[Vfw-times] MK Winter Assault part 36 We are experiancing technical difficulties

[COkane8116 at aol.com]

    Sorry about the interruption but my computer is having fits right now and 
it took me this long to get my data back. A  short section tonight.

   Chris

   *************

It took two hours of careful searching to find the right room and clean it 
out. It had been a guard room for the south gate and many of the guards 
bodies still lay slumped in the chairs where they had died, poisoned. 
Betrayed by a fellow Keeper.  Polteen waited impatiently as a group of just 
captured slaves cleared the room of everything so they could start their 
ritual.

Once cleared they began the process of setting up. Grand Master Polteen and 
Adept Mistress Thryza watched as their four apprentices unpacked the 
equipment which was carefully placed by the door.

The apprentices Tilock and Quizano picked out six large pieces made of some 
dark wood. The two men carefully assembled the pieces into a long, low table 
that was placed in the exact center of the room.

The captive girl was striped naked and bound to the table by Rankin and 
Stenger. Both took a lot of joy in removing the girls clothes, laughing as 
they pulled off each piece. Polteen let his apprentices have their fun since 
it enhanced the girl's fear, and fear was a great multiplier with the magic 
they were about to perform.

Polteen and Thryza chanted as they started to paint the complex formulas onto 
the bound girl themselves. The ink was a special mixture that had taken over 
two years to produce.

Preparing the girl took long hours to finish but the four apprentices had 
work of their own to accomplish. Freed of their burdens two of the horses 
were led into the room and placed at opposite corners. Tilok and Quizano held 
one animal, Rankin and Stenger the other. Tilock and Rankin each produced 
long, rune etched daggers. Holding the blades over their heads for a moment 
the two mages began a deep, sonorous chant that wavered chaotically between 
musical and dissonant.  The ominous, dark chant lasted for several minute, 
during which they held their poses, only swaying slightly in time with the 
incantation.  The two other apprentices said nothing and did not move, 
holding the spooked animals still by their own magics.  Finally lowering 
their arms, the inchanters brought their blades down, sweeping them under the 
throats of the immobile animals. Left hands were placed on neck to steady the 
stroke that was to follow.

With practiced motions they slit their animals throats. The horses let out 
terrible screams that echoed and re-echoed throughout the room and out into 
the corridors outside the door. Blood fountained from the wounds, splashing 
across the floor and into bowls held under the neck by the other two 
apprentices. In spite of their wounds and obvious panic neither creature 
moved, held immobile as their flesh twisted and rippled with their stifled 
death throes.  Once the animals were dead and the last drops of the precious 
life fluid drained the spell holding them upright was removed. The dead 
bodies dropped to the floor with the thud of flesh hitting stone and the 
shattering of bones. Now useless to the mages the carcasses were removed from 
the room.

There was enough blood from the two horses to fill four large bowls full. 
Each of the apprentices, with a bowl and a fine paintbrush in hand, moved to 
separate corners. Once in position, they began to chant in slow, monotonous 
voices as they started the long difficult task of painting the formulaes and 
symbols.

**

12/25 - noon 

Daria watched as Misha stopped at the corner and listened. Then he held up 
his hands and tugged on his left ear.  With his right hand he signed the 
letter L, and then pointed around the corner. "I hear lutins around the 
corner," was what he had just signed.

   A flurry of hand signals followed before the group retired to a nearby 
room to consider strategy.  Danielle and Bradfox stood guard at the door as 
the rest planned.

   "No doubt, the armory is being held by Nasoj's people," Misha announced in 
a whisper.

   "How many?" Finbar asked.

   "A score of lutins, four giant wolves a half dozen humans, and some sort 
of lutin chief, guarding the doorway" Daria replied.

   "That lutin chief is a shaman," Misha added.

   "What tribe are the lutins?" Kershaw asked.

   "Slaughterers," Misha answered.

   "Terrific," Finbar said shaking his head.

   Garulf was also shaking his head in agreement. "Are you sure?"

   Misha nodded, "Yes, I did a thorough recon. There's no doubting the 
markings."

   "What's wrong with fighting the Slaughterers?" Brenner asked, un-nerved.

   "Slaughterers are renowned for their fighting. They don't surrender and 
they don't run away," The panda explained. "The only way we're going to get 
rid of them is to kill them all. With most lutins if you kill a few of them 
the rest will run, but not the Slaughterers."

   "The lutins aren't the problem," Misha said calmly. "We've killed lots of 
Slaughterers in the past. It's the humans who we need to worry about. There's 
no telling how skilled they are."

   "Another problem is that shaman," Misha said. He turned and faced Jessica, 
"that will be a problem for you to get rid of."

   The hawk nodded. "I can handle him easily enough."

   "Don't underestimate a lutin shaman," Finbar warned. "They can be as 
powerful as any human."

   "Kill the shaman quickly," Misha ordered calmly. "He's too big a threat to 
be allowed to live."

   "I'll take care of him. He'll never cast a spell," Jessica answered. "I 
have an appropriate spell that will kill him and anyone near him."

   "Good," Daria answered.
 
   "About the lutins, if there are that many outside the armory how many are 
waiting for us insides?" Kershaw asked.

   The fox shrugged. "No way of telling. The armory itself is really two 
rooms. The first room is on the other side of the door that band is guarding. 
That's the antechamber, basically that room is used for preparing; putting on 
armor and checking weapons."

   "There are two other doors leading out of the ante chamber; a steel door 
that leads into the main armory and a wooden door that leads directly to the 
courtyard." Misha scratched his ear. "Taking out the guards outside aren't a 
problem. What is a problem is by the time we get done outside the armory 
thirty of forty more could come streaming in from the courtyard and out into 
the corridor."

   "We need to keep anyone from getting into the armory from the courtyard," 
Kershaw commented. "And keep anyone from the antechamber from coming out into 
the corridor until we've dealt with the guards already there."

   "How?" Weyden asked. "Perhaps we can come at it from the courtyard."

   "Misha shook his head, "No, there must be several hundred lutins outside. 
We need to block those two doors. That would split the lutins into manageable 
pieces."

   "How do we block those doors?" Finbar asked.

   "I can see that both doors are blocked at the appropriate moment," Daria 
said calmly.

   "How?" the fox asked.

   "With this," Daria said and held up a gold key that hung from a gold chain 
around her neck. "It's a gift from Kyia."

   "What can it do?" Misha asked.

   Daria looked at a blank section of wall and held up the key. "A door 
please, wooden, leading to the temple."

   One moment there was a gray stone wall and the next there was a wooden 
door, painted with a beautiful flower design. Brenner tentatively opened the 
new door and found himself looking into the main room of the temple. "Wow!"

   "A good little trick," Misha commented.

   "Come in real handy," Finbar added.

   Bradfox smiled broadly. "We can block all the doors and kill the guards in 
the hallway without being bothered. Then we can unblock the door and when the 
guards in the antechamber run out," the man smacked his fist into his palm. 
"They won't even have the time to yell."

   "I like the way you think," Finbar said enthusiastically. "Once the all 
the guards are out of the way we can clean out anyone left in the armory 
easily. And the door to the courtyard can stay blocked permanently."

   Misha looked at Daria. "What do you think?"

   The girl nodded, "I like it."

   "People," Misha said calmly. "We have ourselves a plan. Let's work out all 
the details."

    **************
End part 36