Chapter 4: Trolls, glorious trolls
Captain Arat woke the party members at the appointed hour; Jeral felt surprisingly well rested after sleeping outside in the crisp spring air. Jeral and the others quickly equipped themselves, left their traveling equipment in the palisade, and headed towards the keep. Nalia guided the small group to the rocks under the western edge of the keep. She pressed upon a few rocks, seemingly at random, and a concealed door silently slid open. Nalia conjured a quartet of mage lights that circled the party in a slow rotation as Yoshimo led the party inside, checking for traps as he went along. Jeral noticed that Nalia's mage lights were a light green as he followed Yoshimo down the corridor. The lights made him think of Imoen and her ridiculous pink mage lights.
Hang in there sis, this is a first step on the way to you.
The narrow passageway ended in a well stocked storeroom on the ground floor of the keep. Yoshimo and Jeral quickly searched the room for useful items, locating additional fire arrows and a few packets of enchanted sling bullets for Viconia. Nalia led them out of the storeroom and a hallway that ended in a collapsed hallway.
"Someone collapsed this hallway to keep us out, pity they do not know this keep as well as someone born here."
Smiling Nalia ran her hands over a small stretch of wall and stepped back as a portion of the wall silently slid open. She slid open the secret door and quickly stood aside as Yoshimo led the way into the next room, closely followed by Minsc and Anomen. They were in a small, sparsely furnished bedroom; obviously for some of the servants in the keep. A large troll was sitting on the floor eating the remains of one of the keep's prior occupants.
Nalia muffled a cry and fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands.
"Die foul beast!"
Anomen cried and charged the troll with his mace held high. Minsc and Jeral followed Anomen forward while Yoshimo and Viconia peppered the troll with missiles. The troll clawed at Anomen's shield as Minsc and Jeral slashed at the beast. Every time he responded to one attacker he opened himself up to attacks from the other two while Yoshimo and Viconia continued to strike the beast with their missile weapons. The troll was soon overwhelmed and fell to the floor from dozens of wounds that overcame its internal regenerative abilities.
"Quickly now, you must burn the beast before it can recover."
At Viconia's barked command Yoshimo launched an additional pair of flame arrows into the corpse and stepped back as it burst into flame. As the five backed away from the smoldering foul smelling corpse Anomen strode over and knelt down next to the sobbing Nalia.
"My lady, are you injured?"
Sobbing, Nalia could only softly shake her head.
"We must move my lady. The sounds of battle will draw other beats so the noise."
"That, that, that was Muriel, one of my hand maidens. She was just a maid, a sweet girl. She deserved something far better than that fate." Nalia sagged against Anomen as he gently pulled her to her feet.
"My lady we must move."
"Anomen, I don't think I can do this. I thought I was strong enough but I was wrong." Nalia started sobbing and leaned into Anomen's side.
"Stand aside male." Viconia strode forward and roughly pulled Nalia away from Anomen.
"Unhand her dark one! That is not chivalrously done. Can't you see that she is distraught? She is just a young girl. We cannot expect her to do things that are better the responsibilities of men."
"What did you say?" Nalia pushed away from Viconia and glared up at Anomen with her hands firmly placed on her hips.
"My lady, I merely spoke the truth. Women, particularly women of nobility, are better suited to activates that will keep them safe from harm."
Nalia walked up to Anomen and started poking him in the center of his armored chest plate.
"Listen to me you prat! I am the only child of the Lord de'Arnise. He trained me in martial arts from a young age. For every hour I spent learning how to be a lady I spend another hour learning to fight. For every hour I spent with my magical tutors I spent another learning to ride or learning military history. I assure you I could command an army in battle better than many of your precious Knights of your ridiculous Order!"
"My lady I….."
"Move, we are wasting time. We need to find my father and cleanse this filth from my home."
She snapped her fingers and nocked a fire arrow to her short bow as she shoved her way past Anomen.
"Yoshimo, I lead. I do not need an outsider to lead me through my own home. Follow me."
Nalia strode off down the hall closely trailed by Minsc and Yoshimo. Jeral stayed planted on the spot, worried than Viconia and Anomen were about to come to blows. Jeral held his breath as he watched Viconia approach the Helmite. Surprisingly Viconia stopped in front of Anomen and smiled up at him as she nodded her head approvingly.
"That was not poorly done male. I would not have expected such an approach from one such as you. I did not see you as one who could even comprehend let alone employ an indirect approach to rouse Nalia out of her stupor."
Chuckling Anomen scratched his beard as he eyed the drow.
"Normally I would fit your assessment quite well for subtlety is not in my nature. However in this case I have much experience with the emotional nature of young women of the nobility."
Nodding knowingly, Viconia eyed the Helmite with an admiring glance.
"I would not have thought a pious Helmite would have so much experience mating with females of the upper class. Well done sir, there may be hope for you after all."
Anomen blushed furiously.
"Viconia you misunderstand me, I would never claim a lady's virtue outside the bonds of marriage. My experiences comes from the fact that I have a younger sister who is strong willed and fiercely independent. In fact, she is very much like the Lady Nalia."
"That makes much more sense."
Viconia quickly trotted down the hall after the others. Anomen looked at Jeral, shrugged his shoulders and moved off after Viconia. They descended into the great hall of Keep de'Arnise. Magical torches still illuminated the room brightly and illuminated the trio of creatures in the hall. Jeral recognized a massive mountain troll and two smaller ice trolls. The trio of beats saw the group enter the hall and charged. Before they could even reach the party the two smaller ones were down, peppered by fire arrows. The large one slammed into Anomen and started clawing at his shield and armor. Minsc and Jeral hacked at the troll as it remained focused on Anomen. Before long it was a flaming slime patch on the floor. Anomen received a slash to his shield arm but he sniffed and called it too minor to heal as the group moved on deeper into the keep.
"Bah, these pathetic skirmishes are hardly worthy of my notice. Now my accomplishments against the giants, those were battles!"
"Anomen, there are supposed to be thirty trolls in here. We have only seen four of them. I suspect we will have plenty of opportunities for you to act heroically in the fights ahead."
"I suppose you are correct Jeral, I am just eager to prove my worth to the Order. Ensuring that I pass my test means everything to me so I apologize if I seem boastful or over eager."
"I understand Anomen. Just remember that we are on your side, and that no one appreciates a braggart. Lady Nalia, should we enter the courtyard and open the drawbridge?"
"I believe that is a wise decision Jeral for that would allow my remaining soldiers to enter the keep and aid us in the counterattack as best they can."
The companions departed the great hall through large double doors that led into the courtyard of the Keep. In the center of the courtyard there was a large, slimy flesh colored creature with large tentacles. It noticed the party and started moving towards them.
"The Otuygh has escaped the trash pit!" Nalia cried.
The party quickly dispatched the creature with Jeral receiving a slight wound from one of the tentacles. Once the creature was killed the group looked warily around the courtyard of the keep.
Jeral looked up to the great winch atop the keep wall. The wall was almost 30 feet high and very well made of large slabs of weathered grey stone that fitted tightly together to present a smooth, nearly impregnable, surface.
"Jeral the stairs to the catwalk are across the courtyard."
"I see that Nalia, but there are also a pair of trolls in the tower over there and the catwalk takes us right past them. Let's get some reinforcements in here before we take on any more trolls."
"Yoshimo, can you get up there to lower the drawbridge and raise the portcullis by a more direct route than the stairs over there?"
Smiling Yoshimo pulled a small grapnel out of his pack and a thin elven rope purchased from Ribald back in Athkatla. With a practiced arm Yoshimo whirled the grapnel and launched it towards the top of the wall. It settled there with a solid clank and the bounty hunter pulled it taut to ensure that it had secured a hold for him.
"Be right back everyone."
Yoshimo nimbly climbed up the wall to the drawbridge winch. After examining the mechanism for a minute he unlocked the break and slowly winched the drawbridge down. A second winch raised the portcullis. Grunting with exertion Yoshimo slowly raised the portcullis. Once Yoshimo had completed raising the portcullis he locked it in place. Standing upright and stretching out his sore muscles Yoshimo watched as the remaining forces under Captain Arat emerged from the woods and quickly advanced on the drawbridge.
The noise from the drawbridge and portcullis had not gone unnoticed. Jeral watched as trolls and their Yuan ti allies appeared from various doorways around the courtyard. A quick count showed over a dozen trolls and a half dozen Yuan ti.
"Everyone make ready! We have company!"
Jeral cried, "Yoshimo get down here."
Yoshimo jumped, lightly struck the ground, tucked into a forward roll and came to his feet as he nocked an arrow in his short bow. The party grouped together tightly in a corner of the courtyard and prepared for the onslaught of creatures. The trolls started charging the party. Imoen and Yoshimo were firing flaming arrows as fast as they could while Viconia pitched in with her sling. They were hurting the trolls but there were just too many of them. A half dozen trolls slammed into Anomen, Minsc, and Jeral and slowly started pushing them backwards. Jeral twisted wildly to stay away from the creature's claws. In a fight Jeral knew he was no match for one troll, let alone multiple trolls. Doubt started to creep into Jeral's heart as he struck out time and time again at the hideous creatures. Jeral's blade would bite deep but the wound would quickly close up before he could strike again. Jeral was not hurting the troll enough to overcome its' innate regenerative abilities.
A shower of fire arrows sailed through the air and tore into the backs of the trolls attacking Jeral and his companions. Captain Arat and his men had arrived. They launched two additional waves of arrows into the trolls before they reached the party. With the range closed bows were dropped and swords were drawn. A swirling and chaotic melee ensued. Men fought trolls and Yuan ti across the courtyard. Any disciplined formation that Captain Arat desired quickly disappeared as his men broke into small groups to fight many small battles against individual trolls and snake beats. In small numbers the soldiers were less effective against the trolls and Yuan ti than they should have been. The beasts started to fall but soldiers also dropped at a rapid pace.
Weak leadership. Gorion always told me a military force would be more effective when they worked closely together.
Jeral was forced from his thoughts by a vicious blow to the head from a green mountain troll. Jeral dropped to one knee and felt blood trickling down his face. His head hurt and his vision was cloudy. Looking up he saw a troll preparing to bite down on his exposed neck. Snarling in anger Jeral twisted around and thrust upwards with the enchanted long sword in his right hand. It slid right through the troll's open mouth and pierced upwards into the troll's skull. The troll, mortally wounded, howled in pain and violently twisted away from Jeral. He fought to retain hold of his sword and watched the creature fall to the ground. Jeral directed a nearby soldier to burn the corpse and moved back into the fray.
The tide of battle finally turned and Jeral realized that they were winning. Most of the trolls were down as were all but three of the Yuan ti. Minsc and Anomen were fighting side by side and were steadily mowing through the creatures. The two large plate clad warriors made a fierce tandem and had already learned how to work well together. They wordlessly coordinated their attacks for maximum effectiveness. The pair focused on one creature at a time. Once killed they methodically moved onto the next one. Yoshimo and Nalia were firing arrows as directed by Viconia to assist Minsc and Anomen. Jeral felt a sense of pride as he watched his friends, old and new, work so well together. Jeral quickly moved forward to fight alongside Minsc and Anomen.
Finally it was over. Anomen healed the wounds he and Minsc had received while Viconia tended to Jeral. Smoldering mounds of troll flesh littered the courtyard. The stench of blood and burning troll lay heavy on the air. Captain Arat walked amongst his men and then made a report to Nalia.
"Lady Nalia, we lost ten soldiers killed. Eight more have serious wounds but all should survive. Only six are unwounded or lightly wounded and we are low on flame arrows. I can send four men with you but the rest of us can go no further."
"What? We are so close to retaking out home and you want to stop? How dare you?"
Captain Arat and his men flinched at Nalia's harsh words. Jeral grabbed her by the arm and led her away from the others. In a tight whisper Jeral lectured the irate young woman as she ripped her arm from his grasp.
"Lady Nalia, I appreciate your frustration but those men are just soldiers. They are trained to face other men in battle, not foul creatures such as these. They have faced more this week than they can be expected to handle. They surely fought bravely and well defending the castle and they fought well today. Let them return to the palisades with their honor and their lives while we continue on and rescue your father. They have helped thin the enemy numbers enough so we should be able to make it on our own."
Nalia was fighting back tears as she nodded and took a deep breath.
"Jeral, I, I believe that you are right although it is very hard to accept. Very well."
Nalia dried her tears on the sleeve of her mage robe and took several deep breaths. Nalia approached Captain Arat and his soldiers.
"You men have fought bravely here today. House de'Arnise is grateful for your faithful service. I, Lady Nalia de'Arnise, am personally grateful for your service and sacrifice as well. Return to the palisade, tend to the wounded and prepare for our return with my father. We will continue into the keep."
Captain Arat and his men slowly shuffled out of the keep. The dead remained where they lay in the courtyard. The four soldiers assigned to accompany Nalia and the others stood silently off to the side and nervously gawked at Viconia. Viconia took off her helmet and combed her fingers through her sweaty hair. The soldiers were staring open mouthed at the drow in a mixture of fear and desire.
"I will drink your blood!" Viconia shouted and leapt towards the soldiers. With a high pitched cry one fell to the ground in a ball, trembling in fear, while the other three ran for the drawbridge.
"Viconia did you have to do that? We could have used the help."
"Jeral, you know how I hate the stares of unwashed surfacers. I refuse to be the object of spectacle for mere hire swords. We will manage without them for they added little to our strength."
The fourth soldier managed to scramble to his feet and sprint after his friends.
Jeral turned to Nalia. "Nalia, where to now?"
"Captain Arat's men scouted the ground floor and determined that it is clear of the creatures. That leaves the second floor and the dungeon."
"So do we head up or down?"
"Up, because the dungeon is only accessible from the second floor."
"That seems a bit odd my lady."
"This keep is very old Squire Anomen; some of my father's predecessors had some unique ideas and used the dungeon as their private playground."
"Lead on milady."
Nalia led the group back into the keep and up the stairs to the second floor.
"We should probably start in the library and then head to the bedrooms."
Yoshimo cracked open the door of the library and peered in. He saw a troll in the room talking to others hidden from view around the corner. Yoshimo pulled the door open as quietly as he could and waited for the troll to see him. The troll turned towards the bounty hunter, opened his jaws in a scowl and charged. Yoshimo took off at a dead run back towards the rest of the party with the troll close behind. He rounded the corner and slipped between Minsc and Anomen. The troll rounded the corner and was decapitated by one swing by Minsc. Nalia uttered a brief incantation and a fan of flames leapt out from her fingers incinerating the corpse.
"There are other creatures around the corner in the library. I am going to see if this trick works twice. Be right back." Yoshimo winked and again crept down the hall.
Yoshimo crept forward again into the library. He peered around the corner and saw a Yuan ti and another troll. Yoshimo coughed lightly to get the troll's attention. Responding to the noise the troll whirled around and charged after Yoshimo. The bounty hunter turned and raced back down the hallway.
He rounded the corner and turned to face the second troll. The troll was quickly killed. It fell to the ground, and then before Nalia could burn it, the corpse split in half. Right in front of their eyes two trolls reformed from the corpse of the first one. The group stood transfixed as the two trolls stood up and snarled at the party. They were each smaller than the original and both attacked Jeral. He was hard pressed and took two quick claw slashes to his chest that tore deep slices out of his chain mail. Jeral sagged back between Minsc and Anomen and the two plate clad warriors stepped forward to engage the trolls. They quickly killed one and then the other. Nalia quickly incinerated the corpses, thankfully, no additional trolls reformed from the ashes of the two.
The party charged into the library and faced off against a single Yuan ti. The yuan ti chanted something and a shimmering globe of energy surrounded it.
Jeral cried out, "A mage! Nalia can you do anything about this?" and then charged at the creature.
Minsc, Anomen, and Jeral charged the mage and started trying to batter their way through the creature's magical defenses. Yoshimo and Viconia chimed in with their missile weapons but to no affect. Nalia started chanting and cast a spell dispelling the magical protections. Once the magical shield was gone the snake man quickly fell to the combined attacks of the party. Nalia picked up an ornate key off the library shelf.
"This is the master key to the keep. We can now get into every room."
Nalia led the way through the library.
"Follow me. We will first see if my aunt is still here. The Lady Caan rarely leaves the comfort of her suite so I presume she was there when the attack began. Hopefully she is still there."
The party continued through the second floor and came to an ornate iron bound wooden door. There were claw marks on the exterior of the door but it appeared intact. Nalia unlocked the door and called out as she slowly opened the door.
"Auntie. Auntie, are you in there? It is me, Nalia."
Heavy footsteps approached the door and the door jerked wide open. A tall, elderly, well dressed woman burst out of the room. She was handsome more that pretty and had a hard piercing gaze. She looked over the party and sneered before covering her face with a silk kerchief.
"Nalia my dear girl, what are you doing with these unwashed cretins? They are tracking filth through our house and they positively reek. You know commoners are not allowed up here."
"Auntie, I am here to rescue you and father. These people are here to help us."
"Bah. They are rabble Nalia. I cannot allow myself to be rescued by the lesser class, that is unacceptable. Besides, I for one know that I am not in any danger."
"Auntie, where is my father?"
"The Lord de'Arnise was leading an effort to defend his precious keep last I saw him, but that was days ago."
A lone guardsman stood behind Lady Caan. He looked haggard from lack of sleep and too much time spent with the sharp tongued Lady Caan. Smiling he strode forward and knelt on the floor in front of Nalia.
"We barricaded the door and the creatures could not get in, we have been in here for days, thank the Gods you have arrived."
"Silence Besuran, know your place. You guard, you do not speak."
Snapping her fingers she rounded on Jeral and the others.
"Now you lot, draw me a bath, and I will require a good meal immediately. Days on end with nothing but fruit, bread, sausage and cheese were positively unbearable."
Anomen stepped forward and bowed formally in front of Lady Caan.
"Milady, the keep is not yet secure; may I humbly suggest that Besuran take you to the palisade and safety?"
"And you are?"
"I am Squire Anomen Delryn of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart."
"I know of your family boy. You are the only son of that drunken fool of a merchant, Lord Cor. Your family name means little to those who understand such things; why you are barely more than common street trash." Anomen blanched and slowly backed away, his face a mask of shame mingled with anger.
"Enough!" Viconia roared.
She took off her helm, tossed it to the ground, and strode up right next to the arrogant noblewoman. She leaned in close and whispered something through clenched teeth to the Lady Caan. The elderly noblewoman locked eyes with Viconia, blanched, and fell to the floor in a faint. The group all stared at Viconia in amazement.
Viconia looked at the others each in turn and shrugged her shoulders.
"Usually words such as mine would cause most humans to soil themselves in fear. This one is a very strong willed female surfacer. I must say that I am impressed,"
Viconia smirked as she stepped over the body and entered the bedroom.
"She reminds me of a handmaiden from my home temple.
The guard, aided by Anomen, hoisted the noblewoman over his shoulder with a grunt and headed for the palisade as Viconia reclaimed her helmet.
"He should arrive there safely. We must move forward. The treasure is just down the hall and it holds one head of father's flail, we must see if it is still there."
Nalia led the way through a secret door in the bedroom into a large treasure room. Three large chests lined the far wall.
Flanking the trio of chests were six golems; two of flesh, two of stone, one of clay, and one of iron. The giant magical constructs stood immobile as silent guardians.
Yoshimo gazed into the room for a few minutes and then looked at Nalia. "Let me guess my young noble, should one touch the chests then the golems here pound you to into the ground?"
"Yes, I believe that is how it works. My father is the only one who can command them to stand down."
Jeral put his hands on his hips and looked at each one of the group in turn.
"Well we cannot hope to fight them for iron and stone golems are very powerful'
"That may be true Jeral but we need the flail. We have no option."
"Understood Lady Nalia; so does anyone have any suggestions?"
"Jeral, I believe I have an idea that may work. Can everyone please leave the room?"
"Not sure what you are planning Anomen but be careful."
"I will my lady." Nalia, Jeral and the others filed out of the treasury and waited for Anomen to do whatever he planned to do. Jeral could hear Anomen muttering as if in prayer but silence descended after that. Jeral could not imagine what Anomen could do to defeat or outwit the golems guarding the treasury.
A few minutes later Anomen came out loaded down with equipment. He was smiling broadly and carrying a long bow with quiver, a battle axe, a war hammer and a head to the de'Arnise flail.
Jeral quickly determined that all of the weapons bore heavy enchantments.
"Nalia what is this equipment?"
Nalia lifted her chin and spoke with pride.
"These are my father's most prized possessions. He obtained each of these over the years during his life as an adventurer. All are heavily enchanted, very deadly, and now they will be very useful to us. The battle axe is known as Frostweaver and is heavily enchanted and chills all it strikes. The war hammer is of dwarven origin and specifically designed to fight giants. This long bow belonged to a long dead elven king and is incredibly accurate. It is generations old and was allegedly made by the greatest high elf archer to ever live. In the hands of a trained bowman it is difficult to miss ones target. And then there is this. "
Nalia took the flail head from Anomen and held it reverently as she turned it over in her small hands. The flail head was bright red and covered with dozens of small spikes.
"This is one of the three heads of the great Flail of Ages, my father's greatest treasure. This flail head is enchanted to inflict fire damage upon any it strikes. The flail is a powerful weapon with even one of the three flail heads but it requires all three to operate at full strength. When it does it is a sight to behold." Nalia gently wrapped the flail head in a bed sheet and tucked it into the small bag at her side. The others took the weapons from Anomen and took a few practice swings.
Minsc sheathed his great sword and grasped the battle axe in his massive hands. Viconia took the war hammer and despite complaining about the dwarven stench on the weapon seemed happen to have an enchanted weapon in her hands.
Jeral walked up to the bow and tested it out; it felt perfect in his hands and reminded him of the heavily enchanted bow he has used in his fight with Sarevok. The draw was tight but incredibly smooth. Jeral caressed the bow reverently; the bow was smooth to the touch, emerald green, and made of an unknown material.
Until I get better with my close combat I can be more useful as an archer, Jeral thought to himself as he slung the quiver of lightly enchanted arrows over his back.
While everyone was looking at their new weapons Yoshimo looked up at the Helmite and spoke.
"Noble squire, I am impressed for even a master thief would have been hard pressed to retrieve those weapons without incurring the notice of those golems. May I inquire how you managed to do exactly that?"
"Helm grants me many powers Yoshimo; that one just allowed me to move unseen – usually to heal the faithful. But in this case Helm was generous. With his blessings, I simply walked in and took all the weapons without the golems noticing I was there. They had nothing to attack for in their eyes I was never there."
Nalia interrupted the conversation, "We need to visit my father's bed chambers."
Nalia quickly led the way to the other side of the upper level of the keep. Once there she led the way into a bedroom.
"This is my father's bedroom. There is a passage to his practice room over on the far wall but there are traps so we need to be careful."
Yoshimo wandered over to a large chest by the bed. He looked the chest up and down.
"You speak the truth noble one. This chest is trapped, as it that door. On the chest there is a thin wire in the lock that must be safely triggered before it can be opened. I suggest you all step back."
Yoshimo removed his thieves' tools and rolled them out on the floor. He reached into a small pocket and pulled a small wad of soft velvet. Unrolling the velvet Yoshimo delicately removed a small ceramic vial from the protective padding. Yoshimo gently worked the stopper from the vial and then pulled a small sliver of wood from another pocket. He dipped the toothpick into the vial and then gently slid it into the lock.
"What are you doing Yoshimo?"
Speaking softly Yoshimo did not look up as he spoke, "Your father has excellent security Nalia. The trip wire in the lock cannot be bypassed. Therefore I must trigger the trap. I am placing a small drop of green dragon acid on the wire. Almost, just, there we go. Everyone should exit the room right now."
Yoshimo hopped to his feat and quickly retreated out of the room. The other five wisely elected to follow him.
Yoshimo crossed his arms and leisurely leaned against the wall.
"The acid should trigger the trap momentarily. I am curious to see what the trap is."
THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK
A dozen arrows shot out of the ceiling and imbedded themselves in the floor in a semi circle in front of the chest.
"Nice trick Yoshimo. Where can I get a good set of thieves' tools like that?" Nalia asked.
"I will take you to visit the thieves' guild in Athkatla my lady. They can sell you some excellent equipment and I will ensure you get charged a reasonable price."
Yoshimo strode to the chest and opened it. He reached in and pulled out a single wand which he presented to Nalia with a flourish.
"Nalia, this must be for you."
"It is a wand of frost, this belonged to my mother. I will use it well."
Nalia clutched it to her chest as she walked to the other side of the room.
"Beyond that door is my father's sparring room and the second head to the flail should be in there as well. Be warned however for the door is trapped."
Yoshimo stepped forward and knelt before the door and slid a wire into the lock. With a flourish Yoshimo rose and deeply bowed before Nalia.
"It is no longer trapped, and I unlocked the door as well."
"Well done Yoshimo, but Nalia did have the key."
Yoshimo grinned up at the bard.
"True Jeral, but one should never pass up a chance to practice, for only through practice may one become great."
Could he sound any more like Gorion? Unbelievable.
Yoshimo swept open the door and stood aside. The party walked into the sparring chamber. In the center of the room stood a large man handsome man clad in a suit of finely wrought full plate mail and holding a two handed sword. The tip of his blade rested on the floor and the man stood immobile.
"Thank the Gods! That is Glacias, our Captain of the Guard and father's friend and sparring partner. Captain Glacias, where is my father?"
The large soldier showed no sign of recognition and showed no clear response to Nalia's voice.
"Captain Glacias, where is my father. I command you to answer."
Glacias slowly turned his head and gazed upon the party with vacant eyes.
"Jeral, something is wrong, he is not responding. He may not be himself."
Suddenly Glacias showed signs of life. Sneering he lifted a potion bottle to his lips and gulped it down; once empty he smashed the vial against the floor and took a firm two handed grip on his blade.
"For the glory of my new master, who has shown me the way."
He raised his sword in the high guard position and moved towards the party with unnatural speed. In a blink he was on top of the party before they could even react. His first blow struck Minsc in the side knocking him back against the wall. Only the enchantments built into his plate armor saved the large ranger from severe injury. As it was he was thrown into the wall and stunned by the force and speed of the attack. Anomen stepped forward and was soon hard pressed by the magically hasted attacks of Glacias as he savagely rained blow after blow on the Helmite's shield. Jeral drew his blades and stepped forward to assist Anomen. His blows ineffectually glanced off the big man's armor as he failed to find a weak spot in the plate mail. Anomen was bleeding from numerous wounds and was breathing hard as he struggled to protect himself. With a great overhand blow Glacias slammed his sword down on Anomen's shoulder slicing through the mail and cutting deep into the Helmite's flesh. Anomen cried out in pain, dropped his mace, and slid to one knee as blood flowed from his wound.
Realizing that Anomen was helpless to defend himself from the next strike Jeral stepped between the downed cleric and the crazed fighter. Glacias smiled grimly as he squared off with the lightly armored bard. Glacias attacked with strong overhand strikes and it was all Jeral could do to parry his blows and keep the massive war blade from striking him. Jeral had no chance to even think of a counterattack as he struggled to ensure that his blades parried strike after strike. Suddenly, Glacias froze in place; Jeral chanced a look back and saw Viconia looking smug as she completed a spell. Evidently he had succumbed to one of her hold person spells. Viconia moved towards the helpless fighter and twirled a sharp dagger in her hands.
"Stop! He is not of his own mind. Please do not kill him, just remove his armor and tie him up securely. He is my father's oldest friend."
"Nalia has a point Viconia, we should do as she says."
Shaking her head at the bard and mage Viconia turned away and wandered around the room searching for items of note. Finding nothing of interest she strode over to where Anomen sat bleeding on the floor and started tending to his massive shoulder wound.
Yoshimo and Jeral tied up Glacias while Minsc slowly struggled to his feet and tried to regain his senses. Once Anomen was fully healed Viconia turned her attention to Minsc and she exhausted her remaining healing spells on Minsc. Anomen slowly removed his battered plate mail and replaced it with the suit of full plate that Glacias had worn. The armor would need a few adjustments from a master armorer back in Alhkatla but fit well enough to use in the interim.
Yoshimo searched the room thoroughly and proudly held aloft a second flail head.
"Lady Nalia, I suspect this is of interest to you." She quickly grabbed the flail head and slid it into her pack.
Viconia's spell finally ended and Glacias started to struggle against his bonds. He paid no attention to his captors as he mindlessly focused on escaping from his bonds.
"You will all perish, for the master is stronger than all."
The veins started to bulge out on his forehead and arms and he twisted his arms back and forth against the ropes binding him in place. Every muscle in the man's body was tenses with exertion as he struggled from the bonds. His face turned bright red as he held his breath and focused all his strength on escaping from the roped. Blood started to flow from his wrists as the ropes wore into his skin tearing off huge chunks of flesh. Undeterred by the pain the crazed man continued to struggle and the ropes were soon slick with his own blood.
"I will kill all of you, ERRRRRRRRRRAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"
With a final animal roar he ripped the ropes apart and started to rise to his feet. Viconia stepped forward and slammed her hammer down on the enraged man's head and watched with satisfaction as his skull crushed under her blow. The fighter crumpled to the floor in a spreading pool of blood, brains, and gore. Viconia calmly wiped the gore off her hammer using the dead man's tunic and then straightened up.
Nalia was clearly stunned by what she had seen and stood opened mouth staring at the mangled corpse at her feet. After a few moments she shook her head and turned away from the others.
"Follow me," was all she could stammer. She led the party back downstairs, through the storerooms and into a back room that was empty. She walked up to a blank wall and whispered a few words. The entire wall disappeared and revealed a well lit room with a large ornate chest and a large forge in the center of the room.
"The last flail head resides in that chest. As does a ring that offers limited protection. Jeral I think the ring might help keep you alive since you insist in fighting in close combat with limited armor or skill."
Jeral bit back any reply to the implied slight and placed the proffered ring on his left hand as he watched Nalia take the three flail heads and place them on the forge. She muttered a few words and the forge flamed to light. Nalia chanted a few additional phrases and the forge winked out. Remaining on the forge was a newly assembled three headed flail. The handle was made of a smooth grey material and had a black leather grip at the base to ensure the wielder of the weapon could always maintain a firm grip. The handle ended in three strands of linked chain. Each length of chain ended in a metal ball the size of a man's fist and covered with dozens of small spikes. One flail head was red, one blue and one green. It was a fearsome and impressive looking weapon.
Nalia pulled it off the forge and looked at the weapon with a tight smile. Looking at Anomen she lifted her head high and spoke in a cool clear voice that echoed in the small room.
"This is the House de'Arnise Flail of Ages as forged by my father before me. Heavily enchanted it has flail heads of fire, ice, and acid. It is a very powerful weapon and only a great warrior is worthy to wield such a weapon. Squire Anomen, I think you will ably wield the flail until returned to my father. Use it with honor good sir and aid me in cleansing the filth from my home."
Visibly moved, Anomen took the proffered flail with a sweeping bow. And spoke with a voice choked with emotion.
"Lady Nalia you do me great honor this day. I will gladly wield this with honor until we can return it to your father."
Nalia could only nod grimly as she fought back tears. "Now to the dungeons."