3rd Day of Flocktime, 565 CY
Drachensgrab Hills, The Pomarj

Calm down, Lady Cynewine told herself, trying to ignore the burning sensation in her eyes. Take things one step at a time.

Nesco slowly brought her left foot, which had been frozen in mid-air, down to rest on the same step her right foot was on. Her plan was to slowly turn around to the right so as to be facing upstairs if- when her eyesight returned.

Unfortunately, her foot came down on several small marbles or pebbles or something that the ranger knew hadn't been there before she had tripped the trap. Her ankle twisted, and she toppled over to the left. The ranger's arms pinwheeled in a vain attempt to keep her balance as she began to fall down the stairs. Once again, her shouts were lost in the silence.

Bad first step, she thought.

Someone either caught her, or she slammed into someone- Nesco wasn't sure which. She felt soft robes rather than armor. Cygnus probably, as she remembered their formation. From the way he was pushing against her, it seemed to Lady Cynewine that the wizard still had use of his sight. Her momentum was still pressing them backwards however, and if other hands had not reached into the chaos to steady them, both of them might have gone over.

By the time Nesco was guided, hopping on her right foot, to the bottom landing, the spots had begun to fade from her eyes, and the pain in her ankle was quickly surpassing the pain from the flash bomb.

Suddenly, an armored hand grabbed her left ankle. The unexpected upsurge of agony squeezed out tears from the ranger's eyes, but the pain swiftly faded to a distant discomfort.

Aslan. Bless you, she mouthed. Maybe he could read her lips.

Moving in somewhat less than perfect formation, the party squeezed through the open doorway into the outer courtyard, just as Nesco's vision came back fully. She saw that Zantac, Argo and Talass were all rubbing their eyes, and took a small, if inappropriate pleasure in the knowledge that she had not been the only one affected by the trap.

The trap that you set off. Is this what Sir Damoscene taught you, Lady Cynewine?

Nesco roughly pushed that thought aside. Tojo was back by her side again, his katana sheathed. The samurai's violet eyes, fixed on the dark space from which they had just emerged, darted over to her face. Miraculously, they stayed there, although his expression maintained its standard stone mask.

Well, the ranger thought with a smile that she kept inside, technically, I'm still not speaking to him. She put on a questioning gaze and pointed with her sword towards the doorway.

Tojo looked thoughtful for a moment, and then made a gesture of moving his hands apart that Nesco didn't quite understand. All she could gather was that the entity upstairs, whatever it was, hadn't descended the stairs after them. Perhaps it couldn't, she considered. That might explain the second floor's disuse. The hobgoblins were willing to cede that territory to the spirit.

Nesco felt the cool breeze again on her face. Elrohir and Argo were sheathing their swords and motioning for the others to fall back into formation, facing south. As they did so, Nesco returned her attention to her immediate surroundings, trying to be watchful; trying not to make another mistake.

She and Tojo, being in the rear, were currently standing by the back end of the curtain wall. Nesco glanced up at the weathered, beaten gray stones that ascended to a height of perhaps thirty-five feet. Just to Tojo's right she spotted the wooden ladder that was propped up against the wall. Since the hobgoblins refused to enter the second floor, this provided the humanoids with their only access to and from the ground.

There was a sudden and silent flash of steel. Nesco gasped. Tojo had drawn his katana and apparently swung at the bottom of the ladder with blinding speed. He had apparently missed however, as there was no visible change to the ladder that she could see.

Nesco looked around. The other party members were starting to move off, slowly traveling southeast up the slope that constituted the ground of the outer courtyard. Tojo, his sword sheathed once again, was starting to move as well.

Lady Cynewine was furious. She desperately wanted to repair this rift with Tojo, but the samurai's actions seemed as rash as her own, yet she was certain that Tojo would face no rebukes from his peers. She could understand his desire to take out the ladder, but she knew the hobgoblins on the third floor would notice instantly, and being well out of their silence field, would raise the alarm at once. It was a foolish tactical move, and Nesco gritted her teeth at the realization that she was just going to have to swallow her pride and ignore it. She could think of no scenario of her informing the others that didn't end with even more scorn of her allies heaped upon her.

I just want to fit in, she thought. Why is that so hard?

The ambient light dimmed as Luna joined her smaller cousin Celene behind a cloud. Now, only faint starlight illuminated the gatehouse which lay about forty feet in front of them, stretching from one wall of the stockade to the other. The portcullis, situated in the center of the gatehouse, was a darker arch set in the midst of the stone walls. As they slowly and silently approached their goal, Cynewine could make out faint, moving patches of light that indicated torches carried by hobgoblins. They were atop the two gatehouse towers of course, but light also squeezed out through arrow slits in the second and third floors. The whole building was probably crawling with the foul beasts, Nesco realized.

Nesco had not fought many hobgoblins in her time in the Vesve, but she knew they tended to be more militaristic and better disciplined than the orcs and gnolls that they had encountered in Highport. If the alarm was raised, things could get very ugly, very quickly.

The portcullis showed as a dark archway set in the center of the gatehouse. As the party approached, Nesco could see that the iron gate itself, set in the middle of the twenty foot-long passageway, was not completely lowered. About two feet separated the pointed spears of the bars from the ground. Stones had apparently broken off from the adjacent walls and lodged in the gate track, preventing the portcullis from going any lower.

Elrohir and Aslan lay down on the rough stone floor that ran the length of the passage and began to inch their way under the portcullis. She watched them push themselves halfway underneath with their feet, then raise their upper bodies a few inches, lower their legs and use their elbows to inch themselves back the rest of the way. It seemed to Nesco to take forever, although she knew that the pair were actually moving fairly quickly, considering the plate mail both were wearing.

The ranger glanced about uneasily as Argo and Talass began their crawl under the gate. They kept their arms over their heads and let Aslan and Elrohir grab them and pull them back. Nesco glanced back again at the curtain wall. She heard Argo curse as his plate mail caught on one of the gate's spearpoints and wished he would be more careful. The sound of metal armor grating across the rough stone floor was bad enough. If they were heard-

Wait a minute. Heard?

The silence spell had expired. Nesco watched as Talass, just being helped up to her feet by her husband, addressed him quietly. "I've got one, Elrohir, if you want it. It should be enough to get us past the inner courtyard and into the fort itself."

The party leader frowned, considering.

"Hold off, dearest. At this point, I think we're more likely to be seen than heard. We may need it as part of a quick exit."

The cleric nodded acknowledgement as Argo finally got to his feet. Cygnus and Zantac were already being pulled under the gate.

Nesco and Tojo awaited their turn. Lady Cynewine noted the murder holes on the passage roof. A steady light- a lantern, probably- came from within, but so far there had been no sign that they had been detected. She could hear no voices. All of a sudden she realized that if there had been any hobgoblins near those murder holes, they would have been engulfed in the silence spell and immediately realized something was up. Weak with sudden relief, she silently mouthed a prayer of gratitude to Zeus.

Now she and Tojo were on their backs, keeping their legs straight and their arms overhead. Nesco glanced over to her right as they went under. She assumed that Tojo might find this position demeaning somehow, but the samurai looked neither at Nesco nor at Zantac, who was huffing and puffing with the exertion to pull him through. He merely stared up at the passage roof above him.

Cygnus however, grinned as he pulled Nesco to her feet.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he said as he let go of her arms. Embarrassed but trying to hide it, she smiled back at him.

Soon, the party was back in formation and heading across the parade grounds. Since they were now on level ground instead clambering up a twenty-five degree slope, their progress was easier, although they were moving slowly in an attempt to minimize the clanking of three suits of plate mail.

Nesco kept glancing around. Any moment, she expected to hear the harsh shout of a hobgoblin voice split the still night air.

An archway in the stone facade of the fort lay fifty feet directly in front of them. The ground here was earth, packed hard by the footwear of drilling soldiers in ages past, once humans and now- others.

A light breeze blew small spirals of dust.

Since she was part of the rear guard, Nesco looked constantly behind her as the party slowly moved towards their goal. Luna, coming out again from behind her cloud mantle, showed her that the two guard towers of the gatehouse protruded about ten feet out from the gatehouse wall. She could see no doors on either tower, and assumed they were located on the wall sections that faced the outer walls of the stockade. The bales of hay and pitchforks adjacent to the western tower added to the evidence of her own nose that the stables were located there.

There was still no activity coming from the upper floors of the gatehouse.

She glanced ahead again. The fort itself, save for the guard tower located further back, was a one-story affair. Through the archway, grey in the moonlight, could be seen the dim silhouettes of the trees and bushes inside the inner courtyard. A wooden catwalk served as a roof for the perimeter of the courtyard, running level with the stone roof of the fort. Once they were into the garden, Nesco thought, they'd be out of sight of anyone in the gatehouse.

Lord Zeus, she prayed. Keep us unseen. Let us get inside before-

The harsh shout of a hobgoblin voice split the still night air.

Once too often to the well, eh? Nesco thought grimly, as she turned to the rear again.

The first hobgoblin she had seen in years was in fact a boy. He was about her height, but little else could be determined in this light and distance. He wore no armor, only what looked like it might be a leather shirt and crude trousers. A sword hung in a scabbard from a belt on his hip, but the youth was in no condition to draw it. Even as he pointed at the party with his right hand and yelled, his left hand was busy holding onto the reins of the draft horse he had just brought out of the stables. The steed, startled by the boy's scream, was trying to rear.

Other unidentifiable shouts were now coming from above and behind them. Somewhere, a familiar high-pitched keening wiped away the last trace of silence from the night.

Elrohir turned his head. "Run!" he shouted and made a break for the archway.

"A leader by example. I like that!" quipped Argo.

The party bolted ahead. Two arrows thunked into the ground behind Nesco as she and Tojo joined the others inside the inner courtyard.

It was large, running perhaps ninety feet ahead of them and sixty feet wide. Small trees, shrubs and vines dotted the area, although the central twenty feet were cleared, except for a large circular stone fountain situated about halfway down its length. Two larger trees grew to either side towards the south end, their leafy branches and associated vines intertwining with the wooden catwalk above.

Fireflies, unconcerned with the urgency of the party, floated lazily amidst the greenery. Cicadas loudly proclaimed their presence in the trees.

"Stay in formation!" Elrohir shouted as the party, still at a run, approached the fountain. "Split the line!"

He, Argo, Cygnus and Nesco skirted the fountain to the east, the others to the west. The basin was filled with algae-coated water, but no water was flowing from the statue itself, an unidentified human woman holding a tipping bucket.

"We'll have the advantage in close quarters, once we get inside!"

Nesco wasn't quite convinced of her party leader's opinion, but no one else raised any objections, and she certainly didn't want to start up anything at this time, so she concentrated on moving. Her right hand ached to hold a weapon.

As the group came together again past the fountain, an odd noise came to their ears. It was just another hobgoblin's voice, but rather than the rough shouts of the others, this one was a wordless scream that lasted for a few seconds before abruptly ending with a crashing sound.

Nesco turned to her head to eye Tojo as they continued to run. I don't believe this, she thought, trying to decide whether to take the chance or not.

She decided to go for it.

"Their ladder defective?" she asked Tojo, trying to keep her breath.

The samurai seemed not to give this too much consideration. "Noticed hairrine crack in reg," he said simply.

Right after you put it there, Lady Cynewine thought to herself, shaking her head.

The column came to a halt as Elrohir and Aslan pulled up in front of the door at the southern end of the courtyard.

There was a sudden rumbling sound. Running footsteps above them and further south but getting closer.

Aslan whirled around. "They must be coming from the guard tower! Weapons!" the paladin called out as he pulled his sword from his sheath. Nesco readied her bow while Argo and Tojo drew their swords. Talass gripped her warhammer tightly.

Elrohir didn't stop trying to push the door open until Aslan pointed out the well-made lock. The party leader groaned in frustration, then shot a look at his two wizards.

"Tell me one of you can open this!"

"What would you do without me?" Cygnus muttered as he moved up to the door. At just about that point, four hobgoblins ran onto the catwalk and jumped off into the garden, in front of the fountain.

It wasn't the most brilliant of moves. Even for a hobgoblin, a twelve-foot drop was nothing to be taken lightly, and none of these showed any special acrobatic ability. Nesco winced in sympathy pain as she heard the loud snap of one ankle breaking. Although the other three humanoids managed to remain upright, the impact jarred them for a moment.

That was all the party needed. Although Elrohir stayed back to cover Cygnus, the others broke formation and spread out to engage their enemies. From a mere ten feet away, Nesco's arrow punched right through the neck of one hobgoblin before he could maneuver his shield into position. Aslan and Argo quickly took out the other two. Talass showed no compunctions about dispatching the hobgoblin writhing on the ground.

"Look out!" Zantac cried out, then screamed in pain.

Nesco whirled. A hobgoblin on the catwalk, half-hidden by the tree on the west side, hurled something at the ranger that looked like a coiled up bundle of rope.

Again, things seemed to be moving in slow motion. Nesco watched as four metallic weights pulled out from the rope bundle and began spinning. The net unfurled and rotated in mid-flight. At the last moment, Lady Cynewine tried to dodge, but she knew it wasn't going to be-

Tojo's battle cry reverberated off her ears. The samurai, holding his katana with the sharpened edge upwards (the reverse of his normal grip) jumped in front of Nesco and sliced upwards and outwards. The sword's keen edge sliced through nearly half the net before becoming entangled in the rest. Unruffled, Tojo merely continued the swing, the blade arcing directly over his head and then ending up pointing directly behind him. The remains of the net flew off.

Two more hobgoblins, using the eastern tree for cover, were raining down arrows on them. Zantac pulled a shaft out of his side and staggered to the door, the hand not gripping his quarterstaff pressing down on the wound that was already staining his fire-red robes a darker shade of crimson.

"Damn it!" he screamed at his fellow mage. "What the hell kind of a knock spell are they teaching on Aarde? What does it do- send out for a locksmith? Hurry up!"

Click.

As Elrohir pushed the door open, Cygnus whirled around and grabbed the Willip wizard. "All large targets in first!" he yelled, and then pushed Zantac inside. Cygnus didn't have time to actually look inside and trusted that Elrohir would have shouted out a warning if there had been more hobgoblins standing there waiting.

The net-hurling hobgoblin had ducked behind the tree and was now drawing his bow. He was now joined by a compatriot, while the other two on the opposite side continued to fire at the humans.

For their part, the party was now backing towards the doors. Nesco fired off an occasional shot, but her attention was focused mainly on avoiding incoming fire, and none of her own arrows drew blood.

Elrohir had now herded Cygnus through the door, discouraging his friend's insistance on casting another spell.

"Listen!" he yelled.

Cygnus couldn't hear anything above the din of battle. But he felt the trembling through the ground.

Although the fountain blocked his line of sight, the magic-user knew that there were more hobgoblins coming from the north. From the gatehouse.

Lots of them.

"You twisted my arm." Cygnus gave the ranger a weak smile, and then bolted indoors. Elrohir followed, while shouting at the others, "Argo! Aslan! The rest of you, come on!"

"What's all this running?" Harve yelled out suddenly. "You call yourselves warriors? I've hardly tasted blood yet! Let's dance!"

"Argo!" Aslan shouted. "Shut your sword or I swear to Odin, I'm polymorphing into a rust monster!"

"Tactical retreat! You heard the man, Bigfellow! Less lip and more legwork!"

Bigfellow gave the paladin a wide grin as the ranger resheathed his sword back in its scabbard. The two reached the door, Aslan raising his shield at the last moment to block an incoming missile.

"Nesco! Tojo!" he yelled. "Hurry!"

Lady Cynewine would have dearly loved to move faster but she and Tojo, as the archer's sole targets now, were spending so much time on avoiding incoming missile fire that they were making no headway backing towards the door.

The ranger could now see the hobgoblins charging across the parade grounds. Twenty strong at least.

Time to do something unexpected, Nesco thought.

She glanced over at Tojo, her eyes widening in surprise as the samurai batted away an arrow with his katana.

I didn't know he could do that. I wonder if he could teach me. Cynewine then threw that thought aside for now, took a deep breath and then spoke just loudly enough for her battle partner to hear.

"Tojo," she said. "Follow me."

And she took off running. North, towards the fountain and away from the door.

Nesco knew without looking that Tojo was right behind her. She knew that his samurai honor wouldn't permit him to leave her alone, even if he was probably wrong about her ultimate intentions. She could only hope that she wasn't manipulating him to his death.

The archers' latest volley, intending to keep the duo from the door, landed wide. By the time they reloaded, the two humans were out of sight behind the fountain.

They quickly reappeared on the opposite side however, now breaking out into a dead run for the door.

Nesco, the lead figure, drew all four arrows. She was keeping her arms and legs pumping, trying to keep her limbs from becoming targets. The ranger cried out as felt the missiles strike. She couldn't tell where, how many, or how deep. Adrenaline kept her running. She could see Argo standing just inside the door, yelling at them, although she couldn't hear him.

A sudden sharp pain ran up from Nesco's right calf just as she reached the door. She didn't know if she just been hit again or what, but for some reason this made her very, very angry. She had been holding her bow and an arrow all this time, unable to fire. Now, Lady Cynewine pulled up just short of the door. The arrow was already slipping onto the bowstring as she whirled, and it was already in flight by the time her eyes registered where the hobgoblin was that had just shot her. Tojo was so close behind her that the samurai instinctively ducked to avoid the arrow's flight path, his momentum carrying him past her and through the doorway.

The hobgoblin cried out, dropping his bow. He clutched feebly for a moment at the arrow sticking out of his heart, then toppled off the catwalk, landing with a thud on the grass below.

The mass of charging hobgoblins was now pouring around the fountain.

Bigfellow reached out and pulled Nesco inside as the door closed.

She never thought a simple click could sound so wonderful...

Nesco expected a reproach, but her fellow ranger merely smiled at her. "Foolish, but damn impressive, Lady Cynewine!" Argo said as he slapped her on the back.

"Mostly foolish," Aslan said as he laid his hands on her shoulder. Thankfully, the worst of the pain from her injuries faded away before her battle rush did. Her guilt returned as she realized that Aslan had to use some of his precious healing on her. Still, they were all together again, and even Aslan's scowl couldn't completely hide his relief at that fact.

She looked around. They were in a ten-foot wide corridor, but it was oriented east-west. Harve and Gokasillion shed some light, and the tip of Zantac's staff glowed from a temporary light cantrip, but it was still difficult to see very far. The corridor faded into darkness at both ends.

The door abruptly shuddered under an assault. It looked fairly new, made of thick planks with iron banding, but it was clear that the hobgoblins outside were not going to wait for whoever had the key to arrive.

"Back in formation, people! Quickly now! Back in formation!" Aslan barked out as the party, with some grumbling, squeezed and shoved past each other to get into their assigned spots again. Elrohir had ordered them to face east.

I hope this is the right way to go, Nesco thought, eyeing the door shaking and chipping . There would be no mysterious and timely wizard locks this time. It probably wouldn't last much past a minute or so.

Like a cart behind a relunctant horse, with fits and starts the party slowly began to move forward. Nesco suddenly realized that if- no, when the hobgoblins broke through, she and Tojo were going to be the front line again.

She glanced over to her right, wondering if Tojo had also realized that fact, only to see the samurai's violet eyes already upon her.

His brief smile was even better than the click.