Main Site |
It is a beautiful spring day. The sun is out, the birds are singing, the sewers don't smell too bad yet. Gloss and Zoya are walking down the streets of Marsember, heading for their lunch meeting with Myralynn. Gloss is, to be expected, somewhat nervous. Just as they enter the dark, slightly cooler, taproom of the Old Oak Inn and Tavern, Zoya starts to feel someone picking at the carefully arranged magical wards she set around the Preening Maiden a few weeks before. Myralynn waves at the two women from across the room. Zoya clenches her teeth and forces herself to lead Glossaria across the room and introduce Glossaria and Myralynn. "Mistress du'Nache, Gloss - forgive me, but..." She looks at Gloss. "Someone's tampering with that ship. I have to go *now*. Enjoy your lunch. I'll check back with you later." She turns and almost runs out of the inn, and then *does* run as she reaches the street, going flat-out at a surprising speed for a mage in robes, to Tyl's mansion, which is closer than the Tower. She bursts through the front door, waving away the butler irritably and yelling at her top volume. "Jelarthna! JELARTHNA! Get OUT HERE NOW!" Without waiting, she runs back out onto the street, almost smack into Kevil, who has run up with a mixture of fear and confusion on his face. Jelarthna rubs his eyes and blinks hard a few times, leaning back on his stool from the workbench. Just as he stretches out, he hears Zoya's voice boom through the house. Muttering a short curse, Jelarthna rolls backward off of the stool and sprints, snatching up his sword from the stand beside the door on his way to the front of the house. "Zoya! I thought- but it-" says Kevil. Zoya is all business now. "Shut up and feed me, Kevil." Just as she takes Kevil's hand, Jelarthna runs out, still buckling on his swordbelt. "What is it?" asks Jelarthna. "They're taking the Maiden," Zoya snaps shortly, snatching up Jelarthna's hand. She focuses the energy Kevil offers, and barks out the chaotic rune that will transport the three of them instantly to the site of the Preening Maiden. Jelarthna recovers nigh-instantly from the transport, sword in hand almost at the speed of thought and a spell ready on his lips as he scans the area quickly, looking for the Preening Maiden and whatever is threatening the wards. Just as Zoya, Kevil, and Jelarthna burst into the clearing where the Preening Maiden should be, a blast of wind nearly knocks them over. Dust whirling wildly in their eyes, they shade their eyes against the debris to look up at the underbelly of the Maiden, lifting off towards the sky. Jelarthna squints up at the ship in surprise, warding off some of the dust and dirt with his free hand. "Not good," he mutters to himself, looking a tad disappointed. Peering at them from the rails of the ship are two unmistakable figures... a double-sized beholder with no eyestalks and a brunette elf woman with a long crystal staff in one hand. "Hello Zoya. Since you stole my marble and my tower, Captain Yb is stealing your ship. So nyah!" Yb sticks her tongue out at Zoya before putting on an eye patch and settling a pirate's hat on her head. Just as the companions struggle to their feet against the enormous gusts of wind from the lifting ethership, a smell, a familiar smell to Kevil and Zoya, reaches their noses... brine, rot, and something like a dead fish. They turn and see several dark maroon creatures coming towards them from the forest, their tentacles faces alight with wicked glee. Jelarthna looks tired and more than a little scared, after surprise upon surprise. He reacts quickly enough to the now evident illithids, getting between Zoya and Kevil and the illithids, but out of the line of fire, as he pulls a rock from his pouch and crushes it with the pommel of his sword. "I hope this works, Tyl.." he mutters. Zoya's face darkens, then pales at Yb's treachery. She barely glances at the illithids approaching from the woods, looking back up at the rapidly disappearing Maiden. Kevil grabs her shoulders and shakes her briefly. "One thing at a time," he snarls, spinning her to face the mind flayers. "I can't shield, Zoya!" His voice is urgent - the illithids are already preparing their devastating mental blast. With a last glance after the Maiden, Zoya mutters a few harsh syllables. The air around herself and Kevil turns hazy, then seems to constrict around them. "Go," she says, one fist clenched. Kevil doesn't wait for another word, but heads across the clearing, suddenly moving with deadly cat-like grace. She glances at Jelarthna, already closing on the monsters. She wonders briefly if his crushed rock will do any good, then decides she can't chance it. "Idiot," she grumbles, and whispers again, hoping her shielding can enclose him before the illithid get off their blast... Kevil almost laughs as his first target scrambles back, trying to avoid a physical confrontation. He does laugh when the mind blast hits - its power is enough to rock him, but the illithid was obviously hoping for something a little more debilitating. Kevil leaps and twists, and too fast for anyone to see, he is suddenly moving again, the first target falling to the ground like a suddenly-felled tree. The Mind-Flayer facing Kevil snarls, its tentacles flailing furiously. It gestures with its three-fingered hand, as if throwing something at Kevil. The remaining three break off towards Jelarthna, moving to surround him. One grabs his hair, pulling his face abruptly even with its own, moving to wrap tentacles around him. Kevil suddenly groans and stumbles in his attack, falling to the ground. He climbs laboriously to his feet, but the illithid, triumphant, is already reaching for him. Zoya allows Kevil's shields to drop completely, and she flings several bolts of raw magical energy at the mind flayer. The illithid arches up in agony, bleeding ichor from several wounds, and grasps hold of Kevil's wrist, jerking him towards it. A shimmering portal appears behind them and the illithid pulls, trying to drag Kevil towards the portal... the illithid thrusts its free arm into the portal. Jelarthna looks surprised for a moment as the illithids actually close in, allowing them to get rather closer than is comfortable. He ducks quickly, his blade flicking up to cut hair and fingers to free himself from the creature's grip, then hops quickly to the side and scores several nasty wounds on it. His sward doesn't seem to move quickly enough to have hit that many times. He spares a quick glance for Zoya and Kevil to make certain they're all right, but continues a relentless attack, maneuvering to keep his target between him and the other two. The wounded Flayer hisses something at Jelarthna, then steps backwards, flickering and vanishing. The two behind it exchange glances, then join hands, pointing at Jelarthna. Almost instinctively, Kevil flails in the illithid's grasp, pushing and pulling at once. There is a loud *crunch* as the bones in the illithid's arm break, and Kevil shoves it through its portal alone. The illithid flails its tentacles just as it vanishes from sight, the portal closing behind it. Jelarthna recoils from the pair of illithids for a moment, taking a couple of steps back, sword held carefully between himself and them. As they begin to feel success, the elf shakes his head and takes another step back.. the fingers of his free hand make a complicated gesture and the power-laden words of a spell fill almost-echo through the area. A streak of fire flashes past the illithid, then explodes in the flash of a fireball whose flames rush to just a few feet away from Jelarthna. The blast completely engulfs both of the illithids, and the wave of heat forces Jelarthna to stagger back a few more steps. One illithid staggers, charred and smoking, towards Jelarthna before collapsing in a heap of ash and yucky smelly dead squid-faced monster. The other ducks aside, but teleports out before anyone can catch it. The smoke and smell linger in the clearing while Zoya, Jel and Kevil look at each other. Jelarthna gags slightly and walks over to the other two. "Ugh, that smells even worse than their *breath*." He sighs a little and checks to make sure Zoya and Kevil are all right. "So now what? How many of them got away? And do we try to find them, or try to go after Yb and that huge beholder?" He shudders at the thought. Zoya considers. "Two got away, I think. At least, of the group that attacked us. There may be more, hiding. And there are certainly more on the ship." She thinks a moment. "We'll have to go after them. If nothing else, Bai will never allow Yb to be used that way. But the Elissa will never match that ship for speed. I think I have a way to trace them..." She looks sharply at Kevil. "You should stay here, in case there are other illithid." Kevil looks like he's about to protest, but responds to some invisible signal and subsides, though unhappily. Zoya looks at Jelarthna. "Can Xarroch help him? Kevil is good - *very* good - but he can't generate psionic shields, and he can't be in two places at once. "You, I'd like to bring... Bai, Lisl, and Tyl... Jaret if he's available. Anyone else you think would be a good idea. Bring them to the Tower, tonight. As soon as I've got a way to track them set, we'll go." Xarroch can help, certainly..." Jelarthna nods, "I don't know if he'd prefer to come along, but if so many of us are going to go, it would be a good idea for someone to stay back... but not me." Jelarthna grins in anticipation. "Others? Hmmm... Moon Dancer would be nice.. but I don't really understand what's happened there with him. And I know, this isn't a good time for explanations," he smiles and raises a hand to forestall any comments on his comments. "I don't know the danger up there as well as you do, but I can't really think of anyone else we should try to bring. If there are a lot of undead, we could ask Nacheyla" "Can you get back to the tower okay on your own? We probably should get moving, and it may take me some time to track down Bai, Lisl, and Jaret." Jelarthna grins at Kevil suddenly, "And yeah... you're pretty fast! I'd like to see more when I could watch more at my leisure." |
|
|