[Quest] An old Address (Harlequill)

by **Jaquise Emittere** on May 23rd, 2010, 5:03 pm

When the last of the Yukmen fell before them, Zagarek informed Jaq of Gared's fall. Anger welled up in the pale mercenary as he contemplated the loss. he relayed the news to Shi'ala, who was retrieving her crossbow. Her eyes grew cold and hard, and she seemed to shake with anger. Jaq warned her not to be reckless but she only gave him a cool look in response.Jaq sent the Alicob, Sur'ad the viper dhani, and V ahead. With their speed they were to get to Allen and defend him with the sisters till the rest arrived. The three loped, and slithered, ahead with incredible speed. Jaq turned to the those left. "We must hurry." He directed all those with him to follow. The Yukmen had armed themselves said Zagarek, and all the allies we can get would be needed to defeat them now.

As the moved through the camp they once more came across Ben's group, a few men short of what it had been. It seemed they had taken care of the group that had attacked when Jaq had left them. Jade was in Allen's tent, and only 3 of the five missing were dead, the other two had been to injured to move. With their ranks bolstered Jaq turned to Shi'ala, careful to watch his step as he moved. "We have to try and get them into the pit. Some are already in there, but if we can herd all the others in we can thin the heard with the remaining bows."

Just as they came close to the pit a group of seven Yukmen, armed with swords,, shovels, hammers, and some miscellaneous objects charged them. Despite their lack of skill they were a great deal harder to kill then their unarmed folk had been. Two laborers fell in the initial collision. Jaq brought his blade down through one of the Yukmen just in time for another to knock him in his leg with a hammer. Only a warning from Zagarek allowed him to move out of the way quick enough to avoid a full blow, but the hammer still grazed his ankle. Jaq fell to his knee and pushed Memoria through the gut of the offender. Shi'ala, Ronald and Ben surrounded him, causing the Yukmen to take a step back. Shi'ala, without looking to Jaq, spoke, "How bad is it?"

Jaq cringed as he he moved his hand down his leg. A stab of pain ran through it, causing the mercenary to curse. "I can feel it, that's something."

With the held of Ronald Jaq pulled himself to his feet. Ben and the other laborers had dealt with the remaining armed Yukmen here, but more had fallen. Only 4 laborers still stood. The rest littered the ground, and only a few were crying out in pain. To many were silent. Jaq was about to give an order when a cold voice informed him of more Yukmen Coming from near the pit. They were defending the ones climbing out from the assault of the team Jaq had sent ahead. at least 15 armed and 4 unarmed Yukmen were there. Jaq let out another curse and turned to his diminished group. "Shi'ala your in charge. You know the plan. Ronald, I need you to get me to a side of the pit that's uncontested." Without hesitation the group followed his orders splitting in two directions. Shi'ala took Ben and the 4 remaining laborers toward the Team Jaq had sent forward, who had joined with the Konti Sisters and Allen. Ronald helped Jaq walk around the pit, to a side where no Yukmen were attempting to climb out. "Alright Ronald, set me down here and protect me. Make sure nothing gets close. I need to concentrate for this working."

Ronald raised his sword and looked around, as if daring for something to come near. Jaq closed his eyes and began focusing, pooling out more res then he ever had before. It was a dangerous working if done improperly, but its nature was simplistic. Jaq sang as he sent the res in Gaseous form to the very limits of his control range, right over the center of the pit where several Yukmen remained. Then with an effort of will Jaq had the cloud of gaseous res absorb all the moisture in the nearby air. The less water he had to make the more damage he could do.

"It's not like I'm walking alone into the valley of the shadow of death
Stand beside one another, 'cause it ain't over yet
I'd be willing to bet that if we don't back down
You and I will be the ones that are holding the Crown in the end
When it's over, we can say, "Well done"
But not yet, 'cause it's only begun
So, pick up, and follow me, we're the only ones
To fight this thing, until we've won
We drive on and don't look back"

Jaq sang rather off key, but the effect of the song was astonishing. The weary warriors fighting for their lives became emboldened as they heard a song many new, and soon they to were singing as they fought.

As Jaq focused on his working, Zagarek watched the ensuing battle across the way. The combined force of the remaining mercenaries on this side of the camp along with the desperate laborers hoping to survive was a sight to see. Despite the weapons the Yukmen carried it was a battle for them to simply hold their ground. Slowly but surely they were pushed back, sliding ever closer to the edge of the pit. The 19 Yukmen were down to 15 up top, and the only thing keeping it from being a victory their were the 13 armed Yukmen already in the pit. 28 enemies left. Zagarek already knew what Jaq was going to do, but the familiar doubted it would be enough. Already another laborer fell, though he was quickly pulled out of the fray by the Akalak Alicob.

"Everybody, with your fists raised high
Let me hear your battle cry tonight
Stand beside, or step aside
We're on the frontline"

The cloud of res had taken all the moisture it could, but Jaq was forced to create more then half of the water necessary for his working. Instead of wasting energy holding on to water he formed it into a cloud immediately, combing elements of air res to sustain it. Now he was ready.

Another push from the defenders knocked the remaining Yukmen back into the pit. It did not come without a cost though. From where he was Zagarek could see the injured forms of one of the konti women on the ground. Alive, but foor how long?

"
And we'll be carrying on, until the day it doesn't matter anymore
Step aside, you forgot what this is for
We fight to live, we live to fight
And tonight, you'll hear my battle cry
We live our lives on the frontlines
We're not afraid of the fast times
These days have opened up my eyes
And now, I see where the threat lies"

The Chorus of voices rang high as the remaining Yukmen above fell into the pit. It was then they noticed the ominous cloud over the pit and their singing faltered at the sight. The Yukmen had noticed to, and frantically tried to crawl out of their man made prison, and what would be their tomb.

"We've got to lead the way."

As Jaq spoke the last line a jagged piece of ice, no bigger then an arrow, shot out of the cloud overhead. It landed square in the back on one of the Yukemen, who fell instantly. More hail rained down from the cloud and more Yukmen fall. The size of the cloud was diminishing though as used all of the water he had gathered. More shots missed then hit, and soon there would be nothing left to strike. Shi'ala so her chance though and began firing into the crowd with her crossbow. Almost everyone of her shots landed. Soon her own volley was accompanied by a second, then a third, then a fourth. Ronald had joined in with his own crossbow, and from the other side came Jay with Barry and the armored man in two. behind them was a group of laborers wielding things from knifes to frying pans. Zagarek relayed all this information to Jaq as the horde inside the pit dwindled from 28 to 20 to 10 as they were hit form all sides by magic and arrows. The last bit of the cloud vanished as Jaq let loose one more bit of hail It landed, leaving only 3 left. The group cheered as Alicob, Sur'ad and Ben moved in to clear out the last of them. Jaq pulled himself shakily to his feet and smiled. The warning came to late. Just As Jaq turned to lean on Ronald for help, a Yukmen who hid him self along the wall jumped out of the pit. Zagarek cried out, 'Jaq behind you!' Jaq turned his head enough to see the Yukman charging him, holding something in his hand that glinted with the sun light. Gared's knife. Jaq cried out in pain as the blade sunk into his side. Within his mind he could hear Zagarek crying out as well. Ronald dropped his bow and brought his blade down on the Yukmen, killing it before it could do anymore damage. Jaq, now laying on the ground, was already drifting off in to the cold void, the pain of the wound a distant and seemingly unimportant thing. Zagarek was still hanging around his neck, shaking in pain. His last thoughts before he slipped unconscious were, 'This isn't so bad.' A cold voice in his mind responded, 'You are in shock, it wouldn't be. I however feel it all. If you awaken once more, we will speak about your ignoring my warning, extensively.'

Secret :

by **Harlequill** on May 24th, 2010, 12:20 am

Over the next few days Jaq would awaken in the hospital tent with either Ben or one of the two girls taking care of him. Time was immeasurable amongst the pain. Too much Res had been expended in this most recent casting. After performing several minor spells throughout the day he was unprepared for the taxing weight of overgiving as it descended upon him. Any injuries he had sustained were as nothing beside the sensation of every fiber of his muscle slowly tearing away from his bones.

Each hour during the first day he was fed water by Alicob, the only man strong enough to restrain him during his struggles. When not being tended with liquid the large blue warrior was holding a leather strip in his mouth to prevent him from biting off his own tongue. The necklace that was his familiar trembled with such intensity that those nearby avoided it for fear that it would harm them in some way. Magic was a mystery that these warriors did not understand.

As he came down from the pain, after nearly twelve hours of agony, he was too exhausted to do much more than eat and sleep. Shi'ala and V visited him once, but he was asleep and only heard their voices within his dreams. As the exhaustion began to leave him in the coming days a new pain began to intrude upon his existence. His face was cold. A biting cold.

If he were to reach up and search for the source of the cold, perhaps thinking that someone had left a cool cloth upon his head, he would feel small flakes of frost forming on the eyelashes of his good eye. What used to be his good eye. He could still move it as normal. Vision acuity did not seem lessened in the slightest. Unfortunately a headache from the cold was a constant companion, and would be until he had become used to his recent change.

Others avoided his gaze, and when he asked what had happened to his face they would ignore him. On the third day he would find a small mirror on the side of his bed. Jade sat next to him with the same innocent smile he had worn when they first met. Nothing could diminish Jaq's greatness in the eyes of a child. Not even this.

Pale hands grasped the mirror and lifted it. Zagarek could have saved his magician the effort, but the familiar was still too upset with his carelessness to offer any help. Resting within the socket of his skull, partner to his glass eye, was a sphere of ice. Examining it carefully would show that it was the same dimensions as his original eye, and possessed the same freedom of movement it had before.

Unmistakably magical, his new eye radiated cold throughout his face and head.

Overgiving! :

by **Harlequill** on May 24th, 2010, 1:52 am

When the deaths were totaled and the bodies were buried, two more mercenaries found their graves in the forest and seventeen laborers had fallen. The death toll had risen to a massive twenty-two men and women. Michael and Gared were buried with heavy hearts. Many more were injured and would bear the scars of this expedition for the remainder of their lives.

Once the corpses of enemy and ally alike had been buried, the men packed up their camp. Ben and Allen were the only two who would enter the tomb. Whether they found what they sought or not was up to Jaq to discover. They did not reveal what they had removed, and at the time they did so the mercenary captain was recovering from his overgiving.

Shi'ala was the most pragmatic of the remaining warriors, and she had noted that raw gems had been present in the bodies of the Yukman warriors. Gathering Alicob, Jay, and Sur'ad she butchered every body for its bounty. What remained to be buried turned the stomach of all but the staunchest warriors. Though they disagreed with her methods, they could not dispute the fact that she had come away with sacks full of gems. Bloody sacks.

A well preserved suit of chainmail bearing the tabard of Alahea had survived the ravages of time. V delivered it, folded neatly and freshly oiled, to Jaq. The remaining wolves had decided that he deserved it, especially since the brothers seemed to have no interest in it. Once he had recovered enough to leave his bed they had divided the gems equally, and were ready to hand over his share.

It had been twenty seven days since they had made camp, and it was now time to leave. The wagons had been gathered and repairs had been made. Any injuries which made it difficult to travel had since healed, though there were warriors who were still nursing bruised ribs, and a few bandages were still visible among the dispirited column.

Would they survive the trip home?

by **Harlequill** on May 24th, 2010, 2:17 am

Weighing in...

XP Awarded

Character: Jaquise Emittere
Experience: 5xp Reimancy, 4xp Katana, 4xp Tactics, 3xp Familiary, 2xp Auristics, 2xp Wilderness Survival, 2xp Blind Fighting, 2xp Leadership, 2xp Singing
Lore: Gigantism, Dealing with Yukmen, Coping with Hero Worship, Leading Men to Their Deaths, Arcana: ______, Sharing Leadership, Giving Fatherly Advice, The Bone Fields
Rewards: 205GM (41 days pay, 5GM a day, paid upon arrival to Syliras), 1 Suit of Alahean Chainmail (with Tabard), 180GM in Gems (Can be converted to GM upon arrival to Syliras, if wished), Salvaged Leather, Claws, and Skull of gigantic Wolverine.
Comments: It was very fun to run this adventure with you. I hope that you enjoyed it, and I will join you in the thread where you return to Syliras. Congratulations on your victory! Please name your ice cloud of doom spell and add it to the blank above.