by L. R. Wolf
Aya’s face fell. While they had been able to take out the undead that had been much much higher than themselves, the undead had also been unarmored foes and highly susceptible to her fire magic. Here, they would not only be going up against things much higher in level, but they had casters and the guards were armored.
Party chat-Va'lore “Well ladies? Shall we continue forth and show them the folly of taking this keep? Or shall we turn tail and flee while we can?”
Aya glared at Va'lore’s name in her interface since she couldn’t glare directly at him. He was throwing down a challenge that her inner competitor was more than happy to take up, but the logical side of her knew this was a battle that they were most likely not going to win. The two went to war in her mind. Logic took an early lead, but eventually the competitor in her won out, especially considering the fact that she wouldn’t appreciate being labeled a chicken if she were to back out of this fight. She saw Elohwa staring at her, she would follow Aya no matter what she decided to do. With a sigh and another glare towards Va'lore’s name she clenched her hands into fists.
Party chat-Aya “Challenge accepted! Let’s do this!”
Chapter 24: Eventide Keep
∆∆∆
A smile spread across Elohwa’s face as Aya defied her instincts to flee. This was likely going to be their best shot at reclaiming the keep as the gnolls were planning on setting up more defenses to protect their ill-gotten territory.
Party chat- Elohwa “We will do what we were doing outside, I will pull them back here into this hall which will cause them to funnel. They will not be able to get more than two abreast at the risk of getting in the way of others. Set your Fire Dome up back here and that should take out anything that tries to get to you”
Party chat- Aya “Crap! I forgot to bind myself close by in case I die.”
Aya frowned, while in some games it wouldn’t be too much of an issue considering you would most likely be able to get someone to resurrect you, but in this case, that was highly unlikely. She feared that if she were to die, then she would end up back in the dead fields, or, worse yet, back in Sorrent.
Elohwa tilted her head to the side in thought briefly.
Party chat- Elohwa “If you have not reset your recall, then you would be reborn at the nearest graveyard. Fortunately, we passed one on our way back this way, so should the unthinkable happen, you would come back relatively closeby.”
Aya breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly added a note to the side of her vision to remind herself to reset her recall to Eventide Falls once they had reclaimed the keep, but considering she had obtained a personal portal to the city once she claimed it, it wasn’t that high on her list.
Party chat- Aya “Thanks, I didn’t see any graveyards on the way in, but then again I’m blind as a bat in the dark! On the upside, at least I can use fire again here since we’re in such a confined area and the light is unlikely to draw too much attention, but what about the casters? They can cast right through my wall.”
Both women were chewing on their lower lips as they mulled over the caster problem. Aya wasn’t too concerned with any archers as the Fire Dome would destroy any projectiles that passed through it; spells were going to be the biggest problem. Va'lore had already said there were shamans, wizards and some warlocks. All different types of magic that all posed the same problem.
Party chat- Aya “I wonder…”
Aya drank the mana regen potion she’d gotten from her satchel earlier as it would boost her innate mana regen a tremendous amount and judging the situation before them, they were going to need it.
She knew that unless a caster had a direct line of sight to their target they wouldn’t be able to hit them unless they got creative with any area effect spells they had which Aya was going to be doing. She closed her eyes and pictured the Storm spell, but rather than the clouds forming overhead she used them as both cover and as a direct damage spell, anything that got within the clouds would be struck by the lightning that would be coursing through the clouds. Next she lay down Ice walls. The ice would likely be able to absorb a few spells before crumbling. Aya knew if she were to stagger the walls back and forth they’d be able to stay out of sight and untargetable. She cast the first Ice Wall and anchored it on the left wall in front of her, the second she anchored to the right wall behind her. The Storm Clouds she placed just inside of where the door would open out into the throne room. Any gnoll turning the corner should wind up stunned.
Aya nodded at Elohwa that she was ready. Elohwa was about to open the door when Thorn shuffled up, a vine quickly wrapping around her arm as if to stop her before he shuffled to the other side of the door disappearing into the shadows of the hallway beyond. The vine, still wrapped around Elohwa’s arm pulled gently as he tried to get her to move. Both women suddenly realized what he was doing, he wanted Elohwa on the other side of the door laying in wait in the shadows while he went out to pull them back. If he were to pull, then Elohwa could attack the gnolls from behind while they tried to focus on Aya and Thorn. Between Aya’s devastating spells and sneak attacks from behind by Elohwa they could decimate the Gnoll forces within the throne room.
Elohwa leaned down towards Thorn’s head so she could whisper to him without fear of being overheard. “Are you sure you want to go out there and pull?”
Thorn unleashed his namesake thorns, they gleamed along the vines surrounding his body like tiny sharp needles. He nodded and shuffled back towards the door, a vine creeped out from his foot to depress the brick that would open the passageway behind the throne. The door silently shifted to the side. Beyond, a wall stood a few feet in front of the door blocking the view of the room. This would allow them to pull down a narrow corridor before turning into their current hallway and giving them a perfect set up. Before he went out to pull, Aya cast the same staggered walls on Elohwa’s side of the hall so that she would have something to hide behind in case they turned their attention to her. Aya met Elohwa’s eyes from across the room and issued a directive.
Party chat- Aya “Remember, if we get into trouble, you need to leave….IMMEDIATELY.”
Elohwa nodded. The last time they had attempted to retreat it hadn’t quite gone as expected. Hopefully, if the need arose they would be able to recall out of here, but if that was still not possible, at least they would be able to flee down the hall, and out of the keep, whereas before they’d had no place to run to.
Once they were set and the Ice Walls were up and the Lightning Fog was active, Thorn extended vines out in different directions and then, rather than shuffle along, he used the vines almost like a rail system, silently drifting across the floor. He turned down the short hallway that blocked the view to and from the throne room. Two sets of guards stood at attention at the back as they silently watched their king and his commanders discussing defenses in their guttural barking language. Thorn reached out with thin tendrils of vine. The Gnoll Guards were completely oblivious to the silently moving vines that wove between their feet. When the vines were complete, Thorn activated the needle sharp razors still dripping with poison. The vines suddenly expanded, becoming thicker and at the same time constricted around the legs of the unaware guards causing multiple sneak attack critical hits as the thorns buried themselves in the ankles and legs of the Guards. Poison and bleed effects took hold as the Guards howled in pain and surprise. Thorn yanked the vines back causing the four to lose their footing and slam hard into the ground causing a bit of fall damage. They howled again, this time in fury as they rolled onto their stomachs and regained their footing, their eyes gleaming with anger. The gnolls, having locked onto their viney target, charged at Thorn. With Thorns rail system he was able to swiftly move back towards the door and around the corner. The gnolls followed the vines back behind the wall and to the door where the two women lay in wait.
As they entered the hallway, the Guards found themselves surrounded by fog. Lightning raced through the clouds striking the two gnolls in the front, then the two in the rea
r. As the guards were wearing metal armor, the damage from the lightning was increased and they were stunned. Aya immediately cast a Fire Dome to surround them. The gnolls had nowhere to go as the heat from the flames caused them to Burn. The two dots applied by Thorn had taken their toll and had weakened the Gnolls severely, the fire and the burn effect finished the job. As Thorn went back to pull some more targets, vines reached out and brushed against the stone markers looting them as he passed them.
Thorn made his way to the left to pull the four Gnoll Guards there. This time the guards were much more alert as they had noticed their companions come under attack by something and then not return from where they had run off to. As Thorn wouldn’t be able to surprise these four in the same way, he extended his vines across the hallway door in his makeshift tripwire attack. He glided out towards the guards and raised one of his hands. He held the hand up, almost as if he were waving to the guards, before he folded four of the five fingers back down, leaving the middle finger extended the way he had seen his Mistress Aya do. Thorn then quickly glided his way back to Aya. The Guards barked and then charged through the narrow passage and then through the door. The first two were tripped up by the vines, their faces smashing into the opposite wall while the two guards behind them were able to avoid the vines at their feet. But Thorn had learned a new trick from when they had been fighting the Gnolls outdoors. He had placed another vine across the top of the door which would catch any gnoll trying to jump the tripwire in the face or even the neck. These two guards managed to catch the thorny vines right across the face, the thorns burying themselves in their eyes blinding them while at the same time causing them to be poisoned and bleed, the guards were catapulted back into the wall behind them by the taut vines. Howls of pain and anger filled the hall but were cut off when the Lightning Fog spell stunned them, the bolt chained to all four, their metal armor attracting the bolts like a lightning rod.
Elohwa charged the gnolls, her twin blades plunging into a gap in their heavy armor between the helmet and breastplate severing their spine. The two guards perished before the final two guards could move. Elohwa leapt back towards her side of the hall, taking refuge behind one of the Thorn Walls. The remaining guards charged towards her position but were stopped as a Fire Dome appeared, separating the guards from their target. Their markers joined the first two within fifteen seconds.
***
Party chat-Va'lore “The room is clear of the roaming patrols, so you should be relatively safe to take a quick break and grab something to eat so the two of you do not pass out.”
Aya and Elohwa took the brief respite to huddle behind their respective Ice Walls as they quickly snacked on some generic rations in an attempt to sate their growing hunger. The last three hours, they’d been working on clearing the throne room of the stationary guards and the guard patrols. Most of what they had faced had been pure melee types, but then they’d had to deal with a few casters. The Ice Walls had worked perfectly. Between the Lightning Fog stunning them, the Ice Walls blocking their lines of sight, Fire Domes and a combination of Thorn’s dots and Elohwa’s sneak attacks their foes had fallen quickly. The women took a brief moment to check the Thorn owned bags in their inventories. Aya’s eyes were immediately drawn to a ring near the top of her bag surrounded in a purple glow.
Ring of Flowing Intelligence-This ring, while simple, is anything but. +50 Int, Increases mana regen by 1 per Int point.
Aya’s eyes twitched with excitement as she linked the find to the party.
Party chat-Aya “OMG check this out [Ring of Flowing Intelligence]
Elohwa and Va'lore, who was still out providing constant updates to the mob positions via their mini maps both opened the link.
Party chat-Va'lore “Incredible find! That should help tremendously!”
Something kept nagging at the back of Va'lore’s mind, something familiar about the items that they kept looting.
Party chat-Elohwa “That is a very nice ring! I found something similar on one of the guards, but it is more for strength based fighters. [Ring of Incredible Strength] You can have it for your husband if you would like.
Aya opened the link with a thought.
Ring of Incredible Strength-This simple silver band is imbued with the spirit of a true warrior. +50 Strength
Party chat- Aya “Wow he’ll really like that. Thank you!”
Party chat- Elohwa “No problem. He is going to have some incredible gear when he returns!”
Party chat- Aya “LOL, yah, no kidding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve almost got a full set of plate armor of varying qualities ready for him.”
Party chat- Elohwa “I have discovered the same within my Thorn bag. He will most definitely have his choice of gear upon his return.”
Aya quickly placed the ring on her right index finger, a rush of power flooded through her at the increase to her intelligence and mana regen. She dove back into her inventory looking for any more goodies she could use. Most of it was fighter gear, but a few more pieces stuck out with a blue glow. She focused on them.
Ear Cuff (Left) of Molten Fury- This cuff once belonged to a mighty Empress +30 int. Increases power of Fire Spells by 30
Tome of Spell Shield- This tome will teach the reader how to raise a Spell Shield which will absorb damage equal to the caster’s hit points. This shield will automatically recharge if no damage is absorbed within 20 secs. Cost 10% mana. Lasts 1 hour.
Necklace of Superior Constitution-This necklace was a gift from a beautiful enchantress to her lover +30 Con +250 HP
Aya immediately linked the items to the chat. As much as she desperately wanted to wear them, she wanted to give Elohwa a chance to lay claim to them in case she wanted to use them or even sell them to put towards the rebuilding of the city.
Party chat- Aya “Found these in my bags too. [Ear Cuff (Left) of Molten Fury], [Tome of Spell Shield], [Necklace of Superior Constitution] Do either of you want these either for future use or to sell for city funds?”
Even though Va'lore was only a spirit, it was his ability to traverse amongst the Gnolls in the throne room and give them up to date information that was keeping them from being ambushed, a few brave groups of gnolls had attempted to overtake them already.
Party chat-Va'lore “Though, I deeply appreciate the offer, I can not exactly use it in my current form.”
Party chat- Aya “I know, but since you’re in the party and helping us I figured you deserved a chance to claim some of this to use or sell when you get returned to your body. Some of these items look like they were made just for you in mind.”
Party chat- Va'lore “Wait, now I know why so much of this looks so familiar...These thieving bastards managed to loot the Armory and the Vaults! The heathens scraped off the royal insignias on the armor and weapons.”
A look of anger and hatred darkened Elohwa’s face. She also had been experiencing a nagging feeling of familiarity with some of the equipment they had been getting, but they’d been too busy fighting until now to really take a look at the loot they had obtained. She took a plate bracer out of her satchel and examined it.
Fine Steel Bracer-AC 10
Deep scratches marred the surface of the bracer removing any trace of the maker’s mark or the royal symbol that would have been emblazoned on the steel.
Party chat-Elohwa “They will pay for this.”
Party chat- Va'lore “I say we draw every gnoll into the throne room and eliminate every last trace of them from these hallowed halls!”
Aya could see the sudden blood lust in her Companion's eyes. To Aya, none of this had any special meaning to her, it was just loot after all, but the reactions from Elohwa and Va'lore told her these items meant more to them than what they were saying.
Party chat- Aya “Umm, not to be rude or anything but, what’s the significance of these items to get you two all riled up?”
Party chat- Va'lore “The ring you found, it belongs to our mother. The Earcuff as well.”
Aya
was suddenly horrified that she’d been so quick to don the items, she quickly removed the ring and cuff and held them out to Elohwa who shook her head and closed Aya’s hand around it.
Party chat- Elohwa “Thank you for that, but I am quite sure our Mother would be more than pleased for these items to go to you considering everything you are doing for us and our people.”
Aya hesitated, her inner pack rat was mentally head slapping her and raging at her for trying to return such spectacular loot, but she felt guilty equipping items that she knew belonged to Elohwa’s mother.
Party chat- Va'lore “I agree with my Sister, our Mother would tell you the same thing. Take and equip whatever gear you find. We know you will put it to good use.”
Elohwa was nodding her agreement at Aya. With a heavy sigh, she equipped the items she had found and read the spellbook to acquire a spell she had desperately needed which the necklace would help amplify the magic absorption of the spell.
Party chat- Aya “Thanks to you both. I’ll do my best to make things right for everyone.”
Party chat- Elohwa “We know you will do right by us and our people.”
Party chat- Va'lore “Indeed, now Ladies, finish your meals and let us continue clearing?”
An alarm went off in Aya’s ear informing her that it was almost bedtime for the kids.
Party chat-Aya “I’m going to need a bit, I need to call home and read the kids a bedtime story. I can keep the walls and clouds going, but I’m going to be distracted“
Party chat- Elohwa “That is quite alright, I am quite sure we can handle anything that comes at us, go and enjoy your family time. Tell them we said hello and that we look forward to meeting them.”
Party chat- Aya “Don’t forget, if there is trouble you need to get out out of here, either recall or run. I don’t mind respawning, but I don’t want to lose you.”