Loner knelt on the ground beside Kramo, in total disbelief. For a moment she couldn't speak.
"Don't you know that's what he wants?" she said at length. "To split us up? What about our promise to not get separated? I am not about to leave you here alone...and I certainly do not relish the thought of going anywhere in this place alone."
She took hold of his hand. "We've been through so much," she said. "I will not leave you. Let the freak come to us, if he gets impatient. I...I can't leave you here...I can't. If anything happened to you, Kramo..."
She could feel the tears escaping, and looked down to the ground.
Jennabard summoned all the magical energy she could muster, and began to cast her most powerful spell.
-----
Flametongue flashed frantically in the midst of the fray, but Georgi was outnumbered. A little way off, Dragonwench fought two of their number. Gwalchmai hastened to reload his bow, hoping to swing the odds in Georgi's favour. Another arrow flew straight and true to its target.
-----
Surrounded by the dark knights, Georgi was beginning to despair. She twisted her body aside as a sword sliced by, but the next time she was not so fortunate, and she felt the steel cut into the flesh of her arm... but her cry was drowned out by a piercing wail, and several of her enemies fell senseless, their souls ripped from their bodies by Jennabard's spell. Blocking out the pain from her arm, Georgi pushed aside the fallen knights to face the few that remained.
magical energies sang in her blood. jennabard desparatly try to control her magic as she attack the knights. magic is like riding a lightening, its a rush. once its over, she took out her trusty hand crossbow and began to shoot, all the while whistling an eerie tune.
As Georgi turned towards the final knight, an arrow hit the hooded figure and he fell to his knees. She pulled the hood back, revealing a duergar, and brought her blade to his throat. "Talk, dwarf! What was this ritual we so rudely interrupted?"
The dwarf spat on the ground, and muttered something in a foreign tongue. He reached swiftly down to his boot and unsheathed a dagger. Gwalchmai loosed an arrow, but it was too late. The dagger found its target, and Georgi found herself covered in blood...
She cast aside the lifeless dwarven body, the dagger protruding from its chest. "Damn it! Now how are we supposed to find out?" Georgi began to rifle through the dead dwarves' belongings, hoping to find a clue as to their purpose. Her friends joined her, mostly unharmed.
As the adrenaline rush slowed, Georgi remembered the pain in her arm, and uncovered the wound. It was deep, but not too serious. Gwalchmai dug some supplies out of his pack and dressed it for her.
Kramo took Loner's chin and lifted. So she could look into his eyes.
"You are right Mistress, but this one is going to be your call. Don't let him Anomen, Pandora, or anything else. Get in the way."
Kramo wiped her tears away, stood up, pulling Loner with him.
"We will do this together, now what do you want to do? It's your choice, I'm with you one way or another."
making sure georgi was alright. jenna started to make note on the ritual ground.
"this is strange, it looks like a summoning spell. but if you see here on the ground, this markings indicate a binding spell as well. i wonder what they were trying to bind?"
"georgi, could you please not scare me next time, i do have a fire wand on me." as she gently hug her friend.
(OOC - sorry JB... but I guess it had the desired effect I gotta go, but feel free to carry on... 'night everyone)
Georgi smiled. "Sorry Jenna... You didn't think they'd get me two battles in a row, did you? " She examined the markings. "Could they have been opening a gateway to another plane...?"
"We stay here," Loner answered. "You're going to pull out your stitches if you go on. Here, let me have a look...
"Ah, you've pulled a couple already. Probably from throwing your sword like that...though I'm not complaining," she said with a wry smile. I'm going to have to repair this..."
The instant she finished repairing the stitches, a darkness swept over the clearing, and with it an impending sense of fear. Loner looked behind her, and saw a black figure emerge from the wood. She knew immediately who it was...
"I told you I would give no quarter," the now-embodied Voice said. "I am an impatient creature and I regret that you have made me come looking for you. Yet again, you surprise me. I had not thought you to be so...loyal. Had you indeed left Kramo, Loner, my little game would be well advanced by now. Ah well, let us finish this -- now."
He strode toward Loner. He was swathed in a great black cloak, and his hood was pulled down so she could not see his face. "What would you like to do, Loner? Feel the power of the mighty weapon at your back. See what I have done to your companion here. He is very ill indeed. See what your Anomen is capable of..."
Suddenly Loner's mind was filled with images of every sick and twisted thing Anomen had been accused of. The rage that welled up in her mind was nearly uncontrollable. She opened her eyes and saw, standing beside the man in black, Anomen himself, pleading for her forgiveness.
"That is worse than anything else, is it not?" the figure asked. "For him to beg your forgiveness after what he's done? You are so deeply in touch with that rage that kept you out of the Order...use it now! Strike down this fiend for his crimes!"
Loner reached back for the Katana. She barely heard Kramo shout "No!"...before she lifted the weapon from her shoulders, and set it down in its scabbard, against a tree. She shook her head. Then she turned from the figures, went to Kramo, and knelt facing him.
The darkness lifted. Behind her Loner heard a new voice:
"Again you choose wisely. You have passed your final test, with flying colors."
She turned to see, in place of the figure in black, a man clothed in a blue robe, smiling at them benevolently.
"Had you left Kramo here, or struck down my illusion, both of you would surely have perished. As it is your lives are guaranteed. Come with me, and I will take you to Anomen."
"Were you --" Loner began in disbelief -- "were you the one then who...who has done all this?"
"Not all," the man answered. "There is a force here of great power, and great evil; I was able to protect you from it most of the time; but sometimes it overpowered me. Like when it struck Kramo here. That was him, not me. But most of the tests were mine. Come now, and I shall explain everything..."
The two followed the wizard, he lead them into a room. Kramo let Loner go in first, he hung back, before he went into the room. As Loner went into the room, Anomen's lit up, he went to her and gave her a big hug.
"I knew you would come for me, you are my favorite."
"Anomen, please sit down. You have somethings to clear up."
"Can't you see, I'm praising Loner, the only one that would come for me."
"Well, when you get done praising her. There is someone else, who you need to thank too."
Anomen turned his head, looking at the wizard. "Who, another from the Harem?"
Kramo walked in the room, Anomen paled, and sat down. His face darkened, "What are you doing here, slave?" He looked at Loner. "Why did you bring a mere slave, with you? Look, he even cut himself, with his sword."
with gwalchmai tending to the sleeping georgi and making camp. dragon wench and jennabard continue to look for clues. looking over the cloaked body of the of the dead mage, dragon wench paled when she uncovered an amulet around his neck. "jenna, come and take a look at this."
jennabard looked at the amulet, a black pheonix desending into the fire. the same amulet that the wizard manveru destroyed. dragon wench handed the vile necklace to jennabard so she can study it closer. as jennabard looked at the rune marking, slowly deciphering the magical text. jenna began feeling dizzy and visions of horror and death filled her sight. her friends dying as a dark entity cover in flames began to devour their souls, laughing as it grew more powerful. "come my pheonix, come and kiss me. i've waited forever for your return, all of you."
In passing the wizard's tests, Loner had learned to conquer her rage toward Anomen...but now, she rose covered in indignation and said:
"He is no slave. I will leave it to him to explain, if he wishes. He is a valiant man, and has saved my life more than once. Do not give too much credit to sentiment, Anomen. I came here to get some answers from you, and believe me, if I were the only one concerned, I would leave you here. I bear very little love for you anymore...if any at all."
"My love --" Anomen began.
"Spare me!" Loner cried. "Spare me, please."
Then Loner left the room, bitterly regretting her life.
Sorry for the disruption,but just wanted to post how great you people are at writing up a story .Keep it going
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jennabard-Would like to jump in,but I'm a very horrible storyteller
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Kramo waited, looking a Anomen, watching him squirm.
"You know who I am, don't you?"
"Yes.....I know who you are, Kramo. Are you here to kill me?"
"No......But, I wouldn't put it past Loner. The woman is incrediable with a sword. What was it, money, power, or you just didn't care anymore?"
"All three, I used the Order to free lance. I thrived on the fear, gave me such a rush. You know how it is Kramo, you fought in battles."
"Anomen, the battles I fought in was for a cause, not to terrioze and profit. So you didn't care anymore. Because of that, you almost dragged the Harem down with you. My God, man, those women look up to you. Instead you treated with disrespect. You are lucky Darkpoet didn't cut off your head, the way you treated him."
"Darkpoet was there?"
"Yes, he cleaned you up everynight."
"I owed money to the BlackRose Guild, from gambling. I was forced to help divide the Harem, but I started to enjoy it. What's going to happen to me?"
"That will be up to Sir Ryan and Sir Keldorn, they are going to want to know every detail."
The wizard then spoke up. "I'm taking him to the Order now, If you take the door to the left, it opens to a room in the Copper Coronet. Good luck to the both of you."
The wizard and Anomen, disappeared. Kramo walked up to Loner, put his arms around her.
"I'm sorry for what happened, I wish, I can take the pain away. What do you want to do now?"
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