Episode 33: "Cast & Run"

[Also covers episode 34]

Quest Information Edit

 * "Mages of the Quarry"
 * 17 Araḫ Šabaṭu early February. High 64F, low 48F. 35% chance for wind, 20% chance for clouds, 5% for rain
 * Perskebeth, hex 1102 (Quarry Mages' Tower)
 * Level 7

Primary Cast Edit

 * Daric, camel merchant
 * Ebo Darwishi, former member of the Perskebethi royal guard
 * Gimble, gnome evoker
 * Samman, pit fighter

Secondary Cast Edit

 * Bas no-Korfan the Minotaur
 * Calcarius the Kenku
 * Selestak the Lizardfolk
 * Thuli the Thri-Kreen

Summary
"Damn it, where have those fools gotten to!" bellowed the minotaur. He was flanked by two of the animated suits of armor, one stabbing his haunch with a longsword. "Aargh! Curse these wizards and their tricks!" Two of these wizards, apparently twin sisters, lie dead a few feet away.

"I don't know where they went." said the gnome, using his minor magics to aid the minotaur. He was still exhausted from the tortures at the hands of the necromancer, his spellcasting had definitely suffered. "These mages are doing a fine job breaking us apart." A young mage hits them with a thunderwave, one of Gimble's own specialties. Gimble returns with his own fire bolt as the minotaur battles the magical constructs

Samman is surrounded by flailing piles of rags and belts. "What are these damnable things?" he exclaims. Bits of animated cloth and leather constantly try to restrain his movements. Selestak, the lizardfolk warrior, assists as best he can, but he is also fighting a pair of the armored constructs, whilst resisting various hit-and-run spell attacks from another pair of mages. Both warriors are wounded and battered, but the damage on their patience is worst of all. Samman finally cuts the rag monsters to ribbons, and moves to assist the lizardman. He enters intersection of corridors, and notices movement to his right. Too late! He provides a clear target for the wizard hiding around the corner. Magical lightning hits Samman in the chest, knocking him to the floor. Shuffling around the corner, the now-smoldering fighter mutters "I'm gonna rip the head off every wizard in this place."

Ebo cradles the feathered head of Calcarius, the kenku warrior. “Hold on. It takes a couple of minutes for the poultices to take effect.”

“We should have snuck our way up. Open combat vs a tower full of wizards was not a great idea”, croaked the bird-man.

“They seem unorganized, I don’t think they expected anyone to fight them in the tower like this. They were waiting for the army to break in the lower doors.” At that moment, Daric bursts in, clearly winded. “Where have you been?” Ebo asks.

“Reconnoitering,” stated the camel merchant, with a wink. “Here, try these,” he ways, tossing Ebo another couple of poultices. He stands to leave.

“Now where are you going?”

“To see if I can stir up some trouble,” says Daric, with a grin.

——

Thuli arrives to help the minotaur and gnome take down the last of the animated armor suits. The minotaur heaves his mighty hammer, crushing the helm of one, severing its magical link and collapsing it in a heap of scrap parts. The gnome speaks up “don’t worry about the armor, we got this. Take out that wizard!”. Another bolt of green energy shoots from behind a corner, barely missing Bas.

“I. Will. Comply.” The thri-kreen warrior moves towards the source of the energy, when, from a different corridor, another beam of energy strikes Thuli. He is surrounded with a sparkling shell of blue energy, shrinks, and then disappears.

Ebo, just rounding the corner with Calcarius in tow, witnesses the effect. “Thuli!” he yells, but there is no one there to answer.

——

Samman and Selestak finally finish off the suits of armor, to their great relief. “Gangway!” comes a shout from up ahead. Daric is uncharacteristically running towards them. Behind him comes a flock of flying swords and axes, chopping furiously.

“Oh, this is MUCH better,” grumbles Samman, as he prepares to fight invisible opponents. At that moment, another mage peeks from around yet another corner in this maze of corridors, and lets loose a lightning bolt, striking the large pit fighter square in the shoulder. He falls to his knees with a thud and a scream of pain. “I hate these damnable wizards!” he blurts out, as Selestak faces the animated weapons by himself.

——

Ebo chases after the wizard who vanished Thuli. The wizard, robed in blue, runs down the hallway, trying to find cover from which to launch another spell attack. He turns, perhaps to cast a quick cantrip before continuing his escape, but is caught by Ebo. The Perskebethi noble guard gives a mighty shove, pushing the blue wizard out the window. Ebo watches the man fall to his death on the battlefield below. “Clearly he didn’t think to prepare feather fall today.”

At that moment, he spots another wizard further up the corridor. This one is intentionally running towards the window, casting a spell as he goes. He jumps out the window, clearly the fly spell he was casting takes hold. Immediately behind him comes Daric, bow in hand. Nocking an arrow, he shoots … piercing the flying mage’s heart. This mage, too, falls to his death.

Thuli suddenly comes back to existence with a *pop*. The rest of the party regroups and surveys the damage. Surprisingly, there are no casualties, although there are some severe wounds. Fortunately, they still have several healing poultices left.

Samman is clearly exhausted. “I’ve had enough of wizards and their stunts”, he says.

Ebo is surprisingly more chipper. “You should try throwing one out a window”, he says with a wink. “Does wonders for morale.”

To be continued ...

Back to Episode Guide