The
Quest
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The
Quest
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Chapter 6: Presence of Evil
Nova looks around and says, “This definitely looks like it was made a long time ago, but I wonder if anyone has explored it yet. I could use some buried treasure!”
"I have a good feeling this is an ambush you all check the pile if you wish, I will stir up anything that waits in these trees. Be ready to run and draw those weapons!" His weapon ready, Crovic heads to the forest edge to check out the woods again.
Lars holds up the sign of Arilus saying, "Farseeing Arilus, penetrator of shadows, let your servant see the taint of unclean stains!"
Almost immediately he stumbles back as an aura of near overwhelming evil washes over him, almost as if the entire area were awash in it.
Blissfully unaware, yet still suspicious Simoneous cautiously looks at the column. He finds it is made of a strange black rock with lines of white in it and that has been polished so much that it is smooth and shiny. As his eyes follow the column up, he is surprised to find that it is one huge carved rock and not smaller pieces held together.
Chatham sticks his sword into the pile and putting one foot up against the rubble he yanks backward on the sword forcing one of the pieces of black rock out of its spot. The rock pops out and rolls a few feet.
A rumble from above warns him and Chatham quickly runs away as his actions start a small landslide where many other pieces of black rock slide down and crash into the ground where he stood.
When it is done he turns and heads back to look at his handy work. He finds also examines the black rocks, but finding nothing of interest he climbs back onto the pile and knocks a few more loose until he can get to the strange orange layer underneath. After a few attempts he realizes that the orange layer doesn’t actually start until he is about 10 feet up. The material he finds is relatively soft and spongy. It can be cut easily but also seems to hold whatever shape it is cut into without collapsing.
Once in the forest Crovic moves stealthily amongst the trees. As he moves he starts to get the distinct impression that something is watching him. The more he looks around without seeing anything the more he feels he is being watched.
After a few minutes he spots a splash of red against a tree. His weapon ready he moves in close to find a young man in a black cloak with his neck slit open. Ugly slashes run down his chest and there are bloody claw marks on the nearby trees.
What is worse is that the body is still quite warm.
***************
Simoneous moves off to one side not to far away from the party. He seems to be examining the pile of rocks as a whole. Whatever this thing was once, now it is nothing more than a pile of rubble. It looks like most of it just crumbled leaving a giant mountain of rock with a roughly circular base reaching up to its rocky peak.
Nova leaps up nimbly onto the rocks and climbs up and past Chatham. “Let’s see if we can find some way into this thing, I’m sure there has got to be a hidden underground chamber filled with long lost treasure.”
As Nova moves past Chatham, he doesn’t notice that the man is distracted by something.
Chatham happens to glance down and spots Lars acting strangely. He stares intently at the young priests actions with a sickening feeling in his gut.
Lars looks around in all directions, his eyes wide with shock. He pulls out his blowgun and darts as he hisses, "Beware! There is evil all around us. This is a trap for certain. We should retreat to the trees."
He turns away from the ruins and finds that the feeling of evil vanishes...except for one presence in the woods directly behind them. A figure is coming out of the woods, but he is neither the source of the evil in the woods nor the source of the all-encompassing evil he feels when he turns and faces the mountain of rubble.
A moment later Crovic emerges, "Guys! Draw your weapons! We aren’t alone!"
He moves closer to Lars who is stopped halfway between the ruins and the forest.
Chatham needs no more warning. “Everyone off this hunk of rock now!” He jumps/slides down the side of the mountain, tumbling to the ground at its base and leaps up quickly with his sword drawn. He quickly jobs over to Lars and Crovic. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Simoneous turns and starts to make his way back as well, not wanting to be too far from the rest of the group.
Only Nova hasn’t returned as he has reached the halfway point to the top of the rubble mountain and looks down at the group curiously. He looks at them and then at the top of the mountain trying to decide what he wants to do, “There is something in here. I feel it.” He mutters more to himself than anyone else.
***************
With the situation as tense as it is, tempers flare when they realize their treasure-happy companion is still on the mountain.
Showing uncharacteristic anger Lars snaps, "Nova! Get down now! That pile is a trap!"
Crovic also shouts, "Nova get over here! We have trouble in these forests! I met up with a freshly killed man. They were the red blood we had seen I figure. What ever killed it I do not think are very nice folks. Ready your weapons and stand ready!"
Nova hesitates a little long grumbling to himself more than anything, “What’s wrong with those guys? There hasn’t been anything in this forest for months...well except whoever won that battle. But they are injured and not likely to attack, besides there is something here and I’m close...so close.”
Simoneous moves closer to Lars and waits, his hands holding a piece of bark and keeping an eye on the woods.
Lars holds a dart in his hand, ready to dip it in a little vial hung around his neck. Pointing at the figure coming from the woods with his chin, he says in a low voice, "There is a stink of evil in the woods. The rocks... I have never felt such malevolence as that. There is something fell indeed hiding within them."
Simoneous says, "I think you had better come down here Nova. Dead men do not need treasure."
With a final grumble Nova finally starts back down, “Geez, you’d think with all of the shouting that someone would have attacked by now!”
The evil presence sensed by Lars moves slowly closer to the forest edge but stops just out of sight, keeping his presence well hidden.
The group carefully scans the forest, yet they can see nothing.
“Nova! What has gotten into you?” Crovic snaps, “Ready yourself for an attack!"
Nova finally reaches the ground and pulls walks over without drawing a weapon. “Hey guys, don’t you think if there were anything in there they would have noticed all the shouting and attacked by now. So you saw a body! How old was it a day? A week? A year? It could have been one of those guys who were injured in that battle and eventually died. And that could have been a while ago.” He looks negligently around, “I see nothing. What make you think anything is still out there and will attack a heavily armed party like ourselves?”
***************
Simoneous turns as hisses quietly at Nova, "Listen, you wanted us all along because we have different talents. Well Lars' talents tell us that something is wrong. In your greed you ignore him because it interferes with what you want to do. You seem to think that you know every thing. Well stop being so arrogant! It will get us all killed! Just because we are armed don't think that we are safe from attack. Remember that no matter how big a fish is there is always something bigger out there that wants to eat him. So draw your weapon and pay attention to Lars when he talks about something in his realm of expertise."
Ignoring Lars, who seems to have narrowed his search down to one area of the forest almost directly before them, Nova rolls his eyes and draws his dagger, looking negligently around. “I still don’t see anything.”
Anger tinting his voice, "I’m sure the man was killed not long ago. Blood was still spilling out of him and the smell of a fresh kill covered his body," Crovic spits out at Nova.
Crovic joins Simoneous in carefully scanning the woods before them.
Surprisingly, it is Nova who discovers it first. Not sure what he is looking at he turns his head sideways and squints. Within moments the blood drains from his already pale face as he says, “Big...really big...time to run now.”
Chatham and Lars spot it at the same time. Just inside the trees almost completely hidden in shadow is an eye. One big yellow eye with a black slit in the center about waist high in the foliage. At this distance it is impossible to tell how big the creature is, but its eyes is at least half a handbreadth in height.
Nova slowly begins to back away toward the other side of the clearing.
***************
"Lars, I assume that’s one of the sources of the evil." Simoneous glances over his shoulder to make sure that nothing is sneaking up behind them. "I suggest we either retreat or find something to put our backs against."
Chatham’s face goes blank as he stares at the shaded eye. He quickly scans the forest around it for any other telltale traces of yellow and finds none. He mutters something about now knowing why the forest is so silent.
Lars pales slightly and says, "Let's back slowly up to the far side of the clearing. I know not what that thing is, but I do not think it means us good..."
Simoneous Follows Lars, with Chatham behind him carefully watching the creature.
Only Crovic holds his ground.
As he walks, he chants out a prayer to Arilus. "Oh Beneficent Arilus, Lord of the Great and Good Mind, Master of Those that Walk on Clouds, Harpist of the Winds, I entreat you, lend us the least of your servants to shield us from our enemies!"
In answer to his prayer is silence.
A soft breeze blows through the clearing ruffling the grasses and then nothing. It would seem his Lord has chosen not to heed his prayer.
Suddenly a blast of air rushes through the trees causing the smaller ones to bend and leaves to be ripped off the branches. The wind rushes through the clearing rustling the grasses as if a herd of unseen animals were stampeding through.
Two paces in front of Simoneous a whirling cone of wind appears. Taller than the man that summoned it, and at least twice as wide at the top, a whirling roaring creature of the wind appears. Its winds are so strong that some of the grasses near it are pulled out of the roots and tosses away.
The creature raises it’s head up, but does not reveal any more of itself.
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