Max moved back into the steam of the washroom as the assassins moved forward. Jahrod stood in their path. The first assassin moved in on Jahrod with a flurry of attacks, wielding his two long-bladed daggers with lightning-fast speed. The blades pinged off Jahrod’s armor until one blade caught him with a slashing attack. He took minor damage from the blade. The poison-tipped blade fed a dark-green, sticky potion to his blood, a fast-acting poison. But Jahrod was immune to poison, so he took no damage.
Elderon cast Lightning on the second assassin that was advancing on him. The lightning bolt leapt from his fingers and slammed into the assassin, delivering major damage. The lightning then leapt to the second assassin and delivered another jolt of major damage.
Max could see the assassins still had very high Health.
Anita cast Bonus on the party. Max felt his accuracy rise. He loaded a bullet.
>
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> Max attacks Assassin causing minor damage.
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>
Jahrod was fighting the first assassin, trading blows. His axe was swinging wildly, but the nimble assassin was able to evade the attacks. The assassin came back with repeated flurries of attacks with his light daggers, landing slashing damage on the stout dwarf, but no poison damage was taken.
Anita stood alongside Elderon, and they attacked the second assassin. Anita parried a flurry of attacks with her staff, her bonus to defense from her Bonus spell helping her fend off the deadly attacks.
Elderon cast Magic Missile and struck the assassin he and Anita were fighting, causing major damage, but still the assassin pressed in and maintained his attack.
Jahrod took more slashing damage. Then the assassin’s blade penetrated Anita’s defense and landed major slashing damage, the coated tip of the blade delivering the poison. She instantly took poison damage and fell back with a groan of pain.
Max was about to shoot another bullet but could tell that a hit of only minor damage would do little to tip the scales in their favor. He stepped back into the steam, pulled up his Hood of Sneaking, and activated his Sneak ability. He vanished from sight, hidden by the steam and the shadows. He crept around to the rear of the assassin attacking Jahrod, and once in position, he drew his shortsword.
The instant he drew his sword, the assassin turned to face him. He realized his Sneak ability had deactivated, and the assassin was alerted to a Sneak attack.
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> Assassin attacks Max causing major damage.
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> Max has been poisoned.
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Max fell back. The shock of being discovered and attacked was terrible enough, the damage felt bad, but then the poison hit. His stomach churned, his skin bursting with a cold, violent sweat. He felt his Health drop dramatically, and he went from full Health to badly wounded in a single attack.
Max stepped back and found himself with his back to the wall next to the door. He felt an urge to run. What was he doing here? He should be back home in his city, not fighting assassins in a tavern washroom. The assassin moved in, his blades whirling, tapping together threateningly as he came closer to attack. Max raised his sword to defend.
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> Jahrod attacks Assassin causing heavy damage.
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Max heaved a sigh of relief as the dwarf stepped in, axes swinging.
The assassin turned back to Jahrod and defended against a second swing of his huge axe. Max stayed out of range of the assassin’s blades and loaded a bullet. He shot it at the assassin attacking Jahrod.
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> Max attacks Assassin causing minor damage.
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Anita had fallen back. She was casting a healing spell, but the poison in her veins hit her with poison damage, and her spell was lost. She tried again, incanting and gesturing to call the spell.
Max loaded a bullet and was about to shoot it when the poison hit in a second wave.
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> Max takes poison damage.
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As the poison hit, it caused Max to double over in pain as his health bar plummeted. He dropped the bullet he was loading into the sling. One more wave of poison damage, and he would be close to death. Max grabbed a Potion of Basic Healing from his satchel as Jahrod and Elderon engaged the assassins.
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> Max drinks Potion of Basic Healing
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His health bar filled some, but he was still low. At least he wasn’t critically low any more, but if the poison hit again, he would be, and he was fresh out of potions. He saw Anita was standing behind Elderon and casting what he hoped was a healing spell. This time, she managed to cast the spell before the poison hit her again.
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> Anita casts Cure Poison on Max.
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Max felt instantly better, although his Health was still very low, and he didn’t want to take any slashing damage. But that poison was the worst, causing damage again and again.
Jahrod took another hit, but again, the poison failed to affect him. He hit back with a mighty blow of his axe and delivered critical damage. The assassin staggered backward from Jahrod toward Max. Max loaded a bullet and shot it at the assassin, striking him square in the chest.
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> Max attacks Assassin causing minor damage.
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> Assassin has been defeated.
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The assassin crumpled to the ground. Jahrod turned on the remaining assassin, who was engaging Elderon. The old Mage was not able to cast any enhancement spells on himself, so he was fighting with his staff, and in pure melee terms, he was outclassed by the dual-wielding assassin, who was extremely proficient with the long poison-tipped daggers.
Max checked Elderon’s stats. He was heavily wounded and had taken poison damage, so his Health was low. Anita was casting again and managed to cure herself, she then immediately started casting a cure spell on Elderon.
Jahrod landed a heavy blow that stunned the assassin. He staggered backward, his arms dropping, his long daggers barely retained in his grip.
Anita’s cure spell landed on Elderon. Now with his hands free, he cast Magic Missile. The missiles shot through the steam and slammed into the stunned assassin, delivering major damage. Jahrod rushed at the assassin with a huge swing of his axe, but the assassin recovered from being stunned just in time to dodge the attack. He leapt backward, sprang off the wall behind him, and cartwheeled in midair before landing on the floor. He shoulder rolled and came to his feet right in front of Max.
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Max was fumbling with his catapult. He knew he should draw his sword and make ready to parry the assassin’s blades, but the assassin took one look at the open door and bolted through it. Anita’s staff cut through the steam on a wide swinging arc, narrowly missing the assassin as he ran.
“Stop him!” Elderon said, staggering forward, leaning on his staff for support.
Max stepped into the corridor and saw the assassin dashing for a window at the far end of the hall. He took aim with his catapult.
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> Max attacks Assassin causing critical damage.
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> Assassin has been defeated.
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> Max gains experience points.
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Elderon stepped into the corridor next to Max, and he looked at the fallen assassin.
“Bring the defeated assassins to our room,” Elderon said to Max. “We can’t simply leave them in the washroom and corridor for the tavern owner to find, or for them to scare other guests.”
Max nodded. He went to the defeated assassin at the end of the corridor and hurriedly checked the assassin’s inventory for the charcoal portrait. He did not know how Elderon and Anita would react if they knew these assassins had been looking specifically for him. He found the parchment scroll on the assassin, and he took a quick look at it. It was a very good sketch. But who had drawn it? How did they know his likeness? Max tucked the portrait away, hoping none of the others had seen it, and then started to drag the fallen assassin along the corridor and into the room he’d rented.
The assassins had ransacked the room. The four beds had been turned over, and the closet door was open. Bed linen was strewn about the place. Max laid the assassin’s body down on the floor.
Jahrod walked in with the second assassin over his shoulder and dropped the defeated assassin next to the first.
“Check them,” Elderon said as he closed the door.
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> Max searches Assassins and finds:
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> • 20 gold
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> • Dagger of Poison Blade
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> • Potion of Intelligence
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> • Potion of Healing
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Max dropped the items into his satchel.
Anita came in and closed the door quietly. She whispered something to Elderon. Elderon checked the window, looked outside, and then drew the threadbare curtain.
“No lights. You rest, Max,” Elderon said.
Anita cast Basic Healing on Jahrod. The dwarf grumbled, but Max figured this was his grumpy way of saying thanks.
Max turned one of the small beds right side up and sat down heavily. “Is it safe to rest?” he said, looking up at Elderon.
“Anita and I will watch and keep us safe,” Elderon said.
At that moment, Anita crumpled to the floor. Max rushed to her. He wrapped an arm around her. “Anita, what’s the matter?” He swept the hair from her face and gazed into those dazzling green eyes.
“I am weak. The poison has left me with critical damage. And I am all out of Healing spells.”
Elderon handed over a small bottle of Basic Healing. Anita held up her hand to refuse it. “It won’t help enough. I need to rest and prepare my spells. You are damaged, too, Elderon. And Jahrod is not fully healed either.”
“I can stand up to another encounter with those dancing devils,” Jahrod said.
And Max was sure that the powerful dwarf could. Although he’d taken lots of slashing damage, he was still able to take many more hits before his Health was dangerously low.
“I’ll watch the window,” Elderon said, “Jahrod, you watch the door. Max and Anita can rest and prepare their spells. We will heal as soon as Anita has regained all her spells, and then we’ll move on.”
Max lay down, not entirely happy about letting others watch over him while he slept. It felt lazy to let others face the danger. But then Anita lay down next to him and pulled a blanket over them both. She wrapped her arms around Max and ran her fingers through his short hair.
“Let me lie with you, Max. I’ll rest better with you at my side.”
“Yes, for the good of the party,” Max said and nestled into her arms and was soon asleep.
Max was instantly lost in a dream of darkness, of falling, and then of wide-open spaces, a feeling of freedom and adventures. He dreamed of a beautiful Druid maiden surrounded by green leaves and billowing clouds of steam, her arms open wide, welcoming him into her naked embrace. Then a white ghost drifted in and out of focus, warning him of danger nearby and far away. The ghost spoke, her voice distant and muted, but her warnings were clear, and she spoke of the many threats against him. The white ghost pointed to one danger here, one danger there, and then to a single threat that was the source of all danger. Max tried to run from the threat, only to find danger in his path. He turned this way and that, trying to find a route to safety. His breathing became difficult, and he gasped for air. Eyes darting this way and that in panic. Then he fell into the arms of the Druid, who soothed him with a gentle touch and a gentle word. But darkness raged all around them and threatened to drag the beautiful Druid down into the ground. Her arms were slipping away. She was sinking. A gray old teacher with a beard and toned muscles was glaring at Max with dark, fierce eyes, calling for him to help her, to help her get up. Get up. Get up.
“Get up, Max,” Elderon said, shaking Max awake. He sat up and looked around for Anita. He saw her casting a Healing spell on Jahrod.
“What time is it?” Max said, feeling tired and looking forward to another couple of hours’ sleep.
“Time to go,” Elderon said. “More assassins have arrived in town. My Boundary Ward has alerted me to their presence, and they are searching for their fallen fellows and for whoever defeated them. We must go.”
Every shadow seemed to contain a new dangerous threat as Max left the Oak and Crown tavern. Anita led the way, dropping down the side of the building from the room’s small window. The air was cold, and Max wished he’d been able to spend a few days in the steam with Anita. He followed her out the window and dropped down into a narrow alley behind the tavern.
The foul-smelling trash outside the back of the tavern was mixed with mud. Anita told him to wait there while Jahrod came next, falling as much as climbing and landing heavily in the mud, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest, and he joined Max and Anita in the shadows of the alley. Elderon came last, landing lightly and then moving swiftly into the lead. They moved in line to the end of the alley silently. Elderon stopped at the end where the alley met a side street and cautiously scanned the scene left and right, searching along the side street and up to the roof tops.
Max stood in the dark trying to slow his breathing, pulling his padded leather tunic close to fend off the cold and avoid shivering. Jahrod looked into a trash heap and pulled out a rotting carcass of a long-since discarded roasted bird. Even in the darkness, Max could tell it was gross, and the smell alone was repulsive. He heard Jahrod’s fingers squelching on the discarded, half-eaten creature.
Jahrod offered it to Max. What was Max supposed to do with that stinking carcass? Replenish the deadly poison on his newly acquired dagger of poison?
“Hungry?” Jahrod asked in a low quiet growl.
Max shook his head and wrinkled his nose.
Jahrod shoved the rotting carcass in his beard and into his huge mouth, his monstrous teeth crunching the rotting bird, bones and all.
Max watched in horror as Jahrod licked his fingers and then sought out something else from the trash.
“We move,” Elderon whispered. “Quickly and quietly.”
Anita followed Elderon, and Max came close behind. Jahrod burping quietly told Max that he was behind him.
The town was quiet and dark. The stars were thick overhead, millions upon millions of points of light, a dazzling display. He picked out the brightest stars and could not see one constellation that he could recognize. He’d never seen so many stars. The cloudless sky meant they were in for a very cold night. Max closed his new leather tunic over the top of his shirt and vest. The shirt was still warm from having been indoors, but the leather tunic was turning cold and hard in the frigid night air.
Elderon led them to the palisade that surrounded the town. He pointed up. Max had no difficulty climbing up to the top. Elderon and Anita boosted Jahrod. Max reached down and hauled him up. Anita came next and Elderon last. They sat crouched on the high walk, torches burning at intervals along the top. Guards patrolling.
Anita produced a length of cord that was made from braided plant roots. She lowered it down on the outside of the palisade. Jahrod went first, clumsily clambering over the spiked tops of the palisade timbers and then down the braided cord. For a big stumpy dwarf, he managed himself admirably on the climb, his Strength overcoming any difficulties of balance or Agility in climbing down the rope.
Max went next, leaping over the spiked timbers. He went down the rope easily, walking down the side of the palisade while holding the rope. He made the ground in a few simple moves, jumping the last couple of feet.
Once they were all on the ground and crouched close to the foot of the palisade, Jahrod pointed the way.
“The quickest way to Ralynn City is this way,” Jahrod said.
Elderon nodded. “We go with Jahrod.”
They moved off into the darkness, and after only a few steps, Anita threw Max to the ground. He landed with her on top of him. If she had finally succumbed to his handsome charm, she was picking a strange time to show it.
A crossbow bolt slammed into the ground just inches from Max, right at the spot where he had been standing a few seconds ago.
“Assassins,” Anita said and dragged Max with her, crawling along the ground. “Don’t get hit! I’ve used all my spells of Cure Poison and healing spells.” She lay back and looked at the town palisade. She cast a Summon Roots spell behind them. Max herd the roots flicking about in the darkness behind them. “That should hold them if they come after us,” Anita said, her lips close to his ear as she whispered. Her warm breath soothing and enticing.
Elderon and Jahrod were already running across the meadowlands, heading toward a line of trees.
“The forest will help hide us from the assassins,” Anita said, and she dragged Max to his feet. “Run.”
Max ran with Anita, and they soon made the edge of the thicket of trees. Max kept running wildly onward until he finally slowed, gasping for breath. He must have run more than two miles because he knew how far he could run before he was breathless. He looked to his side, smiling, hoping to share the fun with Anita.
She wasn’t there. He looked all around. Elderon, Jahrod. Gone. Had he outrun them all? Jahrod was able to keep up with Max on a march when endurance was the only factor, but Max didn’t think he was built to be a good sprint runner. Although Elderon was old, he always moved well and was fast, but he couldn’t run as far as Max. Anita was probably the only one who could match Max for speed and distance, but in his haste and excitement, he’d left her behind. He crept through the tangle of branches and whispered their names. Then he thought he heard them. He stood up and smiled. Only to see the dark shapes of a pair of assassins moving through the trees.
Max turned his back to them and ran deeper into the trees with darkness all around, but hopefully leaving danger behind.