My belly is full, and my heart is in the trim to see what we have done.
Standing before us is living, and free proof that what we are about is
right and good. The summer evening air is warm and sweet, and the stars
overhead seem friendly and diamond brilliant, rather than hostile and cold.
True, I have less than a score of runesticks left. And true, we are all
tired and sore. But I have a glass of wine before me and a book written in
an unfamiliar language which I shall begin puzzling out, food for the mind
as well as the body. But before I get lost in my ravings of a summer eve,
let me begin, not at the beginning, but at the ending. The ending of my
last journal entry I say, as it was a mere two days ago that I made it, yet
so much has happened between now and then that I feel compelled to tell it.
Let me then quit rambling and start the telling.
When we arrived back at the compound, our hearts sank. For there,
standing in the doorway was To-gurrick, and two dire wolves by his side!
Our first thought was that he had been pretending to be influenced by the
runesticks, and had gone for help immediately upon our departure. But that
is far to subtle for an orc. Bob decided that we should advance as if we
were still friends, that way, if To-gurrick was still charmed, we could see
what was up; and if he was not, we would be close enough to rush him. So,
hands on the hafts of our still-sheathed weapons, we advanced.
As we approached, the dire wolves growled a warning at us, but To-gurrick
calmed them, and told them we were friends. The dire wolves looked at him
dubiously, but subsided.
To-gurrick then hailed us, and told us that Blooddancer had managed to get
a message out to the "old men." The dire wolves had been sent by them to
help hold the camp for the night, and to tell To-gurrick that
reinforcements would be arriving in the morning. Also, the wolf told
To-gurrick that the "old men" had sent a message to his clan, asking for
more warriors, who would arrive in several weeks time. Their message
delivered, the dire wolves began patrolling the camp, telling us that no
one was to leave the camp, because all inside the camp were friends, and
all outside the camp were enemies.
I almost had to swat that wolf with my silvered axe! No one speaks to me
in that tone of voice, telling me what I can and cannot do, let-alone an
overgrown street dog. If it were not for the fact that my doing so would
jeopardize the mission, I would have taken that mutt down then and there.
But the ruse had to be maintained, and so I bided my time, vowing that when
it did come to a fight, that hell puppy would be the first to feel the bite
of my blade. It is I'll admit, passing unnerving to have the common tongue
issuing forth from the mouth of a dog.
My thoughts on dismembering the hell-mutt were interrupted by To-gurrick,
who was demanding healing of Bob. Bob looked to me and I gave a nod.
To-gurrick may be foul mouthed, bad tempered, flea-ridden and probably
diseased as well, but he is a formidable warrior, and we needed him at
fighting trim if it came to a scrap with these reinforcements that were
supposed to arrive.
After getting healing from Bob, To-gurrick went and demanded healing of
Merlaine. She was loathe to give it to him, as she suspected him of
treachery. But once she had healed the remaining injuries on him, she
voiced that she found it passing strange that an orc would accept anything
from an elf. To-gurrick told me later that evening that anything he could
get from an elf for free, he would take. I chose not to relay this
information to Merlaine, and to be true, most of what To-gurrick says to
me, I do not relay to the party. Mainly it concerns what a handsome price
the women would fetch, various crude jests and the ever present boasts
about his own prowess as a warrior. We spent a restless night in the
compound that eve, guarded by the ever prowling dire wolves. I am not
sure if it was nerves keeping me awake most of the night, or fleas.
In the morning, we conducted a search of the caverns. It seems as if
the orcs did not burn to death after all. They managed to put out the
flames Vasquez started. However, they could not completely extinguish the
smoldering carpets and tapestries, and died from inhaling the smoke.
To-gurrick was quick to loot Blooddancer's body. He proudly produced a
pair of skeleton keys, which he said made him "two-keys" which seems to be
his word for keeper of the treasure. He then went over to a huge iron
chest bolted to the floor and opened it using the pair of keys in unison.
Within the chest were many rings, goblets, picture frames, wedding bands,
hearth adornments of silver, or gold. It was a treasure made up of
keepsakes and lockets..the blood price of families slaughtered, temples
pillaged and lives ended. A huge chest of heirlooms of families that no
longer existed. Such a treasure made me sick at heart to behold, and I
swore I'd have no part of it.
One thing we did find however, was books. According to To-gurrick,
Blooddancer was a military scientist, and had read several books of
strategy and tactics. We found his meager library, consisting of four
texts, two of which Shali assures us are laymans books on the strategy and
positioning of armies in the field. We also found two books that
Blooddancer himself had penned, in orcish of course. One is titled "How to
Win War." The other has the dubious title of "War is more fun when you're
Winning." I put these into my satchel, as they will be useful to me in
learning to read this tongue of the orcs.
Brianna had spent several hours in sounding the walls of the caverns for
secret doors or traps and had found what we believe to be a trigger to a
door. After examining it for a time, we could not determine it's exact
use, and so resolved to sleep a bit and continue our search in the morning.
In the morning, we were doing just that, when the location of the secret
door was revealed to us in a manner most unpleasant. As several of us were
searching the caverns, a deep grinding rumble was felt, and the sound of
heavy stone upon heavy stone was heard. Brianna then came running out of
the caverns, yelling that the reinforcements had arrived. And if these
were the reinforcements, I dread the sight of the army itself.
For when I arrived at the run, I beheld pouring out of a door in the
cavern wall, two humans clad in partial plate mail. These two obviously
had worked as a team for many years. The one in the front evaded with his
kite shield, with bastard sword at the ready, while the woman to his rear
had a wicked looking pike ready to impale any who should approach. As this
formidable looking pair guarded the entrance, several score more humans,
clad in leather armor, and wielding short swords emerged. These were the
slaves. To- gurrick was outraged. He kept yelling that they had promised
reinforcements, yet sent us only dog-meat. And that he had conquered these
pathetic village-soldiers once, and would conquer them again. I told
To-gurrick to be quiet. And shut up he did, but not perhaps because of my
urging. For after the armed slaves had emerged, we beheld a figure so huge
it could barely squeeze through the opening of the cavern. Once it did get
through however, our hearts sank... it was an ogre, and whats more, it was
clad in partial plate scaled to its immense size. There were not one or
two, but three of these dreadful juggernauts that pushed their way through
the tunnel behind the human slaves. Last came the "trainers." They were
cruel and unpleasant looking men who wielded whips and flails. Once all
were outside the cavern and standing in readiness, one of the plate-clad
humans yelled that he wished to speak with our commander.
Without much hesitation, Bob stepped forward. The plate-clad human
introduced himself as Nasha. He thanked us for our service in chasing away
the attackers, and then he told us that our help was no longer needed, we
should pack up and go. Nasha then tossed a bag at Bob, who caught and
opened it. Out rolled two more gems, much like the ones Shali had been
given earlier. Nasha said it was "payment for services rendered." Not
knowing quite what to do, we packed up our gear and left. Shali whispered
that she felt sure that if we did not leave, they would suspect treachery
and attack, so leave we did.
Just as we were going however, an idea struck me. I whispered to
To-gurrick that he should take as much of the treasure as he could, as it
was now rightfully his. He agreed, and went back into the cavern to gather
up what he could. He almost attacked Nasha and his companion when they
questioned him as to why he was leaving with us rather than remaining with
them. While he was doing this, he also dropped, at my suggesting, a portal
runestick near the iron treasure chest. This accomplished, we left. Within
a matter of minutes, the compound we had fought so hard to gain was once
again locked, with us on the outside.
We decided to observe the compound from a distance, to see if we could get
any further information about what was going on in there. To-gurrick said
that he thought that Nasha and the other did not trust us, and we agreed
with this observation. To-gurrick then told us that it was common
practice, with curriers they did not trust, to pay them off and let them
leave, only to set the dire wolves upon them at nightfall. To-gurrick felt
sure that we would be delt with in the same fashion. This changed our
plans somewhat. After a hasty planning session, we found a defensible spot
on a hillside amidst a field of half sunken boulders and some scrub bushes.
Shali used her wall of thorns spell to make a shelter that only had one
opening, so only one wolf at a time could come at the party. For my part,
I placed a portal runestick ( the mate of the one To-gurrick had dropped in
the compound) and cast the portal spell. The spell took, and the runestick
rooted itself in place, ready. Brianna then cast a walking unseen spell
upon me, and I trekked back to the compound, where I concealed myself just
outside the gate, crouching low behind a log.
For several hours I waited. Finally, an hour or so after sunset, the gate
fell open and out raced three coal black dire wolves, running like liquid
shadows they melted into the woods, headed unerringly for the place the
rest of the party waited. Moving swiftly as I could, I scrambled onto the
bridge, and managed to get into the compound just as the ogres hauled on
the ropes and brought the gate up. For a few seconds, I just stood there.
If anyone in this place had the ability to see unseen things, they could
not help but spot me now. None did; Nasha and his friend were discussing
something while standing near the cave entrance, and the ogres were put
to use standing guard. They all seemed to be going about their business,
taking no note of a Mountain warrior in silvered plate standing in their
midst.
Wasting no more time, I made for the cavern. My heart felt as if it was
going to burst out of my chest as I passed within only a few feet of Nasha
and his pike wielding companion. After creeping past them into the cavern
proper I checked to see that the stick To-gurrick had dropped was still
there. It was, and as the pair of humans was still occupied in talking, I
took the time to cast the portal spell upon it. I could not help but grin
as the spell took, so far, our plan was working. Next, I laid two Runewall
sticks in the entryway to the side cavern, and in the outside entrance
itself. The side cavern was full of slave/warriors and their keepers,
preparing to bed down for the night.
That done, I went back into the rear of the cavern, to what had been
Blooddancer's quarters. The secret door, which was a boulder meticulously
cut to fit into the wall of the cavern without hardly a seam, was standing
open. I peered around it, and saw that it lead into a tunnel. Then,
cautiously, I drew out my inks and brush and painted the Locking rune upon
the boulder. That done, I began shoving on the boulder, pushing the
doorway closed.
It did not take Nasha and friend long to come running into the room at the
sound of the boulder moving. But they were not fast enough. Once the door
was closed, I stood back, and while they argued and looked about for who
could have closed the door, I cast the Runelock spell on it, sealing it
shut magically. Then it was back to the main entrance. I arrived none to
soon, for Nasha had just decided to summon the ogres to help search the
cavern. I cast a Runewall spell on the stick in the entrance, and up
sprang the pearly white wall of force, sealing us inside, but most
importantly, sealing the ogres outside. Nasha then started screaming at
the slaves to get up. They were in the process of doing that, when I cast
another runewall spell upon the other stick. Now, the slaves and their
trainers were sealed into the side cavern, with no way out.
Nasha and his companion, whose named I learned was Olga, linked hands and
began sweeping the cavern with their hand and a half swords, in a most
efficient manner I might add. Obviously, these two had had dealings with
unseen foes in the past and it was time for me to go. I made my way to the
iron chest, stepped upon the runestick, and found myself on a boulder
strewn hillside, just outside our party's shelter.
Once inside the thorny shelter, I beheld my companions, gathered around
Brianna and looking at her with concern. Shali informed me that Bri had
performed a ritual of summoning and binding for creatures of night and
shadow, and had elected to target dire wolves, hoping to control the ones
that were even now headed our way.
The ritual had been successful, and Brianna made contact with the minds of
two dire wolves. Bri then discovered, much to her surprise ( but I must
admit, not mine) that the dire wolves were already controlled. Brianna was
attempting to wrest control of the wolves away from the magician who now
controlled them. After a brief but intense looking mental struggle,
Brianna had both of the wolves under her control!
It is obvious that we have much to learn about this controlling of beasts.
For a while after her mental battle ended, the three dire wolves arrived.
They did not announce themselves, and the only way we knew they were there
at all was that I was on guard at the entrance, and saw one slink behind a
nearby boulder. When I told the party of this, Brianna said she wanted to
know which two of the wolves she controlled. She commanded the wolves to
howl, and howl they did. The howl of a dire wolf is a chilling sound that
causes the flesh to shiver and the hair to stand on end. I told Brianna
I'd heard enough of dire wolves howling, and would prefer not to hear it
again in the near future. The howling did not tell us much, as we could not
see the wolves who made the sound. Brianna then ordered the wolves she
controlled to stand in front of the shelter's entrance. Brianna moved
forward to get a look at the wolves as they slunk forward, growling their
hatred at being controlled.
The second she stepped into the doorway, the third, and
not-controlled-by-her, dire wolf threw itself at Brianna from the shadows.
Bri had time only to order her two dire wolves to defend her, then she was
borne down by the rush of the third beast. The other two wolves obeyed
her, and leapt upon their former companion with loud snarls. Within a few
seconds Brianna was caught up in a screaming snarling ball of teeth, fangs,
claws and black ichorous blood. Then things took a turn for the worse, for
the attack of two wolves under Bri's control did nothing to stop the third
from grabbing her in its huge jaws. We heard Brianna scream and saw the
huge welling of blood from the wound; then Brianna went limp. The other two
wolves continued their attack on the third wolf, and one of them scored a
deep gash along its flank. A quick glance at Merlaine told us Brianna was
merely stunned, not dead. However, stunned was bad enough, as her mental
control of the two dire wolves was interrupted and they were now free of
all control!
To-gurrick and I threw ourselves at the pile of beasts, I with my silvered
axe, and he with his cestus. The wolves took a second or two to orient
themselves, adjusting to the freedom of their own thoughts; and then,
miracle of miracles, two of the dire wolves turned and ran! The third
wolf, which was the one that had attacked Brianna, did not react fast
enough, as he had been stunned by the attack of the other two. To-gurrick
leapt upon him and started bashing its head into the ground, while I struck
several times with my axe, managing to avoid hitting To-gurrick and strike
my target. Within a minute, the dire wolf expired. Bob was heartbroken
that just as he was cutting off an ear of the beast for his gruesome
necklace, the corpse, along with the ear, turned into a foul black ichor
that stank worse than any offal pit and seeped into the ground, leaving
only a greasy black stain upon the soil.
I was fatigued from casting the portal and wall and locking spells, and
Bob was also very tired, as he had cast Armour of Earth on the entire party
as well as To-gurrick, only I had not been so blessed, as I was hiding
behind a log at the compound entrance when the spells were cast. Despite
the fact that he and I were very tired from casting, we decided that it
would be foolish not to take advantage of the time remaining on Bob's
spells. Bob has practiced this spell until it now even strengthens the
armor we wear somewhat, as well as aiding in our defensive abilities! So,
without much discussion, we trod upon my runestick and ported back to the
cavern to deal with the pair of humans within.
When we arrived, what I found amazed me. While my runewalls were still
standing, my runelocked door had been forced open! I gained a bit of
respect for these two humans, as I am no slouch at the runelocking spell,
and forcing open a door sealed by such is not something I'd want to wager
on doing. Since the door was open, and we still had Bob's spells with us
for a few hours, we proceeded down into the narrow cavern behind the door.
Since this is my home terrain and I know its dangers better than any, I
went in the lead of the party. The cavern is basically a natural one, but
has been worked by tools somewhat. We passed a pair of oil torches set
into the walls just beyond the entrance, these we did not touch, as many of
our party could see in the dark. After but a hundred feet or so, the
tunnel branched out in several directions. I stopped to consider which
path we should take, and it was then that I discerned two things. The
first was that someone had dug a pit right in the middle of the
intersection, where anyone who did not keep next to the walls would step on
it. This pit was covered with canvas that had been painted gray, and then
dust from the floor of the cavern thrown upon it, so it was near impossible
to spot. But spot it I did, and pointed it out to the party. The other
thing I discerned, was that there was faint torchlight, and the sounds of
men in metal armor coming from the tunnel to our right, and it sounded as
if they were receding. The two humans must have just gotten the door open
as we arrived in the cavern! If we hurried, it sounded as if we could
catch them in all likelihood.
I am slow, and loud in my armor, so I motioned for Bob to lead the party
and go on ahead of me. I cautioned him against more traps, but impressed
upon him the need for speed as well. Bob and To-gurrick took off down the
tunnel, with Merlaine, Brianna and Shali and her dogs not far behind. As
usual in a charge, Vasquez and I brought up the rear.
Several intersections did we find, where tunnel met tunnel. Always, Bob
would stop and listen, then point down one or another passage. At one of
these intersections, he triggered a trap, and a fairly nasty one at that.
There was yet another gray canvas, this one stretched over a recess in the
cavern wall. Within this recess were ten heavy crossbows mounted on an
iron holding brace. The crossbows were all pointed down the tunnel. So,
when Bob stepped on the trigger, he unleashed a volley of ten bolts upon
himself and To-gurrick, who were the only ones in the tunnel at the time.
Due in part to luck, and in part I think to the still functioning armor of
earth spell, none of the bolts struck home. They did however make an
impressive noise and cloud of dust and rock splinters when they hit the
wall.
Our quarry must have heard the trap go off, because we could tell from the
sounds they made that they were running faster now than before. After just
one more intersection, Bob rounded a corner and spotted our escaping
opponents at the other end of a longish narrow tunnel, it was Nasha and
Olga.
Bob and To-gurrick charged down the tunnel after them, and for their part,
Nasha and Olga turned to make a stand. They might have even done us great
damage what with Nasha evading and Olga wielding her pike. However, after
but a few seconds, Merlaine unleashed one of her pink entangling web spells
on the pair which engulfed them thoroughly. Nasha tried to cut the web
after a long struggle to remove his hand and a half sword from its sheath,
but he made no progress in his efforts and was soon dispatched by Bob's
daggers, while I had readied my bow and only remembered as I took aim that
my hands still shook somewhat due to my scrambled brains, and in these
narrow confines I could not afford to waiver even a bit. To-gurrick struck
Olga a mighty blow to the back of her head, and she was out cold instantly.
It was as Shali's dogs were running up behind us that we realized we could
still be in trouble, for one of the dogs fell into a pit much like the one
at the entrance. We could tell by its pitiful whines that it was still
alive, for fortunately, the pit was only 20 feet deep, and the dog had
managed to miss most of the spikes at the bottom. Brianna however, was not
so lucky. She also stepped unknowing into yet another pit in this corridor
and managed to land on a great number of the spikes set into the bottom of
this one. While not mortal, the wounds she suffered were serious.
We scavenged some rope from Nasha, and removed Brianna and Shali's dog
from the pits. Merlaine tended their wounds as best we could while Bob and
To-gurrick bound and gagged Olga. We then carefully made our way back to
the entrance.
Once there, it was decided that we could not leave the slaves trapped in
the cavern to starve. After a quick discussion and planning session, we
checked to make sure every one was; if not in fighting trim, at least able
to defend themselves. Then we put our hastily concocted plan into effect.
Bob, To-gurrick, Vasquez and Brianna stood near the wall, with Merlaine
and Shali behind me, who was in the middle. I prepared and cast the
counterspell, and with a barely audible "pop" the pearly white wall ceased
to exist. The second the wall was down, To-gurrick, Bob, Brianna and
Vasquez rushed in.
The slavers had obviously been expecting something like this. All the
slaves were positioned between the wall and the rear of the cavern. The
slavers of course, were at the rear of the cavern. It had been some hours
now since I erected the wall, and I guess the slaves had gotten tired of
standing at the ready, for they were sitting down and cleaning their
weapons, or drinking water or other such activities when the wall came
down. Before the slaves were even on their feet To-gurrick was half way
through their ranks.
As the slavers realized what was happening, they began to yell orders and
the slaves began to stand and array themselves for combat. Using his
momentum, To-gurrick swatted one slave out of his way with his round
shield. I winced to see this, for we had all agreed to use non-killing
force upon these poor creatures. But I was glad to see that To-gurrick
kept on after bashing the slave, and headed for the slavers.
Bob, Vasquez and Brianna were not so fast as To-gurrick, and got caught up
in the crowd of slaves. Shali and I ran forward to assist them, whilst
behind us Merlaine kept shifting position, angling for a good shot with her
webbing spell.
But an instant fighting these slaves proved how poorly trained they were
in combat. They knew the basics of the short-sword and buckler
combination, but not of the truly effective moves. With my first shot I
feinted and reversed with my axe, bringing the wooden haft smartly into
contact with the fellows lower jaw, knocking him out cold. Vasquez
meanwhile, had rammed the pommel of her sword into one slaves groin; when
he bent double, she brought the flat of sword down over the man's head,
laying him out neatly on the floor. Brianna took a different approach.
She tripped her opponent with her staff, and when he got up, she tripped
him again. Eventually, he might see wisdom and not stand up again.
While we distracted and dealt with the slaves, To-gurrick and Bob made a
run at the slavers. To-gurrick shield rushed his opponent, and then began
to lay into the man as he lay on the floor; the fellow never had a chance.
I was most gratified to see that during the fray, one of the slaves
actually took time to prepare several daggers and toss them at his keepers,
one of the blades even sunk home!
Shali, who is never one to stand in the background, did a most impressive
run, and then somersaulted in the air right over a slaves head! I had
never thought that all her tumbling and acrobatics training would be of
much use in combat, but once again she had proved me wrong! Unfortunately
she did not land all that well, but was not injured. The slave however,
sure was impressed! When she got up, Shali ran to help Bob, who had thrown
himself upon one of the slavers using the only weapon he can use these
days, his dagger. Since To-gurrick had dispatched his chosen target
quickly, he threw himself into the fray with Bob and Shali, and that last
slaver lived not more than twenty seconds after that.
The slaves were most confused, for here they saw an orc, an enemy, come
charging in and start killing their keepers. Then we arrive, knocking them
out and sending them sprawling on the floor, killing their masters as their
masters ordered them to attack us. Many months if not years of
conditioning had made that order hard to ignore. To-gurrick did not help
matters by raising his sword over his head and yelling "Drop your weapons
dog-meat! We saving your worthless hides! Obey, village-soldiers or I
conquer again like I conquer you before!"
Were it not for the fact that many of the slaves would have been killed, I
might have just let To-gurrick be attacked by them, which seemed what they
were about to do. I ordered To-gurrick to keep quiet and go see if
Merlaine and our captive were all right. While he was out, Shali explained
to the slaves that we were indeed rescuing them, and that the orc was under
a spell. The slaves kept their weapons at the ready and regarded us
warily. One of the slaves, the same one who had tossed the daggers I
noted, asked if they could have some time to discuss matters. Shali said
sure, and we withdrew from the cavern to tend Brianna, who had taken a
nasty cut during the fracas from a slave that had gotten behind her. Other
than that cut, none of us took any wound during that fight.
After a time, the group of slaves emerged, carrying the weapons and armor
of the two former "masters", whose bodies were no longer recognizable.
They said that they believed us, and wanted to help us. Were I not so
tired, I could have leapt for joy! We showed them the runestick that lead
to the mountainside camp. They were at first very wary of the stick, not
trusting magic much, as is the way with most folks. But eventually, we got
them all onto the hillside, and Shali sent a summoning spell out for our
horses.
Our meal this eve consisted of some game, a fair bit of the salted beef
from the orcs hoard, boiled in some of the wine which was not ruined by
the heat of the flames. It is a passable stew, and a pleasant change from
the trail rations we have been eating all this time. Over this meal, the
slaves told us much about what they had endured, and what the temple they
were kept in was like. We have much work ahead of us, for these slaves
tell us of hundreds, not dozens, but hundreds of their fellows kept in the
warrens of that place. They also tell of several wizards there, and dozens
of men-at-arms, and a good three score or more "trainers" who are expert at
using the whip and flair. The caverns go one for only a little way after
the pits the slaves tell us, and after that there is a small valley with a
road that leads straight to the temple. The slaves warn us not to go into
the woods that line the road, for they are haunted and full of evil
spirits, and no one who has gone into those woods, be they slave or slaver,
was ever seen again.
The slaves have offered to stay here and guard this area and set up
supplies of game and water in preparation for any more of their fellows we
may release. They do not want to venture back into that temple of horrors
so soon after being rescued. But they do want to help, so they will
prepare, as best they can, this site to hold and tend the, hopefully,
several hundred people that will eventually be here.
The slaves tell us that our captive, Olga, is one of the warriors that
guarded the temple itself, they believe she is a lieutenant or something.
We thanked them, and plan on questioning her come the morning. Also in the
morning will we check on Vedrosh and retrieve the rest of our gear that was
not on the horses. But for now, it is time to bed. The slaves offered to
take watches, but tired as we are, we deem they need rest even more. So
for now we will stand watch, their turn to watch will come when we are
gone.
By My Still Unsteady Hand,
This 11 th Day Juno
The Year of Our Lady 540.
Drashak Khea Milari
holwinkle@oocities.com