'New guards
coming,' says Darius peeping through the observation window.
'Let's wait an hour, until
the new shift have sunk into boredom' says Bennett.
Darius observes the fact
that the guards have gone back to their game of cards, yawning often
as they do so.
'OK, let's do it' says
Winnacer. 'Jihan, open the door as quietly as you can, then we should
pounce on the guards as quickly and quietly as possible. Darius, let
you and I take the one on the left. Xavier and Bennett, you take the
ones on the right. Yaz and Jihan secure the stairs in case anyone
comes down to investigate.'
Jihan slips the key into the
lock and waits for the gentle click telling him that the key has
found its mark. He then twists the key and hears the bolt sliding
back. Despite the noise that the bolt made, the goblins do not look
up.
Winnacer nods and they all
burst through the door with chains and manacles in hand ready to
strike the goblins. The goblins look up in terror as they see the
prisoners burst through the door coming towards them.
Darius smacks his manacles
straight into the face of the first goblin, smashing its nose into a
bloody pulp. Winnacer also strikes with his chain, hitting the goblin
in its side.
Xavier also gets a good hit
onto his goblin smashing into its head. Bennett's swing just fails to
connect with the jailer.
Dazed and confused, the
goblins reach for their shortswords. However, before they get a
chance to strike back the heroes get another chance to hit
them.
The goblin manages to avoid
Darius' blow, but Winnacer's blow catches it in the face with full
force, smashing its face into a mass of blood and leaving him
completely dead.
Mustering up all of his
strength, Xavier repeats Winnacer's action with an almighty blow that
shatters the goblin's skull to a state where it starts to ooze gray
brain matter.
Jihan and Yaz are at the
stairs, anxiously waiting to see whether anyone was alerted by the
scuffle. However, such was the speed of the goblins' deaths that they
never had a chance to scream.
Darius takes a large bunch
of keys from the body of the goblin.
'Darius and Jihan, take the
keys and check all of the cells for prisoners or anything else of
interest. We need to secure this level before we start on the next.
Xavier go with them in case there may be any dangers lurking within
the cells' says Winnacer.
Winnacer and Bennett each
take one of the goblin's shortswords and join Yaz at the foot of the
stairs in order to guard against the possibility of their being
disturbed.
Opening up all of the cells,
they discover three other prisoners in the cellblock. All of them are
middle aged, painfully thin, with gray pallid skin. They have the
look of peasants about them. They are definitely going to be nothing
but a burden to the party, as they will be of absolutely no use in a
fight.
Jihan leads then into the
cell that was their home for the past couple of days. He leaves them
with Faewen'il and the gnomes.
Darius opens the door to the
last cell, the one immediately behind where the guards were sitting
and can barely contain his excitement. The others peer in to see the
cause of Darius' excitement.
To thier intense delight,
they see that all of their weapons and armor have been stored in
there.
'Spravedelna be praised!'
says Winnacer, joyously.
Their delight is somewhat
marred, however, when they see that all of the magickal items,
including the spellbooks, are absent. Winnacer is also disappointed
to see that 'Old Bohavia' is not there either. Heimlin is most
disappointed to see that his large bag of gems has also disappeared,
not surprisingly. All of the other bits and pieces, the pots, pans,
nails, soap and other sundry items are also missing.
'At least we have the tools
that we need in order to make our escape' says Winnacer, as he
retrieves his old longsword from the pile.
Jihan checks the cells
carefully once more to see if he can find the missing magickal items.
His search, however, proves to be fruitless.
Xavier picks up his old
bastard sword from the pile, thinking it small compared to the bulk
of 'The Justifier.' Bennett also picks up a bastard sword from the
pile and starts to struggle into a suit of splint mail as quickly as
he can. Everyone struggles into their armor as quickly as they can,
feeling pleasantly secure as the cold metal touches their skin. All
except Yaz, whose artifact leather armor is not present. He now feels
quite naked compared with the others. At least he now his scimitar to
protect him, not to mention his precious poisonous putrefied
porridge!
Some 15 minutes later, all
are armed and armored, ready for the next phase of the escape
plan.
'Wait here, everyone' says
Jihan. 'Let me scout ahead and see what is waiting for us. Be
prepared to come and get me if I get into any difficulties.'
Jihan, as carefully and
quietly as he can, tip toes up the stairs. He reaches the long
central corridor without any problem and peers down its length. He
can see no sign of life ,although the corridor is well lit with
flickering torches. He starts to make his way down the corridor,
trying each door as he comes to it. All of the doors are locked.
Although he knows that he would be able to gain access using the
skeleton key, he realizes that time is of the essence and so carries
on down to the end of the corridor.
As he comes towards the end
of the corridor, he sees that the last door to his left is open. As
he gets closer, he can hear the deep bellowing voices of orogs
talking in Nyemetz.
With perspiration appearing
on his brow, the nimble elf edges up to the door. Offering a silent
prayer to Prirodna he peeps in. As he does so, his eyes immediately
connect with those of an orog. For a split second, the elf and the
orog look at each other in surprise, then Jihan starts to hurtle back
down the corridor as fast as his legs will carry him.
The orog charges after him,
drawing its huge broadsword as he does so. Four other orogs charge
after him a short way behind.
'OROGS!' the others hear
Jihan shout, as he nears their position at the bottom of the stairs.
Without any hesitation, each of the warriors readies his weapons and
prepares to take on the oncoming beasts.
Winnacer launches himself at
the first, but his blow fails to penetrate the beast's mail. The
beast strikes back but, in his haste, topples over and sprawls at
Winnacer's feet. Winnacer attacks again, but misses the prone
orog.
Xavier takes on the second
and gets a fair hit on the beast, although it is huge. The orog
strikes back, but Xavier is saved by his mail.
Bennett leaps forward to
take the third. His blow is on target, but fails to pierce the orog's
mail. The orog strikes back, but is way off target. Bennett attempts
another swing, but it also is way off target.
Darius bravely rushes at the
fourth, but his shortsword fails to connect. The orog does manage to
get a blow on the goblin, but luckily the damage is minimal.
Jihan and Yaz both attempt
to strike the last one. Jihan's blow is off target. Yaz is chanting
and his right hand starts to glow with energy. He strikes the orog in
the face causing some damage , which sends the orog bellowing with
rage. The orog lashes out at Yaz with his huge broadsword, inflicting
a terrible blow that almost downs Yaz immediately.
Shouting an apology to
Jihan, he backs away from the conflict, realizing that another blow
would finish him.
The melee continues in a
swirl of steel. The orog fighting Xavier lands a blow on the Saxon,
winding him.
To make up for it, Bennett
thrusts his bastard sword into the face of the orog facing him with
all of his might. The tip of the sword goes straight through the
orog's mouth and emerges through the back of its helmet, killing the
huge beast instantly. The others look on, VERY impressed.
The orog fighting Darius
manages to land another powerful blow on the plucky goblin. Darius
staggers in pain, feeling just a few seconds away from feeling the
familiar feelings of unconsciousness sweeping over him. The orog
grins as he sees the damage that he has inflicted upon poor
Darius.
Jihan gets a good hit on the
orog, but Langzhan is not up to causing much damage on the stocky
orog in front of him and the damage is little more than a
scratch.
As the orog gets up,
Winnacer gets an impressive hit on the creature, doing some serious
damage to it. The beast gets up, bellowing in pain, but just misses
Winnacer. Winnacer tries to strike again, but manages to perform his
regular trick of sending his sword flying from his hand.
The orog facing Xavier
manages to get another hit on him. The Saxon knows that he cannot
take much more of this punishment.
Bennett looks around him. He
sees Darius in the process of being slaughtered by the orog he is
facing. He hesitates for a moment and then shouts:
'No, beast. The pleasure of
finishing the rat is mine!'
With that, he goes to lay
into the orog, but manages to trip over the body of the dead orog on
the floor in front of him ,which sends Bennett sprawling to the
floor.
The orog facing Jihan
manages to inflict a very bad wound on the poor elf, leaving him
close to death.
Winnacer dashes over to
retrieve his longsword, but gets hit badly by the orog he is facing
while doing so.
Xavier lashes out at the
orog with madness in his eyes, and inflicts a very bad wound upon the
orog. The orog bellows in pain and hacks back into the Saxon. The
Saxon goes down at the feet of the orog.
Yaz immediately throws the
bucket of filthy slops into the orog's face in retaliation. The orog
screams as he is blinded by the stuff and starts to vomit violently.
The druid then kneels before Xavier starting to bind his
wounds.
Bennett quickly stands back
on his feet again in order to start his fight with his second orog.
He is, however, just too late to stop the orog inflicting a terrible
wound on Darius, sending him to the floor.
Winnacer brings his
longsword up and inflicts a fatal blow upon the orog for causing him
injury while stooping to retrieve his weapon.
Seeing Jihan struggling
badly, he dashes over to help out in that struggle landing another
terrible blow upon the weakened beast, leaving it close to
death.
Bennett goes to strike at
the orog that felled Darius, but neither of his blows manage to
connect with the beast. The orog strikes back at Bennett, inflicting
a terrible blow that leaves him close to death.
Yaz finishes bandaging
Xavier and moves on to help Darius.
Jihan sees that the orog
that he is facing is now pre-occupied with Winnacer. Seeing his
chance, he takes Langzhan and thrusts it up under the orog's armpit,
where he knows it is not protected by its mail. The blade is true and
Jihan pierces the creature's heart, killing it instantly.
Seeing the orog in front of
him drop, Winnacer once again changes target. Mercifully, there are
just two left now, and one of them is incapacitated due to the
effects of Yaz's filthy mixture. He goes after the one that took out
Darius and is now just about to do the same to Bennett.
His strike is on target and
the beast is injured, although the wound was not deep. Bennett tries
to match the young lord's action, but his blade does not find a way
through the orog's mail.
The orog turns to face
Winnacer, as he was the cause of the beast's injury. It strikes at
Winnacer, but cannot penetrate his mail.
Jihan goes to the orog who
is vomiting as a result of Yaz's filth. He is easily able to guide
Langzhan into the orog's neck, inflicting terrible damage, but not
quite finishing the brute.
Winnacer hacks into the
other orog causing more injury. Bennett tries also, but still cannot
guide his blade through its mail. It strikes back at Winnacer, but he
is protected by his armor.
Winnacer once again hacks
into the stubborn orog, causing more damage. As the creature bellows
in pain, Bennett sees his chance and strikes deep into its side,
finally felling the creature.
The two warriors go to help
Jihan finish off the last orog. As they come for him, the orog
staggers up trying to dash away from the melee.
The orog is surprisingly
fast for what looks such a lumbering beast and charges off down the
corridor with Jihan, Bennett and Winnacer in hot pursuit. Although
they are faster, the orog is moving so fast that their blows fail to
connect.
As the combatants rush up
the corridor, they see that the main doors to the square outside are
open. The orog dashes through the doors but, as he does so, a blow
from Winnacer finally connects with the creature, sending its head
rolling into the square outside.
Trying to catch their
breath, the three peer into the darkness of the square, half
expecting to see the entire garrison of Dvur Kralovye heading towards
them. All is quiet, however. No one stirs in the square, as the
curfew has long passed.
As the adrenaline subsides,
the extent of their injuries reveals themselves to each of them. With
the exception of Winnacer, not one person involved in the fight is
any better than just hovering above unconsciousness.
'Quickly, we must get out of
here, fast' says Winnacer.
He quickly descends the
stairs back to the cell to find Faewen'il, the three gnomes and three
peasants waiting nervously for word on the progress of the escape
attempt.
'Our efforts have been
successful and our way out is clear, although we have suffered
grievous injuries through our efforts. I see that you are all weak,
but I must ask you to use your last remaining strength to help my
colleagues to escape from here, as two of them are
unconscious.'
The peasants nod
nervously.
All leave the cell and rush
up the stairs to where they see the carnage that is the result of the
terrible melee with the orog guards. Faewen'il helps Yaz finish off
bandaging Xavier and Darius.
'We must be quick' Winnacer
urges once again.
Winnacer and one of the
peasants support the unconscious form of Xavier, while the other two
support Darius. Heimlin leads Granny, while Faewen'il supports
Bekkah. All of the others struggle to keep themselves on their two
feet without keeling over.
The bizarre looking group
struggles through the main door into the empty square outside.
'Now, how do we find The Cow
& Gate?' asks Winnacer of the others.
'I know it well' says one of
the peasants. 'Follow me. It's five minutes away.'
Although the inn may be five
minutes away at walking pace, the journey for the terribly injured
group is painfully slow (literally). Several in the group want to
stop and rest, but Winnacer keeps urging all onwards conscious of the
fact that they stand out amongst the empty streets like a sore thumb
and are leaving a trail from the blood that is dripping from numerous
cuts on the warriors' bodies.
As the journey progresses,
they see that the standard of the houses gets worse and worse until
they are little better than hovels. Eventually a large run down
building comes into view. A faded sign reveals that it is none other
than 'The Cow & Gate'.
They are all very nervous as
to whether the inn will be open, as it is now 2.00a.m. They are
relieved to see the flickering of torchlight through the grubby
windows and try the door. It is open.
Winnacer is the first to
enter. The tavern is empty apart from one table in the center of the
room. A man behind the bar is snoozing with his head in his
hands.
Three of the occupants of
the table are sleeping soundly with their heads on the table. The
other is sat bolt upright looking towards the door. The man is in his
mid-thirties, dressed in a long blue cloak, an expensive item of
clothing compared to the dress of most of the occupants. They notice
the brown hide of leather armor underneath, and the scabbard of a
shortsword.
He looked shocked when he
sees the state of your injuries. At first he thinks that the inn has
been invaded by undead.
Then, realizing that you are
the ones who he has been expecting, he claps his hands in the center
of the table, waking his sleeping companions who come to with a
start.
'Ota, summon Brother Igor.
We will be needing him this night. You two, help me get them down to
the cellar.'
He walks over to the bar and
shakes the barman awake.
'Wake your wife and
daughter. Start cleaning the trail of blood that they have left as
best you can or else the Nyemetz will find their way to us as surely
as if we were to give them a map.'
The barman immediately
rushes up a set of stairs at the side of the tavern.
The speaker and his two
companions come to help the newcomers as the other rushes out into
the streets.
They guide the party behind
the bar and stop before a trapdoor. The speaker pulls at the iron
ring imbedded in the wood and lifts the trapdoor to reveal a flight
of stone steps disappearing into darkness. He takes a lantern from
behind the bar and lights it, illuminating the darkness. He then
guides them all down the stairs.
They see that they are in a
storage cellar, filled with large barrels. The speaker and his two
colleagues roll away one of the larger barrels to reveal another
similar sized barrel behind it. The speaker goes to the end of the
barrel and pulls it away with his hands. He shines the lantern into
the empty barrel to reveal that it is, in fact, the entrance to a
small tunnel. He crawls through it and tells them to enter with him.
He guides each of them in through the narrow opening until they are
all in a small room, a great deal smaller than the cell where they
have been for the past few days, meaning that it is somewhat
claustrophobic with so many of them in there. The speaker waves
towards the opening and the barrel is resealed. They hear the sound
of the first barrel being rolled back into position.
They all spend a few seconds
trying to catch your breath, and then the man speaks without
emotion:
'Welcome. I am Viktor,
Viktor Kozyeny.'