Portalis
Rurik gave orders to make camp, and the Company bivouacked in a small copse. Summoning his two scouts, he ordered them to recconoitre the bandit encampment described by Bytlan. The rest of the Company was stood down for half a day to allow this to be done; except for guard duty and preparation for the battle doubtless to come.
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Mehmet and Percinious found themselves with time to spare, and on an obscure impulse, Mehmet dug out the ring he'd been carrying, and showed it to Nutbolter, wondering if he could help him work out what it was.
Puzzling together over the peculiar Khylar runes engraved into the gold, the pair at length deduced that the word was the item's name, Portalis. Obviously something to do with ways, opening, doors, gates, passage. Nutbolter brought out his hard-won book, and the pair pored over it to see if it mentioned Portalis as well as the Maugre Claw; but it didn't. Settling himself comfortably, he allowed his concentration to focus on the small golden band. The magical training he had had was more than enough for him to recognize that the ring was indeed a matrix for one or more spells, although what he could not tell. Enboldened, he allowed a trickle of his inherent magic to flow into the ring, as if casting a spell. To his surprise, it seemed to jump in his hand, once, fairly sharply, and then went still. Nothing else appeared to happen.
Considering that - given its' name - it must be linked with some form of teleportation - he gripped it firmly, fixed his gaze on an area of the copse around twenty feet away, thought 'I want to be there' and did it again. Once again, the ring pulled once, very directionally, in the same direction as before (in fact, the exact opposite direction of the one he was looking) but nothing else happened.
The two then tried arranging themselves so they were touching, and Mehmet used two points of magic. This time the results were different; no movement, but the lettering on the ring flared briefly with light and went out again. Nutbolter's sharp eyes had spotted something, though; there were more runes when they were illuminated. Watching more closely, they did it again, and saw that as well as 'Portalis', the Khylar word for 'Open' appeared. Aha! But.... what was it opening? Look as they might, they could see nothing different. Baffled, they gave it up for the moment.
Some hours later, the scouts returned, to confirm that Netherlin was as described by the Meryan, except that it appeared to be deserted, or at least prepared for attack. The main encampment was located in a series of caves in the face of a high crag, connected by ledges, with a grassy area at the bottom and forest surrounding it. Dead campfires were to be seen, and guards posted at the top of the crag, but no-one else.
Nonetheless, Rurik decided to assault it at dawn. His plans were straightforward and sound; archers at the verge of the forest as cover, an assault up the crag and along the ledges into the caves, and five volunteers to scale the crag from behind and take out the clifftop guards. Mehmet, Wyrara, Nutbolter, Athala and Tirfora Bearbane volunteered for the latter duty, and - at Mehmet's suggestion - set out early to do the climbing during the day. The rest of the Company moved off to take their places ready for the main assault.
Slowly and carefully, the five worked their way around the back of the hill, finally reaching a point where they could see the four guard posts. Each had a wall of loose stones, waist-high on a standing man, around the back, with the open front at the edge where a knotted rope hung down for access to the uppermost ledge below.
Backing off about half a mile, the five discussed tactics. Mehmet suggested that one of them should take out each lookout, with Wyrara the archer deployed at the back to provide insurance in case anyone fudged it. Bearbane wasn't impressed with this, and suggested rather insultingly that real men should do the fighting, and pixies should cower at the back with missile weapons. Mehmet's response was to challenge Bearbane to a punching fight to settle who was in charge. Bearbane accepted, and the pair squared off.
Circling warily, the two launched punches and kicks at each other, with bruises dealt out on both sides, but then Mehmet's last kick swept Bearbane's leg numbed out from under him and dropped him in a heap. Panting, the pair regarded each other, and then Tirfora spoke. "Very well," he said, "we'll do it your way." He reached an arm out to be helped up. Mehmet reached to take it, ready to strike should the human attempt to pull him over, and their eyes met - clearly each was aware of the other's options here. There was a moment's pause, and then Mehmet pulled his comrade up.
Walking back, they got to talking. "So, what do you have against our kind?" asked Mehmet. "After all, we never asked to be this way." Bearbane was thoughtful; he'd been brought up to hate the 'tainted, black-magic using' Khylar, but now he was doubting that point of view. Wisely, Mehmet didn't push it, leaving Bearbane to make his own mind up. They soon reached the others, and Bearbane met their enquiring looks with "We'll follow Mehmet's plan. Wyrara; cover us if you please?"
Very, very early the next morning, the four attackers crept close to the watchmen. The guard had been changed at midnight, so the watchers were relatively fresh. With infinite care, the four crept closer, finally reaching their positions. As they did so, a piece of Mehmet's equipment clinked, and his target started to turn. Pushed into action, Mehmet struck with his brass knuckles, crushing the unfortunate man's skull instantly. Around him the others followed his lead, striking as hard as they could, and with variable results. Bearbane took two stabs with his spear to deal with his man, and Percinious missed his altogether. The sentinel was just drawing breath to give the alarm, when Wyrara's arrow smacked into his eye. Dying, the man staggered, and began to topple backwards. Percinious grabbed desperately, but a moment too slowly, and the corpse toppled off the cliff. Frozen in horror, the five heard the soggy thump as it smacked onto the ledge fifty feet below all too clearly.
Swiftly, Mehmet swung himself down the rope, reaching the ledge and finding it deserted. Knotting the rope to the corpse's belt, he stood back as Nutbolter and Bearbane started to haul it back up the cliff face, and rapidly scuffed away the marks and bloodstains where it had fallen. As he did so, he could hear two voices approaching from within the nearby cave entrance, discussing the possible sound as they came. Desperately, he scrambled down off the edge of the cliff, wedging his dagger into place to hold himself. Nutbolter and Bearbane froze with the smashed body half-way up the cliff as two more Meryan bandits came out of the cave entrance and started looking around.
By great good fortune, neither looked up. They did, however step to the edge of the ledge and glance over. One looked to the left only, and saw nothing; the second looked both ways - and saw Mehmet hanging helpless below him. He opened his mouth to shout - and an arrow took him cleanly in the forehead, toppling him dead to the ledge below. Rurik had launched his attack.
Mehmet swung himself back up, ready to defend himself against the second bandit, who was bearing down on him, sword raised. At that moment, however, Bearbane and Nutbolter let go the rope above, and the body plummeted down on top of the bandit below. Struck a glancing blow on the shoulder, the man stumbled to his left - and pitched off the ledge to his death below. Mehmet grinned as he heaved himself up.
Bloodwind's Company was flooding up the lower ledges now, and lethally accurate arrow-fire was picking bandits off the crag as Bearbane, Nutbolter, Athala and Wyrara descended to the ledge to join Mehmet. Moving forwards, they entered the cave entrance to come face to face with four more Meryans, armed and ready. Wyrara and Mehmet had missiles readied; Wyrara slew one of their foes with an arrow, while the half-Khyle hurled a Firearrow treated rock at another. Then battle was joined, and blades flashed in the cave.
Mehmet fought with his sword, which although not his best weapon, was something he was determined to practice with. He had little luck with it, however, and in the end he dropped it, punched his foe down with his knuckles, picked his sword up again, and finished the stunned man off with it.
To his left, however, things hadn't been going so well. Nutbolter had taken a nasty wound to the chest and hit the ground unconscious. Fortunately, Wyrara had killed her foe a moment before, and her backstroke decapitated Percinious' opponent before he could administer the coup. In the resulting breathing space, Mehment did his best to bandage his friend, but Nutbolter remained deeply unconscious and in need of healing magic.
[See the Characters section for Mehmet and Percinious' backstories!]
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