Back to page 3
-----"That's the last thing I remember. Raven and Rinda haven't had a chance to explain anything yet. Were there just the five of them? Did we get them all?" Sarah nods her head to one side. "I noticed something interesting. The thing I fought had a skeletal face. But when it was burning in the webs it took off some sort of mask and it was human underneath. That just reeks of Devlin to me. It would be just like her. He had an interesting cloak on. Do we have time to poke around or are we running or what?"
-----"So, what's the situation?" Sarah stands up shakily, "Has anyone seen Marlexana? And what in the blazes is Sol trying to kill this time?"
-----"Mmm," Seth mutters to himself, "You sure those guys were human? I tried casting sleep on some of them and it just did not work." He stares off after Raven and then considers, "Well maybe they have amulets of proof against sleep spells."
-----He pulls out some food scraps and offers it to Sarah if she wants to feed the owl with it.
-----Sarah answers, "At least one of them was. Or at least he looked human. He could have been an elf or half elf I suppose. I don't think he's in any condition to figure that out right now. But they definitely had some magical support, the two I fought were at least as skilled at magic as I am."
-----"Thanks." Sarah spares Seth a quick smile as she takes the food scraps and tries to feed Chessie. "C'mon, baby, eat it, show momma you're all right." Sarah says soothingly to Chessie.
-----Rinda points out that the cloud behind the stables appears to be lifting. Meanwhile the stream of fire connected to the bonfire has risen up the steps of the keep and has caught around the door.
-----At that moment, four guards on horses ride in through the front gate. They ride up to the party standing around the bonfire. Quickly dismounting, they begin to grab blankets from their saddlebags and move to deal with the fire on the steps as much as possible.
-----From around the corner where the Dread Pirate vanished in his observation of the windows, the others hear a slight noise. It sounds as if pebbles are being thrown up against the keep.
-----Sarah continues to feed her owl that, much to her mistress’ delight, has taken to the food scraps that Seth offered. From around the corner of the keep comes the strange delighted laughter of the Dread Pirate.
-----After a while, Raven and Sol ride back into the courtyard accompanied by eight more guardsmen. The guardsmen immediately dismount and help the others take care of the fire that threatens the front door of the keep. Some of the guardsmen race to the stable to grab buckets of water.
-----Raven and Sol then call the rest of the party around them.
-----Raven looks over to make sure the guards have the fire under control. Seeing they do, Raven looks back to the group, "They got away with the gem. I can try to track them in the morning, but I doubt I'll find anything." Raven pauses and then continues, "The temple at Oakwood has a black globe coming out of it. Sir Greene's wizards and priests are not able to dispel the darkness. Sir Greene sent these 12 men to guard this keep. He wants us to return to Oakwood with great haste. All is not well in the kingdom. Sir Greene said he would help us take out the cave Woder spoke about."
-----Raven looks over to Rinda, "Did I miss anything?"
-----"No," Rinda replies, "I think everyone’s recovered from what they’ve gone through. If we want to wait until morning to start out, it will give us more time to rest up."
-----The huntress looks at Sol still sitting on Thunder’s saddle. "Sol, for one, looks like he could use a night’s rest."
-----The guardsmen have the fire out on the lower part of the steps although the fire seems to burn higher around the door.
-----Sol blinks blearily back at Rinda and says, "Yeah, I guess yer right. A week’s rest should just about cover it." He smiles and dismounts before remembering to add, "Did anyone check t'see if th' fool had any useful information on him?" Sol then leads Thunder over near one of the walls. Not even bothering to hitch the stallion, Sol begins to settle down for the night right where he is.
-----Seth looks around for where Albert may be roosting. He calls out to him to come and roost with him. When he turns up, he sits in a corner and feeds him some scraps and then lays down to get some sleep.
-----"Got away with the gem?" Sarah says quizzically. She all of a sudden thinks to check her bag. "Destine, someone else hold the damn gem next time." She says, frustrated.
-----"How many of them got away?" She asks, the thought apparently not having occurred to her that they would get away.
-----Sarah goes to the stables and checks on Marlexana as she waits for responses.
Go to Page 5