Turak looked at them and said: - We need to know where the Brumalmarc is first. But having you fully armored here may not be the best way to enter. I have a plan, let's pretend you are our prisoners, I go ahead and find where he is, once I know where he is, I'll keep a watch on the door with Dark Raven. You'll have them to finish the Nadziranim off. What do you think? One by one they nodded agreeing with the plan, but they all wanted to know what will happen to their weapons. Quickly they hide what could be possible to hide, giving the other, too bulky weapons, to the suddenly heavy loaded barbarians while faking being tied up. Turak stopped at a door along the corridor. "wait here, I have to find out where the Brumalmarc was last seen" with those word he stepped through the door. Loud talking, cheers and laughs were to be heard and he quickly reappeared in the corridor. "Fine, I know where he is, just follow me" After a few meters the corridor had a T-shaped junction. to their left at the end of the tunnel was a large wooden door to be seen. "there he is," started Turak "I'll get in, inform the Brumalmarc and will come back to introduce you" "what about our weapons?" interrupted Erleothir"I will put them against the wall to the right of the door, and you wait for my signal to come in." As Turak entered the room, everyone prepared mentally for the fight to come, and how to walk nonchalantly with large weapons hidden behind the back or in a leg of their trousers. A noise inside the room was to be heard, like something catching fire followed by a loud thump. All looked at each other anxiously. "errm.. I am not entirely sure this is the signal Turak was supposed to give us, but... we should definetly get in there!" With a rush, they kicked the large door open and rushed inside the room, it was Ikaya's large library, bookshelves were along the walls, in one corner of the room was a small table to be seen, support for small objects they could not recognize, somewhere to the left against the wall, was a small pillar. the middle of the room itself was rather empty except for the smoldering body of Turak. And of course at the end of the room was a large wooden table, a tall figure behind it was just starting an incantation. While Mulchanor was struggling to pull his rifle out of his trousers, Erleothir rushed forward, shield up, to the Nadziranim - because, yes, it was him, in the shape of Barbarian leader - with only one thought in his mind: interrupting the incantation. But the evil wizard was faster, he pulled out his sword which suddenly ignited in blueish and crackling energy. Griselda jumped to the side, where their leftover weapons were stacked and skillfully threw Gustavius his rifle, before running to the small table on the far corner of the room. Things happend quickly then. Alast ran to the pillar to the left while pulling out his dagger, Erleothir with a strong movement, turned the heavy table over and buried the nadziranim under it. in the same moment Alast was artistically running up the pillar to have a better vantage point and threw his dagger towards the enemy. But then something odd happened. The small glowing crystal standing on the top of the pillar nobody had fully noticed, fell down and broke upon hitting the ground liberating arcs of crackling energy between its shards and the figure of the Barbarian under the table. Griselda had her dagger in her hand and was about to jump at the shape when one of those bolts struck her, leaving her falling unconscious on top of the turned over table. Mulchanor aimed at the mass of unconscious bodies and shot. The bullet clearly hit, unleashed a fountain of blood and sent an ear flying through the room. Unfortunately it was Griselda's blood and ear being sprayed around.
"oops" he muttered.
But none of them had time to react horrified. there were the crystal fell was now a tall dark figure grinning maliciously at them. The man in the dark clothes opened his arm and it seemed an electrical storm was unleashing from his fingers, hitting everyone in the room. Alast grabbed his spare dagger and plunged it into the throat of the man, quickly joined by Erleothir who bashed the apparition between his shield and the pillar behind him. Before he could grab the sword that lightning had teleported to him, Gustavius had finished him off with a well placed shot. On the turned over table Griselda was slightly regaining conciousness, seeing the other body below her in a mist of blood she quickly grabbed her dagger and slashed through his throat before slipping into grateful unconsciousness
- that could have gone better... what just happened and where did that second evil wizard came from ?
but Dark Raven was rushing in the room, obviously extremely tormented and quickly grabbed some potions and poured them into the mouths of Griselda and the bleeding body below the table. slowly some barbarians entered the room. Dark Raven turned to the company, "you almost killed the Brumalmarc! now it will take all my skills save all of us." In hushed tones Dark Raven started talking to one of the more impressive Barbarians while the company had to endure some extremly tense stares. four barbarians carried the bodies of Griselda and of the figure crushed below the table. Mulchanor tried half hearted to reach the body of the dark wizard next to the pillar but the barbarians stopped him.
- well errm, we're really sorry, we... did not knew exactly what we were doing...
- that my friends seems to be your trademark, well anyway, the harm is done but I managed to convince them not to kill you. for now.
- hey, where are they bringing Griselda ? asked lightning
- to the infirmary, with the brumalmarc, i still need to discuss the matter with the chiefs, you will be escorted to the barracks.
- I want to go with Griselda. continued Lightning
- no, you don't understand, you *will* go with the others to the barracks. I do the talking here.
but Lightning was not listening and made his way following the people to the infirmary, two barbarians gently went into his way and showed him the way back but Lightning would not follow the advice. he was quickly joined by a seriously annoyed Gustavius "won't you listen to what the Kai said ? she will be fine and we're in a bad position, so stop your little games now" Lightning looked down at the dwarf, "pah, like I will listen to you", more barbarians had gathered in the corridor trying to block the way to lightning without wanting to resort to violence before Dark Raven had finished counselling with their lieutenants. But it was Gustavius who finally lost patience and grabbed the Wizard with a resigned sigh. The barbarians promptly formed a circle around them hoping to see some combat and already betting and who would win. But unlike their initial thought Gustavius did not wanted to start a fight, he was just gaining time for the barbarians to carry both bodies away from sight to the infirmary. After making sure that Lightning could not follow them he just let the wizard go with a snarl "pretentious buffoon..."
Erleothir, Alast, Mulchanor, Lightning and Gustavius finally followed some barbarians to the sleeping quarter and barely noticed the fact that they were now held prisoner there... After a while Gustavius and Mulchanor went for the door asking for something to eat, and most importantly something to drink. Erleothir was the first to break the silence by openly asking the question most of them where rummaging about "Did you understood what exactly went wrong in there?" - "Not sure" started Mulchanor, "we went in, the Brumalmarc started attacking us obviously he was the Nadziranim in disguise, but then a second figure appeared and attacked us too" - Alast acknowledged "yes, that was when that shiny crystal fell from the pillar and then there was this strange bolt..." - "didn't Dark Raven said that the Brumalmarc was held prisoner in a crystal ?" wondered Gustavius upon hearing the word crystal, but then he continued "but that does not make sense, the crystal prison should be bigger and taller than a human..." Their thoughts were interrupted by the barbarians delivering a large plate of salted meat and to the joy of the dwarves, two barrels of ale.
They were finishing their fifth pint when the door opened again and Griselda, a bandage around her head entered the room. Erleothir stood up galantly but she just stared furiously at both dwarves, Gustavius shrugged and pointed at his companion. "his fault... how is the Brumalmarc ?" Now it was to Erleothir's turn to stare at the dwarf with the typical "you-never-know-when-to-shut-up-and-what-did-you-just-asked-to-her??" look. "well obviously I am ... fine" interrupted Griselda and helped herself to some food while sitting away from all of them. She started munching throwing dark stares form time to time around her.
"soo, The Brumalmarc which we thought was the Nadziranim was in fact the Brumalmarc all along ? that does not make sense..." burbled Gustavius in his pint. "I still think the bolts emmenating from that crystal have something to do with this..." Continued Erleothir. "well isn't that obvious ?" said an annoyed voice, all turned around, it was Griselda speaking, "the small crystal was the prison. how would you possibly hide a man sized translucent crystal with the Brumalmarc inside from the eyes of his people ?" the penny dropped for all of them. It made sense. the spirit of the nadziranim was inhabiting the Brumalmarc, when the crystal was destroyed the magic was dissipated and the spirits were switched back in that strange energy bolt they had seen.
The door opened and Dark Raven entered the room. He was visibly exhausted. "I have explained them the situation and tried to make clear that you meant no harm... We may go now, in fact we should go immediately before they change their mind" Mulchanor looked up from his eighth pint, "so, ermmm you think we could ask for an appropriate reward ?" The Kai Lord gasped "getting alive out of here is the reward, master dwarf!" Gustavius took a last gulp from his tankard "and, what about Aliki ?" Again the Kai Lord looked in horror "never, ever mention his name again, for your and his safety"
The barbarians had given them a third sleigh and their old guides, Rajah and Hassam where waiting for them at the main gates of Ikaya, the trip back to Ljuk went without event and They entered the city at night. The war had been averted but they were not returning heroes, They boarded the Valtariol enshrouded in mist as if to hide the shameful success. A tired captain franklin greeted them, obviously Ljuk had been through some rough time as well. As they made themselves comfortable in their old cabin the ship was unceremoniously leaving the port.
And then it happened on the third night on the ship. A presence in their cabin woke Erleothir up. It was a grayish figure, pointy ears, prominent chin and lower teeth. He screamed "ALAARM". But only for mitigated success, while his fellows were now fully awake the room was swarming with giaks. the fight was lost even before it could start, four figures were holding each of the unfortunte companions while a fifth one was administering them some greenish potion. and then it was all darkness.
The unpleasant thought that things were going extremely wrong slowly grappled itself very tightly into Alasts mind. Followed by a painful awakening on a stony ground. A ray of pale light emanating from a crenel 20 feet above him was barely enough to discern his environment but still enough for his pirate sense to recognize that he and his friends were sharing the same prison room. They were all slowly emerging from a dreamless and numb sleep.
"And when you think things can't possibly go worse..." muttered Erleothir "We should see it from the positive side, we're not dead" slowly interrupted Gustavius while checking himself for missing body parts. They were all bruised, battered and contused, and even missing an ear didn't stopped Griselda to move to the heavy metal door and start banging at it. without any further effect than hurting her fists....
Mulchanor glanced slowly around him, scratching his beard "Gustavius is right... why are we still alive?"
the noise of a heavy padlock being opened interrupted them and the cell door opened to let place to three tall drakkarim wearing black, spiky armours. they looked at their prisoners with satisfied superiority. The tallest one pointed at Erleothir and the two other immediately seized him. resistance was quickly retaliated by a hearty punch of gauntlet in the liver. Under the eyes of his friends a blood-spitting Erleothir was dragged to some unpleasant fate.
"oh, right... that's why..." dropped Mulchanor. "wasn't he the one saying it could not get worse ?" muttered Gustavius. He was quickly retorted by his companions "maybe you would want to achieve something useful in the meantime?!!"
"protect your flanks - they will try to aim for the weak spots in the armour - make sure that you can raise your shield above shoulder level - stay in motion to evade the incoming blows" all good and fine advices in theory. but what when you have no shield, and no armour. and you happen to be tied to a torture rack. and that drakkarim has decided to unload all his aggressivity on you ? ERleothir felt the incoming blows accompanied by the usual threatenings and from time to time a lucid question "state your name?" - "what do you know about the keys?" - "where are the keys?" - "who has the keys?" but he held tight on the last bit of soul under the relentless pain. "i don't know what you're talking about - and even if i would not tell you..." - "pah- somehow i was hoping you would resist, sommerlund" spitted the gaoler. At a snap of his fingers one of his assistant brought him a red glowing iron. "last chance..." he said, but immediatly applicated the glowing metal on Erleothirs neck. with a smell of buned meat and a loud scream erleothir sank into unconciousness. "Well, that changed a bit from the monotony around here... Tomorrow we'll play with another"
unbeknowst to these gruesome events Gustavius had inspected the room and explained his gfriends that escape was simply impossible. Half heartedly Alast proposed to attack the drakkarim next time they would enter the cell: "they are three, we are five..." but Mulchanor just answered "and they have full body armour and weapons. what do you want to do ? strangle them with your pyjama ?" It was dark by now and there was no more source of light in their prison, all laid down on the cold ground trying to get some rest. hours passed by. Mulchanor suddenly awoke, something had changed. a thin but slowly growing ray of light cut into the darkness, he frowned and quickly put his hand on griselda mouth lying next to him. both were now holding their breath while staring at the door as it opened millimeter for millimeter. and slowly a green travelling cloak appeared. Dark Raven was there ! he had somehow found them and was about to rescue them. quickly and silently all were awoken, in low whispers the Company explained Dark Raven that Erleothir was missing, still beeing chained in some torture room. But this seemed like an easy task now, Dark Raven quickly escorted them to a room adjacent to their cell, With joy they recognised their backpacks and weapons, all had been thoruroughly inspected by the Drakkarim but everything was still intact. "quickly, take your belongings, and wait for me here, I'll be back with Erleothir in a few moments". True to his words he reappeared soon enough, he led them carefully through a twisted maze of corridors. stopping from time to time and rushing forward to make sure the path was clear. or if not, to remove any nuisance in a swift and silent way. the company followed in awe while stepping over a few dead bodies. They soon arrived at what seemed to be the main door of this fortress. To say that the door was large would be an understatement. it was several floors high, large enough for more than six men to walk through and over a meter thick. it was flanked by two towers. and it was naturally closed. All followed Dark raven to one of the towers and started climnbing the stairs. He soon produced a rope out of his backpack and tied it to an opening of the tower. "this is our only way out, we'll have to rappel down the other side of the tower" The view form the tower was desolate, a barren and burned land, a mountainous landscape of brown stonework. Just in front of the main gate the heroes noticed a long wooden bridge crossing a deep crevasse running along the fortifications. But their contemplation was soon interrupted by the sound of bells beeing ranged. "They have found that you have escaped, quick, go down, you'll have to cross the bridge, I have hidden some fresh steed there. whatever happens, ride to the east, across the peaks, continue always to the east until you reach Sommerlund and the Kai Monastery..."
one by one they descended the large tower and rushed over the bridge, arrows whizzling past them. Dark Raven and Lightning were still at the wrong end of the bridge when the large gate slowly opened, The fortress was discharging masses of giaks and Drakkarims. "lightning, we have to gain some times for our friends, help me hold the bridge!"
Out of time for saving themselves, Dark Raven and Ligthning held the doors as much as they could. The Kai was in total battle frenzy making each second deadlier than the last for the giaks. The Mage used all his magic to take down sniper archers and treacherous enemies but Dark Raven knew it was a lost battle. He spoke in Lightning mind ordering him to get back and destroy the bridge. With no more option than using most of his skills, Lightning got away and casted a Fire elemental. The fire destroyed quickly the bridge threatening it to collapse while Dark Raven was disappearing under a mass of enemies...
Now running for his life under the increasing number of arrows Lightning was avoiding them as he was getting far enough from the danger when one hit his leg. He felt as the bridge did. With a last effort he grasped the cliff with one hand. He hardly made it and came behind the hill just in time to see a Drakkarim getting too close from Griselda. He didn't find the strenght to save her in time, his voice covering Griselda last breath, stabbed in her heart.
Neither the Drakkarim as he was decapitated by Erleothir while the dwarves cut his arms down with their hand axes. Alast finished the overkill by a back stabbing dagger.
Irreal was the moment when nothing else matters. All gathered around their fallen camrade. Slowly, Lightning layed down Griselda chanting a magical spalm. His life left his body with blue tones on his skin. Griselda took some colors while she ressucitated. Lightning was gone. For ever.