Drowned Rats
Jul 9th – 13th
The hot summer weather continued as Malethrax, Hujal, Danat Peres, Zavien Scourge and Elkin move into the woodlands in the hills above Dros Yali. Malethrax brings the party to a halt in the evening by creating an elemental in a crag by the hillside. For experimentation Hujal and Malethrax discuss the possibility of creating a permanent elemental, one bound to a place rather than the short duration of a summon elemental spell. The Nadir tribesman cast a Power Word Creation and manages to secure the elemental indefinitely.
Malethrax tells the party of the impending Festival of Rakshasa, an important elemental festival of fire, celebrated all over Drenai by parties and the building of bonfires. But as they settle for the night Skurm – Hujal’s rat familiar – suddenly starts to become agitated…the Nadir sorcerer lets him out of the camp. Danat Peres and Zavien Scourge also slip out of the shelter to investigate.
A familiar sensation visits Zavien, for the assassin senses they are been followed once more. He also senses that the watcher is very careful not to be seen. He decides to take the first watch.
The night passes without incident. The party head off on the descent into the seaport of Dros Yali. Skurm is placed inside deeppockets by Hujal but the rat starts to become even more agitated…as a last resort Hujal sleeps the rodent.
Dros Yali is sheltered by the towering Olshay Range to the north and its natural harbour made it ideal for smugglers and pirates. When Rufus IV came to power he took control of the city and it’s people, bringing law and order to Dros Yali. As the party enter the city they are struck by the lack of Drenai soldiers present, adding to the lawless reputation of the place. Mercenaries and merchants abound, what few troops they see are secure behind barrack walls or the main manor house on the hill.
Zavien lags behind his companions. He eventually spots the follower, a young, stealthy Drenai woman whose features are hidden by shadow. He wonders whether she wanted to be seen.
Malethrax leads the party up to the manor house and a guard refuses them entry. The Drenai soldier is slovenly and not as disciplined as some he has seen. Malethrax bites his tongue and waits for the guard to return to his barracks…and the sound of dice within. He casts an elemental and opens a portal large enough for the horses and his friends.
At the main door a butler quizzes the Elementalist. Malethrax is accustomed to the etiquette of nobility and convinces the butler to let them in…soon the horses are stabled and they are in a study awaiting their host. Lady Arida is the middle-aged wife of the ruler of Dros Yali – Lord Merendar. She is kind and orders her maids to prepare bathing…the party welcome her hospitality though Hujal declines the offer of clean hot water.
At dinner Malethrax charms Lord Merendar and his wife Arida with his exquisite manners and noble breeding. The lord of Dros Yali reveals much about the place and informs them that he knows about the letter from King Rufus IV. He also tells them that the king has enrolled a talented young spy called Raven to follow their progress. She is the king’s niece.
Upon hearing this Zavien slips out of the manor house.
As the party retire to bed in the guest quarters Danat seduces a serving wench and takes her to bed…with the aim of gaining more information. Meanwhile Zavien greets Raven at midnight under the dark shadow of the main gatehouse. They talk candidly about the situation. Raven reveals the real reason for her following the party. "If Malethrax fails in his mission then I will take the letter to Van Myrid."
The next morning Lady Arida escorts the party to the merchant vessel the king has set aside for their mission. It is called The Rosenna and its captain is a veteran of the Marine Corps called Marlatti. The crew are all either veteran sailors or retired soldiers obviously loyal to the king. Malethrax meets Korren – a tough-looking soldier – and the two talk about Drusor Luckwarden. Korren arrogantly believes that he is the greatest swordsman in Drenai but reveals that Drusor once bested him in a tournament once…Malethrax realises that the veteran has not fully recovered from the shame of that defeat.
The party decide that Dros Yali is a dangerous place and rather than wait for the Festival of Rakshasa they would celebrate it on their own…on the waters of the Jandraki Coast.
Hujal is troubled by Varagas – a small demonic beetle he took from the battle in the Abyss that led to the death of Caldron – the small demon is using its sorcery to infiltrate his mind and threaten him. Hujal suspects that Varagas is meddling with Skurm. He creates an impenetrable globe to ensnare the demon and hurls it overboard. "Good riddance!" he cries as the globe sinks. But Hujal soon realises that demons can teleport – worse still he can sense the thing is back in his possession. To his horror Hujal realises that the bug is inside Skurm!
The Nadir exponent of the power words casts a destruction on the demon but the beetle is too tightly bound to his familiar. Skurm explodes violently and Hujal is catapulted back as the death of his rat causes him physical pain. The party watch as the beetle Varagas scurries along the deck. Hujal dives onto it and rams the dagger of Asgar into it with such force that the creature is nailed to the deck. Zavien and Danat jump on the demon and hack at it with their knives. The beetle is tough and resists their attacks – in the process it almost possessed Danat’s weakened soul. Malethrax hands Zavien the Ring of Souls (taken from Caldron’s corpse) and Hujal renews his attacks on the demon.
Finally Malethrax places a magical battleaxe (called Death’s Edge – given to him by King Rufus IV) over the beetle and stamps down hard. With a satisfying crunch the beetle is destroyed…Hujal then reveals that it was one of seven familiars of Malakar.
The voyage continues north hugging the brutal Jandraki coastline. Korren will not leave Malethrax alone; his jibes and constant attention lead to the Menelothian agree to a sparring match. Korren eagerly produces two wooden sparring swords. Malethrax does not trust the veteran; an ESP reveals that Korren intends to kill him accidentally. The fight is ugly and it soon becomes clear to all on board that Korren is not play-fighting. Malethrax is an accomplished swordsman, however, and although he is outgunned by his opponent’s power and number of attacks he is able to combine his unarmed skill to fend of all Korren’s attacks. But Malethrax soon tires of the man and casts Caldron’s Decay into the veteran.
The captain Marlatti steps in to halt the battle and a heated argument ensues. As the tension rises Korren wants blood, Malethrax taunts the veteran with news of the spell and violence is threatened once again.
Suddenly Malethrax reacts. The Rosenna sits on a large water elemental and the Menelothian sinks the ship…he controls the elemental into a globe that encompasses the vessel and takes them down two hundred and fifty feet. There is widespread panic on board. The crew and the soldiers turn on Malethrax.
"If you kill me now you’re all dead!" Malethrax spits contemptuously.
The soldiers inch closer, hands on their weapons. Without warning Malethrax releases his control of the water elemental and the full weight of millions of gallons of water come crashing all around them.
The catastrophic force of water snaps the main mast and crushes many of the crew in the first seconds. As quickly as Malethrax let go of the elemental he regains control and propels his companions upwards towards the surface. The water elemental cradles the ship and this he raises more slowly. Zavien, Danat Peres, Elkin, Hujal and Raven break the surface and gulp air greedily. The entire crew, the captain, all the horses and the veteran Korren have drowned.
The ship emerges under them. Malethrax stands where the main mast once was and commands the water elemental to evacuate the deck. His companions watch as Malethrax removes all traces of water (the elemental) from Raven’s silks. The beautiful young woman narrows her dark eyes and stares deeply into the Menelothian’s eyes.
"I have met Malakar," she says coolly, "but I find you a much more dangerous man…"