by Cerrick » Fri Sep 12, 2003 12:32 pm
With the smell of smoke and embers still thick in the air, Cerrick rushed down the stairwell mere steps behind Lady Sarekonna. As they reached the bottom of the stairwell and burst out the main door, other members of the League were already assisting Phardaxia to his feet. Father Tobyas stood nearby, chanting the Lord’s prayer in a low voice, the Holy power flowing through him into the body of the young wizard.
“Will he be all right, Father?” Cerrick immediately inquired.
“Yes, Cerrick he vill be fine. Just had the wind knocked out of him, it appears.”
Cerrick nodded, relaxing a bit, and looked over Phardaxia briefly. Although dazed from the fall, Phardaxia did indeed appear to be reasonably intact. Phardaxia returned Cerrick’s glance, locking his eyes on the paladin’s. “Cerrick, he muttered, his voice far away but urgent, “the book, I must recover….”
“No!” interrupted Father Tobyas, placing his weathered hand around Phardaxia’s arm. “You vill do no such thing until you have properly mended.” Phardaxia resisted momentarily, but the firm grasp and formidable tone of the Cossack priest held him in place. At the direction of Tobyas, two of the league’s paladins, Koharg and Galyon, began to help Phardaxia back into the League Hall.
Cerrick himself turned to enter the Hall, when out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of something moving in the alleyway nearby. Guided by instinct and the Lord’s will, he began to sprint towards the alley, ripping his blade from his scabbard without missing a step. In some part of his mind, he registered Lady Sarekonna calling out to him, but captured in a moment of single-minded determination, he pressed on regardless.
Entering the alley he paused, his eyes darting about, seeking the object of his attentions. Nothing. Perhaps it had been a simple trick of the morning light. He began to sheath his sword, feeling foolish for having reacted so, in disregard of his training and soldierly discipline. No sooner had he returned the blade halfway into the scabbard, however, when from just a few feet away something darted towards him. Before Cerrick could even re-draw his blade, he was hit by an incredible force square in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Hitting the hard flagstone pavement, he immediately sprang into a crouch. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, a reminder of wounds just barely healed, he brought his sword from its sheath once more. From the light of the sword’s feiry glow, he could see the thing that had struck him. Cerrick’s eyes widened in horror. It seemed nothing so much as a hole ripped in the very fabric of nature itself, a creature made of pure shadow. At first, it appeared to be of medium height and stature, but as Cerrick’s eyes adjusted to the light, he observed that the thing’s form shifted slowly, growing taller, then shrinking again, as masses of darkness emerged and retracted into its center. Faint flashes of light coursed across what passed for its skin, and it emitted an almost inaudible combination of a hiss and a growl.
Cerrick and the beast stood there for what seemed an eternity, sizing each other up. The creature broke the moment, heading with incredible speed toward the rear of the alley. But Cerrick’s reaction was only a fraction of a second behind. Leaping to his feet, he slashed a fierce blow at where he imagined the beast’s legs would be. A jar to his sword arm and an eardrum-rending shriek of pain told him that he had connected. He pulled his blade back and prepared to swing again, this time for something he hoped was more vital, when an inky protusion shot towards him. Lacking his shield, Cerrick attempted to dodge, but was struck on his left shoulder, the extraordinary force of the blow spinning him backwards towards the alley wall behind him. Cerrick threw out his hand to steady himself against the wall, and turned back towards the creature, just in time to spot another protrusion, this one as thin as a piece of string, lancing towards his neck. Pulling his sword up, Cerrick just barely managed to bring the blade between his neck and the deadly blackness, parrying the blow that clearly would have meant his life. Nevertheless, the strength behind the attack was too great for Cerrick to recover in time for a counterstrike. He staggered backwards, still on the defensive. As his mind raced to devise a strategy to defeat such an overpowering foe, he noticed something on the pavement just inches from the beast. The book! Lying there, in all of its humble glory, was Phardaxia’s father’s journal. Cerrick grinned, and parrying another blow from the beast, he fell into a crouch and rolled forward, landing squarely beside the book. He quickly snatched up the worn tome, and tucked it against his chest with his left arm, while holding his sword straight out towards the creature in an attempt to keep it at bay. The beast emitted a low hiss in obvious anger, but remained motionless, apart from the random shifting of its form.
“You want this, don’t you,” Cerrick asked rhetorically, slowing backing away from the beast, trying to buy more time to figure out how to proceed now. In response, the creature hissed louder, its form shifting even more erratically. Cerrick paused. The entrance to the alleyway was only steps behind him. He could hear voices behind him. Good, he thought, if he could lure this thing into the open, surely it would stand no chance against the combined might of the League. As he took his next step, however, the creature sprang on him. He held up his sword, prepared to deflect the incoming blow as best he could when the creature suddenly froze. Momentarily confused, Cerrick spun around. There stood Lady Sarekonna, clutching her staff for support, her face contorted in pain.
“I don’t think I can hold it for long, Cerrick. It’s mind is so alien, so dreadful” Lady Sarekonna winced, gritting her teeth as a tear slipped down her cheek. Cerrick nodded, and placing his hand around her arm, began to back towards the League Hall. “I fear it is too powerful for us to defeat alone. We need the assistance of the other League members.” Just as he finished this statement, the creature awoke, hissing vehemently and shifting form almost faster than Cerrick’s eyes could register. Releasing his grip on Lady Sarekonna, Cerrick squared his stance and prepared for the beast’s next onslaught. Instead, the creature darted towards the rear of the alleyway, emitting a single high pitched shriek that left both Cerrick and Lady Sarekonna wincing in agony. They stood there for a short while, holding their breaths, waiting to make sure that the beast had truly departed. After a few moments, they turned and made their way back to the Hall, looking at each other in relief but saying nothing.
They had retrieved Phardaxia’s journal. But with such a creature hunting it, both Cerrick and Lady Sarekonna knew that it was far from secure.
WAR
Uri, Rune Priest
Caladin, White Lion
DAOC
Aermus, Sorcerer and Ranger Pincushion
Cerrick, Paladin