Last chapter was pretty slow and character driven; this one is completely the other way around.
Chapter 17: Assault on the Slave Lords
The group reached the building marked on Hendak's map without incident. The slaver's headquarters was a large ornate building mixed in with the temples and the homes of some of the lesser nobility. The two story building towered over its neighbors for each level of the building was massive. The building was made of large blocks of a light grey stone and a blood red roof. Unlike the buildings to each side of it, the slaver's building had no visible guards standing out front.
"Jeral, how can we be sure this is the right building? I am reluctant to barge in on the home of a noble uninvited. That could get back to the Order and cost me dearly."
"This is the right building noble squire, of that there can be no doubt."
Everyone turned to look at Yoshimo as he started at the building with a worried expression on his face.
"Yoshimo please explain."
"Jeral, look at the stone work under the third window from the left on the upper level."
Jeral followed Yoshimo's outstretched arm and shrugged his shoulders, "Ok, I see some random marks. What about them?"
"Those are three perfectly parallel lines etched in the stonework under that window. They were deliberately placed; nothing accidental could have created them."
Anomen snorted impatiently as he adjusted the grip on his flail.
"What is your point Yoshimo? Some arrogant stone mason could have etched his initials there. It could be anything."
"Squire Anomen it is exactly as I said. Those are the marks indicating that a building is completely off limits to the guild. Should any member of the guild conduct any operations against the house they will be on their own."
Jeral slid between the two men before Anomen could reply angrily.
"Wait a minute Yoshimo, are you telling me that the thieves guild is in league with the slavers in Athkatla?"
Yoshimo quickly shook his head, "No Jeral, it is not like that, as I have said before slavery is an enterprise the guild does not support. However, the guild master has declared many prominent buildings off notice. One mark indicates a building pays for protection from the guild, two marks indicates a building is off limits for reasons known only to the leadership of the guild."
"And what does three marks indicate Yoshimo?" Nalia asked breathlessly.
"Three marks indicate that the building is incredibly dangerous and must be avoided at all cost, upon penalty of death."
"Yoshimo, I do not understand, why would the guild clearly make buildings off limits?"
Surprising both Jeral and Yoshimo, Anomen answered Jeral's question.
"You cannot possibly understand Jeral for you are new to Athkatla. The city of coin is a complex web of entities vying for power. The thieves guild and the slavers are two elements of that balance, as are the major temples, the Cowled Wizards, the Order and the Council of Six. Most are reluctant to directly change the balance of power within the city. I am not proud to say that the Order sometimes shies away from directly confronting some of the darker elements within the city for that very reason."
"So Yoshimo will we end up at war with the guild if we do this?"
Yoshimo shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"I cannot say with certainty Jeral. They may be pleased that one of the other power brokers is gone from the city, or they may view us as a threat to the established balance. I wish I knew."
Undaunted, Jeral strode up to the main door of the building and looked the door up and down. The massive door was blood red and banded in iron. An ornate silver doorknocker in the shape of a horse head was at chest height in the center of the door.
"Should we knock?"
"Please do not consider anything so foolish and dangerous Jeral."
A pale looking Yoshimo methodically scanned the door and the surroundings for long moments before he leaned forward and eyed the lock critically. He quickly stood up and looked at the others with a confused look on his face.
"This does not make any sense. There are no traps to be found, and the door is unlocked. It should be safe to open."
"I guess everyone else really is smart enough to leave this place alone," Jeral cracked.
Ready for anything the group opened the door and entered the building. They were in a large great hall that ran the length of the building. To their immediate right stood a narrow doorway that led to a comfortably furnished drawing room. To their immediate left a long hallway led to what Jeral suspect was the kitchen or a guardroom. Brightly lit torches and ornate tapestries adorned the walls. A long rectangular table that could easily seat two score dominated the center of the room. Above the highly polished black table hung a massive chandelier with hundreds of candles interspersed with crystals mounted on the chandelier. The crystals served to disperse the candle light to every corner of the room, bathing the room in a white radiance. The far end of the room held a massive set of stairs that led to the second story of the building. The stairs were made of white stone and covered with blood red carpets.
Before the party could take in more of the opulent surroundings their attention was drawn to the pair standing on the far side of the table. An elderly robed wizard stood loudly arguing with a thin dark haired woman clad in ornate leather armor. The mage wore dark brown mage robes that were heavily embroidered with gold and silver thread while the woman wore a short sword on her hip. Seeing the arrival of strangers they abruptly ceased their argument and turned to face the group.
"What have we here? Trespassers perhaps? Be gone fools!" The elderly mage sneered at the group as he dismissively waved an arm in their direction.
"My apologies Sion. I guess I should have checked the wards on the doors, my apologies but I could not imagine that any would be so foolish as to enter without a proper invitation."
"Excellent point Ketta, and I do appreciate the apology. However it is a bit late for that realization though."
Jeral and the others stood still staring at the blathering pair unsure how to proceed. Finally Anomen stepped forward and ended their indecision.
"Foul slavers. We will remove your influence from the city this very day."
The two froze. Smiling the elderly mage turned to mockingly bow towards the group.
"A challenge is it? Excellent. See you fools upstairs…if you dare." He then snapped his fingers and the pair disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Yoshimo led the way, his katana held at the ready, as the group moved forward cautiously. The group had almost reached the stairways when a shimmering portal opened in their midst. Creatures started spilling out of the portal into the massive ballroom.
Jeral shouted, "Fall back! Head to the drawing room off the entryway! Make haste!"
The group managed to scramble out of the way of the creatures as they winked into existence. There were nearly a dozen bizarre and dangerous creatures. Some Jeral had previously encountered while others he recognized from various tomes in Candlekeep. First there appeared a trio of ogres, closely followed by a pair of trolls and three large winter wolves. Next a massive efreeti winked into existence and called a protective wall of fire to spring up around itself. Lastly a massive demon stepped through the portal and entered the room. Jeral recognized it instantly, it was a glabrezu! Twice as tall as Minsc, and three times as broad, the massive beast sported two impossibly muscular arms that each ended in a claw.
The demon roared and lashed out with a claw, easily decapitating one of the ogres. The other two ogres roared in anger and charged the demon; their heads quickly fell to the floor along with their companion's.
The wolves, troll and efreeti all turned back and attacked the massive demon. Their attacks did little against the demon and he quickly started to mow down the creatures. It was a slaughter.
The party huddled in the doorway watching the blood bath. Anomen recovered his wits first and started chanting and a white light soon settled over the entire group, filling them each with confidence and hope. Minsc quickly chugged a potion while the others readied their weapons. Within moments the Glabrezu stood alone in the middle of the room, the bodies of the other creatures strewn about it. Roaring in fury the beast leapt high in the air and landed on the center of the massive table. The table shattered under the creature's weight and the beast strode towards Jeral and the others.
Not waiting for the beast to strike first the group attacked. Anomen and Minsc led the charge, closely followed by Jeral and the others. The creature struck out at Anomen but he managed to get his shield up in time. The force of the blow slid him backwards across the floor but he quickly recovered and charged forward once again. Minsc struck out with Licaror and sliced deeply into the creature's shoulder. Roaring in anger the demon lashed out with a muscled arm that caught Minsc in the center of the chest. The blow hurled him across the room and he slammed violently into the wall and then collapsed to the ground. Minsc lay on his back breathing heavily as he struggled to regain his senses.
Anomen strode forward and struck a mighty blow with his flail and watched as the enchanted flail heads tore into the creature's red flesh; stepping back when the demon swung out at him. On the other side of the beast Jeral and Yoshimo slashed into the creature's side and leg. Yoshimo's lightly enchanted Katana failed to bite into the creature's thick hide. Jeral had more success and managed to open a few shallow gashes on the creature. The beast leapt into the air again and landed heavily right in front of Viconia and Nalia.
The drow stepped forward, placing herself between the demon and the unarmored Nalia. Viconia raised her war hammer and struck out at the creature's side. Her blow landed but the beast shrugged it off and smashed a claw down onto her right shoulder. The force of the blow shattered her collarbone and drove her to the floor as her war hammer slid away from her useless arm. Nalia stepped over Viconia and raised her staff to protect the fallen drow. The creature clubbed downwards and Nalia held up her staff to parry the strike. The force of the blow sent waves of pain radiating through her arms and forced her to her knees. Before she could recover the creature stepped forward and drove a knee into her chest. The force of the blow lifted Nalia into the air and launched her across the room into the far wall. She struck the wall violently and fell to the floor, leaving a red bloodstain on the tapestry as she collapsed.
Anomen watched helplessly as Nalia pummeled by the glabrezu. Roaring in anger, Anomen dashed forward, swung his flail and grinned as all three flail heads bit deep into the creature's back. The beast whirled around and struck out at the Helmite. He managed to block the attack with his shield and steadily gave ground as the beast advanced.
"Yoshimo, see to the wounded. Help Viconia first and she can see to the others. You are no use against this thing!" Jeral had to shout to be heard over the sounds of the demon's roars as well as the Helmite's battle cries.
Yoshimo nodded and quickly raced over to tend to Viconia.
Jeral called upon his blood and felt rage course through his veins, making him faster and stronger, as he attacked the massive demon. He was a blur of motion as he nimbly avoided the creature's strikes while landing blow after blow of his own. Jeral and Anomen kept well apart, forcing the demon to turn attention back from one to the other. As the glabrezu attacked one man, the other attacked him in the back, and when he turned to respond to the attack the pattern reversed. The pair managed to keep the creature off balance but could not land the killing blow. They were doing damage, just not enough.
Yoshimo raced to Viconia's side and slid to a stop next to her.
"What can I do my lady?"
Snarling the drow glared at Yoshimo, her eyes full of pain and anger.
"I need a healing potion or two to mend my shoulder. Once that is done I can see to the others."
Nodding, Yoshimo quickly tore through his gear and located a potion vial that he upstoppered and handed to the drow. She took the vial and sniffed it cautiously before turning it up to her lips. She sighed contentedly as the potion started to mend her collarbone.
"You do not trust me Viconia?"
"Don't take it personally thief. I trust very few males. Trust is a luxury of the surface world, not mine."
Viconia slowly made her way to her feet and surveyed the room as she worked some feeling back into her right arm. She strode over to Minsc and laid her hands on the large ranger. Muttering a few holy words she channeled the powers of Shar and shuddered as healing warmth spread through her hands and into the injured ranger.
Groaning in pain, Minsc slowly stood up and picked up Licaror from the floor. Gritting his teeth he strode purposely back into the battle. With the demon distracted by Jeral and Anomen Minsc managed to position himself directly behind the demon. Grasping Licaror in a two handed grip, Minsc violently hacked downwards into the demon's back with the massive war blade. The heavily enchanted weapon bit deeply into the creature's back. With a final building shaking roar the demon dropped to the floor dead. Jeral and Anomen dropped their weapons and collapsed to the floor as the exhaustion swept over them.
Viconia quickly moved to Nalia's side and cast a number of healing spells to get the young mage back on her feet. She made a close examination of the young mage's skull, and satisfied that everything we where it should be, helped the girl to her feet before striding away to reclaim her war hammer and shield.
Yoshimo carefully made his way to the far side of the room. At the foot of the great stairwell he knelt down and started setting snare traps at the base of the stairs. He then took a few steps back, drew his katana, and warily watched the top of the stairs as the others recovered. Their main enemy clearly remained upstairs just waiting for the party.
Jeral wearily rose to his feet and helped Anomen rise. As he reclaimed his blades he eyed the Helmite hopefully.
"Anomen, you have great experience with battles from your time in the Order, any suggestions? The slavers must have heard the demon die; they have to know we are here."
Anomen removed his helm and scratched his beard as he thought about it.
"We are up against an unknown foe on terrain of his choosing. The slavers are undoubtedly powerful; else they would have been defeated long ago. We must find a way to even the odds by making them fight in a place not of their choosing."
Yoshimo looked back over his shoulder at Jeral, his face creased with worry.
"Jeral, we should retreat to the Coronet to rest and recover. Most of us are still recovering from our wounds. We are not at our strongest, the risk is just too great."
Viconia snorted and eyed the bounty hunter with disdain. "If we depart this place while any of the slaver leadership live we die, as will everyone at the Coronet. They will send their forces to burn the place to the ground and slaughter the survivors as they attempt to flee the flames."
"How can you possibly know that?" Yoshimo shot back heatedly.
"Two reasons. One, it is what they said they would do in their threat to Hendak."
The drow smiled lazily as she shifted her gaze from Yoshimo to Jeral while lifting a second finger.
"And two, it is what I would do if I was in their position. This is a direct challenge to their authority. Such a challenge cannot go unanswered if they hope to survive as a force in the city."
Anomen strode forward and stood next to Viconia.
"She is right Jeral. The battle is joined for better or worse. We shall emerge victorious, or we shall perish in our attempt."
Jeral nodded grimly as he cleaned the demon blood off his blades.
"Agreed. We win or we die. Since I would prefer we win what can we do to improve our chances?"
Jeral was surprised when Yoshimo sighed heavily and sheathed his blade.
"I think I have an idea Jeral. I am with you even if you insist on this dangerous and foolish course of action."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. What do you suggest Yoshimo?"
"We have to lure them downstairs. As you can see I have already laid a few traps. Anomen and Viconia can both conjure some skeletons to provide some assistance as well."
"I can ensure we can all move faster than our enemy. My head is ringing and I cannot remember my more complex spells but that is a simple one and it should help us." Nalia smiled as Jeral nodded approvingly at her suggestion.
"Very well. So we have a few traps awaiting them here as well as a fast moving group. How can we get them down here?"
"Allow me to take a look upstairs and then we may have a way forward." Yoshimo quickly drank from a small glass vial and disappeared from sight.
The five waited nervously as the time stretched on. Finally the group heard a cough and Yoshimo winked into sight on the stairwell.
The stairs are not trapped. There are many traps on the landing upstairs but the stairs themselves are safe so we must not leave the stairwell.
"What did you see?" Nalia asked breathlessly.
"There are six upstairs. I presume they are the entire leadership of the organization. The mage we saw before, a priest of Talos, the young woman who was with the mage, another man with blades, and then a pair of beasts in plate mail."
"Very well. Let us make ready and then we can get their attention."
Viconia and Anomen both started chanting and a half dozen skeletons winked into existence and moved to stand in a silent line in front of Nalia.
Nalia then cast a spell and everyone in the party felt faster, much, much faster.
"So now all we need to do is get their attention."
Smiling Viconia pulled a bubbling yellow flask out of her pouch. "Allow me Jeral. This will get their attention nicely. Although I shall have to visit that clever gnome potion master in the Bridge District and have him make some more of these for me later for this is my last one."
Anomen and Minsc readied themselves at the base of the stairs. The stood back away from the landing to ensure they stood clear of Yoshimo's traps. The traps were clearly visible but that could not be helped for there was no easy way to camouflage them inside the building. Jeral stood to their left while Yoshimo stood to the right. Nalia stood a few steps behind the four men with the skeletons standing guard in front of her.
Viconia raced up the stairs in a blur. The sound of breaking glass was followed by the sound of a massive explosion that caused the entire building to shake and cause the massive chandelier to sway ominously. Viconia's trip down the stairs was even faster than her trip up. As she sprinted down the stairs Jeral and the others stared wide eyed as a trio charged after her. Despite her magically enhanced speed they were matching her step for step. A middle aged man with flowing grey hair and dark grey studded leather armor chased after her with a pair of long curved blades held at the ready. Trailing the grey haired man was a massive minotaur clad in an ornate set of full plate mail. The beast carried a large metal shield and wielded a wicked looking double headed battle axe. Lumbering a few steps behind the minotaur sprinted a barrel chested ogre. The beast was also clad in a finely wrought suit of plate mail and carried a massive blade that made Licaror look like a long sword. The trio all suffered from minor burns on their arms and armor, Viconia's potion had clearly made an impact on the enemy.
Three steps from the bottom of the stairs Viconia hurled herself forward and dove towards Jeral. Stepping aside, Jeral watched as Viconia struck the ground, quickly did a shoulder roll and smoothly rose to her feet. As Jeral returned his gaze to the stairwell he watched awestruck as the grey haired man leapt from the same stair as Viconia had and sailed over Jeral's head. Jeral spun around and drew his blades. The grey haired man smoothly landed on the ground and spun about with a flourish as he held his blades out in front of him in a low guard.
Jeral marveled at the fact that his opponent dual wielded katanas. Both were clearly enchanted but the one in his right hand positively crackled with electricity and magical energy. Jeral found his gaze drawn to the amazing weapon. Jeral briefly thought back to his time in Candlekeep.
I remember the last time I fought someone with a katana, it was in the tournament in Candlekeep my last season there. I got beat up pretty good in the finals. What was that guy's name again?
Jeral could not finish the thought as the fighter closed with him. Swords clashed with katanas as the two dueled. Jeral quickly realized that he was overmatched by the expert swordsman. He switched to a defensive stance and parried blow after blow as best he could while slowly walking backwards. Jeral smiled in satisfaction as he saw that the ogre neglected to notice his surroundings as his left leg was chopped into a pulp by stepping on a series of the traps Yoshimo had set at the base of the stairs. The traps ripped his leg to threads and the ogre fell to the floor grasping at the wound to staunch the massive flow of blood. Once he struck the floor Anomen and Yoshimo made short work of him.
Minsc was squared off against the plate clad minotaur and Licaror slammed violently into the creature's large shield. The beast shrugged off the blow, counter attacked and Minsc was forced to give ground to avoid a wicked slash from the double headed battle axe. As Minsc fought the creature Viconia and Anomen directed their skeletons forward to assist the large ranger.
Jeral allowed himself a slight smile as he faced his opponent. With only two slavers on their feet they were badly outnumbered and would likely not last long. Jeral realized he just needed to stay on the defensive until the others could assist him in his duel. Jeral continued to focus on parrying every attack his opponent launched. After a few more strikes the man opposing Jeral smiled broadly and stepped back. Holding his right hand blade up to his face he mumbled something inaudible to Jeral. Seconds later a bolt of lightning tore appeared from the ceiling and rained down, striking the ground between Anomen and Yoshimo. The blast blew a hole in the floor and showered everyone with bits of marble. Anomen in his full suit of metal armor took the bulk of the blast and was knocked to his knees. Yoshimo managed to avoid the worst of the blast, but as he rolled to his feet his neat hair was wild and pointing in all directions. He bled from numerous small wounds and seemed completely disoriented as he looked around wildly.
The minotaur disdainfully smashed the skeletons into dust with a few quick swings of his axe. Returning his focus to Minsc the pair traded blows. Jeral was struck by the fact that Minsc looked almost as feral as the minotaur as he gave into his berserker rage. Minsc was completely oblivious to anything other than his opponent. The two tore into one another as their battle moved them across the room.
After catching his breath and a quick healing spell, Anomen regained his feet and raced to join Minsc against the heavily armored minotaur. Before he could reach the beast he cried out in pain and fell to the floor again, clutching his side. The women they had seen in the ball room before winked into existence behind the wounded squire, holding a bloody short sword. She held a vial in her left hand, took a quick sip, and winked back out of sight. Nalia raced to stand over Anomen and waved her staff around wildly to protect the fallen Helmite.
Groaning Anomen rose to his feet and held his flail and shield before him defensively. Once Anomen was able to defend himself Nalia dropped her staff and started moving her hands in an intricate pattern as she chanted under her breath. As she finished her spell a wave of power flashed out from her fingers and spread out across the room. The leather clad women winked back into sight, clearly unsettled by her unexpected reappearance. Her entire body was covered in glowing golden light. She took another sip of her potion and cursed as she did not disappear. She hurled the potion at Nalia and charged her. Nalia drew her dagger from her belt and held it out in front of her body. The agile woman easily twisted away from Nalia's unskilled strike and stabbed out with her own blade. Nalia threw herself to the ground to avoid the strike. The blade tore through her robes and left a shallow cut across her upper thigh. The women stood over Nalia and prepared to deliver the killing blow.
Before she could strike Anomen strode forward and violently struck out with his shield. The metal shield struck the woman in the side and drove her to the ground. As she struggled to clear her head and regain her feet Viconia came up behind her and delivered a wicked blow to her skull with her war hammer. The woman's head caved in under the strike and her lifeless body slid to the floor in a bloody heap. Viconia smirked and wiped her hammer off on the woman's leather armor.
"My lady, you are wounded!" Anomen strode forward to place his hands on Nalia's leg wound. She slapped his hands away and shook her head.
"It is just a scratch; we can deal with it later." Nodding his understanding Anomen chanted under his breath and closed the wound to his side. Once complete he reclaimed his flail and looked around the room. Minsc and the minotaur continued to ineffectually hammer away at one another. Both were bleeding from a number of wounds but neither showed any signs of fatigue. Anomen turned to watch as Jeral continued to duel with the grey haired man. Jeral was largely on the defensive but he seemed to be in control as he parried attack after attack.
Viconia shoved Anomen roughly to get his attention.
"We must go upstairs. There are two more upstairs that we need to kill."
"What about Jeral and Minsc?"
"They will be fine. The two upstairs look to be the most dangerous ones left. We need to kill them before they can prepare for our attack. We move NOW!"
Viconia shoved Anomen forward and grabbed Nalia by the arm to drag her along as well. She locked eyes with Yoshimo and barked out another order.
"Go clear the traps at the top of the stairs so we can kill those other slavers."
Yoshimo's eyes shifted from Viconia to Jeral and then back to the drow.
"I cannot leave Jeral!"
Viconia's violet eyes flashed with rage, unused as she was to the disobedience of males.
"Clear those traps bounty hunter or you will not survive this day!"
Yoshimo grimly nodded in agreement and raced up the stairs with Anomen, Viconia, and Nalia following close behind.
Out of the corner of his eye Jeral watched the four race up the stairs. He eyes were quickly pulled back to his front as he just managed to parry a wicked overhand strike from his opponent. His arms felt heavy as he continued to block strike after strike. His opponent was red faced and sweating, his long grey hair hung down in clumps as he strained to get through Jeral's guard. Jeral stabbed out with his short sword and his opponent nimbly twisted out of the way. Jeral pivoted on his left foot and struck out with a short punch with his right arm. Surprised by the unorthodox tactic the grey hair man's eyes widened as Jeral's sword pommel connected with his face. Jeral's fist connected with a satisfying crunch as blood poured from his broken nose.
Wiping the blood on his sleeve the man smiled at Jeral, showing a bloody mouth full of shattered teeth. He staggered backwards a half dozen steps until he regained his balance. He took a deep breath and raised his blades in a brief salute.
"That was…unexpected. It has been quite some time since someone has made me bleed. Well done lad. Pity you will not live to enjoy it."
The man raced towards Jeral and he braced to meet his charge, holding his blades in a high guard. At the last instant the grey haired man dropped to his knees and slid towards Jeral. Jeral slashed out with the Blade of Roses but the grey haired man leaned back and the blade skimmed harmlessly over his head. Jeral desperately twisted sideways to get away from his attacker. As the man slid past Jeral he struck out with his right hand katana and Jeral felt the blade cut deeply into his right thigh, just above the knee. The pain was overwhelming, as the blade struck home a huge thunderclap exploded in Jeral's ears and he found himself deafened and completely unable to move. Tears welled up in his eyes as his body was overcome with the pain from the blade and the intense noise.
Jeral could only watch helplessly as his opponent deliberately rose to his feet. He sheathed his left hand katana on his back and walked to stand in front of Jeral. He placed a hand on Jeral's armor and ran his hand over the cool metal links.
"This is some exceptional armor boy. Let's see if my blade can pierce it shall we?" He took his katana and placed the tip of the weapon in the very center of Jeral's chest. Placing both hands on the blade he prepared himself to drive it through Jeral's chest.
Jeral willed himself to move, tried to cast a spell, ried anything and everything to get out of the way of the blade. Nothing worked. Jeral closed his eyes as he realized that he was going to die. He did not fear death, but he feared failing Imoen. He hoped that Anomen and the others would still make the attempt to rescue her even without him. Determined to face his death with dignity Jeral opened his eyes so he could watch his own death.
Seeing Jeral's eyes open the grey haired fighter nodded slightly in salute. "You are a brave man and were a worthy opponent. Still you will die knowing that you lost to a real swordsman."
Shifting his weight he started driving his blade into Jeral's chest. The point of the blade easily slid between the chain links and bit into his chest. It dug in slightly and then stopped. Jeral was not sure if the blade was stopped by his mail or by his breast bone. Frowning, the man tightened his grip on his blade and he leaned into the weapon. Pain shot through Jeral's body as the blade, slowly, painfully, started to burrow into his chest. Jeral felt his chest flexing inwards and could imagine the bones preparing to shatter. Once that happened the blade would run him through and death would follow.
"Noooooooo! He is not for you to kill!"
Jeral raised his eyes and saw Yoshimo racing down the stairs. He reached the landing and launched himself at Jeral's opponent.
The grey haired man whirled around and easily parried Yoshimo's wild strike. Yoshimo lifted his right leg and kicked out at the man's chest. His foot struck the man in the center of the chest and hurled him backwards.
Yoshimo placed himself between Jeral and the grey haired man and held his katana at the ready.
"This one is not for you fool! He is destined for more, so very much more. You shall not interfere."
"We shall see dark one, we shall see."
The grey haired man slowly drew his second katana and held both his blades in front of his face. He sprang forward and slashed out at Yoshimo. Yoshimo parried the first blade and twisted away from the second. Yoshimo counterattacked and forced the man to backpedal as he quickly followed one attack up with another.
Jeral could not see the battle that raged around him. He could hear the clash of steel on steel so he knew that both Minsc and Yoshimo still battled their opponents. Explosions from over his head confirmed that Viconia and the others had their hands full with the remaining slavers upstairs. Jeral struggled to regain control over his body. As the moments slowly crept forward he felt some control return to his limbs. Finally he was free from whatever enchantment held him and he collapsed to the floor in pain.
He lifted his head and saw that Yoshimo was giving ground as the grey haired fighter methodically picked him apart. Yoshimo's initial attack had pushed the man back but surprise and fury can only last so long. Now his opponent's superior skill was starting to tell. Jeral gasped in horror as he watched Yoshimo parry one strike but leave himself open to the follow up attack. Yoshimo pivoted to his left as he deftly pushed the right hand blade of his opponent to the side. Without missing a beat the grey haired man slashed out horizontally with his left hand blade and it cut deeply into Yoshimo's exposed side. His lightly enchanted student leather armor was little hindrance as the blade cut deep. Yoshimo's right arm snapped back in close as he held his blade in front of his injured side. Yoshimo slowly staggered backwards as he struggled to stay upright as the blood poured down his leg. Failing in the attempt, he collapsed to the floor and his blade clattered away from his failing grip. Yoshimo looked up at his opponent as if resigned to his fate.
Jeral mumbled a few arcane words and a trio of magic missiles leapt from his fingers and struck the grey haired fighter in the back. The man spasmed in pain and whirled around to face Jeral, his face twisted in a mask of rage.
"You bore me boy. No one else is here to save you. You are going to die by my hand."
Twirling his blades menacingly he confidently sauntered towards Jeral. Jeral muttered a few words and five duplicates appeared at his sides. The man paused for a second as he viewed the images and frowned slightly. He quickly reached into his belt pouch, pulled out a potion vial, and swallowed the contents. He then smashed the empty vial on the floor, reclaimed his second kanata and launched himself at Jeral.
The man moved faster than Jeral thought possible. He closed with Jeral with two quick strikes banished two of Jeral's images from existence. Jeral realized that the benefits from Nalia's spell of haste were gone and that his opponent was moving with magical speed. Jeral knew he had to strike quickly before his remaining protective images were destroyed. How could he defeat a man who was a better swordsman? Jeral realized he needed to find a superior swordsman to aid him. Jeral dropped his short sword to the ground and tore at the pouch on his pants leg with his left hand. Finding what he wanted he pulled the wand free and threw himself to the ground. Striking the ground he rolled to the right and rose to a knee and pointed his wand at the Minotaur still dueling with Minsc on the far side of the chamber. The pair continued to duel and Jeral was stunned to see that Minsc was starting to tire. Jeral uttered the command word and a bolt of lightning leapt from the wand and struck the minotaur in the side. The bolt tore through the beast, struck the wall just beyond it, and then rebounded through his body once again. The minotaur howled piteously in pain as it collapsed to the ground dead. Minsc looked around and locked eyes with Jeral as the bard's attention was pulled back to the grey haired man.
The glint of metal pulled Jeral's attention back to the immediate threat and he desperately raised his long sword to parry the blow. His opponent lifted a knee and drove it into Jeral's face. Jeral felt his nose shatter and felt the warm blood flow down his face as he struggled to rise to his feet as he backed away from his opponent. His remaining mirror images were gone and his short sword lay on the ground on the other side of his opponent. The warrior slashed out viciously with one katana and then the other. Jeral parried the strike from the electrically charged blade and accepted the strike from the second strike on his side. His chain mail held and the blade did not cut into him. The force of the blow did crack a few ribs on his left side and he struggled for breath as he continued to back away.
An inhuman roar echoed across the room and the sound of heavy metal footsteps echoed over the sounds of their combat. Minsc was on his way to Jeral's aid! Jeral's opponent heard the sounds and prepared to turn and face the new threat. Jeral stopped back pedaling, leaned forward and sprung towards his opponent; the Blade of Roses held with both hands over his head. Jeral put every last bit of remaining strength into the swung as he swung down towards the man's unarmored head. The grey haired man turned back to face Jeral and raised both his katanas up in a high guard. He crossed the blades to form a stronger defense and easily parried Jeral's strike. Jeral did not pull back and attack again, rather he attempted to muscle his sword down through his opponents guard. He knew it was unlikely to succeed but he was determined to keep his opponent focused on him for as long as possible.
The grey haired man swung both his blades to the right and drove them to the floor. The unexpected move drove Jeral's blade into the floor and the blade clattered out of Jeral's hands as it violently impacted with the marble. The grey haired fighter straightened back up and pulled back his right hand katana to prepare for the killing strike. Jeral could not help but stare at the magnificent weapon. The heavy enchantments from the weapon radiated out of it as if the blade could not contain all the power held within. As Jeral stared at the blade a splash of warm blood splattered on his face; he staggered backwards struggling to clear the blood from his eyes. He started to panic until he realized that the blood was not his own. Somehow he could tell from the smell and the taste of the blood that it was not his own.
As his vision cleared he saw his opponent standing unsteadily in front of him. Both of his blades lay on the ground and the warrior stared down at the massive blade protruding from the center of his chest. Licaror had easily entered through the center of the man's back and punched out of his chest. Minsc braced his left hand on the man's shoulder and slowly drew his blade back. As the blade slid out of the man's chest Jeral was horrified to realized that he could see all the way through the man's torso! The grey haired man struggled to raise his head and locked eyes with Jeral. He struggled to speak as blood frothed from his lips.
"You could not beat me boy! I may die today, but I die undefeated." As the words left his lips Jeral watched as the last of his life left his eyes and his lifeless body collapsed to the floor. Jeral allowed himself a quick look around the chamber as he struggled to catch his breath. Confident that he and Misc and Yoshimo were the only ones left alive on the floor he nodded his thanks at Minsc.
"Once again I owe you my life. Are you badly injured?"
Smiling Minsc shook his head tiredly. "Minsc is very tired but all of my wounds are minor."
"Please watch the stairs while I tend to Yoshimo."
Jeral sheathed the Blade of Roses and reclaimed his short sword as he made his way over to Yoshimo. The bounty hunter lay sprawled on the floor in a slowly expanding pool of blood. Jeral knelt down next to Yoshimo and was relieved to see the bounty hunter open his eyes. He was badly wounded, and very pale, but he yet lived.
"Rest easy Yoshimo."
Jeral placed his hands on the wound and willed out his energy. Yoshimo's eyes widened in surprise as a burst of energy coursed through his body, closing the worst of his wounds.
"That felt most unusual Jeral." Shaking his head dismissively Jeral patted Yoshimo's shoulder reassuringly.
"Never mind all that. You should be well enough until Anomen or Viconia can attend to you. Lay still."
Yoshimo nodded tiredly and lowered his head back to the floor and lay still, his shallow breathing the only indication that he was still alive.
Jeral rose to his feet and limped over to join Minsc at the base of the stairs.
Drawing his blades he tiredly said, "Let us go check on our friends upstairs Minsc."
"No need for all that Jeral, we are all fine and the slavers upstairs are not."
Jeral looked up to see a beaming Nalia heading down the stairs closely followed by Anomen and Viconia. All three looked very much the worse for wear but they were all upright and smiling. Nalia's robes were badly burned and torn. Anomen's shield was badly dented in a number of places and Viconia's war hammer was covered in blood and bits of skull.
Smiling broadly Jeral sheathed his blades and motioned towards Yoshimo.
"He is badly wounded, can you two tend to him?"
Anomen heartily clapped Jeral on the shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain from his wounds.
"I will take care of Yoshimo Jeral. We have done a great thing today. We have destroyed the slavery operations within the city of coin! Both Helm and the Order will be pleased!"
Viconia walked up to Jeral and looked him up and down.
"To look at you it is difficult to determine if you won or lost the battle."
She hung her war hammer on her belt and expertly ran her hands over Jeral.
"You should have bled out from this wound on your thigh, yet clearly you did not. The rib injury and the nose are both painful but largely inconsequential."
Jeral smirked at the drow priestess. "Nice to know my pain is inconsequential Viconia."
She smoothly grabbed his shattered nose and violently straightened it, causing Jeral to whimper in agony.
"You surfacer males are just pathetic, no tolerance for pain at all. I had to straighten it before I heal it."
Viconia muttered a few words and Jeral felt a healing warmth wash over his face. She then repeated the effort on his thigh. The wound partially closed and still ached painfully.
"That is all I can do for now, I have used up all of my remaining gifts while upstairs. You will live until then and we can complete the healing process on the morrow."
Jeral nodded tiredly as he looked around the room at the others. All save Viconia looked exhausted and in need of healing and rest.
A loud knock on the door caught the attention of everyone on the room. Weapons were drawn and made ready. Viconia and Nalia dragged Yoshimo away from the door as Jeral moved warily towards it, closely followed by Minsc and Anomen. The pounding on the door repeated itself and to Jeral's ears it sounded like a sword pommel slamming into the door time and time again. Whoever was outside they definitely had no love for the slavers. Taking a deep breath Jeral quickly opened the door and then jumped back. In an instant Jeral was swept up off his feet and wrapped in a smothering embrace. Jeral struggled to free himself to no avail. Just before he felt his lungs would burst he was released and placed back on the ground.
He gasped for air as he looked up into Hendak's horribly scarred, smiling face.
"It looks as if we are too late Jeral. You and your companions managed just fine without any assistance from us. Well done lad. Very well done."