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Peril from both ends

Rosorc’s Journal

Coming to, I shook off the last of the spider venom that was clouding my head. Standing up, I pulled a long draught of ale. Noticing my flask was getting a little low, I took inventory of my pack. Seems the gods favour me; there were still four more full flasks in there.

Realizing that there was a discussion going on around me, I tried to tune in. Seems everyone had different ideas of what we should do. Theona and Areon wanted to try and find a way out. Tassar, from what I could tell, just wanted to run wild.

William was his aloof self, with no real opinion. Deitricha was game either way. I, feeling at home in this dwarven hold, wanted to go looking for some more loot. Plus, there seemed to be a neverending supply of bad guys in this place to deal with.

After a few heated words were exchanged, everyone noticed Tassar was gone again. He had taken off down the hall. As everyone else followed him, I decided to take the other way. Since I was tired of all of the traps, I started tapping the floor out in front of me with the butt of my axe. I’d travelled about forty feet when I started to hear shouting behind me.

Stopping in my tracks, I listened quietly for a moment. “Damn, they are in trouble again”, I thought. Right as the train of thought finished, I heard something coming up the hallway ahead of me. Luckily there was a corner. Before whoever or whatever was coming got there, I turned and bolted up the hall. At first, I ducked into the room we’d rested in.

Pulling my axe, I caught my breath. I held it ready to swing as I stood alongside the door. Then, I heard many of my companions yelling and the clash of weapons. Not caring for my safety, I tore out of the room and ran up the hallway yelling,”Incoming!” As I ran for all I was worth, a large flash of a ray shot over my head. Seeing the corner approaching, I reached within myself and turned it up.

That is when I saw Areon leap around the corner and fire an arrow past me. Then I was hit by several crossbow bolts from behind. None penetrated my armour. Risking a glance back, I was very suprised. Hell, there were six drow and a beholder behind me.

Reaching Areon, I quickly pushed him around the corner as I ran past him, hearing bolts hit the wall behind us where we had been but a moment before. Looking ahead, I could see William and Theona. Deitricha and Tassar were out of sight. There was a doorway ahead. From within it I could hear Tassar fighting with something. There were a lot of guttural, almost barking noises coming from within.

Running forward, I charged into the room. Here I was confronted by another bad situation. Tassar was engaged with four gnolls and a hellhound. Looking beyond the battle, I could see a red robed wizard who was covered head to toe with tattoos, and a scribe of some sorts, copying some of the stone tablets off of the shelves.

William, Theona and Areon followed me in. William took a quick pounding from a pair of gnolls. His missing armour at this point really hurt him. Theona backed into a corner and started firing her bow at the Mage. Areon pulled his sword and joined the fray with Tassar and myself.

Knocked loopy by his wounds, William rapidly retreated out into the hallway. Sadly for him, it was right into the advancing drow and beholder. Quickly he collapsed to the ground, riddled with crossbow bolts. We tried to pull him back in, but under the current conditions it was a non issue.

Two of the four gnolls had succumbed to our efforts. The hell hound was also twitching on the ground. Theona was screaming in the corner. Looking her way, I could see my beloved holding her shoulder. Seems the mage had hit her with some sort of missile spell.

Hollering for Areon to try and close the door, I turned and struck a gnoll down with a mighty swing. Areon tried to push the door shut but was met by a drow, rapier in hand. Next thing we knew, the two of us were being pelted by eye stalk weapons from the beholder. We were luckier than the drow in the doorway. He disintegrated before our eyes. Seems the beholder didn’t care who he killed.

A gap in the drow advancers allowed Areon to push the door shut. Theona quickly jumped to help him. Seems the Red Wizard didn’t hang out to meet the beholder. He and his scribe took off through a portal as soon as his last gnoll escort collapsed to the ground.

With the wizard gone Deitricha healed herself, and then started to heal the rest of us within the room. Areon and Theona held the door long enough for me to place two pitons in front of it. Then we all held it for all we were worth.

Seconds became minutes. Minutes became a long time by halfling reckoning. Tassar was convinced the drow had left scared of us. We all took a breath and started to look for a separate exit to this room. We also discussed what we were going to do about poor William. Our thoughts were varied.

After Deitricha finished patching us up, we decided to open the door and take a look. The hallway was empty. No one anywhere in sight. The doorway across the hall looked suspicious to me. As the others discussed chasing down the drow and saving William, I checked inside the door. Peeking in, I could see the beholder passing back and forth as if on guard duty.

Closing the door, we made battle plans. Deitricha pushed the door back open with her staff as Areon, Tassar, Theona, and I unloaded our bows and crossbows on the beholder. Though the beholder was waiting on us. He hit Tassar and me first and both of us passed out.

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“....Greatly outnumbered the sky had grown dark...Hushed whispers of fear ran through their hearts...Clutching their axes and swords to their breasts...the Dwarves and the Elves braced themselves for death...From on high the horns sounded as the dark horde came...Driving the valiant defenders from life to their grave...thier mates and their young they fought to save...that last heroic stand on that ill-fated day...their sparse numbers dwindled yet they fought on...any glimmer of hope was quickly gone...laying defeated both dwarf and elf bleed...eyes going dark and no thoughts left in their heads...still clutching thier axes and swords to their breast...these unknown warriors souls went to rest...”

“How does this pertain to me and sis, Father?” Theroduin asked. “I wish I knew, my son, I really wish I knew,” I answered.

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Deitricha kicked me in my ribs. Groggily, I stood back up. I motioned to Areon that I was going to charge the beholder. With a quick nod, I knew he would follow. As I took off, my companions fired their ranged weapons around me. I made it all the way to the beholder and put a huge chop into its side. Pulling back to swing again, I didn’t even see the five drow materialze around me.

The next thing I knew I was falling to the ground. Darkness taking me again....

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“You and your sister are children born of fate,” I started. Then continued, ”Your steps are spoken of by the gods. Your mother and I have tried long and hard to find out what that fate may be but as of now we are no closer than when we started.”

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As I pulled mysellf off the floor, I saw that we had found William, and luckily, he was still alive. My poor Theona must have been pretty injured, as Areon was helping her keep her feet. Tassar closed the door, locking us in. After Deitricha healed us, we set watch schedules. Then, being still under the effect of the drow poison, I quickly dropped into slumber....

Posted by Erik on May 23, 2004, 06:05 | Rosorc’s Journal