sillk
Registered User lvl2
Posts: 5
(6/1/03 11:03 pm)
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Forsaken's wrath on Ssra - Sigg style
.... The air was damp in the musty temple, and moss patches clung to the weathered granite blocks of the cramped room. The band of Forsaken drudged wearily to their final destination and their ultimate goal...the vanquishing of the Emperor Ssraeshza. As the group moved deeper into the temple, they were besieged by the fanatical denizens of this Shissar infested temple. A cold sweat started to form on Sigg's brow, as he whispered to Bobec to scout the halls ahead. "What do you see, my little friend?" he implored. "It does not look too good, my brother," Bobec replied, "There are guards everywhere, and they look much meaner than any we've seen so far. They glisten with an unnatural strength, and seem to be lead by a General and his Advisor".
Sigg turned to Rogosh and conferred with him. Rogosh told the brave adventurers to quietly sneak into the room and make their way to one of the darker and less-visible corners and prepare for the fight to come. On his queue, Sigg reached into a pouch and pulled out a fang coated with dried venom of the Shissar. He chuckled to himself as he thought how ironic it was to use their own body parts against these vile snake creatures. He crouched behind a tall column as he watched for the perfect moment to strike. As one of the snakes was distracted, he quickly threw the fang at the chest of the General, who hissed angrily and flared its hood. It focused its gaze toward the column where Sigg was hiding and spotted him a brief second later. Instantly it slithered across the floor towards the apparently hapless human. Sigg quickly back-peddled and taunted the angry snake toward his waiting band of adventurers.
As he saw the slithering beast approaching, Rogosh turned a steely gaze to his comrades and prepared them for battle. Satche began to summon an illusion of ferocity that covered the mortal form of Rogosh, making him look more menacing and horrific. Cristal wrapped her arms in a prayer to Tunare and summoned forth thorny vines that wrapped themselves in a magical embrace on the steadfast warrior. As the huge snake approached, Sigg fell to the ground seemingly devoid of life, causing the pursuer to ignore him for a moment. In that very moment, Rogosh lashed out with his blades, exploding in a maelstrom of fury on the vile beast. Searing waves of pain blasted from his blades as they made contact with the opponent's gleaming scales, and the beast reeled in torment and pain. Saladina crushed vile smelling herbs in her bare hands and threw the mixture at the beast, causing it to wretch with sickness and disease. The creature slowed in its movement and Saladina brazenly announced to the adventurers that her herbs had found their mark. The beast might have been slowed, but it was now angrier than ever, as it lashed out in a savage barrage of attacks on the noble shamaness, and with one final swipe of it's powerful fists, it knocked her to the ground in a lifeless crumpled heap. Alilinkie cried out in a piercing scream as she saw her companion fall, her incantation of healing seconds too late for her hapless sister. Seeing this, Frozu knelt beside Saladina's body and started to channel the life-giving energies of his avatar into the lifeless corpse, and all the while, a raging battle was taking place around him, but his will was steadfast and his concentration unwavering.
As Rogosh repeatedly taunted the savage beast with attacks and screams, the rogues, who had remained nearly invisible in the rear flanks, stepped out of the shadows and began to unleash devastating backstabs to the roaring snake. Repeatedly they gored the creature in multiple places along its back and flank. Kalamity noticed a place in the scaly skin where a scale had become dislodged, most likely in a previous battle, and quickly jabbed her gleaming dagger into the soft skin beneath. Ochre oozed from the skin as the creature screamed in torment from the devastation of the blow. "Oh yeah," she thought to herself, "that one must have really hurt." As the battle raged, the creature started to lose some of its composure, and it was obvious that its will began to fade. It blows were just as powerful, but they found their mark less and less.
Floating quietly towards the rear of his guildmates, Coyotee waited for the perfect moment to strike. He had been forming incantations all throughout the fight, focusing the power of his magic and growing it in strength. With one final barrage of cryptic words and a few more convolutions of his stubby fingers, the little gnome unleashed what seemed like the fury from the depths of hell, as a searing blast of molten fire arced towards the unsuspecting Shissar. The shard of fire unerringly found it's mark, and tore into the creature's midsection with such force, that it created a hole nearly the size of a dwarf's head. The massive snake let out what seemed like one last nearly silent hiss as it fell backwards to its death. The melee at the creature's flanks had to practically climb over each other as they all hastily got out of the way of the falling creature...all but one hapless rogue who was too distracted by a black sapphire that had come loose from the snakes regalia and landed near his feet. As he reached down to pick it up, the dead beast fell atop him, burying him under it convoluted mass.
Zaxean let out a hearty laugh as he witnessed the spectacle. Allanim looked in the direction that Zaxean was laughing, and saw a stubby hand sticking out from underneath the twisted mass of snake flesh. Seeing the carved bone ring on the middle finger of the unfortunate victim, he quickly realized who the victim was, and asked a few of the warriors to help him free Bobec from his unfortunate predicament. The warriors’ muscles rippled as the carcass was shoved aside, revealing a ochre-covered halfling whose pride was more than just a little crushed. "Get it off my legs, you dumb oafs!" he yelled at his rescuers, all the while clutching his sapphire prize in his hand. Sillk wiped off his gleaming daggers while nodding his head from side to side; he mused to himself how shiny things seem to always get the best of the hobbits. He then carefully applied a thick tar-like toxin to the razor-sharp blades and sheathed them promptly. Dakthur had been tugging on the halfling’s arms forcibly and with one final heave, he pulled Bobec free and fell backwards, landing on his back with a heavy thud, his own helmet falling off in the process and bouncing across the floor. Rogosh whimsically looked down at the helmet and wondered how far he could kick it, but decided against the idea, for fear of attracting any unwanted attention.
Bobec stood up. Standing there with one boot missing and covered head to toe in Shissar blood, he was a sight to behold. A few of the adventurer snickered softly, while others tried to console the halfling. Linluriel summoned forth an elemental of the water planes, allowing Bobec to clean himself off with some of the watery liquid that its body consisted of. She followed it up with some clean cloth bandages that vanished once they served their purpose. Bobec looked whole again, except for his missing boot, which was still buried somewhere underneath the slimy carcass. “Well?” he chirped at Allanim, “who’s going to get my other boot? I’m not going to trudge another step in this moldy stink hole without my other boot!” Allanim couldn’t tell if the lil’ guy was hurt or angry, but figured he might as well help him get his boot back so the guild could move forward.
The next hour seemed to last an eternity, as the brave adventurers slew dozens of hideous snakes, piling their carcasses in several haphazard piles along the walls of the chamber. Their efforts were not in vain, though, as they procured two additional insignias needed to forge Rings of the Shissar, magical keys that allowed entrance to the royal chambers of Emperor Ssraeshza. With the last of the Imperial Guards dead, The Forsaken approached the softly glowing ring portal that would transport them to their final destination.
The sickly red hue emanating from the circular ringway seemed to give off a low humming noise the closer one got to it. One by one, each adventurer reached through the center of the glowing ring and vanished a brief instant later. They were silently transported into the antechamber before the royal sanctum. The lighting was even dimmer in this cramped room, and a luxurious and inviting rug was laid out in the center of the floor. Sensing magical wards emanating from the seemingly innocent rug, Cartmenn waved his hands at the party, issuing a silent warning for all to keep their distance. Everyone obeyed and gathered together near a stone brazier in the rear of the chamber.
Aazia stretched her slender hands upwards in an obvious gesture towards her goddess Tunare as she chanted softly under her breath. A warm white glow descended and enveloped the entire group, filling them with the virtuous piety of righteousness. Dancingfox too performed ancient barbaric rituals that strengthened everyone with animalistic embodiments. Many other magical protections and wards were cast in rapid succession and the air crackled with magical energies.
Once all preparations were complete, Sillk drew his cloak around himself and seemed to vanish into the shadows of the room. He cautiously approached the only door leading out of the chamber and cracked it ever so slightly. The muscles in his throat tensed as he viewed the ceremony taking place in the royal chambers beyond. A tiny bead of sweat formed on his furrowed brow as he quietly made his way back to the group to inform them of what he had seen. An aura of tenseness gripped the adventurers as battle plans were drawn, and everyone knew that their final hour had come...
(to be continued)
-Sigg of the Silent Fist
- Posted by Sigg at 4:23:26 PM EST
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