Bane the Barbarian – Session 7

DAY 14 (cont)

In the end, though Az did go out on his scouting trip, he was unable to provide any more information about the occupants of the temple. He had succeeded in peeking through a stained-glass window but the inside was shrouded in darkness and so he hadn’t been able to see anything useful.

And so it was, that a short while after he returned, without any certainty of what lay ahead, we rose from our hiding place and made our way through the darkness toward the steps at the front of the temple.

Az guided us along the temple wall, keeping to the shadows until we were only a few yards from the entrance. At that point we were within earshot of the hobgoblin sentries who were standing outside. I found myself wondering if any of my companions were as apprehensive as I felt. After all, we were just about to plunge headlong into this bastion of Evil with little or no knowledge of what lay inside. From where I was standing it didn’t seem very wise.

Then, without warning, Az whispered urgently “Quick, they’ve heard us” and darted off around the corner. As I followed him there was a loud whistle from just ahead and I surmised that the alarm was being raised.

We covered the ground quickly and charged up the steps, startling the lone sentry that remained outside. Seeing that the huge wooden doors were ajar, I left Az to deal with the single adversary and took it upon myself to lead the assault inside. Granted, I might have come to regret that decision. After all, I could have been running into a horde of angry hobgoblins or a dragon or maybe something even worse, but it seemed to me that the time for prudence had well and truly passed us by, so I buried my doubts and carried the attack to the opposition, bursting through the gap into the temple beyond.

I found myself standing in a vast hall with rows of pillars stretching off into the darkness. A few sparsely spread torches provided what little illumination there was, and cast eerie shadows upon the grotesque carvings that adorned every surface. It was a foul place, tainted with evil; the stench of it filled the air.

At that moment two more hobgoblins appeared without warning from the shadows, attacking me with short spears. I was barely able to deflect the first attack and the second hobgoblin stabbed me in the thigh. It was not a deep wound but I was annoyed that I had been so careless. Seeing me under attack, Ichabard, who had followed me in, leapt to my aid. It was a brave thing to do but unfortunately he only really succeeded in getting in the way. Prancing around trying not to get hit, he was more of a danger to himself than the enemy. I struck one of the hobgoblins down and then had to adjust to avoid endangering Ichabard with my follow through. As a result the second hobgoblin’s spear grazed my side. By the gods! I would be thankful when my erstwhile companion stopped helping! Making some room for myself I retook the initiative and forced the remaining hobgoblin backward with a flurry of blows. He panicked and as his spear tip dropped I finished him. He fell to the floor and did not move again.

Motioning Ichabard to stay well behind me, I ignored the blood that was seeping from my wounds and moved further into the darkness. I could see very little and now was not the time to stop and attend to my injuries as there were almost certainly more hobgoblins close by.

Cautiously I advanced. I was grateful to note that Ichabard had for once heeded my instructions and remained back near the entrance. Though I still had the distinct impression that he was going to get himself killed again very soon, probably trying to prove that he wasn’t just “along for the ride.” Damn Rae for saying that! It probably also explained Ichabard’s determination to follow through on his ridiculous plan with the dragon. I had grave doubts that he would be getting out of this alive.

For the time being however I needed all of my attention focused on the darkness around me, or I wasn’t going to get out of this myself. The poor visibility made it almost impossible to make out approaching enemies, particularly with Rae clanking around nearby.

Suddenly something fizzed overhead and I threw myself to the floor as a brightly glowing stave flew through the air, illuminating its path between the pillars until it clattered to the floor some distance away. It lay there, glowing brightly and lighting up the area. Regaining my composure and looking back, I could see Muratis over by the door, lighting up a second sun-rod before sending that arcing through the air toward the other side of the temple. Wizards! Still, I had to admit that the light was a blessing, though if anything had managed to remain unaware of our arrival, I doubted that it was the case any longer.

I got up and made my way forward again, in the general direction of the nearest patch of light. After a few moments I was reassured to see Rae moving parallel to me, close by.

Then from ahead and to the left I became aware of shapes moving rapidly through the darkness toward us. A half-dozen or more dogs burst out of the shadows and fell upon us. They were closely followed by another four hobgoblins. I killed two dogs before leaving the others to Rae and turning my attention to the approaching guards. But before I could engage them in combat a fireball whistled past, exploded in their midst and enveloped them in flame. A wave of heat passed over me. When I glanced back in the direction the fireball had come from I was not at all surprised to see Muratis. Looking at the four smouldering bodies I reminded myself never to get in the way of one of his attacks.

Rae had despatched the other hounds with little difficulty, and so while the immediate vicinity appeared to be clear, I took the opportunity to quaff the potion of healing that I was carrying. The refreshing elixir coursed through my body and my wounds closed. Leaving me almost as good as new.

I returned my attention to the task at hand, just in time to see a large ape-like creature swing down from the pillars and attack Rae, pounding at her armour with fists and claws. She struggled to fend it off as I rushed to her aid. By the time I had covered the short distance between us, Rae had been injured, but she had rocked the beast with a couple of mighty blows and it was ready to fall. It didn’t require a lot of my assistance to finish it off.

We stood there for a moment regaining our wind and scanning the pillars for any more surprises. It was about then that I heard the noise, a kind of flapping of leathery wings and a rasping of scales. I didn’t like the sound of it at all. Even more so because it echoed around the vaulted chamber so that I couldn’t be sure where it was coming from.

It wasn’t long before I found out though.

I saw the dragon barely an instant before it breathed lightning down upon us, and then Rae and I were thrown backwards across the floor.

Electricity crackled around us and I tried to clear my head and crawl away behind one of the pillars. It took all of my strength to do so. The stench of ozone filled the air and my armour, clothes and skin all steamed with the heat. My teeth were buzzing violently.

Az appeared from the shadows, running past me and grabbing Rae, hauling her behind another pillar where they were shielded from a second attack. I was glad of his intervention for I would not have been able to help her.

I lay there for a few moments, sucking in deep breaths and recovering a little. Even with my strength I did not think I would survive another such attack. Many would have been killed outright by what we had just experienced. It was indeed a testament to Rae’s toughness that she too had escaped with her life.

Az rolled a vial across to me and motioned that I should drink it. It was another healing potion, for which I was very grateful. I unstoppered the bottle and slurped it down greedily. The soothing effects went some way to improving my condition, but I still felt much the worse for my experience with the dragon’s breath.

I was just turning my attention to where the dragon was now, and what to do next, when I saw a quite incredible sight. Ichabard, running full tilt from the doorway, and charging past us into the open in front of the dragon. There he halted and with only the briefest hesitation he boldly called out “Hold Dragon, your life depends on it!”

There was a moment of silence, filled only with a uniform sense of astonishment and Az exclaiming, “Well I’ll say one thing, he’s got balls!”

The dragon eyed Ichabard up and down as though he were an irritating bug and then suddenly I realised its lungs were expanding.

“Ichabard run!” I cried out, reaching towards him. But it was already too late. For a second time lightning filled the air and I hurled myself backward, rolling away from the blast. When I looked up all that was left where Ichabard had been standing were his smouldering boots. His dead body lay some feet away, a charred crumpled heap on the floor.

“Stupid… Stupid… Stupid”, I cursed, scrambling away. I sprinted across to another pillar to try and put some space between myself and the others so that we weren’t all in the same area. I was relieved when, as I broke cover, an array of magic missiles came out of the darkness and impacted on the dragon’s scales. They didn’t appear to have much effect on the creature but they did distract it long enough for me to cross the gap.

Moving pillar to pillar I tried to skirt round and flank the dragon. My heart hammered in my chest, at any moment I could be slain.

Then I heard a roar and the sound of thrashing around a short distance away. I decided to chance a quick glance in that direction. I was heartened to see that the creature was partially ensnared in some of Muratis’s handiwork. Webbing now stretched between the columns and the dragon was struggling to get out.

I took the chance to close the distance even further, for I had a notion that when Muratis had told me to hold onto the small magical bead until I had an opportunity to throw it at something nasty, this was the kind of occasion he had been talking about. I wasn’t sure exactly what it would do but I wanted to be as near as possible to make sure I didn’t waste it.

I guess Rae had the same idea because a moment later her bead whistled through the air and there was a loud explosion. The temple shook and dust fell from above. The dragon roared in pain but still seemed fairly active so I hurled my bead against it for good measure. There was a second loud explosion and a fireball, courtesy of Muratis, and the dragon screamed its fury. It was obviously weakened but I was somewhat dismayed to see that it was still very much alive. In addition most of the web had been destroyed so it was nearly free.

Things weren’t looking too promising. The wizard had cast his magic and we had used the beads, I supposed that now it was time to do things the old fashioned way, down and dirty. It was the time for a warrior to show his mettle. If one is going to die in the fight against Evil it is best to die well.

I offered a silent prayer in the hopes that the gods and goddesses of valour were watching, pushed myself away from the pillar and charged like a madman.

I was quite surprised to still be standing when I reached the dragon’s side. I had expected at any moment to be consumed in another lightning blast, but it had not happened. Taking advantage of my good fortune, I plunged Tangrel’s blade into the creature’s side. With all my weight behind it the steel bit deep, piercing between the dragon’s scales. I felt quite satisfied.

“That’s got to hurt.”

But sadly it was not enough. Though the dragon screamed in agony it did not fall, instead it turned on me in a frenzy of teeth and claws.

“Oh crap! I’m gonna die here, I’m definitely going to die!”
I was surely finished. Talons bit deep into my flesh, its wings buffeted me and I went down. It mauled me to within an inch of my life. Even now I am not sure how I survived.

Then, just in the nick of time, Az came to my rescue. Courageously the stout dwarven warrior darted forward and jabbed at the dragon’s head with his warspear, distracting it before it could finish me, driving it back. It hissed at him and I feared that he was about to feel the fury of its deadly breath. I was torn to shreds but I struggled to rise once again. Somehow I managed to get to my feet. My body was slick with blood and the great rents in my flesh burned like fire. I summoned all my remaining strength and ferociously struck at the dragon again. Blood bubbled from its wounds and mingled with mine on the floor.

“By the gods!!! The bl**dy thing just wouldn’t die!”

At least I had got its attention away from Az, though that presented me with a new problem. Suddenly the dragon’s head spun back toward me. Its nostrils flared as its furious gaze fell upon me and it breathed out electric fire. I flung myself to one side, and once again I miraculously survived. Somehow I had managed to avoid the majority of the blast. The gods and goddesses of valour were indeed smiling upon me.

I’m not sure what was keeping me going at this point but the dragon itself was finally looking in pretty bad shape. It was attempting to break off the combat and fly away toward the rear of the temple, so I staggered to my feet one more time. Weakly the dragon took to the air, taking a parting thrust from Az’s spear as it went. It struggled a few metres and then its back exploded in flames as another of Muratis’s fireballs hit it from behind. The impact brought it crashing to the floor. It was still only a short distance away.

We had to finish it before it could rise.

I limped forward as fast as I could to join Az in attacking the dragon. As we did so two hobgoblins emerged from the shadows and rushed to defend it. I didn’t think I was going to last much longer so I ignored them and plunged my blade into the creature one last time. Az followed up with a stab into the base of the dragon’s skull, ending its feeble struggles to regain its feet. At least that was over. I hoped that Az would be able to defeat the hobgoblins without me because I was ready to collapse. I staggered and dropped to my knees.

I think I would have fallen there and then but again Az saved me by using a wand of healing which returned a little of my strength. It was more than courageous of him, for as a result of this action he would have been undefended against the hobgoblins’ attack. Fortunately it was at that moment that Rae finally arrived on the scene. Immediately she engaged the first hobgoblin and took him out of the equation. The second, who turned out to be a bl**dy sorcerer of all things, used his detestable magic on me and commanded me to flee. Once again, for reasons I cannot explain, though I barely had enough strength to stand, I obliged. It seems rather ludicrous to me that having just fought toe-to-toe with the dragon I then ran away from a hobgoblin… but that’s what happened.

I don’t remember much after that. I only made it part way back toward the entrance before collapsing from exhaustion and blood loss. I didn’t fully regain consciousness until Az had used a substantial amount of the magic from the wand of healing, and it was completely drained before I felt anything like myself. By that time the battle was over and the dragon and the hobgoblins were no more.

I lay on the cold flagstone floor and reflected upon how lucky I was to be alive. For the second time in a couple of weeks I wondered which of the numerous gods and goddesses was looking out for me. Somebody definitely was. I thanked them, whoever they were.

Ichabard had not been so lucky. He and his boots were still smouldering somewhere nearby.

While I regained my strength the others completed a search of the temple. Reassuringly they found no more opposition and the only exits led downward to stairwells that were impassable with rubble. It appeared that, for the time being at least, the battle was over, and so we retreated from the ghastly place to the tower where we had entered, and passed the remainder of the night there…