Lanuric
04-07-2007, 05:01 AM
I received a message from my friend, a healer named Zomm. He was looking for a skilled archer to aid in a quest. I did not know what quest my friend had in mind, but I was itching to use my bow skills once more, having been away from Stormreach, visiting my wife. I tracked my old friend down, finding him in an outdoor tavern, a small oasis in a vast sandy desert. We spoke of old adventures for a little while, before he asked my if my bow was ready for a challenge.
"Always," I replied confidently. A look of concern crossed his face.
"This will be a true test of your skill my friend," Zomm said to me. Someone approached our us, a wiry fellow, dressed in the robes of an arcane caster.
"Ah, Nightmare, welcome." The magi nodded at Zomm, then at me.
"I am Lanuric, " I said, offering my hand.
"A pleasure," Nightmare said as he casually shook my hand, "Zomm has said good things about you. I hope you can help us."
"I will do my best," I said, beginning to wonder what Zomm had planned.
"We need your help with something Lanuric, something big."
"You know my bow is ready if needed," I nodded. Zomm took a deep breath. Whatever he was about to say was big.
"We are going after Lailat, the Demon Queen. We want you to come with us."
I was stunned. I had heard of the demon queen through my travels with friends in the desert. And found evidence of her after slaying the Wizard King Rayuim.
"When?" I asked curiously.
"Now," both Zomm and Nightmare replied in unison. "We have spoken to the Djinn, Zawabi, the creator of this oasis, and we have the opportunity to slay the demon queen if we go now." I thought about it for a moment.
"And you need me? Why not one of the mercenaries that come and go through here and Stormreach?"
"Because Lailat has powerful spells that a less nimble person could not avoid. You on the other hand would do well."
"Okay," I said with a nod, "Ill go with you."
"Excellent!" Zomm said cheerfully. The pair took me to see Zawabi, a powerful djinn. We talked about what would happen, the best method to attack and slay Lailat. And he told me of her guards and defenses. We spoke of how to nuetralise these defenses so that we could concentrate on Lailat herself.
After some time, we were ready. Zawabi summoned some powerful magic and teleported us to the passage that led to Lailats hiding place.
After preparing ourselves for battle with magic, we headed forward. Efreeti and those bat-like mephits were no problem for us. Zomm kept our energy and stamina high as we slay them with weapon and magic, then made our way past fire elementals and jumped through the swirling portal before us. I was expecting to face the demon queen, but instead we found an old pair of obelisks, the ones used eons ago to regenerate wounds and restore lost magic. We meditated as was once done before, feeling refreshed and ready for the coming battle. Another portal lay before us, this would take us to the Circle of Eternity, where the Demon Queen lay waiting. We entered.
Lucky for us she did not see us appear through the portal, or we may have been killed instantly, her massive frame dominating the platform where she rested. My friends brought me out of my daze, reminding me why we were here. We set about, quietly preparing for the coming battle. When all was ready, I approached her, my weapons drawn. She turned, her massive frame both beautiful and hideous at the same time. She laughed, commenting on Zawabis pitiful attempts at trapping her. I did not listen to anything else, I started swinging, my blessed blades cutting into her flesh. She screamed, cursing something, then she vanished, or so I thought. She reappeared close by, bearing down on me. I moved, as only elves can, as only well trained rangers can. I pulled by bow from my back, knocked my arrows, reciting my mantra as I did so, turning my single shot into the famous multiple ranger arrows, and fired. My arrows cut deep, piercing her flesh with ease. I fired until I could fire no more, the energy needed to maintain the special skill exhausted for now. I switched to my blessed blades again, moving to stand with a pillar behind my back, as Zawabi had suggested. As she approached, I began swinging, only then remembering my friends nearby. I could not look for them, my view filled with Lailats gigantic form. As my blades cut her again and again, my heart pumped loudly. Then she screamed, then dissapeared. And her guards appeared. 3 mighty efreeti and her gnoll master archers. Our defense plan kicked in, so they were no longer a threat to me. When the giant swirling blades appeared, I was worried. But as they came, I saw their flaw. I dodged those massive blades over and over, some making contact with me, but overall, I remained unscathed. Then Lailat returned, hissing profanities at me, bearing down on me once again. Again I repeated what I had previously done, reciting the manyshot mantra. This went on until Lailat felt she would not defeat my friends and I by using just the blades. But she kept them around, hoping to kill me with them anyway. Dodging both her and them was not easy, but I did it. When finally I cut her down, then her guards, I was exhausted, collapsing on the ground. Zomm and Nightmare came to me, Zomm healing my wounds with his magic. They congratulated me on my battle. I thanked them for their skills also, allowing me to concentrate on slaying Lailat. We found the secret chests Lailat had hidden, with the powerful items inside. We returned to Zawabi and informed him of our success.
I cant help but feel this is not the last we have seen of Lailat.
"Always," I replied confidently. A look of concern crossed his face.
"This will be a true test of your skill my friend," Zomm said to me. Someone approached our us, a wiry fellow, dressed in the robes of an arcane caster.
"Ah, Nightmare, welcome." The magi nodded at Zomm, then at me.
"I am Lanuric, " I said, offering my hand.
"A pleasure," Nightmare said as he casually shook my hand, "Zomm has said good things about you. I hope you can help us."
"I will do my best," I said, beginning to wonder what Zomm had planned.
"We need your help with something Lanuric, something big."
"You know my bow is ready if needed," I nodded. Zomm took a deep breath. Whatever he was about to say was big.
"We are going after Lailat, the Demon Queen. We want you to come with us."
I was stunned. I had heard of the demon queen through my travels with friends in the desert. And found evidence of her after slaying the Wizard King Rayuim.
"When?" I asked curiously.
"Now," both Zomm and Nightmare replied in unison. "We have spoken to the Djinn, Zawabi, the creator of this oasis, and we have the opportunity to slay the demon queen if we go now." I thought about it for a moment.
"And you need me? Why not one of the mercenaries that come and go through here and Stormreach?"
"Because Lailat has powerful spells that a less nimble person could not avoid. You on the other hand would do well."
"Okay," I said with a nod, "Ill go with you."
"Excellent!" Zomm said cheerfully. The pair took me to see Zawabi, a powerful djinn. We talked about what would happen, the best method to attack and slay Lailat. And he told me of her guards and defenses. We spoke of how to nuetralise these defenses so that we could concentrate on Lailat herself.
After some time, we were ready. Zawabi summoned some powerful magic and teleported us to the passage that led to Lailats hiding place.
After preparing ourselves for battle with magic, we headed forward. Efreeti and those bat-like mephits were no problem for us. Zomm kept our energy and stamina high as we slay them with weapon and magic, then made our way past fire elementals and jumped through the swirling portal before us. I was expecting to face the demon queen, but instead we found an old pair of obelisks, the ones used eons ago to regenerate wounds and restore lost magic. We meditated as was once done before, feeling refreshed and ready for the coming battle. Another portal lay before us, this would take us to the Circle of Eternity, where the Demon Queen lay waiting. We entered.
Lucky for us she did not see us appear through the portal, or we may have been killed instantly, her massive frame dominating the platform where she rested. My friends brought me out of my daze, reminding me why we were here. We set about, quietly preparing for the coming battle. When all was ready, I approached her, my weapons drawn. She turned, her massive frame both beautiful and hideous at the same time. She laughed, commenting on Zawabis pitiful attempts at trapping her. I did not listen to anything else, I started swinging, my blessed blades cutting into her flesh. She screamed, cursing something, then she vanished, or so I thought. She reappeared close by, bearing down on me. I moved, as only elves can, as only well trained rangers can. I pulled by bow from my back, knocked my arrows, reciting my mantra as I did so, turning my single shot into the famous multiple ranger arrows, and fired. My arrows cut deep, piercing her flesh with ease. I fired until I could fire no more, the energy needed to maintain the special skill exhausted for now. I switched to my blessed blades again, moving to stand with a pillar behind my back, as Zawabi had suggested. As she approached, I began swinging, only then remembering my friends nearby. I could not look for them, my view filled with Lailats gigantic form. As my blades cut her again and again, my heart pumped loudly. Then she screamed, then dissapeared. And her guards appeared. 3 mighty efreeti and her gnoll master archers. Our defense plan kicked in, so they were no longer a threat to me. When the giant swirling blades appeared, I was worried. But as they came, I saw their flaw. I dodged those massive blades over and over, some making contact with me, but overall, I remained unscathed. Then Lailat returned, hissing profanities at me, bearing down on me once again. Again I repeated what I had previously done, reciting the manyshot mantra. This went on until Lailat felt she would not defeat my friends and I by using just the blades. But she kept them around, hoping to kill me with them anyway. Dodging both her and them was not easy, but I did it. When finally I cut her down, then her guards, I was exhausted, collapsing on the ground. Zomm and Nightmare came to me, Zomm healing my wounds with his magic. They congratulated me on my battle. I thanked them for their skills also, allowing me to concentrate on slaying Lailat. We found the secret chests Lailat had hidden, with the powerful items inside. We returned to Zawabi and informed him of our success.
I cant help but feel this is not the last we have seen of Lailat.