The Journal of Calamar Eldanil:

Chapter 8: To Aid Wardlow

18th Goldfields 591

As dawn broke we conducted our normal morning routine, my prayers to the Coronal of Arvandor rising to heaven as my friends went about the business of preparing their weapons and mounts for the day’s activities. As he saw to the horses, Rackhe noticed that the enemy force was still following our trail and was now about a mile away, probably having tracked us through the night. Of course, this in turn meant they probably had an experienced tracker with them. They would surely be able to track us east and south toward Wardlow. Surprise would be lost.

Narion and Rackhe suggested we eliminate this obstacle immediately. Narion suggested we ambush them. Rackhe found a small hollow surrounded by rocky terrain that would suit our purposes very well. I was to position myself in the centre of the hollow beside a large rock. I was to be the bait. Kiri expressed some trepidation at this but I assured her that I would be unharmed. I planned to use my mystical power to duck behind the boulder and meld with it so that it would seem I had disappeared into thin air. The others would position themselves at the points of the compass aside from the approach route of the enemy and lay into them with arrows and steel (“And fire,” our lovely sorceress added with an evil smile) as they saw fit. We tethered our horses some ways off and I squatted down and began to brew a small cup of tea over a hastily built fire. After all, if I were to be bait and appear as if everything was normal, and if I had no idea how long it would be before our trap was sprung, I might as well enjoy the warm cup of tea that I had been deprived of earlier that morning.

After about five minutes, I heard a faint noise coming from the area near us. They appeared around the lip of the hollow, set up in a horseshoe shape based from the direction they were approaching. “Surrender or be slain!” one of them called out to me. I froze and they began advancing into the hollow. When the first troops got to within ten feet or so of me, I ducked behind the rock and melded into it, cloaking myself in the natural power provided by my faith. Instantly cries went up from the enemy, as I could hear within the safety of the rock.

“What? Where’d he go?”

“Foot troops, sneak around and get him.”

“He’s not here.”

“Maybe there’s a hole.” I could hear the enemy soldiers looking about for any hint of what had happened to me. Then I was pleased to hear all the fury of Arvandor released upon our foes by my friends springing the ambush.

*~*~*~*~*

Narion has - once again - helped fill me in on what happened until I emerged from my stony cocoon as I could only hear the cacophony of the battle. I will try and make it as clear as possible what transpired.

The command group appeared at the lip of the hollow in the centre. A woman beside the obvious leader dressed in leather gave out a piercing whistle. Narion cast a magical shield on himself from a scroll and then prepared for a magically assisted expeditious retreat. Kiri launched a fireball at the command group and felled six troopers, also causing great harm to the commander, the tracker and the wizard in the area. Then she drew forth her bow and shot at the ranger.

The commander shouted out, “It’s an ambush! They’re on the flanks! One group of you to the left, One group to the right!” and then he ducked back just behind the lip of the hill. The scout also jumped back out of the line of fire. The enemy sorcerer rolled over and apparently very painfully crawled away.

Rackhe shot at the officer twice, but missed both times at the smaller target he now presented.

The armoured troops near my rock charged Narion and Kiri, and other troops charged forward into our little hollow behind them, intent on joining the fray. Narion quickly drew a longsword, dropped one of the five on him, and caused another to withdraw, grievously wounded. Then he struck the one beside the man he felled and killed him too. A dozen archers all shot at Rackhe, but all missed their mark. Kiri drew her rapier to defend herself and scored a critical hit upon the sergeant in her first lunge, almost killing him, leaving the barest of breaths in his body.

The officer was calling orders and drinking a potion, probably to heal his wounds, as this is what the spellcaster and the tracker were doing. The commander drew two arrows from Rackhe, both finding their mark and wounding him further. The enemy troops surged forward. The foes in melee with my two companions were completely unsuccessful in piercing their defence and it was a dire fight that ensued. The commander ducked out of sight and even I in my rock cell could hear the baying of a hound or some such. At one point Narion drew a scroll from his pouch and, even after being struck by one of the sergeants-at-arms, managed to cast a sleep spell upon the knot of men surrounding my dearest one. Enraged at the poor performance his men were giving, the enemy leader let out a roar of frustration and charged towards the fight around Kiri.

During this fight, the archers continued to take shots at Rackhe, a veritable forest of arrows growing around his feet as he nimbly dodged their fire. Only a few found their mark on my northern friend. The spellcaster appeared after apparently being forced to come back by the officer and lobbed a fireball at Rackhe, catching him full in the explosion of fiery death. So rattled was my friend that he only managed to bury a single arrow in the wizard’s shoulder in retaliation.

Suddenly the enemy scout reappeared off to the side of Narion’s position and let fly a flaming arrow at Rackhe, hitting him square in the thigh. Instead of returning fire, Rackhe let loose another arrow at the spellcaster, dropping him and – to be sure – fired one more arrow off in his direction as the sorcerer fell.

As their officer came up behind them, a number of the enemy on Kiri tried to overpower her and bring her to the ground. They failed in this attempt, their sergeant even running himself upon my love’s outstretched rapier, doing himself in with one stroke. More swords and spears flashed at her but all missed.

More men joined the melee, almost a dozen more heading to attack both Kiri and Narion. Narion dropped his sword and quickly drew his spear so that he could set about more swiftly laying low the pile of foes surrounding him. As he did this, he saw another ten men crest the hill from the enemy’s direction of advance.

The enemy ranger continued to engage Rackhe with missile fire, even as those archers in the front line directed their fire at him as well. Rackhe returned the tracker’s fire and arrows flew back and forth across the hollow like rain.

*~*~*~*~*

After calling forth for the Seldarine to grant me their divine favour and power, and casting a glorious nimbus of light upon myself, I reappeared. Taking quick stock of the fight and the startled faces of the men who were around my boulder hiding-place, I dropped a hammer made of the chaotic force of Arvandor on the commander as he approached my lady, hurting him badly and slowing him and six of his men involved in the fight with Kiri. My reappearance caused a small shift in the enemy’s plan of attack. While some of the soldiers charged at Kiri and others at Narion (we later determined that he was in melee with a full seventeen of them at one time), the ones approaching my rock in the centre of the hollow took it into the heads to run at me with weapons bared. On top of this, all the archers turned their fire to me from Rackhe, who was still involved in a duel with the enemy ranger.

My pretty sorceress lunged forward amongst the pile of soldiers around her and slashed her rapier across the neck and face of the enemy commander, cutting open a grievous gash, which began spurting blood and spraying those men beside him. More of her foes struck at her, only barely nicking her as she danced nimbly about, trying to make her way forward at the officer. He in turn tried to cleave her blade in twain with his battleaxe and only barely missed, the long flexible rapier blade bending almost to the breaking point under the force of the blow. Kiri struck him again and, spearing his arm, wounded him bad enough that he fell at her feet. More steel flashed at her from all around but she escaped all the blows, ducking and weaving gracefully back and forth, as her rapier dealt flashing pain and death.

As the archers directed their fire at me, the enemy ranger suddenly had a huge wolf appear beside her. She leaned over to it and commanded with a firm voice pointed at Rackhe, “Attack him!” The wolf growled once and leapt off at my friend. The wolf charged at the half-blood and managed to drag him to the ground, tussling about and snapping at him with his fierce jaws. For his part, Rackhe rolled about and drew both his scimitars, trying to fend off the massive maw that seemed to be able to swallow him in two bites. The female scout then turned and fired off two arrows at me, by the grace of the Seldarine missing me both times. Rackhe’s flashing scimitars cut at the wolf again and again, even as the large teeth cut and slashed at the half-elf.

I drew forth my prayer book and, reciting a passage on Corellon taking Gruumsh’s eye to instil a feeling of doom in our foes and strengthen our spirit, I began to make my away towards the enemy tracker. I skirted wide of Narion’s little fight, as he was busy laying low the more than a dozen men clambering about him. His spear fair leapt out and took life at almost every stroke. The enemy were dropping like flies all about him, and still they pressed him. The men who had been approaching my position continued to close with me.

Just then, the sorcerer reappeared at the crest of the hill and cast a sparks of magical force directly at me. It was my escaping friend from the Exploits River ford. It seemed he wanted to make this personal. I turned and let the fury of my glowing nimbus of light out upon the archers following me; then I took to the air, flying towards the measly little wizard to finally settle the score. As I rose into the air, I could see a small female crouched beside the spellcaster. She was wearing light armour and carrying a healer’s kit and, as she knelt there, she drew forth a wand and aimed it at me, threatening to use it if I got too close. ‘She should’ve picked somewhere else to be,’ I thought to myself, my gaze fixed on the cowardly wizard. More arrows came at me but I was determined to close with this man and deal with him.

Just as I was about to close with him, from the corner of my eye I saw Rackhe fall to the wolf, lying still, bleeding from many wounds. The wolf limped back to his keeper at the far crest so that she could tend its wounds and the sorcerer, sensing my break in concentration, took this opportunity once again to disappear into invisibility. Curse of the Abyss on that foul creature!!! But instead of wallowing in disappointed fury I turned and dropped down beside my half-blood friend, calling forth the power of the Moonbow to close his wounds and bring him back to us. As he arose once again we were charged by almost a dozen of the enemy, but we managed to defend ourselves to escape unhurt from this rush.

Rackhe tumbled backwards out of the fight and then leapt forward like a panther, striking with his two flashing blades, felling three in the first blow. Surrounding the two of us with the invigorating power of the gods, I drew my sword and stepped into the fray. We managed to acquit ourselves quite handily and the remaining five turned to take flight, running back the way they came. They only occasionally stopped and let fly a few shaky shots at us as they retreated.

Narion was still laying low his opponents, who were beginning to show signs of trepidation in their attacks. Some unengaged archers began directing their fire at him, taking the risk of striking the friends in their goal of felling the powerful elf spearman as the five remaining of their companions withdrew from his lightning fast spear.

The fight around Kiri began to settle around the prostrate body of their leader, some more archers reaching forth at their healer’s direction to drag him from the fight. My lady stood astride her fallen prize and her blade flashed about, keeping the men at bay, dropping another to lie at her feet with the almost half dozen other corpses. Narion ignored the arrow fire and, moving towards Kiri, cast some magic missiles at a couple of the dozen soldiers around her, crippling one to make him withdraw from the fight. Another fell to my love’s blade.

My soldier friend then found himself entangled by the very grass of the field, which had been so enchanted by the enemy ranger, even though she caught her own men in the effect. But he bulled his way through and began to make his way quickly to Kiri’s aide. Even so slowed due to the spell the enemy’s arrows failed to pierce his mail. The tracker decided that discretion was the better part of valour and dismissed her spell, turning to leave the fight entirely. Her last action was to loose three shots with her bow at my stout friend as her pet stood guard at her side. Then she disappeared over the crest. Rackhe recovered his bow and moved off after her.

A surge of ten or so men finally pushed my raven-haired lover from her perch atop their commander, losing one more of their number to her rapier as they did so, and managed to drag him from the melee. The healer, whom later we found to be named Rowan, bent over him and touched the wand to his chest, closing a wound and returning breath to his limp form. Kiri could not have her prize so plucked from her and, extending her hand, called forth bolts of power to strike the man, driving him well beyond the veil. At this, the remaining sergeant called for his men to drop the body and, grabbing the little healer by the scruff of her collar, pulled her from the fight, backing away. She tried to cast some sort of ray at Kiri but the spell missed her widely. Kiri in turn launched a bolt of icy power at her, striking her squarely in the chest and taking the fight out of her. I advanced and boldly called for them all to drop their weapons and surrender. Their hands went up. They cautiously eyed both myself and my ladylove as we joined forces, exchanged a brief gentle touch, and then both turned fierce eyes upon the knot of shaken foes.

 “Can you handle them?” Narion asked and, upon our affirmative reply, cast an expeditious retreat spell to go after Rackhe. But that plan was to wither on the vine as unexpectedly the sorcerer reappeared to the other flank and dropped a blazing ball of fire, exploding it directly on Kiri and myself. He then turned and ran off behind the crest, once again retreating to invisibility to avoid discovery. With a growl of fury my strong friend Narion took off after him, eventually chasing him down by magically detecting the wizard’s enchanted items and killing him with one blow of his mighty spear.

Without even bothering to dust myself off, I called upon the enemy to again surrender. This time weapons dropped soundly to the ground and arms were raised in defiance. The sergeant even saw fit to comment, “We never had any idea that sorcerer was such a nutter. We had nothing to do with what just happened.” I reassured him that we would not immediately hold him responsible for the actions of the spellcaster and he – and his men – appeared quite relieved.

Narion returned from behind the hill with the sorcerer’s equipment. This caused some raised eyebrows amongst our captives and I felt sure that we would not see any further fight from them. Rackhe, also returning to us after trying to pick off the retreating ranger, turned to the sergeant and said; “We will hold you responsible for the conduct of your men.” This seemed to actually calm the group as it became obvious that we were not going to kill them out of hand.

As Rackhe questioned prisoners, Rowan and I saw to the wounded strewn about the small battlefield. I chatted with her, learning that she was a hired spellcaster. In her case, she was an adept of no particular faith. “I’ve no truck with any of the faith preachers … no offence, of course.” I assured her none was taken and we continued to talk. She had had a hard life, growing up scrabbling to make her way in the world, being taken advantage of by different people, but showing some promise with the healing arts. She was just filling a role and, to me at least, seemed somewhat relieved that her part in this escapade was at an end. This force was part of a body sent out to counter the “raiders,” as was the other force we had encountered the previous day. In fact, it was thought that the other troops were still on our trail as well apparently.

So, we planned on disarming our prisoners to their belt daggers, leaving them their armour and one day’s rations. Hopefully they would meet up with their counterparts in the other force; thereby spreading word of their defeat and also slowing down their companions as they stopped to take care of them and see them safely back to camp.

I also thought, after talking with Rowan, that it would be a good idea to extract our captives’ parole that they would not fight us again. We couldn’t take them with us. And we couldn’t take all their equipment. As well, perhaps this gesture of mercy would not be lost on others of their companions. Soldiers, I have been told, sometimes lost the belly for fighting and it seemed a good idea to provide them a safe way out if they desired to take it. After all, given the choice between peace and death, who would choose the latter? If they did decide to choose to stay and fight however, we would see them off to the afterlife without qualm.

It was – after all – their choice.

After Rowan and I tended the wounded and they began gathering the dead, I told them, “As you can see you are being treated fairly now that you have surrendered. We have heard that Lord Tees, while an adversary, is an honourable man – one not given to rapine and pillage. We therefore charge you to go as you will, but hold to your parole not to take up arms any further in this struggle. We consider you bound by his honour.

“Know that your forces have initiated whatever doom is forthcoming from my people and that of humanity. Know also that we will not prevent any who wish to from re-embarking and sailing home.”

And with that, I turned and we departed over the hilltop where our mounts were tethered.

We destroyed the weapons that we could not carry by burning them in two fires. This would destroy wooden hafts and weaken steel blades. Taking what equipment we could reasonably carry, we left, filling remaining space with foodstuffs and supplies. We intended to leave the supplies and such at Blackhollow Fortress.

We started off towards Wardlow again and as we were moving parallel to the road, Rackhe spotted an oncoming scout. He was mounted and moving at a fair clip. We moved off the road so as to avoid him. Without further pause, Kiri and Rackhe shot him off his horse. Narion and the Northman ran over to search the body, upon which they discovered a pouch with some messages, one of which stated that, “you should hurry and be in place soon.”

Events were definitely starting to heat up. With the increased patrols (which we managed to avoid), and the actions of the last few days, I began to wonder if we would reach Wardlow before the enemy closed with the town.

During the night we were attacked by a number of skeletons and zombies, undead animated by some vile necromancer of amongst the enemy from their fallen in the past actions. We realized this when we noticed some that we had recently encountered in the raid on the supply camp. I called down the wrath of the Creator upon them and destroyed them all in one flash of divine power.

The way ahead looked even grimmer now.

19th Goldfields 591

This morning, we set off for Wardlow once again. Before we broke our camp, I cast forth three sendings to let others know of our recent intelligence and our decision to return to the town.

The first was to Calandir, the war leader in the High Forest. He replied that Lord Arlen was withdrawing from the lands he had sacked and had begun moving southward towards us. He had (prudently, no doubt) decided not to enter the forest.

The second went to Gearra, the priestess of Ehlonna, as I thought it a good idea to let her in on the plan as she was the closest thing we had to a free agent in the area. She responded with surprise at our decision, but also with relief that she would not have to shoulder the burden of supporting the community on her own. She was currently southwest of the town collecting refugees and trying to keep them safe by hiding in the Foxwood.

The final sending I dispatched to Mayor Castle in Wardlow. He was pleased that we would be able to lend assistance to his town. He did break the bad news though that the town was already surrounded and, if we were to enter the town in secret, we should come by the harbour route. That last gave my two soldierly friends a pause, as it would require a boat and we had no idea where to find one. But the boat itself would not prove a problem as Kiri reminded us all that she was, after all, a sailor.

So our plan was to head south to the shore of the bay south east of the town, making a wide circuit around the town itself and the enemy troops encamped outside the walls. Hopefully we would be able to find a small jolly boat we could use to enter the town through the harbour. We would first take the horses and supplies to Griff, including our stockpile of captured weapons. At this point, we were but three miles away from the small village we had known so well and so headed off with alacrity. At Griff, Grun informed us that there had been a company that had threatened the village but had decided to move on, supposedly to try and search out the source of the raiders in the area. We felt some trepidation for our friends in Blackhollow Fortress but felt that they were more than capable enough to stand on their own against small parties. Grun also informed us that there were indeed other small patrols in the area and that we should keep ourselves safe during our route to the bay shore.

We left the mundane weapons with Grun, as well as the liberated food and other supplies. We also asked him to take our horses and other loose gear to Blackhollow Fortress. He assured us that he and the other villagers would take them to the fort when the way was a bit safer and by routes that were difficult to discover for the enemy. I spent some time tending to the sick and wounded, much of my time spent with two older human women that seemed to be fine in health matters but quote worried as to the coming conflict. After I managed to calm them some and share some tea with them, I left some of my spare doctoring materials with the villagers. At the gate, some young men took our horses and gear off to the north to the fort. We re-equipped ourselves from their stock of arrows and departed on our way, making for the western fringe of the Foxwood to use it as a screen to our bypass of the town and approach to the southern shore of Wardlow Bay.

*~*~*~*~*

By the middle of the afternoon, we turned to make our way through the southern part of the Foxwood. The forest was fairly thick in spots, with much undergrowth and small game paths winding under the dark canopy of leaves. Rillifane Rallathil, the Leaflord, had truly blessed this wood. Indeed, it was wild enough to give thought that perhaps its denizens were under the sway of the Lone Wolf, Fenmarel Mestarine, god of the wild elves and those who chose isolation from civilization. We knew form the people of the region that the Foxwood was very sparsely settled, with only a few woodcutters and hunters claiming the forest as their home. Many wild animals and other creatures sheltered and flourished here.

We aimed our path to strike the shoreline between Wardlow and the small village of Lumton, nearby where we had passed on our trip to purchase horses so many months ago. Rackhe scouted about, and at one point, both he and Narion detected the faint odour of wood smoke hanging in the air. Knowing that we may just as well encounter foe as friend in this wood, we were all instantly on our guard. Our ranger focused his attention, and informed us that he detected a very faint haze in the air, and that he heard a faint noise to our front. He moved ahead, stealthily, and returned saying he further detected the scent of roasting meat. My bad feeling about this was further reinforced by his observation that, “Something was out of place up ahead.”

He crept forward to have a better look and found himself looking at what may have been lean-tos, a rough camp that looked the worse for wear; definitely not the crisp and serviceable camp of foresters or such. The hair on the back of his neck rose and a large wolf-like shape leapt out at him, at the same time another was sneaking up behind him. With a cry of alarm and surprise, he warned us that worgs were attacking just as they charged him from both directions. One gashed open his arm while the other tried to seize his cloak and wrestle him to the ground. Rackhe slipped out of his cloak and the beast failed to bring him down.

On the second attempt, the worg brought our friend to the ground as we started forward to his rescue. Narion charged forward to engage the beasts and help Rackhe, while Kiri and I ensorcelled ourselves with magics to protect her and allow me to channel some divine light energy into the battle. Rackhe adroitly rolled out from under the worg that was standing over him, slavering, and rolled to his feet, his twin blades twirling about as a flashing tornado of steel. One blade dipped low while he stabbed over the beast’s shoulder and well into its haunch, sinking fully two feet of steel into the creature.

Sorely wounded it howled, and both beasts attacked. We three moved quickly forward in fear for our friend’s life. A fierce duel was in process between the swirling Northman and the two ravenous worgs. As Narion cleared the brush, with Kiri and I a short distance behind, we saw the battle as fur and steel leapt in and out at each other. As we appeared, Rackhe dropped the worg that had tackled him, dodged backwards out of the fray, and gestured ahead of us into the camp. “Giants!” he shouted, and we could just see a few large giant-like shapes approaching through the haze. The other worg snuck in under his guard and gnashed at his leg, to which he responded by striking both scimitars into the flank of the beast as it roiled past him.

Narion stepped into the clearing and gestured forth with his hand; casting two missiles of arcane force at an Ogre as it reared up out of the smoky haze to approach us and do battle.

As Rackhe stabbed the second worg again and Narion heaved a javelin at the advancing ogre, Kiri and I arrived in the glade. The last worg withdrew from the fight, its tail tucked securely between its legs, and Rackhe drew back to our position at the edge of the wood. Our sorceress in turn cast her magic missiles at the ogre, dropping him as a stone in his tracks. But the danger was not over yet. We heard the approach of at least one more ogre approaching through the white-grey smoke.

Two more ogres emerged into the haze-filtered sunlight, in the company of a burly giant aside an even larger worg that almost appeared to be a pet to the foul thing.

Narion called forth a shield of arcane force as Rackhe and Kiri moved to stand beside the stout spearman, Kiri stepping up and loosing an arrow at the giant, scoring a small hit on one mighty-thewed bicep. I stood behind my friends and called forth a circle of vigorous energy to empower us during the coming fight. Giants were too much of a match for me to launch into melee with the thing, which this one proceeded to prove by launching a huge boulder at our party, striking Rackhe square in the chest and knocking the wind out of the Ratiker.

The ogres charged forward. Narion stepped in front of Rackhe and conjured up a ball of acid, which he flung at one of the two advancing giantkin. Protected by the steadfast solider, Rackhe pulled a curative potion from his belt and drank it down, feeling the divine healing power flow through his veins and close his wounds.

Kiri was still concentrating on the giant and lobbed one of her great balls of fire at him, catching the clumsy oaf squarely in the centre of the blast along with his vicious pet; the worg. I added my archery to the fray, driving two cloth-yard shafts into the charred leviathan. The fight was on.

As Rackhe quaffed another curative brew, the ogres charged and engaged Narion. The three started a fierce fight and my friend’s spear flashed repeatedly, spearing ogre flesh again and again, Rackhe tried to lend him some assistance but was struck again in the fray and had to withdraw to see to some more healing of his wounds, which were now many and grievous.

After the impact of her fireball, the worg turned tail and fled as the giant gave out a fierce bellow and charged Kiri and I. She managed to launch another missile of force at him as I tried to call for the vengeance of the Seldarine upon him, but he was too much enraged for my spell to have its full effect. The giant was almost upon us as Kiri extended one long graceful finger and called forth a bolt of icy energy to spear the brute in his chest.

It wasn’t enough to stop him though, and he rushed up to our two friends and brought his club down heavily onto Rackhe’s shoulder. My poor Northman friend was certainly taking the brunt of this encounter upon himself. Narion dropped the last ogre just as Kiri’s magic missiles caught him once again and caused him to fall, Narion dextrously leaping out of the so as not to be crushed by his bulk.

All was quiet. Our panting breath and the retreating sounds of the long departed worgs the only thing to disturb the calm that settled after a battle.

We found ourselves in a destroyed and ransacked human forester camp. It appeared to have been a small group of refugees from the war who had sought shelter in the forest. To our horror we learned that the roasted meat smell was coming from two human corpses that were laid over the fire. Their partially eaten state gave mute testimony to the evil of the giant and his companions. It was indeed a good thing that the gods had seen fit to draw us here to allow this vile act to be avenged, and the threat to the forest taken away. We surmised that this giant was one of the reasons we had heard rumours of incursions of giant folk and such coming down into the lowlands from the mountains. The timing of this seemed a little too opportune and we supposed that the enemy had made some bargain with these creatures to have them invade the woods and farmland about Wardlow.

We buried remains of the dead humans and set off to Wardlow again. But after only another hour of travel through the wood, we came across another destroyed encampment. Thankfully, this time there were no bodies. We were roughly halfway through the forest and the next day would see us free and clear of the depressing wood. We moved off some distance and set a cold camp for the night. It was a very sombre mood in our party that evening. Even the recovery of some treasure in the shape of coin and a small magical ceramic pot of paint, complete with brushes and sealed in wax, did little to raise our spirits. The image of the charred and ravaged bodies of the two refugees was still too fresh in our minds.

Rackhe climbed into some low branches and tied himself to the tree for the night. An odd choice I thought, but who was I to nay-say him?

During the night, Kiri was on guard when another small group of undead intruded upon our camp. She struck a zombie and shocked him twice with magical electricity, not appearing to do much damage against his lifeless husk. Narion rose and cast a scorching ray of flame at a skeleton, exploding it and badly hurting a zombie. The walking dead attacked us and Rackhe suffered a small blow to his arm. He rose and was struck twice more, returning one of the hits with a blade twisted into the chest of one. I too stood up and was struck by two of the things, but I managed to present my shining symbol of the Coronal and channelled a great power of divine energy through me. The undead all stopped, shuddered in their place, and then exploded upon being exposed to such great holy power as I presented.

As I lowered my hand, I found my three friends all staring at me somewhat open-mouthed. They had never seen me display such divine power before and were a little surprised. Blushing at the attention, I simply shrugged and said, “It’s what I do,” and then went to see to our wounds as the camp was cleared of the remnants of our night visitors.

Upon someone’s sound suggestion, we moved our camp further into the wood.

*~*~*~*~*

TO BE CONTINUED...