<HTML> 12/25 - 9am Jacob work with a start, snorting and grunting as he flailed briefly about the unfamiliar environment. He was buried in a pile of cloth. Some of it was cut, most was just off the rolls, but it did a good job keeping him warm considering that he was in a basement somewhere. Then the events of the previous night came back and he knew why he was here. The staggering home drunk, waking up and finding Lutins in his house, that house burning down; it all came back. And the masked stranger who came to his rescue. Jacob raised his head and looked out over the dimly lit basement, his eyes coming to focus on where the raccoon was sitting across from him. "Good to see you're awake," Rickkter observed. "I was about to do that for you myself, actually." "Damn, how long has it been light out?" mumbled the fox as he rubbed his forehead. "About an hour now. I took the opportunity to look around while it was still early, when the troops would be tired and not as alert. Not that it mattered. None of them saw me anyway." Jacob was yawning and rubbing his face, not paying much attention to Rickkter. Then something about the raccoon clicked in his mind and he stopped mid yawn to examine him more closely. "Um, Rick, where did you get that overcoat?" "What this?" Rickkter pinched the lapel, lifting it a few inches from the coat. The overcoat itself was entirely made of white fur, arctic fox from the look of the slightly blued fur used to line the collar. However, a large rust colored stain that ran from the neck to about the crotch region, matting the otherwise pristine white, marred the whole front. "I found this on my little recon this morning. The owner didn't seem to have further use for it." "You mean you stole that from a dead man?" the fox asked, snarling in revulsion at the very notion. "Like I said, the owner wasn't going to be needing it. Same for the gloves. He was better than half frozen when I found him, and it was a bitch getting all this off him. The Lutins who killed him had already taken his money, but I did manage to find this near by under some snow." Rickkter reached under a small pile of cloth and slid a sword over to where the fox was sitting. Picking up the weapon, Jacob couldn't help but be struck by the beauty of it. True he was not a connoisseur of such things, but even a blind man could appreciate the workmanship that went into the weapon. The hilt ended in a slight curl, both sides of which were set with large sapphires.  The other jewels were set on the cross guard, those being emeralds and other sapphires. Unlike many weapons bejeweled for purely ornamental purposes, this one had a sturdy leather grip that looked like it knew well the touch of its previous owner. Jacob couldn't help marveling that this was a weapon worth more money than he had made his entire life. "This is proof that the wrong people have coin." "And from now on that's your weapon, so you can get rid of the crappy Lutin sword you picked up last night. That blade is a good steel alloy, not like some of the cheaper, poorer grades the militia's around here use." Jacob pulled a few inches of the blade from its scabbard. It was double edged with a fuller down the middle. "Edges are also razor sharp. Whoever owned that was a professional. It'll defiantly serve you better than that shovel you were using last night," Rick added with a sardonic grin.   Jacob glared up at the raccoon, sliding the sword back hard. "So what's the plan?" "Visibility has picked up a lot," Rick said as he turned to look up at the small cellar window. "You can see for about twenty feet in front of you now, and I think the wind might even be dropping." He sighed deeply, giving his nose a rub in an attempt to warm it up. "Our main problem is what we're going to do about the Lutins. They've overrun the town, or so I would assume by this point." Jacob rubbed his own nose in an effort to warm any part of him that wasn't covered in fur. He nodded. "I think I saw fire out by the stables. It was a rather bright orange glow coming from the northern part of the wall around." Rickkter's nodded, his gaze never moving from the small window. "That sounds about right. Burn the stables, kill the horses, prevent any quick dispatches for help. And that would also mean they've burned the granary, most likely the mill and the workshops as well. At least those make strategic sense, even if they are pushed back." The fox quirked his ears. "Oh?" "If you can't kill 'em outright, starve 'em out," Rick elaborated with a sardonic grin. "True. I've read of sieges lasting years." "I've seen them last years. And the results at the end. Trust me, we could never hold even a fraction of that time here. Not with how far they've already made it past our defences." Giving up for the most part on his nose, Jacob started rubbing his paws. "So what are we going to do? Can you use your magic to get us by them?" Rickkter shook his head. "No, I can't. The storm prevents the use of teleportation spells, and as I told you last night, any illusions I used would most likely be quickly picked up by any shaman or mage in the area." "You mentioned something about that last night. What is this blizzard?" "This blizzard is the single nastiest magical construct I have ever seen. It's a natural storm front wrapped around a whole mess of spells. There are several dampening ones to prevent probes, teleportation, and message sending through the storm. Other parts stem the flow of manna to any source besides the storm. From that and the size, it must have taken several very powerful wizards to cast it. They can also control, to an extent, the interior: their army, or armies, hid out in pockets to shelter them from the worst of the storm." Rick flicked his whiskers and cradled his chin in his paw. "Rather brilliant, actually. The storm drives any opposition to seek shelter, and then the army rolls in without anyone expecting it. That's what happened to us. We walked right into their vanguard. They were doing a pretty good job of chewing us to pieces by the time I decided to make a break for it." Jacob nodded soberly. "You didn't have much of a choice then. But still, where does that leave us? We defiantly can't hide here forever." "No, we can't," said Rickkter as he dropped his hand back between his knees. "The way I see it, our only option is to try and make it south to some other city or town and see if we can get help there. The problem with that is getting through their lines, and this damned snow." He growled loudly at the swirling whiteness. "Based on what happened last night, I don't even know if I'd make it in this. You'd have a much better shot." Rocking his head back and forth, Jacob murred to himself and mulled it over. "You know... there might be another way?" "Oh?" "Yes. You see, I've lived here all my life. I was changed by the curse. But long before that happened, I was a kid. And like all kids, I explored." Rickkter briefly reflected how 'wonderful' it was to have gotten trapped with a storyteller. "Our favorite place was not the wood surrounding the keep, but right underneath us. You see, one day my friend Perry showed us what used to be a sealed door in the basement of one of the warehouses near the mill. It lead to a series of small passageways, a labyrinth under the town!" Jacob was hunched forward and rubbed his paws together. "We managed to get down there, oh, about a dozen times before they caught us and sealed it up again. We used half spent candles, whatever we could scrounge up, to see and rarely had the guts to venture very far in. But based on how far we went, I think that it leads right under the curtain walls. So if I'm right, we can walk right under the enemy without their ever knowing." Rickkter slowly stroked the length of his chin with his claws and looked out the window. "Seems rather risky. There will defiantly be more of them the closer we get to the walls. And you said yourself that you're not even sure the door would be open for us. I still think that our best option would be to head to the nearest town and get help there." "And on the way there we can get killed, captured, lost, or freeze to death in this wicked stuff. Okay, I'll grant that my plan is as risky as you say, but there are also advantages. Skills like yours would be desperately needed; whoever cast that spell and controlled that pocket is probably inside the keep." The fox pursed his lips. "And I'm sure there are those you'd want to get back to, to make sure they're okay." The raccoon's scratching stopped for an instant at that last part before resuming. He kept looking out the window far longer than Jacob would have expected him to. "Okay, we'll do it your way. Damn it. So where is this warehouse?" "Where are we?" "I thought you knew this area of town." "Hey, I was dead on my feet when I stumbled in here. I saw the smashed front, saw cloth, knew we could use that to stay warm. So just tell me the name of the place." "Sign outside said Philip Legrand, Clothier to Dukes and Kings." Jacob murred and nodded. "Okay, good. We won't have to cross the town square and we're only about four blocks south of the warehouse. I know the neighborhood well enough to get us there, even in this." With a small grunt, the raccoon tilted himself forward onto the balls of his feet. When his center of gravity was right, he simply stood up. "All right, let's do this." ** Finally everything was ready to go. All the supplies and been packed and every weapon had be double checked. Final good byes had been said and the last plan finalized. The group stood silently in the main temple somber and quiet. A large group of people came to see them off and wish them well all stood as still as mourners at a funeral.   Misha came up to Daria, moving with a silent grace that surprised her. "You ready?" he asked in a warm tone.   She nodded in return. "Yes. Lets get moving."   "Good. One thing, I'll leave first to check the corridor. If everything is clear our people will come out one at a time as quietly as possible. I want you to be the last one out. When you do leave I want you to come up and signal to me that everyone is out."   "I understand."                              Raven, who had been watching silently from the sidelines until now, came up to stand beside Misha in front of the group of warriors. "A moment, Misha, if I may." Misha inclined his head fractionally toward the priestess. "Of course, Lightbringer." The wolf-woman took a long look at the men and women before her, meeting the eyes of each one. At last seeming to find the words, she spoke. "You are all headed out into battle -- perhaps the most important battle of your lives," she said. "I could stand up here for an hour talking about the trials and the challenges you will face, trying to instill some kind of courage or tenacity in all of you for the road ahead. But when you walk out of those doors, you will be the ones who have to go into battle. And in that moment, no words that I say here today will give you the strength that you need to win. Ultimately, it is your strength ... your skill ... your courage ... and your faith ... that will bring you through to victory. So believe in yourselves.  Believe in each other. And believe in whatever gods you serve. And know that whatever happens, we will be here praying for your safety." The Lightbringer stretched out her hands, palms facing the group. "May the blessings of Kammoloth, Dokorath and all the gods go with you this day," she said solemnly. "Fight well, and fight with honor." With that, she stood aside. Misha gave her one last look, then turned and headed for the doors leading out of the temple.   Daria signaled Misha with the wave of the hand that everyone was out. Behind her the massive doors of the temple slowly closed. The two doors came together with a massive boom that made everyone jump. No matter what happened the die was cast, there was no turning back now. Misha tapped the stones with the hilt of his axe and all eyes turned to him. He began moving down the corridor without saying a word and the rest followed silently after him. ** The town was burning, the light of countless fires danced and reflected off of his metal skin. The bits of debris raining down didn't seem to bother him as he continued to wander the streets. Malabrinum was confused, this didn't look like any part Taroshi he knew and as the Amber Orders guard he knew the whole fortress intimately. Still the town did look vaguely familiar, but why? It didn't look like any normal Suielman town. The buildings were mostly wood and plaster instead of brick and marble. And the road beneath him was paved with small gray stones instead of the usual massive stone blocks. As the creature walked the sounds of shouting and screaming came to his metal ears and he broke into a run. Turning a corner he beheld a strange sight. Some strange animal-like people were cowering in the ground floor of a burning building. He watched as the animal people shrieked and screamed as debris rained down on them. He couldn't understand why they didn't leave the building and go to safety. They were standing in front of an open doorway, all it would take was a few steps. Then he heard the sound of laughter and cheering. He turned to the out of place sounds and found a group of human like people and three large dogs watching the animal-persons plight. The animal people Malabrinum didn't recognize, but the other group he did. "Tekshi," he said out loud. Lutins. All doubts disappeared from his confused mind; he knew what to do with lutins. *** They were having a great time, both lutin and moondog. It was so easy too, all it took was a burning building and a few Keepers. All they had to do was stand and watch as the keepers had to choose between the terror of burning to death and the mind killing terror of the moondogs. The lutins were betting to see which of the cowering retches died first. The moon dogs were enjoying the rush of power they felt as they absorbed the fear from the people. The moon dogs didn't care who died first as long as they died in fear. The keepers would die of terror, literally frightened to death to feed the moon dogs. It was wonderful sport. "Ta woo shenamo, Tekshi." All eyes turned to the voice that had spoken those words. There standing in the shadow of a burning tavern was a large animal, debris raining down around it as the flames cast dancing shadows around it. The lutins as a group laughed. "More fun!" one shouted. The largest of the moondogs; Jhauzros, nodded in agreement. This Keeper was different, more powerful and watching him squirm in terror would be all the better. The keeper broke into a run and came straight the group. Jhauzros watched as the creature cleared the building and came into the open square. He was surprised that this keeper could even get so close, most people simply couldn't handle the fear. He expected the charging animal to stop any moment and then flee in panic. But it didn't stop, instead it picked up speed, running at an impossible speed straight at them. "That no person" a lutin shaman said as realization set in. "That a golem." "Destroy it!" another of the shamans ordered. A lutin spear arched out and down toward the wolf. Jhauzros watched as it hit the canine in the shoulder and bounced off with a loud "Clang." Then a fire flared up to one side and illuminated the charging creature. It was like no golem ever seen before. Smoke gray metal covered the creature's body and fire reflected off of gold teeth and claws. The monster fox, closed with the moondog at unnatural speed as arrows and spears bounced off its hide. Jhauzros had a moment of pure surprise before Madog slammed into him knocking the magical creature to the ground. The other two moondogs charged the metal creature. Erizth bit down on the monster's muzzle with her powerful jaws while Xscahas grabbed both if it's hind legs with his own powerful teeth. The giant fox gave an almost casual flip of it's head and sent Erizth tumbling into Jhauzros. Then he turned and attacked Xscahas ripping his head off completely. Then he closed with the prostrate forms of Erizth and Jhauzros. He heard Erizth snarl and there was the crunch of bone. Suddenly the metal covered vulpine loomed over Jhauzros. He caught sight of those gold teeth just before they clamped down on his throat and crushed it, killing him instantly. Malabrinum looked at the corpse of the hound that lay in front of him. Even though it was now dead he could still see the evil aura that surrounded it. The other two monsters lay nearby as dead as the first. Also there were the shattered remains of three lutins, of the others there was no sign. The animal-people crowded around him and patted him on the head. Why were they calling him Madog? It wasn't his name, was it? It did seem familiar and he did like it. He studied the faces, but none of them looked to be an Amber mage. Suddenly he remembered. They're called Keepers. And this place was Metamor Keep. It was his new home. Not the Amber Order, that was long destroyed. Metamor Keep had become his new home, its people his people, and he would protect them. He heard the sounds of lutins shouting in the distance. There was work to do. "Go to safe place," He ordered the ones he had just saved. Running quickly he headed towards the lutins. Once long ago he had defended a fortress and failed. This time he wouldn't fail. *** End part 31 </HTML>