Soulstaff Legacy:  Generation 1
Blizzard War
Chapter Three

The explosion rocked the ground and knocked both Daeval and Arkos off of their feet.  The elf helped Arkos up as the young soldier stared in awe at the massive ball of flame arising from the stronghold's supply tower.  From their vantage point, they could hear the bugbear's shouting.  Within moments, the wall before them was abandoned as the defenders rushed to put out the flames that threatened their only stock of food.

"I believe that was our signal," Daeval said, his words snapping Arkos back to the reality of the situation.

"Right."  After taking a deep breath, Arkos ran for the wall, the elf right at his side.  They reached the base without problem, and Arkos quickly swung the grappling hook tied to his rope up and over the wall.  Once he secured it, he planted his feet on the wall and began to ascend slowly.  Daeval was right behind him.  Once on top, Arkos drew his sword and waited by the rope for Daeval.  As the elf climbed over, a pair of bugbears that had been rushing to help with the flames spotted them and charged.  "Daeval!" Arkos cried in warning as he deflected a sword with his shield.

"Burning within us all, breaking free of the darkness; may the glow of the holy orb brighten within us all!" Daeval chanted, pointing to one of the bugbears.  The goblinoid's eyes burst into light, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees, blinded.

While Daeval drew his blessed mace and attacked the sightless bugbear, Arkos focused on the healthier opponent.  The bugbear shouted something out to his comrades, but there was so much yelling, as well as the roar of the flames, that it was unlikely anyone could hear him.  Arkos tested his defenses with an opening horizontal slash, but the bugbear easily blocked it with his own, garroted blade.

"I don't have time for this!" Arkos said through clenched teeth as the two swords were locked.  He threw all of his weight forward, which managed to knock his opponent back a couple of steps.  His guard lowered, Arkos quickly went for the neck, plunging his sword in a weak spot.  The bugbear gurgled and dropped his own sword with a clatter before stumbling over the wall and crashing to the ground thirty feet below.  Daeval had, by this point, beaten his own opponent senseless.  "Hurry," Arkos urged.  "To the tower!"  The elf nodded silently.

The pair raced across the battlements to the southeastern tower as the fire continued to burn in the courtyard.  Sparing a glance, Arkos saw the fire was beginning to spread to other areas.  They entered the tower and saw a spiraling staircase leading to the various rooms below.  Moving quickly, they descended.  A bugbear was rushing up to meet them, but Arkos quickly cut him down before he even realized what was happening.  The next floor down, they reached the room where the Gontorians were being held.  Arkos kicked open the door to the prison.

The soldiers were packed together in a single, dank cell.  Despite the chaos in the courtyard, there were still three guards.  Arkos swore but quickly engaged them.  Every delay meant that the bugbears would have more time to get the fire under control.

Arkos thrust forward with his sword, but was deflected by his opponent's shield.  Daeval led another one away from the warrior, but the third one chopped his axe down on Arkos.  Fortunately, the soldier was able to get his own shield into position to stop the attack.  The jar of the impact shook him, but he did not lose his footing.  He quickly side-stepped another attack from the first bugbear, and sliced at the thigh of the second.  He was about to finish him off when the first bugbear stabbed his left arm, causing him to drop his shield.  By this point, most of the prisoners were watching the fight with interest, shouting and cheering on their would-be rescuers.

Before Arkos could react, a shimmering green arrow struck the back of the first bugbear, splashing some kind of liquid on his back.  This liquid immediately began to eat at his armor and then flesh and hair.  With one foe distracted, Arkos cut open the throat of his other opponent.  When he turned back to the first, he had all ready fallen over, dead.  Kappa came bounding in.  "Acid," he explained.  "Don't touch it."

Daeval stepped over his own opponent, a nasty gash in his right leg.  "We must act in haste.  We haven't much time."

Kappa nodded.  "Leave it to me."  He approached the gate, said a few words, and then the lock on the cell gate clicked.  He opened it and swung the gate open.  "Grab a weapon, if you can, because we're not outta here yet!"  Several of the healthier prisoners grabbed the weapons the bugbear guards had dropped.  A quick head-count showed there were at least ten of them, both men and women and all human.

"Back to the rope!" Arkos urged, picking his shield back up.  "We have to get back to the forest--to the sanctuary--before they can organize!"  He led the way as the ten prisoners followed him out of the room and up the stairs.  The two casters stayed in the back, to deal with any rear attacks.  Once back on the battlements, though, they found a dozen bugbears waiting for them.  "Bouncin' Beholders!  Cut through them, make room for the sick and injured!"  He charged forward, as did the few armed prisoners.

"Tch, too many!" the sprite complained.  He pointed the crystal ball atop his driftwood wand to the air and chanted some kind of magical command.  A flurry of arrows of light burst forth from the crystal, arced through the sky with a whistle, and then slammed into their enemies with pinpoint accuracy.  A handful of the bugbears died on the spot, and several more were wounded.  Kappa danced around the remaining combatants, reached the rope, and started helping some of the injured climb down.  Once that was done, he used a spell to leap down himself, gently floating to the ground.

Arkos had just cut down another bugbear, and he risked a glance behind him to see that half of the group had all ready descended.  He, Daeval, and the three armed soldiers tried to keep the enemy at bay.  He heard a cry and saw one of the soldiers, a woman carrying a bugbear's sword awkwardly, was having difficulty.  The goblinoid weapon was too heavy for her slight frame, and she had taken multiple cuts so far in the fight.  He hurried over to help her, while Daeval called upon his god's favor.

"Ray of heat, focused into purity; Azedeth's glare purges the unrighteous!" the elf cried to the heavens.  The sun itself seemed to respond, by focusing a sunbeam directly onto one of the bugbears and setting him on fire with the burning heat.

"Azedeth is with us this day!" cried one of the prisoners, an older male.  He had been fighting the bugbear that Daeval just incinerated.  He hurried over to the rope and scurried down.

"Arkos, hurry!  We are all that are left!" Daeval called, hoping up on the parapet.

Arkos cut down the bugbear that was fighting the young woman.  He helped her to her feet.  "Hurry, to the rope," he told her, and then turned to cover her escape.  She obeyed, leaving her sword on the ground, and shimmied down the rope.  Arkos fought off the remaining bugbear, and then joined Daeval at the parapet just as reinforcements began to show up.  The two quickly climbed down as fast as they could.  Arkos nearly lost his grip and fell, but he managed to keep hold of the rope until he reached the bottom.

"To the forest!  Quickly!" Daeval commanded.  But all ready they could hear the twang of bows and the whistles of arrows.  The bugbear archers rained down bolts upon them as they ran to through the snow to the relative shelter of the forest.  A couple of men fell to the arrows, pierced in the throat or heart.

"We'll never make it!" Arkos shouted, blocking an arrow with his shield as he provided cover for the others.

"We will!" Daeval called back.  "They cannot hit what they cannot see!  Keep the others going and above all, do not look back!"

"Daeval!"

But the elf had all ready stopped running and turned to face the stronghold.  He began praying to Azedeth as he removed a gemstone from his pocket and offered it aloft, to the gods above.  In his other hand, he revealed a simple candle.  "Barrier of luminescence, protect us from the corrupt and blind those without faith; spring forth between us!"  Just as he had finished the prayer, a bugbear arrow slammed into his left shoulder, sending him spiraling to the ground.  But it was too late.  The prayer was complete, and Azedeth answered.  A massive wall of pure light erected in front of the elf, blocking the remaining arrows.

"Daeval!" Arkos called out again.  The others had made it to the forest safely, but he could not leave the elf behind.  But the wall of light was so bright, to look upon it was painful.  Nevertheless, he shielded his eyes as best he could and made his way to the priest's prone form.  So close to the barrier, he could feel intense heat from it.  He knew that to touch it would mean considerable anguish.  He scooped Daeval up in his arms and began to hurry as fast as he could to the forest.

Once back in the relative safety of the forest and back with the group, Arkos laid Daeval down on the ground and checked his wound.  "It is nothing," he protested.  "A simple prayer will heal it."  He managed to sit up to prove this, although it was clear he was weak.  He somehow seemed even paler than normal and his white armor was splattered with his own blood.

"Daeval," Kappa said with some concern.  "Don't pull stunts like that.  You know Nylirr would kill me if I didn't bring you home in one piece."

"Do not worry, old friend.  How many are left with us?" he asked, getting to his feet with Arkos' help.

"Eight, not including us three," the sprite answered.  "I doubt any of us would have made it without that wall."

As Daeval healed himself, Arkos looked to the remaining prisoners.  They appeared exhausted, and fatigued.  It was clear that they were not well-fed or cared for in their prison.  "That wall will block their arrows, but it won't stop them from pursuing us.  We better keep pushing.  We'll be safe once we're back in the sanctuary."

"And then what?" asked the sprite.

"We'll worry about that afterward," he responded.

"I am finished," Daeval said, pulling the arrow from his shoulder and letting it drop in the snow.  The wound slowly healed, although he still appeared a little weak.

"Good.  Then let's get going," Kappa said, leading the way.  The prisoners quickly followed the sprite. 

Arkos was about to go with them, with Daeval laid a hand on his shoulder.  The young man turned to face the elf in confusion.  The elf's face seemed completely blank of emotion.  "What is it?" he asked.

"Thank you," he said, the smile returning to his lips.  "But you did not have to put yourself at risk."

Arkos grinned.  "Hey, it's my fault you were dragged into this mess anyway.  Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I left you behind to die?"

"Indeed," the elf said.  "Friend."

The two shared a nod, and then sped forward to catch the others.

* * * * *

"Where the devil are we going?" asked one of the soldiers, the older man who had praised Azedeth earlier.

"A sanctuary.  The bugbears won't be able to find us, even if they sweep the whole forest.  It's not much further," Kappa assured him.

"Assuming we can get there in time!" Arkos added.

"Forget about it.  There's no way those bugbears could catch us on foot!"  Kappa responded.

It was just then that a bird-like screech erupted above.  The runners stopped to look skyward, and saw above the treetops three hippogriffs with bugbear riders circling around them.

"By air, on the other hand..," the sprite grumbled.

"Watch out!  They're diving!" Arkos shouted, drawing his sword.  Two of the bugbears were carrying lances, and they dove down at the party, scattering them.  The third had a bow and was firing arrows down at them.  The prisoners attempted to find cover behind trees while Arkos, Daeval and Kappa attempted to keep them at bay.

"They're coming back around!" Daeval called out.

"The archer is the real problem!" Arkos yelled, an arrow striking his chain mail.  Thankfully it did not go deep enough to hurt him seriously.

"I'm on it!"  Kappa tumbled forward to avoid another arrow, and then slipped a silver dagger from his belt.  Calling upon the primal elements, he summoned small particles of ice to the dagger, transforming it into a blade of ice.  He then threw the weapon up at the hovering hippogriff.  The ice knife struck the creature in the flank, causing it to suddenly veer to the side.  The rider clutched to his saddle fiercely.  The ice knife then shattered, sending out waves of cold.  Numbed, the creature crashed into a tree, throwing its rider into another tree with a skull cracking thud.

Arkos and Daeval both threw themselves on the ground to avoid another dive.  Getting up, Arkos looked to see Kappa's handiwork.  "Get the others to the sanctuary!  We'll deal with these two!"

"I'll be back!" he promised, leading the prisoners away.

Arkos and Daeval stood back to back, each one keeping an eye on one of the hippogriff riders.  They were not very fast fliers, especially with such heavy mounts, and it took time for them to get into position for a dive.  "Got any more of those prayers?" asked Arkos.

"Not at present."

"Wish I had a bow.  Here they come!"  Daeval dropped into a roll to avoid his, but Arkos instead dropped to the ground, rolled onto his back and thrust his sword up as one of the creature's flew right over him.  His blade sliced into the creature's underbelly, spilling out its warm contents onto Arkos.  It would have actually felt rather refreshing, if not so sticky and disgusting.  The creature swerved in the air, mere feet above the ground, before finally tumbling to a stop.  The rider got caught up in the tumble, and his neck broke as the creature wound up on top of him.

Arkos got to his feet and wiped some blood from his mouth and eyes.  "One left," he mumbled, looking around for Daeval. 

The elf seemed fine so far, if not still weary from his last wound.  He got to his knees and looked to the dead mount and rider.  "Azedeth must really be looking after you," he said in surprise.

Arkos grinned.  "Yeah, logically, I should be dead by now."

Daeval looked up and behind the warrior and his smile fell.  "Arkos, behind you!"

The human turned around, but was too late.  The hippogriff had come around for another pass, and grabbed Arkos by the shoulders with its front claws.  It lifted the helpless warrior up into the sky slowly, the extra weight straining it.  Arkos struggled in the creature's grip, its claws biting through his armor and pinching his skin.  He heard Daeval shouting out to him, but he couldn't make out the exact words due to the whipping wind and the beast's flapping wings.

Looking down, he saw he was at least thirty feet into the air now and climbing.  If the bugbear was planning on dropping him, he probably would not survive.

"Hoppin' Hobgoblins, this is what I get for pressin' my luck!" he groaned.  "Well...only one thing to do.  I hope Daeval was right.  Azedeth...I don't ask you for much, but if it's not too much trouble, please catch me."  He tightened the grip on his sword and then swung upward, attacking the very creature that was holding him aloft.

Arkos wasn't too sure what happened after that.  He felt a jerk, the pressure on his shoulders relinquished, and then he was flying.  For a few moments, it seemed wonderful, and he imagined this is how a bird must feel as it soared through the air. 

His enjoyment was abruptly interrupted, however, when he smashed into the ground.

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