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To Sing His Own Praises
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Fluffybun
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 6:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Ellani... you can calm down now," Khamilah said, nodding to Marlena to indicate the skunk was free to work her magic.

The ottress didn't have to say this twice as the other female sprang to her feet and started mouthing an incantation for a Lightning spell that would fry at least one Gnoll, and maybe several others as well due to their close proximity and chainmail shirts. However, she didn't just let loose at the nearest one, but chose her target carefully, aiming for the only remaining Flind.

Meanwhile, as the completely berserk vixen collided with the pack of Gnolls, tearing through the first one with her bare claws in a matter of seconds, Pat arrived on the scene. He grimaced a little, seeing the corpse of the Flind leader, and especially the hole where his throat once was, but recovered quickly and called upon the present wildlife to aid him once more.

Just like before, a swarm of bats answered his summons and started harassing the Gnolls from above, while a few small vines that were slowly working their way through the cavern floor started growing rapidly, winding themselves around the beasts' feet, restricting their movements.

Seeing his already terrified group being assaulted by these new threats, Tlar gathered his courage and ordered them to stand firm, or at least tried to. However, instead of a firm command, only an anguished cry leapt from his muzzle as an arc of electrical energy lept from Marlena's fingertips towards him, being attracted to the well-made armour he wore, and was reduced to a black, smouldering corpse shortly afterwards.

What finally broke the Gnolls morale, was a sudden purple flash of light, coming from the cave's entrance, the direct result of a Disintegration spell by the badger necromancer. The beasts wanted to run, but found they couldn't, thanks to the Druid's spell.

In the meantime, as the three males waiting outside entered the cavern, Ellani was still wreaking havoc, her claws and forearms dripping red with the blood of the gnolls she had already slain, and her muzzle and most of her armour coated in the same colour as well, again, giving her the appearence of a demonic butcher.

'What has to be done, has to be done,' Pat thought as he drew his sword, advancing upon the Gnolls, just as Rob and Derrick charged into the fray as well.

At the same time, Khamilah had walked towards Alash's throne, and had loaded his Heavy Crossbow. It wasn't a weapon she was used to, in fact, it was much too heavy for her tastes, but it would have to do for now. She aimed carefully, repressing her feelings of disgust as she saw the vixen tear a Gnoll's neck open with one sweep of her claw, and pulled the trigger, being rewarded by one of the creatures dropping down with a bolt through the heart.

'Apparently, those armours aren't good enough,' she thought amused as she loaded the crossbow again.

Then, a loud crack of thunder split the air, as Thad and Marlena both unleashed a Chain Lightning spell at the same time, electrifying just about every Gnoll present, and giving Pat, Derrick, Rob, and Ellani a nasty shock as well.

Being the most heavily armoured of our heroes, Derrick had suffered most from it, some of his fur singed by the electrical energies unleashed, but still quite okay. The other two males, who didn't have the lynx' physical resistance, but fortunately were much lighter armoured as well, felt quite uncomfortable, their fur standing on end, though without any real harm done.

The vixen however just shrugged off the discharge like it was nothing, enraged as she was. She didn't even notice that all the Gnolls were dead at the time and frantically looked around for new targets to slay, her gaze falling oddly enough on Rob.

"Ellani, stop! It's me, Robert," he shouted in the hope that it would snap to her senses.

His heart sank as he saw the murderous look in her eyes remain, though there was a little hope for him. Apparently, the stress of her current state was very draining on her body, and she looked tired, breathing heavily as she was. Nevertheless, she advanced upon him, ready to slay the ferret where he stood.

"Pat, can you do something?" Rob asked, very accurately guessing that the vines were the druid's doing, while backing up.

"Friends of the earth, lend me your aid once more," he whispered in reply to his request, and soon thereafter, a thinck vine shot out and wrapped itself around the vixen's ankles, tripping her as she tried to break free.

"Thank you," the ferret wheezed, having experienced the worst minutes in his association with Ellani so far. "You've probably saved all our lives with your magic."

Khamilah, Derrick and Marlena nodded in agreement whereas Thad just snorted.

"And who had to blast his way in here?" he cussed obviously upset that his share was overlooked.

Ellani was strugging weakly in the grip of the tanglevines, her struggles abating as the spell of berserker rage left her body. She blinked several times as she took in the scene before her.

"What happened?" she wondered, before taking a look at herself. "Why am I all sticky in blood and gore?"

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Joshua Fox
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

“Uhhh… you went on a massive killing spree and started to dismember the Gnolls…” Rob hesitated, still wary of the vixen’s emotional state. “And then you tried to go after me.”

Thad grumbled as he walked away from the scene unnoticed, taking advantage of the attention being paid to the barbarian. Now that the slavegirls had been cleared out into the main room to be freed, the ever opportunistic Necromancer moved past the velvet curtains into Alash’s private quarters.

He was rather impressed by what he saw, thinking the room unusually clean and well-decorated for a Flind, even one so intelligent and powerful as Alash had been. The pillows and bed were covered in the finest pillows and sheets and blankets, the furs of many fine beasts covering the floor and spreading to the walls which were bordered with mounds and mounds of treasure. He quickly loosened the cover on his bag of holding and begin to sift through the choicer items, plucking a ring there and some nicer jewelry and other such things. There were many more bulky and grand items to be found, of course, even a few weapons and armor pieces that were beautifully ornamented and bore slight enchantments, but he knew well enough to leave these things in favor of baubles that weren’t likely to be missed.

Though he came across an item of particular interest in a small, open box beside the now-dead Flind leader’s bed. It appeared to be a shard of some sort, a peculiar piece of something that bore a distinct magical aura.

Perhaps a fragment of an artifact, he mused, picking it up in his paw and holding it up to his eye, allowing the spectral lights to dance off its surface from the torches that lined the room.

He closed his hand around it, and felt a curious tingle similar to that he had sensed whenever handling his Greenstone amulet. It was definitely magical, charged with some sort of unusual energy that he felt certain could only be very, very old.

Mayhaps an artifact, indeed, Thad thought as he placed it in a magically-guarded pocket in his robes, patting it to ensure that it was protected from falling out or being taken.

He then continued to mull about the various treasures, taking what he felt was best and leaving the vast majority untouched.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 1:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kyle leapt down from his post in the tree, and cast his eyes about the place. Master, it's over...And I think they'll find the fragment if we don't hurry...

"I'm behind you." Kyle whipped around, startled. Jeff grinned, popping his neck in a few places. He had put back on his disguise, standing as a black wolf. The sage pointed to Kyle's claws. "Might want to put those away. We don't want to look threatening." Kyle shrugged and unstrapped his claws, hanging them from the chain on his waist, in plain sight, so as to discourage aggression. He and his master trodded into the lair carefully...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Krystal pouted as she sat in her tree. Why do I have to stay here? I can defend myself! I'm a master of the arts of healing, and I REFUSE to stay in this tree unless the master directly commands me to! She slowly lowered herself out of the tree and drew her Kali sticks before running after the two males...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jasto, PLEASE! This is dangerous! He's too close to the last shard! What if the Necromancer gives it to him?!?" The lion was pacing, tail flicking wildly. "If he finds all the shards..."

"BERSLIN! The badger will do now such thing. We'll make sure of it. I'll send you down there to take care of it yourself, if you'd wish." The lion immediately stopped pacing and nodded vigorously.

"Yes, let me go down there! I'll take the shard and hide it in a place no one will ever find it, and I'll kill the dragon and his servants!" The shadowed fur opened his eyes, green orbs peircing the darkness and glaring at the now trembling feline.

"No, not unless necessary. Please, don't do anything rash. It would hurt us more than help us. Go." The lion smiled, and left...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff strode into the camp, mainly ignoring the group in the midst of it, while Kyle walked up to them. "Sorry to bother you, but we're looking for somethi..."

"KYLE!!!" The fox winced as he saw the white wolf run up to him. "Kyle, has master found it yet?"

"No, or we wouldn't be here! I'm trying to ask these furs about it!" Kyle turned back to the party. "Terribly sorry, but I'm looking for a red stone. It pulses with a great power, and you can fell it calling to you. My master has informed us that it is here, would you happen to know where it is...?"

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Killing spree?" Ellani wondered while completely taking in the scene of the carnage. "I don't remember a thing of it, especially that I went for you afterwards, Robert. All I can remember if that big Flind trying to sorce himself on me, and that something snapped."

"It did happen, evidence enough," the ferret chuckled nervously.

"Wait a minute... then the stories are true..."

"What..." Rob wanted to ask, but was interrupted by the new arrivals.

"I'm sorry, we haven't exactly had much time to worry about any kind of stone," he answered in reply to their question. "Maybe Thad knows about it. Where IS he by the way?"

"He headed for the chief Flind's room," Khamilah answered. "Marlena, shouldn't we be thinking about our attire, not that I really mind of course?"

It then dawned on the skunkette that she was still standing naked in front of the rest of the group, not to mention three strangers, and her cheeks turned an interesting shade of red as she tried to cover herself up.

"Don't worry," Derrick smiled as he produced a bundly containing her clothes and handed it over.

"So," Rob continued, "you might want to go there. Somehow I have the feeling that our friend knows more of this object that you seek."

Kyle nodded his thanks and Jeff and he set off towards Alash's chambers, leaving Krystal behind.

"Can anyone get these vines off my ankles, before I remove them myself?" Ellani asked, still obviously exhausted, and was rewarded with a few whispers from Pat that uncoiled the plants holding her in place. "Thank you."

She slowly got up, her legs protesting as she did so, and turned towards the wolfette.

"You were the one from the inn several weeks ago," Ellani said, breathing hard. "Why have you been following us?"

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:17 am    Post subject: Free at last, free at last... Reply with quote

Once Khamilah had seen that Pat was able to manage the vixen, and said vixen seemed to pull herself out of her berserk rage, she turned her back on the group, and headed for where the three 'hostages' had fled.

What she found, and what was implied by her findings, made her want to ask Thad to resurrect the Flind Ellani had killed, so she could kill him all over again.

Of course, they were all female- of that, there was no question. That, however, was where their similarities parted ways; they were of many different species-- otter, skunk, feline, canine, vixen, wolf, badger, coyote, squirrel, chipmunk, raccoon- a quick head count seemed to reveal nearly three dozen femmes, in varying degrees of health. The most healthy femmes were also the most docile, as evidenced by a vixen and a doe, both 'dressed' in the finest and most sheer cloths that were available. Most seemed to be nursing some sort of injury, and a few were very badly injured- one or two of them even seemed to be unconscious. All of them appeared to be young, of her own age, or even younger, though-- fortunately-- none of them seemed to be children. Many of the femmes watched her carefully, some with eyes filled with fear, others filled with hope; very few were able to maintain eye contact with her, when she looked at them, and for that alone, she wanted to serve the Flind his own 'jewels'.

She took a moment, to look at the femmes gathered in the room; one of them would be someone she would try to get information out of, and she wasn't exactly in the most compassionate frame of mind, to want to have to coax the knowledge from some unwilling femme. With that thought in mind, she chose one of the otter femmes as her 'informant'.

"Hello," Khamilah began, "I'm Khamilah; what's your name?"

"I'm Marisselle," the other otter femme answered, "but you can call me Missy."

"Where are you from?"

"The Southlands," Missy answered, "but I was exiled, and I came up north, this way, to try to start anew."

Khamilah gave a start at that; her people were very forgiving, and there were few crimes that one could be exiled for; if the otter were from lands near her own, then it was likely that she'd lived under similar rules. The fact that there were only a small number of reasons why the other otter would have been exiled made her very curious.

"Why were you exiled, if that's not too personal...?"

"Because I paid a mage from another village to take my unborn child from me. I thought I was too young, and the male I gave myself to wouldn't take responsibility."

Khamilah jerked in response, almost taking a step back. Now she understood why the other femme had been exiled; the tenets of her religion held life most dear, and to willingly end a life- especially that of an unborn child- was seen as a great crime against Surius. It was one of the few things for which a fur could be exiled.

Despite herself, despite her gut reaction to agree with those who exiled her, she found herself continuing to ask questions of the young otter femme.

"How long have you been held here?"

"I don't know, anymore; it's been a few years."

"Years?" Khamilah nearly shouted; she just managed to rein in her voice. It was another sticking point with her, another thing that made her wish she could return that bastard Flind to life so she could kill him again.

Missy simply nodded.

"How old were you when you were brought here?" Khamilah asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I was fourteen."

Khamilah forced herself to remain in control; letting her anger take control of her would do little good at the moment.

"Alash liked 'em young," Missy volunteered, "he liked femmes my age, maybe a little older. We were 'easier to break' he said, and 'easier to teach'. He always gave the older femmes to the gnolls; a lot of them got used up, and then eaten for dinner."

Khamilah felt her gorge rising at the disheartened description of life under the rule of the Flind, and with a monumental effort, kept from throwing up at the other otter's feet.

"Tell...tell me more," Khamilah gasped softly, swallowing heavily.
And Missy did.
The younger otter only half-heartedly helped her to unshackle the other femmes; but she was full of information from the point of view of the slaves, and she told it in great detail. More than once, Khamilah had to make the other otter stop telling her story, to give her time to settle her stomach. More than once, she was so very glad that she had never known the cruel caress of Alash; she'd have likely killed herself, otherwise.

Missy had more to tell, as Khamilah searched through the clothes available for the now freed slaves, more that was rather insightful, of both her mentality as a slave, and of the gnolls and flinds, who often treated them as property, rather than as flesh and blood beings, and consequently would say things in the presense of a slave that they might not have in the presense of those they were allied with.

Finally though, everyone who was able-bodied was dressed, and in some cases carrying those who were not able bodied, and the young otter ranger began leading them back out into the main caves proper, in preparation to leave this hellhole for the last time, and to leave, finally, as free furs.

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Pat The Fox
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pats ears perked at the calamity of movement while he was busy inserting his sword deep into a flind skull, ensuring its suffering was at an end. He turned to see the otter of the party leading obviously abused slave females nd could not help but growl.

Stabbing his sword into the chest of another gnoll that was slightly twitching He droped his pack to the floor, removing both clothes nd bandages from it. He emptied all his shirts and any spare robes that he had, heading to the females.

'It's not like i change much anyway..I can always buy new' he thought as he proceeded to the group, signalling for her to stop "Let me look at the wounded, I can tend to them as I do have healing abilities, both magical and not."

He knew this was going to be a major drain on his mana pool, especially after already using large amounts of magic to enter the cave and deal with the gnolls, but he knew how to triage and reserved his mana for those who needed it most.

He offered his clothes to those who had very little wear, constantly apoligizing for the poor fit, using makeshift belts to keep pants on. He then helped with the unconscious ones, knowing the needed thee most attention first, using combinations of wound heal spells and bandaging techniques to at least ensure they wouldn't slip from life.

His disgust for what had been done was very apparent whenever he looked away from the femmes and spotted a charred corpse, but the minute he even thought his face could be seen by one of the slaves it returned to a soft face of compassion and caring of a healer.

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Joshua Fox
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

“Ha ha! Come now, my dears, you disappoint me!” Malfus shouted above a thunderclap as he dodged a throwing hammer, leaping nimbly to a nearby branch as the weather began to worsen.

The rain was coming down with much more force now, the wind picking up dramatically and blowing fiercely through the trees that the nimble bounty hunter traversed. It made his path through the many branches and such more difficult, true, but the erratic flailing of the leaves this way and that also made him a much harder target to hit. Being a resourceful fellow with the experience of many years, he was also never one to waste an advantage, and had actually enjoyed the added thrill of the chase brought upon by the inclement weather.

And so his dance through the upper tier of the thick forest continued all the stronger, having not yet drawn his bow nor his scimitar and instead letting his swiftness and speed fight the battle for him. He was not far from the swamps, now, and likely would be skirting their outer edges within the hour at his current pace. He leaped from tree to tree to tree, having masterfully chosen his route ahead of time with every piece of his path in place.

Or so he thought, for even as he leapt to an outstretched branch he saw it begin to fall away. No, not the branch, but the entire tree!

Reacting on the spur of the moment and almost purely on instinct, the Ocelot twisted his body in midair just enough to change his direction, his hands grasping at another branch on a nearby tree as he looked down.

To his not complete surprise, he saw a group of huntresses just bellow him, axes held high in anger as they saw that their trick had not worked. Immediately several of those same axes were thrown towards him, and the nimble rogue had to flip up onto the thin branch in order to avoid them.

That was close, he thought, but before he could feel even the slightest bit of relief the hard wood beneath his feet began to tumble down towards the earth as well. It was only through sheer luck that he found the one nearby branch, and began his dead run through the route he had planned before. But as he leapt across an open area between the two nearest leafy refuges, he saw the depth of his peril.

Trees were being felled all around him in every direction, two or three coming down at a time in an effort that undoubtedly required far more huntresses than he and his friend had come accustomed to dealing with. Dozens, nay, hundreds, perhaps, all gunning for him now, and he had not the help of his friend Gregori with which to thwart them. He knew at once that eventually his advantage would be gone, and he would have no choice but to run along the muddy forest floor at the same sluggish pace as his pursuers, who likely even then were surrounding him on all sides to prevent any kind of escape.

He was in trouble, likely to the extent that he would not have a prayer of any kind of miraculous escape that he and Gregori had pulled off, and he knew it.

And that wily old rogue just grinned all the wider.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krystal looked apologetic. "Oh, we haven't been following you, merely going in the same direction. We probably won't have reason to be anywhere near you soon. So, you don't need to worry about us. We only want what the master told us to get, and no more. Now, if you'll excuse me..." The Wolf walked away, looking for her master...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Master! The fragment could be in the hands of a...Oh. You've found him." Jeff had indeed found Thad, at the same instant Kyle had come to tell him about it. The dragon looked over the Necromancer, and smiled pleasantly.

"I can sense you have a stone of great power with you. I'm willing to trade anything you may ask for it..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside, in the forest, Berslin appeared, fingering his sickle on the top of a glove strapped to his right hand. He sighted the Vixen and her party, and frowned, stepping out of the trees. "YOU THERE! I AM LOOKING FOR A DRAGON! I HAVE SEEN THAT HE HAS COME THIS WAY IN SEARCH OF AN OBJECT OF GREAT EVIL POWER!" The lion walked closer as he talked, the need to shout gone. "He must not be allowed to hold it, it's absolute power will corrupt him. Please, help me find him."[/list]

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"What IS it with you people?" Ellani snapped at the lion. "First, we travel weeks without seeing any other furs, and now, after slaying a band of Gnolls, two other groups show up just to find some accursed stone."

"You'll have to forgive her, we've had a pretty rough battle earlier," Rob smiled, trying to keep the peace, since the last thing he wanted was yet another find. "We haven't seen any dragons yet, so I can't help you. Maybe you should check where the other group had gone."

The ferret then directed the lion to the place Thad and the others were, receiving a grunt in reply that could be construed as thanks, before the large feline padded away.

"Let's... get out of here," the vixen wheezed, "Robert, my equipment please."

"We it them outside the cave," he replied. "Thad had been so kind as to cast a magical ward over it, assuring your, and the other ladies' stuff won't be touched."

"Shouldn't you get a bath or something?" Marlena asked, after she dressed herself.

"A bath, a hearthy meal and some rest," Ellani replied, before raising her paw in the air. "Rator."

Nothing happened.

"RATOR!!!"

Still nothing happened. Apparently, for some reason, the Rune of Return wasn't activated by the command word, and it irked her to no end.

"Does your hatchet return to you when you weren't the last to hold it?" the skunk mage offered.

"You're right," Ellani sighed after some consideration. "That filthy beast had his paws on it last."

With that, she padded off, almost shambled off towards the place where the blackened corpse of Tlar lay, Rob walking by her side to support her as he noticed she was slightly swaying from exhaustion.

"Maybe we should seek out Pat and Khamilah, and see if we can help?" Derrick offered to the mage.

"Good idea," she replied and the two set off towards the 'slave quarters' as well.

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Joshua Fox
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

“Oh, I’ve no doubt you are,” Thad smiled back just as pleasantly, using the skills he had developed over the years he had spent at the business table. “Well met again, as it were.”

Thad’s face bore no hint of suspicion, and indeed all of his features were perfectly aligned to present him as a perfectly unassuming person.

But his eyes, or rather the red ring of arcane power that surrounded his pupils, told all. He recognized the aura even with the disguise the stranger wore, and knew quite well what he was.

“Mergandevinasander,” Thad spoke amusedly, speaking the name that no black dragon could hear without recognition. “Rare to see one of your kind roaming about above the Earth, and more rare still under the sun.”

He paused a moment to consider the figure, not being the least bit unlearned as to the ways of the Draconian races. For such a creature to venture out at all was unusual, and thus he felt his suspicions confirmed about the shard he now held being an object of great importance, likely the piece of an old and mighty artifact.

But how mighty, he wondered. He felt great power from it, that was true enough, but it was most certainly not that of any source to be found on his plane. That left the possibility of the other aligned planes, that of the Hells and the Heavens. And he very much doubted it to be of the Heavens.

As such, he felt no real attachment to it and further more a sense of revulsion, as he had always felt when dealing with powers of the other planes. He could likely learn more about it through study, certainly, but the entrepreneur in him was never one to pass up on a potentially lucrative deal. Thad thought a moment of how he might gauge the demand for what he had, being no novice at these sorts of things and not about to cheat himself by offering an honest request that would likely have been less than he could get for the supply. So, he decided it best to use one of his favorite tactics, one that had served him well in his rise through the ranks of Clu’mer society.

“Very well, my request is thus, then,” Thad purposefully curled up the corners of his mouth, creating the perfect facsimile of a ‘hopeful and eager’ look. “Just give me your female servant as my own, and I will hand over what you seek.”

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jeff was not in the least bit surprised that the Necromancer saw him for what he was, and was just as much expecting him to know the word. But what did surprise him was the badger's request. Although he was a bit annoyed at the offer, the pleasant smile never left his face for a second. "And why would you want her? To be quite frank, she's irritating at times. Do you want her for her magical abilities?" Kyle gave his master a horrified look.

"You can't really be considering..." He scowled at Thad, growling in his throat. "How dare you request such from my master!" Jeff gave the fox a warging look, and glanced back in Thad's direction.

"Give me a moment, would you?"

"I can wait." Jeff grabbed Kyle by the pressure point in his shoulder and led him off. He whispered harshly into Kyle's ear, making them both lie flat on his head. The dragon in disguise walked back to the Necromancer, and acted as if he were deep in thought. He looked back up, and commented on the offer.

"Well, I have considered your offer, but may I know what you'll use her for? And if you may consider another method of payment? As in...certain summons?"

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Jeff: Do you even realize what time it is?!?

Brian: The time I got home. Why?

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Joshua Fox
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

“What shall I use her for?” Thad asked innocently, giving a shrug as if it hardly could matter. “For magic, for pleasure, for practical uses… maybe even target practice, who knows?”

Thad continued on for a short while, listing the possible uses for the female cleric as everything from a cook to a fighter to a scout to a slave girl – considering how much of the slavegirls’ clothing could be found about, it only seemed natural – and several other possibilities. He, of course, had no intention of pursuing any of them, but it was all part of the tactic, all part of the bargaining.

“Afterall, she is but a servant. Your kind has never been known to consider them any more than ‘disposable’, or at best ‘useful’ so it’s only natural you would put her to use in my care in exchange for such a mighty bauble,” Thad went on, bringing the gold urn that held at his side up by the chain. “It is worth such a small price, is it not?”

“Oh, and as for your offer of ‘summons’…” The Necromancer began as he opened the lid of the urn, which bore a black hand surrounded by various bones and skulls, what had been the sign of the followers of the feared Necromancer Calimar, the Cult of the Ashen Hand.

Inside the urn there was naught but ashes, filling nearly to the brim with black grit of the dead. The badger placed his hand just a few inches above the uncovered urn and closed his eyes, beginning to mumble beneath his breath some kind of unintelligible chant that would send chills up the spines of any that would be able to listen. As he chanted, the ashes began to float upwards, slowly coating his digits and down the length to his wrist until no more of his fur or flesh on it were visible. Until it was indeed the Ashen Hand.

Curling it into a fist, he began to silently chant once more, his eyes opening to show the mix of red and green glowing power which radiated from the orbs as he finally spoke the final words required.

“Et te nuse Nok ney, Necre et meh Ramilac yen Tay!” The words seemed to bound from his mouth, waves of sound rumbling off the cavern walls that all were able to hear.

No sooner had he finished the words when the ashes leaped forth with dramatic speed from his hand, launching out in long streams through the air towards the main chamber of the lair. It went straight for and settled upon the dead bodies of the Gnolls and Flind that had fallen in the fight, quickly absorbing into the flesh and disappearing from sight.

And for a moment there was nothing, not a sound to be found in all the caves. But then came the screams, the agonized cries that went up from every of the fallen creatures that were far worse than the cries of death. These were the throes of undeath, those of a creature torn from the peace of their ends and thrust back into the world of the living with no will but that of the one who created them.

One by one they were raised as unnatural creatures, even the once mighty Alash coming to his feet to serve his new master without any thought to his own existence or any semblance of the unique and terrible creature that he had been in life.

Once they were all standing silently, facing in the direction from which the Necromancer had called them, more than forty in all, they simply waited for their master’s words.

“As you can see, I have little use of most summoning creatures, for I can create my own from the right… ‘materials’…” Thad grinned, taking a deep breath as the pleasant smell of decaying flesh wafted past his nose. “Now, then, what of your female servent, then, hmm?”

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BlackDragon
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 11:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"I have to admit, your method of summoning is much more amusing than mine...But no, I don't think I'll be giving up any of my 'slaves'. I really wouldn't part with any of them. They're more than material possesions to me, really. But...I have a great deal many other things to bargain with, being what I am...You see...That object there is of no use to you, is it? You wouldn't be able to use it without the others." Jeff tapped his jaw, thinking. Finally, he shrugged. "I have a fine collection of magical items and artifacts, but I'm not sure what, besides my servant, what you might like...May I ask that you name something else, or are you deadset on having my wolf?" The dragon was sure the Necromancer didn't really want Krystal, but he was confused as to why he had asked that. But, again, it didn't show on his face...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Berslin waited, listening to the bargaining. There would be no point in showing himself to the two unless the shard was put into the black dragon's keeping. He gritted his teeth as he sat, listening...

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Jeff: Do you even realize what time it is?!?

Brian: The time I got home. Why?

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Fluffybun
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 4:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ellani and Rob, after retrieving the vixen's hatchet, had just left the cave into the clear lands outside when the corpses of the Gnolls, animated by Thad's magic, began to stir.

Fortunately for the badger, or in this case, more fortunate for Ellani, given her current state, she never noticed it, and the one person who could tell her decided wisely to keep his muzzle shut as he supported her to the bank of the river.

"I take it you'll want to refresh yourself in the river, Ellani," he half-joked, and suddenly realised he'd probably need to do the same.

"You're right," she replied, "and then... a good meal, and some rest."

'I think Thad can arrange that,' the ferret mused as they arrived.

"Do you need a hand with your armour?" he asked.

"I'll manage."

The two then undressed slowly, Rob being the first to shed the last of his clothes even though he was wearing quite a bit more. He noticed that somehow, his cloak wasn't stained in blood at all, and that it was only himself that needed cleaning.

'Strange...' the ferret wondered, not for the first time, as he moved over to support the now naked vixen.

"Robert... thanks for being so concerned, but I can manage, really," she smiled in reply, though she looked like she could use the the help.

Nevertheless, Ellani managed to get in the water on her own, and instantly felt better as its coldness enveloped her. She first cleaned her paws before starting on the rest of her body. Rob only had to clean his paws, and then assisted her, not because he had to, but simply because he liked it.

"Ellani, can I ask you something? You mentioned something about a story earlier."

"Did I?" she wondered, as she washed the last of the gore out of her fur. "Oh yes. It's just a legend of the Angrinn, that, when placed in the gravest of situations, a fur can attain the Kei'atamen, the Fury of the Ancients."

"And you believe that's what happened to you?"

"I think so... at least judging from the results."

"Yeah, I didn't think anyone could rip a Gnolls arms out of their sockets, not until I saw you doing it," he chuckled.

"Always expect the unexpected," she smiled, "I believe I said that on our first night together."

"You sure did," he smiled in reply. "How can I forget that night?"

"Getting constant reminders helps, doesn't it?" the vixen whispered as she pulled him into a hug.

"Sure does," the ferret whispered back, wrapping his arms around her waist.

The two stayed in this embrace for several minutes, the warmth of their mutual feelings easily dispelling the coldness of the stream they were standing in.

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Joshua Fox
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2004 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

“I’m afraid that is my business, Hephastus’ Bane,” Thad replied simply, referring to the mighty Red Dragon of Mirabar who had been so tricked by Mergandevinasander the Black. “And as for the bauble being of no use to me…”

Thad let it hang in the air for a long moment as he reached into his magically protected inner pocket, removing the item in question and holding it before him just a few inches from his nose.

“You’re probably correct, but who knows?” Thad spoke idly, looking over the contours of the curious item as if observing poor produce at market. “Many, if not most, of the great artifacts have few uses by way of practicality, and are by no means simple to discern. Legends about them are often overblown and unreliable, little better than rumors and hearsay for the most part, and as such information for such things is hard to come by at best and unattainable at worst. That leaves perhaps only one way to discern the truth, by most estimates…”

The Necromancer did not continue, but instead flipped the shard over and over again in the air for a moment or two, catching it and holding it tightly with skilled fingers before placing it back away in his robes’ inner pocket.

“So then you would not part with your slave. A curious notion for your kind, but then again so is barter of this nature,” Thad continued as if he were perfectly bored, even allowing himself a prolonged yawn. “So if you would not part with her, then what do you offer for this ‘worthless trinket’ of yours?”


###



Things were getting worse for Malfus by the minute.

As if the growing intensity of the storm were not enough, with powerful winds and rains assaulting him with every movement, as if the arrows and missiles were not enough, shot and thrown projectiles following and preceding his every step, as if being grossly outnumbered were not enough, with well over five score of pursers against him, but it was worse still.

Trees fell to his left and right, ahead and behind him, in ever increasing numbers. It was amazing that such a thing were even possible, scores of huntresses felling dozens of trees in the majestic forest of such thickness and height that the ground rumbled as they hit, shaking both earth and stone with their impacts. All of that only to capture someone, a single male who had grown so troublesome that such tactics were considered warranted.

Arrows, axes and hammers nearly clipped him from all angles. Trees began to fall even before he had set his foot upon them. Lightning even struck several of the higher treetops, setting them ablaze and missing the bounty hunter by a matter of seconds, if not less.

And he was loving every minute of it.

“FWA! Nice try!” Malfus shouted into the blowing wind and rain as a particularly well-aimed arrow found the tail of his cloak, though his words were ultimately lost in the din of Nature’s fury. “But you’ll need to do better than that to make me stand before you, Kilmore!”

Several times already he had made such mocking declarations toward no one present, his words aimed only to the god of death. Indeed it seemed as if the Great Judge were taking particular interest in the wily old rogue, for he was experiencing more close calls in the span of a minute than he had for weeks prior.

But this was what Malfus lived for. The thrill of the chase, the joy of escaping by the skin of one’s teeth, dodging death’s every pursuing grasp, going against any and all odds and living to thumb his nose at those who would be foolish enough to think they could end his life. In his many years he had been wounded countless times, been captured, imprisoned, tortured, and had more than once found himself before a would-be executioner. Every single time he had escaped, though, taken pain and discomfort and humiliation with a smile and a quip, never giving his captors the satisfaction that his punishments were meant to illicit.

Still, this situation was unique to him, being so outnumbered with his advantages being torn down around him at an alarming rate. A great new challenge, he mused, just another opportunity to cheat the death god.

Yet before he could continue, the tree beneath him collapsed. It did not fall, at least not like the others, but rather simply fell straight down. Being no novice to the ways of traps, Malfus kept his balance on the descending trunk and immediately looked down to confirm his suspicions, the gaze of his graying brown eyes falling upon a trio of huntresses holding large two-handed warhammers.

It was as he thought indeed, for they had cut through this tree earlier from the trunk upwards, leaving it holding upright only by three support beams that kept the segmented tree erect. Those huntresses had knocked out those supports just as he had stepped down, and were now a safe distance away waiting for him to fall.

But this was Malfus Bringdier, Marksman from the Eastern Kingdoms, veteran of countless fights and purveyor of countless flights, and none had a greater understanding of traps and surprises than he.

With a quickness of mind and body that defied his age, he spread his legs and gripped them against the trunk of the mighty tree, riding it down as he removed his trusty shortbow from his back with one hand, the other drawing forth a trio of arrows from his quiver. Just two score feet from impacting upon the muddy ground he unleashed his first arrow, the taught string and reverse-bent bow needing almost no draw to give his missile deadly power and speed. Before that arrow had even found its target he let fly with a second, and in the short number of seconds that made up his dissent all three huntresses found an protruding from a par of their body.

Leaping off at the last possible moment, Malfus hit the ground at a dead run, splashing mud and sludge about in all directions as he sped off along the forest floor. He knew that those three huntresses were not pursuing him, and though he had not directed his attentions towards them long enough to see his arrows hit their mark, he knew exactly where they were.

One had found a huntress’ knee, another had found an elbow, and another an ankle. All three wounded, all three disabled, but all three alive.

They would bother him no longer this day.

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