I do not own Dungeons and Dragons or any of the characters.
Infiltration
Jasper sighed as he took a drink from his mug. They'd met a woman in the Elfsong Tavern who was searching for the thief they'd found dead in the crypts, and she'd taken news of his death better than they expected, seeming to have already guessed his fate. However, besides that, they had been waiting for almost a day for Fayed's contacts to find a lead, as even Ethon claimed to have no idea where the Thieves Guild were holed up. As Jasper drank, Mia and Aranea were seated to either side of him, and Adrianna had joined them at some point, sitting beside Mia initially, but ending up between Mia and Jasper when Jasper and Mia had made a bathroom trip.
"Didn't that Harper say he'd have someone meet us here?" Aranea asked.
"I thought so," Jasper said.
"I'm sure the contact will be here eventually," Mia shrugged.
Their heads turned as the door opened, and a man walked in with a hooded, brown robe, a belt bearing an intricate buckle consisting of a pair of rings around a crystal in the center, then cross connecting it all. A dagger decorated his side, and he glanced around, his eyes picking out Jasper's entire group, as well as their three companions.
"You're late," Jasper called out to him, the others all looking over as well.
"Apologies," the man said. "I've heard you've been busy since you arrived. You've done well so far. But, in fact, you've already met the contact you were promised. Right, Ethon?"
"Ethon?" Jasper asked, looking over at him as he smiled, nodding. "No shit. Glad we rescued you, then."
"As am I," Ethon nodded.
"So, let me guess," Edgin sighed. "The Thieves Guild is only the beginning of the problem?"
"That is what we suspect, I fear," the newcomer nodded, walking over to stand beside Ethon. "Forgive me, I have not introduced myself. I am Jherek."
"So, since Ethon doesn't know where the Guild is, do you?" Adrianna asked.
"I do," Jherek nodded. "Another of our members tracked the thieves to a secret door on the first level of the sewers, in the northeast corner. We have no idea how to open this door. It bears a special enchantment that is proof against most magics."
"We found this strange key on the thief's body," Adrianna offered, holding up an oddly-shaped key decorated with a bloody eye design at its head. "Maybe it'll open the door."
"Let me see it," Jherek said, taking the key. "Hmm...yes, I believe you're right. This bloody eye is the Thieves Guild's mark, and this key bears an enchantment that dispels shadows. But the enchantment in the key is dormant." He hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps its close proximity to the orb disrupted its enchantment. I may be able to awaken it." He mumbled something and the key shimmered slightly for a moment. "Ah, there we are. It should function as intended now. Simply bring the key close to the secret door in the sewers, and the key will reveal the door and allow you to open it."
"Thank you," Adrianna nodded, accepting the key.
"Now, to be clear," Jherek said. "We're not asking you to wipe out the Thieves Guild. Even for all of you, that may be too much to ask."
"We suspect that a powerful mage or mages are backing the Guild," Ethon explained. "The enchantment on the door and that key lend credence to our theory. We need these mages stopped. It's asking a lot, I know, but that's the mission we have for you."
Edgin nodded. "We'll handle it."
"How sure can we be that it's not Thayans?" Jasper asked.
"We can't," Jherek admitted. "Be careful. The thieves have already killed several of the city watchmen. They will not hesitate to kill you if you are discovered."
"Thieves we can handle," Jasper said. "Numerous Thayan Red Mages we'll struggle with."
"We don't expect you to give your lives for this," Ethon said. "Confirming their identity is enough."
"We shall not fail," Xenk vowed.
Jherek and Ethon both nodded, and Jasper and everyone finished their drink before standing.
"I'm coming with you, this time," Kira said.
Edgin and Holga both hesitated before nodding, and they all headed down into the sewers together, making their way to the northeast section, the area where Ethon had been imprisoned. Past the cells, there was an alcove with a stretch of bare wall that seemed unfinished, or else pointless. However, as Adrianna held the key to the wall, a section of the wall sank back, then slid to the side, revealing a doorway. Adrianna slid the key into its lock and turned it, and the lock clicked open, the door swinging out of the way. They all glanced around at each other, and Edgin turned to Kira.
"Stay invisible, and stay behind us," Edgin instructed. "If there are any mages or bows, try to find cover."
"We'll keep you safe, Bug," Holga promised.
Kira nodded, pressing the jewel on her amulet and vanishing from sight, and the others all turned to the front, passing through the door, drawing their weapons as they did. They entered into a small room bearing walls built into the rock with wood reinforcing it. The door out of the room opened into a long hallway cramped with boxes of stolen loot, but the room after it contained a trio of thieves. One of them shouted a warning, each grabbing a pair of knives, but before any could move to engage the invaders, Jasper and Mia had crossed the room, their Ironwood swords slaying all three in an instant. Several weapon racks decorated the walls, all of the weapons no-doubt stolen, and untold amounts of other stolen equipment were scattered around. Almost as if it were instinct, everyone from Jasper's group spread through the room to see if there was anything worth taking. Xenk sighed, but allowed them to explore, and Jasper noticed that of the others, only Adrianna refrained from looting the room. After a few moments, Kira vanished again, and a moment later, her own dress reappeared, falling to the ground. Jasper raised an eyebrow as a dress on an armor stand, one with armor on parts of it, vanished before Kira reappeared wearing the dress.
It fit her perfectly and had gold armor over the dress across the chest and over the shoulders, which were spaced out a bit from her neck, leather armor around her elbows, and gold hip protectors. The dress was comprised of a teal cloth which hung around her legs in a loose skirt, connected the leather armor around her elbows to the gold on her shoulders, extended from the leather armor to her wrists with a section of cloth looping back up past the leather armor from below her elbow to connect above it again at the top of the leather. On the abdomen, Jasper could see that there was more armor hidden by the dress's teal material, protecting her entire torso, and around her waist was a decorative gold cloth with brown along the top, then a strip hanging down in the front to the bottom of her dress, the cloth itself hanging down in the front in a "V".
"You look beautiful, Bug," Holga smiled proudly.
"Perfect fit," Edgin agreed.
Kyra smiled proudly, and Jasper turned back to the armor rack he was perusing, only to stop, staring at a pair of staves. Both were the length of a quarterstaff, one silver and the other gold. The silver one was three-sided, with rounded corners for the shaft and the sides all tapering to a lethal point on the bottom end. The top end was decorated by several spots where the metal belled outward to small points, the first two forming something looking like a handle, then the next forming a sort of head on the staff, being closer to the second point than the second was from the first. The gold staff, on the other hand, was very similar to the silver one, but with the bottom end rounded off as well, and the belled-out sections along the top hollow frames on the gold staff, and the topmost one simply opening into three fingers and ending.
Along all three sides of both stave's bodies were characters from the celestial language, but Jasper couldn't read it. He did, however, recognize the staves. A Staff of Power and a Staff of the Magi. Both were extremely powerful staves, and both of them were so extremely rare that only a handful had ever been heard of, and most destroyed. He grinned widely, taking them from the wall and turning.
"Adrianna, Simon," Jasper called out.
Both turned, then yelped in surprise, Adrianna catching the Staff of Power and Simon catching the Staff of the Magi. Both of them gaped at the weapons as Xenk stared.
"Incredible," Xenk breathed. "Are they real?"
Adrianna focused, then opened her eyes just as the sigils along her staff shone white-blue for a moment before fading. Then, she grinned widely, nodding. "It's real."
"So is this," Simon said, his own staff's runes glowing for a moment before also fading. "How did the Thieves Guild find these?"
"Doesn't matter now," Mia grinned. "They're yours, now."
"What are they?" Holga asked.
"A Staff of Power and a Staff of the Magi," Xenk said. "Two of the most powerful and rarest magic staves in existence."
"They allow us to use more powerful spells and use the staves themselves to cast them by using the staff's power, which will regenerate once expended," Simon said. "These are incredible."
"And they're going to come in handy," Adrianna said. "Anyone else find anything they want?"
"I did," Edgin said, drawing a curved, golden, khopesh dagger.
It had a rounded pommel, a gripped wrapped in a thin rope, a guard that curved toward the blade then back out, the guard's arms remaining short but being sufficient to protect the fingers, then the blade curved forward slightly at the base, then backward again, being about ten inches long and with a vein of thicker metal along the center of the thin, single-edged blade. Jasper frowned, taking the dagger, only for his eyes to widen. It was enchanted to protect the metal and make it sharper than it should have been, making it an excellent find.
"It's for Kira," Edgin said, Jasper passing it off. "Just in case something happens, and you need it."
Kira nodded, accepting the scabbard from Edgin and strapping the dagger to her side. With that taken care of, and with no one else having found anything useful, they continued deeper into the hideout. Not long after, they found a group of about a dozen Kobolds and Adrianna and Simon took the opportunity to test their new staves. Adrianna aimed the top end of her staff at the Kobolds and fired a Lightning Bolt, which forked, blasting four of the small creatures and killing them instantly, their charred corpses crashing into the wall. A moment later, Simon raised his own staff, which seemed to glow with a golden light, then extended his free hand. A moment later, enormous chunks and spears of ice flashed into existence above the Kobold before raining down on them, slaughtering those that remained in seconds.
The others all cheered, and Simon grinned widely as Jasper and Xenk once again took the lead, swords ready. The next room was filled with more Kobold carrying around loot under the supervision of a thief, but as soon as Jasper and the others entered, Mia hurled a dagger into the dagger's throat before she, Jasper, and Xenk crossed the room and slaughtered the Kobold. A door off to the side burst open, but Adrianna and Simon both sent a lightning bolt through it into the thieves spilling through, wiping most out and hurling the rest backward. Edgin, Holga, and Kromlech all ran through, and Holga and Kromlech finished a pair off on the ground as the other lunged at Edgin, only for him to pivot around the thief, slashing him across the back and killing him. Edgin grinned proudly instantly, and Holga rolled her eyes.
"You're still way behind," Holga reminded him.
"Yeah," Edgin said, his excitement crushed. "Would it kill you to be proud of me?"
"It might," Holga smirked.
They crossed the room to a small connecting room, and through the far door of that room, they found that a barricade had been made, thieves hurling knives at them from the far side. Jasper grunted in pain as one stabbed into his right shoulder, retreating back through the door with the others and ripping it out, allowing Xenk to heal it.
"All yours, Doric," Jasper said.
Doric nodded, transforming into a housefly and flying past the thieves, then transformed into an Owlbear, crushing one thief before grabbing another and smashing him into the wall, cracking the wood. The third turned on him, but Vahn fired an arrow into his head, killing him instantly as Doric's front feet crashed down on her second victim's chest, flattening it. Jasper nodded in acknowledgement as he passed her just as the door burst open and a dozen more thieves ran through. However, before they could get more than a couple of steps through the door, Jasper had reached them, splitting the first across the chest. The next lunged, only to lose his arm at the elbow followed by his head. The next died from a thrust to the heart, then the one after him from a Flame Arrow to the chest. He fell into the thief behind him, igniting him as well, and as the thief flailed, Jasper split him across the back, severing his spine. Two lunged at once, and Jasper stepped aside from their strike, allowing Mia and Vahn to shoot them, killing both before Jasper lunged, suddenly a black mamba. He sank his fangs into the next thief, then shifted back, landing over the thief as he writhed on the ground, screaming in agony, and Jasper's sword split a thief up the front before he pushed off the ground with his right foot, spinning and slashing a dagger out to the side, his own Ironwood Dagger flashing out and slashing that thief's throat. The last two hurled their daggers at Jasper, but he dropped into a squat, getting under the daggers, and Adrianna fired a pair of ice spikes into the thieves, killing both.
Jasper stood again and continued forward, looking around as he did. Every room they'd passed through had been filled with loot, but nothing as good as what they'd already found. However, Jasper did pick up an amulet with an enchantment he could sense, only to toss it away again as he identified the enchantment as a very weak enchantment against Enfeeblement. The others likewise ignored all of the stolen gear around them, and they all continued on in silence, listening for voices or the sounds of the thieves trying to mount a defense. They passed down a long hallway with small rooms set up as personal rooms for members of the guild, and killed the handful of thieves guarding the hallway, searching the personal rooms for anything useful, even Xenk joining them this time, though mostly looking through the various notes and letters for information about other Thieves Guild members or information about its magical backers. A long, curved hallway on the right, patrolled by floating, floating, exploding, tan pods, called Gas Spores, but they burst them all from a distance and found several chests inside, a crate of rare, and extremely valuable, spices, and Vahn and Kromlech's missing belongings tossed carelessly in a corner.
Kromlech's family axe had a long, silvery handle with blue cloth wrapped around the end and around the shaft just below the blade, then a double-sided, blocky blade with straight edges and the sides of the blades decorated with ridges that gave the appearance of wings. Vahn's unknown lost belonging, however, was a beautifully-crafted recurve bow with pale tan wood, a silvery string, and celestial runes carved along the arms.
"A bow?" Jasper frowned. "I suppose that explains why an Arcane Archer didn't have a bow. What are the runes?"
"An enchantment that reduces the magic cost of enchanting my arrows," Vahn explained. "It was a gift from a sorcerer I once knew."
Jasper nodded in understanding as both Vahn and Kromlech tossed their stand-in weapons aside. However, before they could leave the room, Vahn also tossed his sword aside, picking up one with a brown grip, a more basic, straight-armed crossguard, a silver blade, a cylinder pommel, and the guard carved to look like abraid of metal rods. Jasper frowned, reaching his own sword over and tapping his blade against the sword.
"That's a mythril-adamantite sword," Jasper realized. "Like Mia's. Good find."
Vahn smiled, sheathing the sword and hanging it from his belt. They all headed back to the main hallway, clearing the rest of the rooms before passing through the door at the end. Before them was a stairway leading deeper, and at the bottom, they found an entirely new world. The walls were high, nearly fifty feet, and before them was a low stone wall with wood along the top and a pit on the far side that they couldn't see the bottom of. Jasper tossed an empty glass bottle in, but even after ten seconds, there was no sound of shattering glass.
"I think it goes all the way to the Underdark," Jasper mused.
"And with that, we're going this way," Edgin said, turning to the path to the right.
"Yeah, I don't feel like going back down there," Mia agreed.
The others all agreed, following Edgin. They continued along the path to a bridge across another pit, smaller this time, but here, they stopped. A pillar ahead with a demonic face carved on each of its four sides began to spit huge, roaring fireballs at them, which exploded against the wall into an enormous blast, scortching the wall but not doing any real damage to it. It would, however, be a different story with them. One by one, they carefully crossed the bridge, avoiding the fireballs, Kira going with Xenk so that he could keep her safe. However, as they stood aligned with the pillar's corner, allowing the two sides toward them to fire past them safely, they stared at a long hallway with half a dozen more pillars, all of which were firing across and along the hallway. Once again, they all made their way along the hallway carefully, watching the trajectories of the fireballs to pass safely, Xenk once again sheparding Kira along with himself. However, as they passed the hallway, they found an even worse trap. A massive pit extending along where the floor of the path should be and around a series of floating platforms to jump across. Jasper held his arms out to his sides, then shook his head.
"I could fly us if there were more room, but I wouldn't fit as a giant eagle," Jasper said. "We'll have to jump."
"Hold," Xenk said, tossing a small stone from the ground.
It bounced on the first platform and the platform shuddered, then fell, barely one second in between. It dropped until almost out of sight, then flipped sideways before rising back up into its place.
"Well, that complicates things a bit," Edgin sighed. "We'll have to go one at a time and move fast."
"I'll take my chances as a fly," Doric decided, transforming. "I'll scout the path."
She flew forward and around the corner, then returned a moment later, transforming back and landing beside Simon.
"The far end's clear," Doric reported. "It's about a dozen platforms."
The others all nodded and Doric flew off again. Then, one by one, they took off, Jasper going first so that he could help Doric if a welcoming party showed up. Mia went next, then Aranea, Adrianna, Simon, Vahn, Edgin, Xenk, Kira on her own, Holga, and finally Kromlech, who was only barely able to jump from one platform to the next and who only barely reached the far end safely. Then, they all stopped at the next turn. There was a larger pit with rows of platforms. When Xenk tested them, several dropped all at once.
"Shit," Edgin swore. "Can you fly us?"
Jasper looked up and shook his head. "The ceiling's too low, now. My wings would hit the platforms and break."
"I have an idea," Aranea said, transforming into her hybrid form.
She extended her arms and webbing sprayed out of them several strands at a time, connecting to the platforms and the far side of the pit as she flailed her arms and spider legs, tangling the webs rapidly, shifting to the right and left repeatedly as the webbing pulled in more and more of the platforms. Finally, she stopped, returning to her human form as she inspected the webbing bridge she'd made that had a complete walkway of platforms.
"It should hold," Aranea said. "Maybe not for long, but long enough for us to cross."
The others all nodded, and Jasper walked out onto the bridge. It sank terrifyingly as he approached the middle, but it held, so Jasper nodded back at the others. It was quickly decided that the lightest should go first, so Kira hurried across, followed by Mia in her true form, which was considerably lighter, then Doric, then Simon. As Adrianna was crossing, the webbing began to tear free, and Aranea yelped, instantly shifting to her hybrid form and beginning to repair the bridge, managing to stabilize it enough for Adrianna to get across. Then, she adopted her foll spider form and crawled up to the ceiling and over the bridge. Jasper turned away casually, looking around for thieves or monsters waiting for them, and when Mia nudged him, he turned back around, seeing that Aranea had added more than a dozen thick webbing ropes from the ceiling to the bridge to help bear weight. The others crossed quickly, the bridge bobbing dangerously as Holga and Kromlech passed, but it held, and once Aranea had crossed, she plucked at a single web, collapsing the entire bridge.
"Sorry," Aranea apologized to Jasper.
"It's alright," Jasper said, kissing her on the side of the face, as her mask blocked her face. "I'll get used to it."
Aranea nodded, and they all continued finding a broken bridge guarded by a trap pillar, but they were able to cross fairly easily using the far edges of the bridge and leaning heavily on the railings. Then, they reached a section where stairs led down into a pool of ankle-deep water where the five thieves were waiting, only for Simon to send a Lightning Bolt into the water, frying them all. Jasper tested the water gingerly, then sighed in relief when he wasn't immediately electrocuted as well.
"Safe," Jasper reported, walking out into the water.
The others all followed, and after a few minutes, they found a set of stairs leading up out of the water, then a path leading to a bridge with the middle section missing. However, on the far side was another massive gap, the biggest yet, and the walkway on the far side was crawling with a half dozen giant spiders.
"Aranea?" Jasper asked.
Aranea frowned, extending a hand, then cycled through her forms before returning to her normal form, shaking her head. "I can't command them. Maybe if I had months to force them under my control, but right now, I can't."
"Then plan B," Jasper said. "Simon, Adrianna, burn them."
Both sorcerers nodded, raising their staves and sending a fireball sailing across the massive pit to where it exploded into the ground among the spiders, slaughtering them all. Then, Jasper knelt, expanding rapidly as he transformed into a giant eagle. Everyone began to climb on, Doric transforming into a serpent and coiling around Simon's shoulders. Jasper picked up Xenk and Kromlech with his feet, then beat his wings hard but carefully, making his way across the pit before dropping Xenk and Kromlech to the ground. They looked around, then waved Jasper down, and Jasper landed lightly, allowing everyone to climb to the ground before transforming back to normal.
"That was much easier," Edgin said, just as a clicking sound sounded from along the path and they turned, seeing more spiders approaching.
"Aranea, you can stay back," Jasper said, striding forward with Mia, forcing his sword hand to stop trembling.
"No," Aranea said, stepping up on his free side. "You stay back. You don't have to force yourself."
"You're afraid of spiders?" Kromlech asked.
"He fought me once," Aranea said. "I came so close to killing him that it traumatized him."
"That one's big," Holga commented, almost sounding bored.
She was right, of course, as the spider crawling around a corner amid the swarm of thigh-high spiders was one which rivaled Aranea for size, though its legs were long and thin and its body white and grey. Jasper broke into a run first, charging with Mia and Aranea just behind him, followed by Holga, Kromlech, and Xenk. Simon and Adrianna both fired a Lightning Bolt into the spiders, each killing five, but there was more than a dozen left. Jasper sent a barrage of Flame Arrows into one, killing it, then slashed another, spinning out of its way as Mia's mythril-adamantite sword stabbed another and Aranea stabbed her spear into one, then used the spear to vault over the rest, flipping the spear around and driving it down into the massive spider. Mia pivoted around the spider she'd stabbed, ripping the blade out and slashing up through another. Jasper slashed the legs off of one spider's side, then left it for the line behind them as he shot three with Flame Arrows, clearing a path to Aranea, who was being swarmed. He lunged, slashing two out of the way, then hurled his sword in a spinning blur, sending it stabbing into a spider on the opposite side of her. A spider lunged at him from the right, but Adrianna's staff slammed it down into the ground, then stabbed it as she fired an Ice Spike into a further spider as Aranea reached them with Jasper's sword. As he accepted it, Kromlech and Holga ripped their axes from the last of the spiders.
"There are more coming," Aranea said.
"Alright, new plan," Edgin said. "Holga, Kromlech, and Xenk up front. Simon, Adrianna, Vahn, Jasper, and Mia in the middle for range. Doric, Aranea, Kyra and I will bring up the rear."
Everyone nodded and arranged themselves according to Edgin's plan, and they all started forward, passing through the dead spiders and stabbing or slashing them as they passed to ensure they were dead. Then, they hurried along the path, the next group of spiders meeting them within minutes, only to promptly be slaughtered. In Edgin's assigned formation, and with the cramped passageways restricting the spider's movements, Holga, Kromlech, and Xenk slaughtered anything that reached them on the ground, aided by the occasional Ice Storm or Lightning Bolt or Fireball from Simon and Adrianna, and Jasper, Mia, and Vahn killed anything that tried to climb on the walls instantly. After a long while, Holga swapped with Mia, then Kromlech with Edgin, giving Jasper a chance to survey Edgin's growth in skill. He's improved drastically. He was faster than the last time Jasper had gauged his progress, and his strikes had grown even more precise and efficient. He slashed through spiders when he needed to redirect them, otherwise making a pair of quick jabs to the spider's cephalothorax, killing them.
After a couple of minutes, they crossed yet another broken bridge, then began to follow a path with a pit on their left and a row of small stalls on their right, spiders scrambling out of the stalls, only to die just as rapidly as the spiders before them, which were vastly less numerous now than they had been before. Holga and Kromlech rotated back to the front, allowing Edgin and Xenk to rest, and they continued to make very rapid progress before the spiders finally seemed to be finished. They followed the empty, unguarded pathway quickly, only to stop at a long stretch as a swarm of Green Slimes and a Gelatinous Cube began to inch their way around a corner up ahead.
"We've got it," Simon said.
"Nah," Jasper said, stepping past Mia. "Fun fact, Sunbeam is just as effective on Ooze-types as Undead. Case and point. Sunbeam."
The blast swallowed the Gelatinous Cube and all but one of the slimes, and when it faded, the slimes it had struck withered rapidly before fading. The last continued to inch forward at an unhurried pace, but Jasper rolled his eyes.
"Cure Disease," Jasper incanted, focusing the spell on the slime, the spell once again fatal to it.
"That...worked?" Edgin gaped.
"Green Slimes are a pest," Jasper said as they all continued. However, as the path began to continuously spiral to the left, Gas Spores began to drift toward them from the corners. The ranged fighters immediately moved to the front, rapidly killing the Spores from a distance, and their progress continued nearly uninterrupted, none of the Spores getting close to them. And then it was spiders again and they retook the same formation as before, except with Jasper in Xenk's place. The spiders weren't as numerous as before, and with a set formation that allowed for almost all of the others to provide backup, it didn't bother Jasper this time. And then the spiders gave way to sewer rats, which they slaughtered with ease. And then there were two sections of trap pillars spitting fireballs. Then, finally, they'd reached the center of the hideout, and all spread into the open area, staring at the man ahead of them.
"So, you have come all this way," the man said in a deep voice. "To think I missed the chance to kill you three when we first met."
He wore a brown, leather brigandine over a dark-grey, long-sleeved shirt, leather vambraces, black pants, leather boots, a belt of daggers across his chest, a bastard sword with a black grip across his back, and a silver helmet with five spikes spread sideways across the top of it starting at his temples with a strip of metal reaching down in front of his nose and the armor on the sides extending in front of his cheeks. The helmet bore what looked like a black scorpion design across the front of it.
"You the leader of the Thieves Guild?" Jasper asked.
"Not the leader, no," the man said. "I am Karne."
"I think ye'll find us a more worthy opponent than the last time, when you can't strike like a coward from the shadows," Kromlech growled, readying his axe.
"You speak the truth," Karne nodded. "I had not expected you to make it through the gauntlet. Still, it matters little whether you kill me or not, for either way, you will still die."
"Who heads the Thieves Guild?" Xenk asked.
"Xenk Yendar," Karne recognized him. "I had not been informed you had joined this group. That might explain a bit."
"Their successes were their own," Xenk said. "I merely helped speed things along. Even without me, this meeting was inevitable."
"I see," Karne nodded. "Even if you kill me, my Lord waits below. Your death at his hands will be a slow one compared to the mercy I will show you."
"You expect to defeat us all alone?" Adrianna asked.
"Alone, no," Karne shook his head. "However, you may have noticed the pits you passed on your way here. As I understand it, most of you are familiar with the Underdark that those pits lead to, and a few of you are familiar with what awaits below. My Lord has seen fit to summon me some aid, it would seem."
As he gestured behind them, warning bells flared to life in Jasper's head, and he pivoted, shouldering through the others as he shifted himself into a Tabaxi. A moment later, a Pride Sinspawn's claws shrieked along the blunt side of his Ironwood sword, deflecting over himself before he retreated from it just as Vahn blasted it with Repulsion, sending it staggering backward a whopping three steps. Jasper glanced back, seeing Holga and Edgin facing Karne, then turned back to the front, raising his sword to inspect it without removing his eyes from the Sinspawn. Its claws had sheared the sword off at an angle about a quarter of the blade's length from the tip. He sighed, sheathing it, then drew his rapier instead.
"Of all of the creatures of the Underdark, it had to be a Pride," Jasper growled.
"We can win this," Xenk stated firmly, his Holy Avenger in his hand.
"Says the Paladin who decided to finally wield his Holy Avenger," Jasper countered, Mia stepping up beside him with her Ironwood sword, also as a Tabaxi.
"We can do this," Aranea said, stepping up beside Mia.
"Get back, right now," Jasper growled.
"What?" Aranea asked.
"He's right," Xenk said. "This is far beyond your abilities. Jasper, let's go."
Jasper nodded, and as one, both of them lunged. Jasper raced ahead of Xenk, and when the Pride Sinspawn slashed at him, he leapt into the air, slashing from above, only for its other hand's claws to deflect the blade. It ignored him, striking out at Xenk instead, but Xenk leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the strike before slashing at the Pride Sinspawn. It sidestepped the blade, deflecting Jasper's again, then spun, slashing the blade of Mia's off entirely before its claws tore through her side. She shrieked in pain, only for Vahn to blast her with Repulsion, hurling her out of the way of a follow up slash as the Sinspawn spun, its claws flashing through the air, grazing Jasper's chest and Xenk's cheek. The fight had barely been going for ten seconds and already everyone could see it was a losing bet. Vahn narrowed his eyes, growling, and began to loose enchanted arrows rapidly, flaming, exploding, venomous, and even freezing arrows, all of them striking its chitin armor as uselessly as the Flame Arrows Jasper fired as Xenk closed in. However, the ranged strikes did distract the Sinspawn for a brief moment, allowing Xenk to scratch its chitin and receive only a shallow cut in his shoulder instead of losing his arm.
Jasper lunged again as the Sinspawn lashed out at Xenk, his blade tearing down the back of the Sinspawn's chitin, but the chitin refused to yield, cracking and bearing a scratch, but withstanding the blade, unlike Jasper's own armor or Ironwood Flesh when its claws tore diagonally up his torso amid its next turn, hurling him aside. Before it could pursue him or Xenk, a pair of Lightning Bolts exploded into it, hurling it away, only for it to rise again. Jasper grit his teeth, pushing himself up and ignoring the fact that blood was coursing down his chest quickly. Xenk could heal him later, but this monster had to die now. He charged, streaking across the ground, and it slashed downward at him, only for him to duck out of the way. Its other hand, which it had pulled back on the same side of its body swept around at him, only for him to lift his feet into a jump, spinning and allowing his blade to tear along the chitin on the Sinspawn's side. As he landed, the Sinspawn lunged at Xenk, only for a Quicksilver arrow to slam into the shin moving forward as webs attached to the other leg, yanking it forward. The Sinspawn crashed down in a split and Xenk's Holy Avenger swept up to cleave its head from its shoulders, only to deflect off of its claws. The Pride Sinspawn let out a victorious bellow, its claws lashing out, only for Shadow to crash into Xenk in a tackle as a Grey Render, getting him out of the way of the strike at the cost of a couple of cracked ribs. Then, Shadow lunged, furiously assaulting the Pride Sinspawn in an endless series of clawed, powerful forms. As it briefly held its attention, Xenk sprinted to Jasper, healing him, then to Mia, doing the same just as the Pride Sinspawn lunged through Shadow entirely, striking at Jasper.
He pivoted, ducking around the claws, then struck. Then he ducked. Then countered. He weaved and countered. In his desperation to keep its attention, he moved in a blur, dodging and striking over and over to no avail, and when Shadow rejoined him, it made no difference. Despite the tapestry or scratches and gouges they painted across its chitin, none of their strikes were able to penetrate. An Ice Spear exploded into its back, knocking a slash off course and allowing it to slice off a chunk of skin from Jasper's cheek instead of half of his head, but the ice left no mark whatsoever on its armor. The Sinspawn spun in a circle, Jasper narrowly managing to duck under the claws, then slashed upward at it, his blade knocking it back again, but once again failing to penetrate its armor. And then, as it lashed out at Jasper with both arms, Jasper swore harshly, slashing hard. There was an almighty crash, and the Sinspawn's left hand's claws spun away as Jasper's blade splintered, crumbling to the ground around him. Then, Kromlech's axe crashed into its back and stopped dead.
Jasper lunged, drawing his Ironwood dagger, but there was nothing he could do. The Sinspawn turned, its left hand brushing him aside as its claws swept Kromlech aside as though weightless, the chain links from his armor scattering in a spray of blood. An exploding arrow a Fireball, and a Lightning Bolt all slammed into the Sinspawn, hurling him, and Xenk sprinted to Kromlech just as Edgin stabbed his rapier through Karne's throat. Karne sputtered and choked on his own blood, but Edgin turned, tossing the sword to Jasper. He caught it and turned in time to duck under the Sinspawn's claws. Desperation roared through him as his rapier clashed with the Sinspawn's armor over and over, striking three times to each of the Sinspawn's one, but the battle had shifted. Despite avoiding fatal wounds, the Sinspawn's claws were able to bit into Jasper's body with every strike now, though shallowly. Over and over Jasper danced and dodged around the Sinspawn, his blade connecting again and again with increasingly disheartening futility. Then, just as Kromlech rose, Xenk's Holy Avenger shone. Peace washed through Jasper, washing away his fear and stilling his mind, allowing him to focus.
The Sinspawn struck out, but Jasper jumped, evading the strike just as Mia reached them, slashing and scoring a scratch across its side at the same time as Jasper rolled in the air, his blade scoring a pair of strikes atop the Sinspawn's shoulders. As he landed, the Sinspawn's claws whipped around at him, but he dropped under them, Mia chasing the Sinspawn's back to evade its slash, then struck out at its back together. This time, pitch black blood scattered into the air and the Sinspawn shrieked, kicking out at them, only for both to have retreated out of reach. An explosive arrow drilled into the new weak point in the armor and erupted, chunks of chitin scattering into the air. It roared, turning and launching itself at Vahn, only for a pair of Lightning Bolts to explode into it from Simon and Adrianna, casting it backward just as a Flame Arrow and a Quicksilver Arrow drilled into its exposed back from Jasper and Mia before they both ducked under it and darted forward to rejoin the others. The Sinspawn flipped, driving its claws into the ground and skidding to a stop, snarling. As it stood, Xenk stepped forward and Mia backward, Jasper readying himself again.
"This time, we end it," Xenk declared.
"Yeah," Jasper nodded.
They charged again, and the Sinspawn moved to meet them. It lashed out, but Xenk stopped short, and Jasper crouched, ducking under the claws as all emotion drained from his face. His muscles coiled up as his blade angled itself for a single strike. Then, in a flash of movement, his blade thrust up at the Sinspawn's eye. However, his aim was off and the blade deflected off of the chitin armor around its eyes, swinging out to the side. The Sinspawn roared, then stepped backward, Xenk's blade tearing down its torso and cracking the chitin, but not breaching it. However, the Quicksilver arrow that slipped between Xenk and Jasper did, stabbing into its body and invading it rapidly. The Sinspawn staggered back a step, shaking its head to the side once, violently, then shrieked in rage. The Quicksilver was taking effect. It lunged and slashed, but its aim was off and Jasper was able to evade it, slamming a pair of slashes into the front of its torso, chipping away at the armor. Xenk followed the strikes up with one of his own, targeting its arm and knocking it out to the side, across its body, just before Holga and Kromlech's axes both exploded into its chitin, smashing through it this time and drawing blood. It staggered away and both dodged outward, clearing the way for Adrianna and Simon's Lightning Bolts to strike, targeting not the Sinspawn's vulnerable abdomen, but the cracked, now fragile armor of its chest.
The chitin burst apart, and Mia planted two more Quicksilver arrows in its exposed torso at the same time as Vahn added a Venom Arrow. It shrieked, lunging and slashing wildly, but with so much toxic mercury inside of its body, coupled with the rapidly-spreading poison from Vahn's arrow, its vision seemed blurred and its movements were beginning to grow sluggish. Xenk and Jasper evaded the strikes easily, then both struck, carving deep gouges into its body this time. It roared, slashing downward at Jasper, but he sidestepped the blow, allowing the claws to embed themselves in the ground just before Holga and Kromlech's axes slammed into its wrist from opposite sides, cleaving it off. Then, Xenk lunged, planting his blade through its chest entirely. It roared, staging away, but then shrieked raising its left arm to break the sword. However, before it could, Jasper leapt into the air, his entire face once again set into a focused, emotionless mask before he struck, driving the rapier through its eye, successfully, this time, and into its brain.
The Sinspawn staggered away, taking both weapons with it as it thrashed and shrieked, flailing as blood sprayed from its head and chest. Then, finally, it crashed to its knee before pitching to the side, crashing down on its side. Jasper walked forward, pulling his rapier free first, then the Holy Avenger, which he tossed back to Xenk. He nodded to Holga and Kromlech, and both stepped forward instantly, nodding in understanding. No second guessing. It was going to be dead. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s. And with that thought in mind, they swung their axes, then again, and again. Over and over, their axes crashed into the Sinspawn's neck, cracking the chitin protecting it again and again. However, just as the armor splintered and scattered, the Sinspawn roared, lunging up at Holga. Then, in a flash of movement, Kira had appeared, driving her dagger into its neck before slashing out to the front, splitting the front of its throat open and splattering Holga with its blood. However, Holga hesitated only for the second it took Kira to retreat before her axe slammed into the Sinspawn's neck a final time, lopping it off and sending it bouncing away.
For a moment, all was silent, except for everyone's labored breathing. Then, they all began to cheer, Holga and Edgin hugging Kira and congratulating her on the perfect strike at the same time as scolding her for putting herself in danger. Finally, they managed to calm themselves and Jasper collected the pieces of his family's rapier, storing them in Shadow before handing Edgin back his rapier. Jasper looked to Xenk, and he nodded.
"I think resting for a moment would be the wisest course of action," Xenk said. "We should return to the Tavern. I need to treat your wounds, and you'll need to acquire a sword while your Ironwood Sword regrows."
Jasper nodded, and they headed through the next door, finding a set of stairs up into a warehouse in Baldur's Gate. There were several thieves here, preparing stolen goods for transport, but before they could so much as draw their weapons, Shadow had crossed the room and slaughtered them all, then returned to Jasper. Then, they headed back to the Elfsong Tavern to rest and have Xenk heal those where had been wounded, none of their wounds fully healed.
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