"Aiieee!", shouted Zax as venom burned his eyes.
Zax staggered back with his engulfed in fiery pain . The orange tiefling was shocked by both the unwarranted attack and the strength of the poison. Zax was unsure what happened next but he felt strong hangs grasp and roughly handle him.
Despite the pain, Zax swung wildly at his unseen attacker. Although he was thin, the tiefling use to make a living carrying people's luggage. He connected solidly with his venom obscured attacker and heard an angry hiss in response.
Zax shook free of his foe and fumbled for a weapon. He had already taken off his showy weapon belt but some how instinctively grasped a hilt at his side. The tiefling reasoned that even though he could not draw Dragon's flame , the weapon could still be used as a club of some sorts in his hand. A heavy blow to his stomach stopped Zax before he could put his theory to the test. As the tiefling tried to recover, another merciless shot to the head brought him crashing to the floor in unconsciousness.
"Aiieee!", screamed Zax as Darwen awaited him on the bed.
The elf saw the tiefling stagger back while grasping his eyes. Quickly following him were a pair of scaly humanoids. Darwen recognized one as a tiefling called Gammon, while the other was a much more reptilian creature. It was vaguely humanoid in shape and had an almost snake like head with a serpentine body. Its arms and legs appeared to be spindly , almost vestigial in nature. Despite its thin almost useless looking arms , it firmly attempted to grab Zax. Zax to his credit swung at it with a wild hay maker that miraculously connected. Everyone in the room, including the elf was surprised at the strength of his blow as it caught the snakeman in the jaw and staggered him.
Darwen wasn't sure what was happening, but she knew that they were under attack. Even though she was mostly in a state of undress, the elf had made it a habit to protect herself in spectral armor when she could. A basic spell like mage armor would only last a few hours, but the elf's proficiency in its use allowed it to last most of the day. Confident in her protections, she rolled to the side and grasped the elven blade that Sarin had given her. The ancient relic's perfect balance and construction seemed to merge in the elf's hand as she sprang to the attack.
Darwen saw several more snake creatures behind the first pair surge into the room. Before she could reach Zax, one struck the tiefling in the stomach with a truncheon while another battered his hunched over form. The elf's anger ignited as Zax fell to the ground. She sung a spell which seem to flow through her blade as she lunged at the nearest snake man. The creature hissed at her approach and moved with an unnatural grace to avoid her blow, but the elf's blade seemed to accelerate magically and struck it anyways. The snakeman screeched as black blood spilled from its pierced hide.
A sudden torrent of venom hissed at the elf , as several of the snakemen directed gobs of poison at her. The seasoned elven bladesinger calmly stopped their blows by intoning a mystical shield in her path. The venom struck the barrier and dispersed harmlessly away from her. The injured snakeman ignored its wound and attempted to strike the elf with its truncheon, but its blow was parried with both ease and disdain.
Darwen turned aside the blow, and swiftly counterattacked. The snake creature was surprised by her speed and deftness, as the elf's blade slipped through its guard and struck its previous wound. The monster fell back from the force of the blow and the extent of its injury. It crashed onto the ground writhing in pain.
The scaled tiefling named Gammon grabbed Zax while the elf was preoccupied and dragged him into the outside corridor. Darwen attempted to stop him, but two of the more bestial snake creatures blocked her with their crude clubs. They struck her mercilessly but once again , the elf blocked and parried the weapons with her mystic shield and blade. She stepped back and unleashed bolts of force at the nearest creature, striking it relentlessly. The successive blows drove the monster back till it struck the wall behind him. It was briefly kept standing by the impact of the spells, but it finally fell into a heap like the elf's previous victim. Even though the other club wielding snakeman saw two of its fellows felled by their enraged attacker, it showed no signs of faltering in the battle. It dropped its weapon and rushed Darwen with wild abandon. The elf slashed and struck it across the face, but the monster's momentum carried through with its attack. It battered through the mystic shield and managed to wrap a skinny arm around Darwen's waist. Even though it was an odd unbalanced hold, the monster's immense strength managed to lift the thin elf off her feet. The elf calmly battered the monster's skull with the pommel of her blade, managing to briefly stun it. She fell to the ground lightly and prepared to finish off the dazed monster, when she noticed a streak of fire streak through the room.
"Fireball !", she shouted to no one in particular , before the room exploded and was engulfed in flames.
"How come we can't stay in the inn again?", asked the small giant, clearly missing the comforts of a soft bed.
"I'm surprised, I thought all Frost giants enjoyed sleeping on sheets of ice in the wintery tundra. ", giggled Sharliss as she dropped her magical disguise.
"Do I look like like a "typical " Frost Giant to you?", sighed Isula . "I'm a ... noble bred giant with ancient blood lines. I believe the dwarf called me a "Giant Wife" , which is a rough translation for jättiläinen vaimo in my tongue. We aren't like regular giants, and have our own eccentricities . Add to that my own terrible rebellious nature, and you can begin to understand how I fit into giant society. I'm a rebel amongst a specialized caste in giant society. I can assure you that I prefer and appreciate a pile of soft furs and other civilized comforts much more then my brutish kin."
Sharliss nodded at the small giant's admission. "I suppose that's why we found you a thousand miles from your homeland?", the priestess inquired as she prepared their plain beds.
"Partially ...but that's a story for another time. ", replied the giant with a frown.
"I'm all ears...It's not like we have anything else to talk about. ", smiled Sharliss in a friendly disarming manner.
Isula paused and looked at the tiefling. A moment of indecision came over her , but Sharliss's comforting manner cracked her defenses. "My memories are still in a haze from my long sleep. I can't recall much, but I do remember bits and pieces. I left my homeland ... for a lover. Given the length of time of my imprisonment , I doubt there's any trace of him. I'm ashamed to admit , but I can't even recall his name and his appearance. Imagine leaving your homeland and your people, leaving everything behind...for a person who you can't even remember. When we were at the academy I did some research there about the Northern Knight Crusades to see if there was some mention of a knight with a giant at his side, but found no trace. ",the giant said softly.
Sharliss had not expected Isula to open up to her so easily, but could sense it was a burden the small giant carried with her for awhile now. She slipped suddenly next to the very small girl and hugged her lightly . "When we reach Narwhal Hold, I'll help you research more of your past. I'm sure the knights keep better historic records then the Grommers. ", said the priestess emphatically.
Isula's eyes welled up. She was about to say thanks, when suddenly a scream was heard outside.
"Aiieeee!", screamed a woman with a high pitched voice from the inn. The priestess and giant both paused and tensed for battle. Sharliss ran to the window of the cart, and gazed outside , while Isula began uttering spells, readying her enchantments. Even though the inner space of the cart was partially in a different dimension, it had a simple window that could view the "outside" from various angles on the wagon. As the priestess scanned for the source of the scream, the giant already knew battle was upon them.
Sharliss averted her eyes as a fiery explosion engulfed the upper level of the inn.
The giant's eyes narrowed as her spear magically leaped into her hands. Through some mystic incantation that even Sharliss was unaware of, her armor assembled magically on Isula as she rushed outside.
The giant's eyes narrowed as she saw several snake creatures exit the inn carrying the form of an unconscious Zax.
"Ophidians! ", she hissed as she recognized the degenerate ancient snake men. She then threw her spear at the closest one.
The snakeman was shocked as it was confronted by the short spear throwing albino wearing ornate blue white armor. It's expression turned to confusion, as the spear shattered his mystical defenses in a pyrotechnic display of suddenly visible auras and a shower of sparks. The creature briefly disappeared before the spear found its mark, but unerringly the weapon changed direction at the last moment and skewered him anyways. The creature's confused look contorted to a grimace of pain as the icy spear exited messily from his back and flew back to the girl's hand.
"Look out!", shouted Sharliss as more reptilian creatures appeared from outside the inn. The priestess followed her warning with a quick prayer . Isula wasn't sure what the exact nature of the enchantment was , but she felt it directed at herself. She was quite skillful at identifying arcane magics, but the small giant was unsure what the exact nature of the spell was. She did not feel more armored, lucky , or protected like most clerical enchantments bestowed.
Only two of the snakemen were with their tiefling prisoner now. Isula with her spear firmly back in her hand waded towards them, but was suddenly cut off by several tall and broad shouldered lizard men . The giant saw these creatures before in the marshes , fens, and muskeg of the Knight Lands, but had never fought them before. The lead lizard man swung a crude stone axe at her, which connected solidly into her shoulder guard . Despite her slight appearance, Isula shrugged off the blow with a grunt and spun to face her new attacker. She extended her spear in a simple strike and pierced her attacker cleanly through its chest. Despite wearing heavy crude armor, the small giant's spear met no resistance from the lizard man's armor, scales or hide.
As her foe fell to the ground four more of the lizard creatures descended on her. They seemed ready to overwhelm her with their size and speed. As they closed, Isula smiled and suddenly grew to her full height. The lizard men wavered in their assault as they saw their foe for what she truly was. A towering death dealing giant. Isula smirked as she swept her spear in a wide arc, battering and knocking her foes aside like practice dummies. A lizard man that fell close to her, was suddenly struck by her large foot, and was sent flying into the night sky before crashing in a heap into the ground.
Before the giant could seek another target, she could hear incantations somewhere in the vicinity. It was an arcane spell of some sort, a high level summoning she thought. The casters presence did not surprise her, she suspected it must have employed some sort of illusion or travel magic to bring such a large horde of creatures near these somewhat civilized lands. The giant scanned for the mage when suddenly a monstrous ox made of fire stepped out of the burning wreckage of the inn. Isula knew immediately what the creature was.
"Fire elemental.", she whispered nervously to herself. The Frost giants feared very little in their homelands. White Dragons, Linnorms, polar bears, and even mammoths they faced with stoic bravery. However there were certain creatures that even gave them pause. Fire elementals with their fiery blows were certainly one of them. Isula had seen elementals summoned before, but never one of this size. The creature was over 20 foot tall and dwarfed the giant it faced. It snorted flames and smoke as it prepared to charge.
The small giant feared its burning touch on her icy skin, but drove such thoughts form her mind. She was a warrior of Frost Haven, and despite her exile she would not shame the blood of her ancestors with craven cowardice. She considered throwing her spear at the monster, but readied her spear instead for its eventual charge. She knew she wouldn't last long under the monster's fiery assault so she had to time her blow perfectly.
The fiery beast bellowed and stampeded towards the giant. A lizard man that Isula previously stunned staggered into its path, and was crushed underfoot without a thought. The giant gauged the creature's distance and counted its footsteps as it thundered towards her. At the last moment she took a step forward and struck the beast below its neck. The blow was perfectly timed and executed , and would have felled a dragon. The icy spear extinguished a large section of the creature's neck but the monster continued its charge. It struck the giant solidly with its flaming horns and for a second Isula thought her own icy flesh would melt under the fiery assault.
As the giant braced for the pain of her death, she was surprised as the monster dealt little physical damage to her. Even the intense flames seem to almost tickle her skin as the elemental and giant both seemed shocked at the results of their collision. Isula smiled as she realized the nature of Sharliss's enchantment and gripped the monster by the throat. Her steely grip seized the beast as she shifted her weight and slammed it to the ground. As it fell , she repeatedly stabbed it with her spear in a frenzy of giantish rage.
Darwen sensed the incoming attack, and opened a portal to escape. It was a spell she had never attempted before, but she felt more confident in her abilities and her skills recently. Her brief association with Zax seemed to tear down self imposed barriers and limitations that had previously hindered her magical progression. Even before she casted the spell, she knew with certainty it would work . As the room was engulfed in fire, the elf appeared several hundred feet away onto the main road.
Darwen cursed herself for picking such a spot. It was where she choose, but in retrospect she should have chose someplace closer to the inn. It allowed her to regroup , but also allowed her foes a similar respite . Zax had saved her multiple times in the past, and despite his claims of cowardice she had seldom met a man so brave. Now in his time of need, she chose to escape outside over directly pursuing his captors . She knew she had little margin for error if she was to rescue the tiefling and quickly ran back to the inn.
"What were those creatures? Why were they after Zax? ", she asked herself as she made her way back to the inn. She placed an enchantment of haste on herself to speed her approach. As she swiftly returned, she noticed even more reptilian creatures attacking the inn, a veritable army. Isula had grown to her seldom seen giant form , and seemed locked in combat with a huge fire elemental. Various lizard and snake creatures descended on the giant, but she seemed to ignore their blows. Despite the giants contempt for their attacks, Darwen could see the giant bleeding from multiple wounds on her back and limbs.
Darwen scanned for signs of the tiefling and was struck by a moment of indecision. Find Zax or help the giant. If she saw any sign of the tiefling she would have definitely aided him, but a comrade was in immediate danger.
"I'll save you Zax.", she promised to herself as she waded into the swarming creatures.
Sharliss placed the resist fire enchantment on Isula before she evaluated the battle. The explosion in the inn told her that their unknown foe used fire magic , and despite knowing little about Isula, the priestess did know her one weakness was fire. Her father taught her once that having a clear mind in battle was better then a sharp blade and a strong shield. The last battle she was in , saw her friends Lilithy and her beloved pet Freiki perish under her protection. She would not make the same mistakes again.
She saw a mass of the snake creatures and lizard folk descend onto the inn. The tiefling named Gammon or Blackscale was amongst them, and she suddenly realized her error.
"He's not a tiefling , he's one of those purebred Yuan ti.", she realized. She spotted Gammon and another snake creature called an Ophidian carry Zax swiftly around the inn. She was unsure of their motives, but knew they were after Zax . She was unsure if she should check to see if Darwen was ok, back up Isula in battle, or pursue Zax. She saw Isula grow to her full height and batter a swarm of lizard folk . The giant would have no problem holding her own. She considered rushing into the inn to save Darwen, but noticed the lingering aura of a fading dimensional door . It was something most practitioners of magic would never catch , but her close familiarity with her father's portals enabled her to spot it. She doubt the snakemen would have used such a spell otherwise they would not resort to carrying Zax. She surmised that the elf must have escaped with that spell. Sharliss knew her course of action and gave pursuit to Gammon and his captive. Her mastery over the arcane was not as proficient as her skill over the divine but she managed to invoke a simple spell of invisibility on herself. Wrapped in her unseen cloak the priestess swiftly followed the faux tiefling.
Gammon and his companion were swift despite carrying their limp captive. As Sharliss pursued the group she passed several other groups of lizard folk and snake men. The priestess gasped at the amount of foes arrayed against them. She wondered if she should return to assist Isula but she heard some orders hissed at them from an unseen voice . Instead of continuing the assault the reserves withdrew into the night with Gammon . Even though there was at least twenty of them, they moved like shadows and disappeared almost without a trace.
Chasing a pair of yuan ti was one thing, but a small army of them gave the priestess pause. It would be safer to return to Isula and chase them in force, but she knew if she lost track of Zax she might not be able to find him again. That was one thing she would never forgive herself for. The priestess took a deep breath and followed the creatures into the darkness.
Darwen struck the final lizard folk with a crisp and efficient blow to its neck. Its grasped its neck in surprise and pain as it fell onto it back writhing in pain. The elf knew she would not get no answers from this creature, but was confident there were others to question here.
The elf and the giant stood oddly back to back surveying for any more attackers. Several more waves of creatures had charged them from the darkness of night, but their foe's fury seemed to be spent. Only the crackling sound of the burning inn broke the silence around them.
"Any sign of Sharliss? or Zax?", asked the giant in a calm voice. The rage of battle had passed her as well.
"I assume Sharliss pursued Zax's captors. ", Darwen said partially from logical deduction, partially from hope.
"I'll check for survivors .", said the giant as she plodded towards the inn. She seemed not to care about any surviving snakemen or lizard folk and left that task to the elf.
Darwen found a lizard man who seemed more disoriented then wounded. The elf surmised that it must have been struck down by the giant's spear shaft instead of its deadly tip. It weakly tried to crawl away and she guessed it only suffered a few broken bones in the melee.
The elf sank her blade into its tail, pinning it to the ground. The creature hissed in pain as it twisted to confront its tormentor.
Darwen surveyed the creature, and saw its eyes full of hate. She knew that it would attempt to strike her if she came closer and warily approached it with her phantom shield at the ready. As predicted, as she drew within its claws it attempted to strike her. It would have slashed the pretty elf's face, but her spectral shield and ethereal armor deflected the blow harmlessly. The elf kicked the creature in the side a few times to battered it into submission, but the monster continued to struggle fiercely against her.
Darwen took a step back as she realized her methods were not achieving the results she wanted. She was confused at the mindless rage that seemed to grip the lizard folk before her. Even with broken bones, its tail pinned, and kicked a few times, the monster still attempted to bite and attack Darwen. From her experience with them , most lizard folk would be pleading for their lives at this point.
Lizard folk were not generally accepted in Grom. Darwen knew from her experiences in the army that they were a peaceful people and that rumors of their savagery and cannibalism were greatly exaggerated , mostly by adventurers and partially by the lizard folk themselves. Their fearsome reputation generally kept humans away, which suited the reclusive swamp dwelling humanoids fine. Despite their isolated existence, they were not a evil people, and seldom ventured into the cities, unlike their distant troglodyte cousins. The troglodytes had a well deserved reputation of depravity and demon worship, but because they paid their taxes and were willing to play by the Grommers' rules, they were tolerated in certain cities in the north. The very few lizard folk that journeyed to the human cities often did so under the guise of troglodytes.
"The innkeeper and his staff have sustained minor injuries but otherwise fine. Luckily it was a slow night, or some patrons would have most likely died from that fireball. ", commented Isula in her now shrunken form.
"This creature is not behaving like the norm for its race. I've fought against them during border skirmishes in the swamps before. They are a fierce people, but not known for mindless rage like this one is exhibiting. Most lizard folk surrendered pretty peacefully when they are captured. ", commented Darwen unsure of what to do next.
"Its charmed...or something like a charm. ", replied Isula as she studied the creature's eyes. Suddenly she brought out her spear and impaled the creature mercifully in the neck.
"What! If it was a charm we could have broken the enchantment, we could have questioned it !", protested Darwen , shocked at the savagery of the giant.
Isula shook her head. " You would have gotten no answers from that creature. As I said it was charmed, but not one that can be broken so easily . To be more accurate , I should say its been cursed rather then enchanted. ", shrugged the giant.
"Sertrous's blood?", asked the elf uneasily. Ancient lore and history were not strong subjects for Darwen. She knew little of elf history , and even less of ancient tales. However she did recall something of the ancient cults of Sertrous, the fallen snake god.
The small giant nodded. "Yes, Sertrous the Obryinth, dead god of the Scaly folk. During the age of Dragons, it was said he crafted all the lizard and reptilian folk in his image. When his chief servants ,the yuan ti , battled the dragons for supremacy in the land, they fell as well as their abomination god. The various species of scaly folk have been in decline for millennium since that point, most living in swamps, caves or ancient ruins ...away from Giants and to some extent humans, elves and dwarves. Although my memories are hazy, I do recall that certain species of them were able to exert unnatural control over their lesser kin. Sarukh I think they are called. Their lesser kin are unable to resist their calling, they would even sacrifice themselves for their debased masters. The Sarukh's mastery over them is so great they are able to see through their eyes, hence my merciful slaying of our would be spy. Thankfully , they are very rare ..they were almost extinct during my time. I'm surprised there are some left in this world even after my long slumber.", explained the giant.
Darwen nodded at the brief history lesson and tried to process the giant's wealth of information. Despite the clarification of the situation it raised even more questions. Why would this ancient evil be after Zax? Where would such creatures hide?
"SHARLISS ! ZAX !", roared the giant into the darkness. Her voice resounded clearly through the dark even over the dying roar of the fire at the inn. Despite her call, no answer was given.
"Can you track..or do you have any divination spells?", asked Isula.
Darwen scanned the darkness around them. She didn't know where to begin . Counting the amount of attackers, there must have been tracks everywhere. She wouldn't know where to begin to look. If Sharliss did pursue Zax , she might have left a marker to indicate where she was headed but the elf was ashamed that she had very little wilderness skills. Despite being an elf, her knowledge of her people were very limited. It was like being a dwarf who did not know how to mine, or a halfling that only ate three meals a day.
She looked into the night and hoped that Sharliss and Zax was alright.