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16 - Results of the Trial
Next: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18997654/
Previous: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18997527/
All Episodes: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....ning-511011415
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Prepare yourself...
The aid of spectral forces will be essential for the first test.
It is not always best to delegate the work to others, but it becomes so if it serves the purpose.
Do it before using the scroll.
"Woha, woha, where are we?"
The group opened their eyes after the teleportation spell had almost blinded them, due to the strong white light coming from the parchment itself. As they looked around, a vast desert opened in front of their view.The sun was high in the sky and they could clearly see a mountain range rising from the distance.
"This.. does not look like the desert of Tarsis."
Considered Brimelle as her hooves gently kicked the sand.
"Of course it doesn't." Murmured Aliranne, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "This is the Khur desert."
"The Khur desert?! We're this far from civilization?!" Kon es Kaz almost shouted in surprise.
"Calm down, Kon." said Vorador. "This is part of the trial already. Which means that we're not in the actual desert and this.." he gestured to the scenic desert around them. "is just an illusion."
"Looks pretty damn real to me.." The minotaur whispered to himself.
"We went on this argument many times before, Kon" kept going Aliranne, "and by now we get it that you don't understand how magic works. Just try not to think and follow us."
The mage started walking towards the mountains in the distance while the other simply stared at her.
"Where are thou going?" Asked Brimelle, trying to reach her.
"I'm trying to find some sort of reference to understand where my hometown is. Probably we'll have to go in that direction."
Kon es Kaz and Vorador were following the two while Aaon had transmuted himself into his feral hawk form, flying way over the party. The Mystic, as soon as he reached the rest of the group, cast a spell over the others to help them fight the heat wave of the midday sun. Brimelle and Kon sighed in relief, but Alianne just kept sweating under the scorching sun.
"I suppose that, since it's my trial, no external aid can come to me.. Thanks for the thought anyway."
Vorador limited himself to simply nod at her, still walking beside her.
The sound of their footsteps was suddenly broken by the screeching of the hawk in the sky. The four raised their heads, observing the druid: Aaon had started flying in circles, lowering himself and finally landing over the sand, reverting into his human horned form.
"I saw something in the other direction."
"What was it?" asked the mage.
"Some sort of well, I think. I suppose we should investigate it."
Aliranne seemed to be pondering a little before nodding eagerly.
"Let's go."
They reached the well in more or less than twenty minutes. It was made of stones and the rope with the bucket was missing. Behind the well, a giant rock offered protection from the persistent sun rays.
"So, what are we doing here?" Asked Kon es Kaz.
"Waiting." Answered Aliranne sharply.
And they didn't have to wait for too long: after a few minutes, a woman dressed in yellow and red robes came up to them from behind the giant rock with desperation in her eyes.
"Oh, please, please, help me! My son.. my son!!"
The woman, not even waiting for an answer from the group, grabbed Aliranne's hand and lead her to the back of the rock. There, the mage, with the rest of the party following her, found a small child sitting with his back on the warm stone. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly ajar. His lips were as dry as the desert itself while his breath came out as the rattle of a venomous snake.
"He needs water, please, please help me!!" the woman kept screaming.
Vorador was the first one to intervene, kneeling in front of the child and pouring down into his mouth the content of on of his flasks. To his surprise, the water went down straight until it reached a couple of inches before the lips of the kid, swaying then from its course and falling down on the sand below.
"Look, he drank it all!" cried the mother. "But there must be something wrong with him, he didn't open his eyes!"
vorador raised on eyebrow before turning back towards Aliranne.
"It must be part of the trial."
She nodded.
"And I think I know what I have to do."
The mage ran back to the well. She looked at where the invisible servant she had previously summoned was standing and ordered him to go down the well and fill with water one empty flask she handed him. The party then could see the flask hovering in mid-air before disappearing in the well and coming out a few minutes after, dripping with water. Aliranne took the flask in her hands and knelt in front of the kid as Vorador had done before.
This time, the water that poured down from the flask, went right into the kid's mouth, finally wetting his dry lips. Suddenly, he started to disappear, crumbling away and becoming sand. The mother too started to become sand in the wind.
"Oh thank you, thank you! Look, he's opening his eyes!" she whispered before disappearing completely.
Aliranne went back on her feet, dusting away the sand from her red skirt.
"Good job." came Vorador.
She smiled at him, but before she could answer with a thank you, a strange rumbling sound could be heard.
"What was that?" Asked Brimelle, pacing worried around the group.
"It came from the well." Said Aaon, starting to walk towards it.
As they all reached the well, they found that a door had come out of it, breaking the stones of the cylindrical structure, causing the previous rumbling sound. Aliranne walked towards it, placing one hand over the handle and opening it: a bright white light came out of the door, so blinding that it was impossible to see what was awaiting them on the other side. The mage hesitated, staring into that pure light when one hand rested on her shoulder. She looked around to find Brimelle looking at her.
"Let us continue the test."
Aliranne nodded. One after the other, all the companions entered the white light of the door, passing the threshold.
They came out from another door which was placed right on top of a grassy hill. All around them was a huge forest which engulfed all that their eyes could see. But that was not the most peculiar part of the whole scenery: the sky was the most impressing thing since it had been only a few minutes after they had left the Khur's midday sun but, in this instance, the celestial dome was covered in stars and constellations as if it was midnight already.
The group started scanning the area, looking for possible threats or anything else that could have been dangerous, without finding anything. The sleeping forest seemed to be completely safe.
"I don't get it, where are we?" Asked the minotaur, looking around.
"It's probably a resting place, I suppose." Answered Aliranne as she too gazed at the hill.
"Well, the berries are edible but there's an invisible wall just a little after the forest starts." Muttered Aaon returning from his scouting. "Maybe we should just stay here."
"Hey!" Came Brimelle. "Look at what I have found!"
The companions reached the centauress who had, in the meantime, found a campfire with apparently inextinguishable fire surrounded by five bedrolls of various sizes.
"This must be the mages teling us that it's time to rest." Pondered Aliranne.
"What!? But we've just woken up a few hours ago!" Protested Kon.
Vorador came from behind.
"Maybe you're forgetting that we are inside the test of high sorcery? We are powerless here. We can only wait for what awaits us... well, more likely for what the council will put us against."
"Then we shall not waste another minute." Intervened Brimelle. "The sooner we finish the test, the sooner we can return on our journey."
"Agreed." Nodded Aliranne as she slipped inside her bedroll. "See you all in the morning... if we can consider it morning."
As soon as all of the companions had taken their place in each bedroll, they all fell asleep immediately, as if some sort of spell had hindered their ability of staying awake. The morning after, they woke up refreshed and replenished with renewed strength, ready to face whatever challenge was going to be put in front of them.
Aliranne stood up, stretching her arms at the sky, when she noticed a piece of paper coming up from one of the folds of the cloth from the bedroll. She bent down, silently picking the note up, reading it in her mind.
The arrogance of a powerful individual contaminates the will of the weaker.
You will keep a great power which must not be seen.
Others will die, but not you, not today.
Remember, acting without words is the right way, the strength of your voice can be suppressed and you have that power.
Act quickly and suppress the power you carry before it is revealed.
Just as soon as she finished reading the piece of paper, the everlasting fire extinguished itself, spreading out a thick layer of smoke which blinded every companion for a couple of seconds. When the smoke dissipated, instead of the bonfire now stood a door made completely of fog but with solid consistency.
"Something tells me that we'll have to cross that threshold too.." murmured Kon es Kaz under his breath.
"You do not say?" Brimelle patronized him.
"Ok, give me one moment," said the mage as she went to fetch her spellbook to prepare herself for the new trial. "and then we can go."
The group waited one hour before the mage was actually ready to enter the door. Aliranne took in a deep breath, made a few steps forward and then crossed the threshold without hesitation. The rest of the party followed her, curious about what was going to happen next.
"Guys... guys where are you?"
"I'm here Brimelle."
"Kon?! Kon, what happened? I cannot see and my hands are tied up! And there is something behind my back!!"
"Same here."
"Where are the others, Kon?"
"I'm here Brimelle and I appear to be in your same situation."
"Is that you, Vorador?"
"Yes."
".. and what about Aaon? Aaon!"
"I'm right next to Vorador, stop screaming."
"Guys, can you please stop shouting? I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Aliranne!? Aliranne, are thou alright?"
"Yes, and I'm not blindfolded, unlike the rest of you. I'm trying to understand where we are!"
"Please, Aliranne, tell us what thou can see!"
"Eh... it's not.. an easy feat."
The mage looked around: she was on a wide balcony. Looking past the parapet she discovered that such a balcony was placed over what looked like an ancient and imposing city. In the distance, was a giant temple with stone so white which made it almost unbearable to watch. Behind her, stood the rest of her party, all of them with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolds over their eyes. Other people seemed to be in their same situation; actually, the whole balcony was crowded in tied up folks, although with no blindfolds, almost all of them carrying weapons or various objects.
But what the most peculiar thing appeared to be was the fact that all of the non-human companions had been transformed into human counterparts. Brimelle had a pink robe with a lute tied to her back, Kon wore the clothes of a blacksmith and had a sword on his side, Aaon didn't have his horns and sported a tunic of Chislev with a strange ring. The only normal ones seemed to be Vorador and Aliranne, aside for a strangely engraved dagger that she found being laced to her belt.
Aliranne did not hesitate and tried to understad the nature of the weapon as quickly as she could. She did not gasp in surprise when her in-depth inspection revealed a magic aspect to the dagger, she was almost expecting it. All of a sudden, she remembered the words written on the piece of paper found that same morning and, without further ado, she cast a spell to conceal the magical power of the blade. Satisfied, she let it fall back on her side, turning back her glance at her companions.
"Aliranne..." came the voice of Brimelle who was trying to take a few steps after hearing the mage cast her spell. "I feel... different.."
The mage tried to explain: "Well.. you're kind of.."
"I cannot feel my BACK LEGS! I am missing ONE THIRD OF MYSELF!"
"Oh, calm down Brimelle!" cried Kon es Kaz in her direction. "You'll only make the situation worse."
"But my legs!! I cannot feel my hooves, or MY TAIL! Where are we, what happened to us!?"
"I too can't feel my horns, but I'm not shouting out loud, for the Emperor's sake."
"Now that you mention it, I can't feel my antlers either." Came Aaon.
"That's because you're hum-"
Aliranne was interrupted mid-sentence by the entrance of three strange armoured individual. What looked to be the chief if the group walked in front of the other two with an arrogant pace. He came near the handrail before stopping. He looked around at the people on the balcony and shouted:
"FORM A LINE!"
The other prisoners started running, hurrying to obey such an order. The four blindfolded companions could clearly hear the rustling sound of armor and the quiet shuffling of robes accompanied by the tip-tapping rhythm of bare feet on the floor. They tried to follow such sounds in order to orientate themselves and form the line, with no success.
"How can we form a line if we cannot see?" Murmured Brimelle.
"SHUT UP!" Came the answer of the harsh armored man.
Kon es Kaz neared her "Please, don't make a mess." He whispered.
Brimelle's head sunk into her shoulders as if trying to hide herself. She was still struggling to find the right way to go when suddenly Kon es Kaz bumped into her, making her almost trip. The collision made their skin touching.
"KON, WHAT HAPPENED TO THY FUR!?!"
The yell of the former centauress was followed by a grapple directly into her stomach. Brimelle let out a surprised "Oh!" as she fell down on the ground while she gasped for air for couple of seconds due to the strong hit.
"I said. Shut. Up." the voice of the chief sounded cold and distant, with no remorse.
Kon es Kaz, enraged from such a dishonorable act towards his companion, charged forward, following the sound fo the chief's voice. He too was met by a punch right into his abdomen which stopped his rage as it almost made him fall forward on the floor too.
"That was not a smart move." The chief mocked him. "Now, form a line. Don't make me repeat myself."
Kon was panting. He shook his head, pacing towards what he thought could be the right direction the row was forming. In the meantime, Brimelle had stood up again, although now she appeared to be unstable on her feet. After at least thirty seconds, the other two armored soldiers decided to quicken up the process and "escorted" the four blindfolded and the mage to the end of the line. Aliranne stood in place, watching the beginning of the line with interest and worry.
The three soldiers marched right up the start of the row of people, stopping in front of the first prisoner. Now that the mage was free from the turmoil caused by the three's arrival, she could calmly observe their figure. In that moment, she recognized the symbols they bore on their chest: it was the tower symbol of the city of Istar. Aliranne almost gasped at that revelation, going to loom around for a confirmation of her hypothesis. Now that she was paying more attention to it, the temple she had seen before resembled the Kingpriest temple in the old city of Istar, monument she had known only through books and scriptures. She had no more doubts: they were in the city of Istar right during the various purges of the Kingpriest.
As she went on with her consideration, her eyes caught a horrible scene: the chief, after interrogating the first person of the row, killed the individual with a single stroke of his sword, letting the lifeless body fall down in a puddle of its own blood. She froze in her place, her blood turning cold. How could they be so heartless, she asked herself. Yet, she did not speak, not even when the three soldiers had killed off most of the other prisoners and were now approaching her companions.
Brimelle was the first in line. The chief came up to her and stopped only a few inches from her face. She could feel the warm and revolting breath of the man on her visage and, at the same time, her whole body shivering without control, in fear of what was going to happen. The soldier stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
"So... here we are again. I hope you have learned your lesson."
Brimelle gulped. She dared not to answer.
"Now, now, what do we have here, hmm?" The chief paced around the girl. "Is this a bard, I spy?" He stopped, back again in front of her. "What do you have behind your back?"
Brimelle moved her hands a little. She could feel something tied to her, but the knots were cutting her wrists making her hands hurt and numbing her touch. she was finally able to sense what object laid tied to her back. When she spoke, her lips where completely dry.
"I-it's a lute."
As she stuttered, the man raised both of his eyebrows.
"What a lovely voice you have.." His hands went to take the lute. He inspected it before handing it to one of the other two. "It's such a pity that no-one else will ever have the pleasure to hear it again."
Without further notice, the man raised his sword arm. A few moments later, Brimelle found herself gasping, blood gushing from her lips and her neck, where a deep sharp cut had just severed her jugular. Her knees gave way as she fell forward. Her vision faded as she could not see the light that filtered through the blindfold anymore. In less than a minute, the bard lay lifeless on the cold stone floor. Aliranne looked at the corpse with terror, suppressing a scream of dismay and averting her eyes from such revolting view.
The chief cleaned his sword on a piece of cloth before turning towards the second in line: Kon es Kaz. He repeated the process, stopping right in front of him, taking the sword the former minotaur had tied to his back and observing it with interest.
"You could have been a perfect blacksmith. It's a pity you had to partake in the rebellion."
Kon es Kaz growled at him, but stood still. With all the calm in the world, the chief soldier untied his hands, grasping his right one.
"This is for trying to hit me before."
In an instant, the armored man raised his sword and let it go down on Kon es Kaz's wrist, dividing the hand from the rest of the arm. The ex-minotaur tried to suppress his pain, but it still was showing in his facial expression.
"Without your hand you won't be able to defend yourself anymore, will you?" The man asked mockingly. "And we all know what is going to happen in prison to someone like you. I'm doing you a favour."
With a sharp motion, the man kicked the back of Kon's knees, forcing him to fall down on them, head bent forward. The sword was raised once again; the head of Kon es Kaz could have been seen rolling away from his body a few moments later. Still, Aliranne kept silent: she still remembered the words on the piece of paper she was given and although her heart wanted to shout her mind remained crystal clear, in order to focus on the real mission which was the trial.
Then, the three men moved towards Aaon.
"Oh," exclaimed the chief observing the druid's clothes. "so you're a follower of Chislev?"
Aaon did not speak.
"You know, I've always imagined druids as trees." As he said this, he motioned at the other two who turned around and disappeared behind a door. "And do you know what happens when a tree is in the way of building an arable field?"
"Nothing." The voice of Aaon did not tremble. "You can do nothing for a tree always lives on, for its roots are strong and its yelding patient."
"No, no," the man moved his index finger right and left even though the druid could not see it. "The right answer is: we burn it."
He snapped his fingers. The other two men immediately came back with a bucket of flammable liquid in one hand and a torch in the other. They poured it all over Aaon, soaking him wet, before lighting him up afire. As Aaon was burned alive, he tried not to scream, but the pain was too intense and his pride soon gave way to despair. He fell down on the ground, his flesh carbonizing and falling off, his whole body propelling the fire which consumed his very being. He soon stopped screaming and the trio passed to the next prisoner.
Vorador was waiting for them. He did not move, nor did he say a word. He simply stood there, waiting for them to give him his end. He knew there was nothing he could have done. The chief didn't even take the time to properly interrogate him: his sword had already pierced through the mystic's abdomen. Vorador fell on the ground with a loud "tud", another addiction to the evergrowing line of corpses.
Aliranne shivered a little but tried to contain herself. The three soldiers marched up to her.
"So, you're the last one of the bunch, let's see what you have got to offer..."
The chief inspected her and soon found the strange dagger. He ripped it off the mage's belt and observed it more cautiously than all of the other objects he had looked at before. After a good minute, he dropped it on the floor.
"Useless." He muttered. He then turned around towards the others. "Gather the survivors. We're done."
As he gave her his back, Aliranne tried to get on her fours and grab the dagger, but she was met by a kick in her guts.
"Don't test our patience." Said the soldier who had hit her. "Get back on your feet and follow the others."
Aliranne obeyed and followed the line of survivors who seemed to be going through a very dark door. As she was about to pass the threshold, she turned around, giving one last glance to the corpses of her companions who know where lying there with no compassion from the guards. A single tear dropped down her cheek as she turned once again, going through the door.
Aliranne, when she regained her consciousness, found herself on the very same hill she and her companions were sleeping on last night. She shook her head, feeling rather squeamish, when the smell and sound of burning wood caught her attention. Raising her gaze, she could see a trail of smoke coming from a short distance. She followed it without hesitation and was most overjoyed when she discovered her four companions sleeping peacefully near the lit campfire. Tears swelled her eyes as she ran towards them, while laughters of jubilation filled the air.
The four adventurers woke up, yawning and stretching their limbs. Brimelle turned her head towards the turmoil the mage was causing.
"Aliranne, what are thou d-"
She could not finish the sentence that the mage had already impacted into her, hugging her tightly.
"I'm.. so happy to see you, that's all.." She whispered, still smiling. She had decided not to tell them. They did not seem to remember, she thought, why should I interfere?
"Did we miss anything?" Asked the minotaur, now he too trapped into the strangely powerful grab of the human girl.
"No, no." Aliranne tried to regain her posture. "Nothing at all."
As she kept smiling, Aaon suggested.
"Well then, we still have a test to finish, don't we?"
"Yes! Which means that a new door has to be found..." Aliranne started scanning her backgrounds and so did the others.
"What if we don't have to find a door," Asked Vorador. " but a path?"
"And what makes thou think so?" Wondered the centauress.
Vorador did not answer. He limited himself to pointing at a strange path between the trees which led further deep into the forest.
"Well, that sure wasn't there yesterday." Argued Aaon, nearing it. As he approached the limit of the forest, he put a hand over the trunk of the tree on his left. "It goes way on deeper. I can't see the end of it."
"Then we shall follow it!" Exclaimed Aliranne.
"Are thou sure?" Brimelle inquired.
"Yes, I know we can do it." she started walking down the path.
She stopped after a few steps. Her head turned around towards the others, regarding them with a gentle smile.
"Oh. And.. thank you for doing this trial with me."
Vorador smiled back at her along with the others.
"Psh, don't mention it."
"Now, hurry up, or we'll never finish this trial in time! We still have a Kender who awaits us in the real world!"
This being said, the mage quickened her pace along with her companions, venturing deeper into the unknown forest.
After a while, the trees had begun to grow taller, bigger, and their foliage with them, thickening as the five heroes went down into the path. It was so dark that Brimelle almost thought about using the spell of dancing lights to lighten up the road they were travelling. The path became more and more lost within the general vegetation when suddenly the trees came to an alt: the landscape was no longer covered by the trees which now revealed a strange clearing in front of the companions. A smell of brackish water filled the nostrils of the adventurers and, along with the mist filled sky, warned them of the upcoming swamp.
Kon es Kaz was the first one to venture inside of it. The water was not too deep and there were many small island which spotted the view. The path was still barely visible over the small hills of mud and humus of the marsh while the sky, although covered by a layer of mists, was milky and bright giving to the whole place an unsettling yet natural feeling.
"Guys, can you see anything pertinent with a mage's high sorcery test?" asked the minotaur, impatient.
"Chill, Kon es Kaz," came Vorador in a calm voice. "it's not like the object of the test is going to fall down from the sky. I guess we'll just have to keep following the path and what will happen will happen."
"Sounds like bullshit to me.. why can't you mages be more direct like warriors? Need to prove your worth? Crash! Punch!" He swung his sword in the open, mimicking a fight. "Go in there! Kick some ass! Show you're not afraid and allthat stuff!"
"Magic doesn't work that way, Kon." Snickered Aliranne. "Although, I must admit that I would rather like it were it handled in such a way. It would save me the hassle and the time spent."
"See? You agree with that too! I've said it once and I'll say it before: you mages are crazy and overcomplicated."
"Yeah, yeah, nice considerations." The voice of Aaon came from behind the group as he was closing the line. "But can we please concentrate on the task at hand?"
"Which is the reason why we were discussing: we don't know what we have to do here." Returned Kon es Kaz.
"Maybe I might know." Brimelle bolted out as she trotted on one of the mud island. She kept her vision fixed towards a strange rock and a strange plant made of a thick stem with three fluffy round spheres on top.
"Mh-mh, I see what you mean." Said Aliranne as she came to stand right next to centauress.
"Those sure are not natural, I say." Murmured Brimelle. "Although I cannot tell if the case applies more on the rock or on the plant."
"Well then, let's test it out!" Shouted Aaon as he run down one of the muddy hills to catch a small twig from the roots of a marsh tree. He raised his right arm and then threw the twig towards the strange plant, hitting it thoroughly.
One moment letr, Aliranne wa caught in what looked like a giant purple tentacle.
"I'M NOT LIKING THIS, I'M NOT LIKING THIS ONE BIT!" The mage cried.
The three fluffy spheres slowly opened up revealing a trio of deep yellow eye with a horizontal pupil. Slowly, from the putrid water of the swamp, a giant slimy creature emerged in all of its mucosal glory: a giant frog-like creature with two pair of tentacles, two rows of knife-like sharp teeth and a purple long tongue was what presented itself to the five companions.
Brimelle looked at the creature with her jaw dropped, almost letting her book of bardic knowledge fall from her hands as she was about to use it to understand what the creature was.
"...Froghemoth.." She whispered under her breath.
She stood there, staring at the creature which still had Aliranne in its grasp. She regained consciousness only when Kon es Kaz threw himself at the giant monster, slashing right and left with his sword. She put away the book and took her new lyre in her hands, starting to chant a song to inspire the warrior and even help the mystic and the druid who were already trying to get Aliranne out of the creature's grip.
Kon es Kaz was fighting like a maniac. He was hit several times, but he did not back down, every time answering the received hit with a stronger blow of his sword. Aliranne was still trying to free herself from the tongue of the froghemoth, squirming and wriggling in its hold, without success. The marshlands seemed to be in advantage of the monster as the mud was hindering Kon es Kaz's agility due to the heavy armor he wore. Aaon had reverted into his hawk form and now he was casting spells from the sky while vorador had neared Kon and was starting to fight along with him.
With a vertical blow, Kon was finally able to severe the tongue of the froghemoth from the rest of his body, causing Aliranne to fall face first into the mud below. The creature let out a scream of dismay and it was in that precise moment that Brimelle noticed the previous strange rock moving.
"Please, not another monster, not another monster..." she muttered to herself. Her wish was not granted.
As the rock turned around, it revealed what in fact was a troll mewling. The sad eyes of the creature made it almost impossible to think that it could have had bad intentions towards the group, but the actions of the moss-covered troll spoke differently: he slowly yet relentlessly marched towards the group, trying to hit the warrior who had awoken him by fighting the froghemoth. Kon es Kaz was still fighting the frog-like monster when the troll mewling attacked.
"Kon, watch out!" Yelled Aliranne as she was trying to focus enough to cast a spell.
"I'm on it." Muttered Kon es Kaz, after being hit in the chest by all of four tentacles.
In spite of the adverse environment, he sprinted back, avoiding the collision with the mewling and, at the same time, giving the final blow to the dying froghemoth. The minotaur smiled as he now had only one more opponent to beat. He took out the sword from the creature corpse, charging right towards the troll mewling, sword and shield at the ready.
The mewling didn't even know what had hit it: in a couple of seconds it was taken down by the combined forces of the five companions, its corpse disappearing into the black depths of the swamp waters.
Kon es Kaz stood there in silence, breathing heavily, waiting for anything else to happen. Aliranne looked around.
"We... we did it?"
Brimelle came to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes. Yes we did." She miled and gazed at the scenery. "Hey, what is that over there?"
She pointed in a far west direction, almost opposite to the path they had taken previously. As they neared the spot, the five adventurers could see a door between the roots of one of the swamp trees, as if the tree itself had been shaped around that same door.
"I think we've found our way out." Uttered Vorador.
"Indeed we have." Answered Aliranne as she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door for all to come through.
SECOND PART: http://sta.sh/0av61ldz91h
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Previous: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/18997527/
All Episodes: http://scissorsrunner.deviantart.co.....ning-511011415
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Prepare yourself...
The aid of spectral forces will be essential for the first test.
It is not always best to delegate the work to others, but it becomes so if it serves the purpose.
Do it before using the scroll.
"Woha, woha, where are we?"
The group opened their eyes after the teleportation spell had almost blinded them, due to the strong white light coming from the parchment itself. As they looked around, a vast desert opened in front of their view.The sun was high in the sky and they could clearly see a mountain range rising from the distance.
"This.. does not look like the desert of Tarsis."
Considered Brimelle as her hooves gently kicked the sand.
"Of course it doesn't." Murmured Aliranne, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "This is the Khur desert."
"The Khur desert?! We're this far from civilization?!" Kon es Kaz almost shouted in surprise.
"Calm down, Kon." said Vorador. "This is part of the trial already. Which means that we're not in the actual desert and this.." he gestured to the scenic desert around them. "is just an illusion."
"Looks pretty damn real to me.." The minotaur whispered to himself.
"We went on this argument many times before, Kon" kept going Aliranne, "and by now we get it that you don't understand how magic works. Just try not to think and follow us."
The mage started walking towards the mountains in the distance while the other simply stared at her.
"Where are thou going?" Asked Brimelle, trying to reach her.
"I'm trying to find some sort of reference to understand where my hometown is. Probably we'll have to go in that direction."
Kon es Kaz and Vorador were following the two while Aaon had transmuted himself into his feral hawk form, flying way over the party. The Mystic, as soon as he reached the rest of the group, cast a spell over the others to help them fight the heat wave of the midday sun. Brimelle and Kon sighed in relief, but Alianne just kept sweating under the scorching sun.
"I suppose that, since it's my trial, no external aid can come to me.. Thanks for the thought anyway."
Vorador limited himself to simply nod at her, still walking beside her.
The sound of their footsteps was suddenly broken by the screeching of the hawk in the sky. The four raised their heads, observing the druid: Aaon had started flying in circles, lowering himself and finally landing over the sand, reverting into his human horned form.
"I saw something in the other direction."
"What was it?" asked the mage.
"Some sort of well, I think. I suppose we should investigate it."
Aliranne seemed to be pondering a little before nodding eagerly.
"Let's go."
They reached the well in more or less than twenty minutes. It was made of stones and the rope with the bucket was missing. Behind the well, a giant rock offered protection from the persistent sun rays.
"So, what are we doing here?" Asked Kon es Kaz.
"Waiting." Answered Aliranne sharply.
And they didn't have to wait for too long: after a few minutes, a woman dressed in yellow and red robes came up to them from behind the giant rock with desperation in her eyes.
"Oh, please, please, help me! My son.. my son!!"
The woman, not even waiting for an answer from the group, grabbed Aliranne's hand and lead her to the back of the rock. There, the mage, with the rest of the party following her, found a small child sitting with his back on the warm stone. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly ajar. His lips were as dry as the desert itself while his breath came out as the rattle of a venomous snake.
"He needs water, please, please help me!!" the woman kept screaming.
Vorador was the first one to intervene, kneeling in front of the child and pouring down into his mouth the content of on of his flasks. To his surprise, the water went down straight until it reached a couple of inches before the lips of the kid, swaying then from its course and falling down on the sand below.
"Look, he drank it all!" cried the mother. "But there must be something wrong with him, he didn't open his eyes!"
vorador raised on eyebrow before turning back towards Aliranne.
"It must be part of the trial."
She nodded.
"And I think I know what I have to do."
The mage ran back to the well. She looked at where the invisible servant she had previously summoned was standing and ordered him to go down the well and fill with water one empty flask she handed him. The party then could see the flask hovering in mid-air before disappearing in the well and coming out a few minutes after, dripping with water. Aliranne took the flask in her hands and knelt in front of the kid as Vorador had done before.
This time, the water that poured down from the flask, went right into the kid's mouth, finally wetting his dry lips. Suddenly, he started to disappear, crumbling away and becoming sand. The mother too started to become sand in the wind.
"Oh thank you, thank you! Look, he's opening his eyes!" she whispered before disappearing completely.
Aliranne went back on her feet, dusting away the sand from her red skirt.
"Good job." came Vorador.
She smiled at him, but before she could answer with a thank you, a strange rumbling sound could be heard.
"What was that?" Asked Brimelle, pacing worried around the group.
"It came from the well." Said Aaon, starting to walk towards it.
As they all reached the well, they found that a door had come out of it, breaking the stones of the cylindrical structure, causing the previous rumbling sound. Aliranne walked towards it, placing one hand over the handle and opening it: a bright white light came out of the door, so blinding that it was impossible to see what was awaiting them on the other side. The mage hesitated, staring into that pure light when one hand rested on her shoulder. She looked around to find Brimelle looking at her.
"Let us continue the test."
Aliranne nodded. One after the other, all the companions entered the white light of the door, passing the threshold.
They came out from another door which was placed right on top of a grassy hill. All around them was a huge forest which engulfed all that their eyes could see. But that was not the most peculiar part of the whole scenery: the sky was the most impressing thing since it had been only a few minutes after they had left the Khur's midday sun but, in this instance, the celestial dome was covered in stars and constellations as if it was midnight already.
The group started scanning the area, looking for possible threats or anything else that could have been dangerous, without finding anything. The sleeping forest seemed to be completely safe.
"I don't get it, where are we?" Asked the minotaur, looking around.
"It's probably a resting place, I suppose." Answered Aliranne as she too gazed at the hill.
"Well, the berries are edible but there's an invisible wall just a little after the forest starts." Muttered Aaon returning from his scouting. "Maybe we should just stay here."
"Hey!" Came Brimelle. "Look at what I have found!"
The companions reached the centauress who had, in the meantime, found a campfire with apparently inextinguishable fire surrounded by five bedrolls of various sizes.
"This must be the mages teling us that it's time to rest." Pondered Aliranne.
"What!? But we've just woken up a few hours ago!" Protested Kon.
Vorador came from behind.
"Maybe you're forgetting that we are inside the test of high sorcery? We are powerless here. We can only wait for what awaits us... well, more likely for what the council will put us against."
"Then we shall not waste another minute." Intervened Brimelle. "The sooner we finish the test, the sooner we can return on our journey."
"Agreed." Nodded Aliranne as she slipped inside her bedroll. "See you all in the morning... if we can consider it morning."
As soon as all of the companions had taken their place in each bedroll, they all fell asleep immediately, as if some sort of spell had hindered their ability of staying awake. The morning after, they woke up refreshed and replenished with renewed strength, ready to face whatever challenge was going to be put in front of them.
Aliranne stood up, stretching her arms at the sky, when she noticed a piece of paper coming up from one of the folds of the cloth from the bedroll. She bent down, silently picking the note up, reading it in her mind.
The arrogance of a powerful individual contaminates the will of the weaker.
You will keep a great power which must not be seen.
Others will die, but not you, not today.
Remember, acting without words is the right way, the strength of your voice can be suppressed and you have that power.
Act quickly and suppress the power you carry before it is revealed.
Just as soon as she finished reading the piece of paper, the everlasting fire extinguished itself, spreading out a thick layer of smoke which blinded every companion for a couple of seconds. When the smoke dissipated, instead of the bonfire now stood a door made completely of fog but with solid consistency.
"Something tells me that we'll have to cross that threshold too.." murmured Kon es Kaz under his breath.
"You do not say?" Brimelle patronized him.
"Ok, give me one moment," said the mage as she went to fetch her spellbook to prepare herself for the new trial. "and then we can go."
The group waited one hour before the mage was actually ready to enter the door. Aliranne took in a deep breath, made a few steps forward and then crossed the threshold without hesitation. The rest of the party followed her, curious about what was going to happen next.
"Guys... guys where are you?"
"I'm here Brimelle."
"Kon?! Kon, what happened? I cannot see and my hands are tied up! And there is something behind my back!!"
"Same here."
"Where are the others, Kon?"
"I'm here Brimelle and I appear to be in your same situation."
"Is that you, Vorador?"
"Yes."
".. and what about Aaon? Aaon!"
"I'm right next to Vorador, stop screaming."
"Guys, can you please stop shouting? I'm trying to concentrate!"
"Aliranne!? Aliranne, are thou alright?"
"Yes, and I'm not blindfolded, unlike the rest of you. I'm trying to understand where we are!"
"Please, Aliranne, tell us what thou can see!"
"Eh... it's not.. an easy feat."
The mage looked around: she was on a wide balcony. Looking past the parapet she discovered that such a balcony was placed over what looked like an ancient and imposing city. In the distance, was a giant temple with stone so white which made it almost unbearable to watch. Behind her, stood the rest of her party, all of them with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolds over their eyes. Other people seemed to be in their same situation; actually, the whole balcony was crowded in tied up folks, although with no blindfolds, almost all of them carrying weapons or various objects.
But what the most peculiar thing appeared to be was the fact that all of the non-human companions had been transformed into human counterparts. Brimelle had a pink robe with a lute tied to her back, Kon wore the clothes of a blacksmith and had a sword on his side, Aaon didn't have his horns and sported a tunic of Chislev with a strange ring. The only normal ones seemed to be Vorador and Aliranne, aside for a strangely engraved dagger that she found being laced to her belt.
Aliranne did not hesitate and tried to understad the nature of the weapon as quickly as she could. She did not gasp in surprise when her in-depth inspection revealed a magic aspect to the dagger, she was almost expecting it. All of a sudden, she remembered the words written on the piece of paper found that same morning and, without further ado, she cast a spell to conceal the magical power of the blade. Satisfied, she let it fall back on her side, turning back her glance at her companions.
"Aliranne..." came the voice of Brimelle who was trying to take a few steps after hearing the mage cast her spell. "I feel... different.."
The mage tried to explain: "Well.. you're kind of.."
"I cannot feel my BACK LEGS! I am missing ONE THIRD OF MYSELF!"
"Oh, calm down Brimelle!" cried Kon es Kaz in her direction. "You'll only make the situation worse."
"But my legs!! I cannot feel my hooves, or MY TAIL! Where are we, what happened to us!?"
"I too can't feel my horns, but I'm not shouting out loud, for the Emperor's sake."
"Now that you mention it, I can't feel my antlers either." Came Aaon.
"That's because you're hum-"
Aliranne was interrupted mid-sentence by the entrance of three strange armoured individual. What looked to be the chief if the group walked in front of the other two with an arrogant pace. He came near the handrail before stopping. He looked around at the people on the balcony and shouted:
"FORM A LINE!"
The other prisoners started running, hurrying to obey such an order. The four blindfolded companions could clearly hear the rustling sound of armor and the quiet shuffling of robes accompanied by the tip-tapping rhythm of bare feet on the floor. They tried to follow such sounds in order to orientate themselves and form the line, with no success.
"How can we form a line if we cannot see?" Murmured Brimelle.
"SHUT UP!" Came the answer of the harsh armored man.
Kon es Kaz neared her "Please, don't make a mess." He whispered.
Brimelle's head sunk into her shoulders as if trying to hide herself. She was still struggling to find the right way to go when suddenly Kon es Kaz bumped into her, making her almost trip. The collision made their skin touching.
"KON, WHAT HAPPENED TO THY FUR!?!"
The yell of the former centauress was followed by a grapple directly into her stomach. Brimelle let out a surprised "Oh!" as she fell down on the ground while she gasped for air for couple of seconds due to the strong hit.
"I said. Shut. Up." the voice of the chief sounded cold and distant, with no remorse.
Kon es Kaz, enraged from such a dishonorable act towards his companion, charged forward, following the sound fo the chief's voice. He too was met by a punch right into his abdomen which stopped his rage as it almost made him fall forward on the floor too.
"That was not a smart move." The chief mocked him. "Now, form a line. Don't make me repeat myself."
Kon was panting. He shook his head, pacing towards what he thought could be the right direction the row was forming. In the meantime, Brimelle had stood up again, although now she appeared to be unstable on her feet. After at least thirty seconds, the other two armored soldiers decided to quicken up the process and "escorted" the four blindfolded and the mage to the end of the line. Aliranne stood in place, watching the beginning of the line with interest and worry.
The three soldiers marched right up the start of the row of people, stopping in front of the first prisoner. Now that the mage was free from the turmoil caused by the three's arrival, she could calmly observe their figure. In that moment, she recognized the symbols they bore on their chest: it was the tower symbol of the city of Istar. Aliranne almost gasped at that revelation, going to loom around for a confirmation of her hypothesis. Now that she was paying more attention to it, the temple she had seen before resembled the Kingpriest temple in the old city of Istar, monument she had known only through books and scriptures. She had no more doubts: they were in the city of Istar right during the various purges of the Kingpriest.
As she went on with her consideration, her eyes caught a horrible scene: the chief, after interrogating the first person of the row, killed the individual with a single stroke of his sword, letting the lifeless body fall down in a puddle of its own blood. She froze in her place, her blood turning cold. How could they be so heartless, she asked herself. Yet, she did not speak, not even when the three soldiers had killed off most of the other prisoners and were now approaching her companions.
Brimelle was the first in line. The chief came up to her and stopped only a few inches from her face. She could feel the warm and revolting breath of the man on her visage and, at the same time, her whole body shivering without control, in fear of what was going to happen. The soldier stood there in silence for a couple of seconds before speaking. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
"So... here we are again. I hope you have learned your lesson."
Brimelle gulped. She dared not to answer.
"Now, now, what do we have here, hmm?" The chief paced around the girl. "Is this a bard, I spy?" He stopped, back again in front of her. "What do you have behind your back?"
Brimelle moved her hands a little. She could feel something tied to her, but the knots were cutting her wrists making her hands hurt and numbing her touch. she was finally able to sense what object laid tied to her back. When she spoke, her lips where completely dry.
"I-it's a lute."
As she stuttered, the man raised both of his eyebrows.
"What a lovely voice you have.." His hands went to take the lute. He inspected it before handing it to one of the other two. "It's such a pity that no-one else will ever have the pleasure to hear it again."
Without further notice, the man raised his sword arm. A few moments later, Brimelle found herself gasping, blood gushing from her lips and her neck, where a deep sharp cut had just severed her jugular. Her knees gave way as she fell forward. Her vision faded as she could not see the light that filtered through the blindfold anymore. In less than a minute, the bard lay lifeless on the cold stone floor. Aliranne looked at the corpse with terror, suppressing a scream of dismay and averting her eyes from such revolting view.
The chief cleaned his sword on a piece of cloth before turning towards the second in line: Kon es Kaz. He repeated the process, stopping right in front of him, taking the sword the former minotaur had tied to his back and observing it with interest.
"You could have been a perfect blacksmith. It's a pity you had to partake in the rebellion."
Kon es Kaz growled at him, but stood still. With all the calm in the world, the chief soldier untied his hands, grasping his right one.
"This is for trying to hit me before."
In an instant, the armored man raised his sword and let it go down on Kon es Kaz's wrist, dividing the hand from the rest of the arm. The ex-minotaur tried to suppress his pain, but it still was showing in his facial expression.
"Without your hand you won't be able to defend yourself anymore, will you?" The man asked mockingly. "And we all know what is going to happen in prison to someone like you. I'm doing you a favour."
With a sharp motion, the man kicked the back of Kon's knees, forcing him to fall down on them, head bent forward. The sword was raised once again; the head of Kon es Kaz could have been seen rolling away from his body a few moments later. Still, Aliranne kept silent: she still remembered the words on the piece of paper she was given and although her heart wanted to shout her mind remained crystal clear, in order to focus on the real mission which was the trial.
Then, the three men moved towards Aaon.
"Oh," exclaimed the chief observing the druid's clothes. "so you're a follower of Chislev?"
Aaon did not speak.
"You know, I've always imagined druids as trees." As he said this, he motioned at the other two who turned around and disappeared behind a door. "And do you know what happens when a tree is in the way of building an arable field?"
"Nothing." The voice of Aaon did not tremble. "You can do nothing for a tree always lives on, for its roots are strong and its yelding patient."
"No, no," the man moved his index finger right and left even though the druid could not see it. "The right answer is: we burn it."
He snapped his fingers. The other two men immediately came back with a bucket of flammable liquid in one hand and a torch in the other. They poured it all over Aaon, soaking him wet, before lighting him up afire. As Aaon was burned alive, he tried not to scream, but the pain was too intense and his pride soon gave way to despair. He fell down on the ground, his flesh carbonizing and falling off, his whole body propelling the fire which consumed his very being. He soon stopped screaming and the trio passed to the next prisoner.
Vorador was waiting for them. He did not move, nor did he say a word. He simply stood there, waiting for them to give him his end. He knew there was nothing he could have done. The chief didn't even take the time to properly interrogate him: his sword had already pierced through the mystic's abdomen. Vorador fell on the ground with a loud "tud", another addiction to the evergrowing line of corpses.
Aliranne shivered a little but tried to contain herself. The three soldiers marched up to her.
"So, you're the last one of the bunch, let's see what you have got to offer..."
The chief inspected her and soon found the strange dagger. He ripped it off the mage's belt and observed it more cautiously than all of the other objects he had looked at before. After a good minute, he dropped it on the floor.
"Useless." He muttered. He then turned around towards the others. "Gather the survivors. We're done."
As he gave her his back, Aliranne tried to get on her fours and grab the dagger, but she was met by a kick in her guts.
"Don't test our patience." Said the soldier who had hit her. "Get back on your feet and follow the others."
Aliranne obeyed and followed the line of survivors who seemed to be going through a very dark door. As she was about to pass the threshold, she turned around, giving one last glance to the corpses of her companions who know where lying there with no compassion from the guards. A single tear dropped down her cheek as she turned once again, going through the door.
Aliranne, when she regained her consciousness, found herself on the very same hill she and her companions were sleeping on last night. She shook her head, feeling rather squeamish, when the smell and sound of burning wood caught her attention. Raising her gaze, she could see a trail of smoke coming from a short distance. She followed it without hesitation and was most overjoyed when she discovered her four companions sleeping peacefully near the lit campfire. Tears swelled her eyes as she ran towards them, while laughters of jubilation filled the air.
The four adventurers woke up, yawning and stretching their limbs. Brimelle turned her head towards the turmoil the mage was causing.
"Aliranne, what are thou d-"
She could not finish the sentence that the mage had already impacted into her, hugging her tightly.
"I'm.. so happy to see you, that's all.." She whispered, still smiling. She had decided not to tell them. They did not seem to remember, she thought, why should I interfere?
"Did we miss anything?" Asked the minotaur, now he too trapped into the strangely powerful grab of the human girl.
"No, no." Aliranne tried to regain her posture. "Nothing at all."
As she kept smiling, Aaon suggested.
"Well then, we still have a test to finish, don't we?"
"Yes! Which means that a new door has to be found..." Aliranne started scanning her backgrounds and so did the others.
"What if we don't have to find a door," Asked Vorador. " but a path?"
"And what makes thou think so?" Wondered the centauress.
Vorador did not answer. He limited himself to pointing at a strange path between the trees which led further deep into the forest.
"Well, that sure wasn't there yesterday." Argued Aaon, nearing it. As he approached the limit of the forest, he put a hand over the trunk of the tree on his left. "It goes way on deeper. I can't see the end of it."
"Then we shall follow it!" Exclaimed Aliranne.
"Are thou sure?" Brimelle inquired.
"Yes, I know we can do it." she started walking down the path.
She stopped after a few steps. Her head turned around towards the others, regarding them with a gentle smile.
"Oh. And.. thank you for doing this trial with me."
Vorador smiled back at her along with the others.
"Psh, don't mention it."
"Now, hurry up, or we'll never finish this trial in time! We still have a Kender who awaits us in the real world!"
This being said, the mage quickened her pace along with her companions, venturing deeper into the unknown forest.
After a while, the trees had begun to grow taller, bigger, and their foliage with them, thickening as the five heroes went down into the path. It was so dark that Brimelle almost thought about using the spell of dancing lights to lighten up the road they were travelling. The path became more and more lost within the general vegetation when suddenly the trees came to an alt: the landscape was no longer covered by the trees which now revealed a strange clearing in front of the companions. A smell of brackish water filled the nostrils of the adventurers and, along with the mist filled sky, warned them of the upcoming swamp.
Kon es Kaz was the first one to venture inside of it. The water was not too deep and there were many small island which spotted the view. The path was still barely visible over the small hills of mud and humus of the marsh while the sky, although covered by a layer of mists, was milky and bright giving to the whole place an unsettling yet natural feeling.
"Guys, can you see anything pertinent with a mage's high sorcery test?" asked the minotaur, impatient.
"Chill, Kon es Kaz," came Vorador in a calm voice. "it's not like the object of the test is going to fall down from the sky. I guess we'll just have to keep following the path and what will happen will happen."
"Sounds like bullshit to me.. why can't you mages be more direct like warriors? Need to prove your worth? Crash! Punch!" He swung his sword in the open, mimicking a fight. "Go in there! Kick some ass! Show you're not afraid and allthat stuff!"
"Magic doesn't work that way, Kon." Snickered Aliranne. "Although, I must admit that I would rather like it were it handled in such a way. It would save me the hassle and the time spent."
"See? You agree with that too! I've said it once and I'll say it before: you mages are crazy and overcomplicated."
"Yeah, yeah, nice considerations." The voice of Aaon came from behind the group as he was closing the line. "But can we please concentrate on the task at hand?"
"Which is the reason why we were discussing: we don't know what we have to do here." Returned Kon es Kaz.
"Maybe I might know." Brimelle bolted out as she trotted on one of the mud island. She kept her vision fixed towards a strange rock and a strange plant made of a thick stem with three fluffy round spheres on top.
"Mh-mh, I see what you mean." Said Aliranne as she came to stand right next to centauress.
"Those sure are not natural, I say." Murmured Brimelle. "Although I cannot tell if the case applies more on the rock or on the plant."
"Well then, let's test it out!" Shouted Aaon as he run down one of the muddy hills to catch a small twig from the roots of a marsh tree. He raised his right arm and then threw the twig towards the strange plant, hitting it thoroughly.
One moment letr, Aliranne wa caught in what looked like a giant purple tentacle.
"I'M NOT LIKING THIS, I'M NOT LIKING THIS ONE BIT!" The mage cried.
The three fluffy spheres slowly opened up revealing a trio of deep yellow eye with a horizontal pupil. Slowly, from the putrid water of the swamp, a giant slimy creature emerged in all of its mucosal glory: a giant frog-like creature with two pair of tentacles, two rows of knife-like sharp teeth and a purple long tongue was what presented itself to the five companions.
Brimelle looked at the creature with her jaw dropped, almost letting her book of bardic knowledge fall from her hands as she was about to use it to understand what the creature was.
"...Froghemoth.." She whispered under her breath.
She stood there, staring at the creature which still had Aliranne in its grasp. She regained consciousness only when Kon es Kaz threw himself at the giant monster, slashing right and left with his sword. She put away the book and took her new lyre in her hands, starting to chant a song to inspire the warrior and even help the mystic and the druid who were already trying to get Aliranne out of the creature's grip.
Kon es Kaz was fighting like a maniac. He was hit several times, but he did not back down, every time answering the received hit with a stronger blow of his sword. Aliranne was still trying to free herself from the tongue of the froghemoth, squirming and wriggling in its hold, without success. The marshlands seemed to be in advantage of the monster as the mud was hindering Kon es Kaz's agility due to the heavy armor he wore. Aaon had reverted into his hawk form and now he was casting spells from the sky while vorador had neared Kon and was starting to fight along with him.
With a vertical blow, Kon was finally able to severe the tongue of the froghemoth from the rest of his body, causing Aliranne to fall face first into the mud below. The creature let out a scream of dismay and it was in that precise moment that Brimelle noticed the previous strange rock moving.
"Please, not another monster, not another monster..." she muttered to herself. Her wish was not granted.
As the rock turned around, it revealed what in fact was a troll mewling. The sad eyes of the creature made it almost impossible to think that it could have had bad intentions towards the group, but the actions of the moss-covered troll spoke differently: he slowly yet relentlessly marched towards the group, trying to hit the warrior who had awoken him by fighting the froghemoth. Kon es Kaz was still fighting the frog-like monster when the troll mewling attacked.
"Kon, watch out!" Yelled Aliranne as she was trying to focus enough to cast a spell.
"I'm on it." Muttered Kon es Kaz, after being hit in the chest by all of four tentacles.
In spite of the adverse environment, he sprinted back, avoiding the collision with the mewling and, at the same time, giving the final blow to the dying froghemoth. The minotaur smiled as he now had only one more opponent to beat. He took out the sword from the creature corpse, charging right towards the troll mewling, sword and shield at the ready.
The mewling didn't even know what had hit it: in a couple of seconds it was taken down by the combined forces of the five companions, its corpse disappearing into the black depths of the swamp waters.
Kon es Kaz stood there in silence, breathing heavily, waiting for anything else to happen. Aliranne looked around.
"We... we did it?"
Brimelle came to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes. Yes we did." She miled and gazed at the scenery. "Hey, what is that over there?"
She pointed in a far west direction, almost opposite to the path they had taken previously. As they neared the spot, the five adventurers could see a door between the roots of one of the swamp trees, as if the tree itself had been shaped around that same door.
"I think we've found our way out." Uttered Vorador.
"Indeed we have." Answered Aliranne as she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door for all to come through.
SECOND PART: http://sta.sh/0av61ldz91h
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