Chapter 23
The dwarves all approached Captain Silverstar, “We have decided to head on back to Ironhold Captain. We are sorry that the Princess has taken ill but we would like to turn back now and see about our own.” Captain Hammerstone said to his counterpart. All the dwarves positioned behind him nodded their agreement, including the mind mage Argha.
“Well that is probably just as well. We can manage to escort the Princess home from here, but first I demand that you turn the artifact over to me before you leave.” Captain Silverstar said to the dwarven Captain, while he glanced over at Argha.
Argha looked over at him and said “Captain you don’t need to demand the artifact from me, I will gladly turn it over, but to Taithmar only, for she is the only person that would stand a chance in this group and that would understand the dangers of the artifact if it should become necessary.” He finished speaking and gave Captain Silverstar a look that said, I dare you to disagree.
Of course Captain Silverstar did disagree and made his position known “I feel that you are trying my patience mind mage! But if this is the game you wish to play then so be it, give the artifact to her and be gone!” With that he turned away from the dwarves and marched back over to where his men where congregated. He was speaking with them when the dwarves took their leave of the camp.
Vekao, Davkas, Lizzy and Taithmar all said there goodbyes to the dwarves, Argha took the artifact from his pack and passed it over to Taithmar, who took it from the mind mage and gave him a wink! For the dwarves were not truly leaving they were just going to trail after the party and keep an eye on things from afar, just to see what hand Captain Silverstar would play. So off they went tramping back the way the group had come, by this time the day was growing short and the men of Captain Silverstar were growing restless. They were beginning to wonder what was happening with the Princess being so ill and them just sitting around waiting for something to happen.
But Captain Silverstar insisted that they wait to see if the Princess recovered from her illness, despite the advice the old dwarven mind mage had given him. Davkas and his friends continued to watch the captain to see what he would do, especially now that they were outnumbered five times over. But they didn’t have to wait too much longer for Captain Silverstar was also growing anxious and he did something out of desperation, he decided that he would go out into the woods and summon the Dhag’arii mage again, but this time he would allow him to come and take the artifact from the four friends within his camp!
But seeing the captain sneak off into the woods, Davkas decided to follow after him to see what he was going to do, yet unaware that Captain Silverstar had access to calling the dark dwarf royal mage.
Deeper into the tree line the captain went, not realizing that the old elf was following at a distance. So Captain Silverstar went to a cluster of trees in the woods close by, he took out the gem of calling he had secreted away, and spoke the word to activate it. The gem came to life and the dark dwarf magic-user stood before Captain Silverstar again! Davkas who was hidden behind some bushes gasped in horror, for he recognized the evil dwarf!
“So you have good news I assume Captain?” Tin’ther said to him.
“Yes, yes good news. The artifact is within my grasp, I have just to seize it from the ones who now hold it.” Captain Silverstar replied back to the dwarf.
“Well again you disappoint me Captain. I want the artifact and I want it now!” the dark dwarf rasped back to Captain Silverstar.
Silverstar fell back in fear, but then he composed himself and stood up to the evil dwarven mage. He whispered hoarsely to the mage “I have it hear, or more specifically a mage has it in her possession. So if you want your blasted artifact so badly then why don’t you just come here and get it yourself then?” The captain didn’t really expect the old dwarf to take him up on the proposition of course.
With that the dark mage glared at the boldness the captain was displaying, and then he let a smile creep across his face. “Of course captain, whatever you wish!” he replied to him, then threw his arms up and spoke some terrible words, so terrible sounding were these words that Davkas covered his ears, while the young captain just stood there in shock, the blood draining from his face!
Lightening suddenly filled the sky, a hot, horrible wind blew in and all the horses back in the camp started to get jittery. Davkas crouched down even lower in the bushes he had been hiding behind, while Captain Silverstar just stared, too stunned to move at this point. The members of the party back at camp stood looking around, instinctively knowing that something was not right. Even Captain Silverstar’s soldiers could tell the something was happening. Where had this storm blown in from? They all where thinking, yet it was not a storm, for it was a spell, a terrible, powerful spell that the mage Tin’ther had cast from miles and miles away!
One minute Tin’ther was an image projected by the gem in the captain’s hand, and the next minute Tin’ther was standing there directly in front of Captain Silverstar! Davkas was in shock! He couldn’t believe his eyes! How had the Dhag’arii mage done that with such apparent ease? He wasn’t sure, yet he knew that he needed to warn the others! So Davkas decided it was best to creep away quietly, and so he did, little did he realize that if he had stayed and watched further he would have seen even more shocking actions!
Captain Silverstar though was not as fortunate he stood staring at the newly arrived dwarf and went to pull his sword free. It was too late! The dark mage spoke another word and the young captain was instantly frozen in place, he couldn’t move a muscle, or even blink, he was totally paralyzed! Tin’ther just stood there smiling up at him, a wickedly evil smile on his dwarven face.
Davkas moved away from the scene quickly and hurried back to tell his friends. When he reached the camp everyone was standing around looking this way and that, some were watching the sky, for the lightening had appeared out of nowhere. When his friends saw Davkas approaching they ran out to meet him, the sergeant left in charge of the soldiers also went out, he called out to Davkas as he approached. “Where is Captain Silverstar?”
Davkas looked to the sergeant and replied “He is in trouble round up your soldiers and help him! I will lead you back to him, but some still need to stay with the Princess and assure her safety!” He then looked at Vekao and the others and said “I think soon we will have some company and it is not the kind of company that we will enjoy!” With that he waved them along to follow him back to where the captain was at.
Back with Tin’ther and the young captain, the old dwarven mage was busy. He immediately opened a gate and a full dozen skeleton warriors came streaming out, armed to the teeth so to speak and with red glowing eyes! He motioned that they should stay still while he dealt with Captain Silverstar, the dwarven mage pulled his dagger and walked over to where the captain stood frozen…
When Davkas and the group following him arrived back at the spot where he last saw the captain and the mage Tin’ther, they found Captain Silverstar standing there in the clearing, he was not moving! His men rushed up to him and soon discovered that their captain was dead! For when they came around to the front they saw that there was a dagger protruding from his eye! Yet he still stood! Taithmar who had come with the group soon figured out what was happening. She fished around briefly in her belt pouch and standing next to the captain, blew some powder at him. Instantly the spell the evil dwarven mage had worked on Captain Silverstar was broken, and he fell over into her arms! She caught him and brought him slowly down to the ground, his men were horrified and the Sergeant rushed up to the Captain. Yet of course they knew he was dead, the wound in his eye was bleeding profusely now.
Soon they heard hollering and screaming coming from the camp site! So they turned as one and ran back to the camp with weapons bared hoping they could get there in time. When they got back to the camp a frightening scene met their eyes, for there in the middle of the camp, with dead soldiers scattered around him, was the dark dwarf Tin’ther, surrounded by a group of evil looking skeleton warriors and worse still, he was holding the unconscious Princess in his grasp!
“Hold evil one! What is the meaning of this? Release the Princess and we may let you live.” Davkas cried out then turned back to the soldiers and shouted, “Stand back from him for he is an evil mage of the Dhag’arii.”
“I see my reputation precedes me. I will get straight to the point. I came for the artifact, the one the mage there has in her pack.” Tin’ther said pointing towards Taithmar. “Where is the pack? I want it now or I will slay the Princess here in front of you all!”
The Sergeant stepped forward and spoke then “Let the Princess go! She has done nothing to you!” Then he took a step closer to the dwarf.
“Stop!” cried out Taithmar “Hold Sergeant. Let me handle this one”
“Surely you don’t think that we will just hand the artifact over to you just like that?” Taithmar said to the mage while stepping forward just a bit. “We will need to know that the Princess will be safe and you will let her go!”
The old dwarven mage, Tin’ther, just laughed, a low almost bestial laugh, looking scornfully back at Taithmar. Then he answers her “You are not in a position to bargain. I will promise nothing! Just bring the artifact to me now!” Then Tin’ther took out a wand he had tucked away inside his tunic and pointed the wand at the Princess, and then looks menacingly back to Taithmar, an evil grin on his face. “Try me he says to her.”
Taithmar just shrugs her shoulders and goes to find her pack, it doesn’t take her long and she comes striding back over to the center of the camp with the old cloth wrapped artifact in hand. She comes and stands again with her friends, but before she turns to Tin’ther to show him the artifact she gives her friends a sly wink and a quick smile, for during her short time digging through the pack to bring the artifact, she had seen what she had hoped she would, their friends the Ironhold dwarves were there and they were in the process of creeping up on the unsuspecting dark mage!
Now turning back to Tin’ther she holds out the cloth wrapped artifact. Tin’ther immediately tells her to hand it over to him, she hesitates a little, then hands over the artifact to the old dwarf. Tin’ther’s eyes lit up with a hungry look, he instinctively reached his hand forward to grasp it, even though they were still more than 10 feet apart. But that was precisely the time that Captain Hammerstone and Sergeant Blackrock launched their attack, for they had been waiting for just such a moment!
The entire scene became chaotic in a flash, for the dwarven sergeant launched his small war hammer at the mage striking his out thrust hand, which of course knocked the wand from his grip. The mage howled in pain and anger, but at the same time he lost his hold of the Princess and she slumped to the ground! Taithmar tossed the artifact back to Lizzy who deftly caught it while Taithmar whirled back towards the dwarven mage and spoke a word of power and pointed her finger at him. Instantly a green ray of power shot forth from her hand which caused the old dark dwarf to howl again, but he kept his footing in spite of all the attacks!
The attack did push him a bit back away from the Princess and the party could see Argha in the background concentrating deeply. In a flash a bluish circular sphere formed around the prone form of the Princess. Tin’ther though was not going to waste any time on the Princess now, his goal was to retrieve the artifact and that’s what he intended to do. So he to spoke a word of power and pointed back at the soldiers and friends who were still huddled together and a wave of reddish bolts shot forth from his fingers! Three of them struck three soldiers and all of them fell to the ground dead! One struck Vekao in his left arm and he felt the intense pain burning into it. Another bolt struck Lizzy in the hand and she ended up yelping in pain and dropping the artifact.
This was what the dark mage had been waiting for, because he knew that to invoke the artifact and bring forth the earth elemental it had to be in contact with the earth and now it was!
But before he could speak Davkas launched himself at the old dark dwarf, pulling his sword out and swiping at his head! The old dwarf ducked and quickly backed away from him, he touched a ring on his finger and instantly his image blurred! It was difficult for anyone to focus on him and it would be very difficult for them to now strike at him, which is what the mage wanted. Then the Dhag’arii mage waved his hand and instantly the skeletal warriors swarmed towards the remaining soldiers and friends, while a few of them broke away and went after the nearest dwarven warriors.
The skeleton warriors moved silently, their red eyes gleaming with cruel intent, the first closed on the dwarves and quickly engaged with them. The remaining skeletons met up with Davkas and a few of the soldiers who had followed him when he made his move against Tin’ther. The dwarves who had more experience than the Lijissa soldiers soon disposed of a couple of the skeletons, effectively crushing their skulls with skilled blows from their war hammers, yet the skeletal warriors unnerved some of the soldiers who shook with fright and were quickly cut down by the skeletons confronting them.
Davkas took out two of the skeletons himself, before he was joined in the fray by Vekao and Lizzy, Taithmar concentrated her attention on the evil dwarven mage Tin’ther. Unfortunately the friends were unaware that by having the artifact in contact with the ground as it was when she dropped it, the Dhag’arii mage could actually active it from where he stood. If they had know this, they might have tried harder to recover it, but alas they did not know it’s nature and thus left it laying on th ground thinking it was safe behind them!
During this struggle Argha had snuck up from behind and pulled the Princess away to safety, he then turned his attention back to the battle with the Dhag’arii mage. Davkas had lunged and tried to attack the mage, but his attacks were to no avail at this point, having been cut off by one of the skeletal warriors. The rest of their group was busy handling the remaining skeletons there were only a few left now at this point. The Lijissa Sergeant shouted out orders to his remaining men, yet in the chaos surrounding them they seemed to hesitate at first. But in the end the majority of them stood their ground being an experienced group, and soon they had cut down two more of the skeletons!
By now Lizzy had recovered from the magical bolt and was fairly busy fighting a skeletal warrior along with one of the dwarves, she allowed the dwarf to take the fight to the skeleton and was inching her way back towards where she had dropped the artifact, in the process of reaching down to pick the up again yet Tin’ther took notice in the chaos and was not going to allow this to happen! He quickly invoked the artifact, speaking the word quickly and loudly that would do so! The very air around the group fighting shimmered with eldritch power!
As Lizzy stooped down over the artifact the ground began to shudder as if they were all in the midst of a powerful earthquake! Lizzy was having trouble just staying on her feet, let alone pick up the artifact. Argha stared in horror, along with Taithmar, Davkas and Vekao, for they knew what was happening then! Soon the artifact began to grow! Lizzy fell back from it then as well as the remaining party members next to her there. The little statue grew and grew, and soon it was about the size of one of the mountain giants from the frozen land of Hemporia that everyone feared! Only this giant was thicker and made of stone and dirt!
Tin’ther stood marveling at his accomplishment and sneered over at Davkas “Now elven dog! Taste the power of the Dhag’arii!”
Davkas and the others stood speechless, staring at the hulking dark form in front of them…soon they were forced to move for the skeletal warriors refused to pause and be awed by the powerful elemental. In the process two more soldiers and one of the dwarves paid with their lives as they were cut down from behind…