Iron Realm Log Nine
Year of Darkness 1123
14th - 16th days of the Wolf
As night falls on the high pass on Hell's Ridge, Isirion casts stoneskin on the entire party with the exception of Kysan'tel, who refuses the spell. During the night Mallepus continues to struggle with the strange infection in his arm.
Next day they continue to head north along the ridge and soon come across four barbarians of the Bear Clan heading north also. As a precaution Isirion casts an emotion spell (friendship) and three of the four are amiable and helpful. Abidon, Isirion's black cat familiar, scouts ahead after the barbarians leave and the vampyre can feel two heartbeats; one slow and one much faster.
It is a classic barbarian ambush. Isirion sends a phantasm forward, a mirror of the party, and - as expected - the ambush is sprung. Two barbarian archers from the Tiger Clan loose their arrows into the illusions. A new member of the party, a dwarven warrior called Tradlagt, shoots the arm off one of the barbarians whilst Plo'koon drills through the skull of the second with a well aimed shot.
The Tiger clansman is in shock as his good arm holds the bow and his severed arm is pinned to a rock behind him. Isirion does not waste the opportunity to feed upon the dying clansman.
A quick check of the map suggests that there may be elves in the White Wood, a great forest to the east of Hell's Ridge. They decide to head there for sanctuary and for possible answers to why Mallepus is not yet dead. Isirion suggests that his elven blood is strong and powerful enough to keep the Maelstrom magic at bay.
Before long, just before sunset, the party stumble upon a circle of eight skulls laid on the snow in their path. Kysan'tel uses wraithform to move unseen and spots eight thin men with painted faces all chanting a ritualistic chant however she cares not what they do and drifts away into the trees. Isirion climbs above the circle as the rest of the party wait a hundred yards behind the circle, and manages to see the shaman and hear their mysterious chanting clearly.
Suddenly the ground in the center of the skull circle begins to move and a creature emerges slowly. Valorn and the rest of the party prepare bows. An eight headed hydra with strange multicoloured eyes emerges from the snow.
But Isirion knows there is a closer danger. Her instincts, her intuition tells her that an enemy is close; the familiar heartbeat of Geoff is close by. She casts a Darkness spell all around her but inadvertently gives the unseen killer the advantage. As she tries to slash him with her magical shortsword she hits only fresh air.
Then she feels only pain.
Valorn sees the danger first. The Darkness is dispelled almost as soon as it was cast and he sees his old enemy - the guard Geoff - strangling the life out of the vampyre with a deadly metal garrote. He looses a magical arrow - a fireball arrow - at Geoff's feet and the ground erupts in flames.
When the flames dissipate Geoff and Isirion are gone. Tragladt, Plo'koon, and Wyrrin the barbarian rush bravely forward in the hope of getting to Geoff. But first they face the eight headed beast.
Plo'koon meets the beast head on, with a greatsword in one hand he cuts left and right; the beast loses three heads in the initial attack and its squeals of agony can be heard for miles. The dwarf Tragladt wades in with a couple more heads as the hydra attacks desperately and dangerously.
A hundred yards away Mallepus and Valorn fire arrows at the hydra and manage to puncture the skull of two between them. But they are vulnerable.
Valorn senses his companion is in trouble from the awful gurgling sound next to him. He glances to the left and there is Geoff garroting the ranger whose dead eyes regard him balefully. The archer launches an arrow at point blank range, which bounces off Geoff's magical protection. Suddenly Valorn faces the ex guard one on one.
But now that the hydra is dead the rest of the party head back to face Geoff. The killer lets a small capsule fall from his fingers that produces a flash and a wall of smoke instantly. It is enough distraction for him to disappear.
Kysan'tel returns and finds one of the chanting shamans and strikes him from behind, the awesome blow decapitates the shaman and the chanting stops. It soon becomes clear that the shaman was one and the same as each of the eight lie dead, their heads removed and rolling free down the gentle incline.
The Wildling woman finds the Ring of the Hydra and puts it in her pocket for safe keeping. She returns to the scene of yet another murder and lops off the still moving arm of the dead ranger. This also she deposits in her backpack to investigate later.
That night it is the full moon. The largest of all the moons in the calendar it leaves the party on edge, as if the ghosts of their dead companions haunt them.
"It's only bloody Geoff that haunts us," Valorn says sourly.
Later they spot an eagle (familiar?) that flies round them for half an hour before returning to its master somewhere in the north. Later still they spot a campfire with three barbarians sat round. Nothing moves. They suspect it is one of Geoff's traps and ignore it.
They are joined by Grimbrand Bludgeon, a dwarf barbarian, who helps them make a hidden camp on the top of a ridge that overlooks the road. Before long they see two barbarians moving around below them, appearing to scatter something at the base of the crag where they are camped. Valorn shoots both dead and Plo'koon, Grimbrand, and Valorn go down to investigate.
They find rapidly growing black plants that are tinged with magic. Valorn takes no chances and uses a fireball arrow to destroy most of them, with Grimbrand using a dire mace to crush the rest.
They return to their hidden camp and await sunrise . . . or the inevitable return of their nemesis Geoff . . . . . . . .