Vraes stood from where he had slain Baron Arhaives latest Orcin recruits, waking from his meditation. He turned his back on the bridge that Kjartan had burned to make their escape and walked slowly to where Kyera was healing Selen. She had taken a deep would from an Orcin Warboy, and was bleeding profusely. Thanks to Kyera's magic she had almost completely recovered. Purified water washed away the filth the Orcin's spear left behind, and fresh bandages stemmed any minor bleeding.
"Good as new, yet again Kyera", Selen said, beaming ear to ear. She may have been wounded, but that Orcin's head came clean off his shoulders when the Outlander's heavy sword crashed through its spinal cord. They were so close now, and they all knew it Arhaive would soon be dead, and they would face down the Magus Lazzon to end his corruption over the region.
"Let's go. Now." Vraes commanded tersely.
"Hold fast, Outlander." Kjartan spoke up, annoyed at the unnecessary command. "We must not rush blindly into another trap. See there-- those webs were not there the last time we came by here. The Underdeep is retaking Red Hill, so we must be cautious." Vraes shook his head, and pointed his sword down the passageway.
"Selen, let's move." He said again, voice hardening. "He sent his hounds on me. He had me locked in that cage like a DAMNED ANIMAL! We go NOW, and kill anything in our way. I don't care if he sends his entire army against me, I want his HEAD. And I'll bring this entire Keep down to do it. Now let. Us. Move. Out." He turned and awaited Selen to take her place at the head of the group. The Wizard looked as if he wanted to speak, but he thought better of it, gathered his scrolls, and fell into line.
Selen tightened her fresh bandages snugger than Kyera had left them, so they wouldn't come loose, then she slinked into the darkness ahead of Vraes, who kept pace as quietly as he could despite his new set of armor making sounds that echoed off the walls about him. Ahead of them, Selen stopped to run her hand carefully against what looked like thin air, stooping low as she did. Her free hand came up sharply to halt the group, then in the same motion drew her bow from her back. Nobody but her could see the thin silken tripwires set by the crafty spiders of the area. The hall in front of her was thick with them, waiting to be brushed against. Once she saw that there were no clear ways through, she turned to Vraes and Kyera behind her.
"Stay quiet-- we cannot go this way. There must be another way around. A den of spiders has taken nest here, and there are tripwires everywhere." Selen whispered, motioning for them to back up. She had not seen the minute silken threads along the wall behind the Wizard, and as he turned, his robe brushed against the wall and snapped a thread, which stuck to him. They heard his breath catch in his throat, and immediately Selen ran to Vraes, shoving him nearer the hallway she had warned of, hissing urgently. "We fight, Vraes, draw your blade and let nothing past you!" His mighty blade, once owned by Oskahold's savior Captain Lukai, slid out of its sheath with a menacing sound, and he held it ready. Selen raced to Kjartan, withdrew her razor sharp dagger, and cut the thread holding Kjartan in place, then followed the path of the thread to where it came from-- directly behind them.
Kyera stepped behind her, ready to fight, but ever nervous about being flanked. "The Deep has closed in behind us! Ready yourselves, and may Myshana guard us
," Kyera said loudly, gripping her shield tight to herself. In front of them, dark silhouettes began dropping from the ceiling, chittering loudly with mandibles unseen in this light. Selen drew arrows from her quiver, and with pure skill was able to embed several barbed arrows into the moving targets. Screeches sounded out from the wounded beasts, and they began limping their way to where Selen stood. Kyera summoned forth Myshana's wrath, beams of blinding light sizzling into the face of the closest spider, its pale orange skin searing visibly in the gloom.
Kjartan saw that there were too many to be taken down immediately, so before they reached Selen, he turned to the stalactites above him, calling forth deadly fire to wrap around them. When the fire caught the condensation on the ancient rock, it shattered them from their bases, and when he saw them floating under his spell, he ordered them down onto the spiders drawing nearer Selen's waiting blade. When the rocks struck the spiders, they staggered wildly, the shockwave confusing the beasts and they fought to move ever forward.
Vraes stood at the rear of the rest of them, immensely jealous of the slaughter being wrought by his companions. Before he had the chance to leave his post and join them, the sound of dozens of legs clicking in the passage in front of him made his hair stand on end. Roused by the vibrations Kjartan's mighty spell caused, it seemed the very nest Selen had warned them of had awoken. Vraes gripped his sword tightly, checking to see the wizard was sufficiently protected by Kyera's shield, then took his stance as the spiders came for him.
There would be no salute for these uncomprehending monsters, only death. He peered into the gloom, his tired eyes trying to pick out his first mark. He didn't see the first arachnid until it was almost upon him, as it blended in nearly perfectly with the dark grey of the cave walls. "Selen, Black Spiders!" Vraes shouted, his sword arcing out in front of his body, cleaving a spider cleanly in two as it leapt with terrifying swiftness out of the dark. Red and blue detritus showered over him as the two halves of the beast fell on either side of him. He spat in disgust, the looked up to see a half-dozen more crawling out at him, some on the walls, others on the ceiling, with still more racing along the floor.
"Come on, filth, come and get me!" cried Vraes, charging headlong at the spiders. He knew their bites would tear him to shreds, but he knew his blade would do the same. He brought his sword up with both hands, then back down into the closest spider, killing it instantly. Another jumped at him from the ceiling, and he thrust his blade straight through its face, again slaying it as soon as the steel touched flesh. "Come ON!" he called again, as if the spiders could understand his demands. He wanted a challenge, and prayed the spiders could provide one. He had fought nothing but Krete and the Baron's soldiery for weeks and loved the opportunity to test his blade on arachnid flesh once more. He danced merrily with his massive sword, footwork keeping him safe as he dodged and parried the attacks of the massive spiders. Battle, it seemed, was the only time he truly felt happy.
Selen heard Vraes's bellows behind her and knew he was fine. Still more of the bigger orange spiders were dropping, and each of them were pegged by a crippling arrow before they could reach the floor. The wizard kept an eye on the spiders closest the archer, and he began his favorite incantation, showering the spiders with glowing embers and ash. He truly loved the sounds the various denizens of the Underdeep made when the embers ate into their hides, so much so that he had begun keeping journal entries for just this reason. The spiders wretched in pain, smiling to himself as the sound washed over him. Selen too had learned to listen for these awful sounds, and she lowered her head to see the spiders before her.
"Kyera, cover me!" she shouted, drawing her blade and racing to beat the spiders to their signature leap. Just as the beasts were about to jump, she slid on her protected shins, bashing one with her bow, the other was sliced open with a single thin cut to the side which severed three of its four legs on this side. It rolled over and hissed one last time before its remaining five curled up beneath it in death. Beams of light raced over her before she could stand, and another spider screamed as it was boiled inside its thick carapace like hide. Ash rained down again opening up gaping holes in the next closest spider, so she drew an arrow, nocked, and fired it in one blindingly fast motion as she stood from her slide. The arrow flew true, impaling the spider to the cave floor, where it scratched vainly to reach her.
Vraes had been forced back several paces, the spiders far too numerous for him to remain completely safe from their attacks. As he cut another down, a spider leapt from the wall and sank its teeth into Vraes's shoulder, causing him to holler in pain. He swung his blade with one hand while his other wrapped itself around the chewing mandibles of the spider biting him. His iron grip closed around the fangs and squeezed, stopping the flow of any further venom and allowing him to pull the fangs from his flesh. Still holding the mandibles, he swung the beast with all his might, smashing it into yet another, sending them both flying back into the gloom. "SELEN!" He screamed, backpedaling as blood spurted from his open wound. He used the fang still dripping in his hand to stab yet another in the eye, and was showered with blood in the process.
Selen turned to see Vraes completely surrounded, pinned the last arachnid to the floor, then raced to help him. "Down, wizard!" she cried, watching Vraes fling the spider who had bit him back into the gloom. Kjartan fell to his knees, again turning his eyes to the stalactites above him. As Selen's arrows found their marks, so did his own incantation. The entire Deep seemed to reverberate with the force of it, but Kjartan only saw Vraes knee deep in the teeth of gnashing spiders. Vraes took the opportunity to put the spiders in front of him down, then turned to see Selen removing her long knife from one grey spider, then jamming it into another. She looked at Vraes, then frowned suddenly. Before Vraes could turn to see, she had an arrow flying through the air just over his shoulder and into one last spider who had jumped at his unprotected back.
The caves fell quiet again, the sounds of any remaining arachnids fading into the distance. Vraes checked his shoulder and winced, waving Kyera to his side. She came to him, laid her hands on his wound and the numbing venom receded almost instantly, the wound closing under her healer's touch. There would be no time for meditating now. Not here. Not until Arhaive was dead.
"Thank you Kyera. Now let's move out." Commanded Vraes once more. Selen rolled her eyes as she retrieved what arrows were still useable. Kyera looked over her shoulder, then followed the Outlander as they approached Red Hill's Keep.
GROUP writeup to follow tonight. I had enough time to write this up, but then my son woke up
