Back to Page Seven
-----Sol begins to keep a watch out around the ruins, in case the men's fears prove well founded.
-----Raven replies to the man, "What the hell is wrong with you? What's making you so jumpy?" He then turns to Sol and asks, "Do you see our horses?"
-----The man on the ground wearing the cloak strongly whispers, "Shhh . . . I think something's coming!" The look on his face becomes more frantic and the other two men look nervously around. The heroes begin to look at their surroundings, but about them nothing is evident, save the ancient stones and silence.
-----Suddenly, the man who answered Raven's questions emits a blood-curdling shriek. All the heroes are taken aback as they turn to see what happened. "Git 'em off me! Git 'em off me!" he screams. The other two captives roll away from him, clear terror in their eyes. They bound up on their haunches.
-----The man stops screaming and rolling over on his back; the heroes can see three small furry animals cover his chest. At first, they look like rats, but the bodies look too stubby and their forepaws look almost like flippers with claws. One continues to burrow into the man's chest amid an ever-widening stain of blood. As they look at his face, they see he can't scream as a fourth animal is halfway down his throat. The other two captured men look as if they are going to bolt.
-----"Sweet mother of Valorius!" exclaims Zentil as he draws his long sword once again and quickly takes a few steps back away from the man and the flesh rats. "What the hell are those!"
-----Sol's face betrays a mixture of horror and disgust. He stands stock-still, seemingly unable to move, his hand frozen on the hilt of his undrawn sword. His eyes do not leave the man who has just about died, and the vile creatures that burrow into him.
-----Thalog holds his staff out in front of him, his head turning from side to side as he searches the ground surrounding him. "Do you suppose there are more of these things under our feet?" he asks with a stoic look on his face. His eyes, however, are large with concern.
-----The two men that were captured begin running from the site.
-----The man's body stops moving and his head slumps toward the ground. A movement continues beneath his skin as at least two of the animals accomplish their gory task.
-----Thalog backs up onto the steps of the raised and ruined foundation. He calls in the others' direction, "I don't think there's anything you can do for him, Rand. I think we'd all be safe up here." While he waits for the others, he looks in the direction of the fleeing men, then he adds, "Looks like they had the right idea."
-----As he stands on top of the foundation, he looks down his nose at Raven, "Well, where do we go from here?"
-----Raven jumps back from the dying man and says, "Thalog's right, run for the steps." Raven grabs Sol's arm, "Sol, let's go!" Raven gives Sol's arm a good pull towards the steps. Raven then sprints toward the steps.
-----Broken out of his state by the tug on his arm, Sol also begins running towards the steps.
-----The heroes make it safely to the raised foundation. As Zentil climbs the steps, Thalog looks at him while leaning on his staff. "I overheard your name is Zentil? I am Thalog. I take it you are joining us on our journey." He waits to hear Zentil's reply. A green fire flashes quickly in Thalog's eyes and then fades.
-----Thalog then turns to the north pointing across the plains where the two men are still fleeing. He calmly says, with a stone cold look, "Anyone want to make a guess where they're probably heading?"
-----The sky, still a clear blue color, adds a bit of calm to the last few harried moments. The radiant mid-morning sun shines down with welcome warmth. The gentle breeze provides the only moment now among the ruins as it blows across the high grass.
-----In the distance, the horses can be seen calmly grazing. Thalog still staring northward says in a weak voice, "Would anyone agree we are finished here? I ask again, where do we go from here?"
-----Sol starts jogging towards the horses while calling back to the group, "I'll round the horses up...back in a moment."
-----"Aye, I might as well follow you all for a while. I could use a good adventure," says Zentil arriving at the top of the foundation. "Who were those men? And what were those, uhm, things? I have never seen such a creature in my life."
-----Raven looks intently at the dead man's body for any movement. Seeing none, he jumps down to inspect the body. Raven looks up at Zentil, "You are welcome to join us. Are you a soldier or what? Hope you can use that sword with some skill." Raven turns back to the body and looks at the hole in the man's armor where the animal clawed its way into the man's body. "As for these men, they are or were thieves and killers. Our next move would be to explore the forest to the north and see what the hell is going on there." Raven stands and says to the group, "Should we head off to the forest and make some waves?" Raven then goes to help Sol with the horses.
Go Back to the Chronicle of Adventures