With the return of Arachne to the group, the remaining party members were able to carry all the weapons Blacky wanted to take as well as their fallen comrades and their equipment...just barely. Etienne took the lead as they walked through the gates that the now missing Echo had opened for them earlier during the battle.
As they crossed the blighted clearing, an awful moaning emanated from the ground, alerting the half-elf to the presence of a pit in just enough time for him to avoid falling in it with Kaileer. A quick peek into it revealed that either the fall or the spikes at the bottom would have likely finished off both of them. The moaning was coming from the previously unaccounted-for zombie, who had stumbled across and into the trap.
They crossed the clearing and into the woods without further incident. With everyone carrying more than their fair share of weight, the going was slow, and by the time Etienne led them to Oleanne and Lasiar, all were exhausted almost to the point of collapse. Except for Arachne, that is, who was indeed winded but other than that was in much better shape than the others.
Belshar and Arlin appeared out of nowhere and led them into a bristly thicket. Oleanne had set up a cold camp in the thick brush about a half mile from the keep. Lasiar looked miserably in the rainy weather, but it did not seem to affect the druid at all.
"By Selune's light!" exclaimed Lasiar when he layed eyes on the beat-up group. He began digging for his herb pouch. Oleanne was clearly as blind as the other humans, but the feral druid had other senses to rely on, "Who hurt bad? Smell blood," she remarked. She followed her nose to Jana's side, waited for Blacky to put her down, and began chanting a prayer to Silvanus as she waited for an account of the attack. She called on the Oak Father's healing gifts twice before there was much improvement in Jana's condition.
Between Lasiar and Oleanne, the group's most grievous wounds were dealt with. No one was at full strength, however, and everyone was exhausted.
Etienne rested on his back for a while then went to speak to Oleanne.
"Well, that feels much better. Let's all get some rest. Much as I hate to say it, we should return to the keep as soon as we can. Before they gather reinforcements and move Rumer and Echo." Blacky said matter of factly. "I'll take a watch, but I'm next to useless in this darkness."
"I agree with you," Arachne said, going to him. "I could watch also: I can meditate and watch at the same time. And I'm still perfectly useless -- even more useless than usual, anyway -- until I've had a chance to think -- um, meditate. I guess I can watch more effectively than you. Uh..." She was uncomfortable with having to ask, but she _did_ have to ask. "What happened to Rumer and Echo?"
Aloysius had sat down on the ground, exhausted, and began munching some beef jerky.
"I'm for going back while it's still dark," Arachne admitted. "Darkness is my friend and I think I can recover quickly enough to be ready to go before the night is over. I wouldn't need more than four hours in any case and I'd be willing to go sooner than that if others wish. If no-one else can face going back again during the night, I'd still wish to scout where our missing friends are."
Aloysius sighed heavily as he listened to Arachne and Blacky discuss possible plans. "No more magics have I," he said sheepishly. The two claw marks he had received from the zombies had been healed somewhat by the curative spells of Lasiar and Oleanne, but he was clearly still hurting. "I cannot see in this mess, either. Methinks that returning as a group prematurely would be folly. We know not how many others reside in yon keep. Howe'er, I will do as the rest of thee wish." The mage rubbed his face in his hands and then stared blankly forward.
After staring straight ahead for a moment, the mage spoke again. "Nay....." he muttered quietly. "To return tonight would be madness. We are all injured, and we have no more spells of any sort. Of the four of us, only two can really fight. If we go back tonight, we'll die. Methinks it would be best to wait until Kaileer and Janathell recover somewhat afore we return. A sound opportunity at success be better than a quick one."
Oleanne spoke to Etienne for a few minutes before addressing the group again. "I can maybe wake up them," she spoke of Jana and Kaileer, "and I can heal some you more, not much. Only if you think go back though. If stay here, I keep strength, protect camp." The druid prayed over Kaileer and Jana, leaving them resting more easily.
Two hours later, both of them awoke.
"All right," Arachne told him. "_You_ wait. You were doing your part with the zombies and the dogs and the crazy killers and whatever else turned up. _I_ waited then. Now -- well, pretty soon -- I think I'd better get on with it and go back in. I don't know whether I can get any of the missing out of there by myself, but I can at least find out where we want to go. Nobody knows the layout of this place, right?"
"Arachne, if thou dost return alone, we will simply have one more person in need of rescuing. We have a good idea of the layout of the ground level. If you are planning on trying to ascertain what might lie on a lower level by yourself, you've lost your mind."
The mage hung on that comment for a moment before letting loose with a small, yip-like laugh.
"I --" Arachne paused when the wizard yipped. "I sometimes have to question whether you are a serene judge of sweet reason," she said quietly. "Other good qualities you may have, but of that -- I had no plans to ascertain what might lie on 'a lower level.' If the priest promised you that that is where Rumer and Echo have gone, I'd like to know what else he said. All I want to do is find our friends, not go exploring for the sheer joy of it."
"As much as Stargazer dislikes the thought of Echo and the gypsy being held in that place, I shan't return until I have regained some spells and Kaileer and Janathell can assist. I have no interest in returning only to serve as a target."
The mage then proceeded to take the stuff from the keep out of his pack, paying particular attention to the bracers.
"If you give yourself enough time to recover your spells, you do the same for the priest. Which of you do you deem the more powerful? But don't fret: I don't want you to come back tonight. I can understand that you would feel an incapable target. It's how I felt when I was hiding under the bunk." She shrugged. "But I _will_ go back in there sooner than you."
"I fret not, small one. Yon priest indeed be more powerful by far than Stargazer. I simply fear that I have naught to offer any immediate return to the keep."
He looked over at the others, including the recently awakened Kaileer and Jana. "Although I hold great fear in my heart, I hope that you do not count me cowardly. Arachne may be able to offer re-entry into yon keep after rest 'enow, and the rest of thee art warriors skilled. I, howe'er, am injured and without magics."
An expression of sadness on his face became apparent to those who were near enough to see. "Since my martial skills be woeful, I fail to understand what you would have me do. Particularly since the fault for Echo's loss and thine own wounds be squarely at Stargazer's feet."
Etienne spoke up finally, "The fault for her loss rest's upon us all for not being prepared. Aloysius, if you wish to stay I will not fault you, but a few of your daggers did strike home. You may not have spells, but you can provide an extra set of eyes and ears for us during a battle."
He looked up at the rest of the group, "I'm going back in there. We have two friends still in there. Even if they do not still live, we should make sure that they are allowed a peaceful rest and should not become one of Ranchefus's undead. Who's coming?"
Aloysius bit his lip and looked down at the ground. Then, he glanced over at Blacky, Jana, Kaileer, and Jana to see what they were going to say.
"If you're all dead set on going back tonight, I will join you. Before we go we had better split up those items accordingly, for they may be of use. Etienne, can Oleanne determine which of the things we brought back are magical?" Blacky said "You will all have to guide me and don't forget about that archer we left behind." He grumbled rubbing his neck where the arrow had pierced him.
"You want know magic, you want heal?" Oleanne inserted. "I heal small more. Find magic, heal more less. Two awake bad hurt." She sounded slightly confused by the muddled words that came out of her mouth. "Need light too," she added.
Lasiar jumped in, "Selune will grant me one final spell this evening. I can either heal one of you or determine if the items are magical. With the night vision that She grants me, I will not need a light to see the items."
Jana stirred. "Mama?" she whispered, her eyes still closed. After a moment, her eyes fluttered open. She tried to sit up, but the effort made her face go grey with pain. Slowly, she moved enough so she could look around. "Where's Echo?"
Aloysius visibly flinched when she asked the question, but said nothing. He didn't look in Jana's direction.
"Where's Echo?" Jana asked again, worry creeping into her voice. She struggled to an upright position, although it was obviously excruciatingly painful for her to do so.
"The dark priest flew off with her, Etienne tried to stop him, but we couldn't reach him." Blacky said sadly.
Kaileer tried to stand but found his legs wouldn't quite hold him yet and settled for sitting against a tree.
"How did we get here?" he asked in elven, holding his head. "The last I remember was three zombies looming over me..."
Jana's eyes went wide. "What?" she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, not quite able to muster the lung power to yell as she so obviously wished to do. "Why are we here?" Jana asked, looking confused. She turned her gaze to Aloysious. "Didn't he accept our surrender?"
Aloysius looked up nervously at the woman warrior. "Surrender? What surrender? We kept fighting until we, uh, Eric mainly, slew all the zombies and then we escaped. You and Kaileer were grievously injured in the fight. You are 'here' because this is where we brought you."
"Heal," Jana said, struggling to her knees. She used her sword like a cane, trying to stand. "Heal," she repeated grimly. "I'm going back. You saved our asses at the expense of Echo. She and the girl are still in there, and I'm sure as hell going back after them." Jana looked for Arachne. "And you, you're going to open that door thing again, back in the courtyard," she said to the gnome.
"Saved our asses we did, so we could go back after them. The dark priest showed no sign of relenting the attack. If we had not defended ourselves we'd all be dead or prisoners now, with absolutely no chance of rescuing anyone. We tried to save Echo and failed, for none of us can fly." Blacky said tiredly. "Use the magic for healing Jana and Kaileer, we'll divide the items that may be magical among us, they certainly can't hurt. Jana, here is a ring the woman you felled was wearing. She was a warrior woman, like yourself, if it helped her it'll likely help you. We also recovered a bastard sword from one of the men." Blacky handed the ring to Jana. "I believe Aloysius has a ring, a bracelet and an earing if anyone cares to try them. I have a flask which one of us could drink if we are in dire straights, only the gods know what's inside. There are also various weapons. Once we're done healing and dividing the items, we'd better head out."
"Happy to," the gnome replied, coming out of the trance she'd settled into while waiting for a return party to assemble itself. "If need be. But there's something I'm curious about..." She walked through the woods toward the castle, stopping at the edge of the damp foliage to peer at it. "Did anybody bother to shut the gate after we left?" she whispered.
Aloysius gave Arachne a curious look. "Stargazer did not, and Etienne and Eric were too loaded down to do so. Ergo, if thou did not, the gate was unclosed. Surely they would have re-sealed the gate.
"Only if we left someone alive who felt like it," Arachne replied. "So I'm wondering if that is the case. Or undead," she added as an afterthought.
Aloysius continued, "Howe'er, e'en if they did not, we might be wise to employ thy, er.......'door' anyways. There was the pit in front of the keep, and there may well be other traps of various sorts that we could bypass using thy talents."
The mage seemed to blush slightly. "Just a thought......."
"Mmm yes, it might be easier," Arachne agreed. "If the gate's closed, I'll do it, though the courtyard might not be the best exit point. Remember, the portal is disorienting and glows a bit. It's not good for sneaking into a public space. Though it's very dark, I'd be more inclined to use the awful room we used before. "I was hoping, though, to be able to reserve the portal for a quick exit -- if necessary -- once we'd found our missing companions. Certes, we're willing to go back in, but we're also still pretty banged up. I _should_ be able to manage two portals that move everybody before exhausting myself again, but it might be a near thing."
Aloysius nodded his head in agreement. "There be at least one archer in addition to Ranchefus himself, that we know. We also know that orcs have seemingly acted in concert with him, so some of those may be about as well. I would note that he had humans manning the watchtower, despite this awful darkness. If orcs were afoot, certainly he would have employed them instead."
"Perhaps the priest has decided orcs smell worse than zombies, I know I still hold to that opinion." the ranger said in elven, using his spear to steady himself as he stretched the chill from his muscles.
"Even if Blacky and Jana not be good use bow, arrow be good for use on zombie, we not need go close and they be dead... again... before they close for attack."
Again, the mage nodded his agreement. "Indeed, 'twould be best if we could employ they talents for egress," he said. "If the gate be open still, we could try to take the same path we took on the way out. I doubt that setting new traps since our departure was high on the dark priest's priority list. I suppose our course shall be determined by whether the gate is open or not when we arrive. Howe'er, we will still have to somehow account for the archer in the tower. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we might achieve that?"
"I, too would say we leave Arachne's talents for escaping once we find Echo and Rumer. If the gate stands open and there is an archer, I say we pepper him with arrows until he falls. Between the two we captured and Etienne and Kaileer, we have four bows. More than enough to worry one opponent. One man took Rumer inside, so we know at least two men and the priest man the keep." Blacky replied "If we need to use the portal to gain entry, I suggest we go up on one of the towers, they have to have an entrance to the inside because they were not accessable from the courtyard."
"Arachne, can thy portals be opened on different vertical planes? If we simply rain arrows 'pon the tower, that will ruin any surprise we might gain. If the gate is open and the light is gone, mayhap Etienne and Kaileer can simply walk in and shoot the guard? He won't be able to see them coming."
Aloysius looked very worried. "Would Ranchefus engage us personally if he had more reinforcements available? Mayhap he was overly confident because of his walking dead. Oh dear, oh dear..........."
Etienne remained silently during Jana's rant until the end, "As long as she can open it up again so we can leave without going through an army of undead again. We're not alone out here either. Someone took care of one of the dogs outside the keep. It was hanging on a spear in the wall. There was also that spiked pit that someone dug. Me and Kaileer can scout around a bit when we first get back to the keep to see if anyone else is in the area. The enemy of our enemy may not be our friend."
Etienne waited for replies then started again, "If I remember correctly there was the one archer in the tower and the man that carried Rumer off. I believe if Ranchefus had more living troops he would have used them. The dogs have been taken care of also. Now that we have a little more of idea of what were going in against, we might fair a little better. We've got to keep Ranchefus from getting any spells off."
"We not know time for Ranchefus make more zombie." Kaileer said, reverting to the common tongue, "But I not want wait long. We be weak, but maybe Ranchefus be more weak. Aloysius, maybe if you not have magic you stay with Oleanne, but it be good if you come, Ranchefus need watch for flying dagger." he said with a slight smile despite the grim situation.
"Lasiar, you need come this time, if there be more zombie, we need Selune help. If not be more zombie, mace still help."
Aloysius listened as the others offered their opinions. "If thou wouldst have me go, then go I shall," he said finally. "Methinks it would be wise if Oleanne and Brightmantle use their magics to further heal our warriors." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Does anyone have any oil or holy water?"
Aloysius stood up wearily and brushed the wet grass and mud off his pants as best he could. "If we plan a return to yon keep, then mayhap the sooner we go, the better. Now that Janathell and Kaileer are concious once more, methinks we should press forward."
He looked over at Oleanne and Lasiar. "Whatever magics the two of thee have remaining should be used to heal Kaileer and Janathell to the extent possible. 'Twould appear that Eric and Etienne are relatively hardy, and my health matters little in comparison to that of those who can fight."
He checked his bandolier to be sure that all of his daggers, as well as the two he had of Echo's, were firmly in place. After turning up his nose briefly at the smell emanating from the bracers he took from Half-Ear, he placed them on his forearms and adjusted them for a proper fit.
"I only have an interest in the bracers. My defensive magics are almost depleted. If anyone would like to look at the other things, let me know. If not, let us depart."
Oleanne and Lasiar did what they could to heal Jana and Kaileer. Both were still badly wounded and weak when the priests finished with them.
Lasiar agreed to return to the keep with them in hopes that he could deal with any undead they encountered.
Arachne went to gather the wizard and priest together in the darkness. "If you two don't mind being at the rear of our march," she said, "I don't mind guiding you. Blacky, yes, I could put the other door up in one of the keep watchtowers and will do so if you wish. Be warned though, that I don't think the tower affords much space for us to keep out of each others' way while shaking off the passage through the portal. Remember that you'll not be immediately ready for action when you get there. Also, if our last use of the portal is any guide, we show up noisily. All that said, I'll try to put us wherever you think best. ...So where was this archer in the tower when we were walking out of the place?"
"Is all the 'magic stuff' dealt out?" the gnome asked diffidently. "I mean, I'm sure that anyone else could make better use of it than me, but if there's anything that no-one else sees a use for... Maybe I could carry the potion -- I'm planning not to get into any fights," she mumbled.
As the party began to gather itself for the return to the keep. Aloysius fidgeted nervously, nitpicking at his equipment and looking around the darkness with a near-manic expression.
"Remember," he implored, "yon zombies be sharp of claw, but also be mindless and slow. Avoid engaging them directly if possible." He glanced respectfully over at Blacky. "Well, with the possible exception of thee, Eric."
A weak smiled flashed across his face. "Let us put an end to this once and for all. After we have defeated the priest, rescued whomever be within, and divided the spoils, we can return to Milbourn and finally get a decent meal. Let us all be there to attend that great feast."
The mage reached down to take Arachne's hand, as she would be his guide through the inky blackness.
"I'm hoping that we're lucky and this is a healing potion, I was going to keep it with me in case I got hammered in combat. I seem to be able to hand out more punishment than the rest of you, but I'm open to suggestions as to who should carry it. Let me check something first." Blacky said and opened the top of the flask to sniff it, just in case it smelled like liquor.
Jana put on the ring Blacky handed to her. She also picked up the bastard sword they'd brought back. She carried it, leaving her own sheathed at her waist. "Good," she said as she examined the sword for any obvious defects. "I won't be worried if this gets stuck in anyone."
Jana, still shaky even after the additional healing, spoke quietly with Oleanne for a moment.
