Methos goes to sleep at the Drink and Fight Inn, in the cold lands of Sigel. In his slumber he wanders off to the land of dreams .
Far to the South, in the Province of Greyhelm..............
. . . He awakens to warm air and the spray of the sea. He's aboard a ship called the Sunrise. There is Alric his pixie friend, and the mad orc Maurice. It seems they have a crew and are on a mission to distant Kilmoor. They hope to rescue some slaves, namely one called Elisha. That and to slay some Kilmoorians as well.
For six days the ship sails on, passing the Greyhelm Isles. Farther out to sea the waves get bigger and some of the landlubbers get a bit ill. The crew of ten repairs the Sunrise's leaks and build a brace at the bottom of the vessel. They are all in excellent spirits even though this journey might end horribly.
Brigit continues to give good advice to Maurice who starts to get a greater understanding of being a sailor and dealing with the sea. The spunky lass certainly knows her stuff and is more than eager to help out where she can.
Lorna prepares two meals a day. It starts as mutton and meat but eventually becomes fish. The crew catch a lot of their food and since fish is not meat, Maurice eats his fill.
More days pass, and soon they are in Kilmoorian waters. They discuss strategy, and what to do when they arrive at Mal'uus.
In the distance another ship is seen. Alric flies out across the wavy expanse to investigate. It is a Kilmoorian warship and the pixie things it is roughly the same size as the Sunrise. He returns and tells what over there, at least from his tiny perspective. By this time they have been spotted and the Kilmoorians unfurl black sails and quickly head their way.
Quickly they discuss whether to fight or to flee. If they are on to Kilmoor it would be nice to have a ship to help them sneak closer to their destination. Otherwise they will certainly be spotted again and they might find a whole enemy fleet bearing down on them.
They decide to fight. The majority of the crew goes down below decks to arm up. Some garbage is set afire on deck to send up a cloud of smoke. Brigit, Lorna, and two other crew stay up top in plain sight and the vessel is left to drift. Maurice hopes the Sunrise will appear to have had some sort of disastrous accident and might keep the Kilmoorians a bit more at ease. Should this work they should hopefully have the initiative against them in battle.
Kazier, Maurice, and Methos hide beneath an old tarp to prepare for the attack. All are armed and armored, ready for a hard battle.
The Kilmoorian vessel approaches, like a black sea-creature. It is much larger than what Alric thought it was, having a crew of perhaps fifteen to twenty. Maurice lets Brigit know that this will be his first fight as commander of a group of people and she then begins to look a bit more worried than she had been before.
The enemy ship pulls alongside the Sunrise. The dark Kilmoorians are there with their wrapped headgear, partial armor, and unusual, curving weapons. While they are preparing to board, Alric buzzes over, unseen of course, to cause some trouble.
They throw grappling hooks and Brigit, Lorna, and the crew run below and bar the doors when this happens. Maurice tosses the covering tarp aside and fires a pistol, blasting one boarding warrior backwards with a hole in his chest. "For Cedric!" He roars, slashing out his sword. Methos and Kazier also have weapons readied. Immediately all three get back to back as the bloody melee begins.
It is a very violent battle. Maurice stabs and hacks with his saber. Kazier kicks and slashes with his daggers. Methos chops and cuts with his shortsword. Alric flies to the middle of the group and hurls offensive spells on the charging foe.
Each of the Corvellians get wounded, an injury to an arm, chest, or leg. Alric taps into his powers and heals their damage. Even the pixie takes a leg hit from some shot fired from a Kilmoorian pistol.
Over a dozen of the enemy are killed, and then something unexpected happens. Up from the depths come blue-skinned humanoids that start attacking the Kilmoorians with spears and tridents. These strange creatures have almost total surprise on their side. The Kilmoorians try to flee to retreat, but they are quickly dispatched and the fighting is over.
Brigit knows of these poeple, they are called the Mer. They look like slightly scaly, blue-hued sea elves. Many are tall and exceptionally slender, wearing no clothing at all though some sport intricate, spiral tatoos. Their leader is called Rodish.
It is learned that the Mer are enemies of the Kilmoorians who hunt and enslave them for sport. They had spotted the Sunrise some time ago but had trouble telling where the ship had originated from. The plan to go to Mal'uus is told to Rodish. He agrees to help them anyway he can.
After the Kilmoorians are stripped of gear and dumped overboard, the crew of the Sunrise goes over to the captured vessel. The mer will take care of the Sunrise in the meantime. Dressing up as their enemies they then head towards the island of Mal'uus, where they will look for the domed estate of Marijid Alingin. Once they find it they will make their move.
Alric searches the vessel and finds some coin and gems. Not a lot of treasure but it will help some, provided they survive. The ship steers very well and is in excellent condition. The crew are all upbeat and excited and sing the sea-shanty-song of "Joxer the Mighty."
Comings towards Mal'uus they pass several other Kilmoorian ships. The island has cliffs on all sides and the distant city of Trazaan is spied. All then start to calm and eventually nervousness sets in. They are in the heart of enemy territory now. If they are discovered now their journey will end in slavery or death. Their ruse seems to work and they move past other vessels without raising suspicion.
In late afternoon they spot the estate. It is a large building on the edge of a high cliff. There is a lot of brilliant colored glass here, matching the description given by Glendel back at Redshore. Spiral towers, balconies, domes, all very impressive.
Alric flies up to look the place over while the rest make preparations. He uses magic to change his form several times and investigates what he can. Alric finds a library, banquet room, hallways, doors, more rooms, cushions and more stuff. It's all a bit much for the tiny pixie. The place is giganimous.
Returning he tells the others what he's seen. It appears not many guards are there. It's decided to wait until nightfall before going on in. Best to use the darkness to their advantage.
Taking a cord and using some spell power, Alric gets it up the tall cliff and around a rock. Eventually a rope ladder gets eased down and Kazier climbs up. Methos is next but has a bit of trouble and Maurice is last. Each is dressed in dark clothing, hoping to stealth their way through this as much as possible before the fighting begins.
Climbing up a balcony the four find themselves in an unlit library. The great multitude of texts here go over a huge range of subjects, from the religious to the philosophical. Most of it is ignored, for their goals lie elsewhere.
As they work their way through the vast estate they encounter many small groups of guards. They are armed with swords and have an assortment of armor. Each meeting is bloody and vicious, but with righteousness with the group they are victorious every time. Over ten of Alingin's warriors have their souls sent to the powers of chaos. Surprisingly the place does not have a lot of people protecting it. Of course who would be insane enough to come to Kilmoor for a fight after all?
The entire structure is darkly beautiful. There is decadent art, dragon statues, and other amazing things. However they are not here for the view, they are here for the slaves so they quickly race along. A large arena is found below, where Glendel had fought for the amusement of his master.
In time they run into three heavily armored warriors who are protecting the harem. It's a mad melee, these Kilmoorians are quite skilled. However Maurice, Kazier, Methos, and Alric work as a very efficient team and roll over them all. The sons of Corvel are triumphant!
The harem has many scantily clad women, all terrified at what is going on. They keep away, all fearful of what will happen next. "We're here to rescue you!" Yells Maurice. The women remain unconvinced by the grinning orc. When they mention that Glendel sent them it eases their fears and they become more friendly.
From the pool emerges Elisha. She's a beautiful mer and is very pregnant. When she learns that her lover is alive and well she is visibly relieved. Hastily the harem girls take what they need, what little valuables they have. One grabs a jar with a Sprite inside it.
Elisha and the others tell of what a slave to pleasure Marajid Alingin had been. He was amused to watch his favorite gladiator ravish a sensual mer. It thrilled him to see two different races having sex, a very twisted man. Maurice thinks he is just a typical Kilmoorian, all nutty chaos worshippers.
Elisha very much wants to rejoin R'igith. She wants to be with him when the child is born and desires very much for it to be born free.
It takes a bit but all of the girls get down the cliff and make it to the captured Kilmoorian vessel. Brigit and the crew help get them all safely on board. Twelve humans, an elf, a faerie, and a mer with child. After this they begin to think about going back to do a heavy loot of the place. There is a lot of treasure there after all . . .
Chronicled by Ken Paynter aka...Maurice leChevalier
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