2. (Matt) Finnris, lvl 7 Dhari Outcast of the Narthan Highlanders (h-m), Slayer Barbarian-6>7
21/9/2213 Finnris Vorstag & the guide Marus kill a pursuing serpentman scout & 3 dominated Lomari mercenaries. Head for Tiyerna.22/9/2213 Beastmen attack jungle camp; 4 killed & 1 flee.
24/9/2213 Party returns to Tiyerna and meets with Glavas Rho.
1/10/2213 Party completes long rest, recruit adventurers Marek & Ayilda, rehire Marus.
2/10: Party departs Tiyerna again.
5/10/2213: Reach Voor Darayn again at dusk, Marek & Vorstag scout the lower city and kill a sepentman, flee its angry comrade.
Escape from Voor
Darayn - by Matt
Marus crouched in the jungle, scanning the ruins of Voor
Darayn for the adventurers he had guided to the stygian acropolis the previous
day. That familiar sinking feeling gnawed
at his guts. His thoughts turned to the
group he had led to the cursed ruins. The
previous evening the Katagian Zerda had told Marus that he was going to take
Cassandra to a waterfall, to read to her poetry. The pair had not returned so the other three
had gone to scout the ruins leaving Marus to hold the camp. Adventurers, he thought to himself, why did I
get mixed up with adventurers.
Finely tuned survival instinct snapped his attention to a
flash of light by the old stables under the ruins. At first, he thought it sun reflecting on
steel, but it was more of a glow than reflection. Marus, a veteran of countless skirmishes, drew
and arrow to his bow. It was then he
heard the unmistakable whooping warcry of the Narthan Highlander, the tribe
Marus had fought for a bloody decade, and as fate would have it now his
ally. Marus sighed.
The barbarian was bounding through the undergrowth, heading
away from the camp, whooping and laughing, the glow coming from something he
was carrying. Marus sighed again, he was
starting to understand see why this Finnris was mocked for his sense of
direction, he was running the wrong way and making quite a racket.
"Bloody amateur," Marus said to himself.
Marus stood from cover, waving his trusty longbow above his
head. Seeing Marus, the barbarian
whooped again and bounded through the undergrowth toward the ranger. As he got closer, Marus could make out the
other two behind him, the sneaky Goliath and the bronze priestess. Finnris stopped just before the thicket that
had concealed Marus. Marus could see
arrows sticking out of the barbarian, deadly serpent venom oozing from the
wounds, yet the crazy Narthan who should have been dead from those wounds was beaming
with pride and holding a dazzling spear aloft.
The Narthan whooped again. Marus
eyes widened in astonishment, the golden glow of Azura radiated from the
weapon.
"Katagian Ranger, have you ever seen it's like
before?" said the grinning barbarian showing off the magnificent trophy.
Marus could only shake his head in surprise.
"No, Dhari, I have not."
…
Much later, Marus stalked into the camp. Finnris and Vorstag were arguing about the
spear, again. Surviving the Darayn
jungle was a risky business, and the problems were piling up, yet these two
squabbled. Zerda and Cassandra had not
yet returned, so Aeshma the priestess had gone to look for them, now all three were
missing. Worse, Marus had just come
across tracks of a serpent man, a fang-guard probably on their trail.
"Silence" Marus snarled at the two bickering
adventurers.
Finnris and Vorstag glared at him. Marus coolly met their gaze.
Marus could feel the tension between them.
"There is something out there." He said carefully,
sweat ran down his face as he inclined his head in the direction of the Voor
Darayn ruins.
The adventurers crept into the bush like hunting cats,
Vorstag despite his size, melted into the jungle like a shadow.
Marus let out a sigh of relief and readied his bow.
Serpentfolk are deadly opponents, particularly in the jungle. But the trio made short work of the pursuers,
a reptile and a group of red legion mercenaries under the serpents'
control. Maybe there was something more
to these adventures than luck after all, thought the ranger.
…
Their comrades missing, Finnris and Vorstag had decided to
return to Tiyerna to resupply, and hopefully regroup with their comrades. Marus agreed to guide them, it was the
sensible choice. Marus, knew the jungle
well, using backwoods trails he managed to avoid the reptiles that were tracking
them.
But just a day's travel from Tiyerna, they were under the
knife again.
It was a moonless night and Marus found himself surprised by
Finnris when the barbarian spoke to him in High Atlantean, he was so shocked
that he almost choked on the dried crocodile meat they were sharing. It was then Beastmen attacked. The Beastmen must have picked up their sent
earlier, Marus knew from bitter experience how impossible it is to shake them
once they have the scent of prey. The
skirmish started badly, a beastman curse-slinger froze Marus with sorcery. Then hunters set upon him, savage flint
tipped clubs rained on Marus but his armour saved him from the inferior
weapons, and when his iron discipline kicked in and he shrugged of the curse,
he felled the foes around him. Vorstag
slew many, a sole survivor of the hunting pack fled into the night.
At Tiyerna, Marus bid Vorstag and Finnris farewell and good
fortune. He was happy to be alive, and
with a fat purse of gold to hand, but most of all he was happy to say good bye
to the adventurers who attracted no end of trouble. Marus sought the comforts of the best tavern
in Tiyerna.
Marus promised himself a week in the tavern and no more
adventuring.
…
"The price is a hundred gold, each way," Said
Marus flatly.
A week had passed since Marus said goodbye to Finnris and
Vorstag. Like a bad penny they turned up
again, they wanted to return to the ruins of Voor Darayn to search for their
missing comrades and they wanted Marus to guide them. The two quickly adventurers agreed to his
price.
Damn, thought Marus, should have asked for more.
Vorstag giggled, handing over the gold.
"Please sir Marus, kindly sign this chit as proof of
payment," the Goliath said in his strange aristocratic tenor.
Well, at least we're going in with more muscle thought Marus
as he eyed up the new recruits. Vorstag
and Finnris had been busy. Ayilda, a Nimothan
warrior, looked as deadly as she was beautiful and the Quodethi Marek like Vorstag
was a member of the gang of cut throats that called themselves The Seven
Knives.
…
It did not take long to find trouble. Marus cursed himself, he'd been distracted by
Finnris again, this time the barbarian had been recounting an audience with
Glavas Rho, and the strange tale of a sentient haunted iceberg.
The viper was gigantic, with fangs like great daggers dripping
with lethal venom. How had he missed it? The thing must be fifty feet long thought the
ranger. Vorstag moved in a blur, axes
whirring he rushed in smote the beast and was behind Marus before Marus got off
his first shot. Ayilda charged, and all
hell broke loose. The giant snake
crashed through the old stone of the well it had been hiding in, Ayilda wrapped
tightly in scales, Finnris stabbing it and again Vorstag moved in at lightning
speed, and it was dead. The king of
giant vipers hacked to death in moments.
The serpent's coils released Ayilda, and she fell into the Goliath's
hungry arms. Marus had never seen
anything like it.
…
Marus stared up at the ruins of Voor Darayn for the second
time. Taking a deep breath, he looked at
Ayilda and Finnris crouching in the jungle with him. Crazy barbarians, he thought. Vorstag and Marek had worked around the
barracks at dusk. They believed sentries
were posted in the guard house and we're going to eliminate any guards. Marus could not see them be he knew they were
out there, somewhere.
Marus heard the crash, it sounded like pottery
smashing. Marus picked out Vorstag, a
giant shadow in the doorway of the guard house.
Vorstag was so tall he could have easily knocked out a loose old roof
tile. Finnris tensed to charge.
"Wait, Narthan" ordered Marus.
Finnris looked up at the ranger hotly but did not charge in.
Vorstag fled. A
serpent man lay dead on the cobblestones of the guard house doorway, and
another chased the fleeing Vorstag.
 |
| Ayilda vs Giant Viper |
 |
| Marus |
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| Vorstag |
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