For several minutes the steaming, viscous pool of venom spread across the square. Finally it reached the Enclave's walls, and seeped under the door.
Gilbert slipped across the square and took cover in a nearby building.
A few moments later, horribly choked screams announced that it had reached living humans. Five armed men appeared atop the walls, peering around in search of the source of the attack.
This was what the others had been waiting for. Gilbert and Mehmet bent their bows, and Skaven appropriated Percinious' short bow, despite his lack of experience in the use of one. Just before shooting, Mehmet bent forwards - and dipped his arrowhead into the horrific sorcerous venom!
A
hail of arrows lanced upwards, and three of the guards dropped or were knocked
backwards off the wall. None of this, however, was Skaven's doing. His first
- and last - attempt at archery resulted in him staggering sideways as Percinious'
bow cartwheeled into the pool of poison and his own sword belt came undone,
dropping Rurik's sword to the ground with an embarrasing clank.
The remaining two guards cast Shimmer, blurring their outlines, but this availed them naught and both died, the one shot by Mehmet screaming and thrashing as the poison corroded his insides.
There was a moment's pause.
Then a larger number of guards, already protected with Shimmer, mounted the wall, accompanying an unarmoured man who immediately began casting a spell of some sort. Recognizing the threat immediately, the party bombarded the sorcerer with missiles - Skaven resorting to thrown cobblestones rather than risk projected missiles again. The sorcerer and most of the guards dropped, and the rest fled.
At this point, Percinious decided to change the thrust of his attack. Closing off the flow of Death's Tears, he rotated the Chalice to the face of Acid and prepared to cast again. He had no magical energy left, but Kelbar the Enslaved was more than happy to place some of his own into the Maugre Claw, and soon Nutbolter was ready to renew the attack.
This time he added water to the Chalice, and created the dreadful Stoneburn. Sloshing into the pools of steaming poison, this dreadful substance began to dissolve the cobblestones. Percinious directed it to the walls, and watched with satisfaction as it began to dissolve the plinth at the base.
A few moments later, a fifty-foot stretch of the wall, bereft of its' foundations, collapsed with a drumming rumble, revealing the situation within the Enclave. A huge pool of combined horrors was surrounded by sorcerers matching their power against it, and reducing its' spread. Large numbers of the guards were gathered around them, some armed with blades and some with bows, which they were already bringing up ready to shoot. The whole scene was rapidly disappearing into a haze from the fumes created by the Stoneburn. A volley from Mehmet and Gilbert brought several guards down, but it was answered by a hail of Firearrows, and the party concluded that it was time to withdraw.
Percinious tried to end the Chalice's magic... and found that he couldn't! Desperately holding it out in front of him, he started to back away into the vapours. Gilbert and Mehmet covered him with bows, but Skaven drew his sword instead in case they were attacked directly. Percinious finally got the Chalice under control, and the party prepared to leave at speed.
At that
moment, a Firearrow streaked out of the coiling fumes, tore through Skaven's
armour, and sent him sprawling to the cobbles, killed instantly.
Gilbert shrank down behind his shield. Percinious ordered Kelbar to carry the fallen warrior, just in case there was a chance of revival; Mehmet scooped up his sword. Then they were running, heading back to the raker, shocked by the sudden felling of one of their number.
No-one barred their path, and on reaching the vessel, they directed Captain Culran to get her under way immediately and turned their attention to their friend. Not all the magic in the world was enough; Skaven Henbar was dead.
The raker turned into the witch-wind and headed out into the sunrise....
A good laugh for gamers at this site: http://llbbl.com/data/RPG-motivational/index.html
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