come at both sides. As soon as the party saw them come, weapons were drawn and the group moved to protect Gil-Geferan.
“Isn’t that what the hobgoblin had as a pet?” Malu asked, as she readied herself.
“Yeah it is.” Khaluss replied, “And the thing went down pretty easy.” The first of the two veered to meet Khaluss, and the skin of its head simply retracted, pulling back to show the muscle and bone of its skull, its eyes bulging and it let out a blood-curdling screech that shot shivers down Khaluss’s spine. Khaluss swung the ghost head broadsword, but was so shocked by the creature’s appearance that he swung wild.
The second of the two started to circle around, and Sangki moved to meet it; it dodged in to snap at her legs, but she sidestepped neatly, bringing fist down hard right behind its ear, then bringing a foot up to catch it right behind the ribs. It let out a yelp as Sangki’s fist connected and then was lifted and sent tumbling by the kick. It didn’t get up. Gil-Geferan had her bow out, loosing an arrow. She barely grazed it; Emmi and Malu both ran up to help Khaluss. Gil-Geferan already had an arrow nocked, just waiting for the right opportunity to loose. Emmi came in and brought her blades to bear, but the thing danced out of the way as she came in; and Malu didn’t fare much better. The thing went in for Khaluss’s thigh, but Khaluss backed up just out of range and spun the blade in his grip, stabbing downward as the thing came in, the point of the sword catching it almost right between the eyes; the sheer force of the blow pinned the creature’s head to the ground. He put his boot on its head and pulled the blade free. The six came together by unspoken agreement, each facing a different direction with Gil-Geferan in the center of a five pointed star. They stayed like that for several minutes, waiting for any other nasty surprises, but nothing else came.
Twenty two days later, they arrived back at the large town. The sun was just beginning to set as they arrived, and the gates were about to be closed; after a brief conversations and a small bribe, the gates were kept open for them to arrive.
“I need to see my sensei, right away.” Emmi informed them.
The others stopped, looking at each other “I guess we will head to the Inn.” Gil-Geferan replied, when no one else said anything.
“No,” Emmi stated firmly, “There will be enough room for you in the temple, for now. I’m not sure how long I’m staying, but if you’re all willing, I’d like to stick together a while longer.
The others looked from one another; the responses went from casual shrugs to quick nods. Emmi was glad, she rather liked them as a whole, even though Khaluss was more of a meat shield than anything else. She hated to think that way, but it was true.
The group arrived at the temple and Emmi strode in purposefully. “Stay with me.” She coaxed them. About halfway across the yard in the dimming light, a half-elf emerged from the cooking outbuilding of the temple. He looked at them incuriously, until he noted the details and realize they didn’t exactly fit in.
“Stop.” He commanded, “Identify yourselves.” His hand was on the hilt of one of his swords, but he hadn’t draw it.
“It’s Emmi.” Emmi stated, “These are my friends; Khaluss, Sangki, Gil-Geferan, and Malu.” At each name, she indicated the person the name belonged to.
“Emmi who?” the half elf demanded. That’s when Emmi took a closer look. She didn’t recognize him; he must be new.
“Who’s your sensei?” Emmi challenged. That caught the half-elf off-guard, he blinked and hesitated.
“What’s the name of your sensei?” She asked again, her voice becoming sterner.
“Uh... Mingan Nandera.” He replied quickly.
“How long have you been training under brother Mingan?” She asked him quickly.
His hand slipped from the handle of the sword and he stood straighter; he didn’t miss the honorific she put on Mingan’s name.
“About a month.” He informed her.
“You will go tell Abbot Shinayn that Sister Emilynn has returned; also go find Brother Yoshida Matsu that Chotto has returned. Got that?”
“Y-y-yes Sister” He stammered, staring at her.
“Well? GO.” She growled, staring at him with an annoyed look. He took off running. She shot a glance over her shoulder and Khaluss was openly grinning; the others also showed signs of amusement.
Emmi shook her head, “It’s hard to believe I was ever that green… even if it wasn’t really all that long ago.”
She started walking toward the temple, “This way.” She informed them, “You won’t be allowed in the temple unless the Abbot gives her consent; if not, we’ll figure something else out.”
They approached the door and she stopped, looking back at them, “Stay here for now. I’ll send Sensei out to take care of you. I need to go give a report to the Abbot.”
With that, she went into the temple and found her way slowly to the office of the Abbot. Abbot Shinayn and Yoshida Matsu were both present. She gave a bow to the Abbot as well as to her old sensei, then flashed him a smile.
“Sensei, there are friends of mine at the temple door seeking refuge for some time.” She told him. His gaze flicked to the Abbot.
“See to them, for now, Matsu.” She told him, then turned to Emmi, “You understand that they cannot stay for long. No more than a week.”
Emmi nodded, “I understand, Abbot.”
“Do you have a report for me?” She asked. Shinayn wasn’t one for pleasantries most of the time, although when she laughed, it was truly infectious.
“I do, Abbot. We met with resistance in the form of hobgoblins and smaller folk, with yellow skin and reddish hair. Some of the hobgoblins were southern, of the House Daisuki. We also met with a craftsman who makes swords. His name was Katsuke Akahito. I sent him and his apprentice here.”
‘They arrived.” Shinayn confirmed, “A little worse for wear, but we have them settled in. What possessed you to send them here?”
Emmi shrugged, “They didn’t challenge our presence. I spoke with Katsuke and found that he was a swordsmith.” Emmi drew one of the two katanas that he made that she carried, and handed it to Shinayn, who bared several inches of steel and surveyed the blade.
“Excellent craftsmanship.” She noted.
Emmi nodded. “It seemed a waste to kill him, so I gave him an option to come here.”
The Abbot nodded thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t hurt to have our own blade crafter here.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “What sort of shape is the abbey in?”
“Reasonably good.” Emmi told her. “The front gate is off the hinges, and the place is overgrown. The buildings are solid, but they’re trashed inside. Much of what was there was completely destroyed by the inhabitants. There’s a lot of cleaning up to do.”
“I see.” The Abbot murmured. She leaned back in her chair, tapping her chin with her forefinger, “So the abbey at Killenshire is now free of invaders?” Shinayn asked.
Emmi shrugged, “It was twenty-two days ago. As for now, I have no idea.”
“I’m sure it still is.” Shinayn reflected. “But we need to move soon. If you see Matsu, send him to me.”
It was clearly a dismissal, so she gave the Abbot another shallow bow before she left, the Abbot’s attention already elsewhere.

[chaingunsamurai]

As Emmi headed downstairs, she spotted Yoshida Matsu settling her friends in to some of the Initiates cells, like her own. “Sensei.” She said to get his attention as she approached. “Abbot Shinayn wishes to speak with you.”
His brow furrowed momentarily, “Get the two settled while I go attend the Abbot” he said, gesturing to Sangki and Gil-Geferan.
Emmi found her companions rooms, and then went to her own to store her gear, then she tracked down where Malu and Khaluss were quartered. On the way, she rounded up both Gil-Geferan and Sangki, and they were all packed into a single cell. It was extremely cramped for five people.
“So, in the morning, we start counting these coins and divide them up.” Emmi said. The others nodded. It was starting to get late, and everyone was tired from their travels. Each one drifted off to their cells, Emmi briefly using the washbasin and rag to wash off the grime of the road before she laid down. Tomorrow would be time enough for a bath. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
In the morning she awoke early, strapping on only her practice sword. She emerged from her room and went out into the yard, heading over to the mess building. She grabbed a quick breakfast consisting of butter slathered bread and crispy bacon. She stopped one of the Initiates on mess duty, “If you see some people that don’t seem like they belong; a male half orc, a female elf, a female tabaxi, and a pale skinned woman with a bandage over her eyes, tell them I’m in the baths.” She told him. He nodded, and agreed, then went back to cleaning up. She headed back into the temple, to the lower levels where there was a geothermal vent that heated a spring fed pool in a sizable natural cavern. As one went farther in, the warmer the water got, the room filled with steam. There was fine sand in a bowl to use for scrubbing, and thickly padded towels stacked by the door.
Emmi stripped off her dirty clothing, cursing herself for a fool for not bringing along a clean change. She stepped into the pool and sunk down to her shoulders in the warm water, moving farther out to the warmer waters. She floated in place, closing her eyes and just enjoying the sensation.
She wasn’t sure how long she was like that before she heard footsteps coming closer. She got her feet under her, and waited; Gil-Geferan coming into view. “How’s the water?” She asked.
“Glorious.” Emmi replied with a smile.
“Good.” Gil-Geferan replied, “If I don’t get the dirt off me, I’m going to scream.” Moments later, Gil-Geferan was out about halfway between where Emmi was and the edge of the pool.
“So what’s going on? How long are we staying?” Gil-Geferan asked Emmi, after she got settled in.
“Not sure.” Emmi replied. “Maybe we’ll check around town, see if anyone is looking for problem-solvers like us.”
“Okay. We can do that.” Gil-Geferan replied. They lapsed into silence, both washing off the dirt and stink from the past several weeks. Emmi was just about ready to get out when Sangki and Malu came in together.
Malu sat at the edge of the pool, obviously not interested in getting in, but just as obviously wanting the company of people she knew.
Sangki took all of about ten seconds to decide to join the others.
“Good morning, Sangki.” Emmi greeted her.
“So, Gil-Geferan and I were considering the idea of looking for further employment in town, after we count out our money.”
Malu shrugged and nodded, “I find your company to be reassuring.” She said simply.
Sangki floated in the water, moving her hands back and forth, feeling the water flow around her fingers. “I think I would like that.” She reflected, “I know no one else on the surface, and have found all of you to be worthy companions. I agree to this.”
They wound up in the pools for almost an hour, just talking. They even coaxed Malu to put her feet in, although she didn’t seem to enjoy it too much; more to please her allies, or at least to get them to stop nagging.
Eventually they all got out and got dried off and dressed, heading back to their rooms, coming across Khaluss, on his way to the pools.
Sangki blushed as she passed him, the pink on her cheeks odd looking; Emmi was used to her white complexion.
The four made their way to Malu’s room, stopping by Khaluss’s room to grab the chest. Malu carried it with ease.
They poured the coins out on Malu’s bed, each taking a seat with a backpack on their lap, and started counting. 821 gold, 83 platinum, and 767 silver later, they were done counting. At some point, Emmi realized Khaluss had more or less joined them, and had his own backpack in his lap.
“What time is it?” Emmi asked with a yawn, as she tightened her fingers into claws to help work the cramps out.
“I think it’s around eleventh bell.” Malu replied.
“A little after.” Sangki supplied.
Emmi made a little sound of discomfort as she stood, “I need to stretch out.” There were several nods and murmurs of agreement, and the group headed out into the yard for a little sun and stretching. Emmi drew her boku-toh, and casually started running through katas to help loosen her muscles. She noticed Sangki coming in her direction, a bo staff slung over one shoulder; Sangki waited for Emmi to finish her kata, and wordlessly got in a guard position opposite Emmi.
Emmi brought her own sword up and nodded to Sangki, and before she realized her mistake, Sangki nodded in return. Emmi brought her sword around experimentally and Sangki blocked it with the staff… Again Emmi swung, and again Sangki stopped it with ease. Emmi sped up the pace of her attacks, and Sangki rebuffed each attempt, and started to press her own offensive. Soon, the two of them were dancing across the cobbles, in a sometimes half-hearted, sometimes very serious, attempt to strike the other. Emmi’s face was a mask of determination, while Sangki’s was blandly disinterested. For about twenty minutes, the two kept this up, without a clear winner on either side… by some unspoken agreement, the two backed away from each other, both breathing hard and both with large smiles on their faces. The other three of the group had watched the display with more than a little interest, and Emmi noticed that Yoshida Matsu was also watching with a look of mild approval on his face. Emmi knew him well enough to know that if it was anyone else, it would be shouts of encouragement. As she tucked her wooden sword into her sash, Yoshida Matsu was crossing the yard, heading in her direction. She wiped at her forehead with her hand, clearing away some of the sweat, waiting to see what he had to say.
He stopped about three feet short of her, then glanced over to Sangki. His look spoke volumes, but she could tell it was teasing. He must have seen enough to know that the blindfolded girl was very aware of her surroundings.
“How would you feel about going back to Killenshire Abbey, Chotto?” he asked.
She raised an eyebrow at the question, “I suppose, sensei… but why?”
“Because I have been assigned to it as the new Abbot.” His tone was wry; Emmi was sure he didn’t entirely approve of his elevation, but she was also sure that he would do his duty to the best of his ability.
She smiled, “Of course I’ll go with you, sensei. Just say the word.”
He nodded, as if expecting nothing else. “Baka has agreed to come, as has Willowswitch.”
If Emmi remembered correctly, Willowswitch was the Anayaneil with orange eyes and platinum blond hair. She was on equal footing with both Yoshida Matsu and Mingan Nandera (whom Yoshida called “Baka”, which meant “Idiot” in Najanese.)
“And each of them have three pupils?” Emmi asked, trying to recall.
Yoshida Matsu nodded. “Will your friends come?”
Emmi nodded, “Probably. Not exactly as if they can stay here without me.”
“True.” Yoshida Matsu agreed.
“When are you thinking of leaving?” Emmi asked.
“Not today.” He replied, “But within the next few days. Katsuke Akahito will be accompanying us.”
Emmi gave a snort of laughter, “Abbot Shinayn must have loved that.”
Yoshida Matsu shrugged, “She doesn’t know, yet.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice when he said it.
Emmi laughed again, shaking her head. “Oh well, she’ll live.” It’s not that Emmi didn’t like the Abbot, she did. Shinayn was always polite to her; it’s just that Emmi knew one hundred percent where her loyalties lay.
Three days later, the newly appointed Abbot of Killenshire, along with the devotees that had decided to accompany him, including Katsuke Akahito and his apprentice, as well as Emmi and her little group were ready to make the move to the new abbey. All in all, there were sixteen of them. Most of what they needed, they carried on their backs; everything else would be purchased at Killenshire.
It took them about three weeks to finally arrive at the abbey, but they had no interruptions on the way. There wasn’t much in the forest that would make an attempt on a well-armed group of sixteen, without thinking twice. When they arrived, Yoshida Matsu surveyed the place and the state of disrepair it was in, but none of his thoughts were reflected in his expression. Even Emmi didn’t see any clues as to what he was thinking.
“Willowswitch. Baka. With me.” He commanded, and went directly into the main outbuilding. As he went, he called out to Emmi, “Chotto, you know the layout here better than anyone. Find everyone a decent place to rest and set up some sort of camp. I’ll return shortly. I just want to get an idea of what I’m facing.”
“Hai, sensei.” Emmi called back, looking around to the weary faces of the Initiates and her friends. “I have the perfect place.” With that, she led them into the main outbuilding, in the footsteps of Yoshida Matsu. Yoshida Matsu, Etrienne, and Mingan were all in the library, already considering the options for what was left of the books scattered about the floor; Emmi led her charged through the library and into the fountain area. She turned quickly to watch the expressions of each individual that stepped across the threshold and onto the springy grass; each one of them had a mixture of relief on their faces, tinged with a little awe. Emmi smiled inwardly as her group followed in behind the Initiates. They were already removing their packs and spreading out their bedrolls in a little clump. While they weren’t exactly uncomfortable in the presence of the Initiates, neither did they feel a part of that group, because Emmi and her friends had gone through fire with each other. There was an unmistakable kinship because of it.
Not long after, Yoshida Matsu, Etrienne, and Mingan each stepped into the grassy area, and even Yoshida Matsu’s eyes widened in surprise.
Etrienne smiled openly, which was fairly unusual for her. Etrienne was of the Anayaneil. A race of arboreal elves of Iva’Astelse, part of the Great Forest. They were tall and slim, which is where Etrienne got the nickname Willowswitch. She was a little over six feet tall and under one hundred forty pounds, with orange eyes and platinum blond hair caught in a braid. Emmi found it odd that Etrienne agreed to come. She knew that there was a mutual respect between her sensei and Etrienne, but there was also a casual dislike, at least where Etrienne was concerned; as for Yoshida Matsu, he never spoke an ill word about Etrienne, and seemed unconcerned about her personal feelings directed at him.
Etrienne crossed the green to approach the nearest birch tree, which she touched with long, elegant fingers. “I like it here.” She breathed.
Emmi strode over to Yoshida, talking low. “Funsui. Sore was mano no seishitsu o motte imasu.” [The fountain. It has magical properties.]
Yoshida’s gaze shifted to her. “Nani?” He replied. [What?]
“Watashi wa toshokan de,” She told him, “kono funsui ni tsuite setsumei shite iru hon o mitsukemashita. Mahodesu.”
“Honkidesu ka?” He asked, his attention now focused on her.
“Hai.” She comfirmed. “Watashitachi zen’in ga sore o tameshita” [Yes. All of us tried it.]
“That could have been very dangerous.” He told her, his voice laced with concern.
“We survived.” She told him, “and it’s pretty beneficial. Here.” With that last word, she handed him the book. He took it from her wordlessly, looking at the cover. After a moment, he said, “I’ll read through it later.”
“Tomorrow, we start cleaning.” He announced, “Either Baka or Willowswitch will go into town for necessities, and to hire labor. We have some money, but I think that we can keep wages reasonably low for most of the workers that we need. Get some rest tonight, relax while you can. You will not have another chance for quite some time.”
Emmi had the idea that she, along with her friends, would be dragooned into helping with the clean-up and restoration of the abbey. She settled down on her bedroll with a sour look.
“I’m guessing that includes us.” Gil-Geferan remarked.
“Unfortunately.” Emmi grumped. “Unless you want to leave?”
Gil-Geferan grimaced. “No. Not really.” She answered.
“The good news is that if you help, you’ll have a place to stay.” Emmi told her, “It’s not like you’re going to get kicked out if you help put the place together.”
Gil-Geferan looked around, “I can handle that.”
“Anyone want to leave?” Emmi asked the others.
No one did.
“I think that it might be good for me, here.” Sangki admitted. Emmi thought that it might be more than just that, but didn’t voice her opinion.
The five of them spent some time just talking until the sun went down. Not much later, each of them drifted off to a restful sleep.
In the morning, the Initiates went about cleaning the kitchens first, and then working their way out. It was a long process, one that would take months, if not longer. Mingan stayed with them to supervise and aid in the work; Katsuke and his apprentice went down to the smithy to start cleaning down there. Emmi and her friends started in the library, collecting pages and incomplete books, separating them into to groups, placing the books on the shelves and the pages stacked in small piles.
Etrienne went to Killenshire, bringing one of her Initiates with her; an olive skinned Kathsuuli woman named Talmora.
Yoshida Matsu disappeared into the depths of the abbey without an explanation.
A few hours later, Etrienne and Talmora returned along with a wagon driven by an elderly man. He pulled in and drove over by the main outbuilding, setting the brake as he got down off the bench seat, hobbling the draft horse that pulled the wagon.
Etrienne had gotten foodstuffs, building and smithing materials, seeds, some gardening tools, and some other day to day necessities. She collected the Initiates to aid in emptying the wagon and moving the various things to the outbuildings and the kitchens. With everyone helping, the wagon was quickly emptied and the driver was sent on his way.
Yoshida Matsu emerged from the main building a few moments later and headed over to Etrienne.
“Workers?” he asked laconically.
“Tomorrow.” She replied, “Didn’t make sense to have them come today so late, and without what needed to make it happen.”
Yoshida Matsu nodded, “Alright. How many did you wind up hiring?”
“I found ten people, told them 2 silvers a day, plus a silver for every hour worked past eight.” She replied.
He knew that the two silvers a day was fairly low wage for eight hours of work, just like he knew that four silvers was an excellent rate for 10 hours. It would keep them here longer, with the guarantee of good pay. “Well done.” Was all he said. Which for him, was high praise.
There was a lot of work to be done, and they all worked long after the sun went down. Most everyone there decided to sleep in the area were the fountain was located, and those who did woke refreshed and ready for the day; the others who did not were tired and sore.
Around eight am, the town workers started arriving. They were allowed a light breakfast to start the day and then put to work cleaning the lower levels as the Initiates and their senseis worked on the main outbuilding.
When noon rolled around, again the townsfolk were fed, this time a heartier meal consisting of a bean stew flavored with beef and baked bread. The townsfolk worked until sundown; nearly twelve hours. Each were fed one more time and paid their wages and told to return on the morrow. All of them did, plus a few more.
There was a lot of work to be done, and with the help of the townsfolk laborers, it got done within a few weeks’ time. There was hunting that needed to be done to supply the meat for all the meals, as well as vegetables to help supplement what foodstuffs they had on hand. The locals warned of creatures in the wooded hills, and offered to hunt, but only if accompanied by warriors, or at least the promise of patrols sent out to take care of anything that may be lurking nearby.
“There’s game out there, sensei.” Emmi told Yoshida at one point, “but the villagers are too frightened to come out this way without armed escorts or patrols sent out to rid the countryside of threats.”
Yoshida Matsu frowned thoughtfully, “You already have an idea in mind.” He replied.
“I was thinking myself and my companions.” She told him, “That way, the Initiates aren’t exposed to that level of danger, and the you, Mingan, and Etrienne can focus on training and day to day operations; plus some of the townsfolk would probably stay to help with whatever needed to be done until the abbey can gather more initiates.”
“As long as your companions agree. I cannot command them, of course.” Yoshida said, “and you’re of a rank that you may make your own decisions.”
She nodded, giving him a quick bow before taking her leave. She took a few moments to locate one of the townsfolk already present, and explained to him what their plan was and to spread the word to the others. Any skilled woodsmen would be paid to hunt the region, with patrols ranging out to eliminate anything that could be considered a threat to the woodsmen. The man nodded and Emmi let him get back to work; she had something she had to do, anyway. Like sell the idea to her companions. She tracked them all down easily enough. Most of the time, where one was, the others weren’t far away. They seemed to have an unconscious pack mentality. Emmi gathered them all together.
“So, how does everyone feel about going out and about for a bit?” Emmi asked them all.
“Yes” Malu said emphatically. While she didn’t mind short periods of time underground, she had a claustrophobic streak that she fought to keep under control a lot of the time. It didn’t seem to be pressing, but she would get curt with her answers when underground.
“I could use a break.” Gil-Geferan admitted. “I’m not real keen on all this stone all the time.”
Sangki shrugged non-committedly. She was fairly apathetic about what she did, caring more about being in the company of the people she felt most comfortable with. Khaluss also shrugged. As an orc, he was unperturbed by long stretches of underground living; just as he was comfortable in being outside.
“So what’s the plan?” Gil-Geferan asked idly.
“There’s game out in the local forests that the local woodsmen are willing to hunt for pay: ‘Emmi told her, “Only there’s also some nasty things out there that the woodsmen are afraid of. So we go out, eliminate any threats and then the woodsmen hunt safely.”
“Wait,” Gil-Geferan blurted out, “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Emmi replied. “We need food, so either we hunt, or we go out and patrol the area. I’m not much of a hunter, but I’m pretty good at eliminating threats.”
“We should do this.” Malu said, to no one in particular. Emmi had the distinct impression that Malu would make an excellent hunter.
“Yes.” Khaluss agreed. “I’ve been spoiling for some action. When do we start?”
Emmi shrugged, “If you’re ready… right now?”
They all looked at one another and the general consensus was to meet back here in an hour; they all parted ways to ready themselves, including Emmi, who went to retrieve her two katana. She headed back out to where they decided to meet up and waited. Everyone returned early.
“Let’s go.” Emmi suggested.

Each day, they picked a quadrant of the surrounding area and they worked a patrol in that area; and each day they’d alert the woodsmen as to where they patrolled, and on the next day, the woodsmen headed in that area they were told was clear. In this way, a steady supply of rabbit and deer, squirrel and bird was brought back to the abbey.
On the third day, they came across an odd sight; there was a cluster of massive stag beetles that were moving through the forest in the general direction of the abbey. Each one was easily the size of a horse, if not larger. And their pincers looked big enough to cut a man in half.
They seemed mostly oblivious to the presence of the companions, but that was about to change.
Gil-Geferan stayed to the rear, “Sphaera Ignis!” she intoned, gesturing between the two lead beetles; the ball of fire appeared; they both skittered away from the searing heat, the one on the left showing scorch marks on its carapace.
Malu let out a little whisper, “Ferro Circumdantibus”, and a shimmering aura of force appeared around her, nearly molded to her skin.
Emmi moved to the left side, bringing her blades to bear on the nearest one; her stance was one to deliver maximum damage, but sacrificing mobility. She wasn’t sure how wise this plan was, but she knew she needed to put some of these things down as soon as possible. One of her blades managed to pierce the creature’s shell with limited success, the other did not. Malu moved up and beyond Emmi to her left and stabbed another one with her rapier, finding a space in between the plates of armor, but also with limited effect. Khaluss’s nodachi bounced off the shell of the beetle to Emmi’s right hand side. Sangki stayed where she was, shadows collecting and billowing around her, obscuring her form.
The beetles turned to their attackers, those that had yet to be attacked walking into those who stopped in front of them, oblivious as to why. With typical insect like stubbornness, they sought to go around or over those in front of them. The beetle that Emmi struck retaliated, gashing her side up terribly; she was already outmatched, and there were four other of the creatures to put down. She didn’t think she’d be around to see it happen, if it happened at all.
The beetle fighting Khaluss grabbed him around the waist and squeezed; the snapping of bones was clearly heard as a gout of blood poured out the half-orc’s mouth. He was limp in the grip of the beetle’s pincers. Malu struck at hers again, her blade finding a home between the head and abdomen of the thing, causing it to list crazily for a moment before righting itself. Gil-Geferan gestured and reached out a hand to touch Emmi; Emmi felt a sudden rush of resilience, as if her senses and her reflexes were boosted. She felt quicker, much quicker. Emmi backed up, using Malu to block the beetle from attacking her again; she whispered a prayer to Kareevan to guide her and lend her his skill. She felt a warm glow for a moment as the spell took effect. Somehow, Khaluss was still alive and he let out a roar, allowing his fury to consume him, even trapped as he was. He spun the blade around, gripped it tightly, and drove it down with all his strength, ramming it into the head of the creature, causing it to reflexively tighten its pincers, nearly slicing Khaluss in half. Sangki came in on one of the beetles attempting to flank Emmi, striking it once hard, cracking its shell, her second strike not nearly as effective; the creature turned its attention to her, but Sangki was much faster. Malu got struck twice, opening a pair of gashes on her that would have her bleeding out in minutes. The last beetle was trying to dislodge the remains of half orc from its pincers.
With a quick thought and gesture, the flaming ball that Gil-Geferan had created rolled toward the beetle that was concentrating on Emmi, but somehow the creature sidestepped and evaded the flame.
Sangki’s next blows were mostly ineffectual, she’s not been able to hit any vulnerable spots. Malu’s sword found its home in the creature yet again, causing it to reel from the near surgical strikes of her rapier.
Emmi’s blades kept glancing off the creature’s armor making her feel less than useful. Gil-Geferan rolled the flaming ball towards the beetle that Malu was fighting, but again, the beetle managed to scoot away from the damage. Gil-Geferan reached out with her hand, “Onis!” she cried, and a gout of flame launched from her hand, striking the Beetle attacking Malu. It flailed harmlessly for a moment, then collapsed. Emmi got struck by the beetle’s pincers again, stabbing into her thigh; she collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
“Sangki!” Gil-Geferan called, “Save Emmi!” She guided the flaming ball with a gesture over between the beetles and where Emmi lay, causing them shy away. Sangki ran over to where Emmi was, starting to bandage up her wounds, and Gil-Geferan spun up another ball of flame, “Sphaera Ignis!” she said, pointing to another place about ten feet from Emmi, creating a small moving cordon.
“Malu! She’s stable, but we can’t stay here!” Sangki called. Malu was badly hurt, but she moved fast enough, lifting Emmi over her shoulder and running away from the beetles. Sangki stayed a little behind her to act as a rearguard, while Gil-Geferan kept the two balls of flame to run interference between them and the beetles.
“Hurry up!” Gil-Geferan called back, “One of those are about to disappear!”
“I’m trying!” Malu called back, limping as she went. She was strong, but wearing out fast. Sangki fell back as the first beetle got too close. She ran directly at it, leaping up as she got close, one foot landing between its eyes, she allowed the motion to carry her up and on its back. It didn’t even seem aware of her presence as it continued following Malu and Gil-Geferan. Her first strike bounced off the hard shell, her second and third strikes were aimed better, landing between the thing’s wings, crunching into the softer body; its legs gave out and it skidded to a halt. She leapt off of the creature, rolling into a dive and coming up running. The first of the surviving beetles reached the one Sangki just killed and slowed.
One of the flaming balls imploded and disappeared. Sangki caught up to Malu, “Wait!” She advised Malu, “We have a little time.” Very quickly, she infused Malu with health. It wasn’t as much as she’s like to give, but time wasn’t on their side, the beetles were coming again.
“We need to find a defensible position” Malu grated, “otherwise, we’re dead meat.”
“I don’t see any!” Gil-Geferan called back.
“FIND SOMETHING!” Malu nearly screamed.
Sangki turned as the next beetle closed on her, and ran toward it. She went up as it came, snapping out a kick to catch it on the head, the force of her kick driving it’s head down momentarily. She used the momentum to roll over its back and come up as the next one came at her. It brought its pincers to bear and went to grab Sangki but missed, its pincers digging into the turf instead of flesh. She stepped in, launching a kick at the thing’s pincer, missing it on the first try… the second try landed squarely, snapping the prong of the pincer off at the base. It lashed out at her again, and again it managed to jam the other pincer right directly into the turf at her feet. She couldn’t resist; a second well placed kick put a wicked crack in the other side of the pincer. She picked up the broken pincer off the ground as it tried to gore her again, but its mandibles were useless. She jammed the pincer into its mouth, then gave it a hard kick. The thing started staggering in slow circles; the one behind her was getting out of her range of senses, but she knew which way it went. She turned and ran the way it went, the last remaining beetle was behind her and closing. She was catching up on the beetle in front of her, and she could sense the presence of Malu still carrying Emmi. Malu was slowing; she couldn’t keep up her speed much longer. Sangki shook out her kusarigama as she chased the massive beetle. She got as close as she could, swinging the kama end of the weapon as hard as she could, punching through the shell and into the soft flesh below. She used it to climb on the things back, ripping it out, and reaching it up to jam it in through the shell a second time. She held on to the other end, wrapping it around her wrist several times feeling the trees go by. She was waiting for one with a sturdy trunk, but Malu was running out of strength and fast. As a tree came up on their left, Sangki jumped, stretching the chain out as she did. The chain hit the tree and it jerked tight, nearly yanking her arm out of socket. The scythe blade of the kama tore a runnel down the back of the beetle’s abdomen. Sangki hit the ground hard, getting the wind knocked out of her.
Malu had to turn on the beetle as it came at her, her left hand kept Emmi on her shoulder, and she drew her rapier as it came on. The thing ran headlong into the point of her rapier, trying to grab her with its pincers, missing completely. Gil-Geferan stopped and turned around, swearing in every language she knew. “Certo Iactu!” she spat, throwing out her hand as two small glowing orbs shot forth from her fingertips and struck the beetle; the beetle stumbled sideways and crashed into a tree. Only one was left, and it was still coming.
They were done running. They were too tired to run, and too weak to fight; but they’d fight anyway. It was better to face your enemies and die trying. Gil-Geferan came up behind Malu and touched her, murmuring “Tigris Amplexus”, when she did.
Energy flowed into Malu from Gil-Geferan, charging her reflexes and agility. As it came on, she drove her rapier into its face, yanking it free. Sangki came up behind it, her fist catching it under its shell. The thing tried to grab Malu in its pincers, missing her barely. The shimmering field around Malu winked out on her, the spell now dissipated. Malu backed off, not daring to risk a stand up fight against this thing without some sort of magical protection. Sangki struck again and this time the beetle turned to face Sangki, its pincers closing on nothing; Sangki was much too fast for the thing. Malu murmuring an incantation, “Ferro Circumdantibus.” Again, an aura appeared around her, a field that helped deflect incoming attacks.
Sangki came in again, another hard strike to its underbelly. The thing struck at her again, but Sangki felt it coming and ducked out of the way. Malu had its back and too full advantage, punching her rapier hilt deep in the thing; it collapsed to the ground.
Sangki had her hands on her knees, catching a breath before going over to Emmi. She kneeled down, running her hands over Emmi’s wounds, healing coursing into her from Sangki. Emmi’s eyes opened and she shook her head lightly, “This is getting ridiculous.”
“You’re welcome.” Sangki replied. She stood up, reaching down to give Emmi a hand up.
“Ouch.” Emmi complained as she got to her feet. Gil-Geferan came over, followed by Malu.
“We need to get back.” Malu said unnecessarily. Luckily for them, they didn’t encounter anything else in the forest on the way to the Abbey. The four of them arrived after an hour or so of nervous travel, staggering in through the main gate like struggling penitents. A few of the Initiates came over to help them almost right away. Etrienne spotted them quickly, and crossed the yard to administer healing to the injured. Her healing magics were much stronger than Sangki’s, and she had Emmi and Sangki and Malu nearly completely healed. They both had some small injuries that would heal easily. For the rest of the day they relaxed by the fountain, thinking of their next move. Running patrols wasn’t the smartest idea. They simply weren’t prepared. The townsfolk had the right of it.
When they awoke, they gathered together, sitting in a loose circle.
“So… that didn’t work out so well.” Emmi stated sadly.
“No.” Gil-Geferan agreed, “It did not.”
“Our mistake was trying to face down things we had no business challenging.” Malu said.
“Pride.” Sangki murmured. “It was a grievous error in judgment.”
“So, should we give up, then?” Emmi asked.
“We should prepare smarter.” Gil-Geferan offered. There were three nods of agreement at that.
“We all had magic that could have aided us. We didn’t use it wisely.” Sangki stated flatly.
“But we still need food.” Emmi pointed out.
“So we make a contract with the town.” Malu suggested. All three turned their attention on her. “It would not be all that hard to invest in some sort of cattle herd. Pay some of the people to buy livestock. Cows, pigs, chickens. They tend it for us, we pay them, allow them a portion of the meat for their own, and collect the rest. Keep a certain portion as breeding stock so we don’t have to keep buying a herd of animals every year. And the abbey gains a certain reputation for generosity.”
“That doesn’t seem terribly generous.” Gil-Geferan observed.
“Malu’s right, though.” Emmi offered, “The townsfolk literally pay nothing. They get paid for raising the livestock and then get to keep a portion of the meat from what’s slaughtered. They can’t lose. It’s work to raise livestock, yes but if you take the cost of buying and feeding them out of the equation, it becomes one-hundred percent profit. The Abbey gets a reputation for generosity, and the money put into the town will been the economy a hundredfold. Nobody loses.”
“So that’s what we’ll do.” Emmi told them. “I’ll talk to sensei and let him know what we’ve decided.”
So that’s what they did. After a brief conversation with Yoshida Matsu, explaining the plan and then heading into town, they located the mayor and brought the proposition up to him. His only response was that if they could find the people willing to do it, then they had his blessing.
The rest of the day, the four split up and spoke to every person that owned a farm, outlining the plan. Very few turned down the offer.
As the day wound down to an end and the four were headed back to the Abbey, Sangki bought up an interesting point. “Who’s going to protect the herds? We’ve already seen how dangerous it could be out this way. They need some form of protection.”
“I’ll bring it up to Yoshida Matsu.” Emmi replied. “He’ll figure something out.”
Emmi returned to Yoshida reported her success as well as her concerns for the safety of the herds and of the caretakers. Yoshida Matsu grimaced. “Good thinking.” He grunted, “we may be able to train them if I send one of the senseis out with their initiates every day; they’ll be on hand to help and be able to show the villagers their way around a sword without killing themselves. There was an armory we found, with swords, spears, and crossbows. Enough to arm the entire town.”
“That leaves finding a seller of livestock to deliver to Killenshire.” Emmi mused.
“Go to Anatri. It’s a few weeks walk east of here. It’s a big enough city to be able to supply Killenshire with the right kind of livestock.”
When Emmi met up with the other three, “Grab your gold” was all she said.
“What do we need it for?” Sangki asked.
“We’re taking a trip.” Emmi replied enigmatically.
Malu and Gil-Geferan shared a look, then glanced over to Sangki who just shrugged, “I don’t have anything better to do.” She pointed out, before heading to her room in the underground level of the abbey.
The other two followed her, branching off to get to their own areas, before headed back up to the fountain room, where they gathered up their belongings.
“We’re going to Anatri. About two weeks east from here.” She informed them.
“Okay.” Gil-Geferan replied. “Why?”
“Because we’re going into the livestock trade.” Emmi told her.
“What.” Gil-Geferan grunted.
“We’re going to invest in some livestock. Pigs, chickens, cows, sheep.” Emmi said, “Then they’re going to be brought here and cared for by the townsfolk. Hopefully we’ll be able to breed a good amount of animals; enough to feed the abbey and the town, if need be.”
Gil-Geferan didn’t look impressed, but she said nothing.
Once Malu and Sangki returned, they were told the same thing, with much the same expression.
“Seeds.” Sangki said after getting over her initial shock. “We’ll need seeds. Vegetables and grains.”
Emmi nodded, “and seeds.” She agreed.
“So, we’re leaving right now?” Malu asked.
“Yes. As soon as possible.” Emmi affirmed.
“Then lets go get our gear.” Malu said, “We’re going to need it.”
About a half an hour later, they were back and ready to go. They headed out and down the road in single file; Malu first, then Sangki, Gil-Geferan, and Emmi. They traveled almost until the sun went down and moved out about thirty feet from the road. They didn’t bother with a fire; all of them were quite capable of seeing in the dark; Sangki had her own adaptation to darkness. They rotated watches, Malu first, then Sangki, then Emmi; Gil-Geferan was up half the night, but no one expected her to do much while she was meditating.
Several days went by with this same routine, with no problems.
It was the fourth day since they left the abbey; it was around seventh bell, the sun only starting to rise. Gil-Geferan was fully awake, talking with Emmi in low tones as to not wake Malu and Sangki around a small fire to boil some water for tea when the heard it. The unmistakable sounds of combat. Emmi moved to shake awake Sangki, while Gil-Geferan did the same with Malu; it was a testament to their self-preservation instincts that they were both and ready for a fight as soon as they heard the sounds. Abandoning the camp for the moment, the four headed quickly but carefully in the direction of the fighting; they heard a loud cry of pain that was cut off, and they decided that it was more important to move quicker.
The broke out of the forest one after the other and were presented with a grim tableau… the first thing they took in was a stout, broad armored figure with a shield fully half his height, wielding a brutal one handed axe that looked unwieldy except for one that would be incredibly strong. The armored figure stood over another figure that was lying in a pool of blood, unmoving. Circling around the armored figure were four black furred wolves, or what looked like wolves; looking on from about thirty feet away were five large, slab muscled creatures with heavy features and beady eyes. The same exact kind of creatures that had Sangki prisoner.
As they watched, one of the wolves dodged in and bit at the armored figure, his return swing missing widely; it looked very much like he was tiring.
“Gil-Geferan!” Emmi called to her, “Can you get one of those fiery balls near to that injured person to keep the wolves off his back and away from the one that’s down?”
“Absolutely.” Gil-Geferan replied.
“Good! Do it!” Emmi commanded, “Malu and I are going to hit those wolves; Sangki, get to that injured one and do what you can! Let’s go!”
Emmi, Malu, and Sangki all took off running towards the armored figure, while Gil-Geferan called forth one of her fiery globes, “Sphaera Ignis!”
The globe appeared right next to one of the wolves, catching it off guard and catching it alight.
The wolves caught sight of Emmi and her companions charging, and three of them moved to intercept; the two remaining wolves focusing on the wounded armored figure. The five slab muscled creatures started moving in on the armored figure, realizing that their sport has become suddenly more serious.
As they came together, Emmi called out, “Sangki, get behind me!” Sangki obeyed, so that she was behind Emmi and Malu. Emmi had her blades out as she was running at the wolves and at the last minute went into a slide, one leg extended, the other under her, both blades aimed at the chest of one of the oncoming wolves; both blades sank hilt deep into the thing’s chest, impaled as it was, it snapped at her face with its razor sharp teeth, but she held it at bay by the simple expedience of holding onto the hilts of her swords. Malu ran to meet second wolf, this one with some ugly wounds on already; she somehow managed to land wrong with her footing and fell, her sword falling from her grip. It spun in the air in front of her landing hilt up; there was nothing she could do as she watched it come closer as she fell, the blade catching her right below the rib and coming out of her side at an awkward ankle. She hit the ground hard, tumbling right into the waiting jaws of the wolf. It grabbed her by the bicep and started worrying at her like a bone.
Sangki slowed, knowing the third of the trio would be headed her way. As it launched itself at her, she dove forward and rolled under it as sailed through the air; she swung at it as she passed with the scythe of her kusarigama, but it was a poorly aimed strike, more of opportunity than any focused attempt to hit it. She came up on her feet and kept running; the injured figure was her first priority.
As she approached, the armored figure turned, and she realized it was a dwarf, his face and armor covered in blood; both his and theirs.
“Get away, or I’ll kill you!” he swore.
“Look around you.” She called back, “If we wanted to harm you, we’d just let these wolves and their keepers kill you! I’m here to help! I’m a healer, let me help!”
“Ter oc ghaan!” He growled, “If you harm her, you’ll not live to regret it!”
“You can threaten me later!” She snapped back, “I’m busy!”
So was he. Even as he was threatening her, one of the wolves came in, thinking that the dwarf was distracted enough for it to tear at him, but instead of meeting flesh, it met the blade of the heavy war axe instead. The dwarf pulled the axe out of the corpse of the wolf, facing now the big, slab muscles creatures.
“Come on, then!” The dwarf challenged, his eyes alight with anticipation
“Onis!” Gil-Geferan cried, and a gout of flame shot forth from her outstretched hand, catching the wolf that Sangki had rolled under in the side as it turned to face Malu and Emmi; recognizing Gil-Geferan as an obvious threat, it turned again to face her. She wasn’t worried though, because that spell allowed her two gouts of flame and she had a use for it. She loosed her second gout of flame, but the wolf was ready this time, and hopped out of the way, charging strait at her. She still had more tricks up her sleeve, though. “Onis!” she called, and again shot another gout of flame at the wolf. This one struck it as it came at her, scorching for fur and flesh alike… still it came on.
The wolf burned by the fiery orb came rushing in to try and rip at the dwarf, but its teeth were foiled by the heavy armor. Bellowing a laugh, the Dwarf yelled, “Come try that again, ye mangy cur!”
Emmi was trapped under the sheer bulk of the wolf as it thrashed and bit at her, her swords lodged deep in the wolf’s chest, so with a grip slippery with blood, she turned both blades; on clockwise, the other counterclockwise, so now the edges were facing opposite each other, and with a tremendous effort of strength, she pushed the handles apart, the blades ripping their way through muscle and bone, a torrent of hot blood pouring from its gaping chest; she rolled out from under it and got up, panting.
Malu dropped all pretense of civility and started ripping and clawing at the wolf with her teeth and nails, gouging out chunks of fur and flesh; the pure savagery of her attack causing it to let go and pull away, but she clung on with teeth and nails, even as the blade of her rapier cut at her flesh.
Sangki quickly bound the wounds of the injured dwarf, stabilizing her and making sure that she wasn’t at risk of bleeding out.
One of the slab muscled monsters swung its massive club down at the dwarf and dealt him a crushing blow, driving him straight to the earth. The dwarf twitched a few times and lay still. Another of them came up beside the first, swinging a wide blow at Sangki, barely missing her.
The other three headed over towards where Emmi and Malu were.
Emmi saw them coming and got ready; Malu seemed to have the situation in hand with the wolf, and by distracting the three creatures coming at them, she was giving Malu the freedom to kill the threat she had, and not worry about more threats while she was vulnerable.
She planted herself, sacrificing mobility for power, and waiting for the first of the three to get to her. It came in with its club raised, ready to smash her down, but her blades were faster, one of them catching the creature across the stomach. It struck her hard with its club, much harder than she expected. She hoped Malu would finish her enemy quickly, even though Malu was badly injured as well; the wolf tore at her, but she returned the favor with teeth and claws, the wolf succumbing to its injuries. Malu pulled the sword from her side, wincing in agony at the pain.
Gil-Geferan released another gout of flame at the oncoming wolf, slamming into it, causing it to tumble end over end and come to rest by her feet.
One of the wolves darted in and tried to hamstring Sangki; it caught a piece of her and dragged her down, but it didn’t manage to cripple her. Around her formed a shadowy veil, obscuring her form and confusing attackers, and just in time, for the two slab muscles creatures were closing in. Both swung at her, one after the other, but she was rolling away to kippup and gain her feet.
One of them creatures struck Emmi a crushing blow, nearly folding her in half as she was sent flying some ten feet. Malu was up and closed on the first of the two club wielding creatures, slashing him with a brutal cut. Sangki darted in, driving precise punches into one of the two creatures, and then dodged the blow from one, but getting brutally clipped by the other. She staggered back, the wolf darting in and trying to drag Sangki down again, but this time she was ready and sidestepped the wolf’s teeth.
Gil-Geferan came forward, “Eritque Arcus!” the colored burst from her hands catching two of the creatures by Malu and Emmi; one of them suddenly staggered confusedly, scrubbing at its eyes with one hand. The creature that smashed Emmi also smashed Malu, dropping her where she stood.
“Sphaera Ignis!” Gil-Geferan cried, and the fiery globe appeared by the blinded creature and the one that flattened both Malu and Emmi. The two shied away from the heat, while the third charged Gil-Geferan. The blind creature stumbled, while the other one focused on Gil-Geferan.
A well placed strike by Sangki dropped one of the two club wielded creatures she was faced by, the other swinging its club down with both hands as the wolf came in to try and hamstring Sangki; Sangki dove forward and tumbled, the massive club coming down on the back of the wolf with bone-crushing force. The wolf let out a single surprised yelp and lay still.
As the first of the massive creatures neared Gil-Geferan, she widened her eyes and raised brows and clawed her fingers raising her hands, “Sentio Timor!” She roared, and the massive creature nearly fell back as it tried to stop, scrambling first on all fours and then up and running as fast as it could away from Gil-Geferan. The second one coming at her slowed to stop as it watched its companion run by in abject terror. It didn’t have much time to wonder, as Sangki slammed into it from behind. Bones cracked as her foot landed square in its back, and the thing stumbled forward from the sheer force of the strike. It spun, swinging wildly, the club whistling harmlessly over Sangki’s head. She felt the approach of the one she left over by the inert bodies of the two dwarves, and for that she was glad. It came in fast and swung, nearly clipping its ally in front of Sangki. Gil-Geferan directed the fiery globe to roll past the blind creature and into the ones now focusing on Sangki, but the thing felt it coming and avoided it. Sangki spun in place, driving a heel hard into the side of one of the two creatures, dropping it where it stood. She drove a fist into the ribs of the creature she’d wounded with the kick to the back; the punishment being too much for it to bear, and it collapsed as well.
The blinded one was still staggering around, wiping at its eyes. Sangki stalked it, taking her time, driving punches and kicks into it, and it swung in rage at its unseen tormentor. Her third well placed strike dropped it in it tracks.
She quickly checked her allies, stabilizing each of them as she did, making sure their wounds were bound and there were no broken bones; then she checked on the two dwarves. She placed healing on her two companions, bringing them to consciousness, then placed healing on both the dwarves. The first injured dwarf, female, was the first the healed. The dwarf’s loam black eyes opened in surprise, looking around at her surroundings, then over to the armored dwarf. “Hravi!” she called, looking to his limp form.
“Shhhh” Sangki said, “He’s next. He’s stable.” The female dwarf visibly relaxed. She was broad of feature with ruddy skin and hair caught up in a multitude of small braids that were bound up in a braided leather cord that also wrapped across her forehead with a coin-sized metal token bound in with a sigil engraved on it. Her studded leather armor was battered, but whole. Sangki turned her attention to the male dwarf, Hravi, pouring healing energies into him, as well. He reached immediately for his axe and sought to get to his feet, struggling on the way up, the female coming over to steady him. “Be calm, Hravi.” She told him, “They’re allies.”
He gripped his axe, looking around at the beaten and bloody faces around him, then took in the bodies of the wolves and their allies and relaxed his stance somewhat.
Emmi was holding her side, “We need shelter.” She said, “We can’t stay out here in the open like this; we’re too vulnerable.”

[chaingunsamurai]

“Malu,” Emmi called, “how you feeling right now? Up for some scouting?”
“I don’t see much of an alternative.” Malu replied, “I’ll go see what I can find.”
“We’ll be off.” Hravi said to no one in particular. The female’s eyebrows went up, glancing over at him.
“Agaan o taagen?” she said, unable to hide the surprise in her voice. [Are you serious/]
“Are you sure?” Emmi asked at the exact same time, “Look at you, you need rest, to heal. You’re in bad shape, and Sangki is a healer.”
“Taan’t kic, Hravi.” The female dwarf agreed. [She’s right, Hravi]
He frowned, nodding. “We stay.” He growled, “for now.”
The female looked relieved. “I’m Aggi.” She said, “This is Hravi. Thank you for your help.”
“I’m Emmi.” Emmi told her, “This is Gil-Geferan, and Sangki. Malu is out scouting a good place for us to rest.”
“Dac Daal, Hravi.” Aggi scolded as she checked out Hravi. [Thank them, Hravi.]
“My thanks.” Hravi growled, irritated.
Aggi picked up her war-cleaver. The blade was heavy, two and a half feet long, twelve inches wide, and a half inch thick at the back, narrowing to a razor sharp edge. The hilt was another two and a half feet long, making the weapon two inches taller than Aggi. There was a sigil etched into the side of the blade. She had a sheath on her back that she slide the blade into, then lifted a double winged heavy crossbow with the same sigil etched into the stock. She had a quiver with ten bolts in it strapped low on her hip. Hravi had a heavy bladed waraxe and steel shield.
Hravi leaned against a tree while the others all sat until Malu returned.
“I found a ruined guard tower less than quarter of a mile away.” Malu reported, “It’s set back in the woods, away from the road; it’s isolated. It’ll do nicely.”
Emmi stood, “Show us.” She said laconically.
Malu turned and headed back the way she came, with Emmi behind, then Aggi, Gil-Geferan, Sangki, and Hravi bringing up the rear. Luckily, they encountered nothing on the way, and filed into the tower, laying down their burdens. There was a stone floor, and a stair hugging the wall to the next level of the guardhouse. There was a chimney built into the wall with a fireplace in a niche. Once the packs were set down and the bedrolls put out, the job of scrounging up wood was taken care of, finding a large collection of sticks and branches that were broken down to fit in the fireplace.
There was only trail food for dinner, but it beat going hungry. Gil-Geferan was the first to roll up in her blanket, and then Aggi. Hravi stayed up, along with Emmi. Malu would take over when Emmi was tired, and then Sangki. Hravi decided to wake Aggi halfway through the night; he’d taken off his armor to rest easier while in the guardhouse. They still didn’t completely trust each other, but there was a common feeling of necessity keeping them together.
Emmi wasn’t sure when it was that she drifted off, only that when she awoke, the air was hot and incredibly humid; she felt drenched with sweat. There was an odd roaring in her ears, and the plaintive cries of some sort of animal in the distance. There was a tangy scent in the air, one that she didn’t recognize. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times at the bright sunlight shining in the archway of the tower.
Beyond, she saw a stretch of what looked like damp earth and farther up white sand. Beyond the beach was a collection of huts and greenery of a kind she didn’t recognize. She blinked several times, then sat up quickly, “Wake up!” she called, getting to her feet. The others shook themselves awake, blinking at the light. Emmi crossed the room to the archway and looked out. Birds wheeled overhead, and water was rolling in, in waves that were getting closer to the guardhouse. There were little pools of water ahead, for maybe fifty feet before the beach. The water was getting higher.
Gil-Geferan went up the stairs, with Malu right behind. Emmi stepped out onto the wet sand, looking round her. Behind the guardhouse, there was water as far as the eye could see. There were waves rolling in toward them, and the water was steadily rising. The first floor of the guardhouse would be under water within the hour.
“Get your things, we can’t stay here.” Emmi stated, going back in to grab her pack and bedroll. The rest followed her example, Aggi helping Hravi put his armor on. Malu and Gil-Geferan came down and collected their things as well, and the six crossed the wet sand to the beach in short order, turning back to look as the waves slowly started rolling around the base of the tower.
“The ocean.” Malu observed.
“What?” Emmi asked.
“It’s the ocean.” Malu informed her. “Undrinkable water. More of it than you could ever imagine. Months to cross it.”
“Undrinkable water?” Hravi challenged, “What’s the use of that?”
Malu shrugged, “Haven’t found one.” She replied.
“A trail.” Aggi commented. She was right. There was a trail that led off the beach into the jungle. The trees were mostly tall, with broad branches and leaves bigger than diner plates, or other trees with no branches except a crown at the top, with large brown globes in bunches under the branches.
“Shall we?” Aggi asked.
“I don’t see any other options.” Gil-Geferan observed.
“The trail it is, then.” Emmi agreed.
Emmi went first, with Sangki, Gil-Geferan, Malu, Aggi, and Hravi following. After about a half a mile, the trail opened up to what looked like a large village, the forest cut back to a couple hundred feet. On the far side of the village was a massive stone wall with a pair of heavy wooden gates. The wall had to be at least fifty feet tall.
“Can someone please tell me where we are?” Sangki asked plaintively.
“Above ground.” Hravi replied.
“By the looks of it, somewhere off the Magar coast, I’m thinking.” Malu offered.
“What!?” Gil-Geferan asked, shocked. “How? How is that even possible?”
“Magic.” Hravi supplied with a grunt.
Aggi gave him an exasperated look, but said nothing.
“He’s probably right.” Emmi agreed, “that guardhouse somehow transported us here.”
They all looked back at the way they came, even though the guardhouse was well out of sight.
“Do you notice anything?” Malu asked. “Anything odd?”
They all looked around, not really noticing what Malu was asking until Aggi looked at the village. “No people.” She said.
“No people.” Malu confirmed.
“I don’t like people, anyway.” Hravi murmured.
“And people don’t like you, Hravi.” Aggi growled.
“You do.” Hravi told her.
“Don’t be so sure.” Aggi shot back. Then she turned to the others, “So no villagers. Where’d they all go?
“Probably all got eaten by something.” Hravi offered.
Emmi grimaced, looking over at the massive wall. She wasn’t sure that Hravi was wrong.
“So now what?” Sangki asked.
“Pillage the place for food.” Hravi proposed.
Malu frowned at him behind his back.
“He’s not wrong.” Emmi observed.
“We’ll work in pairs.” Emmi declared, “Me and Sangki. Gil-Geferan and Malu, Aggi and Hravi. Look for food, and any survivors to give an idea of what happened here. If you see anything out of the ordinary, call out.”
They all nodded and split up, searching each hut as they went. While there were no cries for help, each of the three groups came back with fruits, nuts, and dried meats. The fruits were oddly flavored, but good, and the dried meat was unidentifiable. Nobody even hazarded a guess.
They chose a large hut to stay in, collecting cots from the other huts for everyone to sleep on. Before they slept, Sangki placed healing on the worst off of the six, then they slept. Emmi staying awake first, along with Aggi.
Sometime during the watch, they heard a vast roar. Emmi and Aggi were on their feet almost immediately, everyone else a split second behind them.
“What in the hells was that?” Sangki breathed.
“I don’t know.” Emmi whispered back.
Emmi moved over to the door, crouching as she glanced out the door and looked around. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, then crept back into the building.
“I don’t like the idea of crossing paths with that.” Gil-Geferan murmured.
“I don’t think any of us do.” Emmi remarked.
None of them slept for the rest of the night, although Gil-Geferan meditated quietly. As the sun came up, they broke their fast and got their things together.
“So now what?” Sangki asked.
“Check to see if we can get to the guardhouse?” Aggi asked.
Emmi shrugged. “May as well.”
They headed back down the trail to the beach, lining up side by side by side, looking out over the waves. There was no guardhouse.
Hravi snorted. “Of course not.” He grunted. “Why would it still be there?”
They all looked from one to another. Nobody had an answer. Nobody said a word. Emmi finally turned, and headed back up the trail to the village. Slowly, one at a time, the others followed. They arrived back at the village, Emmi working her way through it, to arrive at the gates. She looked up from the base, looking from the left to the right. There were ladders up the wall on either side of the gates.
“Did anyone see any rope” Emmi asked.
“I think I saw some.” Malu replied.
“Are we ready for this?” Aggi asked.
“Probably not.” Emmi said with a shrug.
“We should stay here a few more days.” Gil-Geferan observed. They all agreed.
Each day, Sangki applied healing to four of the group who were in the worst shape to help with natural healing. Six days later, everyone was fully healed and ready to go. They did hear that tremendous, bellowing roar a few more times during both the day and night, but still no one had any idea what it could be.
When they were ready and had restocked their supplies, they again headed for the gate, Malu carrying a long length of rope with a grappling hook set on the end. She went up the ladder first, followed by Emmi. She set the hook at the top of the wall, and looked out over what was on the other side. Jungle, as far as the eye could see; and mountainous regions covered in mist. Even fifty feet up, the tops of trees towered over the height of the wall. Malu made her way down the rope, followed by Emmi, and the rest. Hravi was last, after lowering his armor in a trussed up pile. He wasn’t convinced the rope would hold his weight, combined with the weight of the armor.
They waited for him to put it all back on, with Aggi’s help.
“So, where are we headed?” Malu asked.
“That way.” Emmi declared, pointing north.
The jungle was heavily overgrown, and making their way through it was difficult, except for Malu; she was born in this terrain. She found easy paths through the undergrowth, easy for her; it was more difficult for her companions to move through, but without her, it would have been infinitely harder. By the end of the day, they’d only traveled four miles. They continued heading northerly, the entire area a deep jungle. They traveled some four days, and it was mostly quiet. On the fifth day, they came across a ridiculously large lizard, about eight feet long; it was yellow with green spots and wide, padded feet. It was on the ground, and regarded the group with wary, curious eyes. It didn’t seem aggressive, and was more than happy to watch them pass by; for their part, they kept an eye on the thing, but kept moving.
“I wonder if they’re edible.” Hravi remarked.
They traveled three more days, wandering northerly through the massive jungle. More than once they heard the bellowing of some massive creature, but still hadn’t come across anything larger than large geckos and a few other harmless lizards; even though those were also of incredibly large size.
Each day they traveled no farther than the first, making only about four miles a day through the heavy brush. Three days later, the seventh from leaving the gate, Emmi was in the lead when she heard a loud chuffing noise… she immediately stopped and crouched, the others following her lead.
“Did you hear that?” Emmi asked, barely louder than a whisper
“I did.” Malu whispered back.
“Aye.” Aggi answered, just as quietly.
Emmi gnawed her lip in thought. She wanted to go ahead and check it out, but she was the unofficial leader. It wasn’t her place to leave the rest behind; but she didn’t like ordering others into situations that she herself wouldn’t expose herself to, and she knew that she wasn’t chosen leader, but took the role upon herself. A role the others seemed to be acceptable with.
“Malu.” She whispered, “Take a look.”
Malu nodded and moved forward through the brush as if she was born there, while the others sat and waited. She moved quietly ahead, her padded feet making nearly no noise on the jungle floor, she crept slowly and gently parted a screen of ferns that was almost as tall as she was. Beyond was a massive reptile. Squat of body, with jagged armored plates on its back, it had a long, mace like tail and heavy, thick skin; it reminded her of the wild elephants back in her homeland. It walked on four legs and it had a beak like mouth with rows of teeth under heavily ridged brows. It was easily thirty feet long. The thing’s head swiveled in her direction and she locked gazes with it… the thing chuffed again as it chewed on a mouthful of fern fronds. It blew out its nose, the nostrils flaring widely. Malu knew it smelled her. Slowly, she backed away, never breaking eye contact.
She returned the way she came and squatted in the dirty by Emmi. “I have never seen its like.” She said honestly. “It looks like a big armored lizard, with a club for a tail. It saw me, but I don’t think it considered me a threat. I interrupted it eating. It was eating plants.”
“How big?” Hravi asked carefully.
“If you were to lay down… six times as long, at least.” Malu informed him.
“I’ve seen bigger.” Hravi commented.
Aggi shot him a look.
“Can we go around it?” Emmi asked.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving a possible enemy behind us.” Hravi growled.
“Neither do I.” Emmi admitted, “But if it’s not threatening us, I’d rather not lose anyone in a needless battle.”
Hravi snorted, but said nothing.
“Malu,” Emmi asked, “Did it seen aggressive?”
Malu shook her head, “No. It took notice of me, but didn’t seem interested in chasing me off.”
“Then we go around it.” Emmi declared. “Guide us, Malu.”
Malu took the lead again, making a wide circuit of where the beast was, to make sure they didn’t spook it or annoy it.
The next day, as they traveled, they managed to spook a frog; which wouldn’t normally exhibit the need for a comment, except that the frog was about six feet long and probably weighed in at two hundred pounds. The thing eyed them slowly, as if considered the possibility of a meal, but then retreated from view; it realized that there were just too many opponents to try and tackle, so it realized somewhere deep in its froggy little brain that running away was far better than dying.
That night, they camped.
They lit no fires, subsisting off of the dried meats and fruits they collected from the village. They stayed close together, and kept the normal watches. By now, there was enough trust that everyone slept while one of the group stayed up, except Gil-Geferan who slept her normal four hours and meditated for another four.
As it was, Sangki was awake and leaning against a tree when she sensed movement within range of her senses. She titled her head to hear better what was moving, but whatever it was, it was incredibly silent. It was approaching slowly, more out of curiosity she thought, than any intent on violence.
“Don’t be shy.” She called out; causing Gil-Geferan to look at her, then look around the camp area.
The motion immediately stopped as soon as she spoke, “Come now. I know you’re there. Come out, and show yourself.” Sangki slowly stood up, her head tilted slightly as if listening to something that no one else could hear.
“What do you hear?” Gil-Geferan asked quietly.
“Nothing.” Sangki replied.
“Then how do you know if something’s out there?” Gil-Geferan challenged.
“I feel them.” Sangki told her. She waited, and whatever it was moved no more. “We’re being watched.” She reported, and Gil-Geferan immediately stood up, looking around.
“No.” Sangki told her, raising a calming hand. “They’re curious. That’s all. Otherwise, they would have attacked.”
“They?” Gil-Geferan asked
“Yes.” Sangki replied, “I feel at least six.”
“What are they?” Gil-Geferan asked her, still tense at the thought of being watched. She wanted very much to ready a spell, but Sangki’s attitude prevented her.
“I don’t know.” Sangki replied, “Humanoid, for certain. That’s all I can tell.”
“How?” Gil-Geferan asked her.
“I feel them.” Sangki replied.
“But. How?” Gil-Geferan pressed.
“I just do.” Sangki told her. “I can’t explain it. I can feel them.”
The figures, whatever they were, started to pull back. “They’re leaving.” Sangki reported.
“Where are they going?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“I don’t know.” Sangki confessed.
“Emmi needs to know.” Gil-Geferan stated.
“Yes. But not right now.” Sangki mused, “They don’t seem to mean us harm.”
Gil-Geferan frowned, looking over at the sleeping Emmi, and considered waking her anyway. Sangki sat back down where she was, and relaxed. Hesitantly, Gil-Geferan did the same.
The next morning, when everyone was awake, Gil-Geferan told Emmi and the rest of the group everything that transpired. When she was done, Emmi looked over to Sangki. “Is this true?” She asked.
Sangki nodded, “It is.”
“And you didn’t feel it was necessary to wake us?” Emmi challenged, sounding a little irritated.
“No.” Sangki replied calmly. “Whatever they were meant no harm.”
“How do you know this?” Aggi asked her.
“They didn’t attack us.” Sangki replied, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Hravi snorted, but said nothing.
“Emmi couldn’t argue that. “Next time you feel them, wake me up, Sangki.” Emmi declared.
“I will. “ Sangki agreed.
And then they let it drop.
They continued to travel north. For four more days they traveled, Emmi with the distinct feeling they were being watched; and she didn’t seem to be the only one.
On the twelfth day beyond the gate, they all head a raucous call, followed by an odd crooning sound. Malu immediately stopped, looking around. The others followed suit, looking around.
It was Aggi that saw a flash of green and black patterning on the body of some sort of reptilian creature flash through the underbrush. The rune on her war-cleaver flared, and Hravi crept up next to her. “What did you see?” he asked.
“I don’t know… looked like it had scales, though. Something pretty big.” She replied.
“We need an open area.” Emmi growled, “I don’t want to have to contend with this brush if something comes in on us.”
“I feel them.” Sangki announced. “We’re surrounded. They coming.”
And they came. They were massive, brightly colored lizards, their backs banded in green and black. About seven feet long and standing on two legs, they had arms and legs covered in vestigial feathers, and there was a scythe like claw set on both of the rear feet, which were already heavily clawed. The back legs were powerful, these things were built to chase down prey. They have forearms that ended in wicked claws, and long snouts filled with razor sharp teeth. There were six in total, hitting from all side at the same time. Luckily for Gil-Geferan, she made it into the safety of the pocket of the five warriors around her.
Malu was struck at first, the lizard leaping at her with its hind legs first, ripping into her with its right leg, landing lightly and both ripping at Malu with teeth and foreleg. She struck back with her rapier, gashing it across the side of the creature. The second of the creatures leapt at Hravi, rear claws first, skirling off the dwarf’s heavy armor, Hravi’s shield came up to meet the creature’s teeth. He swung low, chopping at one of the creature’s legs and biting deep.
Emmi was torn open by teeth and claws, as was Sangki torn by one of the two that had targeted her. Aggi found herself unharmed under the initial assault, the rune on her left glove flaring, creating a glowing golden shield hovering nearby. Emmi set her stance, with a vicious double strike, a scissoring cut that caught the creature across the chest; Sangki moved in, driving strikes into the soft underside of the lizard that focused on her. Aggi struck hard with her war-cleaver, gouging into the side of the creature, the edge of the wound turning preternaturally black. Gil-Geferan stepped forward, seeing that Sangki was being double-teamed, with Malu to her right and Aggi on her left;
“Malu! Aggi! DUCK!” She yelled, getting an immediate response from Malu who was used to such things, and a surprised squawk from the four foot ten inch tall Aggi. Gil-Geferan reached over her head with an outstretched arm “Eritque Arcus!” She growled, the rainbow burst springing forth from her hand. It caught the two creatures attacking Sangki and the one attacking Aggi… all three letting out raucous cries and started stumbling blindly around.
Malu drove her blade at the one that had wounded her with an ill-timed lunge, missing it completely; Sangki, freed from her two attackers, moved in on Malu’s opponent, delivering two crushing blows to the creature’s ribs, causing its legs to buckle and crash to the ground. It twitched a few times and then lay still. One of the blinded lizards was trying to zero in on Sangki’s location but was far too disoriented to be of danger. A rune on the back of Aggi’s right gauntlet flared, and she chopped into her lizard’s flank with a brutal overhead blow. The original cut was continuing to blacken around its edges, while the second blow didn’t seem to have the same poisonous effect, even though it was just as deep. The thing lashed out at her but couldn’t connect, it was blinded by Gil-Geferan’s spell. Emmi stepped to the side, driving one of her blades into the creature that had focused on her, catching it right below the jaw and driving the blade up through its mouth and into the soft palate… the thing simply collapsed in its tracks. Her other blade found a home in the lizard that was attacking Hravi, driving it back off him and causing it to turn on her; It never saw Hravi’s axe as it buried itself in the creature’s spine. With a wicked crack of bone, the thing dropped.
Gil-Geferan had her bow out by now, loosing an arrow in front of Aggi and missing badly. The thing focused on Aggi, the shield blocking the teeth as it tried to bite her, but one of the claw spurs caught her thigh, the wound mostly superficial. The blackened wound on the thing started to suppurate, but that was the least of its worries as the heavy war-cleaver swung in a whistling arc, catching the thing in the jugular. It let out a hacking gasp as it too, collapsed.
It took little effort to put down the two blinded by Gil-Geferan’s magic.
“What… the hell… were those?” Malu panted, holding her side.
No one had an answer.
Sangki murmured a quick healing incantation on herself, then on Emmi and Malu. She placed the last one of the day she had on herself, as well. “This place is insane.” She murmured.
“Agreed” Malu noted.
“I kind of like it.” Hravi remarked casually.
“You would.” Aggi accused.
“We might want to find a place to hole up for a while.” Emmi advised, “Keep your eyes open for anything that looks good.”
“No guardhouses.” Gil-Geferan grumbled.
They didn’t find any out of the way places to gather strength, so they kept on as best they could with their wounds. They stopped early for the night, and the night was uneventful.
About midday, Aggi called everyone to stop. “Hear that?” She asked tensely. No one seemed to hear anything, but she was insistent. “Find cover!” She hissed, her gaze upward to the blue skies. Confused but trusting her instincts, everyone ducked down and found foliage to hide near.
“I hear it.” Emmi reported, looking up. Then they all heard a roar. Not the same bellowing roar they’d heard the few times at night, but just as deep. This one was far off and echoed across the jungle. Now everyone was looking up, and they all saw it at almost the same time.
Black scaled and horn headed, it was a huge flying reptile with an incredibly wide wingspan.
“Dragon.” Malu breathed.
“Skull dragon.” Hravi agreed. “Big, mean, and stupid.”
They watched it until it flew out of sight, heading north.
Emmi swallowed.
“Still want to head that way?” Gil-Geferan asked her.
“No.” Emmi admitted. “But what choice do we have?”
Over the next three days and nights, off and on they couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched, although Sangki didn’t pick up on anything nearby. Their progress was slow at the best of times, averaging still about four miles a day. They traveled some fifteen days since leaving the gate behind, and only made about sixty miles overall. It was slow progress. During the middle of the fifteen day, they came across a footpath that was leading generally northwest. Malu stopped, moving aside so that the others could break out of the surrounding jungle. It was the first indication of something intelligent. The path was narrow, enough for them to go single file. Malu glanced over to Emmi. “Do we go with the path, or do we keep cutting through the jungle?”
She frowned, thoughtfully, knowing that being on the path would increase the chance of meeting with intelligent, possibly hostile, creatures; but it would vastly increase their traveling speed. Emmi wasn’t sure which was more important.
As she was considering, a twig snapped. All of them readied themselves as best they could on the narrow path. “I feel nothing.” Sangki announced.
They didn’t relax, though… not for a good fifteen minutes. Finally, Emmi shook it off. “We take the path. I’m tired of this wading through the jungle. This will take us to some sort of civilization” She turned to the northwest, following the footpath. They made much better time, covering in a few hours what was taking days, and although they were traveling much faster, they still couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched. Nervous glances were cast about, and occasionally, one of the group would stop and look around, causing the others to do the same; nothing was seen.
Midday had come and gone, and it was early afternoon when they rounded a bend in the trail and Malu froze, putting a hand out. In front of her, about fifty yards, were a group of reptilian humanoids. Most of them were sinewy, green scaled, and man shaped, but with tails that were about four feet long. They had no hands. Where their hands belonged were the heads of snakes; they also had snake like heads on their shoulders. Along with the five of these hideous snake-men was another; this one had the torso and arms of a man, but also a snake-like head and instead of legs, a long snake like body.
The snake men had no weapons, nor did they wear anything. The last of the group carried an exquisitely made bow and had a scimitar strapped over its shoulder, along with a large metal shield. There was a quiver of arrows hanging by the scimitar, and the snake-thing wore nothing, but it’s heavily muscled body seemed covered in some sort of viscid slime.
The two groups looked equally surprised that the other appeared.
The snake-men rushed forward, side by side, the last of them staying to the back and watching as things progressed. Gil-Geferan was the first to react, “Eritque Arcus!” she called, and the familiar rainbow of colors shot forth from her hand. She was able to catch four of them in the effects of her spells, but only two fell prey, seemingly blinded and suddenly stumbling. They hampered the approach of those behind, slowing them and allowing Emmi and her allies more time to ready themselves. The sigil on Aggi’s left gauntlet flared, and a glowing shield appeared about two feet from her, hovering protectively. One of the snake-men paused and leaned back momentarily, to snap its upper body forward and open it’s mouth, spewing forth a line of milky white toxin directly at Emmi, who quickly ducked to the side; but it caught Malu full in the face. She shrieked, hands flying to her eyes as the toxin blinded her. Sangki dodged around Hravi and launched into snake-man that spat the venom, driving a fist into the side of its head. Emmi rushed forward to the creature next to the one Sangki faced off against, planting her stance to sacrifice mobility, driving one of her blades deep into its chest, it hissed in pain and started wriggling bonelessly to try and work its way off, striking at her with its snake headed hands, one of them sinking into Emmi’s wrist, driving venom into her flesh. She felt it burn, but it didn’t seem as if the thing got much in her because she didn’t seem to feel an effect.
One of the snake-men came at Aggi, who swung her war-cleaver at the thing, missing it entirely; but neither of its snake hands missed her. The venom coursed through her veins, making her feel weakened already. Hravi came to her aid, slamming his axe deep in the thing’s side.
The leader to the rear hissed out some words in an oddly sibilant language, and Hravi is suddenly limned by a green glow. He shakes his head as if fighting off something, and the glow dissipates, leaving only an angry expression on the snake-leader’s face… and expression that quickly changes to shock and surprise as six arrows slam into it in the space of several seconds. Its head whips around to look at the source of the arrows and a furred humanoid lands in the path near it; a tabaxi. Armed with a pair of gleaming bone daggers. It slashes twice at the snake-leader, one of the blades missing completely while the other is blocked by a shield.
The creature focused on Sangki lashes out with its snake-hands, managing to bite her but loses its grip before it could envenom her; she drives another well aimed strike into its side, causing it to reel for a moment. Emmi is likewise attacked and struck twice; she twists the blade and tears it out, ripping out much of the creature’s insides as she does. It hits the jungle floor, still writhing and snapping with its three mouths.
Gil-Geferan’s hands move in arcane gestures and she drives a flat palmed hand at one of the creatures “Onis!” She called out, a lance of flame striking one of the blinded creatures, causing it to stumble towards Hravi, who obligingly nearly cuts the creature in two as it stumbles by, falling in a gory heap.
The snake-leader gashes the tabaxi with its scimitar, then latches on with its fanged mouth, driving venom into the tabaxi; but it’s not done yet. It tries to loop it’s coils around the tabaxi, who seems to be able to keep the thing from succeeding, even though it’s getting badly burned by the caustic slime on the snake-thing. Two more arrows hum out of the jungle canopy, one of them sinking into the coils of the snake-leader. The snake-man that had already managed to bite Aggi bites her a second time, and again dosing her with its strength sapping venom. Her arms feel leaden as she manages to deal the creature another wicked blow with her war-cleaver. , the creature’s other snake hand lashed out at Hravi, the teeth striking the dwarf’s heavy armor and bouncing away harmlessly.
Six more arrows come whistling out of the jungle, four of them finding a home in the coils of the snake leader; it’s simply too much for the creature to withstand and it crumples to the ground, the tabaxi it was fighting staggers away to catch its breath.
The snake man still blinded by Gil-Geferan’s rainbow burst wanders too close to Hravi and is cut down, while the last remaining snake man turns to run from Aggi and runs directly into Sangki’s side kick.
Aggi sank to the ground, weakened beyond her ability to stand; Emmi was feeling much the same way with the blood coursing through her veins. Gil-Geferan reached Malu’s side and called out to her, taking her furred hand in her own slim fingered one. “It’s okay, now.” Gil-Geferan reassured her, “And it seems some of your people have arrived.”
Malu shook off the distraction of being blinded, looking around blearily. All she saw was indistinct shapes, unable to identify anyone near her. “Lead me to them.” She said. Gil-Geferan tucked Malu’s arm in the crook of her own, and led them to where the tabaxi was leaning against a tree.
“Here.” Was all Gil-Geferan said. “He’s in front of you, about ten feet away.”
Malu raised her head to look in the direction of the tabaxi, “O ko’u inoa ka Malu o ka Mahina. ‘Ike wau e mahalo ana’oe no ka ha’awi’ana ia makou i ke kokua” [My name is Shadow under the Moon. I understand I you to thank for giving us aid.]
ʻO kou inoa ka mele ma kuʻu alelo, Malu O ka Mahina.” The tabaxi replied, “ ʻO wau nō. Kahe Nalu. E kala mai iaʻu, akā,ʻaʻole wau iʻike iāʻoe, a manaʻo wau uaʻikeʻo ia i nā akua a pau e hoʻomaikaʻiʻia ana ma ka moku “[Your name is music on my tongue, Shadow under the Moon. I am Wave Gazer. Forgive me, but I do not recognize you, and I thought I knew every one of the Goddess Blessed on the island.]
“I’d hate to interrupt,’ Emmi said to Malu, “but we need a place to hole up before anything else comes along.”
Kahe Nalu looked over to Emmi curiously, then back to Malu with a puzzled expression; “Ho’olipo’i’o ia no ke kahe’no aka ua ho’opilikia i ko makou makemake i kahi ho’omaha” [She apologizes for the interruption, but is pressing out need for shelter.]
Kahe Nalu nodded, “Aia kahi wahi e hele ai I kahi mau la mai kahi mai. Makemake’oe e hele?” he replied “There’s a place a few days travel from here. Would you like to go?”
Malu turned to Emmi, ‘He says he knows of a place a few days away and asks if we want him to guide us.”
Emmi nodded, “I don’t like the distance, but yes.”
“Ike makou I kau mea e ha’awai aku.” Malu replied gratefully, [We accept what aid you have to offer.]
As they were speaking, four more tabaxi armed with bows, emerged from the forest and moved on silent feet over to the corpse of the snake leader and started removing arrows. They didn’t seem very interested in interacting with Emmi and her allies, instead paying attention to the surrounding area.
“Na’koa! Kele makou i ke komohana! i ka hale!” Kahe Nalu called to the others, making sure they heard. [Warriors! We’re heading west! To Chasm house!]
He glanced over to Malu, “ina ua makaukau’oe”, he asked. [If you’re ready?”]
She glanced around then turned to Emmi. “Are we ready?” Emmi nodded curtly, knowing that there really wasn’t an option considering their current situation. They had to move. “We’re ready.” She replied.
Malu nodded to Kahe “i makaukau” [Ready.”]
“Alaila e hahai mai ia’u” Kahe said, with a hint of command. [The follow me.]
It was a tense few days. With the denseness of the jungle, it took the better part of three days to arrive at what Kahe called the chasm house. After the initial meeting, it was Kahe that led them. The four warriors fairly disappeared as soon as the sun came up, ghosting to the fore and rear of the main group, scouting the area for any dangers. When the sun started to set, the four would return, often with game collected as they were ranging during the day. Malu and Kahe spent quite a bit of time together, with him explaining to her about the inhabitants of the island. Malu was a sharp interrogator, and Kahe had detailed knowledge of the topic. Each night, Malu would spend time with Emmi, telling Emmi everything she’d learned about their surroundings; he knew everything they needed to know about the island, except where they were in relation to where Malu and her friends originally came from.
On the first night, Malu and Emmi sat near each other by the fire while on watch.
“What were those snake things?” Emmi asked.
“I’m not sure.” Malu replied, “and they don’t have a name for them. They just call them the “po’e kanaka”.
“So do they know where these po’e kanaka came from?” Emmi asked.
“Their main base is in a plateau.” Malu replied, “but they have a mining base in the east. Their tribe lands were in the in the northeast, but they got driven out and they’ve been moving to the northeast slowly. From what I understand there’s a hive of insect creatures settling in the northeast; the po’e kanaka and the insects haven’t really started battling yet, but Kahe thinks it’s inevitable.”
“How large in the mining base?” Emmi asked.
“Big. Kahe says that there’s at least two tribe’s worth of po’e kanaka there.” Malu replied.
“So how many tribes of tabaxi are there on the island?” Emmi asked.
“He knows of three others, but he has not spoken to, nor seen, any of them in quite some time.” Malu replied, “But he also said that isn’t necessarily odd. There are years where they don’t interact. The tribes aren’t all that large to begin with, and most of the time, they stay to their territory.”
Emmi thought about it for a while, although she couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind. “So… does he know what happened to the people of the village we came across when we first came here?”
Malu nodded, “It’s his belief that the males were brought to the mining camp, the females and young brought to the plateau.”
Emmi nodded, brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes, “Sounds fairly smart. It would keep the men in line, with their families more or less being held hostage. If they broke out, there’d be no way for them to get to the plateau in time to save the lives of their families.”
Malu could only nod.
“If you find out anything else new, let me know.’ Emmi told her.

Two days later, they arrived at the chasm house. It wasn’t a house at all. There was a rocky opening in the earth that led down to a rock walled, sand bottomed cave maybe twelve feet across and fifteen feet long with a low ceiling dotted with stalagmites. Toward the read of the cave was a small, fresh spring that led off under the wall of the cave. There was a small stack of wood and a cleared out space in the sand that showed use as a firepit, but there was nothing else present.
Aggi, still weakened from the po’e kanaka venom, sat down heavily, wiping the perspiration from her forehead. She looked wan and drawn, but hadn’t complained at all during the trip here. Emmi herself was still feeling some of the drain. Sangki had healed them as best she could of their physical wounds, but the venom induces weakness was not something her arts could touch. She had informed them that had she had enough rest and time to meditate, it could be possible that she would be able to gain the knowledge required to aid them of their infirmity.
Bedrolls were spread out, and Gil-Geferan sat down, digging through her pack to her two books. One of the two gained from the library at the monastery, the other her own. Taking out quill and ink, she began writing furiously, as if infused with some rare insight she had not had before.
Aggi, when she’d finally gotten her stamina back, took out a metal plaque and set it down, preparing a brush with some inks. She had several of these plaques affixed to her armor, where they could be removed and replaced with another. She had one on the chest of her armor and one on the back of each of her gauntlets. Her war-cleaver also adorned with a sigil, but this one was painted directly upon the weapon. With her brush, she carefully drew on a metal plaque some inscription that only she understood, and removed the plaque from her right handed gauntlet, to replace with the one she’d just freshly painted.
Sangki found a spot toward the rear of the cave, and sat cross-legged, her arms out, palms up, the backs of her hands resting lightly on her thighs. She was looking at something only she could see from the depths of the blindfold on her eyes.
Kahe and Malu put together a small fire and sat talking softly to one another in that oddly musical language they spoke. Hravi had had to remove his armor to fit in the cleft of the rock, and he sat down close to Aggi with a polishing cloth, shining his armor quietly.
The four warriors had not yet returned, but Kahe assured them that they would check in, at least with any game they caught during the day for an evening meal. The warriors would remain outside the cave to keep an eye on the surrounding areas though.
Emmi moved over to where Malu and Kahe sat, easing herself down next to them.
“Malu.” She said softly, “Can Kahe lead us to the plateau?” Malu repeated the question to Kahe, who nodded and spoke a few short sentences.
“He will lead us, and show us the way that the po’e kanaka enter and exit the plateau, but he and his warriors will not enter.” She informed Emmi.
“Good enough.” Emmi replied, “How long will it take to get there?” Again Malu asked the question, waiting until Kahe was finished.
“Kahe says that it will take at least five more days until we’re clear of the jungle. Once we hit the barren lands, we’ll be able to move much faster, but there will be no cover. He suggests we move only at night to make it harder to be seen.”
“Find out what you can about the terrain, Malu.” Emmi told her. Malu nodded and went back to her conversation with Kahe. Emmi listened for a little while longer, unable to make any of the words out before standing and sitting over by Aggi and Hravi.
“The villagers are being held in two places. A mining camp and a city inside of a plateau.” Emmi said without preamble. “I think we should go save them from these po’e kanaka.”
Hravi hawked and spat to the side. “I don’t have much to say about anyone that would use slaves.”
Aggi nodded, adjusting the plaque in its holster on the back of her gauntlet. “We’ll do what we must.”
Emmi nodded as if their agreement was already foretold. She leaned her head back against the cave wall, and was surprised when she was woken up later by the smell of meat cooking. The warriors had come and gone, dropping off several small animals and birds for the others to eat. She got up slowly, stretching the kinks out of her back and neck from sleeping in such an awkward position, and joined the others near the fire.
Several chunks of meat were handed to her, hot enough to burn her fingers, so she shoved them in her mouth and instantly regretted it, grabbing a skin of water and pouring it into her mouth. Hravi snorted as she did.
The meat was a little tough, but good and filling. She did her best to wipe the grease from her fingers and chin, noting that the others weren’t having any easier a time than she was. That made her feel a little better about the burnt skin in her mouth. They ate every bite, leaving nothing on the bone after they were done. Once they were done, Kahe collected all the bones and he headed out of the cave, telling Malu that he was going to hide the bones so that any lingering smell wouldn’t reveal their location to predators. He returned about a half an hour later.
One at time, they found their bedrolls and nodded off to sleep, feeling fairly safe in their small but well-hidden cave.
They remained there for three days, Sangki using her arts to help in the recovery of the lingering effects of the venom. When asked, she only said that certain things had been revealed to her that were clouded before.
The next morning, they emerged from the cave, waiting only for Hravi to don his armor. The four warriors were conversing with Kahe for a few minutes, then they started ranging to the north-northwest.
After a short wait, Kahe motioned for Malu to follow, and waited until they were ready. On the second day of their travel through the jungle, Emmi awoke to the sound of an animal overhead. “A-Rawwwwwwwk…. A-Rawwwwwwwk… A-Rawwwwwwwk”
She opened her eyes blearily, looking up at the canopy. Looking down at her was a soft mauve colored winged reptile, with a mouthful of needle like teeth and wickedly curving horns. Its claws were gripped to a limb of a tree overhead, its sinuous neck turning its head in a ridiculous angle. “A-Rawwwwwwwk” it chirruped.
She blinked a few times to make sure she was actually seeing what she thought she was seeing, sitting up slowing. “Good morning.” She said by way of greeting, not really expecting anything by way of reply. She wasn’t disappointed.
She got up, glancing around, but everyone else was asleep. Kahe wasn’t present, but she was used to him disappearing in the local foliage for short periods, either meeting with the warriors or doing a quick search of the area.
Emmi reached over to her pack, opening it, and drew forth a few strips of dried meat, chewing into one. “Grrlp?” the little lizard said, edging out farther on the limb, positioning itself over her.
“If you crap on me, we’re going to be fighting.” She warned it. “Grrlp?” it responded.
She looked up at it, its shiny red eyes focused on the dried meat in her hands. “Grrlp?” it chirped again.
“You hungry?” she asked. “Hsk” It huffed, tilting its head to the side to regard the strip of meat. She held a strip out, and it edged closing, leaning out incredibly far, almost losing its perch a few times, one clawed ‘hand’ reaching out to grasp at the strip. Finally its talons closed on the dried strip and it jammed it into its mouth, chewing with exaggerated slowness “Hrrgurk” it mumbled around a mouthful of food.
She bit off another piece and chewed the tough meat, “I guess I should’ve warned you. It’s dried, and peppered. Probably a little spicy for you.”
The creature wrapped its tail around the branch for better balance, and she noted the barb on the end of its tail. It looked like a stinger.
“A-rawwwwwwwk.” It said, after it finally swallowed the last of the meat.
“Any idea where we are?” She asked it.
“Hirnk.” It replied.
“Well, Hirnk’s as good a name as any, I suppose.” Emmi agreed.
The little lizard chuffed once, its head swiveling to the edge of the small area they chose for their camp. Within moments, Kahe emerged from the foliage and looked squarely at the lizard. “O ka mea maika’i ia” He said.
The little lizard narrowed its eyes and hissed warningly at him before flying away. Emmi watched its flight with something akin to regret. It was a cute little creature.
Soon, Kahe woke up Malu, and together they roused the rest of the group. Within half an hour, they were on their way. They traveled the whole day, making not much better time than they did with only Malu leading, but cutting through the jungle was tedious work; Emmi didn’t mind, though. Throughout the day, she heard the occasional “A-Rawwwwwwwk” of the little lizard, and for some reason, it comforted her. Every time Kahe heard it, he cocked his head and nodded to himself as if pleased.
That night, as Emmi unrolled her bedroll, she heard the call again. She fell asleep to the thought of dragons.
Two days later, they finally arrived at the edge of the jungle.
Beyond the edge was a blasted wasteland, barren of vegetation and water. The sun scorched all appearances of life from the land. In the distance, a massive plateau was visible. It was a good thirty miles away, but the land was rugged and uneven. It wouldn’t be as simple as it looked.
“Kali makou a po.” Kahe stated.
“Kahe says we wait until nightfall.” Malu translated. They all nodded. The idea of wandering that landscape in that baking heat wasn’t an attractive proposition. They all knew that they’d need as much rest as they could get; they’d be up all night. Emmi didn’t rest well, drifting in and out of sleep right up until the sun went down.
She heard the others moving around, and sat up slowly. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and gave a jaw cracking yawn. She wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of this travel, but Kahe said they could probably get it done in two nights, quite possibly in one if they left as the sun was going down.
They gathered their things and the group headed out over the blasted ground. The warriors were close, although they were hard to see in the dark. They group traveled fairly swiftly, the dwarves all but jogging to keep up with the rest of the group. The ground was rough, and there were some close scrapes with twisted ankles, but that particular problem never occurred. The sun started to rise but they kept moving; they were still about ten miles away. The dwarves were near jogging all night, working hard and sweating heavily, but not slowing from their pace. Emmi admired their endurance, she knew that they were struggling even if they’d never admit it.
She glanced up at the sky, away from the sun, and saw what at first she thought was a hawk; but the wings and tail were all wrong. It was something else. The tail was long and whip-like. She was fairly sure it was a reptile. She thought for a moment, then smiled. They reached the plateau without incident, and Kahe moved to the west, following the curve of the plateau for a few more miles, until they arrived at a section of wall where lianas and creepers fell like a cascade down the side of the plateau’s outer face.
Kahe pointed to the creepers and said something to Malu, who then turned to Emmi. “Kahe says that there’s an opening behind the vegetation that leads into the plateau. He says it’s not really a plateau. More like a caldera. The wall hides a hollowed out bowl where the city is.”
“Thank him for his aid, Malu.” Emmi told her, “Let’s get out of this sun… and tell him we’ll be back.”
Pushing past the creepers, they found that the cave itself was wide. Fifteen to twenty feet wide, and eight to ten feet wide; it was worked stone and the floor was worn smooth from years of use. A low echo of water came from the depths of the passageway. After about a hundred feet of travel, they noticed that there was a light coming from what they thought might be the far end, but not sunlight. It was too dim.
They kept going and arrived at a beachhead, with canoes on a sandy stretch leading to an underground waterway of many branches; north, south, and east. At the end of the passage was a six foot statue, with six arms and a snake-like tail where the legs should be, the head a melding of both human and snake features. Flanking the statue were a pair of torches in brackets.
They took a moment to study it, no one being able to identify what it was, or who.
“One of the po’e kanaka?” Emmi asked finally, more rhetorically than anything else.
“One of their gods, I’m thinking.” Gil-Geferan replied.
Hravi grunted once. “I’d not like to meet her any time soon.”
Aggi slanted a glance over to Hravi, “Is that fear?”
Hravi barked a laugh, “Common sense.” He gestures at the statue with his axe, “She’s got six arms; while she’s givin’ ya a loving embrace, she can pick yer pocket an’ slit yer throat all at the same time.”
Aggi snorted and shook her head. The gazes of the others lingered on the statue for a moment longer, then looked over the underground water way. There were ripples in the surface of the water, but no current they could discern.
“Take off your armor, Hravi.” Aggi told him.
“Why?” He asked, his gaze staying on the dark water in front of him.
“Cuz ya can’t bleedin’ swim too good to begin with.” Aggi shot at him, “You’ll be sinkin’ like a rock, an’ nobody gonna wanna try’n haul you back to the surface in sixty-five pounds of armor, y’ fool.”
Hravi frowned, but he did as was advised, piling it all into one of the canoes. Aggi took position in the front of the canoe, and Hravi pushed off, sitting in the rear. Gil-Geferan and Sangki shared one, and then came Emmi and Malu.
They didn’t go farther than fifteen feet when there was a branching to the north, south, and northeast. They went northeast. Thirty feet beyond was another north, south, and northeast; again they went northeast. In another twenty odd feet was a north and a south, with no other option. To the south was another beachhead. Aggi guided the canoe in that direction, followed by the other two. The beach was only about ten feet long, and trailed up to a narrow passageway of worked stone, some five feet wide and seven feet high. There were several lit torches set in brackets along the walls of the beachhead. After they got out of the canoes and beached them, they waited for Hravi to put on his armor before continuing.
Hravi took the lead, followed by Aggi, then Gil-Geferan, Sangki, Emmi, and Malu brought up the rear.
“A-Rawwwwwwwk!” echoed through the cave, bouncing off the stonework back and forth. There was a flapping of wings that followed, and the little mauve dragon flew into sight, coming to a rest on the lip of one of the canoes. “Hrrrrup” It said.
Emmi glanced back at it. “Glad you could make it.” It tilted it’s head at her, it’s red eyes blinking slowly as if in recognition of it’s words.
“That’s a pseudodragon!” Gil-Geferan nearly exclaimed.
“A what?” Emmi asked, perplexed.
“A pseudodragon.” Gil-Geferan repeated. “They’re a species of small dragon, reported to be very intelligent and telepathic. They’re highly prized as familiars. Where did you find it?”
“I didn’t.” Emmi replied, “He found me. He’s been following. He likes dried beef. Are you sure they’re telepathic?”
“Well, no.” Gil-Geferan hedged, “but from what I’ve read, they’re supposed to be.”
“Well, maybe he just hasn’t come up with anything that he felt was important enough to communicate to me.” Emmi offered.
For it’s part, the little pseudodragon’s gaze went from Emmi to Gil-Geferan as each one spoke, in some recognition of their words. The eyes blinked again. “A-Rawwwwwwwk.” It said.
“Shhh.” Emmi warned it, “We’re not sure what’s ahead, and we don’t want anything to know we’re here.”
“Grumpf” it huffed, settling somewhat on its perch.
“Kin we go now?” Hravi asked pointedly, “As fascinatin’ a conversation that was, we got things to do, an’ none of it’s gonna do itself.”
“Yes,” Emmi agreed, “Let’s go.”
The narrow passage led some thirty feet to a heavy wooden door. There was no handle on this side, and there were heavy iron bands to hold it together.
“Gimme space.” Hravi announced, “Looks like I’m gonna have to go through it.”
“Wait, Hravi.” Aggi told him.
“For what?” Hravi asked, impatient.
As an answer, the sigil on her left gauntlet flared, and the shield appeared, hovering protectively by her side. Gil-Geferan nodded, murmuring “Festina” and making an oddly all-encompassing gesture. Emmi felt her nerves start to thrum with eagerness to move, to fight, and she wasn’t the only one.
Malu paused to focus on her weapon, channeling her arcane powers into the blade to aid her in accuracy and effectiveness as a combatant.
Emmi murmured a low prayer to Kareevan that he might aid her in her prowess.
Gil-Geferan took a moment to scribe a small symbol on Hravi’s forehead; he immediately felt stronger, more powerful than he ever had.
From the small dragon came a low, almost subsonic croon that thrilled along the nerves of every member of the party; it encouraged them to fight, to stand tall, and to never back down. With a roar, Hravi threw himself at the door.
He hit it with incredible force and it tore off its hinges. The door smashed flat to the floor, Hravi on it, riding it almost like a sled.
The room beyond the door was small, only ten feet square, the ceiling perhaps eight feet high. Directly across from the door that Hravi barreled through was a second door, looking much like the one he smashed down did. In the room was a smallish table with a few chairs and a brazier that was in the southwest corner. Standing up were a trio of po’e kanaka.
Two of them had snake heads for hands and as their own heads, the last of the three was a terrible fusing of both human and snake, covered in fine green and yellow scales, but also with hair on its head and a tail emerging from its tailbone. In one of its hands was a scimitar.
Hravi was the target of two of the closer po’e kanaka; one of the two snake handed po’e kanaka bit at him with its hands, while the human hybrid attacked with its scimitar. One of the snake heads found a chink in Hravi’s armor, but the bite was too shallow and the mouth let go as venom sprayed on Hravi’s armor; the scimitar’s blade caught only the heavy steel of Hravi’s armor.
Aggi was the next of the party to go through the door and into the room, and she hacked savagely at the creature that bit Hravi. On her right gauntlet, a sigil flared blue, and the blade of her war-cleaver was suddenly covered in a rime of frost. Her blade arced wide as it backed away from her, looking for an opening in her defenses.
The far door opened, a po’e kanaka with snake head for hands beyond. There could be seen two more of his kind beyond. “Incendium!” Gil-Geferan cried, and a small, pea sized yellow and red globe shot forth from her fingertip, enlarging as it went, and smashing into the chest of the po’e kanaka in the doorway, engulfing it in flames; as well as the room it was in. Unfortunately, both Hravi and Aggi also got caught in the blast as well as the three po’e kanaka in the room. The one with the scimitar was tossed like a rag doll into the wall, crumpling where it landed. The other two were definitely scalded, but now worse that both Aggi and Hravi were.
Sangki felt the heat of the blast, but that didn’t keep her from charging in, dodging around Gil-Geferan as she went in; she was wreathed in billowing darkness as she moved, landing two well placed blows on one of the po’e kanaka in the room, dropping it bonelessly where it stood.
The last of the three seemed to want to simply run away, but the others were blocking the doorway’ it couldn’t escape... so instead it lashed out at Hravi, grabbing a small piece of him, yet leaving him able to continue to fight, his dwarven health preventing him from being laid low by the venom the snake head injected. With its other snake headed hand, it also successfully struck Sangki, yet the venom did no more to her than it did the dwarf.
Hravi found his way to his feet, axe at the ready, but Sangki was faster. She struck the po’e kanaka in front of him with a flurry of strikes; she landed three hard, precise blows. It was already dead by the second blow, the third was simply overkill. The two po’e kanaka from the next room came in hard and fast, but Hravi was ready. More than ready.
He took the first one down with a monstrous swing of his axe, nearly cutting it in half; the second one was struck by a blow nearly as powerful. The creature collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony. Aggi’s war-cleaver finished the job.
There was a quick search of the room, but nothing of value was found. The room beyond was twenty feet square, with several bunks, a table, some chairs, and a brazier that had a sack of coal nearby. As with the last room, there was nothing of value to be found after a search. There was a door on the east wall; beyond was a five foot wide hallway. The hallway stretched off into darkness.
Hravi led the way followed by Emmi, Gil-Geferan, Aggi, Sangki, and then Malu bringing up the rear. The small dragon decided to ride on Emmi’s shoulder, it’s tail wrapped around her neck, the claws digging into her shoulder. “Hrumpf.” It said.
They followed the tunnelway for about sixty feet or so, then they came to a left turn or a strait along. They chose the left turn. It went along for about fifty more feet and then came to a door. The door was solidly made, but when Hravi checked the lever, he judged it to be unlocked. He put an ear to the door but heard nothing, so he pushed open the door. The room beyond was a good forty by fifty feet, with an arched roof climbing some twenty feet at the highest point. On the far side of the room where a pair of braziers flanking a tall statue of a six armed po’e kanaka with definitively female features. A tail replaced her legs, and it was coiled many times under her body, each of her six arms splayed out. The middle pair were at about a thirty degree angle up, while the top and bottom pair were angled and forty-five degrees raised and forty five degrees lowered. All her hands were empty. There were about a dozen odd reed mats placed in rows in front of the statue. There was nothing else of interest in the room. The group filtered in, and spread out, the small purple dragon staying on its perch on Emmi’s shoulder. It’s red gaze settled on the statue and it growled angrily, its wings flaring and vibrating in some sort of aggressive display. Aggi moved to the right, Hravi to the left, and they followed the walls to the east and west, then from south to north, and then the two headed east and west to meet in the middle, behind the statue. Aggi stopped, reaching out her left hand to brush against the wall almost directly behind the statue.
“Right here.” She announced. Hravi looked up and down, but he didn’t seem to be able to see what she saw. “Are you sure?” He asked.
“Right here.” She repeated firmly, as if daring him to doubt her again. He didn’t.
The two of them started searching the wall near where she placed her hand, but neither of them seemed to be able to discover what they were looking for. As they did so, the others relaxed, found places to sit. Everyone knew that dwarves were unmatched at finding odd stonework. Malu seemed fairly restless, so she started to inspect the statue for lack of anything better to do. Shortly, Emmi joined her.
“She’s lovely.” Sarcasm fairly oozed from Malu’s voice.
“Chances are very good she’s a goddess, or demon, of some sort.” Emmi offered.
Malu moved to the left side, walking around the statue slowly. Emmi joined her, circling around to the right and moving counterclockwise. Emmi stopped on the statue’s left side, looking at it very carefully… specifically, the middle left arm.
“This is on a pivot.” Emmi announced. That drew every eye. The purple dragon blinked its eyes slowly, craning its head to study where she was looking. “Grrremph.” It murmured.
She reached out, placed both hands on it, and pulled down hard on it. The arm moved, and behind the statue, a section of wall clicked and a hidden door appeared. Aggi was there first, making sure it stayed open. “We’re in business.” She announced.
Beyond was more worked stone, a tunnel lit by torches every twenty odd feet. It only went about thirty feet, a cleft in the stone intersecting the worked stone. Hravi went first, with the others in their usual places. To the right, there was a short passage that terminated at an angle only about fifteen feet away. To the left was a further tunnel, of natural stone; it seemed a formation in the earth. It went about twenty feet, splitting off at about forty five degree angles, both southwest and northwest. The northwest branch was lit, so that’s the way that Hravi followed. It wended its way mostly west, then started to arc its way northwest again. Hravi kept following, both his shield and his axe at the ready; eventually, the tunnel opened up into the bottom of a large hole in the earth, the sky above being seen in the opening, through the latticework of vines and creepers that crisscrossed the opening. There are a few heavy vines that chased up the north wall, a large cavern like opening about thirty feet up the wall of this large vertical shaft. Again, Hravi was the first out; the others following him out slowly. The purple dragon took wing and flapped its way up shaft. Emmi watched it as it flew, wondering if it might come back. “A-Rawwwwwwwk!” it cried, as it flew up.
Gil-Geferan watched the little dragon spiral up as it flew, and she noticed there was movement in the vines. She didn’t even think about it, She just pointed her hand, “Incendium!” She grated, and a small yellow and red pea sized orb shot forth from her fingertip, flying up and enlarging in size as it did. It exploded at a level of the vines, causing a nearly instant mini-conflagration that burned out the vines almost instantly; it started raining bodies. They were green scaled lizardfolk, smaller than the usual kind that was seen; they were no more than four feet tall and probably weighed in at around fifty pounds. Their chest scaled were a muddy yellow, and their snouts were short. A few of them screamed as they fell, screams cut short as they struck the ground. As a group, Emmi and her friends bolted back into the tunnel that they arrived in, trying to escape the rain of corpses. The purple dragon dodged to the side, launching itself into the tunnel some thirty feet up off the floor of the shaft. It spun quickly, watching the bodies fall with a morbid curiosity. “Hrrruuuuk” It said as they fell.
Once the last one hit the ground, Hravi and Aggi emerged, followed by the others. The purple dragon leapt from it’s perch, coming down to flare it’s wings and alight on Emmi’s shoulder.
“A-Rawwwwwwwk” It called as it landed, curling is tail around her neck.
“You need a name.” She told it.
“Harrumph.” It harrumphed. She frowned at it, sure it understood exactly what she said. She glanced up the shaft at the opening where the vines led.
“Was there anything up there?” She asked it.
“Grrphth.” It replied. She sighed, “I’ll take that as a maybe.” She growled.
The only way out was onward. And upward.
Hravi took one look at the vines that stretched up to the opening and shook his head, “Aggi. ‘Elp me off wit’ this armor.” He growled. It wasn’t just about not having the strength to climb up that face with his armor on, but the sheer weight of his armor, combined with his own considerable weight.
“There’s no way them vines’ll ‘old me weight wit’ dis armor on.”
Aggi came over and started helping him doff his armor, down to his shirtsleeves. “Guess we’ll ‘ave t’ tie vines around ‘em and pull ‘em up one piece at a time.” She observed.
“Lookin’ that way.” He agreed. Between the two of them, the pieces came off him fairly quickly.
Emmi was looking up the wall to the opening that the vines led to. “I don’t like the idea of splitting up the party, but I think it’s the best way to handle this; just in case something hostile comes along, we don’t want only one person up there or down here.” She glanced around at her companions, “Hravi, Gil-Geferan, and Sangki up top, Malu, Aggi, and I will stay down here.” She glanced sideways at the little dragon on her shoulder, “You keep an eye out up there, with them.”
“A-Rawwwwwwwk” it said, launching off her shoulder.
Aggi went up first and made it up about half way before the vine she was climbing snapped, causing her to fall. She hit the ground hard, flat out, whooshing the breath from her lungs. Emmi and Gil-Geferan were at her side almost immediately. “Are you okay?” Emmi asked solicitously.
Aggi nodded slowly, arms and legs splayed as she laid still. “Ouch.” She groaned.
“Give her a minute.” Emmi told the others, “Sangki, Gil-Geferan; go on up. Aggi’ll be right behind you.”
“Easy for you t’ say.” Aggi moaned
“Get up, Aggi.” Hravi growled, “Ye ain’t bleedin’. Walk it off and hike on up there.”
“Stuff yerself, Hravi.” Aggi shot back, “I’ll get up in a sec.” She levered herself up into a sitting position, breathing as deeply as she could, rubbing her chest. “Ter, that ‘urt.” She swore, with a groan, she got up on her feet and looked up to the cave mouth where Sangki and Gil-Geferan were patiently waiting. Aggi grabbed a vine and tugged sharply on it a few times, then used it to climb up to the cave mouth, Sangki and Gil-Geferan helping her up. At the bottom, Emmi and Hravi were tying pieces of Hravi’s armor up in the vines so they could be pulled up while Malu kept on eye out on the passageway that led in. At the top, with the other three, the small dragon peered into the gloom of the passage they were in, keeping watch in that direction. There were quite a few pieces of armor to be pulled up, but individually they were fairly light and both Sangki and Aggi were hauling the pieces up; Sangki even faster than Aggi; the dwarf still seemed to be suffering a little from the aftereffects of her fall.
It didn’t take too long, and both Emmi and Malu climbed up the vines with almost no effort; Hravi was a little slower, but just as sure gripped as the two before him. Once he was at the top, he started putting his armor back on, again with help from Aggi.
Once he was fully armored up, they were ready to move out. The tunnel was natural stone and earth, the floor worn smooth by years of steady use. It was about eight to ten feet wide; definitely wide enough to go two abreast. Emmi was by Hravi in the lead, followed by Sangki and Gil-Geferan in the second row, and then Malu and Aggi in the rear. The small dragon rode Emmi’s shoulder comfortably, a low, endless croon coming from its throat. The passageway was long, winding steadily northwest.
It was at least four hundred feet long, and light was shining at the end of the tunnel. That made everyone slow, approaching far more cautiously.
Emmi raised a closed fist by her head, high enough for everyone to see. “Stop.” She commanded; they all did.
“Malu, go check it out.” She said.
Malu crept forward on padded paws, making absolutely no sound. She could smell the freshness of verdant growth coming from the mouth of the tunnel, and it invigorated her; Malu was no stranger to dark places and cramped confines, but she didn’t prefer them to be underground. It didn’t feel natural or right to her. She reached the mouth of the tunnel and was surprised by what she saw.
She was at the edge of a deep chasm. It was easily seventy feet across, a bridge of ropes and planks spanning the gulf. The chasm was at least five hundred feet long, dropped sheer a good three hundred feet, with the lip of the chasm another hundred feet or so above, where the cerulean sky was exposed. Across the chasm was an opening where the bridge led and the tunnel continued.
Above the tunnel opening, some forty feet above the tunnel entrance was another opening, this one leading to a ledge whose width Malu couldn’t guess, but she saw the movement of small green lizardfolk along the ledge. Some of them were fading in and out of sight; it seemed that they were capable of altering their coloration to blend in with the rocky backdrop. That may cause a problem; they were armed with bows and could render themselves well hidden. Gil-Geferan could hurl balls of flame that would probably sweep the creatures off the ledges, but would leave her equally open to counterattack if she wasn’t quick enough.
Malu was certain she wasn’t spotted, the creatures weren’t paying very much attention to where she was, or if they were, they simply weren’t able to see her. She was incredibly well versed in staying unnoticed. All of her people were.
Malu believed she’d seen enough and headed back to the others, giving a brief report on what she’d seen.
“How many of the lizards are there? And how far spread out are they?” Emmi asked.
“The ledge they’re on is about sixty feet long, and there’s at least ten of them up there.” Malu replied, “Maybe more, depending on whether or not they were hiding.”
“So we need to hit first and to hit hard.” Emmi stated. “Gil-Geferan, we’re going to get you up front and ready to launch your fireballs. What we need is a distraction that they won’t see as a danger, but will still grab their attention long enough for Gil-Geferan to get into position.”
“Hrrruk.” the small dragon said.
“You?” Emmi asked it.
“A-Rawwwwwwwk.” It replied.
“Okay, looks like we have a volunteer.” Emmi observed, “Fly out and up and make some noise, I guess.”
“Arrraugh.” It confirmed. The group got as close to the opening as they counld, making as little noise as possible. Hravi was toward the rear; he’d make too much noise and he didn’t move fast enough. Sangki and Malu had decided to try to make a dash across the bridge while Gil-Geferan was blasting away with her fireballs. That way, anything in the smaller tunnel could be dealt with, up close and personal.
“Ready?” Emmi asked the small dragon.
“Arraugh.” It replied, leaping off her shoulder and out into the chasm. “A-Rawwwwwwwwk!” it cried as it flew, shooting strait upward.
The lizardfolk watched it fly up, three of them loosing arrows at the new target, obviously bored with their assignment. While two of the arrows flew wide, one of the sharp eyed lizardfolk managed to nick the little dragon.
Its shout of pride was cut short as Gil-Geferan’s fireball ploughed into the wall of the chasm directly over him; it and four of its fellows were caught in the blast, launching the bodies off the ledge and into the chasm below. With her double winged crossbow, Aggi took one of the creatures out and wounded another badly. In the confusion, Sangki and Malu made it across the bridge, but they had problems of their own. Chained to the wall in the tunnel were a pair of large lizards that were guarding an off tunnel as well as the main tunnel. Sangki moved in quickly, Malu right behind her; Sangki landed two solid strikes against the creature that was the closer of the two, Malu striking with her rapier a split second later. Bleeding and badly wounded, the lizard landed a vicious, tearing bite on Sangki. Emmi took her chance, running across the rickety bridge, joining Malu and Sangki.
Two of the lizardfolk loosed arrows aimed at Gil-Geferan, both of them missing; in return she launched another fireball up at the ledge, flinging the three remaining lizardfolk off the ledge and out into the chasm; they bounced a few times off the rock walls as they plummeted to the bottom.
Hravi was next across the bridge, followed by Aggi.
The second of the lizards snapped its jaws at Emmi, who dodged out of the way neatly. Gil-Geferan was the last to cross the bridge.
Malu ran her sword into the wounded lizard in its right flank; it managed to do the same to Malu as it did to Sangki, whose wounds had already mostly sealed up.
Emmi attacked the unwounded lizard, mistiming her swing badly, managing to gash herself badly in the leg; Hravi saw this and moved up beside her, driving a wicked overhand chop with his axe into the creature’s back, distracting it from the wounded Emmi.
Sangki took two quick steps, then drove a heel into the side of the lizard that had bit her, the sharp retort of breaking bones heard from the creature’s side; it stayed standing for a long moment before the body realized the life had left, then it simply dropped in place.
The sigil on Aggi’s right gauntlet flared, and the blade was suddenly covered with a rime of frost, causing it to appear as if it was smoking in the day’s heat. She swung at the remaining lizard, but lost her footing on the uneven ground and almost carving into Emmi with her war-cleaver.
Sangki struck the remaining lizard in the side from where she was standing, her blow catching it between the ribs. Gil-Geferan hung back for the moment, ready to act if she felt it was necessary, but having faith in her team-mates to be able to handle a single wounded lizard, no matter how big it was, and Malu showed her that her faith was well placed; the tabaxi’s rapier caught it in the neck, driving the point in behind it’s jaw and out its mouth... the creature collapsed with a sigh.
Emmi had recovered from her failure and gave a look around to her surroundings, then moved farther down the tunnel. She looked at the small side tunnel that the lizards seemed to be chained in front of. “Malu,” she said, “Sangki; go up and make sure there’s nothing up there to come at us from behind when we’re not expecting it.
The two crept up the spiraling pathway that emerged on the ledge over the chasm. The only thing to be seen were small barrels of arrows and what looked to be bedding. “I don’t sense anything moving.” Sangki reported. Oddly, Malu noted her wounds were all but healed. It seemed strange to her, but there were many things about Sangki that were strange. She thought that maybe she should talk to Gil-Geferan and Emmi about it, later.
“Let’s go back down.” Malu advised. Sangki nodded and followed.
When they got back down into the main tunnel, the others were waiting patiently, watching both directions equally.
“Nothing.” Malu announced.
“Then let’s get going.” Emmi told them.
“Wait.” Sangki said, “Hravi, come here.” He did as told, and she reached out, her hands drifting over him as she murmured to herself; his wounds started closing as she poured some of her power into him. He wasn’t fully healed, but he was in much better shape than before. With a moment of thought, she decided that it would be better to make sure he was fully healed now than perhaps die from lack of healing later. She repeated the process on him, leaving him only with some scrapes. She then turned her attention to Aggi, pouring more healing energy into her. She had to apply two more first tier healings to bring Aggi to mostly healed, leaving her only lesser healings and one last first tier magic.
“I’m mostly out of healing, now.” Sangki announced. “I’m not sure if you want to continue, or perhaps fall back to a better position so that we may rest.”
“Keep going.” Emmi replied.
So they did.
The followed the tunnel for another hundred odd feet, until it opened up in a large ravine that led to the northeast; the ravine opened sharply, to about one hundred feet across. Directly in front of the group as they emerged was what appeared to be a natural amphitheater that stepped down in large concentric rings to the bottom of the ravine. Beyond was a screen of trees with a small path that led beyond.
In the middle of the amphitheater “stage” was a large throne like seat, made of what appeared to be bones and hardened clay. Standing to the right side of the throne was a po’e kanaka wearing studded leather armor, having a tail coming out from the small of his back. Thirty feet beyond the throne, facing it, was a snake-headed, snake armed humanoid in scale armor; to its left was what look liked a massive snake, curled up on itself, with powerful human arms. They all carried scimitars or falchions; the human armed snake po’e kanaka also had a heavy limbed long composite bow. It was that one that noticed the Emmi and her group first, pointing a finger that ended in a wicked nail in their direction; from the throne stood yet another of the po’e kanaka, this one mostly human but with green scales instead of skin, and long, angular features.
From the little dragon’s throat came a low, almost subsonic croon, invigorating Emmi and the others that not only heard it, but felt it vibrating along their nerves, making them all feel more capable, fiercer.
Malu was the first to move, charging headlong at the two po’e kanaka by the throne, with both Emmi and Sangki a split second behind her. The biggest of the po’e kanaka, the one that appeared as a snake with human arms, slithered forward some and hissed out a word, “Subcinctus!”
Suddenly, Malu was enveloped by a green glow… she let out a shout of surprise that trailed off into a gurgling hiss and her form rapidly shrunk, her limbs fusing to her body. By the time she landed, she had transformed into a small green snake, some eight inches long. Her clothing fell into a pile, her rapier bouncing across the dusty ground.
Emmi and Sangki didn’t have time for shock as they kept moving forward.
The po’e kanaka in scale armor hissed, “You cannot win! You must leave!” Emmi felt the force of eldritch compulsion behind the words, and she almost obeyed, then she thought of Malu and her anger spurred her forward.
The green skinned po’e kanaka directed her attention at Sangki, “Surrender!” She cried, and Sangki seemed as if hit by a physical blow, halting suddenly, passive as a lamb.
“Dammit!” Gil-Geferan snarled, changing her mind at the last minute. She wanted to cast an enchantment to increase the speed and prowess of her allies, but now it didn’t seem to matter nearly as much with two already out of the fight; then just as quickly, she changed her mind back.
“Festina!” she cried, and her magic emanated from her, wrapping around herself, the small dragon, Emmi, Aggi, and Hravi; giving them more speed and prowess in battle. The small dragon, still crooning, shot toward the small viper that was Malu, scooping her up in its talons. The sigil on Aggi’s left hand gauntlet flared, the shield hovering by her as she charged. Hravi was right beside her, his own shield held at the ready.
Emmi’s charge ended at the po’e kanaka that had been sitting on the throne, both her swords slashing the fine scales deeply, causing it to reel back. Aggi and Hravi reached the creature in studded leather at almost exactly the same time, Aggi’s war cleaver barely clipping it, Hravi missing completely.
Emmi set her feet in her favorite stance, sacrificing mobility for power; she directed a quick slash at the po’e kanaka she’d already struck, dealing a killing blow across the thing’s midsection; she turned her attention to the scale armored po’e kanaka. Her first cut caught it in the side, the second was a wicked slash across its neck. The thing recoiled, a hand going to its ruined throat, trying to stem the tide of blow gushing forth.
The scale armored po’e kanaka pointed at Hravi, “Sentio Timor!” A wave of dread hit Hravi full, but there was no fear in the dwarf; he’d not be pushed aside so easily. The rune on Aggi’s right gauntlet flared, and the blade of her war-cleaver rimed over with frost. She raised it up over her head and brought it down hard directly on the collarbone, snapping through bone and stopping at its breast-bone. Hravi’s axe finished off the po’e kanaka in studded leather, catching it right above the hip, folding the thing in half as it collapsed.
Gil-Geferan gestured, biting out the command word, a lance of flame shooting forth from her hand at the burly armed snake creature, the flame going wide.
The creature had its massive bow in its hands, arrow knocked, and loosing it at Gil-Geferan, followed up almost immediately by a second arrow; both missing their mark.
“Ferro Circumdantibus” Gil-Geferan murmured, a shimmering field of energy appearing around her. It wouldn’t stop the arrows, but it would make her less vulnerable to them. The creature launched another arrow at her, the field of energy deflecting its course enough to keep it from striking her.
The creature in scale armor next to it drew its scimitar with one of its snake-mouth hands, readying for hand to hand combat. Emmi, Aggi, and Hravi jumped over the bodies of the two po’e kanaka, running at the pair.
The human armed snake shifted targets, loosing an arrow at Emmi. The arrow slammed into her shoulder, staggering her as she ran, but she caught her balance and kept going. That was a brutal strike, and she knew she couldn’t take too many of those shots. She aimed herself at the creature, swords at the ready; but she misjudged its agility. Neither sword found their mark.
Hravi and Aggi aimed at the scale armored creature; both struck the creature in rapid succession. The creature swung its blade at Aggi, then tried to bury its fangs in Hravi; its efforts unsuccessful.
Emmi’s blade flashed, slashing the human armed po’e kanaka deeply. It dropped its bow and drew its scimitar, coiling quickly to strike at Emmi with its fangs, sinking them into her side, pumping her system with venom, she could feel the effects almost immediately, her body losing endurance badly.
The scale armored po’e kanaka swung it’s scimitar at Aggi a second time, again missing her badly. Gil-Geferan loosed an arrow at the human armed snake, missing it badly. Emmi lashed at it with both her swords, the blades skirling of its armored scales.
Hravi chopped the blade of his axe into the scale armored po’e kanaka, felling it in place. Aggi turned her attention to the remaining po’e kanaka, the largest and most dangerous. The sigil on her war-cleaver flared, and she struck. The scales around the wound frosted over, cracking like ice.
With its fangs still stuck in Emmi, the creature tried to loop its coils around her, dripping acidic slime on her; it burned through her clothes where it hit, smoldering painfully on her skin.
Aggi brought her war-cleaver down on the back of the thing’s neck, the black biting deep. She wrenched it out, bringing it down again, but this time her blow glanced off its scales. The thing jerked back, swinging its falchion at Aggi, missing poorly.
Gil-Geferan shot another arrow at the thing, again very wide of her mark.
The po’e kanaka swung its falchion, carving it into Emmi’s side… her body went boneless, standing for a few moments longer, then she fell.
Hravi roared, his first swing was too impatient, too reckless. It bounced off the creature’s scales; his second swing was better aimed, catching it between the eyes. There was a savage crunch of bone and thing let out a rasping gasp as it was driven to the ground.
Aggi moved fast, binding Emmi’s wounds after removing the arrow, halting her bleeding and making her comfortable as she could. She looked around, gaze settling on the little purple dragon, “Hey! Come here!” She called to it. It had been flying in small circles around the ground, Aggi noticing the low croon ceasing as it came to her, landing carefully on the ground near her feet. Aggi crouched, seeing exactly what she was looking for. The small green snake. “Malu?” She asked quietly. The small snake slithered over to Aggi, its tongue darting in and out of its mouth. Aggi put her hand down, and the snake crawled into her hand. “Are you in there?” it met her gaze with its own, as it recognizing the words.
“Oh, thank the gods.” Aggi breathed.
Hravi came over, looking down at the dragon, then the snake. “Kin ye ‘elp ‘er?” he asked.
“No.” Aggi said softly, “but it seems her mind is intact, which is a good sign. It’s possible this can be reversed.” Aggi replied.
Gil-Geferan had arrived, her bow slung over her shoulder, looking down and Malu, tears in her eyes, “Oh, Malu.” The snake turned to face her at her arrival, moving slightly in her direction. Gil-Geferan put out a hand, Malu slithering onto the palm of her hand. Gil-Geferan brought her up to the level of her face, “We’ll fix you.” She whispered.
Gil-Geferan cradled Malu gently in one hand, walking over to Sangki who had knelt down at some point, head bowed, waiting patiently for something only she knew. Gil-Geferan knelt down in front of her, “Sangki?”
“I surrender.” Sangki told her.
Gil-Geferan bit her lip, not knowing exactly what to do. She heard the approach of Aggi and Hravi; she could tell by their shadows that Hravi was carrying Emmi and the little dragon was perched on Aggi’s shoulder. She glanced back, noting that the little dragon was looking down at Emmi with what looked like concern in its reptilian features. “Hrrrruk.” It hiccupped.
Gil-Geferan took Sangki’s hand. “Come. We have to go.”
Sangki stood slowly, her eyeless gaze downcast. “I surrender.” She repeated.
“Okay,” Gil-Geferan agreed, “You surrender. But now you have to come with us.”
Sangki only nodded despairingly, following Gil-Geferan meekly. She shot another look over her shoulder, Aggi shrugged. Hravi’s look was one of disgust mixed with pity. Gil-Geferan led them back into the tunnels. She couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. They went as far back as the chasm, climbing the stair to the ledge. Not the most ideal place, but at least they’d have an idea if anyone was coming. One of them could stay on the ledge while the others stayed hidden on the spiral ramp.
Gil-Geferan knew there was magic to fix Malu’s condition, but she simply didn’t have access to the knowledge. She’d make it a point to find it, though. She wasn’t sure how long Malu would stay herself, but Gil-Geferan had to believe that she’d be okay.
Sangki was another worry, but Gil-Geferan was fairly sure that the enchantment wouldn’t last more than twenty-four hours. So as long as they didn’t have too many problems where they hid, Sangki would eventually come around. There was no healing without here, and while stable, Emmi needed the attentions of a healer. She had no idea how things got this bad, this fast. So many of her companions have already fallen; losing these two would break her heart. Emmi was the soul of the group, without her, there was no reason to continue on; once they’d found a way off the island, without Emmi, they’d go their separate ways. The small dragon was curled up by where Emmi lay. Hravi had put his pack under her head and laid her bedroll over her. The dragon rested its head across her stomach, a low purr emanating from it. It was a comforting sound.
“You’ve gotten rather attached to her…. But you need a name.” She scratched idly at her cheek, more in thought than in any need to scratch an itch.
“Hrrruk” it said,
“I think your name should be….” She frowned, “Sareumanthys.” She blinked at the name, because it definitely was not the name she hand in mind, but at the pronunciation of the name, the small dragon opened one eye. “Khessssh” It growled smugly, then closed it again.
“Couldn’t ‘ave named it Spot or summat?” Hravi growled.
Gil-Geferan shrugged, “It just came to me.”
Aggi was looking at the little dragon speculatively, but said not a word.
There wasn’t much speaking as they settled in, Gil-Geferan understanding that tonight might be very dangerous for them, because only three of them were in shape to fight. As night approached, Gil-Geferan settled in to get some sleep; Aggi did the same. Hravi was content to sit awake and watch the stars through the opening of the chasm. He’d always been more comfortable surrounded by earth and stone. Aggi, his cousin, was much better under the open sky than he, but the night sky was always a wonder to him. The uncountable stars. Were the gods looked down at him as he looked up? He was a dwarf, he believed in Moridin and Clanggeddin and Anwar. He even believed that Bannog the Sly existed; but he wasn’t convinced how much they cared. His people had been badly affected by centuries of war, wars that still raged in the Deep Earth; even though their most hated enemy, the Drow, had accepted peace. It was simple expediency. Hravi knew that the dark elves of Shaloth Eryndhlyn battled with the Svirfneblin of Gnosh Tarmryk and the Deeplings of Habbrilanik; the truce of his home, D’injak Cozanol with Shaloth Eryndhlyn had caused strained relations with those two other communities.
The Dark elves, from millennia of cruelty and abuse, had garnered enemies from all the races. Most of the once proud cities of the Drow had fallen as the wars of attrition took their toll. Only the elite warriors of such groups as Dalharen d’l’Orbb and the Axxegarth d’Venorsh kept the remaining Drow safe, by seeking out the leadership of their enemies and assassinating them. The Drow were certainly more numerous than the dwarves, but their sheer weight of enemies was staggering; and some of their once allies had turned on them.
He couldn’t lie to himself; he missed the constant struggle of survival in the Deep Earth. He was born for it. Trained for it.
But Aggi had wanderlust. She wanted to learn more. About everything. So he went with her, to guard her and keep her safe.
His first indication that something was wrong was when the dragon lifted its head and smelled the air. It slowly stood, moving slowly toward the tunnel mouth, a low pitched growl coming from its throat. Then Hravi heard it. Footsteps coming their way. “Wake ‘em!” He whispered to the little dragon as he gently picked Emmi up, cradling her as gently as he could. He moved her out onto the ledge and laid her down, then went back for the pack. Her bedroll was still draped over her.
By the time he was done, the small dragon had nipped at the hands of both Gil-Geferan and Aggi, bring them awake. Hravi put a finger to his lips, then pointed at his ear and then down the ramp. The two understood almost immediately. Gil-Geferan crossed over to Hravi, using a finger to draw a styled symbol of a bull on his forehead. The symbol glowed for a moment, then faded. “When you wish to trigger it, simply concentrate upon it and it will infuse you with strength.” She told him, “Just don’t wait too long, it’ll lose its potency.”
Aggi pulled one of the metal plaques out from the bandolier she wore, and gripped it in her hand, the light from it flaring shining through her fingers before she slid it back. She pulled up her war-cleaver in both hands, the sigil on her right gauntlet summoning the shield into existence.
Gil-Geferan summoned her own armor around her, the shimmering force a small comfort.
Quiet was out of the question for them, going down the ramp. Hravi made it impossible. So instead, they waited just inside the mouth by the ledge, waiting to see if any of them would come up to look around. Indeed, that’s exactly what happened. The sound of feet approached, and the three readied themselves for what was to come; Sangki kneeling by Emmi, rocking back and forth slightly.
From around the bend came six tall, muscular bipedal lizards, easily six and a half feet tall, and weighing in at around 200 pounds. They had long tails, and back bend legs. The backs and sides were a deep green color with white scales on the chest and stomach.
Each of them carried a shield that looked to be scaled hide stretched over a bone frame, and a stone tipped spear.
Hravi spun out from the niche where he was tucked into, bringing his axe around in a powerful arc, ending abruptly in the stomach of the closest of the lizard creatures, spilling out it’s entrails onto the rocky floor of the tunnel. The rune on Aggi’s war-cleaver flared momentary as she followed Hravi’s lead, nearly removing the creature’s left leg with the force of the blow.
Gil-Geferan stepped out, pointing and growling “Sphaera Ignis!”. The flaming, five foot diameter ball appeared in the midst of the last four; all four of them were badly burned, one mortally. The four screamed in agony and rage at the flames that charred their scales; two of the creatures targeted Hravi with spears and teeth, but his heavy armored brushed aside their attempts to harm him; Aggi and Gil-Geferan were both similarly attacked individually, with the same results.
The small sigil set into the holder on Aggi’s armor flared briefly, and she launched a swing at the creature attacking her, finishing off what the fiery sphere started. Hravi’s axe spilled the life of one of the two that were focused on him with a brutal back-handed blow. Gil-Geferan gestured to the fiery ball, and it rolled toward her, right up the back of the lizard creature that was attacking her, setting it ablaze. There was the sound of more creatures coming up the ramp, so both Aggi backed up tightly against the wall and Gil-Geferan started the ball spinning down the ramp. Hravi and the last of the lizard folk that were still up here exchanged blows without managing to harm each other unless Hravi delivered a brutal blow to the thing’s side.
As the ball rolled down the ramp as the other things came up. There were surprised shouts as the ball hit whatever it was that was coming up. A few moments later, two more of the lizardfolk came up the ramp, followed closely by a creature that looked like a giant rattlesnake, about eight feet long. It scales were in a diamond pattern, and it had snake-heads for hands; the rattle at the end of its tail was at least a foot long. The three of the rushed up the tunnel as they saw the two dwarves and elf; unaware that the giant flaming ball was coming back up the tunnel ramp behind them. All three showed signs of their first encounter with the thing, and the two lizardfolk were badly burned by it.
Hravi met the first lizard man as it came up, the two of them simultaneous in their attempts to kill each other. The lizard’s stone spear sheared off the chest plate of the dwarf’s armor; Hravi’s waraxe cleaving deeply into the lizard man’s scales, the creature staggering past with momentum, dead before it finally stopped. The flaming ball rolled up on the rattlesnake po’e kanaka, leaving burned smudges on its scale pattern; it moved to the side to avoid further contact, foiling its forward momentum.
Aggi ducked under a lunge from the remaining lizard man, bringing her war-cleaver up in an arcing uppercut, ripping it open from crotch to throat. She was already moving past it as it fell. Both Aggi and Hravi closed on the po’e kanaka; and both swung hard and struck deeply. Aggi connected a fierce blow to part of its tail, while Hravi caught it where its hips would’ve been had it had them.
“Certu Iactu!” Gil-Geferan spat, a pair of small, intensely bright oblong motes of energy, perhaps the size of robin’s eggs, struck the po’e kanaka dead center in the middle of its chest, killing it before it could even act.
The three of them looked around, then shared glances. “We can’t stay here.” Gil-Geferan murmured.
“Agreed.” Aggi said. Hravi shrugged noncommittally, as if he didn’t see any problem.
“Do we go forward, and hide in the woods we saw, or move farther back? Maybe to one of the side tunnels?”
“Woods.” Aggi declared, at almost exactly the same time Hravi said, “Tunnels.”
They looked across the space at each other, as if ready to argue.
“Aggi, get Sangki. Make sure Malu’s there.” Gil-Geferan said, “Hravi, you’re going to need to carry Emmi. We’re going forward, to the woods.”
Hravi grunted, but did as he was told, picking up first Emmi’s pack, then Emmi herself with the blanket still draped over her. Aggi helped Sangki to her feet, making sure that the blind girl was following as they walked. Gil-Geferan was in the lead, which wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done. She was almost out of magic; even if she wasn’t, being in the lead was not the best place for a mage but she wasn’t sure if Hravi would go where she wanted if he wasn’t following with Aggi behind him, pushing him along.
Before long, they exited the tunnel and arrived at the amphitheater, the bodies of the slain still where they lay. That wasn’t very smart. She told herself to remember to hide any corpses from now on.
They maneuvered up the long, gradual sloping steps that led to the forest beyond. They followed the trail for about fifty feet, then moved off of it to the south, toward the wall of the massive ravine. They continued heading east, coming across a well-hidden niche in the wall of the ravine.
“Wait.” Gil-Geferan said, looking at the low crack in the wall, “Aggi. Give it a look.” Aggi shrugged, letting Sangki’s hand go. “I surrender.” She said.
Aggi slid into the crack. It was fairly narrow, getting Emmi in here would probably take two people; one at her shoulders, the other carrying her ankles. She kept moving, the tunnel wending about fifteen feet, then the crack opened up into a rough chamber, maybe six or seven feet in diameter. It would be an incredibly tight fit, but the five of them would fit.
As she emerged, she was met by expectant looks on the faces of Aggi and Gil-Geferan. “It opens up to a really small chamber; it’s not much, but we’d all fit. It’s gonna be tight, though.”
“Good enough.” Gil-Geferan said, letting out a breath.
“Lead Sangki.” Aggi said, “Hravi and I are going to need to carry Emmi the long way.” With a little maneuvering, Aggi got a hold of Emmi’s ankles and Hravi took her by the shoulders. Gil-Geferan led Sangki by the hand and brought her to the far end of the small cavern. Sangki settled onto her knees, hand on her thighs, head down; she didn’t seem interested in what the others were doing. Aggi and Hravi laid out a bedroll and put Emmi onto it, tucking her pack under her head. Once done, Gil-Geferan, Aggi, and Hravi laid out bedrolls and settled in. Malu crept out of Gil-Geferan’s pocket, testing the air with her tongue. Gil-Geferan lifted her and placed her on Emmi’s chest. “Don’t go far, Malu. None of us want to step on you.” Malu coiled up in a circle and laid her head down, tongue constantly darting in and out of her mouth.
Hravi took out a sharpening stone and started working the nick out of the blade of his axe; moments later, Aggi did the same thing, sharpening her war-cleaver. Gil-Geferan was sitting cross legged, leaning her back against the wall of the small cavern. Sareumanthys took one look at Malu on Emmi’s stomach and huffed, crossing the floor to climb up on Gil-Geferan’s lap. Almost of their own accord, her hands moved to stroke the scales of the small dragon; a low, comforting purr vibrating its chest. The sound was soothing, and Gil-Geferan knew it would lull her to sleep.
“I’ll take first watch.” Gil-Geferan announced.
Aggi took one look at the elf and tucked her stone away, laying her war-cleaver within reach and laid on her back, throwing an arm over her eyes. Hravi kept working on his axe blade for another ten minutes or so, then he worked on removing his armor. He gave a sour look over to Aggi, who usually helped him out of his armor, but he managed on his own. Hravi laid down and faced the wall, his axe within reach.
Gil-Geferan didn’t know if Sangki was awake or asleep. She was worried about her friend. Sangki always seemed so strong-willed and sure of herself, and now she could barely act on her own. She knew there was a way to counteract this magically; same for Malu. She almost wanted to cry, when it came to Malu’s change. She didn’t have the knowledge to help her, but she’d figure out a way; and if Sangki didn’t recover, she’d figure out a way to fix them both. She just didn’t know how, yet.
It was something that kept her awake for more than a few hours, but she knew she needed to sleep soon. She didn’t really want to move Sareumanthys though; the little dragon seemed very comfortable. She nudged him a little bit. He snorted, his purr momentarily interrupted, then he settled back in and started purring again.
She nudged him again, “Hey. You.” She said. It lifted its head, turning to face Gil-Geferan.
“So if I take a nap, will you be able to wake me if you think anything might come in the cave?” Gil-Geferan asked him. That was odd. Suddenly, she knew it was a ‘him’. She frowned, looking at the little dragon. He returned her gaze, blinking slowly, glancing at the cave mouth then back at her. She knew he’d alert her if he heard anything, and she trusted that he would, so she leaned back, settled in, closed her eyes and let his soft purr help her drift off into sleep.
When she woke, Aggi and Hravi were still asleep. Sangki was in a fetal position on the ground, and Sareumanthys was still in her lap. She could tell by his breathing that he was still awake. She glanced over to Emmi, whom looked a little healthier; she’d lost the deathly pallor of the day before. Malu was still curled up on her stomach.
“I gotta get up, little one.” She told Sareumanthys, “I shouldn’t’ve slept sitting up. I’m going to pay for it today.”
The small dragon dutifully got up and moved off her lap so she could stand up. He arched and stretched her back, her hands at the small of her back to help stretch. “I feel old, Saru.” She murmured. The dragon looked up at her, with what she could’ve sworn was a sardonic look on his face.
She shrugged, “Sareumanthys is a nice name, but I’m not going to spill out all those syllables every time I want your attention.”
Sareumanthys snorted and turned away from her, heading over to the sleeping Sangki.
“How fast they turn.” She joked. Sareumanthys snorted again, but it sounded amused.
Gil-Geferan sat back down, easing her tome out of her backpack, flipping through the pages to etch the arcane recipes in her memory. Sareumanthys was sitting in front Sangki, who was still in a fetal position on the floor. He stretched out, and licked her nose. She twitched a little in her sleep; he did it again. She moaned half awake, then sat bolt upright. Her hands went up to her forehead, rubbing as if she had a headache. “That… was… terrible…” She groaned.
Sangki’s voice almost snapped Gil-Geferan out of her study, but she held her concentration.
Sangki’s head swiveled in Gil-Geferan’s direction, and the pale girl seemed to detect the position and concentration of the elf; she said nothing further, finally feeling herself. It was a nightmare to her, wanting only to give up; burying her instinct to fight. She never wanted to go through that again.
She stood up, careful not to hit her head on the low ceiling. Her eyeless gaze took in both Aggi and Hravi; then she turned her attention to Sareumanthys. “I feel better.” She told him.
“Arrrughk.” He replied.

[chaingunsamurai]

Hravi woke slowly, rolling onto his back, looking up and seeing Sangki standing over him. “Well. Look who’s back.” He murmured.
She gave him a wry look. “Yes. And it took long enough.” She admitted.
“It’s okay lass, coulda ‘appened to any o’ us. Don’t let it get ye down.” Hravi sat up, elbows on his knees, combing his fingers through his beard.
He levered himself to his feet taking to steps to Aggi and nudging her a few times in the ribs with his boot, “Wake up; I need ye ‘elp wit’ me armor”
Aggi grunted and shook herself awake. “What even, Hravi.” She growled, “Did you wake me just to help you armor up?” her tone was incredulous; his look was one of surprised innocence, “Well… yeah.” He replied.
“You’ve lost your damn mind, boy.” She snapped, “You’re on your own.”
“Oh, c’mon now… serious, then?” Hravi replied. He frowned down at her for several minutes, realizing that she wasn’t going to get up. He grumbled, turning around to put on his own armor. It took him a good fifteen minutes, but he completed the job. By then, Gil-Geferan had finished her studying for the morning and got up, crossing the distance to Sangki and pulling her in for a hard hug. “I was so worried, Sangki. I thought you weren’t going to recover.”
Sangki looked slightly abashed, as if it didn’t occur to her that others might be worried, “I’m okay, Gil-Geferan. Thank you.” After an awkward moment, Sangki hugged her back, with real affection. “Thank you.”
They let each other go, and Gil-Geferan looked at Sangki for a lingering moment; she could tell that Sangki’s attention was focused on her, as well. Sareumanthys landed on Gil-Geferan’s shoulder, breaking the moment; and also reminding her. “Sangki, Emmi’s hurt pretty badly; she needs your help.”
Sangki’s head tilted as she concentrated on the room, walking over to where Emmi lay with certainty. She knelt down, running her hands up and down Emmi about three inches from actually touching her. “Let me focus, and then I can help her.” She said.
Sangki went back to where she had slept, kneeling down, hands in front of her with her left fist covered by her right hand. She bowed her head and stayed that way for around a half an hour and then straitened: “Okay, I’m ready.”
She went back over to Emmi and kneeled down, again running her hands up and down Emmi’s sleeping form. Now there was a slight luminescence to her hands as she did, and some of her wounds closed. She repeated the process several times until Emmi was almost completely healed; then she stood up and walked back to the rear of the cave and sat down slowly; she looked drained. “I think we should stay here for the day.”
There was a sharing of looks between the other three that were awake. Sareumanthys found a place in Sangki’s lap, perching on her thigh and settling in. Much like Gil-Geferan, Sangki’s hands went to Sareumanthys’ scales, rubbing them idly. She didn’t even seen to realize she was doing it.

The five of them stayed more or less in the cave, along with Sareumanthys and Malu; the two reptiles moved around more. Hravi was a warrior; he knew how to rest. Waiting was part of being a warrior. Waiting for the right time. He was sharpening his axe and checking his armor while he could; Aggi was doing much the same.
The alternated keeping watch overnight, and then once they decided it was time to go, they packed up their things and left their little sanctuary. As they emerged and started heading closer to the path, it was Emmi that saw it first, Emmi and then Gil-Geferan.
“What is that?” Emmi asked.
“Looks like a shack of some sort.”
Emmi nodded. It was a shack, to the north-northwest. It looked small, weathered, and windowless.
“Check it out?” Emmi asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.” Gil-Geferan agreed, “It’s better than having possible enemies behind us.”
Emmi drew her swords, and moved closer as quietly as she could; Gil-Geferan and Sangki followed. Aggi and Hravi came up behind them, carefully. Emmi suddenly stopped, there was movement up ahead by the shack. She frowned, looking at the Gil-Geferan and Sangki, “Wait.” She whispered, “Movement.”
The other two stopped moving. Emmi glanced back at Aggi and Hravi and held up a hand to let them wait. Aggi’s shield flared into existence.
“Sangki and I are going to go up there and hit whatever’s there. Gil-Geferan, you wait until we’re engaged… and then Hravi and Aggi will come up right after us to give us back up.”
“One second, “Gil-Geferan warned, then “Festina.” She said, and Emmi immediately felt an energy start coursing through her veins; and Sareumanthys began his low frequency croon that further thrilled Emmi’s nerves, and she felt even further energized. She whispered a quick prayer to Kareevan, to help her guide her blows and to make them clean and true.
“Let’s go.” She told Sangki.
The two of them moved fast, Gil-Geferan right behind. Even Aggi and Hravi were moving much faster.
Emmi and Sangki broke out into a small open area that the shack sat squarely in the middle of. There were four snake-headed po’e kanaka with snakes for hands. They were heading to the northeast.
Emmi and Sangki charged after them, Gil-Geferan running more cautiously. Aggi and Hravi passed her. As Sangki ran, she became enveloped in an odd, shadowy aura that seemed to obscure her in its depths.
The creatures turned, hearing the sound of the dwarf in heavy armor clanging their way. Emmi and Sangki were already on them. Emmi’s blades sunk hilt-deep in the chest of the po’e kanaka to the far left. She put her booted foot on its scaled chest and pushed it off her blade only then realizing that its fangs had punctured her bicep, she could already feel its effect, her strength draining from her. Sangki struck the one on the far right, leaping with a knee thrust forward to land square in the middle of the thing’s chest, her fist came down as she did, but her aim was wide of its mark; the thing bit at her with its snake hands, but she eluded the strikes as she came down, in front of him, her knee having driven him back
The one to its left focused on her, striking as quick as any viper, but to its surprise, Sangki was even faster, dodging the incoming attacks with ease.
Emmi was bitten again by the remaining po’e kanaka, but the venom didn’t seem to be affecting her; moments later a lance of flame struck the thing, a second blast of flame striking the second po’e kanaka that struck at Sangki. Gil-Geferan was secretly pleased both of her blasts struck home; while not incompetent, she often missed more than she hit with such spells.
The creature struck last turned to the source of the burning blast, only to be confronted with the image of a very heavily armed dwarf bearing down on it, brandishing a wickedly sharp looking axe. Little did it know, at that exact moment, that the dwarf would be the last thing it ever saw as the axe buried itself in the thing’s scaled body.
Aggi blind-sided the po’e kanaka that was focused on Emmi, ripping it open with a chopping swing of her cleaver.
The only one left was the one that was facing Sangki. It took one look at its surroundings and fell to its knees. “Mercy, masters…” it begged.
“I got yer mercy right ‘ere.” Hravi growled, bringing his axe down hard in an overhand swing. Hravi ripped the axe free, and made sure the thing was dead, delivering a second brutal blow to the prone creature.
“I don’t feel so good.” Emmi announced, looking drawn and weak.
“We have to get her back to the cave.” Gil-Geferan observed.
“Not yet. Let’s ‘ave a peek in that shack first.” Hravi said.
“Agreed.” Seconded Aggi.
Sangki shrugged, “May as well. Just keep Emmi to the rear.”
The shack was longer than it first looked, maybe fifteen feet wide, and thirty feet long.
Hravi led the group to the door and noticed there was a massive bar on it, on the outside. He shrugged the bar out of its brackets and had Gil-Geferan open it for him. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the sudden dark, but the first thing he was dark skinned human male, wrists bound by ropes set in opposite walls of the shack by iron ring, about half way down the length of the shack. The man was hanging in air, shoulders knotted against the pain of the opposing sources of pressure. Beyond him, in the gloom, Hravi made out the shape of probably the biggest snake he’d ever seen. It had to be at least thirty feet long, coiled on itself, and larger around than his waist.
“Gil-Geferan! Get ‘im down!” Hravi yelled, “We’ll get this lil beastie!” Then he charged forward.
“Hravi! Wait!” Aggi yelled, then with an exasperated sigh, she followed him. Sangki was right beside her, ducking under the rope that held the man.
Hravi was there first, but he either mistimed or misjudged his blow, his axe’s blade barely making a dent in the thing’s scales. Aggi’s blow struck true, opening an angry red gash in the thing’s side. As she stepped back, her small shield popped into existence as the sigil flared. Sangki launched herself into the air, her heel slamming into one of the thing’s coils, then she drove a hard punch into the same spot.
It struck at Hravi, biting him and holding on, squeezing his upper thigh in its powerful mouth
Sangki struck twice at the back of its head, missing the first shot completely, but striking Hravi instead “Yer not ‘elping!” he snarled at her.
Her second punch almost as wild as the first. Hravi raised his axe, bringing it down as hard as he could, catching the creature in one of its massive coils that were uncoiling, getting ready to engulf him.
The sigil on Aggi’s war cleaver flared as she brought it down on the thing’s scales. An etchwork of black filaments crept out from where the weapon gashed into the scales.
As the massive snake started looping its coils around Hravi, the dwarf positioned in axe between himself and the snake’s muscular body, preventing it from constricting, it had to loosen its grip and try again. Sareumanthys took to wing from where he was on Emmi’s shoulder as she went to join her allies in what might be considered a loping jog. Sareumanthys circled the creature as he crooned, inspiring his allied to fight harder, stronger. Gil-Geferan cut the last of the ropes, catching the man as best she could as he fell, laying him on his back, and standing to ready another spell to aid her friends.
Hravi brought his axe up and down hard, aimed at the snake’s coils, but his blow was poorly aimed, and deflected by the thing’s scales. Emmi adjusted her stance to sacrifice mobility for more power and launched two powerful strikes; both opening massive gashes in the coiled body of the massive snake, ichor oozed from the wounds and the thing started to try to get away instead of stay and fight. None of them liked the idea of such a huge creature roaming around.
Sangki leapt up and brought a fist down to the side of its head, and the entire length of it shuddered once and collapsed in on itself.
As soon as Gil-Geferan saw that the creature was motionless, she bent down to help the dark-skinned man up, “Help me!” she called, and Aggi came running. Hravi kept an eye on the reptile for one more minute before going over to his allies. Sangki had already moved to Emmi’s side, who seemed to be weak but not nearly as weakened as the man they’d just rescued.
“We have to get out of here.” Gil-Geferan announced.
“Back to the cave.” Emmi replied, her voice a little thin with effort.
“I supposed it’s the best decision.” Gil-Geferan conceded.
“It is.” Hravi agreed, “If we’re gonna ‘ave wounded wit’ us. It’s a good, defensible spot an’ they can only come one at a time. I’ll put myself against any one o’ them any day of the week, one on one.
“Aggi, lead the way” Emmi told her. As they were leaving the shack, Sareumanthys landed on Gil-Geferan’s shoulder, the one that Emmi was leaning on.
After a moment, Gil-Geferan slid a hand in her pocket, feeling Malu piled up in its interior. She wasn’t sure how comfortable the deep pocket was, but Malu wasn’t complaining; or at least, she wasn’t trying to get out.
They returned to the crevice in the wall that led to the cave, and Aggi stepped to the side, letting the others pass her as she watched the surrounding area. Once the last of them were past her, she followed them in. By the time she got in, Hravi was already stripping his armor off. Emmi eased herself to the floor, and the black skinned warrior was laid where Sangki was laid down the night before.
Aggi seemed to be considering something, “I think I can undo what was done to Malu, but I need some time to get myself together.”
Gil-Geferan looked up, “Really?”
Aggi nodded, “Yes. Let me work on it.”
They all settled in, Aggi pulling out a few of her metal plaques and her paints and sat down cross-legged, dabbing her brush in her paint and drawing a sigil on the metal plaque. She took her time, drawing each line carefully, filling in the blanks that need to be filled, and then she added another color, and then another. Then, she placed her hand on it, pouring some of her will into the sigil, and it etched itself into the metal.
The process took several hours, and everyone but Gil-Geferan and Sangki were asleep. The black skinned warrior hadn’t woken yet; he looked extremely weak even though he had very few wounds. The wounds he had were inflamed puncture marks; bites from the po’e kanaka.
Aggi sat up strait, stretching her back, hands at the small of her back, letting out a low groan.
Gil-Geferan had the snake that was Malu in her hands, and she was speaking softly to it. Aggi realized the small dragon was on her shoulder. She didn’t remember it landing, but there was a soft, rumbling purr in its chest that gave her a boost of confidence that she wasn’t even aware she was feeling until she turned her attention away from the sigil. She had another idea, for a new one, but she needed the time to make it.
Malu came first. “Gil-Geferan, hand her to me.”
Gil-Geferan handed her over gingerly, and Aggi took her carefully; cupping her in her hand, the sigil in the other and she imagined Malu. Her tiger striped skin, and her golden-slitted eyes.
She pushed her will into the sigil and it flared, the energy passing into Malu.
The snake shivered, and thrashed for a moment, then it started getting larger and fatter; fur sprouting from it as the scales receded. Arms and legs were distinguishable, then a furred face. The transformation was quick, and moments later, Malu was once again herself.
She laid there, reaching a hand up to Aggi, who took it. Gil-Geferan took her other hand. “Welcome back, Malu.”
“Thank you,” She said, “Thank you…” She seemed weak right now, and Gil-Geferan leaned down to take her in an embrace. “I’m glad you’re back, Malu.”
“So am I.” She agreed. “Gods, that was terrible. Knowing that I was who I was in that body.” She let out a slow breath; her eyes damp, her gaze flicking from Aggi to Gil-Geferan. She already had an idea where she was; things were a little foggy, but she remembered enough.
“Thank you, Aggi.” She repeated.
“Of course.” Aggi replied, her own voice thick.
Gil-Geferan was sniffling and wiping her eyes, little laughs escaping her. She took Malu’s hand in both of hers, rubbing the back and feeling the tawny fur.
“Help me up.” Malu told them.
“Are you sure?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“Yes. I’m sure.” Malu replied.
Gil-Geferan and Aggi pulled her up into a sitting position. Malu bent her knees and rested her elbows on them. “I’m going to have to get used to not being carried around anymore. Thank you, Gil-Geferan.”
“Of course, Malu. We didn’t want to lose you. None of us did.” Gil-Geferan told her. “But you should get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot.”
“I will, in a bit.” Malu replied. “I want to enjoy my skin for a while.”
“It’s almost time to wake Hravi.” Gil-Geferan observed, “You should get some sleep too, Aggi.”
“Not yet. I have something else I need to get done before I do.” She informed them, bending back down to her metal plaques and paints. It was the same process as the last one, yet with a different sigil, with different colors.
When she was done, several hours later, she reached back to her double winged crossbow and took the sigil that was placed in the bracket on the stock, putting the new one in. She sat up from her work, Gil-Geferan and Hravi were the only ones awake; Gil-Geferan still holding Malu’s hand.
Gil-Geferan was awake when the tribesman started coming around; he was only semi-conscious, covered in sweat and mumbling incoherently. Quickly, she rose and fished through her backpack, pulling out a bandanna that she kept there. She grabbed her waterskin and dampened the cloth, pressing it to the tribesman’s forehead, making small shushing noises as she did. He settled a bit, whether at her touch or her voice she didn’t know. While the others slept, she sat by his side, occasionally dampening the cloth at intervals to keep it cool and pressing it to his forehead. The poison in him seemed to be receding, but it still had control of his body.
It was to this, that Malu woke up to. She opened her eyes slowly, sitting up and flexing her fingers, looking at them as if surprised she had them. She’d been a snake for a while, after all. She had to check her body to make sure she was herself again. She got up quietly, padding over to where Gil-Geferan was; Gil-Geferan started in surprise, unaware that Malu had even awoken.
“How is he?” Malu asked.
“I don’t really know.” Gil-Geferan replied. “Maybe Sangki can give us a better idea when she wakes up. We don’t know how much venom he has in him, and those things deal a nasty dose. If he pulls out of it, I’ll be impressed.”
Malu sat down cross-legged, taking the waterskin and placing it in her lap. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know.” Gil-Geferan replied. “Probably off the coast of Chult, if I had to make a guess.”
“Yes.” Malu agreed, “It sort of looks like it… but it’s not anywhere I recognize.”
“Chult’s a big place.” Gil-Geferan observed.
“True. But still, there’s always a certain familiarity to me, when I’m home.” Malu told her, “And this… it feels off.”
“Have you ever come across these kinds of creatures?” Gil-Geferan asked.
Malu nodded, “I’ve heard the tales. We call the Po’e Kanaka… ‘snake people’ and leave it at that.”
“Apt description.” Gil-Geferan observed laconically.
There was a groan behind them as Hravi slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and running his hands down his beard to straiten it out somewhat. He blinked more than a few times, his eyes slowly focusing on Malu and Gil-Geferan. “How is he?” It came out ‘Owizee’.
“Alive.” Gil-Geferan replied, “Responding somewhat to a cloth to the forehead. He’s got a nasty fever, and he’s covered in sweat. I’m not sure if he’ll pull through.”
“One less mouth t’ feed.” Hravi grunted. They both turned slowly to give him a stare. “What?” he said, nonplussed.
Malu snorted and shook her head while Gil-Geferan let out a sigh. “ANYWAY.” She said.
Hravi levered himself out of his sleeping roll and opened his pack for a rag, shining the pieces of his armor before he got around to putting them on. He’d wait for Aggi to wake up to help him.
“When we heading out? He asked. His accent hid both the ‘h’ and ‘g’, making him sound like he said ‘edding’.
“Depends on him.” Gil-Geferan answered, motioning to the tribesman.
“Oi. Jus leave ‘im a skin a water and leave ‘im. ‘E’s dead weight, anyway.” Hravi growled. He’s moved past his armor at this point, taking a sharpening stone to the edge of his war axe, working on a particularly nasty notch in the blade. He was frowning with concentration, not really paying attention to the other two; the sound of the scraping woke up Sareumanthys, who slowly uncoiled from where he lay on Emmi’s chest, stretching his forelegs before arching his back, reminiscent of a feline. He blinked owlishly a few times, flapping his wings before settling them against his scaled body. He regarded each of them with a stare, his serpentine eyes seemingly missing nothing.
At the movement of the little purple dragon, Emmi’s eyes opened up. She scooped up Sareumanthys in both hands as she sat up, putting him in her lap, sitting cross-legged as Malu was.
Sareumanthys managed to look somewhat indignant at the removal of his perch and snorted disdainfully as he got up and settled on Sangki’s thigh as she lay in a fetal position. He put his head down on his crossed paws and regarded the others with narrowly slitted eyelids
Emmi stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Gil-Geferan. “How is he?” she asked, gesturing obliquely toward the tribesman.
“We’re leavin’ ‘im soon as everyone gets their arses up.” Hravi informed her.
“What!?” Emmi exclaimed.
“Shut up, Hravi.” Malu growled, “we are not. We’re waiting for Sangki to wake up and have a look at him.”
“I’m awake.” Sangki declared, moving a hand to pet the scales of the small dragon on her thigh. “But I’m not sure that’s the right word.”
“Wot, cuz you got no eyes?” Hravi asked.
Gil-Geferan shot him a hard stare.
“No need to get worked up, Gil-Geferan.” Sangki noted, “it’s true enough… and I don’t need eyes to see.”
Gently, she lifted Sareumanthys off her thigh before sitting up. She put him down next to her and adjusted the cloth strip over where her eyes should have been and got up, moving over to the other side of the tribesman, across from Gil-Geferan and Malu. Sareumanthys grunted and stalked huffishly over to Aggi, climbing on top of her to curl up with one eye open.
Sangki ran her hands up and down the tribesman’s body, her palms hovering perhaps an inch away from his skin. After she was done, she sat back on her heels, her face crunched up in a moue. “I can’t really do much for him but make him more comfortable. I have a few things in my kit that culd bring the fever down, but I don’t have anything on me to rid him of the poison. We’re just going to have to wait.”
“Or we could leave ‘im.” Hravi suggested.
“NO.” Four throats echoed simultaneously in the small chamber.
Hravi looked to each of them, who were all at this point staring at him in irritation, harrumphed loudly and then continued to sharpen his ask.
“What’s all the fuss?” Aggi asked from her bedroll, obviously awakened by the others.
“Hravi.” Gil-Geferan snorted.
“Shut up, Hravi.” Aggi growled at him.
“Ya don’t even know what I said.” He complained.
“Don’t need to. I know you. You could irritate a stone.” Aggi replied.
Hravi harrumphed again, defeated for the moment.
“So what do we do?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“We wait.” Sangki told her. (this bringing another loud harrumph from Hravi)
“Louder, Hravi.” Aggi told him, “I don’t think they heard you in Waterdeep.”
“We wait.” Sangki repeated more sternly, “until he comes around. We can’t leave him here, defenseless.”
“And we might need to move.” Emmi pointed out. “If any of these things can track by smell, we’re stuck.”
Malu shrugged, “If that’s the case, no matter where we go, they’ll track us.”
“I think there’s some herbs we can use to confuse trackers.” Sangki offered, “Oh, they’ll know which direction we’re headed most likely, but there’s some blisteringly painful herbs I have, if you happen to inhale them.”
“We haven’t been located yet.” Aggi pointed out. “If they were even looking.”
Emmi nodded, “So we put someone out by the mouth of the cave, keep an eye out for enemies; we stay in here until our friend here comes out of it.”
“Saru…” She called, the dragon’s one open eyed gaze focusing on her, “Care to take a look around for food? And bad guys?”
The little dragon huffed, but got up and made a show of stretching again before nodding and heading out of the mouth of the cave.
Aggi got up, “I’ll watch the cave mouth. I’ll probably put a few runes there, too.” And she followed Sareumanthys down the narrow cleft that led to the valley beyond.
Within a few hours, Emmi went out the narrow tunnel to join Aggi on watch as well as get some fresh air. Sareumanthys was perched on a rock nearby, preening himself carefully. He lifted his head for a moment to acknowledge Emmi’s arrival, then went back to his preening.
“How’s the new guy?” Aggi asked solicitously.
“No change.” Emmi replied. “Which I guess could be considered good.”
Aggi slanted a glance her way. “Oh, how so? She asked.
“Because he’s not getting worse.” Emmi replied. Sareumanthys let out a little snort at that.
“I swear he can understand us.” Aggi observed.
“I’m sure he can.” Emmi replied. “I think, and I’m not one hundred percent sure… but I think he’s a pseudodragon.”
Aggi considered that while studying the little purple dragon. “I’ve heard about them, but I’ve never seen one up close.” She admitted.
Emmi followed Aggi’s gaze. “Me, either.” She agreed. “Pretty neat, huh?”
Sareumanthys raised his head to give them both an even stare before pointedly turning around so his tail was facing them. Aggi and Emmi shared a laugh for a moment. Emmi was looking around, biting her bottom lip. “Where do you think we are?”
Aggi let out a barking laugh, “You’re asking me? I was raised in an underground city. I know next to nothing about the surface.”
Emmi shook her head at her own question. “Sorry… so, what’s it like, you know.. living underground?”
“Quiet.” Aggi replied. “and still.” There was a little bit of wonder in her eyes as she looked around. “It’s so bright up here. So many colors. And so many new sounds. I’ve never gotten used to the feel of a breeze… and water falling from the sky? Who’d of thought…”
It was funny, all the things that Emmi took for granted. “I never thought of it that way. I’ve never really been underground. My earliest memories were of working in the Inn… and then Matsu took me away from all that.”
“Matsu?” Aggi prompted.
“A sword priest of Kareevan.” Emmi replied, “He adopted me, sort of. Became my Sensei. Trained me in the sword, and in communing with our god. We’re called Battle Saints.” There was a note of pride in her voice as she said it. She’d achieved her swords and had been given her acknowledgement in the ranks of the Battle Saints.
“A war god?” Aggi asked; There was approval in her tone, and some respect.
“Sort of.” Emmi replied. “Kareevan is all about skill at arms… not necessarily war, but facing challenges and overcoming them. He’s called the Prince of Swords.”
Aggi mulled that over for a few minutes, then shrugged. “Close enough.”
The two of them went back to watching the surrounding area, Sareumanthys occasionally taking to wing for a more long-range view. He took to curling up on Emmi’s lap to catnap for an hour or so.
Around noon, Gil-Geferan emerged from the tunnel. “His fever’s broke.” She announced.
Emmi felt an immense sense of relief for some odd reason. She’d never met him before, didn’t know what kind of person he was, or what his story was; but he was a living being that was in danger, and he came through safely. “Is he awake?” She asked.
“No.” Gil-Geferan replied, “But still, it’s a good sign… oh, and Sangki made food.”
Aggi and Emmi both perked up at that. Emmi didn’t realize she was as hungry as she was.
“What she make?” Emmi asked, her stomach rumbling.
“Magic.” Gil-Geferan replied.
Emmi frowned, having ate that sort of thing before. The spell created a porridge like paste that had almost no flavor, although Matsu had certain spices he used to add flavor; the idea of ‘flavor’ to a Jen’ju’roh was just to add more spices to it until you felt you were building a bonfire in your belly. Still, she knew that the stuff the spell made was both nourishing, and more importantly, it was filling. She made a face as she lifted Sareumanthys off her lap and set him down, standing up to arch her back in a stretch. She’d been sitting for hours and her muscles were tight.
She made here way back into the small cave and looked around, locating the light metal bowls they usually used for food and picked two up, along with a couple metal spoons.
“Hravi.” She called. “When you’re done, let Aggi have a break from being on watch.”
Hravi grunted noncommittally as he spooned food into his mouth. Emmi shook her head and went back out, handing a bowl and spoon to Aggi.
“Thank you.” Aggi said, taking the bowl. She ate a few bites and grimaced.
“Better than going hungry.” Emmi offered, swallowing a few mouthfuls of her own gruel.
“True.” Aggi agreed.
They ate in companionable silence for about a half an hour, until Hravi finally showed up. At his arrival, Sareumanthys took to wing, flying off into the sunlight.
“What’s ‘is problem?” Hravi grunted.
“You stink.” Aggi told him bluntly.
“Izzat all?” Hravi shot back with a grin, “Ain’t got time fer no weak bellies.”
Aggi let a little laugh. She cleaned her bowl out with her spoon and got up, heading back into the cave. Emmi stayed outside, but Hravi didn’t seem interested in talking. Emmi wasn’t sure she minded the silence all that much.
it was about fifteen minutes later when Sareumanthys returned with colorful plumage sticking out of his mouth. The remains of some island bird, no doubt. There was blood on his muzzle and fangs.
“I’ll give ye a gold coin if ye fetch me one o’ them.” Hravi told him, suddenly.
Sareumanthys appeared to be considering it… then with a bob of his head, he turned and took off again.
“I’ll be damned.” Hravi murmured.
“Hope you have the gold.” Emmi pointed out.
“Eh? Ye think ‘e’ll expect to collect?” Hravi asked curiously.
“He’s a dragon.” Emmi replied, as if that was all the answer needed.
“Hrmph.” Hravi grunted, pulling his pouch out off his belt, pulling out a large gold coin. “Well, I made a deal wit’ ‘im. I intend to ‘onor it.”
Emmi glanced over to Hravi, her respect for him went up a few notches. “Good.”
It took about twenty minutes, but the little dragon returned with a what looked like a rabbit in his claws. He backstroked his wings to break his momentum and released the rabbit a foot over Hravi, the furry corpse landing in Hravi’s lap. The dwarf didn’t seem to mind the blood. “Aye, that’s a good lil dragon.” He commented.
Sareumanthys landed, folding his wings, gaze locked on Hravi. “Hrrrruk” The dragon croaked. Hravi looked at the coin in his palm, then flipped it through the air to land in front of the dragon. Sareumanthys lifted it with his foreclaw and approached Emmi, dropping the coin in her lap.
“Grrrowk.” It growled, looking at her.
“You want me to hold on to it?” Emmi asked.
“Iyuff”. Sareumanthys grunted, his serpentine eyes regarding her seriously.
“Okay, then. I’ll hold onto it.” She told him.
See reached out and stroked his chin, getting a happy purr in response.
“Emmi! Look!” Aggi warned.
Coming up the trail and heading toward the shack, some hundred yards away, were three reptilian creatures. They were grey and gold, with vestigial wings on their backs, the size of a large canine, with a bear’s shambling gate. The heads were rounded, with a long bottom jaw, creating an underbite. The three seemed to know where they were going with a practiced alacrity. They definitely were thinking beasts. Behind them, about fifty feet were four po’e kanaka. Three of them were vaguely man-shaped with vipers for hands and a viper’s head. The last of the four had a snake’s body and head, with human like arms ending in viper’s heads. At the end of the tail was a bulbous growth, much like that of a rattlesnake.
“We have to warn the others.” Emmi said, as she watched their progress.
“I’ll do it.” Aggi replied, “but we’re going to need to get out of here.”
“There’s nowhere to go,” Emmi pointed out, “they’ll be able to track our scent, and I’m not leaving the tribesman behind. It’ll take them a few minutes to get to the shack, and then maybe ten more to find us. We need to get this place defensible. Go get the others, and we’ll come up with a plan. I’ll keep and eye out.”
“Hrrrrrrruuuuun” Sareumanthys murmured. He flapped his wing s a few times, looking over at the creatures.
“Gonna watch from the air?” Emmi asked him.
The little dragon bobbed it’s head once in reply, taking to wing.
“Go, Aggi! I’ll give a shout if they start heading this way.”
A few minutes later, the others came out of the cleft in the wall.
“Where are they?” Malu asked.
“They went into the trees,” Emmi replied, “Headed up towards the shack we found the tribesman in.”
“They’ll be here in minutes.” Malu observed.
At that. Aggi quickly removed a couple of plaques from her bandolier and moved to each of her allies. He pressed the plaque to them a spoke a quick word, “Vestigium”. When she was done, she did the same to herself. Left behind was a small rune; For Malu, Emmi, Sangki and Gil-Geferan, it was a set of three lines bunched together and tapering at each end. For herself and Hravi, two half-moons. The bottom points were touching together, the other tips pointing strait up, reminiscent of a bull’s horn.
“Upon each of you, I placed an enchantment; Malu, Emmi, Sangki. Gil-Geferan… the enchantment will increase your reaction time and agility. For Hravi and I, it will increase our strength. To trigger them, all you have to do is focus on them and will them to release, and they will. It will lay dormant for six hours; but once they’re triggered, you have about half a minute until the effect fades.”
Each face was thoughtful as they absorbed the information; Emmi was familiar with the spell, she’d seen it worked before.
“When they come,” Gil-Geferan said, “I’ll place upon each of us an invocation of celerity. So I’d suggest triggering it when you feel my magic settle on you.”
“Wait until you see them coming, before you prepare too deeply.” Emmi warned, Sangki and Aggi nodding in acknowledgement.
They spread out, Emmi in the middle, with Malu on her left and Sangki on her right. Aggi was to Malu’s left, and Hravi was to Sangki’s right’ Gil-Geferan was behind them.
Moments later, Sareumanthys came into view, closing the distance fast and circling overhead. Half a minute after that, the three creatures burst into view, charging headlong toward the group. When she saw them, Emmi murmured a quick prayer to Kareevan to guild her blades, instill her with his favor. Sangki was also murmuring something that she couldn’t hear. Aggi’s small shield came into being as she poured some will into the gauntlet.
Half way to them, Emmi murmured another prayer, this one asking that Kareevan will it so that the blood of her enemies would flow. She adjusted her stance, sacrificing mobility for power as she waited the final moments before impact.
A shroud of darkness enveloped Sangki, making her hard to discern from even up close. Aggi, with another little effort of will, triggered the rune on her cleaver, creating a rime of frost rom the absolute cold enveloping it.
Gil-Geferan touched Malu’s shoulder, whispering softly, “Obductum Facem”, causing Malu’s outlines to blur oddly.
Overhead, Sareumanthys started crooning, the sound causing a thrill of vitality coursing through the allies.
They waited for the creatures to finally close the distance, Gil-Geferan quickly speaking a word and applying her will. ‘Festina”. Her incantation settled over Emmi like a film of cold water, and she gave a quick thought to triggering Aggi’s sigil that had been placed upon her. She felt as if she was going to burst apart at the seams with all the gifts that had been placed upon her.
Emmi was ready for the beast’s charge; it came in head on and jaws wide. Emmi sidestepped its charge and it tried to slow down and turn, but by then her blades drew deep gashes in the creature’s neck, foreleg, ribcage, and haunch. Blood and gore flew free as it lost its footing, tumbling end over end past Emmi and her allies. It landed in a twisted heap, unmoving.
Hravi and Sangki were ready for the one that had aimed itself at Hravi. It slowed and veered off to its left, opening its jaws wide to exhale a cone of baleful green energy. Both Hravi and Sangki were exposed, although nothing overt seemed to affect them; but Hravi felt it; the energy that struck him from the beast somehow counteracted the arcane alacrity gifted to him by Gil-Geferan’s magic. Sangki landed two solid blows on it. One behind its jaw, the second landing at the base of its thick neck. Hravi was several seconds behind, delivering a vast, chopping overhead blow to the creature’s haunch. It limped away, badly injured but still dangerous and undeterred.
Aggi and Malu were having problems of their own. As the thing came on, Aggi stood her ground, trusting her various spells to protect her. Malu moved to the right and rolled forward, coming up with a lunge that fairly ran her rapier hilt deep in the creature’s side. It let out a bellow of pain and rage, turning to face Malu. The blade tore free as it turned, and Malu rolled away… she came up to her feet, with her sword at the ready, the thing wholly focused on her; Aggi took advantage of the creature’s distraction to deliver a chopping blow with her heavy war cleaver.
The thing spun suddenly on Aggi, biting her savagely and trying to bring its claws to bear. Malu took the opening of the creature’s flank to skewer it a second time. The creature bellowed a second time, now not sure which of the two to face.
The other of the two wasn’t faring any better. Sangki struck it with a powerful side kick in the shoulder, causing her to rebound from the sheer mass of the beast.
Emmi took two quick steps, launching into the air and drawing her right arm back, then bringing her sword in a lunge as she came down piercing the side of the creature that was facing Aggi and Malu, carving a brutal gash in its side. The thing’s hind legs crumpled under the force of the blow, it turned to strike at Emmi, but her left hand blade came up to intercept the bite, chopping off the thing’s bottom jaw. It thrashed and flailed for a few moments, then died.
Both Hravi and Sangki struck the remaining creature simultaneously, killing it.
The whole thing took less than fifteen seconds.
It was at that time the po’e kanaka emerged from the edge of the wood and came to a halt, surveying the carnage before them. They looked at the slain beasts, then back at the barely bloodied intruders that killed their pets; they seemed almost shocked.
“Incendium!” Gil-Geferan cried, as a small crab-apple sized ball of flame appeared in her hand. With a throwing motion, the ball flew at the po’e kanaka, exploding in a ball of flame as it reached them, engulfing them all, pitching them away from the center of the blast in random directions. When the smoke cleared, it was clear all of them were badly wounded from the blast; the three bipedal creatures were burned horribly, charred black meat showing where the scales had been burned away. The other one, reminiscent of a rattlesnake, was made of sterner stuff, else it somehow escaped the worst of the blast.
Even as the po’e kanaka were rising to their feet, Sangki, Emmi, and Malu were already half way to them. The creatures were barely ready as the trio of intruders reached each of their targets. Sangki launched herself at the po’e kanaka of her choice, the creature dodging to the side with inhuman speed. It lashed out with a fanged mouth hand, but the shadowy cloak that surrounded her protected her from being struck. Malu and Emmi both had better luck, dispatching their targets quickly and quietly.
Aggi’s double winged crossbow twanged, both bolts burying themselves deeply in the rattlesnake tailed po’e kanaka, followed up by a ray of burning fire from Gil-Geferan’s outstretched hand. A second ray flew at Sangki’s target, but it flew wide. The rattlesnake tailed creature was knocked to the ground, squirming in agony as it burned before it came to rest.
The last of the po’e kanaka turned to run, but it was too weak to go too far. Sangki ran it down and drove a hard strike to the middle of it’s back, nearly folding it in half backwards. With an odd tilt of her head, she seemingly scanned the vicinity for any movement. Satisfied there was nothing to detect, she jogged back to the mouth of the cleft where the others were already gathering.
“We ‘ave t’ move.” Hravi stated.
“Can’t.” Gil-Geferan replied, “We still have that warrior in the cave, and he can’t be moved, right, Sangki?”
Sangki nodded, “He’s still unconscious, but definitely stronger. I don’t recommend moving him, yet.”
“Then we leave ‘im.” Hravi growled.
“No.” Emmi replied empathically, “We risked our lives to save him, I’m not going to leave him to die now.”
“Then we’ll die.” Hravi said, simply.
The look on Emmi’s face confirmed Hravi’s observation, but the stubborn set of her jaw showed she wouldn’t relent. Sareumanthys swooped down and flared his wings, to land on Emmi’s shoulder.
“I agree with Hravi.” Aggi announced.
“You cannot be serious.” Gil-Geferan snapped back, but Aggi held up a forestalling hand. “Wait.”
Aggi glanced around, then shrugged. “If we stay here, we die.”
Suddenly, in each one’s head, there was a vision of the ruins of a massive city, the boulevards at least fifty feet wide. It was in the hollow of a massive plateau, most of the city was paved, and most of the city was a tumbled ruin. To the northwest, a large part of the city seemed to have lost a war with the jungle, a large lake could be seen, a crumbled down temple located at its edge. In the entirety of the city, there seemed to be only three buildings that were still whole. A large ziggurat, a tall minaret, and a pagoda like structure surrounded by a wall. There was also a small complex of buildings that seemed to have been pulled down and formed into a kind of corral or paddock, humanoid figures moving around within. There were other small groups of humanoids moving in small groups up and down the boulevards, looking suspiciously like patrols. The view of the city seemed to have come from a great height.
They stayed quiet for long moments, as if not quite believing what they’d seen.
Finally, it was Emmi that broke the silence, “Was that you?” She asked Sareumanthys.
“Hrrrrrrrnnnnng” he said, curling his tail around her neck for balance. Emmi reached up and scratched his chin. “Good boy.”
“That’s where we go.” Aggi stated firmly.
“But we still can’t move him.” Sangki replied.
“We don’t have to” Aggi told her.
“We can’t leave him.” Emmi repeated, stubbornly.
“We’re going to have to, if we want to survive.” Aggi said.
Hravi cleared this throat, “Look”. He said, “We ain’t gonna make it if we stay ‘ere til ‘e wakes up.”
Emmi and Gil-Geferan looked like they were about to interject, but Aggi spoke over them, “That city is probably where these creatures are coming from.” She said, then looked to Sareumanthys, “Does that sound right.?”
The small dragon bobbed its head once, “Iyuuh” it grunted.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Aggi commented.
Hravi looked around. “We go in there loud.” He told them, “Loud enough t’get their attention. They’ll ‘ave no question we’re there. No reason to think there’s anyone left behind.”
“They’ll be much too busy looking for us to think that anyone may have been left behind,” Aggi continued, “and there’s no reason for them to believe he’s alive.”
Emmi really couldn’t argue with the logic. If they drew attention to themselves, the occupants of the city would be too busy thinking about them, then to worry about anything else. It was a solid plan. She couldn’t deny it. But she still didn’t like the idea of leaving him behind.
“We leave him food and water, in case he awakes.” Emmi said.
Aggi shrugged, “That’s fair.”
“Are we agreed, then?” Hravi asked.
They all nodded. Some hesitantly, but they agreed.
Emmi frowned, then slanted a glance to the dragon on her shoulder. “Saru. Wake up.” She said, giving him a little shake with a movement of her arm.
The small dragon opened an eye, giving her a mildly sardonic look. Emmi didn’t look very apologetic. “We need your eyes.”, she told him. “Would please keep an eye out for anything?”
“Harrrrummmmph” He sighed, uncoiling himself and balancing on her shoulders, arching his back like a cat to stretch; Emmi winced at the nails digging into her skin, but kept her mouth shut. He leapt off her shoulder, snapping his wings out and circling ever higher above them.
Sangki and Gil-Geferan went back into the cave, grabbing what they’d unpacked, and left the unconscious tribesman salted beef and water for when he awoke; it was all they could spare.

Five minutes later, the group was headed down the trail to the crumbling city. Hravi was in the lead, behind him was Emmi and Aggi, side by side; then Gil-Geferan. Behind her came Sangki and Malu, also side by side. This way they could easily fall into quick circle with Gil-Geferan in the middle, or array themselves in a line against a smaller number of foes.
The jungle was thick, the calls of birds mingling with the chittering of monkeys and other things.
The humidity was stifling, and Emmi had no idea how Hravi dealt with it in his heavy armor. She believed she’d be dead.
The lush verdant jungle slowly gave way begrudgingly the paved stones of the city, but the jungle was inexorably reclaiming what belonged to it.
The boulevard they approached was at least fifty feet across, in the middle of which ran a greensward some fifteen feet wide, with broken and unidentifiable statuary places at odd intervals, giving the forested median the look of what could have once been park-like areas.
They kept to the right-handed lane of the boulevard, near to the buildings; but not too near, for fear of something leaping out at them to catch them unawares.
Tension was palpable in the group. The idea was to find a patrol or other occupants of the city and create a major disturbance, but the anxiety of waiting made them jumpy.
Emmi just wanted it over with, and she knew she wasn’t the only one.
Somehow, they managed to avoid the patrols they were seeking. They stayed to the southern edge of the city; they emerged from the canyon in the very most southwestern edge of the city, following a narrow boulevard (and by narrow, it was about twenty-five feet wide), to an intersection that led either east or south, both of these thoroughfares being fifty feet across. Atop one of the crumbled buildings was a statue some thirty feet tall, wielding a sword over its head. The statue’s head was that of a viper. They passed a tall ziggurat that had some six-armed serpentine idols atop it, and as they arrived at the intersection, they realized they were very close to the massive pagoda inside the walled compound. The walls were about twenty feet high and a hundred and seventy to a hundred and ninety feet long, with the tops of trees poking over the edge. There was a large gate in the front, but no guards could be seen near it. There didn’t seem to be anything patrolling the walls, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything in there that wasn’t guarding the place. Immediately to the west was a low building that had five all towers, each topped with a minaret.
Emmi noticed movement coming around the corner of the compound’s wall. There were six of them.
Two of them looked like rattlesnakes with arms ending in vipers; two of them had vipers for hands and heads, with a flared hood like a cobra’s; the last two were a blend of human and snake, with a viper’s head. The last two carried scimitars.
Upon spotting them, Emmi tucked back behind the corner of the building she was peeking out around from.
“Looks like a roving patrol.” Emmi noted.
“So, do we wait until they go around the far corner?” Aggi asked. The southern and western walls were mostly visible to them, so should the creatures turn the corner to the northern wall, Emmi and her allies would have the time it took the patrol to walk the length of the northern and eastern walls until they could be exposed.
“Think there’s only one?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“Not sure. Let’s wait a little while, see how long it takes for them to make a full circuit of the place.” Aggi said.
Emmi and Sangki both nodded. It wasn’t a bad idea.
Emmi glanced up, shading her eyes from the sun with a hand. Sareumanthys was overhead, using the thermals coming off the hot stone of the city to soar effortlessly. Emmi waved, but the little dragon didn’t seem to respond. On impulse, she cast her thoughts out, aimed up at the soaring dragon, [Sareumanthys!]
Suddenly, the dragon banked and dove a little, coming down to flare his wings and land deftly on her shoulder. His head was cocked to the side, as if waiting for a request.
“Can you fly over there and take a look around, give us an idea of what’ve over there?” she asked, pointing over to the walled compound.
Sareumanthys snorted, then leapt off her shoulder, gaining speed and altitude to land in one of the trees peeking over the edge of the wall.
Crouching in the shadows of the building, Emmi kept an eye around the corner for the patrol’s movements. There were a good half dozen po’e kanaka. Two of them looked like large rattlesnakes, with human like arms ending in vipers instead of hands. Two of them look as cobras, also with arms ending in viper heads instead of hands, and the last two were humanoid with the heads of vipers.
Gil-Geferan slipped up beside Emmi, watching the progression of the patrol. “We can take them, now.” She whispered.
“But we don’t know what’s inside.” Emmi answered, “We could take them, but what’s inside? I don’t like the idea of a bunch of those things pouring out of the gate when we’re not ready.”
“Seven Hells,” Hravi growled, “Lets just kill’em and be done. If somethin’ comes out, we kill them, too.”
“I like it.” Sangki chimed in.
“Fordaetha’s frozen virtue…” Emmi swore. “This is a bad idea.”
“C’mon, Em.” Hravi growled, “Don’t start getting’ soft now.”
“Wait!” Malu whispered.
“What is it now?” Hravi grunted.
“Just wait.” Malu replied, “Wait until Sareumanthys gets back with some sort of report. We need to know what’s in that compound. He’s our eyes, let’s use him… and we’re what, fifty or more feet away from that patrol? Even if Gil-Geferan hits them with a fireball, what then? We run fifty feet to get to them, giving what’s in that compound that much more time to respond, plus what if we don’t seriously injure those things first shot? Then what?” She paused, trying to gauge if her words were getting through.
“She’s right.” Aggi commented. “No one’s doubting you can fight, Hravi, but we need to know more about what we’re doing. And I’m just about exhausted, mentally. I don’t know how much more will I have in me to do my craft.”
“Same.” Gil-Geferan admitted, “we hit those last creatures with a lot of preparation. Maybe too much, we’re not going to be prepared at all if we go up against a large group; I’m not going to be all that helpful, I’m afraid.”
“So what do we do?” Sangki asked.
“Back to the cave?” Aggi supplied.
“No.” Hravi replied, “too far, and it defeats the purpose of us coming here.”
Emmi was still worried about the tribesman, it just didn’t seem right to leave him helpless. “So, what if we move back to the edge of the city; find a place overlooking the trail up the canyon. If anything passes that way, then we ambush them and dispose of the evidence?”
Malu shrugged, “It’s got possibilities.”
“We need to recoup.” Aggi admitted. “Dying here isn’t going to help anyone.”
“Okay.” Emmi agreed, “Let’s wait for Saru.”
So, they waited. It took the dragon about a half an hour to come back.
“How’s it look?” Emmi asked him; and suddenly there was a picture in her head, a memory that wasn’t hers.
The compound was good size, about one hundred and eighty feet square. There was a ten-foot wide gate on the West, East, and North faces. The South wall was blank stone. Flanking each of the gates were a pair of towers, some ten feet higher than the wall, with what looked like po’e kanaka atop each one. Each gate led to a thirty-foot long, twenty-foot wide area, with a second gate at the far end. The northern section of the compound was given over to well-trimmed gardens, with large trees, small ponds, and vibrantly colored flowers. The gardens were hemmed in by a low wall, positioned forty-feet back from the exterior wall.
Two the southeast and northeast were two small outbuildings; more just thatched roofs with poles to hold them up. The read half of the compound was open courtyard. Wandering about the courtyard were a handful of small draconic creatures like the ones they fought earlier in the day. Emmi counted at least eight, perhaps more.
The pagoda had several floors, but the dragon didn’t get too close.
Just as suddenly as it came, the memory disappeared, blinking her eyes a few times, Emmi looked around, “Did all of you get that?”
“I think so.” Aggi replied, “and I’d say fall back, recoup, and come back tomorrow when we’re better equipped.”
Even Hravi couldn’t argue that.
Slowly, carefully, they made their way back the way they came until they arrived at the edge of where the city met the canyon. They took their time, looking around in the various crumbled buildings until they found one that fit their needs. It was two floors, the second floor open to the sky, and there was a trapdoor in the floor that led to a decent sized root cellar. Most of them could fit comfortably in the underground space while at least one could remain on the first or second floor, keeping watch. It was decided to allow Aggi and Gil-Geferan to get whatever rest they required, everyone knew that with these two hinged their success. Nightfall came soon enough; with a small candle, Aggi and Gil-Geferan went into the cellar, along with Sangki and Malu. Emmi and Hravi would stay up for a while and keep an eye out on things. Aggi was kind enough to let Hravi keep her crossbow while he was on watch. Emmi wasn’t conversant with bows of any kind.
The night passed uneventfully, and as the dawn broke, it was Sangki who was awake to greet it, in the company of Gil-Geferan. As an elf, she didn’t need nearly as much sleep as the others.
She was poring over her tome as Sangki kept her head cocked for anything out of the ordinary; she wouldn’t have much time to warn her allies if she detected anything, because her range of senses wasn’t much over ten yards, but she was trying to find a way to extend them.
“I’m not sure what to do.” Gil-Geferan said absently.
“How do you mean?” Sangki asked curiously.
“Spells.” Gil-Geferan replied laconically.
“Well, what you’ve been using has gotten us through, nicely.” Sangki observed.
“I feel like I’m going to blow through my most useful spells quickly.” Gil-Geferan grumped.
“Then we’ll just have to fight harder.” Sangki told her. “We’re pretty good in that area. A lot of versatility.”
“True” Gil-Geferan replied, “but I feel useless when I’m out of spells.”
“You still have your brain.” Sangki told her. “That’s your best weapon.”
“That’s nice of you to say, Sangki.” Gil-Geferan replied moodily.
“Don’t let it bother you.” Sangki told her. “We’ll figure something out., once everyone’s awake.”
That took about another hour. Slowly, the allies rose to the sun in the sky and another hazy, hot, and humid day.
“Wish I was in a tunnel somewhere, where this infernal sun would stop starin’ down as me.” Hravi complained.
“I don’t mind at all.” Aggi averred.
“I do.” Hravi grunted.
As they all gathered together, the conversation was steered towards today’s plans.
Emmi sat cross-legged on the floor, with Sareumanthys on her shoulder, the dragon’s tail loose around her neck for balance. Emmi didn’t seem to mind. “Any ideas?” She asked.
“We can’t storm that compound.” Malu announced. “there’s just too many of them.”
“We need to draw them out.” Aggi agreed.
“How?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“The original plan.” Emmi replied. “We move around, make a lot of noise. Get their attention on us; at some point, they’re going to come looking.”
“So where do we go?” Malu asked.
“That broken-down temple in the swamp.” Hravi said.
“Why there?” Emmi asked.
“Cuz I’m curious t’ what’s there.” Hravi answered. “And it’s far enough away for anything that’s looking for us to take a while to get there, an’ we can cause quite the ruckus on the way.”
“Good a place as any.” Sangki said with a shrug.
Emmi nodded, “Okay, let’s take the long way around and head east, then curve up north.”
“And hope we meet with some patrols.” Malu said with a tight grin.
This time when they went into the city, they skirted the high wall of the massive basin the city rested in, moving through the buildings when possible to stay hidden from sight. The boulevard that the northern entrance to the compound was about seven hundred and fifty feet long, from one end to the other, the western end touching the basin wall, while the eastern end turned due south, maintaining its width as it did. The corner of the boulevard was adjacent to the northern wall of the basin, where it then stretched east in a wavering line for a good two-thousand feet before the basin wall finally curved south. Most of the eastern and a good chunk of the southern ridge of the basin was jungle and marsh. From this wetland rose a hillock upon which the temple sat, overlooking a huge pond.

The group reached the end of the boulevard that the compound’s northern gate was, Emmi and Malu watching for the arrival of the patrol that made a continuous circuit of the compound. They wanted to make sure the patrol was around the far corner of the compound before they moved.
They waited in the shell of what was probably a residence, the walls and floors of stone. The second floor had long since collapsed, and there was no indication of a cellar access; which was just as well since they hadn’t planned on staying.
They were so focused on watching for the patrol, none of them noticed the approach of a patrol from the south until Gil-Geferan whispered a warning.
Emmi glanced over and saw five po’e kanaka headed their way. Two of them had vipers for both head and hands, while the remaining three were a mish-mash of human and snake. All had snake-like heads, while one had a tail and another had no legs, but the bottom half of a snake.
Two of those with hands carried scimitar, while the third carried a falchion. They were headed more or less directly toward where the allies hid, following the road with a practiced indifference to their surroundings. It spoke of an unbroken routine.
“What’re we doing?” Gil-Geferan asked.
“I think that once they pass by, we hit them hard and fast.” Aggi announced.
Emmi frowned, but didn’t argue. Something felt wrong, but she wasn’t sure what. “How about you give us those marks again, so we can be ready, just in case we need them. Quickly, she broke out her plaques, moving between each of her allies, on Malu, Sangki, and Emmi she put one with the three marks, and upon herself and Hravi she placed the two half-moons.
By then, the patrol was turning the corner and heading to the compound.
Both Sangki and Emmi whispered quick prayers to their respective gods before Emmi gave Aggi the nod to go ahead. She lifted her crossbow, pushing some of her will into it, the sigil engraved in the plaque mounted to it flaring for a moment, then she pulled the trigger, aiming at the creature with the snake’s body. Both quarrels flew, punching into the side of the creature just below where the ribcage should be; it hissed in pain and surprise, the others quickly looking to see what had happened; Gil-Geferan murmured a word and a small ball of flame appeared in her hand as Aggi pulled the trigger. By the time the two quarrels found their mark, the fireball was on its way… the five po’e kanaka never saw it coming as it engulfed them in flames.
Blasted by the heat and force of the detonation, four of the five were reeling in shock as Malu, Emmi, and Sangki sprinted across the boulevard at them. Aggi had set down her crossbow and unlimbered her war cleaver, following Hravi out the door. Gil-Geferan was last, walking at a calm pace as her friends fell on the creatures. She noted that the one struck by Aggi’s quarrels did not survive her fireball.
It was ugly and entirely one-sided. The po’e kanaka never had a chance.
Gil-Geferan met them out in the street, looking around.
“We gotta go.” Emmi announced. They were only three hundred feet from the edge of the compound, and the sound of the explosion would definitely catch the attention of the patrol.
“We gotta go, now.” Emmi repeated.
They all turned to return to the building that they emerged from when the patrol from the compound came from around the corner. Two of them ran for the gate while the other four charged the party.
“Do I hit them?” Gil-Geferan asked, reaching behind her back to pull a scroll case out of her sash.
“No.” Emmi replied. “Once those dragon-things show their faces, unload everything you can on them.”
“Got it.” Gil-Geferan replied.
Hravi stepped to the front, while Aggi stepped up to his side, the little sigil on her left gauntlet flaring to life, the floating shield appearing.
Emmi whispered a little prayer to Kareevan, to allow her enemy’s blood to flow; as she did she shifted her stance to sacrifice mobility in return for better striking power.
Sangki’s form emitted a shadowy miasma, blurring her form, making her indistinct.
The cobra headed po’e kanaka and the rattlesnake po’e kanaka were headed toward them, the other two most likely opening the inner gate.
They didn’t have much time.
“I can weaken them.” Gil-Geferan offered, watching the four po’e kanaka close the distance.
“No.” Emmi told her, “once those dragons come at us, we’re going to need everything you got.”
Seconds later, the four po’e kanaka were upon them. Sangki struck first, an incredibly solid blow that rocked the cobra-headed creature when it landed; as she followed up, she missed completely. With two quick strikes, Emmi finished it off.
She turned as a rattlesnake po’e kanaka came at her; she struck at it twice, missing once; the left-hand blade catching the creature across the chest, the wound spurting blood obscenely… the whispered prayer to Kareevan worked.
Aggi pushed a little bit of her flagging will into her war-cleaver, the blade suddenly rimed with ice; she swung at the rattler po’e kanaka that Emmi struck, nearly killing it.
“Onis!” Gil-Geferan growled, a pair of flaming bolts projecting from her outstretched hands. Each one struck one of the rattlesnake po’e kanaka; one of them shrieking as it died; the other beating at the flames covering its body.
The remaining cobra headed creature targeted Sangki, striking at her twice, but couldn’t land a blow; Sangki was simply too fast. Hravi swung at the thing, missing badly and hitting Aggi a wicked blow.
“Damn you, Hravi!” She groaned, staggering to the side, taken unawares by the blow.
Hravi’s second blow took a good chunk out of the cobra-headed po’e kanaka; Malu following up with a strike of her own.
It struck at both Hravi and Malu simultaneously; landing a fanged strike on Hravi, whose racial constitution smothered the venom before it could even affect him.
With two quick, precise strike Sangki took the two remaining creatures down.
“Well that wasn’t so bad, after all.” Hravi comments.
“Says you.” Aggi grunted. “That hurt, you idiot.”
“Sorry.” Hravi told her.

From the front gate poured a pack of the small dragon creatures. Behind them were the two-scimitar wielding po’e kanaka, as well as six more with vipers for heads and hands.
“Looks like things just got harder.” Emmi remarked.
“Aye.” Hravi agreed.
“Gil-Geferan, once they’re in rage, hit’em.” Emmi instructed. “And if you haven’t triggered Aggi’s sigil, now’s a good time.” They did.
“Righty-O, boss.” Gil-Geferan said, smirking. She took a step forward as the creatures charged. “Incendium.” The small ball of fire appeared in her hand, and she hurled it at the oncoming dragons. The first one hit the front four creatures. The second one hit the first six. The third one engulfed the first five; they were almost on top of the allies, when Gil-Geferan unrolled the scroll and began reading.
They kept coming, varying states of injury; as they closed in, Gil-Geferan raised her hand and spoke two words. “Obice Ardere”, and at her command, a wall of flame sprung into being. The ones in the lead simply couldn’t stop fast enough, they skidded through the wall. Some of them seem mostly unaffected, at least one wasn’t. Those behind managed to stop, but the ones behind them slammed into them, pushing them through.
Six came through the wall, then a seventh that was somehow unaffected.
The po’e kanaka were slowed, at least until they could find a way through.
Gil-Geferan took a step back, raising her hand “Ego Conjuro Te!” There were three odd disturbances in the air around the lead dragon creature, which coalesced into spiders the size of a man. All three of them sunk fangs into the dragon.
Sangki struck the one next to it, delivering a solid blow; Emmi unleashed herself against one of the beasts, striking it three out of four times.
Hravi, Aggi, and Malu all landed heavy blows against the other creatures before they got a chance to orient themselves. Malu managed to finish hers, before it ever got the chance. The beast facing Emmi breathed out an odd cone of energy, but it didn’t seem to affect her; a second one tried the same thing on Hravi, will similar results.
Sangki pummeled at hers with vicious strikes to some effect; meanwhile, Emmi delivered two devastating blows to the one in front of her, then turned her attention to the one fighting Aggi, bringing that one down, as well. Hravi being equally successful in bringing down the one in front of him; he glanced around, but the nearest one was some fifteen feet away.
There were two facing Sangki, both of them breathing that weird cone of energy at her; but she didn’t seem any more susceptible to the effect than Emmi or Hravi. The dragon fighting the three spiders managed to sink fangs into one of the three, only to be bitten by the other two.
Aggi managed to deliver a powerful chopping blow to one of the beasts, and it turned on her to try to bear her down; she moved back as it came, staying out of its reach, drawing it into the range of Emmi, who stabbed it viciously in the side.
Malu was on the receiving end of a nasty claw strike from the one she’d been facing, she’d tried to sidestep, but moved into it, instead. She let out a little mewl of pain, putting a hand to her side.
Gil-Geferan remained behind the semi-circle of her allies, while intoning a spell, “Ego Conjuro Te.” This time, it was a single disturbance, that coalesced into a blue-furred, six-foot tall bipedal canine-like creature. It was man shaped except for the canine head. In its hands it wielded a greatsword, which it wielded with deadly efficiency; it appeared behind the dragon fighting Malu, nearly pinning it to the flagstones with a downward stab of its sword. Ripping the blade free, it turned on the dragon facing Sangki.
Hravi charged the beast that Aggi was fighting, running past Emmi as he did, crippling it badly; even as it turned to face the new threat, Aggi put it down. Emmi moved past Hravi, aiming herself at the dragon that was being swarmed by the spiders, ramming both her swords hilt deep in the beast’s side, the points emerging from the other side.
Between Sangki’s fists and the swordsman hound’s blade, the last of the creatures hadn’t had a chance.
The six faced the wall of flames from twenty feet away, watching both ends for their enemies to emerge from the sides. Sareumanthys came in banking fast from the boulevard that ran south, coming in and flaring his wings and breaking hard, the image of a massive, black scaled dragon burst forth from the lake in the marsh, heading in their direction.
“DRAGON!” Emmi screamed, “INCOMING!”
She barely got even that out as the black scaled dragon banked around the corner, extending its claws to bounce of the buildings in the corner to keep it from crashing into them. The thing was at least fifteen feet long without the tail, and had to weigh in at least half a ton. It hit the flagstone in front of them, skidding to a halt right in front of Malu.
It let out an angry roar, its charnel breath washing over them.
Malu didn’t blink, she simply lunged forward with her rapier, stabbing the dragon in the face. Then the fight was on; Aggi, Hravi, and Sangki landing blows on the creature before it spewed forth a gout of acid, catching Malu, Hravi, and Aggi full force. Both Malu and Aggi staggered from the force of the vitriol.
Emmi moved in from the side, attacking with everything she had; her blades skirled off the dragon’s scales more than once, but she did find a home for one of her strikes.
Gil-Geferan intoned her command a third time, and from the disturbance in the air coalesced a second of the swordsman hounds.
One on each side, they attacked; to the left, its blade simply bounced off the dragon’s armor but the one on the right had more success, drawing blood from the beast. The spiders swarmed the creature, to no effect.
Coming out of the rubble of the nearby buildings, the last three of the smaller dragons had found a path, and they were closing fast; Emmi moved to meet them, keep the off the back of the others while they slew the Black. Malu slashed at its face again as it lunged for her; it grabbed her in its maw, yanking off her feet and worrying her side to side like a terrier does a rat. It snapped its head to the side, Malu’s limp form flying through the air until she impacted with a wall with a wet snapping of bones, landing like a string-cut puppet.
“NOOOO!” Gil-Geferan screamed, pulling herself together long enough to lash out a hand, “ONIS!” Two scarlet, flaming bolts jumped forth from her hand to strike the dragon; one of them splashed off the scales with no effect, while the second left a deep scorch mark.
The dragon swiped a claw at Hravi, smashing him to the side; smashing Sangki with its other claw.
It brought its wings around to swipe at both the hound swordsman, bashing one, but not the other. The two of them tried to retaliate, but only one was successful. Aggi and Hravi threw themselves at it, but their weapons bounced off the scales.
The first of the small dragons reached Emmi; once, twice, thrice, and a fourth… her blades found a home in the lead creature. It buckled as it was struck, landing in a bloody heap. The two remaining creatures slowed, splitting up to try to encircle her, not wishing to come to such a quick end as their fellow. Emmi started to back up in hopes to get a wall behind her, but she had no idea how close she was; the wall of fire was to her left, but she didn’t know how much longer that was going to last and didn’t want to get caught with her back to it when it came down.
They both came in at her at once; the one to her right tried to grab her in its jaws, but caught only air, then slashed at her with its claws, but she moved out of the way, only to moving into the waiting talons of the other one. The thing’s claws tore her leg, the pain lancing through her.
Sheer rage shot through her, and she spun both her swords in her grip and stabbed down with all her strength in the back of the thing’s neck. Both swords struck home, and struck deeply, but she wasn’t done; she drew both blades out and stabbed them back down, even deeper than before, blood fountaining out of the wounds as she drew them out a second time.
The black dragon turned to Hravi, snatching him up in its jaws, clamping a claw around him to start puling in different directions with jaws and talons; Hravi screamed at the immense pressure even as Sangki delivered two crushing blows to its side. The dragon snatched Sangki up in its other claw, simply squeezing. It brought its wings around again to strike at the two sword-hounds, one on either side; both wings struck home, but neither of the sword-hounds paid much attention to them.
“Onis!” Another pair of fiery bolts shot forth from Gil-Geferan’s outstretched hands, and again both struck the black dragon. One of the bolts left a deep char mark while the other was seemingly ineffective. Hravi swung his axe at the thing, but the blade only delivered a glancing blow to it; while it was distracted, Aggi had gotten up close to it, under its chin and drove a vicious chop to the soft underside of its neck.
The war-cleaver severed the windpipe and jugular, blood gushing out of the terrible wound. The dragon dropped both Sangki and Hravi, both of whom landed hard on the ground.
Emmi faced the dragon to her right; the one on the left bled to death from a combination of the neck wounds and the spell the she’d put on her swords.
She felt the favor granted to her by Kareevan fade away, but now the odds were entirely in her favor. She reversed the grip on her blades once again and brought them to bear, striking the creature three times in rapid succession; by the bleeding she knew that the blessing from Kareevan on her blades took hold in at least one of the wounds; the things morale simply broke. It turned to run; Emmi took advantage of the opening and drover her sword into its side, right where the soft tissue at the end of the ribcage was. The thing coughed once, bringing up a huge gout of blood, and then it collapsed.
The two sword-hounds and three spiders all vanished at once, the threat gone. Hravi and Sangki levered themselves up to their feet, Gil-Geferan going over to the fallen Malu. She was dead.
Gil-Geferan stood up slowly. Her rage was spent, all that was left was sadness. Emmi sheathed her swords and started walking over to Gil-Geferan when the fiery curtain of flame fell; on the other side were nine po’e kanaka. Two of them were the scimitar wielding creatures that opened the gates of the compound to let loose the small dragons, six of them were the viper-headed and handed types that were patrolling the inside of the compound, and the last of them was different than the rest. The scales on its head were a red and yellow pattern that ran down its arms and legs, but its chest was a pale white with soft scales. It was human shaped, but the features of its face were a soft blending of both human and snake. Around its waist it wore a sash, and on its finger was a ring that gleamed dully. In its grip was a naginata that looked like a piece of darkness given shape.
It looked around at the carnage, clearly surprised.
“I’m impressed.” It said, is a sibilant tenor.
“No, yuir not.” Hravi rasped, “Yuir scared. Because we killed yuir wee pet dragon here, and now yuir won’drin’ if we got what it takes t’ kill ye, too.”
The po’e kanaka’s features twisted into anger, “Kuwaua.” It grated, pointing at the companions. Hesitantly, the eight po’e kanaka went forward, the Speaker right behind them. “Nenda!” it shouted, “KUWAUA!”
This time, they charged. The companions waited for them.
As they came on, both Sangki and Emmi whispered little prayers, while Aggi’s shield snapped into place as the sigil on her gauntlet flared; Upon Emmi’s forehead appeared a swirling circle of light blue.
Towards each of the companions ran one of the viper-handed po’e kanaka, while one of the scimitar armed creatures aimed itself at Emmi while the other targeted Sangki.
The last of them, wielding the naginata, focused squarely on Hravi.
“Eritque Arcus!” Gil-Geferan snarled, a rainbow arc of colors shooting forth from her fingertips as the three po’e kanaka closed on her and Emmi.
The scimitar po’e kanaka and one of the snake-handed ones both stumbled to a confused halt, blinded by the spell. The third of them hadn’t realized its allies were more or less incapacitated as it arrived, and fell to her blades before it ever knew.
Both Aggi and Hravi delivered solid blows to the viper handed po’e kanaka that came at them; but neither of them was slain.
“Go help Aggi!” Gil-Geferan shouted to Emmi, drawing the attention of the two blinded po’e kanaka. The scimitar swung at her once, twice; the second swing landing and gashing her arm badly. “I can handle these two!” she grunted.
Emmi looked back and forth from Aggi to Gil-Geferan, then swore to herself.
Two viper-handed po’e kanaka were focused on Aggi and the first of the two attacked her even as the sigil on the plaque attached to her armor flared to life. Simultaneously, Hravi was attacked by one of the viper-hands, while the naginata armed po’e kanaka waited for the right time to strike. Sangki evaded the viper-handed creature that had attacked her with ease, but was struck badly by the scimitar of the other po’e kanaka focused on her.
Emmi ignored Gil-Geferan, delivering two quick slashes to the po’e kanaka that struck Gil-Geferan, then two more to the viper-handed po’e kanaka; both fell to the flagstones… the first one dead, the second writhing in agony.
Gil-Geferan drew out her tanto and slit the creature’s neck with one quick slash.
Sangki delivered a vicious blow to the creature that slashed here, even while both Aggi and Hravi killed a viper handed po’e kanaka.
The leader, realizing half his forces were already down, finally moved in on Hravi. He lunged forward with the naginata, then brought it around in a deadly arc; both were direct hits, and Hravi backed away, badly bloodied but still in the fight.
Emmi turned and locked her gaze on the po’e kanaka with the scimitar stalking Sangki; the blind girl’s wounds were already closing up at an incredible rate, and Emmi didn’t think she was in any immediate danger, but still she moved on the creature that was trying to kill her friend. Emmi struck with both blades, running the creature through twice. The sudden death of its companion surprised the viper armed creature that was facing Sangki, and she hammered two fists into the thing, rocking it almost off its feet.
The sigil on Aggi’s right gauntlet flared even as she swung at the remaining po’e kanaka facing her, but her swing went wide.
Gil-Geferan pointed to where the leader was, and snarled “Ego Conjuro Te”, and behind it appeared a disturbance, taking the form of a sword-hound; it landed a hard blow on the leader’s back with its greatsword, following up with a painful bite to its shoulder
Hravi landed a hard blow on the leader as well, who returned the favor. Hravi was in bad shape, but he refused to back down.
The sword-hound struck the leader twice more with its sword, and again following up with a vicious bite.
Gil-Geferan pointed a finger at the viper handed po’e kanaka still facing Aggi and growled “Certu Iactu!”, three glowing missiles streaking forth from her extended fingertip and homing in on the po’e kanaka, all three landing. That didn’t keep it from striking Aggi on the arm with a fanged hand.
Sangki was struck twice by the viper hands of the po’e kanaka that faced her; but with two lightning fast strikes, she nearly crippled it. With two quick slashes of her swords, Emmi finished what Sangki started.
The sigil on the blade of Aggi’s cleaver flared even as she landed a blow with it on the po’e kanaka facing her, the wound suppurating as the cold of the blade caused frostbite around it.
Hravi chopped away at the leader, delivering a savage blow, but the leader spun his naginata and drove the blade into Hravi twice; Hravi dropped to one knee, then keeled over on his side with a loud crash.
Aggi was struck again by the fanged hands of the po’e kanaka she faces… she stepped sideways, bringing her war-cleaver around, slipping and dropping the weapon to the ground.
The leader of the po’e kanaka turned and now focused on the sword-hound behind it, striking it twice; red blood mixing oddly with the blue fur. The sword-hound retaliated, bringing its greatsword around once, then twice… goth opening brutal gashes in the leader’s side, then followed up with a ripping bite that finished off the leader just as Emmi finished off the po’e kanaka that had just struck Aggi.
All the po’e kanaka were down.
Emmi, Gil-Geferan, and Aggi were keeping an eye out; Sangki heading over to Hravi’s limp form, quickly running her hands over to him, channeling her will into healing emanations. After a few moments, Hravi’s eyes snapped open and he groaned. She took a few moments to continue the healing, then helped him up.
“Did we get’em?” he grunted.
“Yes, Hravi.” Sangki replied with a smile, “we got them all.”
“Good.” He said with a bloody grin. “Lets get out of here before anything else shows up, if there’s anything else to show up.”
“Agreed.”
Aggi had been looking around with a plaque in her hand, moving over to the leader, taking a ring off his finger and the sash from his waist. The naginata, curiously, was nowhere to be found.

Emmi was watching the compound. “We need to move.” She said. “Now.” Her left sword was pointed like an extension of her arm, directed at a feminine black figure, looking over the top of the compound wall. Only the waist up could be seen. At her side was a green scaled po’e kanaka, with a viperish head and human arms. In its hands was a massive ghost head broadsword.
The figure was simply staring, but they could feel the malice radiating off the creature from where they were.
They started to move deeper into the city, to the north; Sangki only taking a few moments to gather the body of Malu. She wasn’t prepared to abandon her friend on the flagstones of some city at the edge of nowhere.