Again, Rage teleports out with those who will go, to Megadungeon II.
It is noontime when the Rage and company return. However, it is with two corpses. Kal the grugach druid did not survive the shock to his system, and is dead. The other corpse is that of Sian's follower, Seraph, who was also unable to stand the shock to her system.
Kadlian's face goes white. "Kal is dead? And the rod of resurrection is gone, right? Rage, is there anything other than a wish that will bring him back?"
"That would be Hlarn's preserve. I do not think anything less than a wish would do, however."
Kadlian places a hand on Sian's shoulder. "I am sorry about the death of Seraph. When Hlarn returns to us, we will bring her back if at all possible."
"Zanax, inform Hlarn of our losses. If he can provide any guidance on how to bring these two back, then let me know."
Zanax nods as he looks over the bodies of the recently deceased.
"Hlarn can bring back Seraph if we can Teleport her to him or vice versa. Hlarn wants to know if we can do it within the next day, though."
"Agulhas, Hlarn knows Rage is probably tapped out of Teleport spells, but how about you?"
Kadlian looks at Agulhas. "Yes, are you able to teleport, yet? If so, you could join Hlarn, Kailar and Equinox with Seraph's body and return to us tomorrow morning."
Agulhas does not reply, apparently being struck dumb by recent events.
"Kad, I would like to take an expidition into that tower. There is no point in letting those trolls hang around here. They are bad for everyone. Ohhh and unless you come up with a real good reason not to I am going to check them out," Sian says gruffly. "Stupid toads don't deserve to be left alone."
"Sian, I understand your anger. However, we cannot get distracted with side adventures. We will return and remove the threat after we have taken care of our primary mission."
Grumbling under his breath, Sian reluctantly agrees.
"You are right, Kad. They just bug me when they hang out anywhere. They shouldn't be around for anyone to have to deal with. The less of them there are the better."
"I feel the same way about orcs. Do not worry, your blade will wet itself on a few of them on our way back. And who knows, maybe a few will wander close to camp..."
Zanax smiles, "Which is why I have started patrolling every day!"
"How many?" Rage asks Sian, "I am sure a couple of fireballs in the open would help. What t is the best way to lure trolls out? It would be bad form to leave them around where we might need to retreat to."
"That'd be the much vaunted Elf Lure," Furgh replies absently. "Either them or sucklin' pigs. Trolls can't tell the diff."
"We do not know. Sian and I discovered troll signs back at the tower a few hours east of here. Fireballs will not likely do it. We saw signs of them around the tower, but they likely make their home inside the tower's bowels. And I repeat... We are not tackling the tower on the way to our mission. When we have recovered the object from the ruins, then we can dally for some fun."
Rage looks at Kadlian. "Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that trolls were very succeptable to fire based spells, especially fireballs. Outside, I can release the full impact of them and it would be a hoot," the mage says. "Besides, if I cast fly on myself, and am invisible, they will not see me until it is too late. The issue is how to get them out in the open." the mage looks to Sian. "How many trolls usually form a band? Would there be two or three, or more like a dozen?"
"You are not wrong, this is just bad timing."
"I've never had the knack for timing, not like you elves yaknow," the mage says in her best Furgh voice.
Turning back to Kadlian, she continues. "The issue is getting them in the open and tackling them there, not going into the bowels of the keep, their possible lair. Do your friends," Rage points to the trees, "Know more about them? Can they tell us if the trolls are active in the area? Perhaps how many there are."
"I hate to leave them behind us, cause we might regret it later."
Kadlian shrugs. "Why? Our final destination are scores of miles from here. Besides, trying to lure them out will just waste time. As soon as you return from your next teleport trip, we are leaving."
"Makes me regret practicing with my hippogriff."
Rage looks at Kadlain. "Why? You ask why? Let's see. One troll can cause a lot of damage. If they have a lair, which it appears they do, they will be looking for food to eat for the winter, and will probably range farther and farther away from their lair as it gets scarce. I am not sure what farms and the like are around here. It seems that if we can lure them out in the open, with a combination of spells and bait, we can remove the menace quickly and efficiently."
Kadlian shakes his head. "There is nothing for dozens of miles. The last town that we passed on our way here was nearly a week northwest. There is no need to delay our mission."
Rage laughs,
"Delay our mission. You do not have to delay the mission. Sian and I can catch up to you quickly while you continue to march forward to the ruins," the mage says. "We will not take any unnecessary risks, and will do the damage from the air. We just need a plan to lure them out in the open," the mage says stroking her cat as she speaks. "A plan....hmm..."
Zanax smiles. "You're not leaving here without me. How about I lure them out and then levitate above them so that you can blast them with a fireball. Sian and I will then mop up afterwards."
"Hey! Yer gonna need bait!" Furgh adds, obviously wanting to come along as well.
Zanax snorts. "Since when were you so eager to kill anything?"
Furgh gives Zanax his most beautific smile.
"Hey, killin' 'em's yer job."
He grins. "But anything's better'n freezin' my pointy ears off here."
"So, when you're bored, you don't mind killing, is that it?"
Furgh raises one eyebrow. "Now that's the stupidest thing I've heard all day. Hope ya didn't hurt yerself comin' up with that clever retort."
He grins. "Alright, maybe its not the stupidest, but I stopped talkin' to myself hours ago."
Rage puts up her hand. "Wait, all of you," she says in a commanding tone. "We need to develop a plan first, with Sian's knowledge of trolls, it should not be hard. And then we will decide who comes with Sian and myself."
"You should know that the tower is several hours by hippogriff to the east."
"I am aware of these things. I wish to make sure we have the necessary complement of spells and an appropiate plan of attack," Rage says, "With flying, it should not be a problem."
That is a possibility, but I want Sian's input for this plan. He knows more about trolls than you or I, and has a special hatred for them, as is clear by his desire to rid the countryside of them. I want to help him out, and think that we can do it without affecting our time on the road," the mage says. "So it's decided, Zanax, Sian and I will tackle the trolls, by luring them out of the keep. If we cannot do that, we will not attack them in their lair," the mage says stroking her cat, "Meanwhile, Kadlian will continue to move the troops towards the ruins and our goal. We will catch up with them quickly thereafter by flying," the mage states. "Any questions?"
Kadlian looks at Rage, a loud retort at his mouth. Instead, he just shakes his head in frustration and mutters something about "strong leadership".
"You have something to add, Kadlian?" the mage says, frowning. "I am not jeopardizing the mission in any way, no more than the fiasco we experieneced to retrieve some other items, as I recall. I think that this is a worthy venture and if we can succeed with minimal danger, which I think we can, it is worht it. Besides, it's been a while since I cast a fireball."
"No, at this point I have nothing to add. You have made up your mind despite my orders and I am not going to push it anymore. It seems pointless to argue. Just remember this incident the next time you complain about my leadership ability."
Rage sighs heavily, "You miss the point Kadlian. That is the sad thing. The issue of your leadership is not in question. But perhaps it should be," the mage says slowly. "Perhaps it is time to consider changing the leadership." As she speaks, the gem on the medallion around her waist glows bright blue. "Perhaps you need to open yourself up and listen before a decision is made, like this one. Give others an opportunity to make a plan, and present it before unilaterally deciding that there is only one course of action ... in the keep there needed to be a clear leader and I respected that, accepted and supported you in that role. However, here, in this case, you should have stated that the postion was to move forward and deal with the primary mission, however a well thought out plan would be considered for a few of us to act to deal with these trolls. It is the least you can do for Sian and for me," the mage says softly, stroking her black cat, a tear in her eye. "I am sorry to question your judgement, but you need to learn what level of bossiness to apply at what time, and dungeon bossiness is not applicable here."
"Oh great!" mutters Beauty. "Now I know why I could hire you all so cheaply...you all can't get along! I hope you get this all straightened out because I hired you all to do a job and it ain't gonna get done with you all squabbling and such. I'm in serious danger. You can't be dicking around all the time, you know!"
"Take a chill pill Beauty. We are not dicking around, as you put it. Besides, you did not pay me my fee yet, so until I see what I want, and we negotiate in good faith, I ain't working for you. Kapish."
Beauty's eyes brighten. "Oh? You have one? I'd love to...those chill pills are sure hard to come by. Thanks!" Beauty replies, holding out her hand.
Rage stares at the woman. "I believe that Logan has the elixer for you. I suggest you see him."
"I am impressed, Rage, you actually are about me," Logan says and nods in appreciation to the magette.
"Just out of curiosity, Kadlian, but why are we bothering to drag your treant followers with us? They're only going to slow us up and they're not going to be able to assist us with obtaining the rod. Why don't we just leave them in a forest and pick them up on the way back?"
"That is a possibility. However, they may be useful in securing a base camp outside of the ruins which may need."
"For what they cost in time to travel, is it worth it?"
"Most likely, yes. Having not to guard the camp at night is a great boon."
"Your blink dogs can do that quite well on their own."
"No, not really. The treants are reliable. The blink dogs are fun loving creatures and not really made for guard duty."
"I agree," Rage says. "They offer added protection that is worth the time, let us see how long it takes us with them traveling with us," the mage says. "If things become slow, we will deal with that then."
"Oh, by the way, I made contact with Hlarn earlier. He says they're a few days away from the rift and wants us to start moving, especially if we're taking the treants. He describes the way as being long and arduous, as there are no good roads."
Kadlian nods. "Then we will leave now. The rest of you can catch up with us."
Kadlian looks at the camp. "Everyone, pack up your belongings. When you all return from the next dungeon, we will all be a number of miles closer to our destination."
Kadlian packs up his belongings and makes sure everyone is ready to head out as soon as possible.
"So you're still going to insist on taking the treants with us? Hlarn believes it worth the wait for the treants."
"As obstinate as you think I am being, I believe this to be the best course of action in the long run."
"Zanax, please contact Hlarn for me. I need to know which way we should be heading."
"UHHH Furgh...you do understand that this tower is only like two hours away by flight. That means it won't be all that much warmer. Now if you are talking about running from the trolls that might get a little warmer," says Sian with a smirk.
"Yup!" Furgh agrees cheerfully. "Not ta mention there's bound ta be a bit o' fire flyin' about with Rage nearby. Get a poor elf toasty warm in no time."
Turning to Kadlian, Sian continues, "As Rage has said this shouldn't take much time and with all of us able to fly we should catch up with the rest of the group quickly. As you should understand if orcs were about that means there issomething for them to be about for. The same is for trolls except that trolls seem to like the taste of human flesh. That means they are getting it from somewhere. We are just going to take care of that before it gets to bad"
Going over to Zanax and Rage, Sian says, "Okay trolls are ugly first and formost. as you all know. Now couldn't tell from the tracks but I would assume that they are just regular trolls. That means that there are anywhere from 1 to 12. Now I would guess like 8. There were quite a few tracks. Now depending on how hungry they are is going to make are plans. If they are really hungry we better be prepared to fight. They will keep attacking until they kill us or we kill them. We might want to go hunt and use the meat as the bait. They have very good smell."
"When you could use a live volunteer?" Furgh gasps. "Or don't trolls like elf meat?"
"I could butter myself up or somethin'," he weedles hopefully.
Rage looks at Furgh.
"NO." she says. "No Furgh... I do not want you coming with us. Not on this mission, not at this time. You are not ready for it and I am not ready for you."
"Ready for it?" Furgh says, looking slightly confused. "Ready for what?"
"There are issues between you and I still unresolved," Rage says in a soft, seductive voice.
The look of confusion increases, and slowly starts to blend into one of alarm.
"Uh..." He glances around, a little worried.
"And I do not want to be reminded of them while I am dealing with this problem."
"Hey..." Furgh says uncomfortably. "Stop kiddin' around, 'kay?"
The mage walks over to Furgh.
"I'll be back soon and then we can continue." she says with a smile.
Furgh backs away hastily, as Rage advances.
"Yah.. uhm.... alright... no trolls.... sure... we elves never liked trolls anyway..." he says hurriedly, still backing away as if Rage was some sort of demon trying to tear out his insides. "They clash with our fair ... uh... skin..."
He looks around, desperately. "Hey, I think I see one a the ents..." he says and hurries off into the woods in a random direction.
Kadlian raises an eyebrow at the couple and looks at Furgh with a question on his face.
Zanax chuckles. "Interesting...very interesting..."
Looking at Rage, he says, "Think we could get him to stay away, too?"
Rage looks pouty, "I don't want him away permantly... just till I am ready for him."
Zanax shrugs "Well, that makes one of us."
"Okay now the bad stuff. With them being out here they probably have a chieftain. She is the bad news she can cast priest spells and leads the rest. The only way to kill these things is with fire or acid. They regenerate lost health so we have to take them down and then burn them. Any questions?" asks Sian as he takes a deep breath.
"I assume this is a daytime fight, right? I suggest we each be protected by an Endure Fire spell, just in case we're caught in Rage's fireball. I'll also bring some flasks of oil. Anything else we might need?"
"Thought that they were nocturnal critters? If not, well so much the better. I am not planning for you two to get to involved in a fight, since it would potentially let you get hurt," the mage says. "No offense Zanax, if I had my way, this would be just Sian and myself, but at the same time, another sword might be useful. We have much to plan and discuss," the mage says, and then turns to Kadlian.
"Day or night, it does not matter to me. I will be able to fight them either way equally well. Also, I'm not concerned about your fireball spells, as Endure Heat and my sword will protect me."
"Oh, I plan to fight, by the way...and I'm sure Sian does, too," Zanax adds with a grin.
Rage shakes her head. "Let us talk about that while we plan now to lure them out of the keep. I have a few ideas."
"I say stoneskin some fool and use him or her as bait!" Logan says with a smug smile with his ingenious idea.
"Thank you for your input," Rage says coldly, "When I want it, I will ask next time."
"Any time, love," Logan says with a smile.
"Our discussion is not over, Kadlian, you and I have much to talk about and I hope that you can see that now," Rage says with a sigh.
Kadlian looks north for a moment, back towards Aldacan. "I have known that we needed to talk for several days. However, you had other duties that overrode the need for a discussion. When you finish the troll hunting expedition, we can talk."
Kadlian shakes his head sadly and points to his shortsword. "You are going to need my flametongue. You can have it when you leave to find the trolls, Sian."
"Thanks Kad... I will get it back to you as soon as I am done," says Sian gratefully.
"Speaking of which, did you ever locate your frost brand, Kadlian?"
"No, and considering the disastrous results of our last attempt, I decided to leave it alone."
"Well, then perhaps you ought to arm yourself with the giant slayer. You never know when you might meet one out here. Unless, of course, you've already armed yourself with another long sword."
"I thought Sian had taken it. If not, then perhaps I should."
"I do have it but if you want to take it while I have the flamesword..." says SIan.
"No, keep it. I have a magical longsword. That will suffice."
So, Kadlian, Beauty, Furgh, the robot, the treants, blink dogs, Fleetwing, Agulhas, Edelle, Vastelle, Windul, Wizbang and Logan set off for the southern lands.
Sian, Zanax, Melissa, Umboth, Callie, Birch, Rage, Vanadil, Seraph and Nuanna prepare to go against the trolls.
It is a cool but not altogether unpleasant afternoon as you finally get underway again, walking south through the forests of the Enchanted Valley. Perhaps because you are still shocked at Kal's sudden death, or perhaps because you are uncomfortable with leaving part of your group behind, you converse little.
Soon after leaving the camp you cross the Aldacan Way, a Great Road linking southern Nlad with the elf-land of Aldacan, to the north. At this point it runs east-west.
You continue on into the forest.
Late in the afternoon you ford a small river, and find yourselves at the edge of a large marshland. These are the Kea Fens, Kadlian says, breaking a long silence.
The Kea Fens were the site of the final battle between the armies of the Mestom and those of the Elves, Men and Wizards, fought long ago. Mestom was defeated. Since then the lands have slowly sunk into swamplands, which continue to grow slowly. Legends have it that the area is still haunted by the souls and spirits of those who died in that great battle.
You press on for a short time longer, then make a camp for the night.
Kadlian, by the way, is now fully skilled with flying his hippogriff.
The night passes quietly, and the temperature stays above freezing.