Chapter 5
When Shadimir finally went to sleep, he dreamed that he was standing inside of a dark room. The room itself was cold and the walls were covered with images of large grey spiders. Sitting on an altar that was in front of him was a stone bust of the drow goddess Lolth.
Shadimir turned away from the bust, but he somehow felt drawn to it, like it was calling him.
He slowly reached out and grabbed the bust and looked into the statue's eyes. The eyes of the drow goddess were full of sadness.
This is a dream, he told himself. Lolth would never show pity for a human, especially a male human.
But Lolth's eyes did show pity, and warm salty tears began to flow from her eyes.
Shadimir placed the bust back on the altar, then began to examine the walls, looking for an exit.
Then a drow female appeared, standing behind the altar with a dagger in one hand.
She looks familiar, he said to himself.
His instincts told him to grab his weapons, but instead he grabbed the statue from the altar, and held it close, as if protecting a child from danger.
"Your very existence offends me," the drow female said in a sultry, yet cold voice.
Just as the drow finished her sentence, a loud scream came from the Lolth's bust. Two very large skeletal hands emerged from the floor and seized Shadimir's legs, pulling him into the ground.
The drow female walked forward, her eyes filled with malice. "Look at my face hunter, for it is will be I who will take your soul to the goddess. Look at me!"
He looked at her all right. She was dressed in black armor that bore a silver spider on the chest. Shadimir would have placed her as a priestess of Lolth, but he noticed the large diagonal crack that went through the spider.
Shadimir felt himself going deeper into the ground. He tried to struggle free, but it was no use. Then everything started to go black.
The last thing Shadimir remembered from his dream, was the loud piercing cream that came from the statue of Lolth before it shattered in his hands.
Then Shadimir woke up with a loud scream of his own.
Early next morning, the children were safely taken to Hill Top. Some of the children had complained about being woken early, but Lorlei had told them they could sleep once they got to where they were going.
The day before, Jepetto had given Ansil a small cube that would grow into a fortress, should they need to defend themselves.
Both Ansil and Hansil wanted to fight with the townspeople, but the twins knew that watching over the children was just as important as fighting the Wolves. Maybe even more.
Back in Jalanthar, the warriors of Arident Legion placed themselves at the town's borders. The wooden dolls were in place, scattered in a small open area. Jepetto and his group of wandslingers (a term made up by Deidra) positioned themselves on the roofs of buildings above the open area.
Shadimir, Aliyah, Deidra, Ophila, Dove, and rest of the townspeople who chose to bare weapons, were strapping on their armor, and getting ready.
Dove Falconhand smiled at Aliyah, who was lacing up her boots. "Shall we make a wager Aliyah? Whoever gets the most kills wins?"
"Sure, but what does the winner get?" Aliyah asked. "One hundred gold pieces?"
Dove thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "I was thinking that if I won, I get a kiss from your brother in law."
Aliyah smirked," Sounds fair. But if I win, you have to give me the most powerful weapon you own."
"I don't own a scimitar," Dove answered, raising an eyebrow," but I'm sure we can work something out. May the best woman win."
Aliyah threw Shadimir a wink. "Don't worry, I intend to."
Shadimir laughed as Dove walked over to Aliyah, and the two shook hands. He tried to forget about the nightmare he had the night before, focusing on the battle at hand.
The loud horns sounded from the gates, which meant the Wolves were coming. Shadimir watched as the Wolves approached the gates. They were just as Storn had described them.
They were large riders in grey armor, some of them rode grey horses. Green cloaks that looked as if they were hundreds of years old covered the top of their heads. Their facemasks reminded Shadimir of a hungry wolf, ready to pounce on it's prey. When Shadimir drew his weapons, Gabriel gave off a soft vibration as he grasp the bastard sword's handle. He realized that the Wolves were undead.
Sounds of swords clanging and men screaming filled the air. Shadimir looked ahead, counting fifty Wolves coming at his group. Aliyah's scimitar's snapped forward as she charged the first Wolf, who happened to be riding on a steed.
The Wolf drew it's sword and slashed at the blond haired ranger but missed. Aliyah reached up and sliced both scimitars across the Wolf's chest, knocking it off the grey mount.
Aliyah quickly jumped on the horse and chased after the closest Wolf.
Dove Falconhand, who had watched Aliyah get her first kill, took one two of the Wolves. She slashed her sword through the chest, then cleaved through the next one. "That's two for me!" she yelled.
Deidra rolled behind Dove, slashing her daggers across the knees of one of the Wolves. The halfling moved her hand forward, finishing the Wolf with a well placed stab to it's throat. The next Wolf came at her, but she quickly moved behind it, sticking both daggers deeply into the Wolf's back.
Ophila began chanted a spell, channeling her energy with nature. In seconds, large balls of hail rained from the sky, hitting seven of the Wolves. Two of the Wolves were down, but the remaining five moved forward, as if the ice storm had little affect.
"Why didn't it work?" she asked.
Shadimir moved in front of her, thrusting Gabriel into the Wolf's chest, then bashed it's skull with his mace. "The Wolves are undead," he cried as he turned left, parrying a Wolf's sword, and countered it by slashing it deeply into it's chest. Elros jumped at his master's side, his large claws slashing deeply into a Wolf's midsection.
One of the Wolves slashed Elros in his side. The snow tiger let out a soft cry, which caused Shadimir to slam his mace into the Wolf's exposed throat. Ophila drew her maul and finished the Wolf that had attacked Elros. Then she stepped forward to attack the next Wolf she saw.
"I hope they're all right," Jepetto muttered as he watched a pack of twenty Wolves coming towards the wooden dolls.
Marlene drew her wand and placed on a pair of goggles. "I'm sure they're fine Jepetto." She watched as the Wolves grabbed several wooden dolls. "Ready?"
Jepetto nodded and looked over at Damon and his wife Eliza, who aimed their wands down at the Wolves. The deep gnome knew that they were thinking of their baby they had lost.
As soon as Jepetto called out to his team to fire, ten magic missiles shot out from their wands, flying directly at their targets.
The moment those magic missiles hit the wooden dolls, the wooden dolls exploded, filling the air with a medium sized balls of fire.
Many of the Wolves cried out as their bodies were destroyed in the blast.
Through his goggles, Jepetto saw very little damage on the buildings. He noticed that two of the Wolves had survived and were carrying a mannequin in their arms.
"Great job everyone," smiled Jepetto, seeing no Wolves coming back towards them. He hoped that Shadimir had the same success that he did.
Aliyah, whose kills had reached twenty, watched as Dove finished off two more Wolves. Dove Falconhand's count had now reached twenty-seven.
She scanned the area for more Wolves to fight, but they were all taken by local farmers and rangers. She was impressed on how the townspeople were working together. Aliyah thought about going after the Wolves that had gotten passed her, but she had heard the explosions.
Then her left eye twitched, spotting two Wolves riding towards a larger group of nine other Wolves who had just killed a young acolyte of the temple. At first she thought she saw the Wolves carrying a child, but then realized that it was one of Jepetto's wooden dolls.
Aliyah drew a dagger from her boot and threw it at the mannequin, causing it to explode and killing eight of the nine Wolves. She then rode forward to finish off the last one.
Deidra, Ophila, Shadimir, and Elros followed a small group of Wolves into a house where Storn Cormmanth and two rangers were fighting for their lives.
Elros jumped forward, his sharp claws raking across a Wolf's throat. The snow cat growled and slumped to the floor. The pain from the wound in his side was too much to bare.
Shadimir finished off the foe Elros attacked, then stepped left, slashing Gabriel through another Wolf's face.
Ophila swung her maul hard, breaking one of the Wolf's ribcage. Deidra finished the undead creature by stabbing it with both of her daggers.
Shadimir sliced Gabriel into the remaining Wolf's side, then bashed the mace into the it's chest.
Shadimir looked at Storn, seeing the large blood stain on the elder's armor. "Don't move Elder Cormmanth," the undead hunter said as Ophila began chanting a healing spell. Shadimir went over to Elros, who had a nasty cut in his side.
Being a ranger, Shadimir could cast spells similar to a druid.
The hunter began channeling healing energy from nature. He felt the flow nature's energy flow through him as the magic began to heal Elros. The snow tiger licked his master's face and smiled.
Deidra looked outside, her eyes widening in excitement. "It looks like the Wolves almost defeated!"
Elder Storn Cormmanth smiled," Then it's over."
Shadimir shook his head. "Not yet. You said that the Wolves take the children to the Nether Mountains."
Elder Storn nodded his head. "Yes, but we don't know where exactly."
"I saw it's time we found out," Shadimir said calmly," Aliyah and Dove can finish the Wolves with the townspeople's help. I think it's about time find out where these Wolves came from."