@Ookawa@Spriggs27@Crusader LordWarcries from the Garef atop the mountain peak had turned to the terrified squealing of a trapped and frightened animal. Even the shamans, the few that had not been cut down, were at a loss. Spells had no effect, weapons could not scratch the armor of their enemies, and their ambush had been a waste as the Snow golem decimated their strongest ambushers as if they were nothing. For that was indeed what they were and the single white-furred shaman shuddered, though not from the cold. Looking at these adventurers (what else could they be?) only brought hate to the goatmans heart as it remembered the being even now lingering in the heart of the mountain.
A being that treated the Garef like fodder and slaughtered them with a swipe of their armored fist.
One of many such adventurers.
Brandishing a knife made of sharpened bone, the Garef Shaman launched itself from the snows at Nebuchi as the cat woman feasted on the bodies of the Shamans brethren like a buffet. It knew there was no hope of killing them, likely not even hurting them, but death was a better fate than another master. Hopefully death would claim it quickly.
~~~Cavern stairway~~~
With the goatmen destroyed atop the peak the path was open to the heart of the mountain. The trail leading from the cave mouth was a long spiraling staircase of smooth stone, carved decades ago by skilled hands intimately familiar with shaping the tough surface into art. Years of Garef occupation had reduced the scenic beauty of the staircases into obscurity, lost under a thick carpet of blood and waste, bones, totems, skulls, discarded weapons. Besides the narrow walkway of free space the sides of the stairways were nothing but a place to throw away your garbage it seemed.
Upon the walls were intricate carvings of bearded faces, many of which were shattered or decorated over with bloody ritual totems as the Goatmen further violated what was likely once a stronghold of some kind. Cobwebs and dozens of eyes glared out from the darkness outside the lit torches leading down the vast staircase. A little further down would lead the trio to the throne room.
@Rune_Alchemist@Lucius Cypher@TimStitch scratched at the top of his long beaked mask in contemplation. Still hidden from sight, the sound of battle had continued with March getting ambushed but the Garef were inept. Weak. Pathetic monsters meant to be slaughtered. Maybe there were others at the end of the tunnelway? Leaning out to get a better view the groundskeeper nearly screamed out loud as he recognized the opponents fighting the non guild-mate. Marchosias was fighting ARDENT HERALD!
Rushing from cover and waving his arms frantically in the air he called out to the many combatants, reaching forward to point at the child-sized fairy queen before the blade could find purchase.
"
[Divine Shield]!"
Golden radiance sprang to life around the marauding death knight, the barrier preventing March from damaging the others and him from damaging them, while Stitch and Sew caught up to the main group in a panic as he threw himself down on his hands and knees at Lady Tea's feet, forehead pressed to the bloodsoaked stones.
"Apologies, Lady Tea. Sir Falcon. This man risked his life to escort me back after I was swept away, so I beg of you to spare him. The true enemy of Ardent Herald lays further inside!"
It wasn't his place to disobey a guild member outright. If they said to kill March, Stitch would fight with everything he could muster, but his heart held hope that the misunderstanding would be smoothed over as a thank you for aiding the guild groundskeeper. When the group logically put away their weapons and marched further into the cave, the rough stone shifting from natural formations to the polished and worked stones of a master craftsman it was clear that the tunnels were not of Garef design. Following the trail of the fleeing shaman would bring them to the heart of the mountain..
At its heart was another white furred shaman, screaming into the face of a
Shadow knight standing with its arms crossed over its chest as it stared down at the frightened and cowardly goat. Everything about its posture all but screamed displeasure and annoyance in dealing with the smelly flea covered animal, who continued to believe itself this beings equal. Had it not been for the deal made with the Shadow beings master, the Goats head would have been torn from its body by now.
Through the [Gift of Tongues] enchantment on the Shadow beings ring it understood every word.
"Adventurers came. Through our tunnels! Our caves! Our lands! OURS! MINE! YOU master say protect. We die! USELESS metal scrap." The shaman bleated, even daring to thump the knights armor with its cane in annoyance and rage. "Fix! Now! You do your work job!"
Still standing with its hands across its chest, the voice that echoed from behind the helmet was unearthly.
"Where are the invaders."
The words rang deep and hollow as if spoken from a a complete and utter void, making the Shaman take a cautious step back.
With every dispatched member of Ardent Heralds approaching from the various walkways, the demon knights shadows swirled with a mind of its own as it readied itself for the fight to come.
