Tank was mad. Not at the nosy clerics, they were just doing their job. Not at Captain Markus, he was just looking out for Tornic. He wasn't even mad at Agni, he was just being overprotective. He was mad at himself. He failed as the front line warrior in his group. He should have been with the rest of his group, instead he was placed under the care of the clerics of Koryis. Like a few broken bones, a stomach full of demon bile, and some crushed/bruised organs was gonna slow him down.

Svikki had told her observations and fears to Markus, and he organized a raid to investigate the demon mines. Despite the siege mentality of the keep, the demons hadn't attacked after the first raid. Markus was confident enough of his defenses to send 20 of his soldiers plus Agni, Sasha, Svikki, and Bloodshadow.

Tank smirked at Bloodshadow, he was sure there was going to be hair pulling and scratching when she met his old acquaintance Surry. Oddly the two got along pretty well. The half elf had a peculiar habit of rubbing everyone the wrong way. Frank told him that she was a princess of a lost elf kingdom, so Tank always attributed her arrogance to her bloodline. However Agni was of the same blood and he was for the the most part a level headed person , unless his sister or mother was involved.

Tank tried to stay busy by practicing his swordsmanship and his unarmed combat with some guards. The sparring was lively but not challenging . He normally didn't fight with his fists. Why use fists when a sword is handy? But the previous encounter reminded him of their use. When he was young, Frank was roughly equal to him with the blade, but his brother was also much better at strikes and throws. He wondered was that the reason his brother was running around flying a dragon, and he was sparring with some hick seed guards.

He was almost 28 and he was barely keeping up fighting goblins and bugbears. When Frank was 20 he was fighting and slapping around ogres, when he was 22 he fought balors and the demon lord Yeenoghu, now his brother was almost 30 and he was matching wits with arch devils, killing snakemen the size of giants, and slaying dragons. He even had a dragon he could summon and a talking vorpal blade! All Tank had was a magic bag and some trinkets. His most useful weapon was a cold iron axe which he lost when he was captured. Sasha recovered it for him but it didn't matter though, Bloodshadow snagged it when he was recovering, and was probably happily chopping down demons at that moment.

His mind wandered to Bloodshadow again, he could imagine the pretty paladin swinging his axe merrily at those white furred demons. She was pretty handy in a fight. She was fast and had some skill, but could use some polish in her techniques. She fought more like an armored rogue or ranger then a front line holy knight.

When Tank and his brothers grew up, they were taught many fighting styles. With bows, and crossbows, spears and javelins, lances and pikes, 2 handed and light weapons. The weapon masters in the village however praised the sword and board the most. It was the most flexible , and defensive style in their esteemed opinions. It lacked the punch of the large weapon wielders but if you really need to , you can drop your shield and swing your broadsword with both hands. Two weapon wielders were scoffed at. The only time they had an advantage was when they faced a foe that had few defenses or if you caught a foe by surprise. Otherwise, their unfocused weapon strikes end up missing all the time.

He briefly had a vision of Bloodshadow fighting an armored foe. She was using a weapon in each hand and missing. She would come running to good old Tank , and he would get the beasts attention while she flanked it. He would take the brunt of the attack while she would get easy hits at their distracted foe.

A horn blew in the distance and Tank's vision vanished. He walked to the gate and saw the guards and his companions had returned. Agni nodded at Tank as he made his way to the inner keep. Most likely to discus with Captain Markus his findings.

Bloodshadow walked up to Tank and returned his axe . She coyly asked, "Were you thinking about me?"

Tank snorted," Pfft... Hardly. I didn't even realize you guys were gone."


"We found the mine where Svikki indicated. It was easy to find, some low fires were still burning from...my sister. There were a few of the white furred demons, but they were easily dispatched. They are pretty vicious brutes, but we were prepared for them. Cold iron weapons, and protection spells were at the ready this time . We only slew a half dozen, not the 30 or 40 that Svikki reported , although there was plenty of evidence of more. Also there were no signs of any prisoners in the mines. We rescued 3 of them wandering the hills. They apparently escaped when my companions did, and were lost . ", reported Agni.

Captain Markus was a professional soldier. He had been in the Grom army for 20 years, his command required him to fight giants, goblins, magical beasts, and even the occasional dragon. He was in charge of keeping the northern pass of the Broken mountains clear for caravans. His counterpart near Grom city at Fortress Grom cleared the southern regions. Despite his experience, he had little knowledge in demons. He would have dismissed the ice halflings tales of prisoners being transformed into demons, but the previous nights attacks told him otherwise.

"Thank you Agnar, you guys did a fine job, your actions do your mother proud.",said Markus. The mention of his mother rested uneasily on the half elf. He was still torn about her. On one hand she was suppose to be this great knight and adventurer, one of the most powerful sorceresses in the land, that was lost to the mists for 20 years. On the other hand, she left his sister and himself and they had to fend for themselves for the last two decades . 20 hard years of poverty, working for mercenaries and private armies. He knew she was bound by duty to fight the demon hordes, but it still felt like she betrayed them. Surry was much more vocal about her distrust , but he was just as skeptical about her.

"Agnar? ", inquired Markus.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else...", apologized the Half elf.

"Look, I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful, but I need another task from you. I can't deal with demons that are like ghosts I can't catch, but I can deal with something more substantial.", said the veteran Captain.

"My scouts report increased humanoid activity in the pass near our outpost. That's odd since they don't normally operate in those areas. At most a few raiders, not the numbers I'm getting in my reports. I'm going to reinforce the outposts, but the transportation of troops and supplies to them is dangerous. I can't guard the keep and provide the necessary logistics for this operation, not until reinforcements from the 3rd army or Lower Lueders arrive at least. I want you and your friends to help guard the resupply group.", stated Markus.

Agni was a mercenary and had been in enough private armies to know this would be a tedious and low paying job. " I would love to help, but my companions are already behind schedule. We have an expedition planned deep in the mountains, away from the main pass. We are good citizens and want to do our part, I think our assistance in the mines should be proof of that."

"Well said. Respectful and diplomatic. Let me restate my position. You and your band can either assist my patrol , which might take one or two weeks. Or I will conscript you into service for a minimum ...of lets say 2 months I'm guessing...at least till he danger is over.", smiled Markus.

Agni begun to protest, but held his tongue. If he refused , not only would he have Markus as an enemy, but he would alert the Royal Rangers. More likely he would be marked by the Royal tax collectors and Adventurers to have their affairs brutally scrutinized and taxed. It was a lose lose situation. Agni sighed ," Show me the maps, and your resupply schedule."


The news of their detour seemed to affect Agni the most. It didn't seem to affect the rest of them. They were of the opinion that it was something that needed to be done, and they welcomed the chance to hone their battle skills. The groups performance recently was passable at best. Everyone knew they were caught off guard at the inn, and they were fortunate they weren't burying any more companions like poor Ishmael.

Agni saw it as another obstacle to hurdle. He felt a similar desire like his friend Tank. Tank wanted to escape his brother's shadow, but at least he had been around the world and participated in epic battles and wars. Agni was under a greater shadow. He was the last prince of the Ice elves, his grandfather was the near mythical Sir Hildraxel the terror of the north, his mother was the legendary Mistress of the Lionblade, his father was the Mighty Warmaster , even his sister was a somewhat respected adventurer now. All Agni had ever done was serve in some backwater militias, and guarded a few caravan routes. The most exciting thing on his list accomplishment was serving under Ymir's Armsmen for a few years and fighting snakemen. Both times he ended getting his ass kicked, the last time only the sacrifice of Sir Branndr saved him. The last 5 months he spent guarding an empty forge room. After getting some funds and a magical blade from his father, he thought things would go his way. Sadly he found himself escorting a patrol, something hes done dozens of times in the last 20 years.

Sasha sensed her leader and friend was distressed, "Hey cheer up, its not the end of the world .Whats 1 or 2 more weeks. Linel teaches us that proper vigilance against the enemy is a form of heroism, even patrols."

Tank laughed as he slapped the half elf's shoulder, "Hey if patrols are heroic, then we are in the presence of a super hero! ...that's an 8th lvl fighter if none of you caught that reference...no...no one?"

"How much bile did you swallow?", asked Svikki," It sounds like you are speaking in tongues."

Tank stared at the small sage, " I thought if anyone, you would know, ...you know veteran , warrior, swordsman, hero, swashbuckler, myrmi...ahh forget it. "

Svikki walked up to Sasha and whispered, " I think you should check him again for concussions. He seems more unhinged then normal."


Fyrisvellir was in her element. Despite the delay in finding the ruins indicated by their map, Fyris welcomed the distraction. She was a natural and skilled scout, and enjoyed operating ahead of the group. Even the small military detachment she accompanied had no one that was a match for her. She smiled, "Of course they don't , I am a knight of the Royal Rangers "

Their group was escorting a Grommish platoon through the mountains. Markus placed Agni in charge of the opertation, but the Grommers were commanded by a Sergent Barnabus, a cleric of the cult of Alphonso. Their corporal was a dwarf aristocrat named Erin. The rest of the Grommers were equipped pretty uniformly. Mainly light padded armor, wooden shields, clubs, and slings. Some specialists had dragon golems, 2handed clubs and breast plates, but their gear was fairly uniform, one could easily tell which army they belonged to. Erin on the other hand wore immaculate white enameled plate. She wielded a large warhammer, and a similarly decorated white and gold shield. There was something sinister about the sergeant but the paladin detected nothing abnormal. The dwarf however, Fyris could tell she was trouble, she found out that she was from a rich family in Khazag Narg and only signed up for the army for fame and glory. Fyris half expected her to foolishly charge their foes and bringing half her unit with her.

The first outpost was relatively easy to find , they dropped a squad and their supplies off and continued to the next. Fyris confirmed Markus's suspicions. She had never operated in this area before, but she knew the goblins and other tribes were deeper in. She found several abandoned camped sites scattered in the area. 100, maybe 120 of them. Many seemed to be non combatants, but even a goblin woman and child was dangerous when armed.

The second outpost was reached with little danger. The most danger was when Fyris spotted a small patrol of goblins. Fyris took Tank and Svikki with her and they ruthlessly ambushed them. Svikki was mostly used a spotter, the paladin found her invisibility and flight "spells" very useful. Add to that mix , her crossbow and magic missiles and she was pretty handy when setting an ambush. Tank and Fyris did most of the fighting, but it was more of a slaughter then a skirmish. 6 goblins were no challenge for a Knight of the Snow Lion and a Knight of the Crab.

Their main objective was Karls Keep. Named after the first chancellor of Grom. The bulk of the reinforcements and supplies were headed there. It was situated strategically in the pass. The keep over looked the valley and could stop any movement along the road. Svikki told them it was an old crusader castle , the northern knights erected this when they invaded Grom centuries ago. It was named the Castle of the Shining Lion back then, but the Grommers renamed it when they took it over. Fyris felt a small kinship to their destination, despite knowing so little about her order . She only met maybe a dozen lion knights and it was her mother that tested her heroism and knighted her when she met her expectations. She didn't feel like less of a knight then the others though, her mother was a Knight Commander of the Lion, to feel less pride in her title would be a slight to the Lady Brita.

They were on the last leg of the journey, and Fyris returned to the main group. "3 soldiers ahead coming our way ...somethings wrong though ..they don't look like scouts.", she reported.

Agni signaled the remaining 20 men to stay out of sight, he would greet them with Barnabus and Sasha. Erin was told to hide, but she shook her head. "Look, not only am I a dwarf in platemail, but its alabaster and gold . Even a blind goblin could see me." The half elven magus relented to her logic and told her to come along.

Fyris and Svikki covered the 4 as they approached the 3 men. Upon closer inspection they were indeed soldiers, 2 look like regular troopers while their leader had a support insignia on him. Most likely a mage or cleric of some sort thought Fyris as she observed the meeting.

"Greetings, I'm Agni, formerly Corporal Agni of the 3rd army. I'm here from Captain Markus. We're delivering reinforcements and supplies to Fort Karl. Are we close?", Agni said suddenly , surprising the 3. They were in Grommish uniforms, but they had large packs, and each had overladen sacks. The 3 nervously looked at the 4 strangers in front of them. Only Sgt Barnabus was in uniform, the other 3 were in their own personal garb. Not unusual for the Grommish army, since they welcome soldiers bringing their own equipment, but it raised some questions. The 2 troopers looked nervously at the man with the support badge.

The man eyed them suspiciously then relaxed, "Oh hi there, I'm Support Specialist Simon, me and my fellows are on patrol . The keep is only a few hours from here. Just keep following the path."

"TRAITOR!", yelled Sasha suddenly as she readied her spear and shield. Her sudden shout surprised everyone on both sides.

The man leaped a step a back and raised a wand. His swift reaction told everyone he was readied to attack. Fyris was ready as well and fired an arrow at him. It was aimed perfectly and would have been a killing blow, but he disappeared and reappeared 10 feet away before the arrow struck. He said a magical incantation and a wave of fire blanketed the 4. One of the soldiers followed his leaders lead and charged Agni with his shield and club. Normally trying to rush and knock down a half elf was foolish. It would be like a gnome trying to knock a chaos beast into a pit, however Agni was quite anemic for a member of his normally hefty race, the result of 20 years of poverty. The man's rush caught the burning Agni by surprise and knocked the magus to the ground. The 3rd trooper swung at Sasha, but she calmly took a step back and calmly blocked his blow with her shield. Her shield saved her from both the fire and the club.

Barnabus was not so lucky, his light armor and wooden shield caught on fire and he rolled vigorously on the ground to attempt to put it out. Erin was also caught unaware, but she seemed more shocked at seeing her perfectly detailed armor blackened then actually damaged.

Fyris fired another shot at the mage, but she cursed as the man vanished again. He waved his wand in response, but an angry dwarfs hammer caught him in the stomach. He staggered back from the blow as blood shot out of his mouth and nose. The dwarf prepared to finish him but he waved his hand in front of her. All strength and anger drained from her, as she lost the grip of her hammer and fell face first onto the ground.

Sasha jabbed at her attacker skillfully , and pierced him in the shoulder. The badly wounded man swung again at the small old woman, but was struck by a pair of magical bolts before his blow landed. The sudden attack dazed him, and the cleric lunged her spear into his chest. Despite her age , the spear pierced his light armor and ribcage cleanly. She struggled for a second to extract it, and quickly attended to the burning Barnabuss afterwards.

Agni was stunned by the shield blow, and still burning from the flames. Despite this he struggled to his feet , only to meet another a club blow to the head. The magus saw stars but was enraged that a man with a club was getting the best of him. His fist flared with lightning as he grasped his attacker. The man writhed painfully in his electrical grasp, as the magus drew his blade and slashed upwards. It was a weak blow , no strength could be applied with such an awkward slash , but the half elf's impressive magical blade sliced through armor, flesh and bone .

His victory was short lived though, as magical webs formed around the 2 clerics and himself. He cursed as he was caught by one of the few spells he had mastered. His limbs were bound fast as he struggled within the stringy strands. Barnabus was stabilized from the cleric of Linel's healing prayer but he too was caught . Added to the fact he was on the ground, it put him in a helpless position. Sasha caught most of the webs on her shield. She wasn't bound like Agni, but the spell still hampered her movements. She cried an ancient warcry and threw her spear at the mage.

Once again the mage vanished, and reappeared with a smile. He readied another spell, but gasped in pain and surprise as an arrow lodged in his mouth . He stood there for a second bleeding profusely , unsure what to do next, when another struck him in the throat.

Fyris smiled, "Gotcha...I won't be fooled a third time."

Tank raced to his victorious companions, "Awww man...I missed the fighting again? You guys are doing this on purpose right?"

Sasha and Tank freed their trapped companions as Svikki left her sniper position. Fyris remained hidden, in case more attackers showed themselves. The cleric checked the dwarf and was relieved she had fallen under a simple sleep spell. Despite the famed dwarven resistance to spells the mage they fought was skilled in his craft. Not skilled enough to beat 6 of them but skilled enough. She thought it might have ended differently if there was 6 of them and only 3 of her group. She praised Linel for their victory.

Agni was annoyed once again, "Soo...you think you could give us some warning before you yell Traitor and start a fight?"

Sasha shook her head, "Despite my age , my eyes haven't failed me yet. I can smell the cowardice on them, they were clearly deserters. They were too overladen for supplies to be on patrol, and I could see them reading their weapons to strike. Grom doesn't have so many mages that they would put them on a patrol of 3. They are normally used in defense or operate in a full squad. If they had encountered difficulties they would have indicated it right away."

Agni observed the 3 carefully and did not see any of them readying their weapons. He thought it might have been a battle that could have been avoided , but he wasn't about to yell at his oldest friend. Even if it was a hunch , she was correct. The half elf knew that Sasha was the most experienced "adventurer" in their group , and he trusted her instincts.

Barnabus thanked Sasha for saving his life. Despite his questionable choice of gods, he was polite and appreciative of their efforts. Erin however was disappointed she wasn't able to bring down a single soldiers. She sat dejectedly as the others searched and looted the fallen.

"Hey cheer up , dwarfy...at least you got a blow in, ...it could have been worse, you could have missed all the action like me.", quipped Tank.