Parrotman
Da Hui Guildleader
Posts: 1150
(7/11/03 2:56 pm)
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05 - Collaboration - The Begining of the End
Kapena chained....
He looked down at his feet, dangling six inches above the floor and swaying ever so slightly. He could see them, but did not notice them, nor anything else around him. He did not feel the sweat on his brow. He did not sense the blood running down his arm from his chained wrists. He did not even feel the sting of the whip, as it cracked into is back from time to time. His mind was a fortress, and all his thoughts were directed and keeping up his mental walls. He had built those walls in his mind, protecting his mind, locking it away deep inside himself. It was those walls that he worried about. It was those walls that Tserrina was attacking.
Slowly, she wore away at the mortar of those walls. Slowly she tried to invade that fortress, to batter down the doorways to his mind, to take control of him. She was winning. With each moment, she was chipping away at Kapena's defenses. Tserrina smiled slightly every time she could feel his will weaken. She sensed each inch that she dove into his soul, and she enjoyed the conflict. She relished in the torture that she was causing, not the physical pain, but the mental destruction. To have a subject fight so long, hard and with all their will, only to lose in the end.... this is what Tserrina enjoyed. The thrill of destroying a persons will, and in the end, dominating them.
She had included all the necessary distractions to weaken his resolve. She hung him from the wall, to tire his body. Her servant whipped him from time to time, to distract him with the pain. And she bore relentlessly into his psyche, to break his mind. Now, as the session wore on, she could see that her methods were working. He was strong. Perhaps the mentally strongest human she had ever encountered. Kapena had mental ability forged from years of focus and commitment to his class. It was that mind that crafted his body into the fighting machine of such skill and fluid motion. It was that mind that now stood between her and control of that fighting machine. She would have him,... in time.
Hero's massing...
They gathered in silence. Each focused on the task at hand. Each preparing themselves in their own way for battle. They readied weapons and spells alike. Only Shakuhatchi remained jovial, talking out loud to the group. "If I know Kapena, he'll probably be relaxing on a bed of pillows, being fanned by thong clad undead women and eating grapes out of Tserrina's hand by now," said Shakuhatchi. "He doesn't need our help, in fact he will be pissed that we tore him away!"
"Doubtful," said Hiemer. "She is not the ‘party girl' type." "Bah!," said Shakuhatchi. "Let me talk to her, I'll loosen her up." "She just needs the right man to come along and sweep her off her feet." "Sure," said Ouze. "And I bet you think you qualify as a ‘man'." "Lookie here Frogstomper, or Stinkeefeets... or whatever your calling yourself nowdays," said Shakuhatchi. "I didn't want to say nothing, but when it comes to who is a ‘man' between me and you,... maybe you better talk with Katrinka about that one." A smirk crossed Shakuhatchi's face, but was gone in an instant as he met Ouze's deadly stare. Katrinka was a druid that Ouze had been spending time with and he was very fond of her. It had been a long time since the Troll had spent time with any woman, since the disappearance of Wyntyr many months before. Now, Ouze was trying to move on with his life, and he had met Katrinka. The group of friends were fond of her too. "Sorry, just a joke... lighten up man." Ouze's stare lingered a full minute longer, then he turned back to his preparations.
"I am ready, lets be off," said Ezmrella. Rashindo replied, "Don't get yer knickers in a bunch there short stuff, we are almost ready." The group rose, stood in a circle and readied itself for transport. There were 9 companions from the group of friends this day, all they could summon on such short notice. Hiemer, Rashindo, Ouze, Ezmrella, Shakuhatchi, Rohm, Dimleelit, Jotu and Arnough. The air around them began to crackle slightly, as Hiemer and Rohm started the casting that would take them to the continent of Ice, to the Tower of Frozen Shadow. A pale glow enveloped the group and in a flash they were gone.
The invitation...
Rashindo stood in the shadow of the spires of the tower. He paused a moment as a blur of moving rock and metal moved past him. A tower guardian. He listened to the whistling sound it made and could hear the sounds of more in the distance coming closer. Then, there was an opening, and he whistled to the group to run up. Silently, the nine figures ran up to the mirrored doorway to the tower. Each touched the flowing wave-like surface and was instantly delivered to the entrance chamber of the tower.
"Finally out of that blasted cold," stated Rohm, as he snapped his fingers and brought forth fire to Hiemer's torch. "The cold reminds you that you are alive, at least for a short time longer," said Arnough. "My people know, in battle, the cold is your ally." "Yer people know that beer is good and that fire is hot... that is about it," said Shakuhatchi. Arnough flexed his massive barbarian frame and growled at the diminutive bard. His massive form rippled in the torchlight. "Easy there Shaku, don't make me have to step in and save your elvish butt," said Jotu. "Honestly Jotu, how DO you handle such a massive and obviously well endowed man," asked Shakuhatchi. "I mean, don't you worry in a fit of rage he could mistake you for the bad guys?" "I know how to control that rage, the real question is when," replied Jotu. "Like when he goes to snap your scrawny neck, I have to ask myself, do I really want to stop him?" Shakuhatchi drew back a bit, and turned his attention back to the 6 foot 5 warrior in front of him. "Ok, ok, I see your point." Jotu smirked, and shot a wink at Arnough, who returned the look with a chuckle and a wink of his own.
As the final torches were lit, and the room began to brighten, the group noticed a figure in the distance they had not seen before. Deeper in the chamber stood a 10 foot tall golem of ice. Its massive form blocked out the doorway to the next chamber completely. "Well, that is quite the obstacle," said Hiemer. "Nothing a little steel cant handle,... got anything to drink, I'll make ice cubes" joked Ouze. The golem stood with its hands out, palms open. "It has something in its hands," said Rashindo, as he slipped into the shadows. A moment later there was a flash of motion, gone before any of the group could really register it. Then, Rashindo appeared amidst the group. "It had this," he said. In his hand he held a golden key, carved and inlaid with tendrils of mithril. The golem them began to move. The group jumped, startled by the sound of grinding and crunching ice. But the golem turned, and began to walk away. Deeper in the chamber the golem stopped, and pointed to a tunnel. "I guess he wants us to go that way," said Ezmrella. "Uh yeah, lets just follow the mean nasty evil golem wherever he wants us to go... that is rich!" said Shakuhatchi. "Sure, he wont lead us into trouble, we can trust him." "It is an invitation," said Rohm. "The mistress of the house wants us to be her audience." "Good, she wants to get it over with, just my style," said Dimleelit. "Either that, or it's a trap, but I am foolish enough to play along for now," said Ouze. "Someone write that down will ya, the ‘foolish enough' part," said Shakuhatchi. "Record the date and time too," he chuckled. "If we get out of here with Kapena, I will pummel you and show you what a beaten fool looks like," said Ouze.
The group steadied itself and moved into the tunnel that the golem had directed them to. At the end on the wall hung another mirror, its surface wave-like and pulsing. This mirror however was glowing, and around it were gold and mithril inlaid carvings. "Key,... mirror... I guess we go up," said Ezmrella. Rashindo touched the key to the mirrors surface, and plunged the group into the unknown.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Ezmrella
Edited by: Parrotman at: 7/11/03 3:03 pm
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