Chapter 14 - A Hero Falls
Days 31 and 32
After a frantic morning of preparations, including burial of the dead labourers and perparation of a litter to carry the orb, Mihaly Kassak departed for the journey back to Wasteward. As he left, he warned the party once again of the Genasi raiders whom they had driven off to the northwest two days before.
The party retraced their path of the day before, returning to the ancient highway and their last campsite. As the others foraged for food in the nearby woods, Blixhaven scouted out the pathway that he had found previously. Following this faint path to the north, he found that it soon ended in impassible forest. Returning to the camp, he found another path to the northwest, but this too soon proved to be a false trail. In desperation, Blixhaven took another look at the ancient highway, which he had neglected to search for tracks during their travels. This eventually gave him the clue he had been looking for when he found traces of cart tracks and horses which looked to be at least a week old.
The next morning, the party set off once again down the path of the ancient highway. Evidence of its previous splendour were evidenced by the ancient paving stones which poked through in sections. The stonework also served to keep the trees at bay whenever the road passed through forested areas. The party made good time through the morning, but their progress ended when they spotted a strange cloud moving on the horizon. This dark, roiling cloud did not match the other fluffier, white clouds that dotted the rest of the sky. It seemed to roil with energy, and appeared much too low and small as it moved across horizon only a few hundred meters distant, on the other side of an ancient fort situated next to the roadway. Observing the fort, the party noticed signs of movement within its ruins.
As the party watched, the cloud's southward course slowly turned to southeast, then east. As its arc continued, it became apparent that it would pass quite near the party. The heroes readied their weapons, certain that they must soon fight an elemental creature. As it closed, Blixhaven began to loose arrows and the party spread out. The cloud alighted, taking on a large humanoid shape, the size of Jrak if not even bigger. Suddenly, it brought its mighty arms together with a mighty crack that brought pain to the ears of all who listened, and a bolt of lightning lanced out, striking those members of the party who had remained on the road. The battle was joined. Refusing to be daunted by its initial blow, the party lept into action, closing on the elemental and attempting to encircle it, even as it flailed about with a mighty fist infused with the electrical energy of a storm. In less than a minute, their onslaught overwhelmed it, and it lost its cohesiveness, becoming so much water vapour diffusing into the air.
The elemental defeated, the party turned their attention to the ruins of the fort. Movement could be seen behind the walls and atop the single standing tower. Surmising that those inside had been besieged by the elemental, the party moved forward, hailing those inside as they approached. The answer was not what they expected, as archers emerged to loose a volley of arrows.
The party charged towards the ruins, but their advance soon faltered as Genasi magic users atop the tower unleashed spells that froze them in place, or caused the stones of the highway to explode, showering them with shrapnel. When axemen charged out to attack a paralyzed Neela, Jrak's mighty maul swung over her head, dropping the first wave of attackers. Calling on the divine power of Isten, Jrak unleashed the power of his shield, blinding attackers and, ironically, Leandrie too. And just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse, an earth elemental emerged from the ground to the party's rear, distracting Blixhaven and Trykaar from the assault. Neela soon lay unconscious on the ground, and the blinded Leandrie followed soon after. Jrak charged into the courtyard of the small keep, pinning several of the last attackers, but was dropped as they surrounded him with a flanking counterattack before Trkaar and Blixhaven could come to his assistance. But his attack had broken the Genasi, and Blixhaven and Trykaar were able to move in and drive off the last of them. The battle seemed won, but Blixhaven could not be sated until the last fleeing Genasi had been slain. He ran out of the keep, pursuing the running warrior into the grassland beyond, his swift pace quickly gaining ground. The terrified Genasi, looking back, saw this and realized that he would never outpace his pursuer. In desperation, he turned and loosed a final arrow which sped true, piercing Blixhaven's chest with a mortal wound. The scout fell, sprawled dead in his tracks.
Trykaar stood in the ruins of the keep, surveying the aftermath of the battle. The price of this victory was heavy.
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