Rise of the Runelords Session 23: Lovers' Reunion

Jakardros gestured north, up the tunnel. “Past here, there are stairs up through the jailer's quarters.”

Iozua looked at the walls. “I don't suppose we'll have to worry much about ogres in these tight quarters.”

The ranger nodded. “Likely not, but there will be more shocker lizards down here. This is their home territory, so they won't be as ornery as the ones up above, but maybe Melissah should go first.”

Melissah looked alarmed, and bit her lip. “If you think that's best, I will.” She had been in more battles in the past few days than over the past few decades.

“I'll be right behind ya,” Foss said, encouraging.

“All right,” the druid allowed. “Not that I thought you would abandon me or anything.” She eased her way down the tunnel, followed closely by the fighter.

“I hear them up ahead,” Foss said, squinting into the darkness. Melissah did not seem impaired, but Iozua cast a light spell and edged up so that the fighter could also see. A loud hiss greeted the light, and some crackling noises as startled lizards crouched down, preparing to fight.

Melissah approached slowly, making a soft humming sound in her throat and looking away from the lizards. They backed away, cautiously, but seemed less alarmed, tasting the air with their flicking tongues. Still moving slowly, the druid reached into her bag and produced some ration bars, tossing them lightly to the ground. The lizards flinched back from the movement, but then slowly returned to investigate the food, which they grabbed, scooting away to a branch of the tunnel.

“We can move around to the south, I think, but don't make sudden or threatening moves, and try to avoid making eye contact. That's usually seen as hostile,” Melissah said in a low, almost sing-song voice. She glanced at the three rangers. “Goodness, some pets they have here,” she muttered.

Vale half-smiled. “They eat the roaches and centipedes down here, so we don't get vermin up in the keep. So we leave 'em be.”

“Don't forget the grubs,” Kaven whispered.

Iozua nodded. “Practical.”

“So would spiders, I'm just saying,” Melissah insisted.

“Spiders? Ick, no thank you,” Nevis stage-whispered.

“Hey, that was a damn fine arthropod,” Iozua said.

“BIG spiders are fine. I won't accidentally swallow them in my sleep!” the gnome announced, becoming agitated.

“Not with that attitude,” Iozua told her.

“Hush,” Foss told them, glancing at the lizards, which had finished their rations and were looking curiously up the tunnel at them again. “It's a fine way to keep out unwanted guests.”

“Including, at the moment, us,” Melissah said. She edged past the lizards, tossing out a few more rations. Several more lizard heads poked out of side tunnels, but they were definitely more interested in the food than in the adventurers. Within a few moments, everyone had passed the cavern and found the door that led into the keep.

“You know,” Melissah added, glancing back into the cave. “You could probably train them to recognize friendlies if you fed them regularly.”

Jakardros shrugged and pulled the cord that opened the door. Bright light streamed out of a room that he had earlier described as a jailer's guardroom, possibly once a torture chamber, but someone had recently gone to great pains to re-purpose it. The air was filled with the scent of sweet incense, and veils of multicolored silk draped the walls from floor to ceiling. The floor was strewn with thick red rugs and cushions, giving the entire room the aspect of a whorehouse boudoir.

“Oh, good, you're finally here,” a soft, feminine voice called. “Do come in.”

Foss blinked, stepping in to the room, his boots leaving impressions in the thick rugs. “Not exactly what I expected. Hello, milady.”

Kaven flinched, his face a study of mixed emotions, guilt and shock foremost. “Lucrecia?” he forced out.

“Hello, Kaven,” the woman said. She was tall and elegant, with a rich gown, pale skin, and artfully arranged crimson hair. She gestured with a crystal glass held idly between two fingers. “Congratulations on a job well done.” Her eyes looked out from under heavily-made-up lids at Jakardros while she apparently spoke to Kaven. “These oafish Kreegs would have had quite a lot of trouble taking Rannick without the lovely details you provided us. Excellent work, my love!”

Jakardros looked as though he'd been stabbed. Vale drew his axes, roaring, “You son of a bitch!” while Kaven shrank back. Lucrecia smiled. Melissah stared at her, gripping her staff tightly. She noticed that the red-haired woman was wearing an amulet around her neck, similar to one that Iozua and Foss both had—a Sihedron amulet. An artifact of ancient Thassilon.

“Oh. Oh no,” Iozua whispered.

“I . . . think she's telling the truth . . .” Melissah said in horror.

Lucrecia kept speaking, still staring at Jakardros, who was visibly shaking. “He used to visit me at the Paradise, you know.” Everyone recognized the name of the pleasure barge that sank some weeks before. “He gave me everything we needed about the patrols and defenses to ensure our victory. Then he volunteered for the patrol that kept him out of the fort when the assault came.” She smiled. “You even arranged some delays so you wouldn't make it back in time to help, didn't you, darling?”

Vale growled. “You didn't count on running into the Grauls, though, DID you?”

Kaven was standing utterly still, the quietest he'd been in the entire time they'd known him. Possibly the quietest he'd been in his entire life.

Vale flexed his hands, swinging the axes with a terrible noise. “Give the order, Jak, and let me dispatch this traitor.” Jakardros, looking lost, met Foss's eyes helplessly, then looked to each of the others, hoping for some kind of answer or reprieve. Lucrecia steepled her fingers in front of her chin, looking like she was contemplating some fantastic dessert.

“Kaven, drop your weapons and back away,” Melissah spoke urgently. “We can sort this out later.”

“Surrender may be your only way out,” Iozua agreed. Foss stepped closer to Lucrezia, gripping the hafts of his axes.

Jori pointed to Lucrecia's amulet. “We already failed once to save someone who was under their control,” she said. “We can't fail again.”

Kaven's face bloomed with relief. He jabbed an accusing finger at Lucrecia. “That's right! She bewitched me!”

“Vile temptress!” Iozua snapped.

Jori's eyebrows climbed. “I don't think that's the WHOLE story, though, is it?”

“It would really be best if you put your weapons down,” Melissah repeated. Kaven nodded slowly and unbuckled his sword belt.

Melissah jerked her chin toward the fighter, who was standing closest, still watching Lucrecia's every move. “Foss . . .”

“Melissah . . .” he replied. Then he saw Kaven. “Oh, oh yeah, sure.” He took the weapons belt from the young ranger and tossed it into the corner, well out of reach.”

Lucrecia smiled again. “I know you've come to do me harm, as you killed my poor, foolish sister, Xanesha. But I wanted to give you the option to join my masters before I send you to your graves. Mokmurian would just LOVE to meet you.”

Foss glanced across the room at Iozua, shrugged, and then swung both axes directly at Lucretia's head. She hissed and jumped backward, transforming in mid-air into a strange shape, a woman from the waist up and a long, sinuous snake below. She drew two daggers and stabbed Foss, making him stagger backwards.

Iozua cast a spell and a flaming ball appeared, but the snake-woman avoided it adroitly. Nevis began to sing and play her lute, while Jori hurtled forward to bestow a blessing on Foss. Jakardros fired his bow, but his hands were shaking and the arrows went wide. Vale charged forward, swinging his axes, and Lucretia snarled and batted the weapons away. She was too slow to dodge Foss's renewed attacks, and his axes bit into her serpent's body.

Melissah chanted and a massive orange-and-black body burst out of the air, landing with paws extended on Lucretia and raking her with vicious claws. One of Shalelu's arrows also found its mark, and Lucretia screamed, casting a spell so quickly it was almost invisible. Vale, Foss, and the tiger recoiled from a hideous oppression and the snake-woman opened the door behind her and sprinted up the stairs to the keep.

“Damn!” Nevis yelled, and cast a spell to add haste to everyone's movements. “Get her!”

Jori didn't need to be told twice, she sprinted up the stairs, but the same oppression struck her and she found herself curiously unable to attack. Foss followed, still not able to attack, but attempting to block the hallway.

Melissah dodged up the stairs and chanted another spell, and two pillars of ice burst from the floor to block the passage, one smashing Lucretia aside as it passed. The snake-woman dodged around the ice pillars and Foss and continued down the hall, opening another set of doors and disappearing into a room. Iozua squeezed between the pillars and chased after her, skidding to a halt in front of the doors. He blinked, seeing four massive ogres in the room, and instantly hurled a fireball.

Lucretia and three of the ogres burned like torches and fell, while the fourth ogre bellowed in agony and staggered back, almost into Jori's arms. She stabbed the ogre in its tubby guts and it tumbled to the ground, shaking the floor as it landed.

Shalelu moved forward to where the hall split just as another set of doors opened and an even larger and more terrible Kreeg ogre burst out, swinging its ogre hook wildly at her head. Two more of the beasts came running down the side hallway toward her. Iozua waved his hands in a horizontal line and a roiling wall of flame ran along the hall, catching all three ogres.

“Foss! Foss! More ogres!” the wizard yelled. Foss looked, saw that the hall was blocked, and ran through the room Lucretia had opened. It came out on another hall, and Foss ran around the corner and found himself behind the ogres. He immediately began hacking, dropping one.

Melissah squeezed past the ice pillars and cast another spell, her hands filling with fire. She threw a handful of fire at the largest ogre, singing it further, and then almost went to her knees as another ogre appeared behind her, roaring, and cut her with its ogre hook, almost taking her arm off.

Iozua cast another spell, filling the hall behind Melissah with thick strands of sticky webbing, which clung to the ogre and arrested its attack. Between the flaming wall, Jori, Shalelu, and Foss, their battle ended quickly, and Foss charged up the hallway, intercepting the last ogre as it ripped free from the web. The blow meant for Melissah clanged brutally off Foss's armor as Melissah hurled handful after handful of flame, turning the web into a mass of fire while Foss hacked at it savagely. With a last groan, it fell, and the field was theirs.