Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall took down at least a dozen of the kobolds with his crossbow, speedily reloading and firing as the horde approached the rest of the company. He wedged himself into position amongst the higher rocks and kept picking off targets one by one, helping to thin the ranks of the enemies as they poured down the crags. Argyros did the same, his keen eyes focused with laser precision on each target, a silvery arrow singing with every breath.

 

Meanwhile, Dagny dashed up alongside Azuris, her battleaxe cleaving handily through kobold and gnoll alike. "For Berronar!" was her rallying cry. She slammed her stout shield into one gnoll barbarian and bashed it to the ground, planting her weapon deep in its chest before reversing her swing and throwing a kobold clean across Amendale's wall of fire. Nearby, Zorica whirled and twisted like a dark fury, her dual blades decapitating reptilian heads with every swing. She danced beside Lucas, helping keep the horde from moving too heavily in the squire's direction.

 

Rhaine hung back, confident that the rest would make short work of this battle. She swiftly bestowed a Bless spell and a Prayer upon them all, just to add to their luck, and then - a look of mischief crossing her face - she added to Amendale's death trap: the Doomguide cast her signature Blade Barrier across the choke point, ten magical spinning swords springing to life and cutting to shreds anything that was charging through the gap.

 

Between the efforts of the companions, the foes had been rapidly reduced to less than half their original number. Some were even fleeing, their high-pitched yips and howls barely audible over the din of the fighting.

Edited July 6, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[mythicdawnmaster]

Aurora danced across the battlefield with grace and acrobatic finesse, running through no small number of pernicious little Kobold's with her glinting golden Rapier, aiming for the throat as she swung low and thrust deep, ending their enslavement with the cold steel of her thin, deadly blade. When faced with one of the imposing Gnolls, Aurora gingerly took a step back as the great beast brought it's cumbersome axe to bear, swinging it slowly over it's head in an attempt to cut her in two. The Bardess vaulted from danger, spinning behind the beast to stab at it's knees, forcing her blade through thrice on each knee, bringing the beast to the floor. As she spun around it's front, Aurora stabbed like a relentless wasp, her needle-like sting penetrating the Gnoll's throat with each tiny stab, over and over and over until she sliced cleanly through the jugular, ending another life upon the tip of her blade.

 

 

Xallistine stood beside Annette and Amendale as they wrought havoc upon their foes with what magic they could muster, and the Ulitharid found himself silently impressed by their magical prowess, leaning upon his cane so as not to interrupt their barrage, aiding only to bolster the speed of his companions through various incantations, watching the carnage ensue before them with appreciation. It was no true battle, it appeared, it was more of a slaughter, foes falling easily to the blades, spells, and arrows of the party. More than half had fallen, and a number of their foes made to escape.

 

Unimpressed by the fearsome Gnoll's cowardice, and certainly not willing to allow them escape (lest they regroup, and ambush the party after attending to their greater foe), Xallistine positioned himself so that he had a good view of the entire battlefield, awarded in part through his great height, and enforced by the spell of levitation he had performed. Hovering as he felt his magical reserves expend themselves within him, blue flame ignited to orange in his palms, and a fiery inferno built up around his, sucking the moisture from his aquatic flesh as the spell grew in power; directing his arms gracefully to the battleground before him, Xallistine unleashed fiery hell upon those remaining foes, sweeping through the rocks and crags, burning luminously through the flesh of those caught within, who howled and writhed in despair as they ran, flailing as their clothing caught fire. Not enough died in this incendiary judgement, so Xallistine settled to end their lives quickly; maximising his powers and casting all those remaining in his sights, the Ulitharid gave climax to the rigorous battle through use of the powerful spell Implosion, reducing their foes to nothingness in a veritable instant...

 

----------

 

As they dismounted the carriage, Ravenna led Silithus inside her great stone fortress with an air of pride and regality; the great steel monoliths of the great hall swung open for Ravenna, and she stepped inside to the din, all encapsulating darkness, that seemed to seep into one's vision itself like an inky blot. With a resonating click of her well-jewelled fingers, candles burst to life in vigorous ardour, spluttering yet unrelentless as she dragged with her the draught in the golden confides of her sweeping chain cloak "And here we are; my mortal refuge and bastion in this campaign. There are rooms aplenty to accommodate you, and you may find my other deadly companions to be of your liking. Quarylene will certainly be amused to lay eyes upon another man..." Ravenna chuckled to herself in time with the definitive clicks of her hard metal heels, ascending the marble staircase that ended in her throne. "If you wish to refresh yourself after so many years in the ground, my servants can show you to the bathing chambers- They may also, should you so wish it, introduce you to my darling tailors; really the outfits are perhaps the best boon of infernal immortality."

Edited July 7, 2014 by mythicdawnmaster

[AurianaValoria1]

With Xallistine's awe-inspiring and magnificent magical finale, the battle was brought to a quick close, and all that remained before them were fifty-some-odd charred kobold bodies that gave off a putrid scent and a bit fewer mangled gnoll corpses that smelled like wet dog. Rhaine promptly cast a Greater Dispel over the area to purge the pathway of the leftovers of their spells, the violet-white energy crackling loudly as it dissolved the effects of their incantations. Once that was done, she looked over her companions quickly, making sure that they had not sustained serious injuries before motioning for them to continue on. She resumed her trek up the mountain trail, all the while looking for signs of a surface ruin. Conall, Dagny, Zorica, and Argyros once again fell in step behind her, wary as they moved past the remains of the monsters' encampments.

 

At last, they reached what appeared to be a small plateau. There were odd fragments of crude columns and archways strewn about, and there was a gaping maw in the mountainside where a building seemed to have been built into the rock ages ago. The architecture itself had long crumbled to dust, and so all that was left was hole that led to the gods-knew-where. Rhaine carefully walked about the place, trying to determine the origin of the ruins, her boots crunching loudly upon the dry dirt and pebbles. The wind whipped her cloak about her like a black cloud and ruffled the tips of her feathers so that they seemed to dance in the steady breeze. Argyros, meanwhile, was admiring the tremendous view from this altitude, the flat plains of the Shaar stretching for what seemed like forever to the northeast. Dagny shifted uneasily, tapping one large broken stone with her foot, "Well these aren't dwarf-make, that's for sure. Too sloppy."

 

"Doesn't look elvish, either," Zorica remarked. She then snorted before adding, "Not that I have a whole lot of experience with elven ruins, mind you."

 

Conall stared at a few archways with his sharp blue gaze and nodded, "No, you're right. These aren't elvish. I would wager they're leftovers from some ancient Chondathan or Shaaran people. There's not much else to guess at, though. I don't even know what kind of ruins these could possibly be."

 

"A temple."

 

Rhaine's response was sudden. She then gestured about her, turning in a circle, "It's a small one, but it's all here. See...this lengthy, flat stretch here is the nave. There are two alcoves, marked by the archways, on either side of the nave, likely for minor shrines. The altar," she pointed towards the cave, "Was probably close to there. Anything beyond would be living quarters for the priests and priestesses."

 

"A temple to whom, I wonder," Argyros mused thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

 

"Or what," Rhaine added. "I cannot tell. There are no auras here of any sort...this place is ancient, and any identifying marks have long been erased by the wind and rain. Regardless," she gestured to the mouth of the cave, "This is our first solid lead...and something tells me we are close to our destination." She felt the pouch at her belt where Fitalis's dweomer rested, and the subtle warmth coming from it told her they were very near indeed...

 

"Wait!" Conall called, kneeling abruptly before one of the stones. He traced a finger around in the dirt and then looked up, "Tracks. They look to be humanoid...I cannot tell the type...and they are less than a tenday old. There has been recent activity here, and we should go in expecting trouble from the start."

 

With that, he stood and drew Ariel, keeping the sword close to his chest.

 

"Wish you would hold me like that more often," was the blade's sultry remark.

 

"Oh gods," Zorica muttered and rolled her eyes before pulling her own swords from their sheathes and heaving a heavy sigh.

 

Rhaine merely nodded and proceeded into the darkness of the cave, Touch of Death ready and a Light spell illuminating the way...

[Deleted6317247User]

Over the course of the battle Nawen stayed at the back, picking off enemies with arrows alongside Conall. Shalena didn't even bother to fight. She stayed beside those who did not fight and cheered for every kill. Some of her crewmen joined the fight. Two, the more useless members of the crew Shalena noted, fell to the gnolls.

 

As the battle ended and the group entered the location which seemed to be a temple of sorts, Nawen looked around searching for traps and thankfully didn't find any while the piratess and her crew looked around for anything valuable to take but they also found nothing.

 

"This sucks," Shalena said as she followed the others into the cave, "I hope that keblans lair will have more treasure than this stupid temple."

 

"It's elans," Nawen corrected the piratess quietly, "and there was no treasure in the temple."

 

"That's what I'm saying. No loot equals waste of time."

[AurianaValoria1]

For the longest time there was nothing but darkness...winding, seemingly endless darkness. The tunnel split off a few times into crumbled dead-ends, but there wasn't anything of interest except thick cobwebs and bats. The warmth of Fitalis's dweomer grew though, ever so gradually, making Rhaine certain that they were getting ever closer to their ultimate destination.

 

At last, she could hear something ahead...talking. There were at least three separate male voices, all speaking rapidly in an exotic tongue, their speech punctuated with odd giggles and howls. The Doomguide's brow furrowed, and as she knelt next to the tunnel wall, signaling for the others to halt, she could have sworn she recognized a few of the words. After a few breaths, she whispered, "Drow. There are drow here."

 

Conall's blue eyes widened, "Theia...didn't she mention fleeing from her drow creators? Do you think she was brought back here, perhaps?"

 

"Only one way to find out," Dagny murmured, tightening her grip on her axe.

 

Rhaine nodded and motioned for Sybille and Weyland rush the next room, preparing herself for an extensive bout of spellcasting. The drow were not to be taken lightly, even in small numbers.

[Flipout6]

Arland walked beside Rhaine as they ventured deep into the caves, holding up both of his flaming swords to provide light. Weyland ventured ahead of the group, shield and blade in hand, to provide as the first line of defense against anything that might come screaming out of the tunnel at them while Sybille guarded the rear. Amendale provided the light for the rest of them, while Marie helped scout for and disarm traps.

 

At first the chanting voices of the drow reached their ears as disturbing, distorted sounds bounced a hundred times off of the tunnel walls, but as they approached the sound clarified into what, for the learned, was clearly Drow tongue.

 

Rhaine motioned for Weyland and Sybille to come forward and charge, but Arland told Sybille to stay there and whispered to Rhaine that he'd go instead. Peaking around the corner and keeping the glowing light emanating from his twinblades out of sight, Arland took in the basics of the room: size, positioning of those within, and possible dangers. To his eye it looked as if the wizards within were the only threat. They were clustered within the center of the room...easy pickings.

 

He turned to his brother. "I got the two on the right. You hit the one on the left." Then counted down from three, and finally rounded the corner as fast as lightning and rushed them, making surprisingly little sound for somebody in a full suit of mithril chain.

 

He covered the twenty feet to the cluster of Drow in a second, before they knew he was there. Only when two of them dropped dead in a spray of crimson did the survivor's mind register the danger, and by then Weyland was already on top of him, impaling him through the chest and ending him, the body jolting with spasms as electricity coursed through the nerves. The warrior pulled the blade out with one smooth motion, blood spraying from the wound as the drow dropped like a sack of bricks.

 

Then they took a good look around, and wished they hadn't.

 

First the sight hit, which sent both of them stumbling back in shock, and then the smell, which left the older of the two brothers doubled-over, coughing and gagging and forcing his visor down on his face to provide some kind of relief.

 

"Oh..." Arland looked at the body with a combined look of disgust and pity. "Isn't that-"

 

"Yeah, she was with us when you came back, then disappeared." Weyland answered, stumbling back towards Rhaine. He blocked the way and described as sparsely as he could what was in the next room. "Okay, before anybody goes in there..." He retched. "Theia's...in there. Dead. It's messy, she's...not in one piece. Just giving you fair warning."

 

"Looks like this is some kind of wizards' workshop!" Arland announced. "And we just killed its owners. They deserved it, looks like she was tortured until she bled out....or worse."

 

"Arland, there are some thing that don't need to be elaborated upon." Amendale scolded, forcing his way through. He wrapped part of his robe around his nose to cover the smell. "Someone get looking for a blanket, at least."

 

To his surprise it was Annette that handed him something that would do the job. He took the materiel and, careful not to touch or disturb Theia's remains, covered the body with it. With that done, he stepped back and ignited the body underneath with a flick of his wrist and a whispered word. As she began to burn, Amendale turned to Rhaine. "Any last rites will have to be done by you, my lady. It'd be more fitting for her to be seen off by Kelemvor's Chosen, rather than some elf she never learned the name of."

 

Arland, meanwhile, dragged all three drow corpses into a corner, looted them of anything value, piled them up, and then impaled them and let the enchantment light them on fire, before pulling the blade out and sheathing it.

"Just so they don't come back as zombies to eat our brains. I got none to spare."

[AurianaValoria1]

The fighting was over more quickly than Rhaine had expected, and she was thankful that the Greys had managed to escape with no injuries. However, she was sorely sorry for Theia's gruesome fate; she had not had time to glimpse the centauress's corpse to see what her companions described before Amendale had covered it with Annette's blanket, but the puddles of sticky blood on the floor and the horrid stench gave it away. The Doomguide solemnly approached the bodies and began reciting Last Rites, and Zorica found herself murmuring the words as well. Once finished, Rhaine inclined her head to both Amendale and Arland, "Thank you both for taking care of this."

 

Conall entered the room after Rhaine and Zorica, followed closely by Dagny. Neither of them had any words to say regarding Theia's fate, but they did not have to. Their expressions - mixtures of horror and sadness - spoke for them. The former instead tried to focus on the myriad of gadgets, scrolls, gemstones, and tools that were lying scattered all over workbenches and tables.

 

"A lot of...stuff...around here," he muttered as he picked up one gem and then set it back down, "Could be useful to someone I suppose."

 

Dagny strode up to a few sets of iron bars that stretched from floor to ceiling and tapped them with her axe, the sound loud in the tiny stone room, "Looks like holding cells." She peered into one and then backed away, fanning her face, "And judging from the smell, there's been a lot of dead things in here too. No telling how many these monsters tortured."

 

Argyros glanced around, noting the low ceiling and the lack of any wall decoration, save for a few sconces lit with purple faerie fire, "This place is sparse, other than what appears to be absolutely essential equipment to these wizards. The tile pattern is almost hypnotizing, really."

 

Zorica crossed her arms and squinted, "Looks like another dead end, to me." She sighed and moved over to the right hand wall, leaning back on it, "Guess we could always go..."

 

She stopped, and her amber eyes widened as a tile on the wall shifted under her weight. The half-drow jumped away swiftly and readied her weapons, whirling back to see that one of the tiles had been a switch. Across the room, a section of stone began receding into the floor, and behind it was another dark tunnel. Zorica's eyes then narrowed again, "Oh, naturally it had to be one of those."

 

Rhaine stood still for a few moments, as if judging the best way to proceed. Finally, she gestured to Weyland, her black armor glimmering violet in the dim magical light, "Let's keep going, and with caution...there is much more to this ruin than meets the eye."

[josh900]

Tannin was now actually a bit excited. Down in a danger filled dungeon he was practically at home, his senses all working at their peak efficiency. Discovering Theia's fate he felt a twinge of anger well up inside of him. Something that unique and special didn't deserve that, he was angry at himself that he hadn't tried to be more friendly with her, maybe she could have at least had a friend before she died.

 

"Welp... Rhaine I have some unpleasantness in mind for whoever did this to her, so if you would be so kind as to shove any thoughts of him getting an honorable, clean death... It would makes things a little easier for you to stomach." He said in a matter of fact tone.

 

Lucas stayed near Rhaine as they ventured in. He would lay down his life for her if need be, but he hoped that it wouldn't come to that, though their discovery made him wonder if maybe he wouldn't make it out of this place alive.

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen was both saddened and horrified to see how horribly Theia died. She wasn't very fond of the centauress but she didn't deserve something as horrible as this, nobody did. She had nothing to say over the matter and simply walked around the room looking for anything that might help them. She was standing not too far from Zorica when the half-drow accidentally triggered the switch which revealed a hidden entrance.

 

"At least we won't have to crawl through those stinking holding cells." Shalena said as she approached them with a rusty tool most likely used for torture. "What do you think this one does?" The piratess asked as she showed Nawen her finding.

 

"I really don't want to know what it was used for." The drow replied as she followed others into the tunnel. The piratess shrugged before placing the tool back on the table and heading for the tunnel as well.

[Flipout6]

Amendale just gave a subtle tip of his head to Rhaine on her thanks, while Arland focused too much on searching for anything of value to give her any indication that he'd heard her. He grabbed a ring and an amulet, while Amendale was drawn to some source of power in a dusty footlocker. Whatever it was, it was radiating enough holy energy for him to pick it up from across the room with ease. Cautiously, he checked the chest for traps before he opened it. Inside was a set of robes- useless, unenchanted and moth-eaten- folded neatly and placed beside various other assorted items that looked to be of use to a traveling priest or a monk, but not to a party of adventurers.

Except for one thing. A ring.

 

Amendale picked it up between two of his fingers. It was definitely the source of whatever power he'd been able to feel. Cautiously, he thoroughly inspected and analyzed it.

 

"Rhaine-" He called. "-this ring, I think it's enchanted to release a burst of holy magic when activated. Not the kind that those wizards would think is holy, either. Pretty sure it was made by a cleric... it'll release a wave of magic if the enchantment's activated, should either heal us, or turn undead. Possibly both. It feels powerful, but I don't know its limits. Do you want it, or shall I keep it?" Rhaine shook her head "no", so Amendale shrugged and slipped it onto his fingers.

 

"Hey, Lucas! Catch!" Arland tossed an amulet to the squire. "Rub your thumb across the face of that a couple times, it'll flood your head with bravery and boldness. And a few memories belonging to some sap that's probably dead now of huge battles and other stuff." With that he kept looking. He tossed a ring to Marie before he stumbled upon something truly noteworthy.

 

"...That's a pretty big sapphire." Weyland commented, looking at the roughly fist-sized gem in Arland's hand, momentarily forgetting the sight before him

 

"It's..." The younger brother gasped. "...It radiates cool air! We'll never overheat in the desert ever again!"

 

"That...is ridiculously awesome." Annette commented even despite her somber mood.

 

As soon as they got moving through the hidden door, the Greys grew quiet once again and resumed their previous formation with Weyland in the front, Sybille in the back and Arland providing light. The sight of Theia's mangled body seemed to dull some of the nervous excitement of diving into the ruin, and it was with an almost heavy silence that they continued onwards.