Balls of Fire
Stephanie hadn't seen the assassin cast his finger of death spell.
Before she knew it, the cleric had tripped over one of the zombie's broken limbs, falling on her face. She could hear Avenger laughing in triumph from a few feet away, but her eyes looked up, seeing the zombie in front of her fall to pieces. The priestess decided it would be smart if she kept still while the battle for the moment.
"Perhaps those priestess of that pathetic goddess Kiaransalee will bring her back as a skeleton to wash their linens," laughed the demonic blade, as he slowly walked towards the battle.
Filled with rage at the apparent death of her younger sister, Aliyah cried in anger, her scimitars ripping through the zombies that flanked her. The ranger then set her sights on the Avenger.
Aliyah ran up to the assassin, whipping her scimitars in a fury, but Avenger was quick, parrying both the ranger's blades. "Dirty human," the sword spat, slapping its cold steel against the ranger's jaw, then made a cut along her shoulder.
She didn't know what was worse, the sting of the wound in her shoulder, or the irritating soreness in her jaw. Aliyah was ready to attack again, but she stopped, watching as Deidra jumped onto the assassin's back.
The elf's mouth let out a frustrating scream as Deidra wrapped her legs around the front of his waist. Grabbing her daggers, Deidra began repeatedly stabbing the assassin in the shoulders. The ranger used this opportunity to bring both scimitars in an X formation, then thrust the edge of their blades into the elf's chest, just high enough where she wouldn't cut Deidra's legs.
The cleric slowly stood up, watching as Deidra stayed clung on the elf's back, and Aliyah attacking the front. We need to attack the sword she thought as she pulled Azrael up, and the blue flame wrapped around the blade. She looked up, seeing three zombies starting to walk towards her sister, the halfling and the assassin, but they didn't notice Stephanie standing up behind them.
Stephanie sighed, as she looked up at the walking corpses. She almost felt sorry for them.
The Avenger continued to command the elf body to twist and turn itself, in hopes of throwing the nuisance of a halfling from its back, but Deidra wouldn't let up. The halfling ceased her stabbing for a moment, then reached into the left pant pocket of the elf. She felt something what she guessed was a rock, and pulled it from the pocket. In her hand, Deidra saw she held a bright blue sapphire.
The sword let out a blood curdling scream, paralyzing Aliyah. Noticing the halfling loosen her legs a little, Avenger commanded the elf's body to back up hard against a tree. The impact from the tree caused Deidra to fall from the elf's back, but she smiled as the sapphire was still in her grasp, but her smile quickly disappeared as she saw the elf facing her, ready to attack.
"Now you die!" cried Avenger as it came down within inches of the halfling's neck. He was often curious what the blood of the halfling tasted like, and it seemed his curiosity would be fulfilled, his thirst quenched.
The sword impacted with something hard. Instead of striking the halfling's smooth slender neck, Avenger found the edge of his blade on solid stone.
Realizing what he had done, the enchanted sword let out a horrible screech that caused Aliyah to drop her weapons and Deidra to drop the cracked sapphire. "Elisondar will destroy me for this," cried Avenger," Lolth will forsake me and leave me on this cold earth."
"I would stop worrying about what Lolth and Elisondar would do, and what I'm doing to do to you for trying to kill me," Stephanie said coldly, as she stepped closer to the assassin.
"But...I..." the elf's body slowly lowered the sword. Avenger was baffled how the cleric could survive a powerful spell like the finger of death.
"Looks like not all elves don't have good aim," laughed the cleric as she held Azrael, the sword's flame raging as it pointed at Avenger. The sword said something that Stephanie, nor Aliyah or Deidra could understand, but the glow of Azrael's flame seemed to burn brighter, as if he knew the demonic sword.
Whether or not Azrael or The Avenger knew one another in a different time was unimportant at the moment. Stephanie ran forward, slashing the flaming Azrael at the assassin's midsection.
The elf's body sidestepped the attack, then brought Avenger down, cutting through Stephanie's armor, almost hitting her left breast.
"This was my favorite breastplate," cried Stephanie as she quickly turned and thrusted her sword in the elf's chest cavity. The cleric could hear the sound of ribs breaking, but the elf gave no notion of pain.
The lifeless elf pulled away from Stephanie. The body's mouth made a growl once the cleric's sword was out of his chest. It quickly raised The Avenger with both hands, and jumped in the air, bringing the demonic blade's wrath down upon Stephanie.
Reckless and foolish, thought Stephanie as the elf jumped in the air. In one quick swing with Azrael, Stephanie brought her blade across Avenger, breaking both the demonic sword and the elf's body in half.
The Avenger gave one last blood curdling scream as both pieces landed on the ground, and the broken body of the elf fell right next to it.
Stephanie watched the broken sword, then looked at Azrael as its glowing blue flame dwindled until it was just a normal blade once more. The cleric looked to her left, seeing Aliyah and Deidra gather their weapons. The halfling seemed to be fine, but Aliyah began to look around her, as if she was looking for something. "Where are the zombies?" she asked, looking at her sister.
"I destroyed them before I took care of our friend here," the cleric answered calmly, sheathing Azrael. "Do you think he has the phylactery on him?" she asked.
"I think its right here," Deidra answered, walking towards the sisters. In her hands, the halfling held the big blue sapphire. The large crack that had been made by the once powerful sword Avenger, continued to spread all over the gem, until it broke apart in Deidra's hands.
"Its a shame, I wondered what it was worth?" Aliyah asked, looking at the small pieces the sapphire had now become.
"I would hate to see Jepetto's expression when we tell him we turned the phylactery to dust," Deidra remarked. "Oh heavens, I would so like to examine it," the halfling said, mimicking the deep gnome's voice and mannerisms.
"Well he's probably getting an up close and personal look at the dracolich with Shadimir," added Aliyah," If makes it out of there alive, we'll never hear the end of it."
The cleric's eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips. She had completely forgotten about Shadimir, Taralona, and Jepetto, who were probably engaged in the battle of their lives against a creature of death.
What if he's dead, she thought. No I would know if Shadimir was dead.
Aliyah looked over, watching as Stephanie's lips shut and her eyes looking in the distance. The temperature began to drop slowly, but Stephanie made no move to cover herself.
"Stephanie, are you alright?" asked Aliyah, huddling herself in her leaf green cloak.
The cleric didn't answer her sister. She was saying a silent prayer, that Aliyah wouldn't have been able to understand.
The first thing Elisondar did before his sister flew into attack him was call forth a small group of skeletons from the ground. "This should keep Durnan busy while you and I settle our dispute sister," the dracolich bellowed as his small group of skeletons advanced towards Shadimir and his svirfneblin companion. Elisondar jumped in the air, ready to face his older sister.
"Well Durnan, what do you suggest we do about the skeletons?" asked a frightened Jepetto, who kept his head low as the two dragons battled above them.
"I don't know Mirt," answered the silver haired hunter sarcastically," Why don't you call your friends in Waterdeep to come help us, while the Blackstaff fights the dracolich. The hunter ran forward, and Jepetto watched in awe as Shadimir easily dispatched of the skeletons. "Well he is an undead hunter," the gnome muttered to out loud, searching for his wands," it only fitting his weapons destroy undead with ease. His daughter could probably kill skeletons."
Barely above the heads of the deep gnome and the undead hunter, Elisondar and Taralona's battle had turned brutal.
Taralona's thick talons raked hard across Elisondar's ribcage. The dracolich didn't pretend to hurt, but his soft cries of pain were replaced by roars of anger. He grinned wickedly as he shot a line of lightning from his mouth towards his sister.
The large blue dragon took the full force of lightning in the face. The small sparks blinded her for the moment, but she charged forward, her thick head bashing in her brother's side.
Taralona's horn scratched up Elisondar's bony jaw, but her force knocked the dracolich to the ground. Elisondar shook his head, and looked up at his sister. He had been underestimated her in this fight of theirs.
As Shadimir continued to dispatch of the skeletons, Jepetto fumbled around his wands, finding a scroll. He looked up at Elisondar, who was preoccupied with his large sister at the moment. "Moonlight Moonbright," the gnome read from the scroll, not really understanding what it meant, but then watched as a large cone of white fire leapt from the scroll and shot at the dracolich.
Elisondar roared in pain as the white fire burned the outside of his bones. As the flames ceased, his large skull looked down, seeing the small grey skinned gnome wearing goggles and holding a scroll. "Your spectacles will make a fine addition to my hoard, as will your skull," the dracolich lunged at Jepetto, who was suddenly overcome with fear. Taralona and Shadimir both ran at the dracolich to save their friend.
Making it there a few seconds before the undead hunter, Taralona dug both her sharp talons into her brother's bone body, ripping the marrow and breaking a few joints.
Shadimir rolled to the dracolich's side, jumping up and driving his mace into Elisondar's back leg, then followed it with his right hand bringing Gabriel on the same spot, but before he could finish the attack, the silver haired hunter was knocked to the ground by the dracolich's bony tail.
Taralona shifted back to her human form, running to Jepetto. "Jepetto, snap out of it," she pleaded, trying to bring the gnome to his senses.
"What's wrong sister. Your little friend seems to be a bit...shaken," laughed Elisondar just before he took a deep breath.
Taralona knew Elisondar's breath would be very hurtful, and though she knew she could take all the damage from the blast, she didn't think Jepetto could withstand it.
"Shadimir would understand," she said quietly, then she chanted a spell of her own.
Elisondar unleashed his lightning in fury, engulfing his sister and the gnome. The dracolich bellowed in triumph, as the lightning cleared and his victims were gone. "Now that they're gone I can rest, but I feel like I'm forget...," he stopped as a bright red flame was coming towards him. Turning his head, Elisondar saw a fireball the size of his skull coming at him with incredible speed.
The fireball impacted with Elisondar's face, the flames wrapping around his body. The dracolich shook off the flames, his anger rising as he saw his bones go from a shade of green to a crisp brown. "My beautiful skeletal frame, I'm..," the dracolich's cry was ceased as another fireball, larger than the last, impacted with his face.
Shaking off the flames, Elisondar looked down where the fireball had come from, seeing the young man holding a wand. The man waved the wand again, but no fire came out. "Looks like you're out of charges Durnan, and now I'm going to send you back to Waterdeep in a tinderbox.
Shadimir saw the dracolich running at him. Like so many times, the undead hunter was ready to embrace death. With both weapons drawn, Shadimir was going to die fighting.
As Elisondar came closer, the undead hunter heard the ground break from beneath him. Shadimir's eyes peeked down, seeing a pair of dark slender hands burst from the ground, and grasp his ankles tightly.
A warm feeling began to flow in Shadimir's body, from his ankles, to his stomach, all the way to his hands. Shadimir had no control over his body as he felt his fingers build up a mass amount of burning energy.
After what seemed like an eternity, but really only a few seconds, the silver haired hunter felt the hot burning energy leave his hands, and silver fire sprouted from his fingers and shot at the dracolich, instantly covering Elisondar in its silver flames. The silver fire stopped Elisondar in its tracks, and the dracolich howled as the flames blinded his eyes.
Strike him down, strike him hard said a cool calm voice in the hunter's mind.
Without thinking, Shadimir ran forward, slashing both his enchanted weapons at the dracolich, not once, not twice, but three times, each attack more . Elisondar wanted to strike back at the man, to rip open the chest of the mighty Durnan, but his eyesight was blinded by the flames.
Shadimir gave one final slash with his sword Gabriel, finally bringing Elisondar's skeletal form to the ground. "You've beat me Durnan," Elisondar spat," My soul gem is destroyed..."
The silver haired hunter couldn't hear what Elisondar's last words, for it wasn't a beaten dracolich Shadimir was looking at, but a healthy, ambitious, stubborn blue dragon, with a thirst for power.
Shadimir sighed as he circled the dracolich once, checking for any signs of movement. He got down on a knee and quietly said a prayer to Kelemvor to guide the dragon's soul to whatever god he worshipped in life.
"Why are dragons from the Moonsea always so talkative," said a voice that sounded like the one speaking to him a few moments ago.
"They live near Zhentil Keep," answered Shadimir," and you know how chatty they can be." The silver haired hunter rose from his position and turned to see standing before him, a beautiful drow elf. She had long white hair, and wore dark robes to the goddess Eilistaree. "You were the one, who spoke to me, and channeled her energy through me."
The drow elf nodded," Yes, but I didn't' think silver fire would spout from your hands, I was intending it to be moon fire, which reminds me, your gnome friend owes me a wand."
"I'm sure he'll be able to fix it," the hunter smiled," I'm Shadimir," he said with a bow.
"You mean you're not Durnan," giggled the drow priestess," I'm joking, I know who you are. My sister Alustriel talks of you."
Shadimir laughed and thought of The Shining Lady of Silverymoon. "Well if she speaks of someone who takes poorly hair of his hair, then that would be me."
The drow laughed, then retrieved Shadimir's brimmed hat from a few feet away. "I am Quile Veladorn, by the way. I didn't know if you had figured it from the robes of Eilistaree and the way I spoke of Alustriel being my sister."
Shadimir had heard of Quile Veladorn, the youngest of the Seven Sisters. Like Alustriel, Quile was a chosen of Mystra and had the power to wield silver fire. "Was this your temple Elisondar destroyed," asked Shadimir, looking at the pile of rubble a few feet from him and Quile.
"It was a new temple for both Eilistaree and Selune," sighed Quile," I am saddened that the priests and priestess will have to rebuild, but at least they made it out safe."
"Were you going to run the temple?" Shadimir asked curiously. "For while," the priestess answered," until an old friend of mine from Waterdeep comes to run it. You've may of heard of him, Delbert Riffle of Selune."
Shadimir shook his head, unfamiliar of the name. "My mother and my lady Stephanie are really the only two priestess I know. I'm not much of a religious man.
"But you do serve Kelemvor, and Mystra," smiled Quile.
"Aye I do," answered Shadimir," but I do find myself praying to Tymora from time to time, though I think everyone finds themselves praying for luck to get them out of a life or death situation."
Both drow and human laughed for a moment. "I can see why my sister thinks highly of you. But now we must celebrate your victory."
"Well, we are having a celebration for the Feast of the Moon Festival," Shadimir stopped as Quile held her hand and was shaking her head.
"Actually, I was thinking more of dancing," Quile answered, starting to take off her robes. Embarrassed, Shadimir quickly turned away as Quile appeared to be changing.
He then remembered how priestess of Eilistaree liked to dance naked in the moonlight. Turning his head he saw Quile in all her glory, her arms crossed. "I'm not going to wait all night Shadimir," she giggled.
Shadimir sighed as he began to remove his coat and armor. He began to wonder what Stephanie and the others would think if they knew he was going to dance naked with a dark elf of magnificent beauty such as Quile Veladorn.