Warwic

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Shawdup took a position behind Shurka with his long spear at the ready. "All set," he told her in orcish.

 

Dala mumbled back to Fienna, "Aye, the bottomless pits of stupidity must've worked hard to come up with this bunch." At the others already beyond the door she yelled, "Don't be making anymore work fer me than ye bloody well have to! Healin' spells don't grow on trees, ye know!"

 

She chortled happily. "If dey want ta run in like Grummsh wit no eye, dat be dere problem. I only pushed dat thief in after he played dirty wit me."

There were some yelling and swearing and thumping coming from the darkness of the room beyond. Shurka's humanity nudged her with slight guilt. Slipping inside, she adjusted her vision to the inky blackness and saw a greyish shape loom before her. "Dere be gnomes!" she shrieked and started pounding the creature in front of her with her club. It hissed angrily and clawed back. Its form swirled and shifted to look like a battered Fienna and Shurka stopped in mid-swing, calling, "Light! Fienna got hurt!"

[ December 10, 2005, 05:54: Message edited by: kuemper ]

 

Kael had slipped silently into the room. He was concerned even the young elf knew better than to charge headlong into a room. Have drawn his short swords with watched patently he couldn't get a good visual of what was in the room with all the commotion.

 

*LUMEN* with a shout and gesture Fiennna created light to drive the darkness back, looking forwards to where Shurka stood she then shouted "Shurka it's not me hit it hard now, I'm behind you, my friend".

Stepping back a moment Fienna calmed herself and then looking at the strange injured version of herself ahe gestured and then *MISIL* and a ball of fiery energy flew from her hand and hit the creature in its midriff twisting it in pain "Now Shurka, Now" she cried.

 

Shurka let out a howl of anger and returned to beating the shapeshifting monster.

Realizing the ploy wasn't working, the creature shifted to it shadowy form and fought back. It raked its sharp nails at the halforc, only to be blocked by a shield.

 

Cayne drew his blades and sliced into the back of the shape-shifting monster. It howled in pain and turned, just in time for Shurka to smash its spine.

The monster crumpled, and the other one advanced quickly.

 

*ACIEEEED* and a green dart flew from Fienna's hand and splashed onto the torso of the shadowy creature.

 

"Oh fer cryin' out loud, they're just imps, ye ninnies!" Dala proclaimed as she stomped up and smacked the second one over the head with her hammer. "See? Nothing to it. (Pansy long-legs gettin' all hot and bothered about a pair of -- Oomph!)"

Four more flew out of the darkness...

 

Shurka finished her blow in time to throw herself on top of the Dala pile. Prying imps away from the cleric, she grumbled, "Dese might be imps, but dat ting sure wasn't!" For satisfaction, she cracked one imp's neck and threw its lifeless body aside.

 

Stepping forward Fienna cried *SOMNUS* and the remaining Imps became limp, "they're only sleeping finish them off please Shurka", reaching forward she offered a hand to Dala "Are you ok ?" she asked helping her to her feet.

Then she turned and stood in the middle of the room *DETTETE* she cried and concentrated for a few moments, she wandered over to the shapeshifter and pulled out a curved dagger "this is magical in some way, but I can't tell how, we can ask one of the others outside" as she put in Shawdup's pack. "Is everyone ok ?"

 

Shurka ran a hand through her lank hair and sighed, "Ya, me okay. Scared me. Thought dey was gnomes." She nudged at the dead shapeshifter with her club. The body rolled halfway over. "What da heck is dat ting?"

 

"I haven't a clue, what I think we should do is take that with us and ask the trainers what it is. Then we should train up and find out what that knife does, does anyone disagree and then we can meet back at the Inn ready to go on"

 

"Dat a good idea," Shawdup said. He had made sure that no imps flanked Shurka, but found that it was hard to try and poke anything with so many of his companions in the fray. He didn't want to accidentally stick one of them.

 

The scene in the room was utter chaos. Rafael hated just barging in, but he had no choice after watching one of his comrades be stupidly pushed in. Keeping to the side of the wall and moving to a quiet shadowy corner, Rafael watched the events unfold. He drew his crossbow and let a bolt rip through a shapeshifter's flesh. Moving along the wall to the other side of the room he daggered a shapeshifter in the neck, watching the life gurgle out of it's throat. Rafael then drew his rapier and advanced on the shapeshifter's flank...

 

The sleek but battered blackbird landed like a fledgling, the broken wing taking the brunt. It cried out with a screech and fluttered its one good wing helplessly to regain some balance.

Gregor dug his worn fingers into his tousled hair, silently begging Brega to shut up. His hangover was pounding away with more ferocity ever since the dwarf showed up. "Lad, ye got to take the initiative with Warwic," Brega repeated for the umpteenth time. "You know how uppity she can get when she thinks she's been snubbed. And she's shuttin' down the school, too, so you might want to think hard about where you'll go."

His head was getting worse. With a groan of dismay, he pried open his eyelids. Moaning at the harsh reality of daylight, Greggor leaned against a wall for support and covered his face with a hand. "Brega, I've tried. Recently, in fact. The day before the new recruits showed up, I cornered her and talked to her about what happened. She didn't want to listen, which is why I was under the hatches for the past two days."

"She must feel for you somehow. Her silly bird's been trailing after you for the last couple o' weeks." Brega snorted and twisted the end of her beard around a stubby finger. "Ye think it was *your* familiar, not hers."

"Hm. Hadn't noticed, though I don't know which is worse - your jabbering or that bird's infernal cawing! Gods, I swear I can hear it right now." Greggor let out another groan and slid down the wall. Brega rolled her eyes. Humans could never hold their ale, not like a dwarf. She opened her mouth to continue her tirade, stopping with her jaw agape as she finally heard a pityful cry.

She stepped aside, letting her stoney gaze glance around the wall to the open grounds. Movement caught her eyes. "Greggor, get up, ye blasted string-picker! There be someone ta see ye." The dwarf hauled the drunken bard to his feet, dragging him forcefully to what she'd spotted. "Or some*thing*."

"My god, it's Tirsama," Greggor muttered and bent down with a hand outstretched. The bird happily tumbled into his palm. "He's got a broken wing." The bard called on his druidic training, slowly mending the delicate, hollow bones and torn flesh. After ten minutes, he petted a finger over the injury and smiled with satisfaction at his successful curing. "What happened to you, Tirsama? How'd your wing get busted up?"

Warwic opened her beak and squeaked out one word which explained a lot, "Dopplegangers!"

"What?" the two howled. Brega hoisted her weapon and cast a spell to see beyond illusions. She and Greggor were the same as always. "Dopplegangers? Tirsama, what do you mean?" Greggor asked in a soothing tone, knowing a calm bird would be easier to question.

"During the last session, I discovered a doppleganger was posing as one of the villagers! I was overtaken and subdued and it put me in Tirsama's body!" Warwic screeched in chirpy Common. At the blank looks, she stabbed Greggor's bared arm with her sharp beak. "I am Warwic! I don't know what it did with Tirsama's mind, but I can't feel him anymore! There was a greater doppleganger, the leader, who took my form and stuffed me into this bird!"

This cleared the haze of drink from the bard's mind. "They're using the students somehow. We've usually taken in orphans or loners who don't have anyone close to them."

"Ta question when they're acting strangely," Brega finished. "We'd best call the troops and get down in that dungeon."

"They better not hurt Shawdup," Greggor muttered angrily as he carried the bird-form of Warwic toward the dungeon entrance. "I like Shawdup."

 

After all the shapeshifters in the room were dead, Shawdup tied the wrists and ankles of one of them together and slung it over his long spear. Shurka and he picked it up together and the group headed back towards the tavern cellar. As they neared where the door to the passageway should have been, Shawdup stopped and scratched his head with a free hand.

"Hey, wasn't there a door here before instead of this stone wall? How we gonna get out now?"

 

"What the hell!?" exclaimed Rafael loudly. He ran up to where the door used to be, frantically feeling around for the now nonexistent door. He kept going at it, not wanting to be trapped in the dungeon. He felt trapped.

 

Shurka was surprised by the door's disappearence. She ran next to Rafael and started searching frantically for a knob or lever or loose brick to make the door open again.

 

Dala finally managed to wrestle herself up from where she'd fallen when the imps knocked her down.

"Ach, there be no wall here. Not so much as a stone within 50 paces to the front of me; a dwarf can tell. Just walk throu-mf!" Dala walked into the wall and then sat down hard. Rubbing her nose, she glared up at the rest in the corridor. "Aye, I know what it looks like, but I be telling ye there be no door. At least...not one of stone. I smell trickery afoot."