The StormWatch Chronicles
As seen through the eyes of Drano Battlehammer
Part 11
Update: 12/05/1998 to drano
November 30, 596
And now, to continue the story. . . .
Koryon and his daughter headed for Myrr - capitol city of the Sarr. The rest
of us went back to Ravenholt
under the presumption that we'd all meet there for some reveling and pleasantries.
Somewhere along the
way, some of us got separated.
I arrived with Borax to find the cabin largely unoccupied. Later news would
tell that the others had gone to
save Kestryn - a member of the town protectorate, Anvil - from some greater
being of the elemental plane
named Skane. The members survived the ordeal by a very narrow margin. Gabriel
met with me and told
this tale in greater detail - Skane and his minions were performing a ritual
that would cause the death of
Kestryn and give this Skane control over time, itself.
A great battle took place in which Nork led a valiant charge only to be stopped
inches from the ritual
caster's body. While the mage laughed at their plight, and his minions barraged
them bodily, the team
members rallied under the leadership of Cynesra. She threw a cure spell that
seemed to weave between
enemies, friends and clashing weapons, hitting Nork and restoring him to consciousness.
The enraged
warrior leaped up and struck down the ritual caster with only seconds to go
before the completion of the
ritual. The failed ritual caused Skane to fly into pieces - each piece, a different
element. The way I tell it
now doesn't do it justice, I'm sure. I just cannot recall the details as well
as if I was there.
Anyway, Borax and I waited in the cabin until the others arrived. Soon, the
team was united once again . . .
only this time, things were different.
If you recall, I told the tale of how we fought Primus the Lizard-Lord earlier
this year. He set into motion a
string of events that caused a sort of "shock-wave" of anti-magic
to emit from a location centered in
Ravenholt. This "wave" rolled out across the town and nearby duchies,
swallowing any magic in it's path
and shattering most mundane objects. The result of this "explosion"
was an area devoid of magic items,
spellbooks, weapons armor, and just about everything except organic material
(like clothing). The time of
null-magic was a t hand, and the wave hit us just as we entered the town of
Ravenholt.
The shock wave utterly destroyed everything containing magic except spellbooks.
I have a theory that, due
to the organic nature of the composition of a book, the anti-magic shock wave
only had a minor effect on
them. What was left, was a bunch of pages that were salvaged into partial books.
My complete earth
spellbook was reduced to roughly one fifth the size it once was - and I lost
most of the healing spells below
the ninth circle of power. Fortunately, I was not without some iota of power,
for my newly acquired
training under Chastity gave me the ability to wield ninth circle magic, and
one of those spells was the
highly powerful "Gift of Life", which was, remarkably, one of the
spells left in my book.
The members of StormWatch looked at each other in the candlelit room of the
cabin. Their faces taut with
concern on how to handle the problem of being without weapons and a full compliment
of spells, not to
mention the lack of magic items. A few of us, Nork and I, had been trained in
the use of any one-handed
weapons. So he and I went to the woods and fashioned ourselves some serviceable
clubs. We planned to
use the few things at our disposal to purchase or take what we needed from marauding
monsters.
Goblins and Orcs, sensing Ravenholt to be weak, or perhaps just curious about
the explosion, came to town
in the hopes of easy prey. What they were to discover, however, was a group
of adventurers who didn't
know the term "lay-down." As the nasties attacked the town, we took
out some stragglers. Quickly taking a
few of their leaders weapons - crude short swords, mostly - we equipped the
warriors of our group. A very
good thing we did, because the nightlife around Ravenholt is none-too friendly
and we were soon to be
separated and under pressure.
A traveler from another plane showed up - this one actually didn't want to
kill everything in sight - Lord
Rack, he was called. He explained that the planes of Tyrra (which we live on)
and Kerath were converging,
forming a sort of elemental nexus. He (Lord Rack) was actually the one causing
the nexus; somehow it
would free his wife from confinement. This seemed all fine and well, except
the open elemental nexus
would cause severe repercussions. Skane, in his many forms would be able to
try to put himself back
together. The town was presented a dilemma. They needed to save Lord Rack's
wife and stop this Skane
character simultaneously.
A plan was put into motion - a number of groups would collect some necessary
objects of power from
Kerath to save Rack's wife. These groups were comprised of different classes
of people. One group was
warriors, another was earth casters, one was celestials, while another was rogues,
and the final group was
spellsingers. Borax went to the aid of the earth casters as his secondary ability
with a weapon made him
desirable. Delahr took his young apprentice, Myrell and joined the celestial
group. Gabriel and Nork were
with the fighters.
Koryon, Cynesra and myself went to Anvil Hall to meet with Baron Derek Northridge.
He said something
about having to travel to the Jade Empire. We offered to accompany him.
Sitting in the common room, were Koryon, Cynesra, Forest-Lord E-Hawk, the Baron,
Talon and Marsan of
Anvil, and myself. The Baron told us that the Jade Empire was a little tricky
to walk around in. I can't
recall all the political permutations that he rattled off, but essentially,
he just said, "Let me do the talking."
Just then, with the cold night being staved off by the fire, a form coalesced
in the room. It was an earth
elemental - a being of rock who seemed angered by the sudden shift in the planes.
It began to attack, but
was easily outmatched by the prowess of the Forest-Lord and the Baron. The brief
battle ended in the
dispersion of the elemental, leaving behind a glowing dust on the floor. Talon,
young and impetuous,
reached down thinking the dust to be worth something. No sooner did he touch
it, than he was rifted away,
leaving the rest of us looking at empty air.
Lord E-Hawk screamed his rage and touched the dust - he too, disappeared. Fearing
for our companions,
we also gathered up the dust and joined them in a sort of netherworld.
We were floating in a water-like substance, but we could still breathe. I saw
the Forest Lord comically
throttling young Talon and saying, "Never, never, never pick up magic dust!
How many times have I told
you, never pick up the magic dust!" The rest of us chuckled but wondered
how we would get out of this
predicament.
The watery place was not well lit and we saw only ourselves, floating free
in nothing. There was no up and
down, so we picked a general direction and headed that way - more propelling
ourselves than walking. We
saw a small light and as we approached it, we felt a gentle tugging. The tugging
pulled us through the light
into another world.
The ground, walls and ceiling were all rock and stone. It was like being at
home in the mountain. We stood
on a large platform high in the air, looking out at other platforms of different
sizes. On one nearby platform
was a puzzle laid out on the ground - except all the pieces were missing. Closer
scrutiny rewarded us with
the pieces. They were scattered all over the small cave on the other platforms.
Amidst all this, there were a
few vines or tree roots (probably from some very old trees) hanging from the
ceiling. We figured we could
use these to swing across the platforms and gather the pieces. In our minds,
we knew that completion of the
puzzle would set us free. But it wasn't to be that easy. . . .
The floor of the cavern was a good ways down. Down far enough to kill anyone
who fell. But that wasn't
the biggest problem. Rising out of the ground were earth elementals bigger than
any I've ever seen. They
didn't have legs; their lower bodies were just extensions of the floor so that
they rose to the height of the
platforms and attacked us with mindless ferocity. The group I was with, however,
consisted of some of the
more powerful people in Ravenholt. Cynesra, master-puzzler, set to the task
of completing the puzzle.
Talon and E-Hawk, perhaps the most acrobatic people on the face of Tyrra, hopped
dexterously from
platform to platform without the use of the vines. Baron Derek, Marsan, and
Koryon, all accomplished
warriors, held the large platform against attack while the acrobats gathered
the pieces to the puzzle. I held
my magics back, as I had only the most powerful of healing spells in my book.
But I did have a few spells
that would really hurt elementals. I gathered my energies and waited. I an elemental
targeted me as its next
victim, it would feel what earth magic could really do.
Suddenly, and elemental rose up on our rear, attempting to get Cynesra who
was bent over the puzzle in
deep concentration. Koryon hammered it a few blows while E-Hawk circle around
to the platform Cynesra
was on to protect her. It turned quickly, and as Koryon dealt it its deathblow,
it hit him hard enough to send
him reeling.
For a moment, time slowed down. I saw Koryon stagger back next to me, arms
wind-milling to keep his
balance as he teetered on the edge of the platform. Finally, with a look of
despair and scream of terror, he
plummeted off the side.
I saw a platform, many feet down, and, with only a split-second of hesitation,
launched myself into mid-air.
(now that I think of it, that was a really stupid thing to do) I fell with the
speed of my take-off and grabbed
Koryon's arms as our bodies plummeted to the other platform. We hit with bone-jarring
force, but I
scrabbled for a handhold and managed to keep both of us from falling to our
doom. Quickly, I gave Koryon
a healing spell and set about the task of getting back up to the others.
The elementals, figuring us for dead, attacked the others. But they were able
to hold them off while E-
Hawk threw us a line. Back on the main platform, we assessed the situation as
grim, but beatable as
Cynesra hurriedly assembled the pieces.
Across the cavern, Talon was gathering another piece of the puzzle, when an
elemental grew out of the
ground near him and struck him down. Thankfully he fell on the platform and
not into the pit. Baron Derek
and E-Hawk rushed to his aid shouting for a healer. With Cynesra tied up, that
left only me. I nervously
gauged the distance and realized I'd have to jump from platform to platform
to get to him. Not the most
dexterous of individuals, this would be a task in itself. In fact, now that
I think on it, if I had been thinking
at the time, I probably wouldn't have done it. But instinct and urgency took
over, and I began leaping.
I arrived on the platform in remarkably short time, and administered my last
healing spell. Talon's eyes
fluttered open, and he looked up at me. Then a funny thing happened. The corners
of his mouth turned up
in a smile and he slowly uncurled his hand. In it was a puzzle piece, the last
one we needed to complete the
puzzle.
I quickly hefted him to his feet and set about getting back to the others.
Talon, much more nimble than I,
covered the distance in short order and gave his piece to Cynesra. An elemental
turned on me then. Seeing
a weaponless dwarf perched high on a ledge, it saw an easy target and homed
in for the kill.
>From the corner of my eye, I spotted Baron Northridge attempting to get
to me, but I knew he would be too
late. I stood up and launched my spell. Bolts of elemental energy flew from
my outstretched fingers into the
rocky form of the oncoming elemental. It staggered and reeled but did not fall.
Finally, feeling its fetid
breath on my face, I threw what might be my final spell. Magical energies gathered
around me and
exploded from my hands in a fiery elemental storm. The thing shattered to pieces
even as the Baron arrived
on the nearby ledge. He held out his hand to me and helped me the rest of the
way back to the others.
Finally, the puzzle was completed, and a magical doorway opened in one wall.
Where the puzzle was, a
small bottle appeared. Inside was the essence of an earth elemental. We took
it and quickly left to bring it
back to Ravenholt and find out its purpose.
Yeah . . . right! As we floated down the interplanar roadway, something reached
out and grabbed us. It felt
like a hand larger than a giant's, but gentle as a healer's soothing touch.
It grabbed the lot of us and pulled
us into. . . .
A blurry castle gate. Very few stars lit the night sky, but they gave us enough
illumination to tell we were
entering a large castle. The Baron realized that we were in the Jade Empire.
It all seemed like a dream; we floated more than walked, and if you weren't
looking directly at something,
it was out of focus and horribly faded. A voice spoke to us then and told a
tale of tragedy and woe. We
were, if we would, going to enter the minds of different individuals from this
plane. We would have control
over their immediate actions, but would be unable to resist their desires. For
example, if the host body's
desire was to attack someone, we couldn't stop it, only determine how to attack
the individual. The voice
said that it was to show us what had happened, so we could experience the lives
of these others and
understand. We conceded and soon felt our minds entering the bodies of others.
Things, I've found, aren't always what they seem, though. My mind drifted,
but I didn't retain my identity.
I became this other person, the Shade, I recall his name to be. I forgot I was
Drano Battlehammer and only
remembered that I had a mission to accomplish.
I was an assassin, and I'd been hired along with these other assassins - members
of my guild - to kill a
political figure of high standing. We'd plotted and planned for months, but
this was finally the night. We
would kill this noble and collect our reward. We busily prepared ourselves for
the night when of a sudden. .
. .
. . . we were back in Ravenholt. Out in the fields, we were almost ready to
do the job, but now I was in my
Dwarven body with the mind of the Shade. The problem was, this Shade person
didn't know how to use
anything but a two-handed club. I knew I could find one in our cabin, so with
the agreement of the others,
we headed off our different ways to equip ourselves and meet back near Anvil
Hall.
It was so strange! I, Drano, saw the physical forms of Cynesra, Koryon, the
Baron, E-Hawk, and the others,
but the mind of the Shade superimposed images of the other assassins onto them.
Images I'm sure only the
minds of the assassins could see.
We went quickly to the cabin and began equipping ourselves. We changed into
black garb, and acquired the
weapons we would need. In the process, however, we woke Chastity. She looked
up with sleepy eyes and
asked, "What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing," we curtly replied. "All is well - go back to sleep."
"But Cynesra," Chastity mewed, "why are you dressing that way?
And Drano, you don't know how to use a
two-handed club!"
"It's nothing," we said. "We're just gonna have some fun."
I don't think the explanation worked, but she let it slide, figuring on alerting
others after we'd left. But she
wasn't our concern - the noble was. We rushed to the rear of Anvil Hall, where
we ran into Kestryn, a long-
time associate of Cynesra. She looked at Cynesra sideways and asked, "Cynesra,
is there something the
matter? You don't seem yourself."
"It's nothing," Cynesra replied with a brief smile. But the explanation
didn't satisfy Kestryn, and after some
persisting inquires, I spoke, "It's NOTHING! She's fine. Please excuse
us!"
Kestryn's hand went to her sword as she backed carefully away, and I was worried
we'd have to kill her -
no, the Shade was worried he'd have to kill her. But to her credit, she backed
away and left. We peered
around the side of the Hall and saw her barreling down the road to get help,
probably thinking we were all
possessed. So, finding this an unsafe location to gather, we headed out into
the fields again.
Soon the Baron and E-Hawk joined us and we traveled to a road that would intercept
the noble and his
bodyguards. The minds of the assassins took over again and I ceased to be Drano.
The large, powerful human form flexed his muscles and gripped the large club
in his gloved hands. I, The
Shade peered into the darkness as we crept down the path into the forest. The
Shadow, the Knife, and the
others quickly skirted around a passing merchant, our booted feet making only
a whisper of noise on the
fallen leaves of autumn, carpeting the path. We heard a commotion behind us,
those wenches, Kestryn and
Chastity had gathered the members of StormWatch and Anvil to go after us and
were hot on our trail. The
merchant told them that he hadn't seen a soul all night and they thankfully
left us alone.
Just up ahead, our eyes picked out the shadowy forms of the noble. We tried
to hide in the brush so as to
pounce on them, but a scout picked us out and hailed, "Who goes there?"
We gave up the subtle approach and joined battle in earnest. Throwing gasses,
spells, and wielding swords,
we fought the bodyguards. They were accomplished warriors, though, moreso than
we expected, and the
battle was pretty much even. I paralyzed one of the bodyguards with a thrown
poison, and proceeded to
hack her down. The others seemed to be doing well, but we didn't account for
the powerful spellcasters on
their side. They got me with a fiery dragon-breath spell, and as I lay smoking
in a heap, my fading vision
watched the others get routed.
Then, as death descended upon me, my eyes blinked open, and I was Drano Battlehammer.
I lay in the
leaves on a forest floor, dressed oddly and wielding a two-handed club. Another
dwarf named Brendel was
helping me to my feet. The realization of what had happened came crashing down,
and I apologized
profusely. He smiled and stated simply, "It wasn't you, we weren't ourselves."
What was I thinking, I can't even use a club this big! But the Shade could.
Baron Northridge thanked us
and said he thought whatever service he needed to do for the Jade Empire was
complete. We staggered
back to Ravenholt shaking cobwebs from our heads, and hoping we'd never have
to go through that again!
I woke the next morning, the only one in the cabin. The others must be off
doing whatever it is people do, I
thought. I got dressed, grabbed my club, and headed to the common room that
we share with the people of
the Barony of Eastwyck. As I stood there, deciding what to do, the Baroness
Ganth came out from their
side of the cabin, and offered me a cup of mulled cider. The warm brew went
down well, and she spoke to
me of nothing in particular for a short time. It felt odd, I have to admit,
for a human noble to speak to a
Dwarven commoner like myself, much less offer me a drink. As it turned out,
she didn't have anything of
dire import to say, just idle chatter on a cold day in November. Nice of her
though. . . .
Chastity came to the cabin and asked me if I would like to join her and Malace
- a powerful earth caster
from Eastwyck - up at the Tavern by the fire. I heartily agreed and we were
soon toasting our toes by the
warm fire in the Voltan Bear Tavern. Now why two Sarr (cat-people), with all
their fur, would enjoy a
warm fire, I don't know. But they were fine company and my appreciation and
respect for the Sarr race
grows every passing moment.
Malace told us a tale of a race of people called the Munchkins. Apparently,
certain members of this race are
cannibals and they will eat each other if not carefully observed. He said the
"chocolate" ones were the first
to go because they're so sweet. How horrible! Then, after a while, the only
ones left are the "plain" ones -
they are the masters of their race. He didn't explain, though, how they procreated
. . . I'll have to ask. . . .
After a pleasant afternoon of relaxing by the fire with the two cats, I went
back to the cabin to see if the
others had arrived yet. Not finding anyone, I went off to the woods to do some
hunting and soul-searching.
With a nice meal in my belly and flask of ale in hand, I thought about recent
happenings and my place in
the grand scheme of things.
What with the big-boom, and the seat of death being filled, all the lost souls
on Tyrra had finally gone to
rest. All except Northstar. But we knew he was to go within the week. I had
been to a funeral for a young
lad from Dragonshire, and Delahr was to take the body of our friend Northstar,
and bury him at sea. With
this in mind, I penned a dirge to sing at his funeral:
Here I am, lost in a wind
`Round in circles sailing.
Like a ship that never comes in
Standing by myself.
Sing a sad song for a good lad
Sing a sad song for me
A sad song, for the sailor
A thousand miles from the sea.
"I would sing that at his funeral," I thought. "Perhaps I should
also set down these words...", and with a
swig from my bottle I penned the words to a song called, "The Day the Magic
Died."
Feeling pretty good, I rubbed my nose and headed back to town. The others might be looking for me.
That night, with nothing better to do, Nork, Cynesra, her friend Tristemere,
War-Dog, and I went to the
tavern to share a toast with Northstar before his inevitable demise. We broke
out many bottles of fine wine
and invited all the others in the tavern to share in the toast to our friend
and companion at arms. We wished
him well wherever the "other side" takes him. I remembered the many
times I'd picked him up on a
battlefield with a healing spell, and chuckled. One of my favorite phrases was,
"Down again, eh?" In my
eyes, at least, he was and will always be, a member of StormWatch.
With the toast concluded, the Voltan Bear Tavern held it's monthly talent contest.
Anyone who wanted to,
could step up and perform for the others. The Tavern would put up ten gold pieces
for prize money. Count
Gareth and two others would judge, partially by crowd approval, who was best,
and the awards for first,
second, and third place were awarded five, three, and two gold pieces respectively.
At the end, a gypsy
woman named Emerald would get up and dance.
A large number of performers got up and each one sang a song. They were all
quite good, and each tale had
a meaning. The vocalists were quite extraordinary by human standards, and not
bad by Dwarven standards.
Northstar got up and sang a song of beer - a large round of applause by the
crowd for that one! I heartily
approved of his choice, and the sailor sang it with gusto that would put some
dwarves to shame.
Then, War-Dog got up. A spell-singer, he weaved a spell with his voice, that
mesmerized his audience. At
the end, the crowd roared its appreciation and applauded their respect loudly.
I sat and pondered. No singer was I, and far from a teller of tales. I couldn't
carry a tune like the War-Dog,
but I thought there might be no better time to tell the tale I wished to impart
on these people. So when the
announcer asked if there was anyone else in the room who wished to perform,
I harumphed myself up from
my seat and approached.
Bones creaking, I sat down in a chair, facing the tavern-goers, and began to
relate my tale. In a bold
baritone, I sang out - "A long, long, time ago. . . ."
Now dwarves live a little longer than humans, and as such, our patience tends
to be a little greater than
theirs. Especially when it comes to songs. Why, I remember Flint Ironforge composed
an ode that took
four-and-a-half hours to perform. But his song writing skills are far superior
to mine.
Anyway, I finished the first verse and chorus, and the crowd seemed to go crazy.
It was possibly the first
time in my life when I felt the approval of a large number of people. They hooted
and hollered.
I beamed and turned to the tavern keeper, Boris, and said, "Gee, should I stop here?"
He said, "Why, is there more?"
"Oh yeah," I smiled.
"By all means, continue then!" he said, almost in disbelief.
I sang on, telling how the magic had gone away and we had fought Primus. The
crowd was really excited
and quickly grabbed hold of the chorus so that, by the final refrain, the whole
audience was singing, "Bye,
bye, kiss the magic good-bye! We cast our spells, oh so well but now that well
has run dry! Those good ol'
boys, they drink their whiskey and sigh, singin' this could be the day that
I die. This could be the day that I
die! Singin' this could be the day I die!'"
The crowd stood up cheering, the Count said, "I think we have a winner,"
and I beamed happily as I walked
back to my seat. I overheard Emerald the gypsy refusing to "go on after
that," though I personally feel a
dancing girl is better than a singing dwarf any day of the week. At the end,
the Count added ten gold to the
prize money and the War-Dog and I both walked out with a little more than when
we went in.
Continued on the following page. . . .
Back at the cabin, I was ready to turn in. With only a club and a few spells
in my book, I didn't feel very
useful in a fight. But just as I was to turn in, Gabriel and Nork grabbed me
and said they needed my
assistance. Squire Bailiwick of Eastwyck was heading a mission into a nearby
ruin to get Skane's "mage
name" - a name of power that could be used to thwart him. The other healers
of our team were either
indisposed, or asleep, so at three in the morning, we went off to aid the Squire.
The castle wasn't heavily guarded. Mostly, we were harassed by bats. At one
point, we had to battle two
golems - inanimate constructs made of stone that looked and fought like men.
Gabriel's and Nork's blades
made quick work of them, though, and I just did my best to stay out of the way.
We soon entered a chamber
in the ruins where we found a table. On the table, was a piece of parchment
with a riddle. Nork, Gabriel,
and I sat our butts down and waited while the squire and her team of puzzlers
worked on the riddle. I
thought, "This just might take some time. . . ."
While we sat, we talked and ate rations from our packs. A good warrior always
has rations for just such
extended waits as this. They gave me some words of praise and asked how I felt.
I mentioned that I felt
very useless at the moment, without my full compliment of spells or my sword
and shield. They replied that
I was very useful - especially with a life spell.
I chuckled, then, and said, "I feel more like a magic item than a living, breathing person."
I was quickly chastised, and they offered to induct me into a club of theirs.
I thought, "How odd! A club
with a dwarf, elf, and human!" They called it the "Troublemakers"
club and said that there were a few
others in it. I recall a certain knight's name mentioned. I'm not sure this
club is a good thing, but it feels
good to be a part of something. They then proceeded to show me some of the benefits
of membership.
Kestryn's and Squire Bailiwick's smiles told me they didn't mind a bit.
They finally figured out the riddle, and a mystical portal opened up, showing
Skane's mage-name.
"Shalaroth", I recall. It would be used to put an end to him once
and for all.
We retired to the cabin for a night's rest before the ordeal tomorrow - saving
Lord Rack's wife, beating
Skane, and closing the nexus.
The next day was sunny and slightly warmer than the last. We gathered outside
with the other townsfolk.
Apparently, it would take everyone to stop Skane, get Rack's wife and close
the nexus.. Bishop and
Tempus had arrived from out of town and, along with Tristemere, would help us
do the hard part, beat
Skane, himself. While assorted members of the town surrounded the nexus, from
which elementals would
be attacking, a group of twelve would enter the nexus and bring back Lord Rack's
wife. The members of
StormWatch would then enter the nexus, each with a piece of elemental essence
gathered the previous day
from multiple adventures, and place them in Skane's stronghold. When, this was
done, Skane's death
would be final - no regeneration on his home plane.
We prepared for the journey. It was Gabriel, Nork, Bishop, Tempus, Delahr,
Chastity, Tristemere, War-
Dog, three strangers, and myself. I was given the piece of elemental earth,
given my affinity for it. Kestryn
and Cynesra went up to the nexus, Kestryn stuck her elemental sword into the
swirling cloud as Cynesra
shouted Skane's name, "Shalaroth, Shalaroth, Shalaroth!!! Come get some!"
Then all hell broke loose.
Fire elementals poured forth from the nexus attacking everything in sight.
Behind them came Skane's first
form - that of a huge fire elemental. The town fought bravely while the first
twelve went after Rack's wife.
We weren't sure what to do - we couldn't enter the fight, as we had to reserve
ourselves for the battle on
Skane's plane. But we couldn't just stand by and watch the elementals slaughter
people. So reluctantly, we
went to their aid. Fortunately, thought the fight was brutal, it was quick.
Kestryn thrust her elemental sword
into Skane's dying form and ended that form's existence.
The wife-rescuers came back then, successfully, and helped as Skane came through
with a batch of water
elementals. We hurried through the waiting nexus.
On the other side stood a huge keep. To keep the matter brief, we fought our
way through a horde of
elementals to a room wherein were some large boxes into which we place the elemental
essences. All the
while we were harried by the creatures coming through the walls and barraging
us with all manner of raw
elemental power. I stood my ground over the boxes as others placed their essences
inside, protecting the
healers. The warriors surged around us and in a surprisingly short time, we
had finished and headed out.
We arrived back in Ravenholt to a nightmarish sight. There were bodies all
over the field, piled up around
the nexus. The elementals of earth were now on the field and outnumbered the
standing defenders of
Ravenholt. It was then that StormWatch lived up to its namesake and like a hurricane,
we took the field,
battering aside the reaching claws of elementals and administering curatives
to the town healers. They, in
turn, healed the warriors, and the battle turned back in our favor. Kestryn
buried her sword in Skane's earth
elemental form, and then the battle really began!
His next form was really powerful. The element of life. Their blows withered
the limbs of those they hit,
and people went down all over the field, only to be healed quickly by the ranks
of Ravenholt's healers. I
found Koryon then, face-down in the dirt, his life's-blood flowing from his
limbs. I used my last healing
spell on him, bringing his wounds closed and light back to his eyes. He leapt
up with quick thanks, and
reentered the battle, only to be cut down again by the powerful blows of another
elemental creature. I
cursed and began applying simple first-aid. It might not heal him, but it would
keep him from dying.
The mighty fighter's of Ravenholt had dispersed Skane once again. Then he came
out in his most horrible
of forms. The element of Death. His minions were throwing raw elemental death
all over, and where it hit,
a townsperson fell. I dodged one, myself, as I threw an elemental storm back
- the fire once again flowing
from my hands. I then followed Gabriel and Nork as they harried the "Death
Skane." Knowing a blow from
him meant death, I was determined to use my life spell on one of them.
Just then, a form fighting Skane fell in front of me. It was the form of Sir
Grimm, a noble of Ravenholt and
all-around-swell-guy. I crouched down, concentrated, and cast as Chastity had
taught me. I felt his escaping
life force, and grabbed hold. It flowed through me and back into his body. His
eyelids fluttered, he looked
up, and smiling said, "Whew! That was a close one!"
The rest of the mighty warriors of Ravenholt soon bested Skane, and with his
final death, the nexus closed,
and Ravenholt was, once again, safe.
* * *
We retired to the cabin to pack our things. Tempus said he'd be leaving to go
visit his mom and might not
be coming back. . . . He gave Borax and I some of his money, stating he wouldn't
need it where he was
going. This gave me pause, and I asked to accompany him. "Tomorrow, I'll
meet you outside town, and
we'll go", he said. I told Delahr I'd not be attending Northstar's funeral,
for though he was important to me,
the living who needed help were moreso. He understood and wished me well. Tristemere
had also asked me
to accompany her to meet a spectre, but I had to decline that as well. Tempus,
a man who had taught me
much, confided in me, and took me in when I came to Ravenholt was in need.
The next morning, I woke, saw the others off, and went to meet Tempus. Noon
came and went, and then
the sun was setting. It was then that I realized he had left me. Like Koryon
had done earlier this year,
Tempus had left me in a roadside tavern. Now I would miss Northstar's funeral,
Tristemere's encounter
with a friendly spectre, and most of all, Tempus himself. BAH! Foolish humans!
Deceitful, conniving, "I
can do it all by myself, humans!"
With a slam, I put my mug down, paid the barkeep, and left. "I'm going
back to the mountains! Maybe
people here don't want my help or need me, but I know the Dwarven King will!"
With that, I am off to the Dwarven mountains. . . .