Long shadows are beginning to be cast by the setting sun. Before too much longer night will fall. In a small enclave of trees, Maurice slowly wakes up. Nearby is the pixie Alric, who is still resting as is the wild-looking elf, Ganam Oore. Jinx is up, watching and waiting.
Not too far away is the cave entrance where the evil shape-changers are. Some cultist guards are there, watching and waiting. Before too long that place will become a battlefield. Jinx keeps an eye out, just in case something might reveal their presence to them before they are prepared.
"He's cured, I believe " she says, pointing to the slumbering Oore. "The magic we used to rid him of the lycanthropy, the disease, sucked the life out of these nearby trees and drained you and Alric as well."
"But he's alright?" Asks Maurice, standing up and stretching, rubbing his chest.
"He should be."
Soon Alric and Ganam also awaken. The small, tatooed pixie is a bit confused by all of this, not remembering what has just recently transpired. Jinx gives him some water and catches them both up to date with what has been going on. A grateful Ganam extends a finger to Alric who merrily shakes it.
Getting some water from Jinx, Ganam begins to speak, much more coherently now. "In the cave there is a cage. There's lots of people in it, kids, others who are infected. They are preparing a sacrifice to Marg, the Dark One. Something terrible is going to happen. We have to stop them!"
The recovering elf gets back his book, and he leafs through it some, slowly remembering more and more of what happend. "My mind is all clouded . . . But I do know that there is a spy in the household of Duke David. That is why the cultists have been able to attack with impunity for so long, they know of the efforts to root them out and can prepare against them."
Maurice sits down, rubbing at his chest where he had been bitten by the boar the night before. It is a bit tingly, but he ignores it for the most part. The shadows here grow longer and longer . . .
Back at Bird Keep, Kazier is resting. The long run and battles of the day have tired him somewhat. Rapidly Duke David is assembling a force to go into the forested mountains and destroy this vile cult, the one that has been a plague to his people for so long. "Those caves, I think I actually played there when I was younger," he muses to no one in particular.
Getting his energy back, Kazier heads out of the city. The Duke knows where to go and he wants to re-group with the others. As he passes the heavily guarded doors to the city, he sees a figure on the road coming his way. It's a large wolf bearing a small humanoid with a floppy hat. Kazier laughs, recognizing who it is.
"Hey Dril! How's it going?"
The shaggy warg trots on up to Kazier, it sniffs in his direction. "I was sent here from Prince Marcus to deliver a message. Can we get inside? I'm freezing my ass off."
Also with him is Talia Glittergold, the sprite he'd helped rescue from Marijid Alingin. She explains that when the group had vanished from Redshore she went north to Marigor. There she met Orlando Vine and learned some more about the group and she met up with Dril Moonblade and decided to journey with him. Talia wanted to re-join the people who had helped save her, and especially wanted to see Alric again. The folks in Redshore were worried about there mysterious disappearance in the middle of the night.
They go back into the city and go before the Duke. Before too much longer he and his soldiers will be ready for the fight that is coming. Kazier bows and makes a quick introduction. "Duke David, this is Dril Moonblade, an old comrade of mine. He comes from Marigor with a message." Talia wisely keeps quiet and out of sight.
Now in chain armor, Duke David looks somewhat warily at the smallish person and his mount. "Is that a warg?" he asks.
"Yep it is your Dukeness," replies the surly sprig. "I can't fit on a real horse. Prince Marcus got word that the attacks here have gotten worse, a lot worse. He's sending troops to help out and they should be here in a day or two. I'm here just letting you know that help is coming."
While waiting for Duke David and his men to get totally prepared, Dril, Kazier, and Talia sit down and drain a few tankards of ale to warm their chilly bones. The warg settles under the table and gnaws at some discarded bones.
Back up in the freezing mountains, the sky begins to darken. Ganam Oore has spoke at some length about what he's gone through and what he thinks might happen. Jinx, Alric, and Maurice have all been listening intently to what the elven scholar has had to say. During all this they haven't seen the four armed cultists slowly working their way towards them through the woods with weapons drawn.
"Get them!" Yells one as they surprise the group. Each evil-looking warrior moves in on their intended target, slashing and hacking with their drawn blades. Maurice draws his saber in a flourish and blocks rapidly.
"I need a weapon!" Yells Ganam, without anything to defend himself. He ducks back but takes a diagonal cut across his face.
"I'll get ya one soon!" bellows Maurice. The big orc who thinks he's an elf whips his sword across his foe's neck and is splashed in arterial red. The man collapses to his knees, gurgling, and Maurice flings his blade over to the wounded Ganam.
Alric easily buzzes high into the air, evading the sword chops of the growling cultist beneath him. Weaving some quick spells, he magically freezes the warriors trying to kill Jinx and Ganam. The one who is below him he then hits in the face with a vicious energy zap, blowing his face off and killing him most messily.
Ganam tries to wrestle the blade from the frozen warrior, and fails. He then takes a wild swing with the sword Maurice tossed over to him. Again he fails miserably. After all he's a scholar, not a soldier. The warrior snaps out from Alric's spell and again moves in to kill the luckless elf.
Having already been cut across her ribs, Jinx leaps up and kicks the unmoving cultist in the face knocking him on his ass. This impact frees him from his paralyzation and he slashes his blade at her legs as she jumps backwards out of the way. Maurice races over and lops the man's arm off at the shoulder and Jinx finishes him off with a kick to the head.
Seeing what has happend to his comrades, the one fighting Ganam turns and runs. He races frantically through the skeletal trees in an attempt to make it back to the safety of the cave. Maurice sprints behind him and narrows the distance in seconds. Once he's within sword reach he chops out his blade, slicing off the retreating man's left leg at the knee. He howls and tumbles to the frozen earth and then takes another three feet of steel through his chest silencing him forever.
Jinx uses her powers of prayer to heal the jagged cut on Ganam's face as well as taking care of the injury she took herself. They are ready for another wave of attackers to rush from the cave, but none come. Nobody within heard the guard's final cries.
Just as the sun sets behind the white mountains, Kazier makes it to the area. With him is also Dril Moonblade and Talia Glittergold. They are met with some surprise from Maurice and especially Alric.
His head in a whirl Alric buzzes about. "You . . . You were in Redshore." Alric stammers on, looking with some disbelief at Talia who smiles at him warmly.
"You guys left in the middle of the night there," she exclaims. "I tried to find you and I'm so happy your OK!" She buzzes up to him and gives him a very friendly hug. "I've been travelling for weeks now."
Alric looks to Maurice, a confused expression on his tiny face. "I dreamed we were in Reshore. That means you couldn't be real. Dreams aren't real"
Maurice just bellows in laughter. "Rellian works in mysterious ways." A light giggle is heard from Jinx. Maurice continues to say "It's great to see you again Dril!" The two give each other a quick salute and shake each other's hand. The warg growls softly, and Maurice just smiles back with his own jagged teeth.
After a few moments of quick catching up, Kazier lets them know that Duke David and a group of about thirty or forty soldiers is quickly coming up. It is decided that since it is night now and the full moon is up that they must act now. If they are in a ceremony, which Ganam thinks they are, then it needs to be disrupted.
Jinx raises her hands, and looks to each member of the group. "May the blessing of St. Lyssa and Rellian be with us." Each feels a pleasant tingle go through their beings, and they know that they are now indeed blessed.
Ganam will stay behind, to tell Duke David what they did. Dril's warg doesn't like what it smells ahead and it too stays behind. With weapons drawn, the group bravely enters into the darkend cave, hearing the distant sounds of chanting and the cries of the dammed. Blue moonlight guides them for a bit, but once inside they light dim torches to show the way.
Inside the twisting cave are steel cages, crates, scattered clothes, rations, tools, oils and more. This is the loot that has been taken by these people from the citizens of Sigel. Alric feels something bad is going on, there is a taint of dark magic here.
Maurice, Kazier, and Dril lead the way with Jinx coming up behind. Alric and Talia sit perched on Kazier's shoulders, not wanting to give off the light from their wings if they were to fly. There is a stench here, of foul offal and death. Determined they move onwards, the chanting getting louder and louder.
Ahead are two great statues of demons guarding the entrance to a large cavern. Within this open area is a sunken floor where dozens of cultists are chanting away before a sacrificial altar. They are Kilmoorians judging from their headgear. At the altar is huge statue of the Dark God Marg and a priest wearing a mask and a very strange looking cloak. Chained down to this intricately carved slab of stone is a child, writhing and pulling at their bonds.
Dril whispers "Anyone who wears a cloak like that has got to be a dick." His dislike for Kilmoorians hasn't dimmed any.
To one side of this huge cavern are cages with animals, all haggered and mad in appearance. There are ones of people as well, also looking wild-eyed and crazed. Beyond that is another tunnel which leads to more cages where the children are imprisoned.
Speaking quickly it is decided that Kazier and Maurice will hold the stairs leading down into the sunken floor area while the others go and release the children. If they are discovered the cultists will have to charge up the stairs where their numbers will be limited.
As they split up, the people in the cages beg for death. They plead for an end to their torment, their suffering, just as Ganam had done before. With difficulty they ignore their calls for merciful oblivion and move towards the dozens of children who are still caged.
Just as they are about to head down that tunnel two cultists emerge and see the small band. One shifts into a bearman and the other into a wolfman. Both have the feautures of men and beasts about them.
At the altar the chaos priest continues his invocation and raises his sacrificial blade, ready to strike down the helpless child on the altar. Maurice takes out a pistol and takes slow and careful aim. He pulls the trigger and the the priest is struck in the shoulder, whirling him around. All in the chamber rise, looking back to see who has done this.
Maurice laughs down at them from the top of the stairs. "Hey you Kilmoorian dogs! Your deaths are almost here!"
Dril whips out two daggers at the charging bearman and one strikes it deeply in the shoulder. It claws him across the abdomen, knocking him over. On his back Dril slashes with a knife and nearly cuts's it's leg off at the knee as it starts to tower over him. Roaring and clawing it collapses and Dril drives his pointed knife deeply into it's throat.
Jinx turns and invokes a spell. Bright light, almost sunlight fills the chamber causing the cultists and other assorted villains to blink and squint from the unexpected illumination. This light will give them some advantage against the evil chaos worshippers. The wolfman rushes at her, clawing her with it's talons across her side hurling her backwards. Dark red stains her blue clothing and she starts to breathe raggedly.
Talia buzzes ahead, towards the cages of children, while Alric uses magic. Energy zap after energy zap he hurls at the raging wolfman. The lycanthrope snarls and hops into the air, trying to rip apart the aggressive pixie. Alric keeps away from it's reach and once more blasts it with his spells, and this one explodes in it's face. It tumbles to the stone floor, head a charred ruin.
A wave of enraged cultists come charging up the stairs towards the jeering Maurice. Behind him Kazier has climbed between the corridor and one of the huge stone demon statues. Straining mightily he pushes with his feet and the great carving falls over to it's side. Both he and Maurice get to it and roll it towards the advancing Kilmoorians. With a final push it goes tumbling over, thundering down the stairs. Nearly a dozen of the foe get crushed beneath the stone arms and wings of the demon. Almost as many that were killed go falling this way and that with pulped limbs, screaming in agony. It crashes to the bottom of the large chamber, exploding into hundreds of chunks of gray rock, much of it splashed with blood.
Yanking his knife free from the twitching bearman's corpse, Dril is then confronted with two more ravening lycanthropes. A boarman and a ratman are the ones who come to battle now. Before he can react the bristle-covered boarman lunges forward and rips with it's tusks along Dril's upper arm. The longtooth catches his shoulder bone and sends Dril spinning backwards. However the spig doesn't fall over, but lands on his feet, blood flowing from the wicked wound.
Alric lands by the badly hurt Jinx and weaves a spell to heal her wounds. The spurting blood slows then stops, her rent flesh healing rapidly under the direction of he pixie's magics. Seeing that she is doing better he then flies like a thrown dart over to where Dril is, facing down two more lycanthropes. He then uses magic to do the same for him.
Maurice wades into the cultsists who now make it up the stairs, stepping over the splattered corpses of their comrades. He takes a narrow gash across his left arm but he in turn hacks one's head off and plunges his sword through the breastbone of another. Relentlessly he goes battling down the bloodied stairs, Kilmoorians toppling over this way and that. He takes a deep slash to his neck but he keeps on fighting.
Hastily Kazier leaps down to the bottom of the great chamber. Ahead the wounded priest stirs, slowly getting to his knees, dagger in hand. His intent is clear, to finish the enchantment and to sacrifice the child who is bound there. Drawing a dragonbone dagger he throws it spinning through the air at the wicked priest. It impales into his chest and the man drops his own blade. He half turns and Kazier can see the point of his dagger sticking from his back. The priest collapses, falling across the child and the glowing runes upon the altar. Something dark begins to stir.
With his dagger in hand Dril charges a the lycanthrope that nearly tore his arm off. He dives beneath it and digs his blade deeply across it's soft belly. For his efforts he's rewarded with a splash of hot blood and the shrieks of a mortally wounded creature. Rolling away before it falls he then turns towards the hissing ratman. It tries to shred Dril's face, it's yellow claws ripping through the felt of his small hat. The sprig moves in close and cuts down with his knife. It slashes across it's ribs but sinks quite nicely into it's tender abdomen.
The remaining cultists charge to their deaths. The fighters of Corvel are too much for the frenzied Kilmoorians. Whether by knife, sword, or spell they are cut down and killed. There are over thirty here who have now been given the opportunity to serve their dark god Marg more directly.
At the cages where the children are trapped, Talia has rapidly picked the locks, setting them free. The small pixie's wings hum and a bright yellowish-gold luminescance emanates from her as she waves them forward to freedom.
At the altar a great darkness begins to take shape. It whirls and spins, and seperates, becoming five blots of shadow now. Each one twists and begins forming into the image of an armored being. Blazing red eyes stare out from their armored heads. Ghastly laughter then fills the cave. The light spell of Jinx's also begins to fade.
"WE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF DISCORD. WE LET YOU LEAVE WITH YOUR LIVES!" They laugh some more and begin vanishing upwards into the ceiling of the cave. Alric is annoyed by these entities and throws one of his energy blasts at it. It sparks off it's black armor but the pixie certainly gets it's attention. The ghostly knight looks down and moves through the air towards him.
"YOU MESS WITH A KNIGHT OF DISCORD!" It tries to grab and crush Alric in it's armored fist but the pixie deftly flies away. The irritated Knight gives chase.
While all this is happening, Talia and Dril start moving the kids out of the cave. There are eighteen of them and they are very scared. However they follow the pixie and the sprig, avoiding the many corpses that are around. Seeing the shadowy Knight of Discord gives them even more reason to run as fast as they can.
Down by the altar Maurice takes a futile swing at one of the shadow beings as they disappear into the rock. The child at the altar is a drained husk, his life-force has been sucked from him. Seeing the priest there he decides to take off his head, just to be sure. Maurice cuts down with his saber but the priest catches his hand. His wounds are already regenerating, for he is a lycanthrope too!
With a swift kick at his legs, Maurice falls flat on his back while the bloodied priest rises, pulling the dragonbone dagger from his chest. Before he can strike at the fallen orc, Kazier leaps upon him, his curved draenam knives slashing. Matching each blow, the priest is a blur, blocking each of Kazier's attacks. They both dance back and forth a bit, their weapons clanging against each other. With each passing moment the lycanthrope's body heals itself, growing stronger and stronger.
Maurice struggles to his feet, then plunges his saber through the masked priest's face. The blade goes straight through his skull. Not slowing down at all, Kazier whirls his draenam knife and cuts through the man's neck, taking his head completely off in a shower of gore. Not taking any chances they toss it into a blazing fire to watch it burn.
Seeing the Knight of Discord chasing Alric, Jinx hurls a blast of white energy into it. The spell causes the Knight to roar in pain. "FOUL PRIESTESS! RELLIAN BE DAMMED!" It comes for her, drawing a shadowy weapon. Jinx throws blast after blast at it, each one making it grow smaller and smaller. With a final thrust of brilliant light, there is a flash of blue and a thunderclap. The Knight has vanished and Jinx's magics have proved victorious. The strain has caused her to collapse into unconciousness.
At this point Duke David and his soldiers have arrived. The armored Duke looks about, seeing the absolute carnage and butchery everywhere. "It looks like we're late."
"Somebody needs to clean up," answers Kazier.
Many of the children run to the guards, recognizing them as fathers or cousins. The people in the cages are still begging for death. Duke David says he will do all he can to help them out as well as the enraged animals. He has a lot of work to do here.
While his men are moving about the chamber, Dril and Kazier relate to him the appearance of the Knights of Discord. He shakes his head. "I thought they were just legends, stories to frighten young children." The Duke's soldiers move about, tying up the few but still living cultists. There will only be a few prisoners here.
Alric uses his powers to try and heal Jinx but fails. Her body is doing well, but something in her struggle with the Knight of Discord effected her. She won't wake up. Talia gets next to Alric and puts her arm around him for comfort.
As the Duke's men clean up the cave and the wounded and evil are tended to. Dril and Kazier do some searching. In the back of one of the coves they find a small pool and waterfall. Dril sees something there and goes into the chilling water. It's a big chest, a locked one at that. Putting a cloak over it they decide to haul it back to Bird Keep for closer examination later.
Learning that Jinx is not responding, Duke David decides to send for another priest of Rellian. "They should be able to help her and perhaps aid these poor souls who are cursed by this lycanthropy."
They all return to Bird Keep, the group going to the Drink and Fight Inn. Derig three-tusks gets them some food and ale to refresh them. It has been an extremely exhausting day, and everyone is very tired. However, they all have the satisfaction that another tentacle of Kilmoor and Marg has been cut off. But now there are the Knights of Discord, another enemy is in the land.
Setting the locked chest up on a table they all look at it curiously. Talia gets out her lockpicks . . . .
TO BE CONTINUED . . . .
Chronicled by Ken Paynter aka...Maurice leChevalier
Back to Session 12, Forward to Session 14