What came next was a flight through darkened caverns and ruined corridors. Half-starved things once employed as guardians for the cult would attack out of desperation for living flesh and hot blood, but all they did was wet our blades with ichor and offend our senses with their inhuman stench. We heard not, initially, any sign of the demon but that did not comfort us; we knew he lay out there, and it was only a matter of time before he found us.
Eloc’s blade gave us our warning, for he bare with him that same sword what you My Lords made for him all those years ago when we warred against the cult. The blade shimmered when the demon drew near, and that was how we were able to keep ahead of us until we were ready. With each warning, we threw whatever obstacles we could to slow it down, assuming that he followed us instead of coming from another direction. We were not wrong, but neither were we correct.
After the first few warnings, we kept an eye on Eloc’s sword for another shimmer, but when that next one came we could not discern where behind us it was. Unlike the previous warnings we heard no sound, and felt no menace, until it was too late. The floor before us exploded and the demon leapt into our path, its menace now oppressive and overbearing upon us.
Eloc’s blade gave us our warning, for he bare with him that same sword what you My Lords made for him all those years ago when we warred against the cult. The blade shimmered when the demon drew near, and that was how we were able to keep ahead of us until we were ready. With each warning, we threw whatever obstacles we could to slow it down, assuming that he followed us instead of coming from another direction. We were not wrong, but neither were we correct.
After the first few warnings, we kept an eye on Eloc’s sword for another shimmer, but when that next one came we could not discern where behind us it was. Unlike the previous warnings we heard no sound, and felt no menace, until it was too late. The floor before us exploded and the demon leapt into our path, its menace now oppressive and overbearing upon us. Eloc’s blade glowed bright as the sun in its presence, and the demon howled at it.
Eloc knew me well enough to know what to expect next, but neither of us counted upon Ray to come through. With a simple, but firm, command he rebuked the demon and it recoiled as if smote by Eloc’s sword. The Dawnsman followed up with a literal smite with his sun-like mace, and again the fiend recoiled as if struck by a much mightier blow. Eloc saw the opening, so he charged and struck at it with that brilliant blade. Then the henchmen with us struck it with their swords. With such unexpected violence of action, the demon’s ambush turned against him and we drove him back into the pit he came from. I conjured a wall and used it to seal the breach, and then we continued running for our goal.
Once Eloc’s blade stopped so much as shimmering, we paused to regroup and refocus. Ray assured us that, when it comes to it, we’ll be able to put down the demon; he’s certain that our might combined, if properly marshaled, will do the deed. This Dawnsman, and by extension his order, has already proved to be far more useful than I previously thought. (My Lords, if their master has not made contact with you already by the time you receive this letter, then I urge you to take the initiative and do just that on behalf of our nation. While the horrors of our own area wane, other follow; we could use their support.)
Friday, February 22, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Expedition to the Silver Mountain-07
I presumed that we did not have time on our side any longer, and yet we were not in a secure position. Neither did we enjoy a secure line of retreat. I had to address those fault before we went ahead, so I consulted with Gar on the matter over a meal. We concluded that our demonic foe would not only return, but that he would do so driving all of the minions he yet commanded upon us. I made contact with the base camp, and my subordinates there reported pressure coming upon the camp by monsters during the night. It took me no time to see that our strategic situation had changed, and not for the better.
In numbers greater than I’d expected, they came at us shortly after Eloc and his men arrived. The Dawnsman amongst his bodyguard proved his order’s boasts about their experience with all that is unclean immediately, calling down the power of the sun and channeling it through a sun-disc tattooed upon his forehead where one is said to manifest a third eye. While the rest of the men formed up to keep the camp secure from attack, this Dawnsman—Ray—burned them to ash with the power of the sun. After the fight, Ray used that same power to heal the wounded and purge them of infections. I see now why they are so popular.
With equal speed we reorganized our expedition’s numbers. To Gar I charged maintenance of our lines of retreat, and to act as a reserve; Eloc and his men would come forward and join me once more at the van. The men-at-arms I left with would remain with Gar, ensuring that regular patrols—and a forward position—would remain manned. If we needed to retreat quickly, then the forward position would be our fallback point before abandoning the adventure altogether.
I communed with the mountain itself, asking it to aid me in finding what I sought, and I got the answer I needed. With a new map freshly drawn from my visions, Eloc and I set out once more for our objective. His bodyguard was a smaller number than the men-at-arms Gar led, but they were all experts in their professions and veteran adventurers themselves; it reminded me greatly of being amongst the elite group that you, my lords, keep for your purposes.
As we had a definite route to take, we wasted no time worrying about getting lost or any other normal concerns. Only monsters remained.
In numbers greater than I’d expected, they came at us shortly after Eloc and his men arrived. The Dawnsman amongst his bodyguard proved his order’s boasts about their experience with all that is unclean immediately, calling down the power of the sun and channeling it through a sun-disc tattooed upon his forehead where one is said to manifest a third eye. While the rest of the men formed up to keep the camp secure from attack, this Dawnsman—Ray—burned them to ash with the power of the sun. After the fight, Ray used that same power to heal the wounded and purge them of infections. I see now why they are so popular.
With equal speed we reorganized our expedition’s numbers. To Gar I charged maintenance of our lines of retreat, and to act as a reserve; Eloc and his men would come forward and join me once more at the van. The men-at-arms I left with would remain with Gar, ensuring that regular patrols—and a forward position—would remain manned. If we needed to retreat quickly, then the forward position would be our fallback point before abandoning the adventure altogether.
I communed with the mountain itself, asking it to aid me in finding what I sought, and I got the answer I needed. With a new map freshly drawn from my visions, Eloc and I set out once more for our objective. His bodyguard was a smaller number than the men-at-arms Gar led, but they were all experts in their professions and veteran adventurers themselves; it reminded me greatly of being amongst the elite group that you, my lords, keep for your purposes.
As we had a definite route to take, we wasted no time worrying about getting lost or any other normal concerns. Only monsters remained.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Expedition to the Silver Mountain-06
Gar and I agreed that the men would be of no use against such a thing, but they would be if it came accompanied by the savages that remained. We again formed a chokepoint, and prepared yet another killzone, while sending messages back to camp on our progress. Our man with the keenest ears kept watch, as I expected that we would hear them long before we saw them, and that proved correct. That man heard the faint echoes of a thunderous footfall, warning us of the fiend’s approach, and that sent our party into motion.
Gar ordered the men into formation, and—as expected—the savages came first; I figured that the fiend would drive his minions before him, intending to wear us down before engaging us. This time it was a truly berserk mob of death-dealers, and we killed them without relent as they broke upon our shield wall time and again.
Once the corpses piled up enough, I gave Gar the order and he drove the men forward. We pushed the corpse piles out of our killzone and down the corridor. This pushed back the next wave of savages, and when the corridor opened into a deep and wide chasm we began to push them off that narrow bridge connecting our side with theirs. The screams of the damned as they fell into the abyss gave my men and I some relief, knowing that these feral, frail things would not survive impact with the unforgiving stone below.
Yet, throughout our return encounter with these savages, the thunderous echoes got louder and louder. When the glint of reflected light off the mineral deposits still in the stone revealed the shape of the thing I saw that none but I could face it and win. I saw before me a misshapen, giant-sized goat-man, stomping with each step and twirling a broken spire of stone for a club. No tool of iron or steel would pierce that hide, so I knew then that I had to handle this myself.
Telling Gar that spears were of no further use, I had him take the men and fall back. I drew forth another wand I kept secreted away, used the basic set of self-defense techniques we all learned in our first years, and I began blasting away. The first few rays showed just how tough its hide was, so I turned my wand upon the rock above its head. That slowed him, but not enough. Time grew short, and I saw that it could likely leap the chasm, so at last I used my wand to cut loose some hanging debris and then employed raw power to seize it with an invisible hand and threw it at the fiend when it made that leap.
The debris took the fiend’s leap and cut it short. It fell, and the debris with it, into the chasm and down to that same unforgiving stone below. Yet, I knew that this was not our last encounter.
Gar ordered the men into formation, and—as expected—the savages came first; I figured that the fiend would drive his minions before him, intending to wear us down before engaging us. This time it was a truly berserk mob of death-dealers, and we killed them without relent as they broke upon our shield wall time and again.
Once the corpses piled up enough, I gave Gar the order and he drove the men forward. We pushed the corpse piles out of our killzone and down the corridor. This pushed back the next wave of savages, and when the corridor opened into a deep and wide chasm we began to push them off that narrow bridge connecting our side with theirs. The screams of the damned as they fell into the abyss gave my men and I some relief, knowing that these feral, frail things would not survive impact with the unforgiving stone below.
Yet, throughout our return encounter with these savages, the thunderous echoes got louder and louder. When the glint of reflected light off the mineral deposits still in the stone revealed the shape of the thing I saw that none but I could face it and win. I saw before me a misshapen, giant-sized goat-man, stomping with each step and twirling a broken spire of stone for a club. No tool of iron or steel would pierce that hide, so I knew then that I had to handle this myself.
Telling Gar that spears were of no further use, I had him take the men and fall back. I drew forth another wand I kept secreted away, used the basic set of self-defense techniques we all learned in our first years, and I began blasting away. The first few rays showed just how tough its hide was, so I turned my wand upon the rock above its head. That slowed him, but not enough. Time grew short, and I saw that it could likely leap the chasm, so at last I used my wand to cut loose some hanging debris and then employed raw power to seize it with an invisible hand and threw it at the fiend when it made that leap.
The debris took the fiend’s leap and cut it short. It fell, and the debris with it, into the chasm and down to that same unforgiving stone below. Yet, I knew that this was not our last encounter.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Expedition to the Silver Mountain-05
I conferred with Gar as to how to go about our penetration into the mountain. It was this, and no act of martial prowess, that endeared him to me for at this time I discovered that Gar paid attention to Lord Eloc’s many tales of his adventures with me and took away many lessons that Eloc learned the hard away. This display of humility and wisdom, at such a young age, showed promise that I now knew could not be wasted on anything so mediocre as being the staff officer to a border lord- even if that lord is my old friend and companion.
We both came, during our time apart, to the conclusion that whatever hostiles were inside the mountain would swarm us upon detection. Therefore, the wisest course of action was to seize upon this fact and make it work in our favor. I direct you to my adventure some years ago with Eloc where we had this same thing occur to us; that lesson need not be repeated. I ordered Gar to secure a strong point, complete with a funnel and a killspot, and then I made the big clanging noise with some handy debris tossed down a well that would surely bring them scurrying to our position.
We were not disappointed. The men did as ordered, and we cut down the first few waves entirely with massed missile fire. Eventually we exhausted our supply as we could not glee arrows off the dead faster than the next wave would arrive, so it came down to discipline and massed spears. I took the opportunity, as it arose, to apply principles of conjuration and transmutation. I ensured that their worst threats dropped like columns rent asunder as their corpses—scorched, frozen, impaled and worse—slumped to the floor with pleasing whumps.
We fought like this for hours, wave upon wave upon wave. Eventually they had to stop because the funnel we created had choked up with their dead. I’d prepared for this occasion; I had the men toss oil upon the corpses, knowing full well that these monsters could not prevent the flow of air no matter how great their pile of dead became, and then torched it. With some conjuration I blew a forceful wind upon the flames, and soon engulfed the funnel in smoke and flame. I sustained this wind for the rest of the day, until the flames burnt the corpses to ashes and then blew them down into the mountain’s inner halls.
The monstrous swarm within, as I expected, broke. The next day we journeyed into the depths, and at every turn we found the corpses of our foes, suffocated for lack of breath or charred beyond all recognition. This did not mean that these things had wholly died off, but rather they fled to bring forth their master. I knew not what exactly it was, but if it was a remnant of the old demon cult then it was a fiend of power.
We both came, during our time apart, to the conclusion that whatever hostiles were inside the mountain would swarm us upon detection. Therefore, the wisest course of action was to seize upon this fact and make it work in our favor. I direct you to my adventure some years ago with Eloc where we had this same thing occur to us; that lesson need not be repeated. I ordered Gar to secure a strong point, complete with a funnel and a killspot, and then I made the big clanging noise with some handy debris tossed down a well that would surely bring them scurrying to our position.
We were not disappointed. The men did as ordered, and we cut down the first few waves entirely with massed missile fire. Eventually we exhausted our supply as we could not glee arrows off the dead faster than the next wave would arrive, so it came down to discipline and massed spears. I took the opportunity, as it arose, to apply principles of conjuration and transmutation. I ensured that their worst threats dropped like columns rent asunder as their corpses—scorched, frozen, impaled and worse—slumped to the floor with pleasing whumps.
We fought like this for hours, wave upon wave upon wave. Eventually they had to stop because the funnel we created had choked up with their dead. I’d prepared for this occasion; I had the men toss oil upon the corpses, knowing full well that these monsters could not prevent the flow of air no matter how great their pile of dead became, and then torched it. With some conjuration I blew a forceful wind upon the flames, and soon engulfed the funnel in smoke and flame. I sustained this wind for the rest of the day, until the flames burnt the corpses to ashes and then blew them down into the mountain’s inner halls.
The monstrous swarm within, as I expected, broke. The next day we journeyed into the depths, and at every turn we found the corpses of our foes, suffocated for lack of breath or charred beyond all recognition. This did not mean that these things had wholly died off, but rather they fled to bring forth their master. I knew not what exactly it was, but if it was a remnant of the old demon cult then it was a fiend of power.
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