by Jeff Wilcox
I was between classes at the time, having finished one early in the afternoon and free until the early evening. Xavier’s schedule was much the same, and the two of us sat at our respective desks. He was poring over D&D books as I read the latest threads on the Character Optimization boards run by Wizards of the Coast.
“So,” I said after growing bored of reading post after post of players whining about their DMs or vice-versa, “I’ve been thinking: how do we kill an army of fiendish, fire-breathing wolves, human paladins of tyranny
[45] , and werewolves?”
“Funny,” he said, looking up from where he had his nose firmly buried in the Spell Compendium, “I was just thinking the same thing.
I grinned and rolled on my chair over to him. “Ha! Great minds think alike, huh? What have you got?”
He rocked his head from side to side. “I’m working on a few ideas. I, uh, found a couple really neat spells that might help us take down the army.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Like, the whole army?”
His conspiratorial smile was all the answer I needed. “Look at this spell.”
I did. “Let’s see… ‘poison vines. Druid four, blah, blah… This spell functions like vine mine, blah, except holy cow, a potential three-dee-six Dex poison damage! Nice!”
“And I can make all of us immune to the poison,” Xavier added. “Now, vine mine itself is pretty good.” He flipped toward the back of the same book and showed me the spell. “It’ll last eighty minutes at this level, and it’ll be eighty feet in radius. I can change its effects every round, and the one I’ll probably keep it on is to make all the terrain within the spell’s radius heavy undergrowth, which makes moving one square cost four squares of movement.”
My eyes flew open. “Eighty-foot radius?” I repeated, whistling.
“Oh,” he added casually, “I can cast it three times if I need to.”
I grinned and thought about it. “Dude. If we could catch a bunch of enemies in that, we could paralyze them all with the Dex damage, then swoop in and just suck the XP from them.”
Xavier held up his finger. “It gets better,” he told me. “Even though it’s a poison, the save DC is based on my spell save DCs. My Wisdom score’s twenty right now, which would give that spell a save DC of nineteen. But,” he went on, flipping to another page, “I can still cast owl’s wisdom and get an additional plus-two bonus, since it would overlap my periapt of wisdom plus two. But! This spell, owl’s insight, gives me an insight bonus to my Wisdom score equal to half my caster level.”
“And since it’s an insight bonus, it stacks with the enhancement bonus from owl’s wisdom,” I finished for him as he nodded along. “Dude, that’s amazing! So that pumps the save DC up to what, a twenty-two?”
“Yeah, but it gets even better. If I cast breath of the jungle before poison vines, it boosts the save DC of the poison effect by two more.” He paused, scratching his head. “I’ve just been trying to figure out how to add murderous mist into the combo. It deals damage and permanently blinds anyone who fails the Reflex save. And, if everyone inside suddenly has a huge penalty to Dexterity, they’ll be more likely to fail this save.”
I pondered the spells’ effects for a minute, then shook my head. “Yeah, but if we’re going to kill them while they’re helpless anyway, the blindness won’t make a difference. It would probably be best just to go with three poison vines and skip murderous mist altogether. Or, if you’re really dead set on the spell, go for two of the first and one of the second.”
He pursed his lips and sighed. “Yeah. I just thought it would be funny to blind everyone in the area,” he said, another grin spreading across his face.
We spent the next two hours of free time outlining a rather complex plan to either escape the city or rid ourselves of a very large number of enemies, composing a four-step plan: one, we were going to see if we could somehow contact anyone outside the golden sphere or teleport out (or walk right through, for that matter). Failing that, we would garner the attention of as many enemies as possible, lead them to the tree-filled park, and let Caineye have at it. Three, if that didn’t work, we were working on an admittedly weak plot to summon lots of little water elementals to drown our enemies. It wouldn’t be very effective, but it would be funny. Lastly, if we found ourselves still stuck here with an entire army of enemies out to get us, we were going to use all of the roughly 100,000 gp we had found inside the temple’s vault and sacrifice it to various deities in order to call down a heavenly host, complete with angry angels, to kill our enemies for us. Really, when we want to get something done, our group really knows how to do it.
XXXIX.
Kaiyr and Solaria walked in silence through the disturbingly calm streets of Ik’durel, heading west and toward the part of the city that wasn’t encapsulated by the golden sphere in the sky. Kaiyr lamented that only a few weeks ago he had walked these streets, and they had been full of life and people going about their daily business. Now the cobblestones were dead. A very few bodies lay here and there, but many who had died here had gone on to become food for the wolves patrolling the streets.
There was an intangible wall between the blademaster and the nymph now; although he knew that he was not the cause, its presence seemed to push against Kaiyr like a magnetic field. The sensation left him feeling hollow, much as when Astra had sacrificed herself for the ill-fortuned trio.
We’re almost there, came a mental message from the amulet. Even though Kaiyr knew in the back of his mind that he shared the amulet with Solaria now, it startled him to hear her voice in his head rather than in his ears.
Snapping out of his reverie, Kaiyr looked around. “Yes,” he replied softly, “indeed.”
In short order, the pair arrived at the spherical wall separating this sector from the rest of Ik’durel. It seemed to be made of wavy, amber glass that cut through buildings and streets without harming them. Just beyond, they watched as citizens of Ik’durel went about their daily business, seemingly oblivious to the sphere’s presence.
“Wait,” Kaiyr said as Solaria reached out to touch the wall. “It might be dangerous. Allow me to try it first.” As Solaria backed off without complaint, the blademaster stepped forward and picked up a broomstick from a nearby house. Prodding the wall with the broomstick yielded neither exciting nor dangerous results; it thudded against the field as though the barrier was made of stone. His soulblade met with similar resistance, though he did not attempt to cut through the barrier as he had done to the vault in the temple earlier and the temple’s postern door before that.
Glancing back at Solaria, the blademaster’s face was neutral and stony as ever. “It seems safe,” he said, reaching out and touching the wall. It was cool to the touch but otherwise did not react to the elf’s contact.
So, what do we do now? Solaria asked.
Half an hour later, Kaiyr passed his waterskin to Solaria, who drank of it breathlessly before handing it back. Kaiyr drained the skin and tucked it back under his sash. “I suppose we shall not find success here,” he said. All the shouting, gesturing, jumping, and even telepathic messages in the duo’s repertoire had not been able to reach those on the other side of the sphere, and Kaiyr had called for a halt and led Solaria away from that section of the wall in case their noisemaking had drawn unwanted attention.
Quite the understatement, Solaria agreed. Should we be heading back now?
Kaiyr nodded and rose before offering her a hand. The nymph hesitated for just a moment before taking his hand and rising.
Again, they walked in silence for much of the trip back to the temple. Kaiyr spent most of the journey scouting from the rooftops, but when they arrived in the forested park behind the temple, he rejoined her.
Another unsettling hush fell over them in the forest even though the status quo had not changed. Finally, however, Kaiyr knew he had to pierce the veil between them. “I… Lady Solaria?” He wanted to have her full attention, so he waited for her to respond.
When the blue-haired elf did not continue, Solaria glanced over at him. What is it, Kaiyr?
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I have been wondering whether to ask this, truly, but I feel that I must do so, lest it continue to eat away at me.” He glanced to the side. Unshakeable in the midst of battle, the blademaster still had difficulty expressing his own desires and curiosities, which he had been taught to conceal and put behind the needs of others. “It is clear that we shall not yet be able to leave this place. The enemies we face are many and powerful.” Reaching inside his sleeve, he produced a large diamond and displayed it in his open palm. “I keep this on my person so that, should I fall in battle, my friends can sacrifice it to Arvanos in exchange for returning my spirit to my body. I am determined to let not even death stand in my way.
“What I desire to know is, in the coming days, weeks, and possibly months, should you fall to our enemies… do you wish to be returned to life?” He held his breath after asking the beautiful nymph the telling question, and he fixed her with his oceanic eyes.
A sad smile slowly found its way onto Solaria’s pale features. I see you wish to have that argument again, she said lightly. Before Kaiyr could rebuke her, however, she went on, You already know I will ask you in return whether or not it would be better that I remain dead so you may return your Lady Astra to life. She fell silent for a minute, though Kaiyr could see that she was deciding for herself what her decision would be. At last, she looked at him again, and her words rang in his head. I don’t know, Kaiyr. I… am not certain whether I love or despise this life. My existence has been short, and I have felt your kindness and compassion as well as the world’s cruelty. I shall have to give you my answer later, when I have thought on it further.
Kaiyr kept his frown to himself, sensing a slight twinge in his heart at her words. Something told him that she was not being truthful. Then she leaned against him and hugged his arm, her warmth spreading to the young blademaster.
Thank you, Kaiyr, for your concern. I’m truly sorry I cannot answer you right now. Regardless of what happens to me in the future, know that I will always remember your kindness.
She let go of him, and they walked to the temple without another word shared between them; they needed no more, for Kaiyr already knew her answer. He wiped a tear from his cheek before reuniting with their friends and allies.
“No luck, I take it?” Caineye asked as the blademaster joined him, Wild, and the bowyer, Carthas.
Kaiyr shook his head. “The barrier seems impervious to attacks, light, sound, and magic of all sorts. Even my amulet of teleportation could not carry me beyond the wall.”
“Oh, well,” Wild said, rubbing his hands together readily. “Plan B is so much more satisfying, anyway. Are we heading out today?”
“Yes,” Kaiyr answered, leaning down and unlacing his sandals. Then, tucking his wide leggings tightly around each leg, he tied his sandals straps up his calves, on the outside of the black wool.
“Wow,” the halfling said, examining the blademaster in a new light. “I always thought you wore some kind of dress. Those are pants?”
Kaiyr finished what he was doing and glanced up at the halfling with one raised eyebrow. “Indeed. I suppose you wish to watch as I tie back my petticoat?” Pulling out a length of silk cord, he wrapped his sleeves closer to his arms, so that the wide sleeves would not get in the way of what he was about to do.
Wild spluttered, and Caineye and Carthas let out coughing laughs as the halfling regained his composure. “Wait,” said the short fellow, “was that sarcasm just now, Blademaster? It was, wasn’t it?”
When Kaiyr did not deign to respond, Caineye could no longer contain his curiosity. “What are you doing?”
Pulling his mane of midnight-blue hair back into a ponytail, the elf closed his eyes slowly, then opened them. “I may be a blademaster, Masters Wild, Caineye, and Carthas. However, before I am a blademaster, I am an elf, and today I fight my enemies as an elf first, a blademaster second. Master Carthas, do you have the bow I requested?”
The bowyer strode to the wall and picked up one of the bows leaned there; this one was by far the most intricately-carved. Carthas had explained that it was the most powerfully enchanted of the bows he owned. “Right here, Blademaster Kaiyr. Take good care of her, and make sure you bring back my bow when all this is done,” he said in good humor. “Take care of yourself, Blademaster.” After Carthas handed Kaiyr the bow and several quivers bristling with arrows, the two of them gripped wrists.
Shouldering the bow, Kaiyr nodded to Carthas as the bowyer picked up a different bow and strung it for himself. “Master Caineye, Master Wild, I shall see you on the battlefield. All has been prepared, and I am ready. I can only hope you are.”
They nodded back at the blademaster. “One last thing,” Caineye said, and he stepped forward, muttering a prayer to the powers of nature. “There. I’ve cast delay poison on you. Should you encounter any remaining gas or other poison, it will not affect you until much later.”
“It’ll kill you when you go to bed,” Wild said cheerfully. “Well, don’t have too much fun out there. And don’t keep us waiting. I want dinner in a timely fashion tonight!”
The blademaster’s lips briefly turned up into an amused smirk. Then, as Caineye and Carthas unbarred and opened the temple doors for him, Kaiyr sprang out into the golden glow of the midday light under the amber sphere.
*
Kaiyr dashed across the rooftops of Ik’durel, his footing as sure as a spider on its own web. Thanks to the magic of his sandals, the strain of running was reduced so much that his legs had not yet tired—and he had been sprinting for more than three hours.
The elf glanced back at the howling and shouting pack following behind him, pausing just long enough to fire off a pair of shots into their ranks. He did not wait long enough to see if his arrows hit any targets, though it was hard to miss an enemy in the closely-packed horde, which by his estimate numbered at least three hundred.
A very few arrows arced back at him, for which Kaiyr was thankful. Since he fought with a bow this day instead of his soulblade, his senses were not as sharp as usual.
His course had taken him up and down many main avenues, even dangerously close to the black castle that had suddenly appeared at the beginning of the invasion, and the blademaster was just about ready to turn back toward the temple. Stopping to loose another few arrows to keep his soon-to-be hunters-turned-prey interested, Kaiyr sent a message back to Solaria through the amulet. I am coming. I have the enemy following behind.
He received an affirmative response and darted away from the Terth’Kaftineya, werewolves, and evil paladins, who continued to give chase. Kaiyr paused long enough to cut down with arrows any who gave up the pursuit, but otherwise he did not stop in the journey back to the temple of Alduros Hol. As he approached, circling around to lead his enemies into the forest behind the temple, Kaiyr noted the darkening sky over the temple, black clouds circling around a point somewhere in the forest—a somewhere that contained Caineye, the blademaster knew.
Leaping from the rooftops, Kaiyr landed in a roll in the street before he rose and broke into a full-on sprint into the forested park. The barking and yelling horde behind him, too enraged at this point to notice or care that they were being led into a deadly trap, rushed into the forest like a dark tide out for blood.
Now! the blademaster sent through the amulet as he passed the dead tree belonging to Atradeus. He jumped to the lowest branches of a nearby pine and scrambled up the rest of the way, then unshouldered his borrowed bow again, nocked an arrow to its string, and waited for the enemy to arrive.
They never did. Kaiyr could just barely hear Caineye, who was hidden nearby, utter several consecutive prayers, and moments later, surprised, horrified, and pained cries went up from the more than three hundred foes. Their wails cut through the forest, shaking leaves and frightening the native animals.
Then the druid sent more magical energy into
spells that he released into the forest, and the screams came again and with renewed vigor as a massive cloud of steam rolled through the area, burning those inside as it leisurely spread through the trees. Kaiyr sneaked forward for a better view, and while his stomach churned at the sight, the feeling was overwhelmed by the thought of this crushing victory and the knowledge that these creatures were wholly evil.
Most of the pursuers, now caught within the area of Caineye’s poison vines spells, were supported only by the stiff vines that had suddenly sprung out of the ground. The vines were sharp and injected those within with a potent toxin that numbed the nerves and muscles. Some of the vines’ victims were still slowing down, vainly trying to crawl their way through the deadly zone as the poison sapped them of their strength.
More, many of those within who were not utterly paralyzed, stumbled about blindly, their eyes burned away by the druid’s murderous mist that still roiled and hissed, scalding all in its path. All told, only a few were still well enough to push their way through the magical overgrowth, and even then, their progress was slow.
“What do we do now?” Caineye asked Kaiyr, approaching the blademaster by climbing along a thick branch. Wild, Carthas, and Solaria came in tow.
Kaiyr, still glaring down at their enemies, narrowed his eyes. “Now,” he intoned in a dangerous voice, “we show them the same mercy they would show us.”
*
Dingo raised his eyebrows at us. “Are you actually going to kill them all? Even though most of them are helpless?”
I glanced at Xavier and Matt, who both nodded and grinned back at me. “Yeah,” I replied. “We didn’t lure them here and incapacitate them so we could invite them to tea. Besides, with so few people on our side, it’d be impossible to keep these guys under lock and key. So, yeah, we’re killing them, and while it may not be the most honorable way to save the day, it’s the only way to save the day.”
