Rashemen IV

Remove all ads!

"You have a lovely voice, Rosie, and I enjoy singing with you" Ciana cuddled the girl as she said this, but there was a sadness in her voice so profound that it frightened the child; who moved back and cuddled next to Day-Day, laying her head on his shoulder she slept.

Ciana continued sitting there a restless feeling in her, churning endlessly; and if anybody had been there to notice her emerald eyes took on a red hue.

 

Kelvados entered the cavern, the smoke clung to his body. It smelled awful, it filled him dread and fear. He caught himself from turning back, he told himself he was stronger without the monster. He wished he could believe it, he drew his swords and did a few experimental swings. He didn't need the monster, he didn't need...." His thoughts were forgotten, when a huge boulder crashed down upon him, he dashed out the way. Pieces flew and cut his cheeks, the pain blinded him for only a moment. But in that moment, the demon stood before him. It's huge body was covered in spikes, claws tipped his apendages. It roared and attacked, it's mouth open, teeth flashed. Kelvados couldn't move, he was too scared to move. He stood in the way of the raging demon, he finally fell to the side. Clawed feet smashed beside his head, he rolled away panting. He lay for a moment, he gripped his swords and flipped to his feet. He took a deep breath and charged the beast, he stabbed both blades in the beast's back. He held on as it roared in pain, he twisted them awful smelling blood oozed out. He burned his hands, yet he held on.

 

The demon reached back over its shoulders, dislocating them, and grabbed the small creature hanging on to it. With a vicious growl, it heaved its opponent against the far wall, but the painful blades were still stuck in its back, and it could not get them out.

In a blind rage, it thrashed about for other things to destroy.

 

Kelvados smacked heavily against the wall, a lound crack came from his arm. He slid to the floor rather than fell, his arm was twisted in an unnatural way. Kelvados held his broken arm to his chest and crawled behind a boulder. It protected him somewhat from the battle, and he inspected his arm. His fore arm was broken and his shoulder dislocated, he took a deep breath, getting his teeth for the pain to come. He turned and smashed his shoulder against the rock, painfully relocating his shoulder. But the broken bone with the added pain was too much, and Kelvados realized his head hurt terribly. His eyes went back and he fell down, unconsious and suffering from a bad concussion.

 

The demon heard the smash of something against the wall, and the cry of pain, and he smiled. He hobbled over to the boulder and saw the limp body of a drow on the ground.

They weren't as succulent as surface elves, somewhat bitter, but elf flesh was elf flesh. He hungrily bent down and opened his mouth.

 

As the demon bent to devour Kelvados, Jex with thee magic of his amulet sped across the cavern and with both slashed directly across the demons back opening large gashes.

His enchanted blades were the perfect weapon for fighting demons. Ilmater had meant it that way when he blessed the scimitars. The wounds on the demons back sizzled and steam.

Jex stopped short and fell into his fighting stance. "Come here little demon." He said smiling knowing that Perim and Daie would be joining him soon and the four of them would dispatch the fiend.

 

The demon howled in anguish and black, black rage. It turned to see another drow, or close enough to one.

It screamed something at Jex. It might have been, "I'm not little, you pipsqueak." or maybe something else.

It lashed out with its whip and swung low with its sword at the same time, moving almost as fast as Jex.

 

Jex parried the sword but took the whip high in the shoulder. The leather in his armor absorbed most of the blow but Jex still felt it.

Jex flicked a scimitar out and felt it bite demon flesh. With a normal weapon it would be little more than a small slash but with his enchanted blades the wound was worse. It sizzled like the ones on the demons back and spread open a little more.

 

The demon was now feeling much worse than mere agony, it knew fear. Those blades could banish it from the prime for a good long while. This warrior was obviously sent to clear the way so that the stone in Gruumsh's shoe could destroy the Eye.

Gruumsh's wrath if he failed in this mission would be worse than the pain this small mortal was now inflicting on him. It was time for desperate measures.

He dove into the nearby lava, immolating himself, and creating himself anew. Splashing out, the blades in his back were stuck in healed scar tissue, and the open wounds the new fighter inflicted were cauterized shut.

He moved in to the fighter with a whip, sword, whip routine, a little more cautious of the scimitars this time.

 

Through her link with Jex and Kelvados Nakia dreamed of the fight below then the dream changed perhaps the music lead her to new realms.

She stood in a valley lush with vegetation. The mountains around it were filled with the music of babbling springs and a soft breeze caressed her checks. Somehow she knew that that the mountains contained ore of iron, gold and silver. There were plenty of stones for quarrying and even some marble. It was a rich land but what serpent lay in wait for one who would claim it?

This she also knew, nothing was free for the taking a price must be paid.

She came half awake wondering if the valley was real and if it was where was it?

 

Daie stood back from the fight, his arms folded over his chest. Jex seemed to be doing admirably, for a warrior, but he would probably like some help.

Reaching for his holy symbol, Daie pointed the silver amulet at the Demon, and called upon Selune to smite the evil creature.

Waves of silver emanated from him, speeding at the fiend; darts of silver wrath, straight from the Moonmaiden.

The elf grinned. There was plently more where that came from.

 

The darts of Silver light flashed past Jex, and he smiled. Daie had entered the fray. The demon really stood no chance. He moved in on the demon and launched into his attack routine. The demon held his great but Jex knew it was only a matter of time.

 

The demon came to the same conclusion as Jex. The wrath of Gruumsh if he failed was a certainty, but the wrath of Selune was here and now. Nothing was worth this suffering.

He backed off from the warrior, using his whip in huge circular swings to give himself some breathing room, and he mumbled an incantation. The continued stinging of the silver darts caused him to mispronounce a few syllables, and the scene that emerge through the portal that appeared three good leaps away was not his fortress in the Abyss.

It did, however, seem to be somewhere in the Abyss, or at least one of the lower planes.

He might be going out of the pan and into the fire, but he didn't care right now, as he hobbled towards the gate.

 

Daie looked from the Demon to the Gate, and raised his symbol again.
'Selune, bind us all,' he shouted over the sound of battle, and was pushed down to the ground as a blast struck from the ceiling, and the portal vanished.

All those in the room were now bound to the material plane for the next tenday, though it seemed only Daie and the fiend knew it.

With malevolence in it's eyes, it turned to the elf, who clambered to his feet, and took hold of his symbol again. A blade appeared in his hand, glowing bright as a full moon.

'All of you, get out,' Daie said, planting his feet firmly.
'I said get out!' He shouted, when he saw no-one move.

Stepping up to the Demon, he raised his symbol one last time, and the cavern began to shudder. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling. It was about to collapse.

'Out! Now!' Again Daie shouted, as the cleric ran at the demon, sword raised.

A final warcry was heard, before the rocks seperated the cleric and demon from the others.

 

Kelvados was still unconcious, rocks falling around him and on him. A loud crack broke his rib, and he wriggled in his delerium. A concussion can be a very dangerous thing.

 

Jex sprinted and grabbed the unconcious Kelvados buy the waist hoisting him into a firemans carry he sprinted away from the tumbling rocks. The force from the falling boulders caused Jex to lose his balance. Falling with the heavy load of Kelvados he smacked his face hard into the ground, breaking his nose and temporarily blinding him.

He rolled over and lay still they were safe but Daie was in the cavern with demon. Jex struggled to his feet, but instantly was struck by a wave of dizziness. So he did the smart thing and sat down for a few moments. He lifted his head and tried to stop his nose from bleeding to much more.

 

Perim tumbled and rolled while rocks fell around him some striking him. His left shoulder was badly and he twisted his ankle but managed to land near Jex.

In the cavern Nakia came to with a start. "Hurt! Jex, Perim, Kelvados, hurt!" She grabbed up her things and headed down to where they were. Arriving at the scene she handed Jex a damp rag and checked Perim then Kelvados. Kelvados seemed much more hurt than the others although Perim was moaning about his ankle and shoulder.

Nakia sent a mind message to Sepp.
"Come! Need healer! Don't see Daie!"

 

Nakia's call woke Sepp up. He had been dozing and resting after the ordeal of concealing the Eye within himself. He took as deep a breath as he could with only one lung, then started running.

He was gasping by the time he reached Nakia and the others. He leaned over, gulping in the sulphuric air, then went to Kelvados, who seemed to be the most gravely injured.

"I don't have any extra energy to heal him with, good thing they stocked up our supply of salves and potions," he said, rubbing some salve on Kelvados. He held some strong smelling herbs in front of the drow's nose, and when he sputtered, Sepp forced a bit of potion down his throat.

Jex got a quick wrap around his lungs, and two potions, Perim got a makeshift splint and three.

"Well, they all seem to be well enough away from death's door now, what about Daie?"

Downcast eyes gave Sepp the answer.

"The demon?"

A few shrugs.

Sepp closed his eyes and sent his senses into the rock fall, and found two mangled bodies.

"Quick Jex, give me the Soul Gem, maybe it's not too late."

Jex tossed it to him, and Sepp squeezed it in his hand and cracked it on the floor. It opened a little bit, and from the rubble two ghostly forms, one blackish red, the other silvery blue, rushed into the gem and sealed it up again.

Sepp peered into the Gem then closed his eyes.

"Oh no, we got the demon, but Daie's trapped in there as well."

 

Maron raised her head suddenly, and frowned.

'Something's not right. He's hurt, I can feel it.' She was on her feet and hurtling down to the cavern before her words had finished ringing.

She flew into the cavern, quite literally, wings a blur keeping her barely a foot off the ground.

She flew straight over her wounded friends, to the pile of rocks that marked the last point Daie had been seen. Dropping to the ground, she hammered on the rocks.

'Daie!?' she cried. 'Daie! Daie, don;t do this to me, please!' Sinking to her knees, she continued to strike the wall, tears soaking the ground round her legs. 'Daie...'

 

Jex stood slowly fighting off a wave of dizziness he wrapped the cloth he had been using to staunch his bleeding nose around his mouth and nose freeing his hands.

He called upon the regenerative abilities of his amulet and the bleeding slowed and the swelling started to go down. Now all he had was a headache. Placing one hand on the rockfall he started to climb, as he neared the top of the cavern he found that it wasn't completely blocked off. There was a gap that with a little work could quite easily fit a halfling through.

"Sepp can you come help me" he called from the top of the cavern and started to slowly move some of the rocks. He couldn't move to fast without getting dizzy so it was a challenge.