The Strike of Saarii - Chapter VI

Once the party was satisfied with their purchases, new weapons and trinkets with magical properties to boost their abilities in combat, they regrouped at the start of the passage up the mountain to the north of Enligt and were on their way to find the Master Druid. walking up through the snow was slow but nothing interfered for a while, until they started hearing wolf growls all around them. Careful and alert, they moved on until they found a white dire wolf in their way. Dan immediately drew his axe, not a wise move he learned as more dire wolves jumped out of the surrounding trees ready to pounce if he makes a move. The leader of the pack didn't move and neither did the rest, but Dean did. He edged forward, slowly, motioning to the others with his hand to drop their weapons.

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"Vargo?" Dean said, to which the dire wolf nodded. The reply was confusing though, for he spoke only in riddles.

"In riddles I must speak, the reason I cannot say.

A trident found in a mountain pass,

The first spike is colder than the rest,

One is short and dark,

The last, rumoured to host great power.

At the end of each,

you can find what you seek."

At that, the speaker left, as did the rest of the dire wolves when their leader was done. Confused at what Vargo had said, the group discussed what the clues could have meant, not agreeing on their guesses. In the end they decided to keep walking and find out on the way.

They walked until they found a fork in the path, split into three other paths; "A trident found in a mountain pass," said Amal, "this is what Vargo meant, three passages, each with its own perils." They discussed again what these troubles might be, in the end choosing the last option, the one hosting great power. Moving on, they found that the path was not the most comfortable to choose; only enough room for one person to walk forward for quite a while. They walked this tight passage until they found a clearing with four long poles stuck in the ground, placed to form a square; remains of cloth hanging from the top, hinting that this was some form of tent or canopy. Behind the remains of the tent was an entrance to a cave, the only possible way out of the clearing, other than the drop off the side of the mountain.

When Uuragan, Dan and Duryraen started walking inside, a booming voice shouted "You have no busniess here!!". A blue light sparked deep inside the cave, a bolt of lightning shot towards them. The three warriors ducked the lightning strike, which hit one of the four poles outside, immediately spreading to the other three, forming four high walls of electricity; blocking Dean and Amal inside a cage. A bright white light also shone inside as a form of magical shield was created to protect the aggressors, two human mages were walking towards them inside the barrier. A man, who started shooting electric bolts at the party and a woman who kept up the barrier.

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Whatever Uuragan tried, his magic could not pierce the barrier, and wherever Dan and Duryraen hit, the barrier was reinfored, the enemies' red eyes flickering in delight when they saw the futile attempts of the people who fell into their trap. Amal tried all he could from behind the shock wall, creating small shields for his friends outside, to deflect the bolts shot from the shock mage. Dean shot arrow after arrow, at the enemies, none of them piercing the barrier.

Dan, furious that his mighty blows were not hitting home, tried to enter the barrier himself instead of his weapon, which worked. He was now standing between the two mages. He hit the healer with his head, his helmet dealing enough damage for her to loose focus and drop her barrier, and turned to smash her partner with his axe, not knowing how agile his foe was. Noticing what had happened the shock mage turned his focus onto Dan and quickly grabbed the dwarf's axe, channelling his fury through its metal, into the dwarf, sending him flying into the cave wall, falling into an unconscious lump on the ground.

Having no magical barrier, the mage was now vulnerable to Uuragan's frost magic, slowing his movement, while Duryraen launched a full frontal assault. Although his agility was diminished, their enemy was still able to deflect most of Duryraen's attacks. As his fury grew, the shock mage's wall around Dean and Amal grew in intensity, allowing them barely any visibility; Amal tried to help Dan from inside the cage, but it was difficult to do so. Dean on the other hand tried shooting arrows at the enemy healer as she was separated from the group, this way he could not hit any of his friends. One of his arrows hit the mark, piercing her side, her scream in pain filled the cave. Hearing this, her partner knew exactly what had happened, he cast a huge explosion of electrical energy around him, blasting Duryraen and Uuragan away from him. He was now invisible except for a whisp of electricity, which floated over to his healer, her physical form also turned to electricity, they flew off deeper into the cave and out of sight. Only then did the electrical barrier around Dean and Amal vanish.

Having defeated the mages, the group needed some time to recover their strength, Amal tending to their wounds. They camped for the night in the cave, and followed the whisps into the cave to find another exit, the one the mages took to escape. Here they followed the trail until they arrived at a large plateau, with elves guarding the only entrance, spears crossed, denying entrance.

For the curious readers: 
The first spike is colder than the rest > Frost trolls
One is short and dark > Underground tunnel full of goblins

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Drolme, Limb Cleaver and Skull Splitter

Born and raised in the city of Neuval, the City of Stone, home to the Dwarven kingdom, Drolme don of Tolgan, grew up to follow the same profession as that of his father and their ancestors. His father, a proud mason who maintained the city walls, was famed to be one of the best there was in the city. Building houses and barracks, Drolme gained the skills he needed to earn the respect of other masons and be considered as one of them. He then started working on sculptures, ending up working on a pair of 40 foot statues of Dwarven warriors guarding the city gate, along with a team of highly experienced sculptors. 

However, he always dreamed of being one of the famed warriors in fine armour and striking down their enemies with their axes, dripping with their enemies' blood. He eventually started to venture out as a guard with trade route caravans, being paid much more than he would as a mason or sculptor; carrying shield and axe and some basic armour for protection. Bandits were a common problem, thus the high wage of a trade route guard, but they fell down, often cleaved in two, to Drolme's axe, earning him the title of Limb Cleaver. After each journey, he would always go back to Neuval to continue his work, but the thrill of battle always pulled him back out on the road. He never joined the army or left for the mainland for he was the one to take care of his father in his old age, but it was always a dream to visit the capital of Vallingard. 

When Drolme was about 90 years old, his father died in his sleep, leaving him with no real ties to Neuval except for his profession; but a mason could find employment wherever he went. But Drolme wanted something more, something that could get his blood pumping; he dreamed of joining a mercenary group or even the army of Vallingard. At the age of 102, he boarded a trade ship to the mainland, landing at the capital of Vallingard, a city of men, his first challenge being that of finding a mercenary that would accept a Dwarf. Days passed, and finally such a group was found, venturing out to hunt for bandits and claiming bounties became Drolme's profession. Money was never a problem, as bandits were even more common this side of the canal. Some years later, he even joined the army of Vallingard in its continuous war against the dark elves in the North, earning the title of Skull Splitter, although such titles were pointless in Drolme's opinion, he did like the fact that he felled hundreds of enemies and never was he injured enough to be taken out of battle. At the age of 185, he left the army, retiring to his home in Vallingard, to a peaceful life as a revered veteran. 

However, he was again drawn to a new expedition; a small group composed of men, elves and even a halfling were looking for a warrior for added protection, Drolme was the man for the job.

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