"Yuan-ti?" Isaru whispered, pulling back from the edge of the corridor.
"Why are there Yuan-ti abominations guarding the throne room?"
I
frowned, running the numbers through my central processor. "There are
estimated to be less than ten thousand of the snake people in Eberron,
although census data is severely lacking around the marshes and forests
of Xen'drik. It is probable that they were smuggled in by the wizard and
coerced into helping him bring forth the nameless god."
"Fat chance," Pip ground her teeth over the words,
bristling. "Yuan-ti are all highly psionic, especially the abominations.
No, they know something." She rubbed at her horns absently, thinking.
"Yuan-ti are all about bringing on the destruction of the world. Which
means that they think the nameless god is going to bring it one step
closer." The little Tiefling gave a bitter laugh. "They probably
volunteered."
Gorma shifted from foot to foot nervously. "I don't deal well with psionics, sometimes they can get me to-"
"We
know," Poppi snapped, rubbing at an ugly scar on her upper arm as she
scowled at the half-Orc. "We remember the mad Kalashtar of the shadowed
tower."
Gorma blinked at her in confusion. "The what? Hey,
what are you doing?!" she demanded as Pip jumped up and plopped a
strange helmet on the barbarian's head. Several lights lit up and gears
began spinning with frenetic energy.
"That should help," Pip said tersely, priming her healing gun. "We need to get in there and disrupt whatever he's doing."
"Very
well, mistress Pip." I rose, pulling free my hammer. "I shall do
everything in my power to bring down the guards so that we may breach
the wizard's sanctum."
"Actually," Pip smiled nervously. "We've seen that
he's some kind of necromancer, based on the zombie army and everything,
and I was thinking... you should probably be the one to go inside. You
know, not being biological and all."
I stared down at the Tiefling as I ran the
calculations. There was a non-trivial chance that a wizard specializing
in necromancy with the mystical knowledge to attempt something like
raising a lost god would have a strong repertoire of spells to corrupt
and destroy the living. "I understand. I shall deal with the wizard."
"All right then," Isaru unsheathed his sword,
checking the edge. "I guess I'll be keeping the snakes' attention while
you rush through." Poppi shifted into her tiger form, growling her
agreement as she slunk into the shadows.
I placed a hand on the Genasi's shoulder, meeting
his eyes. "I am sure you will be able to hit them." He bristled for a
moment, then shifted into a pale green cloud that floated along the
ground and around the corner.
"All right," Gorma grumbled, flicking at the odd
helmet in irritation. "On the count of three, we charge. One, two." She
let out a bloodcurdling scream and sprinted around the corner.
"Calculations might be a little off," Pip muttered under her breath as we raced after the half-Orc.
I
tapped into the last of my reserves of mountain thunder, preparing for
another thunder step. I would need to time it just right...
One of the Yuan-ti hissed something, flinging
forward a hand at our group just as Poppi struck, claws raking into the
monster's side. It whirled on her, wicked sword humming through empty
air as the Shifter darted away. The second abomination raised its
halberd high, cobra-hood flaring as a wave of psychic energy hit us. I
braced myself as strange visions danced before my eyes. Pip let out a
gasp and slid to a stop, looking around in confusion. I glanced back,
then shook my head. Just a few more steps. The mission had to come
first.
Isaru materialized next to the second Yuan-ti, his
flaming sword weaving a in a blinding pattern that sent the snakeman
reeling back in surprise, ending the attack. Gorma gave another battle
cry, lifting her tulwar for a mighty cleave. The first abomination
caught her strike as its tail lashed out toward her. She danced away,
laughing as Poppi closed in for another harrying attack.
"For the Hedgehog!" My voice thundered off the
walls, amplified by the power within me, and I activated my thunder
step. In the blink of an eye I was past the fight, my hammer crumpling
the doors to the chamber beyond. "For I am as the quills of the Heavenly
one, that our enemies might know the pointy-" The world distorted for a
moment, my systems going haywire as they tried to compensate. I dropped
my hammer and shield, stumbling forward, trying to make sense of the
crazy readings.
"Mwahahahahaha!" A malevolent laugh echoed oddly
around me. "I see you've arrived at last!" The wizard stood with his
back to me, gazing up into the darkness. "The nameless one comes, and
there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it! For we are within
His realm, beyond the petty boundaries of the mortal coil!" I glanced
around. This room did seem to stretch out forever. That would certainly
explain why my tracking system was insisting that I no longer existed. I
tossed a look over my shoulder at the portal I'd come through. Good, it
was still open.
"You fools will soon know the- Hey!" the wizard
protested as I grabbed him by the robes and started dragging him toward
the portal. "You can't stop this!" he yelled shrilly, conjuring some
kind of dark energy and flinging his hands at me. "And now you will...
um, you will..." The dark flames splashed against my armor with little
effect, not so much as heating my circuitry. "Wait! You can't just-"
Without preamble, I threw him back through the
portal. "That should do it." I noted solemnly, bending down to collect
my weapon and shield. "I expect there shall be no more trouble now."
"No," a dark voice that sounded of rotting
flesh and desecrated life swirled through the shadows. I turned
reluctantly, already ninety seven percent certain that I wouldn't like
what I was going to see. A huge eye opened above me, gleaming in the
shapeless darkness. "No, there shall be no trouble ever again."
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