Suddenly upon us was a tension, like feeling hands around your throat, and then a mist began to rise from the ground in such a volume that I knew that had to have been an enchantment, although one I had never encountered before. Before the sky was completely obscured, I saw in the wan moonlight a hooded-figure riding upon a flying carpet. It was the same figure, I somehow knew, of the wizard I had bested at the fight by the ford. Before I could raise an alarm, he threw several objects at us, the size of small stones, as he flew overhead. They fell from the sky, no real physical threat, but I felt a knot of dread in my gut. The objects fell, but with no immediate effect, I did not even hear them hit the earth. A few seconds later, it dawned on me that I could hear absolutely nothing. I knew exactly what had just happened because I had done something like this years ago on an adventure. The stones had an area of Silence spell upon them and now no sound could be heard at all, we blind and deaf in the fog!
Worse, none of us spellcasters could launch a spell upon our foes as we could not speak the Arcane words we used to bring about their fulfillment. We were in a carefully constructed ambuscade that had us trapped like a rabbit in the jaws of wolf. It was only a matter of a few heartbeats, I knew, before the main assault was launched. Time enough to think, time enough to warn everyone with my Medallion. The spell that deafened us did not affect the mind, and so I sent out my thoughts to me comrades.
"Peace,"I said in mind-talk, "this is Barrim. there is an enchantment that hides all sound from us, and we cannot use our spells. Stand shoulder to shoulder with your back to the fire and form a defensive circle and draw you hand weapons, we will be under assault momentarily.
In the gloom of the fog, the fire was only barely visible, but it was visible and better yet we were already near it and so I hoped my people could rally around it. I found myself between Gerrex and one of the crossbowmen both with drawn swords, but I could no farther than the length of my arm, and I knew not what the rest of my compatriots were doing and I had no time to check on them for the attack came. An arrow bounced off of Gerrex's helm and another took me in the side. I felt the burning pain flair in me and warm blood began to flow inside the heavy quilted gambeson I wore. I reached behind me and felt the bodkin point of the arrow sticking out of my back, I tore the arrow out, allowing myself to scream since no one could hear me anyway. With the arrow out, my ring could now begin to heal me.
Something big passed overhead in the fog as large lion-like paw struck Gerrex in the head, stunning him. If I had been able to hear, I was sure that I would have heard a roar of triumph from the manticore that was now attacking us.
I came to that realization just as another arrow made a minor slice on my neck, allowing more blood to flow. I saw Dimitri flinch and go down from an arrow to the gut. Somehow, our unseen enemies were not hampered by the fog, but that was impossible, or was it? My brain began to turn like a windmill in a hurricane. The fog was an illusion. The enemy spellcaster was a damned illusionist!
Another arrow took me in the leg and I went down to the ground, but I summoned my will and I closed my eyes and I willed my mind to cast aside the enchantment laid upon it, while simultaneously broadcasting my raw emotion and disbelief to my comrades. When I opened my eyes again, the fog was gone and the dim light of the failing moon and our own lights were once again visible. My people blinked in surprise and some tried to speak, but the silence was still upon us. I could then see the red beady eyes of our foes now, wererats. These evil lycanthropes were armed with short bows and they were taking aim at us, but with the illusion lifted, our Venetti crossbowmen once again took up their main weapons and the wererats were suddenly surprised we were returning fire. I looked up and saw the illusionist sitting above us, hovering on his carpet. Once again I pulled out the arrow from my flesh, and once again screaming silently. I gained my feet and I ran, with an awkward gait and great pain straight into a gap between the wererats, surprising them, and I ran until I could hear my own shouts of pain crying out into the night. The illusionist has just commanded his carpet to take him higher to escape and the manticore was silhouetted against the sky as it turned around to attack again when I chanted out my magic missile spell and six white bolts of energy hit the illusionist in his, or perhaps her, back. The illusionist faltered, and I blocked and riposted a dagger thrust from a wererat, splitting the skull the of wererat who attacked me with my enchanted cutlass. I looked up once again and saw the illusionist had created a blazing red summoning circle, the runes were for denizens of the Plain of Air, in the sky and was playing a tune on an high-pitched ocarina, which I figured to be some sort of magical artifact for summoning Air Elementals, based on our history with this summoner. I knew he could not be allowed to finish that spell and summon an Air Elemental. I shouted out my Arcane words and once again, my Magic Missile spell slammed into illusionist with unerring accuracy. The illusionist screamed, it was a man's scream, and the red circle died in the sky. He fell down on his carpet in agony, but then struggled to rise. The third Magic Missile Spell came from the spell stored in Helena's Ring of Spell Storing and once again the illusionist was hit, this time he fell from the carpet and struck the ground like a dead weight as the carpet, now bereft of a master, flopped down to the ground by itself. My Gambeson stopped a blow aimed at my back from one of the wererats, at least it turned most of it as the last inch of the point pierced my flesh. I took a swipe at my foe but he danced back and I missed him.
Using my medallion to circumvent the artificial silence, I orchestrated our defense as best I could as ordered my comrades to fight their way toward me. Helena I ordered to use the second of the two Magic Missile spells stored in her ring of spell storing and target the manticore, however that attack did not come. I felt a cold knot of fear in my stomach at her failure to heed my command, but I had to turn back two of the wererats who sought to catch me unawares. Brey was down, but getting to his feet with the help of Charles, as Brey shook off the blow the manticore had given him to the head. Dimitri and Gerrex were lying still upon the earth and two of our Venetti were down, and I could see Godfrey lying on the ground next to his big wagon, in pain from a pair of arrows lodged in his midsection. I ordered the last two Venetti to fire at the Manticore, and soon black bolts of negative energy hit him and he roared in anger and pain. Amenaruu grabbed the supine Dimitri and Gerrex and dragged them by the collars of their armor. Brey, seeing what the priest was doing, charged the wererats closest to me as Charles ran to face the once approaching from the other side. The two cowardly wererats that had attacked me made the mistake of giving me too much room, and I had just enough time to send a lightning bolt flashing into the chest of the nearest one as he charged. The second one, seeing his companion lying on the ground smoldering, opted to turn and run into the underbrush.
The sound of war cries and the ringing of steel and the skittering, squealing of the wererats sounded loud in the night now. As soon as he could hear, Amenaruu dropped both of his burdens and ripped out the arrows that were still in them without ceremony, but unlike myself, my friends had the benefit of being unconscious. With the offending shafts removed, he knelt and to use his divine magic to heal my friends. Gerrex was off the ground like he had been shot from a catapult, but Dimitri needed Amenaruu's help to gain his feet. Gerrex snarled when he saw his sword was no longer in his hands and I whistled and threw him my cutlass, which he caught deftly by the hilt.
"Help Charles!" I shouted to him and he turned without saying anything and charged the wererats Charles was fighting, with less success than the more experienced Brey, whose magical longsword bit often into fury flesh. On wererat jumped on Brey's exposed back, knocking him forward a couple of steps as his sharp incisor teeth bit deep into Brey's shoulder. Brey let out a gasp of pain, but keeping his senses reached up over his right shoulder with his left hand and grabbing the wererat by the scruff flipped him over his shoulder and onto the ground. Once again the cowardly wererats made the tactical mistake of backing up, and I launched a Fireball Spell behind them, allowing only the edge of the area of effect to overlap onto them. Two of six went down dead, and the others were singed. Brey smiled and threw me a salute before he threw himself forward like a dancer, his magical longsword flashing as he spun and twirled around, cleaving through flesh and bone with ease.
I thought that the tide of battle was turning to our favor when I was slammed forward by the weight of the manticore as it glided in to attack me. The breath was not out of me and I felt several ribs break, but I still rolled over onto my back to see the creature leaping toward me to finish me off. Its dark, evil face was full of hate and fury and pain as came toward me. The look on its face turned to surprise when I kicked it hard in the chest with my good leg. The Girdle of Hill Giant Strength lending the blow greater force than it had expected. I felt a few its ribs crack and I grinned at it. This was the point in which I was to leap to me feet, but I found myself floundering instead. The blow the manticore had struck had done more damage than I originally thought and I coughed up a mouthful of blood. The manticore's face turned triumphant a second before the magical hammer of our priest slammed into it. It hurt to breath but I managed to call out the Arcane words and send the last of my prepared Lightning Bolt spells arcing out to incinerate that evil face.
Those wererats that were attacking died in the next few moments and the rest, maybe a dozen, were now fleeing through the underbrush in all different directions after seeing their champion go down.
Amenaruu turned to me, but I waved him off and pointed to our other fallen comrades and he quickly moved to help them. I lay on the ground as helpless as a kitten. I could do nothing but let my magic ring heal me. Amenaruu, rescued the others and dressed their wounds and used what healing spells he had to bring them back from the edge of death, but unfortunately not enough to heal them completely.
The pain inside me subsided enough for my mind to start working again and I suddenly remembered Helena had not answered my mental call to use her magical ring. I foolishly tried to sit up, which made me cry out and I almost fainted.
"Where is Helena!" I managed to gasp out finally.
Everyone, turned and looked around puzzled.
"She and Chai are missing," Dimitri declared.
