ONE LAST HOPE (closed)

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Lors and Golkis were walking through the temple when they came upon the prayer garden. Legend had it that the diety herself created this lush garden inside the temple to reward the faithful for their service. It had always been Lors favorite place to go when his mind was troubled. He sat down on a stone bench that overlooked a small pool of water. The glistening surface was broken periodically when the small fish came to the top looking for food. The High priest approached the two men.

"Lorwell , and of course Golkis, Might I have a word with you? " The high priest slowly sat down on the stone bench , his ornate robes were a comfort to his old bones as he sat down. His many questions ran through his mind before he began to speak to the two men.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Cragen kept alert as they walked through the corridors. The weathered stones were polished by the travel of generations of dwarves. Their hard boots imprinted not only their culture , but also part of their soul in the rock. A few torches were still lit on the wall sconces, their flame sputtering as their oil was used. Cragen took this as a bad sign since the dwarves were meticulous at making sure that the torches had plenty of oil.

They came to a branching of the corridor . With unspoken agreement, the two dwarves decided to check out some of the rooms. In the first room they checked , there was a splattering of blood on the wall. Four dwarven bodies were on the floor , hacked limb from limb. Cragen closed his eyes as he recognized that it was a dwarven family. Whatever had invaded these tunnels gave no quarter to women or children. That thought scared Cragen more than the bodies themselves.

At the next room, they were lucky. They found signs of battle, all the furniture in the room was broken into splinters. Two dwarven bodies were on the ground, as was the creature that had killed them. An orc body was crushed up against the wall, its entrails making a pool outside of the body. Keraz gave a sign of approval at the sight that at least one enemy was taken down. Keraz wondered what had made the Orc's so bold. Never before had they attacked a dwarven stronghold. Their lack of courage was almost as legendary as their imagination in torturing prisoners.

They were about to leave the room when they heard a scratching behind them. One of the cabinets against the wall was moving slightly. Cragen pulled out his axe as he approached the cabinet. He was about to open the door when they burst open.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane walked up to the fountain that dominated the center of town. He could see that there were blood stains on some sides of the white marble steps as well as a discoloration of the water. He wondered what happened to the bodies that had once owned the blood. He was struck by how eerie it was, no noise at all in the village. Not even the typical animal noises that he was used to. Even the birds were silent in mute agreement with the quieted village.

Relthane looked again at the map and found the street name on which his relatives were supposed to live. Looking up, he saw the wooden street sign that designated that street. Pulling his pack back onto his broad shoulders, Relthane moved down the street. He came to the house where his relatives lived. He politely knocked on the door and waited for a response. None was forthcoming, so he slowly opened the door; calling out to his aunt as he did so.

He did not receive any response, so he moved into the house. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom of the barely lit room, he could see signs of destruction. The entire house was a disaster area not a single piece of furniture was intact. He searched the whole house, not locating a single person. He did note that valuables were out in the open as well as food that was on the table.

Pondering this mystery, Relthane was about to move up to the second floor when he saw movement near the front door. Taking a step towards the door, Relthane went to greet his aunt. Before he made it, the door was pushed open by someone he did not recognize. An overlarge man wearing mostly rags entered the home, a large toothy grin dominating his furry face.

Relthane was about to ask him who he was when the man raised up his dirty arms and moved towards the young man. In a second, Relthane noticed the pattern of scars covering the arm. A greenish fluid fell from some of the hideous wounds, covering the floor with a light coat of slime. Backing away quickly , moving up the wooden stairs; Relthane moved towards the landing. His hackles rose as he understood that this was an undead creature that was working its clumsy way up the stairs. Relthane shouted in shock as the creature reached out a long arm and narrowly missed his leg.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

Thrush's elven ears were the ones that heard the shout. His eyes registered shock as he turned to Kyle. "Kyle, I think I heard a shout coming from the center of town. I would swear we checked every house for people. How did we miss someone? "

Kyle looked at his mage. " I am not sure how we did either. But we should go check this out. I will take point, Devin will take the rear. Lets go see what is making that noise. "

Moving with familiarity, the clan moved into their normal traveling positions. They arrived at the fountain where the area seemed to be slightly disturbed from the when they were there earlier. Kyle knelt down at the edge and examined a footprint in the blood on the side of the fountain. Kyle used his tracking ability and led them down one of the side streets.

As they moved down the street, anouther shout was heard. All of the members heard the noise this time. It allowed them to zero in on the house where the voice was coming from. They quickly moved into the house.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

The high priest pulled at his chest amulet as he spoke to the men.

" I have heard rumors at the gate that you fought a most unusual opponent. The scholars at the temple have been arguing with me for the last months about an increase in undead that have been reported. Is it true that you ran into some skeletons? "

Lors nodded at the man that had helped raise him from a young boy.

"Yes master, that is the truth. There were many of them and they were hard to kill. We pretty much had to bash them to pieces before they succumbed to a pile of bones that no longer moved. We lost a lot of men to them. But I do have some good news. "

The high priest, Kelnam searched the young mans face. The familiar crags of character as well the shy smile that were a part of Lors personality were examined by Kelnam.

"What is it my son that you have to tell me. What news do you have?"

A beautific smile dominated Lors face as he faced his master. His mind raced back to the feelings that had run through his body. Even after years of study, he had never felt more in touch with his faith as he had during the battle. He could still feel a small touch of heat from his holy symbol hanging on a silver chain.

"Master, I think I have had a breakthrough in my faith. After all of your patient instruction was able to do nought. When I was in the battle, I felt my soul cry out in anguish at the evil of the skeletons. A bloodlust like I had never felt before infused my body. My holy symbol became engorged with a light of its own, a holy force seemed to move through me. Is this what it feels like to have our diety work through us? "

Tears of joy fell onto his cheeks as Lors was encircled by a hug from his master. His heart was lifted in joy as his soul soared into the air.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Both Cragen and Keraz quickly moved back, their combat reflexes kicking in. The dwarven child, with her blood covered clothing, instead fell hard on the stone floor. Her piteous cries brought the two dwarves to her side. Cragen cradled her head on his lap as he checked to see if she was bleeding. He was happy to see that it was not her own blood on her clothing. He spoke soothingly to her to get her to calm down. Keraz pulled out his waterskin and gave her a little drink.

After she had calmed down after a few minutes, she haltingly spoke of what she had witnessed. It was not as much as Cragen had hoped. Her parents had shoved her into the cabinet when they heard sounds of battle. All the young dwarf had heard were her parents deathcries as they tried to protect their young cub. After the sounds had ceased, Medfrost as she was called; cautiously left her cabinet. She had ran back into it when she had heard them coming down the hall. Cragen held her tight as she cried out some of her pain. Cragen vowed to kill the creatures that had dealt such pain to this little girl.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

OOC: I would like to thank all of you that have said kind words about this thread and continue to read it. Hopefully it is still keeping you interested. If you have a chance, rate the thread to help encourage the writer lol.

IC :

Relthane sent a clumsy swing towards the creature, his arm being corrected in midair to strick the creature weakly on the shoulder. Luckily, this put the creature off balance and it slipped on its own slime that had trickled on the stairs. The creature fell all the way to the bottom, bumping its head on the bottom two stairs. More green slime spewed out , virtually covering the bottom stair.

Relthane used the time wisely, his legs working up the stairs on instinct. When he reached the top, he chanced a look down the stairs. The creature was just pulling itself back up with a few pieces of torn flesh staying behind on the floor. With shambling steps the creature started its journey back up the stairs. Relthane gave out a short yelp before turning back to look into the room. There was no other exit, not even a window big enough to jump out of.

Relthane grabbed a chair from along the wall and hurled it down the stairs. He was rewarded with a squishy smack as it impacted on the monster. He heard a few thuds as the creature fell back down. Relthane smirked for a moment before his eyesight detected motion at the bottom of the stairs. The creature was already righting itself and heading for the stairs again. Dammit.... would this creature not die?........ Relthane grabbed a second chair, hoping that the creature would give up the fight before he ran out of furniture.

 

[chewbacca71]

Kyle

Kyle was the first one in the house. He looked upon a scene of pure chaos. A small pile of broken furniture littered the bottom of the steps to the second floor. He could hear some frantic scrambling upstairs as if someone was running around. Taking the stairs two at a time, Kyle rushed to the top. He saw that a young man had been cornered on the far wall. He held an ornate sword out in front of himself, and a look of terror on his face. An opponent had its back to Kyle, so Kyle took the time to score an arrow into his back. Kyles eyes bulged out as the creature turned around.

 

[chewbacca71]

Austin and Bragin

Austin watched as Kyle quickly vaulted up the stairs. Austin said to Bragin. "It would be nice to be tall for a while would it not? " Bragin looked at his halfling friend, "I doubt it, to far to fall to the ground when you trip. Or pass out from too much beer. " Bragin unslung his axe as he followed his friend up the stairs.

The halfling arrived first , standing at the top of the stairs when the creature turned around as it tried to pull the arrow out. Austin yelled down the stairs to the others. "Another Zombie up here. We have to move somewhere else, these neighbors are horrible. " Bragin smacked his friend on the shoulder before he jumped in front of Kyle to shield their leader with his body. He took a swing at the creature, knocking it backwards against the wall.

 

[chewbacca71]

Amber and Thrush

Thrush cast a quick Detect Evil spell towards the house before he went in. A reddish hue could be seen from the second floor. He was concerned with how dark red the color was. The darker it was, the more malevelont the creature was. Pulling Amber off to the side, he mentally thought through his spells to find an approapriate one.

 

[chewbacca71]

Devin

Devin gently pushed Thrush out of the doorway as he ran into the room. He took the stairs three at a time with his large strides. He watched as the creature bounced off the wall and ran right into Bragin. The stolid dwarf was knocked off his feet with the suprise. The creature was about to jump onto the dwarf when Devin grabbed it by the hair. His hands recoiled from the greasy feel, almost as much as his stomach threatened to rebel from the gamy smell of the creature.

He controlled his body enough to pick the creature up off the ground. With a large growl, he moved towards the window. Bunching up his muscles, he threw the creature out the window. A satisfying thump was heard when it landed on the hard packed earth. Craning his neck out the broken window, he could see the creature laying unmoving on the ground. A large stain was spreading from under its head. Satisfied it was dead, Devin clapped his hands together.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

After using his sleeves to wipe his eyes, Lors looked at his master. "What are we to do now? It seems that these undead creatures have a specific purpose in mind. They were nigh indestructible. An average citizen would have no chance at all against these creatures. "

His master looked deep in Lors eyes for a moment. "I am approaching the Lord of the city today to see if he is willing to send out more soldiers to scour the surrounding countryside and burn out this scourge. I will promise some of my best clerics to help the cause, since our particular power can be very devastating to them. I would ask you to lead on of the parties, since you two have now had experience. Rest up for now and I will get with you this evening. "

Kelnam smiled as the men left the room. He was happy that they both had made it back safetly. His smile died on his lips as he thought of the upcoming confrentation with the Lord. Their Lord was content to hide behind his walls that had protected his family for so many years. Kelnam feared that if this scourge went unchecked that the walls would prove as effective as holding a piece of parchment as a shield against a sword swing.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Cragen pulled Keraz to his side. "Keraz , I want you to take her out of here. Get Medfrost out of these tunnels and back to the surface. I will continue alone. If I am not out in two days, make tracks for the Mines of King Therl Redshield. He may have to send some more to find out what is going on here. Take good care of the girl if I do not come back out. " Cragen turned and went further down the cooridor, the vague sounds of his companions footsteps echoing in the other direction.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane was grateful for the help when the others came running up the stairs. He was suprised that there was anyone in this town, since he had not seen anyone else since he had arrived. He was about to sheath his sword when his arm lurched towards the man in the forest green clothing. His bow at the ready, the man took a step back. Using his young strength, Relthane pulled the sword back and sheathed it.

"Sorry about that, I lost my balance for a second there. I would like to thank you for the help. I was surely in a spot there. I am Relthane from Far Ice, or at least what is left of it. At your service. " He made a small bow to the companions.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

OOC: Sorry about that. Had some server problems, so was not able to get on. Back with the thread.

IC: Cragen moved with sure steps further down into the bowels of the earth. He listened for any signs of activity, but the hallways and rooms were silent as the grave. Cragen was concerned when he realized that there should have been a lot more bodies present if the dwarves had been attacked. It bothered him since it made no sense whatsoever.

After a few more hours of fruitless searching of the rooms along the hallways, he came to the royal quarters. The outer guardrooms were built of the strongest stone that the dwarves could find. The stone had been pulverized in spots to a fine dust. His dwarven head was fit to burst as he tried to imagine the power needed to do that to such solid stone. Here at least he could see some concrete signs of battle. Broken weapon pieces littered the floor as well as the bodies of eight of the largest dwarves that Cragen had ever seen. He remembered these as being some of the personal body guard of the King.

His depridations were confirmed when he opened the door to the audience chamber. The floor was littered with the mangled bodies of dwarves as if this was where they made their last stand. An ineffectual stand based on the fact that he could only see a few dead enemies. He recognized the bodies of a few orcs as well as some human bodies. What did humans have to do with orcs? Those two races were hardly friendly at any times. Pondering this , Cragen moved closer to the throne.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Golkis led the way as the two friends went back to the barracks. They arrived in time with the serving of the evening meal. Their comrades welcomed them back with many back slappings and hearty bear hugs to show their appreciation for their survival. Golkis took the lead in telling the story, his words only broken when he stuffed some of the roast chicken into his mouth.

Lors could see the fear on the faces of his friends as well it should. He remembered the icy hand of fear running its sharp nails down his back as the skeletons approached. He had to do something to raise the mens spirits before they were too scared to fight. When Golkis paused to chew on his biscuit, Lors stood up at the end of the table.

"Friends, do not have such fear. The head priest is working with the Lord to find a better way to defeat these creatures and protect our city. If our small force was able to defeat these skeletons after they ambushed us , then imagine what our fighting force could do when prepared. Take heart comrades, we will break these creatures back into the pile of bones from where they came. "

He held his cup of ale aloft , saluting the men. As a group, they all stood up and clinked their cups together; stray ale falling unnoticed on the floor. A rabid warcry went out before it was drowned by the sound of ale being poured into thirsty gullets. Satisfied that he had at least heartened the men, Lors made his farewells as he went to his room.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

Kyle was the first one to step forward and meet Relthane. "Well met young Relthane. I am glad we could be of assistance. You are the first person from this village that we have found alive. We are the members of the Bear Clan. I am Kyle. The big ox behind me is Devin. The pretty young women is Amber. Our thief and dwarven warrior are Austin and Bragin. My mage goes by the name of Thrush. What brought you here from Far Ice if I might ask? "

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane smiled at each in turn as their name was called off by Kyle. He especially was happy to see the beautiful woman named Amber, her eyes looking shyly towards the ground. Relthane straightened his spine a little tighter and puffed out his chest. He looked back at Kyle.

"Actually I came here to find my aunts home. My mother gave me a map that shows this as her house. When my hometown was devastated and the people enslaved, I was able to get out off town unseen. I was entreated by my parents to find my aunt. As well as to warn the local lord as to what happened.

My town was attacked by an army of Bugbears that were led by a powerful Mage. I did not get his name unfortunately but I can not forget his powerful voice. His magic was what caused the town to fall. But enough of that reminising. I have to ask you what kind of creature that was that we just defeated. I have not seen one like that before. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

A few tears fell from his eyes as Cragen surveyed the damage. His king had been reduced to a smear of dark meat inside his throne. A large pool of blood had run onto the floor and darkened to a purplish stain. His jeweled crown was missing as well as his enchanted axe. Cragen looked all over the room, but all he found was more carnage. Cragen was about to leave the room when he heard some noise coming from the room behind the throne. He knew that this was where the kings private chambers were. Hoping that the queen had survived Cragen went towards the source of the noise.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Lorwell woke refreshed, the first time in many a night. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he took a drink from the pitcher of water alongside his bed. Swishing the tepid liquid in his mouth, he got out of his bed. After dressing, he went out to the guard station.

He arrived at the wall in time to see Golkis enter the guard tower with Kelnam following closely behind. Lors hurried to catch up, stopping the door from closing fully. He entered the room and immediately gave greetings to both men. He looked at his former master with hope, but the dark circles under his eyes portended a different situation.

"Master, what has our Lord decided? Are we to ride out in strength and rid our land of this scrourge? Or are we to gather more men to make a stronger base with which to launch our attack? "

Kelnam ran a wearied hand over his eyes. "No my son, none of these are what he has decided. As I feared, he feels that it is best to stay behind these walls and hope they will fully defend us. But I have other plans for the two of you. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Cragen arrived in the room just as a small dark shape landed at his feet. Reflexively Cragen bent down to see what it was. He registered the fact that it was the queen just as an arrow came winging his way. He ducked under it, his short stature making it easier. He saw that there was a small group of Orcs that were rapidly coming his way. He pulled the queen behind him, pushing her towards the throne room. He could see her moving out of the corner of his eye, which made it so that he was free to engage the orcs.

A short vicious swing eviserated the Orc in the lead, his intestines staining the stones red. He dodged a sword swing and spun to his left to sent out another swing. His hit cut off the arm that was holding the sword. The orc screamed its death as blood fountained onto the floor. He shrugged off a halbard hit, his adrenaline causing a lack of pain. He abruptly changed directions and jumped forward, slamming his helmet into the halbard bearing orc.

This orc fell into the three coming up behind, giving Cragen a momentary reprieve. He reached up to his shoulder, running his fingers through a small amount of blood. Tasting his own blood, his fury redoubled as he attacked the four orcs that were just getting up off the floor.

 

[chewbacca71]

Thrush

Thrush eyed the young man with a searching gaze. His story had the ring of truth to it, but there was more to him then what met the eye. Thrush spoke to Relthane.

"That creature was a Zombie. We have run into quite a few undead creatures in this town. I am not sure why they seem to be congregating here, but regardless they pose a threat. Have you seen anyone alive in this town since you have been here? You are the first one that we have seen. "

 

[chewbacca71]

OOC

OOC: Holy cow its been a while. Way too many comp problems to mention. But if anyone is interested, I will probably continue on this again.

Chewey

 

[chewbacca71]

Just wanted to bring this back up for nostalgias sake..........damn it has been a long time.