Elves in the Temple - a Co8 FanFic and partial walk thru

Part the Twenty Second: Orc Fight

From the Journals of Jack B. Swift, Professional Adventurer, published 585, Greyhawk Press

“I wonder if we’ll find treasure in these caves” said Meleny.

“I’m sure we will,” answered Reynard, “a wonderful treasure.”

“Yes, Mel, we’re going to loot the bodies.” “Yes, Mel, that was a very big crayfish.” “Yes. Mel, an army of the unquiet dead haunts these fields and meadows.” Sweet girl, and bright, but all the bubbly enthusiasm got to me.

Reynard and Mel exchanged wide eyed, adoring looks.

Sicking a giant lizard on those two was looking better every day.

“Alright,” I announced, “battle preparation.”

We’d traveled to a cave system north of Hommlet and west of the fishing village of Nulb, at the request of Kenter Nevets, Hommlet’s village elder. Nevets was concerned about an orc raiding party sighted in the area; I wanted to know what Nevets knew about Lareth, the escaped leader of the Moathouse bandits. We made a deal.

As always before our battles, everyone started chanting. Blessings, protective rituals, distortions of space; by the time we were done all of us were glowing, sparking, or (in the case of Dio) actually covered in bark and flowers. Even the dog and chicken were glowing.

“Alright,” I said, “there are more than a dozen caves here, and the whole thing might be a wild goose chase. Quiet and alert, guys.”

“Be a Lert,” whispered Kate.

“Guys?” said Bar, posing in (and somewhat out of) her gladiator armor.

“Just go,” I said, and entered the first cave.

Which was, of course, packed with orcs.

Chanting happily, Dio threw up her hands. The ground of the cave exploded with creepers and vines, tying more than half of the dozen orcs in the cave in place. Almost as fast, Kate’s charged words filled the air with binding silk, which Reynard ignited. Barks of pain and the stench of burnt hair washed back over us.

A few orcs broke through the vines into our ranks, including a roaring, cutlass swinging bastard in armor made of bone. He went straight for Mel, leaping past Bar and taking a shot from her sword in the process. His own cutlass sliced down through Mel’s light leather armor, smashing her to the ground and spraying Reynard with her blood.

I jumped in behind the bone clad leader, slamming my spear into his back. I couldn’t see Bar or Perry, but I heard steel on flesh. The huge bastard was raising his cutlass again, about to bring it down for a second shot that would take Mel’s head from her neck, when Reynard turned and shouted. The dirt beneath the big orc’s feet turned to slick grease, dropping him onto his back.

With an enraged squawk, Mel’s chicken leapt into the greasy mess and somehow managed to keep its feet, slaloming forward and landing a brutal peck on the fallen orc’s neck. Grunting furiously, the orc pulled himself to his feet, leaving me an opening for another jab as he stood. He turned, and I landed my third spear thrust in his gut. Blood pouring from him, the huge thing moved towards me again, then fell. He stopped moving.

Reynard was busily forcing Mel to drink down a blue tinted potion. The blood flow from her wound slowed, and it began to close. I turned and joined the main battle.

Barbara and Perry were battling a fast moving half orc who’d somehow come up and gotten behind our lines. I stepped forward to assist, forgetting the grease Reynard had sprayed under the feat of the huge orc leader. I pitched over onto the corpse. By the time I could stand again, Bar had split the half orc into, well, halves, and Perry was busily conjuring bursts of unbearable sound down onto the orcs that remained. Dio was slinging rocks onto entangled orcs, and Kate was throwing darts of red light from her fingers two at a time.

The fight ended abruptly after Dio started dropping bears on orcs.
The haul was impressive. Two suits of bone armor, one of which appeared to be troll, some decent quality weapons and potions, the contents of a treasure chest, and enough cash to pay us back for all the scrolls we’d burned. Hekate used the magical storage chest she’d picked up in the Moathouse to store most of it. Dio claimed the Troll Bone armor.

I heard Dio asking Kate how she looked in it as we headed back to Hommlet. Kate told her she’d look better if we could find her a bone helm. Dio agreed.

Next stop, Nevets, to find out what he could tell us about Lareth.

End Part the 22nd. Next: Part the 23rd, the Moral Dimension.

 

Thanks.

I'm hoping to get back on a regular schedule with this.

I'm a huge OotS fan myself. Not looking forward to Rich's break.

 

Not to sound like a newb, but what's OotS?

BTW, love the fic / walkthrough, OB1. You write dialogue and characterization well.

 

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0478.html

Start at the beginning.

 

Part the 23rd: The Moral Dimension Part One

Town Elder Nevets and Militia Captain Renton stood together in the town hall, engaged in sober reflection on the affairs of the day.

Well, mostly sober.

“Pass the jug, eh, Renton?” said Nevets.

“As you say, Nevets” said Renton.

With due ceremony, the jug was passed. Nevets took a swig, and the jug was returned.

“Fine woman with a still, your Mrs. Renton,” said Nevets.

“Yes, she is that” said Renton, taking a swig of his own. He frowned slightly, and then returned the jug. “Any word on those adventurers?”

“Which adventurers?” asked Nevets, taking another swig. He noticed with some regret that the jug had been reduced to below the half full mark.

“The ones that cleared out the bandits in the swamp.” said Renton.

“Mmm?” said Nevets. Manners demanded that he return the jug, but with the contents so low perhaps an exception could be made? No, best not to be greedy. He allowed himself an extra sip before passing the jug back.

“The adventurers who healed mad Bing,” said Renton, accepting the jug. Nevets expression remained blank. “The gang Farmer Filkien’s daughter is running about with? Solved the mystery of Black Jay’s sheep? Chased those traders out of town? Delivered a giant’s head to Brother Smyth?”

Nevets smiled brightly, in what in a less respectable personage might be described as inebriated incomprehension, and waited for the return of the jug.

Renton searched for something that might assist Nevets in recalling the young wanderers. “Two men, a female Dwarf, an attractive Elf in a corset, a tough little girl in leather, and a big, good looking girl in a few strips of chain and not much else.”

“Ah, them!” said Nevets, his eyes brightening.

“Yes,” said Renton, drinking and then passing back the jug. “I’ve been worrying over them.”

Nevets smiled, accepting the jug. “I sent them up North to deal with those orcs your militia boys spotted.” He drained the last of the jug with evident satisfaction.

Renton thought on it. “In better times I’d say that was proper. Still, they were spotted with the leader of that Moathouse crew. Can we trust them?”

Through the pleasant haze brought on by the jug’s ex-contents, Nevets nodded sagely. “Trust them to kill orcs? They’re adventurers, Renton. It’s like water flowing down.”

Renton nodded at that, but remained thoughtful. “True, but can we rightfully take their help? Some say they may be bandits, or worse.”

Nevets shrugged. “Some say that Big Frank’s skin condition marks him as a demon, or that your Mrs. Renton and half her friends are witches. You can’t just go around suspecting everyone.”

Renton shifted and looked away. “Ah, er, yes.” Renton gathered himself. “Still, those adventurers are an odd lot.”

Nevets raised white caterpillar eyebrows (that is to say, he raised his eyebrows, which resembled white caterpillars; he was not actually carrying caterpillar eyebrows, an exceedingly rare and possibly fictitious commodity). “Eh? Seemed normal enough. I liked the big girl.”

“Four humans traveling with an elf and a dwarf, and only two males among them?” said Renton. “Smells wrong, like some sort of job lot.”

Nevets shrugged. “What about those four halflings that came through back near the big war, with a dwarf, an elf, and two humans? And the wizard who kept sucking down Elf Smoke. Or those five gnome bards round about three, four years back? Ordinary folk don’t go adventuring.”

Renton conceded the point, and took his leave.

Nevets thought back on the conversation several times during the night, and again the next day when young Kent came running to tell him the adventurers had returned. He rushed to put on a shabbier tunic, and fixed a harmless-old-man look on his face before the gang of them arrived.

They bulled into his house, and Nevets had to admit they were an imposing bunch. All bristled with weapons, and the girls displayed their youth in a way that reminded Nevets a bit painfully of his own years. Even Filkien’s girl was looking like a part of the troupe now, armed and holding a shield too large for her. Their leader, a hard faced man, was polite enough when he spoke.

“Town Elder,” he said, “We’ve done as you asked. We found the orc raiding party, and we took care of them. They won’t be bothering Hommlet.”

“Hommlet thanks you, boy” Nevets replied. Bittersweet as it was, he did like the looks of those girls. The big one was smiling at him. He smiled back.

The boss, Jack or some-such, got in the way of Nevets view. “So,” said possibly Jack, “we’ve kept our part of the bargain. What can you tell us about Lareth, leader of the Moathouse bandits?”

Nevets reluctantly turned his attention back to business. “Not much.” The leader stiffened, and Nevets was suddenly nervous. It wasn’t a sensation he liked. “Still, if anyone does know, it’s probably the Wizard Burne, him and his boys, the Badgers. I’d go and have a word with them if I were you.”

Exasperation in his voice, the leader thanked Nevets, and the gang cleared out.

Nevets considered if he’d done right, sending those kids on to Burne. Well, the self proclaimed Mage of Hommlet had been taking a lot on himself these past few years, sucking up cash for that castle of his and sending his guards out “patrolling”. Let him deal with this, then. Take the sour with the sweet.

Doubtless it will all work out, thought Nevets. He wondered if Lila Renton had another jug handy.

End Part the 23rd. Next: Part the 24th, The Moral Dimension Part Two.

 

I didn't know anyone read the OotS mirror.

 

:imwithstu

Being #1 can be a bad thing...oke:

Another masterfully woven tale, OB-1. We missed you.

 

Part the 24th: The Moral Dimension Part Two.

From the Journals of Jack B. Swift, Professional Adventurer, published 585, Greyhawk Press

Verbing inbred noun kickers.

I was cursing as we left Nevets place. We had to find Lareth if we wanted to get into the temple quietly, and every leader of Hommlet had blown us off. We’d done every errand they’d asked of us, textbook adventuring, and it hadn’t gotten us any closer.

“We’ve risked out lives for these verbers, and all we get is dirty looks and the run-around!” I snarled.

“And that magic horn the smith gave you” said Hekate.

“And a nice crossbow from the tailor” said Dionysia.

“Look..” I began, but Barbara interrupted.

“And we got some gold” said Barbara.

“The smith and cabinet maker have both granted us access to their finest wares” said Persephone.

“We have free rooms at the Welcome Wench, as long as we want them” said Dio.

“That’s not the …” I tried to say, but they kept going.

“We made some serious cash clearing the Moathouse,” said Reynard, “and, also, I got Meleny.”

“I got you” said Meleny, taking Reynard’s hand.

“I got this Holy Sword” said Bar, brandishing the sword.

“Well,” said Mel, “my Foxy-loxy gave it to you. It belonged to Uncle George.”

“Foxy-loxy?” said Bar. Reynard looked uncomfortable.

“Black Jay,” said Dio, “gave you some Boots of Elvenkind.”

“And we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have defended the good people of the Flannes,” said Perry, “put down the unquiet dead, and slain a giant!”

“So,” said Hekate, “personal satisfaction, access to goods and services, cash, tools and weapons…”

“Quit it!” I hated it when they started taking the piss. “Look, the point is, what we need now is cooperation, and we’re not getting that!”

I felt like an idiot, and Kate was grinning at me.

It’s hard to stay angry when a cute Elf in a corset is smiling at you. This is especially true when you suspect that, winding you up or not, your friends might have a point.

Does a good man become angry at good people when they suspect him with cause? Does he let that anger make him lash out?

Am I good or am I neutral?

We arrived at Burne’s tower. It was a huge, half finished structure on the eastern edge of Hommlet, almost finished. The laborer’s camp in the North East was becoming a fixture in the village; if the itinerant laborers remained, Hommlet might soon qualify as a true town, maybe even a small city in a decade or two. Burne, the “Mage of Hommlet”, and his companion Rufus were veteran adventurers themselves, smart and tough. They claimed to have built the tower to keep watch against menaces to the region, but I couldn’t help noticing that they’d left us to deal with bandits less than a day’s march away.

“Kate,” I began, “you talk to Burne. He likes you. I’ll talk to Rufus and the guards. Reynard, you talk to Burne’s apprentice, the cute sorceress girl. She wanted to travel with us earlier, hint that we might be recruiting.”

“Maybe,” said Meleny, “my love could talk to the guards?” She looked worried.

I shrugged. “Fine,” I said. I’d heard that other adventuring companies obeyed their leader without question, but experience was teaching me that this was not always the case.

We entered the tower and started talking.

After a chilly reception, Hekate asked Burne about his adventures and ended up in a riddle contest. She won some scrolls off him. I got nowhere with Rufus or the apprentice. Reynard hit paydirt with the guard.

“They have him in the dungeons” he told me quietly, as Kate continued chatting up Rufus. I signaled a withdrawal.

We gathered outside. “Hekate,” I said, “can you get us in without Rufus and Burne spotting us?”

Kate nodded. “I have the scrolls. They won’t see us.”

Perry looked concerned. “My friend,” she said, “what exactly shall we do once we find the villain?”

“We grab him, get him out of here, and take him back to the Temple. Then, we get in without raising an alarm.”

Perry looked even more anxious. “Jack,” she said, “he is a criminal in the hands of the rightful authorities, a leader of killers and the priest of a dark goddess.”

Damn it! Why couldn’t anyone just go along? I tried to keep my voice calm. “Our mission,” I said, “is to find and rescue the Princess Tillahi. We can’t do that if the bad guys know we’re coming and kill her before we get there.”

Persephone looked like she was biting back her response.
“Are we going, or not?” I asked.

Perry nodded. She didn’t look happy. Neither did Bar or Dio, or Mel. Even Fox and Kate looked unhappy.

Hell, the dog and chicken were making big eyes at me.

“Kate?” I asked.

“Join hands” said Kate, and then she read her scroll. The world took on a strange, wavering quality. As long as we stayed close to Kate, no one would see us.

We moved back into Burne’s Tower, walked right past him and Rufus, and went down the stairs. There was a guard on the next level down, and while I could have talked our way past him I’m glad I didn’t have to. We went down the next flight, and arrived in what looked more like a wine cellar than a dungeon. Maybe it was used as both.

And there was Lareth.

He was nude, and looked the worse for wear, covered in cuts and bruises. Some kind of magical ward surrounded him.

I knew what to do. Kate could use a scroll to break the ward, and another to get the bunch of us back out of here unseen.

I knew what would happen. Lareth would be grateful. Even if he’d been planning a betrayal the first time he’d taken us to the Temple, this time he’d gladly get us in, even support us as much as he could. From what little we’d learned from his diary, the Temple was a hotbed of politics, and our rescue of Tillahi could tip the scales in favor of his faction.

Persephone would never forgive me. Neither would Barbara.

We would be freeing the priest of a dark goddess, a killer and a leader of killers. We would be supporting this villain in his endeavors, putting him in a greater position of power than he’d had before we cleaned out his followers in the Moathouse.

Am I good, or am I neutral?

Am I evil?

Lareth had once mockingly asked me that about himself.

I signaled the others to follow, and I led them out of the tower.

“We’re going to find another way” I told them. “We’re heading to Nulb. Maybe we can find a way another contact to get us into the Temple there.”

Persephone smiled with relief, a girl come out of darkness. I realized for the first time that, for a dwarf, she was surprisingly pretty. Barbara, Hekate and Meleny looked much happier as well. Fox nodded at me.

If worse came to worse, we could come back for Lareth later, but I didn’t mention that.

We headed to the port village of Nulb.

End Part the 24th. Next: Part the 25th; Nulb

 

Horn of Fog. It's the current reward for opening the chest that appears beside Brother Smyth after clearing the Moathouse.

The list of rewards is there mostly because I thought it made a good bit (Python nod), but it's also part of the Walk Thru aspect of the story. People who bother to read through should have a rough idea of what stuff they can gather through the Co8 Hommlet quests, without being hit over the head with it.

 

Part the 25th: Nulb

Over the ridge they marched, two human men, three human women, an elf, a dwarf, a dog and a chicken.

Past the edge of the Gnarley Forest they marched, along the blue ribbon of the swift flowing Velverdyver. Through the Kron Hills along the High Road to Sobawych they marched, and within sight of the Low Road linking the Viscounty of Verbobonc to Dyvers. For half a day they marched, past farmer’s fields and stony hillsides, past fetid swamps and haunted glens, until, at last, the grey port village of Nulb clung to the river-bank before them.

“Tell me again,” said the blue haired elf, “why we didn’t get some horses?”

The travelers moved down towards the village. Jack, the darker of the two men, looked over the area. “As soon as we find some horses, we’ll buy them.”

“So,” said Reynard, trying to move things away from the by now much discussed issue of the absence of horses, “from here I can see an inn, a tavern, a smithy, one or two shops, and a building that’s either a playhouse or a brothel, all serving a community of under two-hundred residents.”

“Sounds like we’re in the right place,” said Jack.

“Daddy,” said Meleny, youngest of the female humans, “says only bad people come to Nulb.”

Persephone, the dwarf, smiled and shook her head. “You father is a fine man,” she began, as the group continued winding along the road, “but I would not judge the inhabitants of an entire village so swiftly.”

Reynard, Hekate and Jack fell back, allowing Persephone and her audience to pass. Barbara smiled as Perry warmed to her topic, and both she and Meleny remained close.

“Moradin teaches that all may draw near the light of his forge,” Dio continued. “We begin as base, impure ore, but through the hammer of hard work and the tongs of correct choice making, the true metal of the soul shines forth.” The cleric was taking in a breath, preparing to expand on her theme, when a bend in the road revealed a bridge, the main street of the town, and a zombie.

“Moradin!” shouted Perry, raising her axe. Light blasted from the weapon, burning through the monster. The de-animated corpse fell to the road.

The travelers gathered round. The corpse was covered with signs and notices.

“They were using a zombie as a signpost” flatly noted Hekate.

“Some ore’s pretty impure” commented Jack, moving past and onto the bridge.

“That’s when it’s time for a bigger hammer” said Perry to his back. Jack did not respond.

Looking down at the sign-post corpse as the group continued into town, Reynard the Fox noted that the large building on the East side of town was indeed a brothel, not a theater.

“Alright,” said Jack, “same drill as Hommlet. We go through town, looking for people who need our help. Lareth’s diary implies a connection between this town and the Temple; someone here should be able to offer us a quiet way in.” Jack paused. “We should also be on the look out for Morgause, Lila Renton’s friend. Might as way get more of her scavenger’s hunt cleared away while we’re here.”

Nulb was a river port, and it showed both in the buildings and populace. Every shack and shop was built of weathered wood, mainly scavenged from shipwrecks. Nulb’s men affected an aggressive, piratical air, while the few women on the streets wore poorly maintained clothes of once-expensive fabric and cut.

“Sir,” said Jack to an older man loitering near the bridge, “may I have a moment of your time?”

“Get verbed” the man replied.

Jack held his temper, forcing concern into his voice. “Grandfather,” said Jack, “I can tell you’re in great pain. Perhaps we can help?”

The old man seemed taken aback. “Eh? How’d you know that? Truth is, I’ve got a toothache that would kill a troll.”
“A toothache?” said Jack. “Isn’t there someone in Nulb who could help you with that?”
Hekate, hanging back with the rest of the heavily armed adventurers, started grinning,

“Yup,” grunted the old man, “one of the pirates. Handsome fella named Bertram, hangs out up at the Boatman’s Tavern. He’s good with teeth. No money to pay him though, not these days.” Reluctantly, he offered his name. “Preston Wrest.”

“Jack Swift” said Jack. “Why are you having money problems?”

The old man gave an ugly grin. “Well, ya see, I’m in the way of being a service provider, and my best clients ain’t been paying. Mona the fortune teller, and Ophelia, proprietress of the Snake Pit. They been having their own problems; they can’t pay me, an I can’t get my tooth fixed.”

Jack nodded. “Fair enough. We’ll talk to Mona and Ophelia for you.”

“Much obliged,” declared Wrest. “Here’s a gold piece for your trouble.”

Hekate was smirking as the group moved on and up to the North. “A whole gold piece, Jack!”

Jack shook his head. “Just lay off, eh? Favor trading works.”

Perry’s voice carried gentle disapproval. “My friend, I could likely have cured that man’s pain. If not, we could have given him the money for his dentist. Instead, we now act as his agents.”

“Poorly paid agents” interrupted Hekate, still grinning.

“Indeed,” said Perry. “I accept your choice, Jack, but what are your reasons?”

Jack ran a hand through his hair. “If we just healed that type or handed him cash, we’d be marks.” Jack tried to keep the irritation from his voice. “By offering to do him a favor, we already have the names of three more townsfolk, two of them with problems, and we have an excuse to talk with them; our chances of finding a covert way into the Temple have gone up.”

At the docks on the North-West of town, the young travelers encountered Grud Squinteye. A rapid negotiation ensued with the old fisherman.

“And if we agree to catch this giant gar for you, Grud?” asked Jack.

“Then,” said Grud, “I’ll gladly tell every man in Nulb what fine friends you are! Old Grud’s name carries weight around here! You’ll see!”

Jack agreed. The group would travel to Imeryd’s Run, a nearby swamp spotted with deep pools, and catch a giant gar.

“And now we’re going fishing?” asked Perry, as the group marched once more out into the swamps.

“Look,” barked Jack, “it’s not all bravely charging the enemy on a sunny day!” He drew a breath. “We do these errands, we earn people’s trust, and we get the information we need to go on.” His jaw tightened. “This is a safe and simple side trip, and you are not the conscience of this team.”

At which point, the swamps exploded with enemies all around them.

From the East, two gigantic frog-like things charged forwards, one larger than a bear, the other a true behemoth measuring nearly twenty feet in length. From the West, a troll-like Sea Hag charged forwards, shrieking and swinging a whip above her head. A dozen lizard men charged behind her.

“OK, it may not be safe” said Jack, drawing his rapier and attempting to interpose himself between Hekate and the gigantic frogs.

“I never claimed to be your conscience” said Persephone, and then began chanting in ancient dwarfish as she blocked the Sea Hag’s charge against Reynard and Meleny. In a burst of blue light, a floating hammer appeared by her side.

“Just stop!” cried Dionysia, smoothly bringing up her spear and driving it into the side of the smaller frog-thing. Blood and slime sprayed, but the smaller frog still managed to snake its impossibly long tongue around Hekate, interrupting the elf's own chanting and causing failed and broken magic to sparkle harmlessly away.

“Minds in the game!” Reynard threw out his hands, releasing a spray of grease onto the water before the hag and lizard men. The hag charged through unimpeded. Meleny let the magic pour through her, and vines and creepers filled the waters. The charge of the lizard men came to a sudden halt, but the massive Sea Hag moved through the tangle of vegetation unimpeded. The Sea Hag’s whip snaked down around Perry’s shield, slicing into the dwarf’s shoulder above her armor. Poison mixed with blood in the wound.

“Kord!” shouted Barbara. Space warped and twisted around her, transforming her into a small giantess. The Behemoth King Frog took advantage of her size, striking a terrible blow, its full weight driving behind jaws far larger than a man. Barbara’s flesh tore, her blood splashing into the water.

“Barbara!” shouted Jack, leaping at the King Frog’s back, driving his needle-like rapier with a surgeon’s precision into the monster’s flesh, seeking a weakness.

Confidently snapping out her axe despite her wound, Persephone landed a blow that tore through the Sea Hag’s leathery hide and into iron-hard muscle. The glowing hammer beside her struck as well, crashing into the Sea Hag’s side. Enraged, the hag struck out at Persephone in a frenzy, tearing skin and flesh alike, poisoned whip and claws extracting a terrible price.

Meleny franticly recited from a scroll, calling up a creature of living water to strike against the hag, while Reynard took space into his hands and twisted, doubling Dio’s size and brining a second giantess to the fray. Hekate released a brilliant blast of colors from her fingertips, failing to affect the gigantic frog-thing that held her, and then shrieked as it drew her into its maw. Dionysia struck at the frog again with her now tree-trunk like spear, but her foot slipped in the swamp, and the blow missed entirely.

A ball of angry feathers exploded from the swamp water, as Meleny’s vengeful avian defender’s beak and talons tore into the giant frog’s back. Dio’s dog leapt forward as well, its jaws ripping a bloody gash in the amphibian’s side. Croaking and convulsing, the frog began sinking beneath the water.

Despite her wounds, Barbara stayed on her feet, producing two great cleavers from her belt. Shouting with baresark rage and filled with the power of her god, she spun, each cleaver in turn splashing through the Behemoth’s blubber, leaving deep and ragged wounds one above the other. The Behemoth King Frog lunged again, massive maw snapping, inflicting another terrible blow against the young giantess. Only her anger held her to consciousness.

Jack struck again against the King Frog, inflicting another surgically accurate wound, as Persephone chanted in dwarfish took a step back away from the hag. A second floating hammer interspersed itself between Persephone and her enemy, and Meleny’s own chanting added a creature of living fire to the battle. Surrounded by conjured foes, the Sea Hag tore into the water elemental, dispersing it, but sustaining hammer blows and the second elemental’s fiery touch in the process. Reynard released a spray of deadly globes of light from his hands, but they dissipated uselessly as they struck the hag.

“I hate this!” cried the muck covered Hekate as she pulled herself from the giant frog’s corpse. A jet of fire sprayed from her hands, burning into the side of the Behemoth King Frog. Blows from Dionysia and Barbara, Dio’s dog and Mel’s chicken followed. The King Frog struck out once more, weakly, but its time was done. It sank into the water. Jack poured the contents of a bottle over the worst of Barbara’s wounds, washing away blood and filth and stopping the bleeding.

Persephone called on the power of Moradin, filling the air with the clanging sound of hammer on anvil; the Sea Hag staggered, and under hammer blows it fell.

After that, dealing with the lizard men was nothing at all.

Barbara and Persephone, Dionysia and Meleny worked together; the blue-green light of healing magic filled the air. Wounds were tended, bodies were looted, an enchanted figurine was recovered from the swamp to the East, and the giant gar was located to the North and summarily slain and stuffed in a sack.

The group began to march back to Nulb. Jack moved close to Persephone.

“Perry, I…” he began.

“You fought well back there,” Perry interrupted, “my friend.”

Jack gave a tight smile and shrugged. “You saved Fox and the farm girl. They couldn’t have survived the hag.”

Persephone returned the smile. “I was pleased to be of assistance.”

They continued briefly in silence. “Anyway,” offered Jack, “sometimes we need a good group conscience.”

Perry’s smile was wide and genuine. “That is not a job I’m suited for, Jack.”

“Who’s leader?” asked Jack, but now both the man and the dwarf were more relaxed.

“That would be you,” Perry answered.

“Call your self second in command, then,” said Jack, and moved to re-join Hekate.

“I thought I was second in command” said Fox, as the sun set over the fens.

End part the 25th. Next: Part the 26th, Orbits.

 

OB,

Yet another excellently spun yarn. Please keep them coming.

 

Thanks, feedback is always appreciated.