<HTML> The wall opened suddenly before him, and Garulf charged through with his axe at the ready. Though younger than Daria, he had already seen a good deal of action on patrols; his battle-tuned senses now served him well, as he quickly scanned the room for threats and targets. It was a large, open room with a low ceiling, its bare floor covered with salvaged beds and mattresses that had replaced whatever furniture had originally been present. There were piles of clothes and other clutter, as well -- a testament to the soldiers who had been camping here.  The most readily-noticed aspect of the room, however, was that almost everything was either burning or charred by fire -- including the enemy soldiers who had been sleeping here moments before. The scent of burning flesh and hair filled Garulf's sensitive nostrils, and the haze of smoke hanging over the room obscured his view of the bodies that littered the floor. The bear-morph didn't bother to stop and take stock of which ones were alive or dead; if it was on the ground and wasn't moving much, it was of little concern. Instead, he focused his attentions immediately on those who were still standing, or were scrambling to their feet. In the confusion of the smoke and flames, his first few targets died quickly. Bradfox was behind him, braced against the entranceway and cursing loudly and creatively as he unleashed a hail of deadly arrows any surviving invaders he could see through the haze. To either side of him other passages had opened, and the rest of Daria's team came forth to join the battle. Garulf ignored them all, unconsciously aware of their presence but devoting his full attentions to the enemies at hand. Nasoj's troops had largely gotten over their shock by now and were coming at him in twos and threes, unwilling to face the huge bear-morph alone. Garulf pushed them back with the long handle of his axe, swiped at them with his claws, crushed their skulls against the stone walls, and cleaved off limbs and heads as the opportunities presented themselves, reveling in the heat of combat. An arrow shot past his head, burying itself in the eye socket of an archer who had been ready to shoot him down. Garulf chanced a quick look back at his savior. "Watch yourself, big guy," Brad grunted, nocking another arrow. Garulf bared his teeth in an ursine grin and dove back into the fray. Moments later -- or at least it seemed so to Garulf -- a war cry echoed through the room from the doorway that stood opposite the sabotaged magazine. Glancing toward the direction of the sound, the bear grimaced as he saw a mob of at least thirty enemy soldiers rushing into the room. ~0~ Daria bit back a curse as she saw the enemy reinforcements arrive, flooding into the room with their weapons at the ready. Jessica cast a few energy bolts at the incoming enemies, even as Starling lashed out with fire and Bradfox set loose an even greater barrage of arrows; but none of them could continue such assaults indefinitely, and the attackers kept coming. In seconds her warriors were battling against four-to-one odds, fighting back to back or keeping the makeshift passageways behind them to keep from being surrounded. "Starling, guard the passage!" Daria shouted, gripping her rapier and cutting into the half-dozen attackers approaching her. "All of you, come this way!" The other Keepers complied, though Bradfox complained loudly at being forced to switch to his sword and plunge bodily into the fray. He was skillful even with the blade, though, and soon fought his way to join Garulf. Across the room, Weyden and David were inching their way towards Daria's escape passage, Jessica flying overhead and doing her best to thin out the ranks around them. Brennar and Morel were nearest to the door where the reinforcements had come in and were facing the heaviest opposition, but so far they were managing to hold off their attackers. Daria focused on eliminating any enemy soldiers who came close to her passage, knowing that there was no way she would last long trying to make it to the others on her own. One of the enemy soldiers Daria was fighting swung his broadsword in a long arc, and pain lanced through Daria's arm as she blocked the blow. She and her fellow Keepers were tiring under the relentless assault -- something would either have to give way soon, or most of them would not make it out of here alive... The man with the broadsword was brought down with a sudden axe-swing to the back of the neck, and Garulf and Brad forced their way through the small opening created to take their places alongside Daria. "Glad you could join us," Daria said. "That makes three of us," Brad said shortly, dropping back behind the woman and the bear. With the two warriors shielding him from the enemy swordsmen, he had his bow out again in a matter of seconds. "Duck." Daria did so, dropping into a crouch as Bradfox sent an arrow over her head and into the neck of one of her opponents. She blocked a sword that was aimed at her head, then leapt up and gave the offending soldier a quick jab to the nose. Behind her, Starling gave a small cry. An image flashed in the redhead's mind: Brennar and Morel with their backs to the wall, fighting against six men at once. "Damn," she muttered, blocking a quick series of strokes from the tallest swordsman attacking her. He risked a stronger blow, probably hoping to knock the woman to her knees, but she ducked in close to him and used her body as a pivot point, directing the man's own momentum into a throw that sent him tumbling into his nearest comrade. Grabbing her dagger from the sheath on her leg, Daria took advantage of her opponent's momentary disorientation and drove the sturdy blade firmly into his neck. Any scream he might have made was cut short as the dagger sliced through his windpipe. A sharp kick to the ribs knocked Daria off of the dying man's body, but she quickly regained her feet. Her side was burning, but she couldn't worry about that right now. Garulf was a powerful fighter, but she could leave him to handle these invaders alone -- especially since this was _her_ team. More shouts echoed through the room, and Daria looked up to see about ten more enemy soldiers rushing into the room. Dammit, she thought, didn't we have enough to worry about? A moment later, though, she noticed something odd. The new arrivals weren't paying any real attention to Daria's team or the battle currently underway -- they were looking backwards toward the doorway, expressions of fear on their eyes. "What in...?" Brad exclaimed from behind her. A ball of green fire suddenly shot into the room, hitting one of the enemy soldiers full in the chest and knocking him flat. His companions scattered, heading for the now-empty passageways that Daria's teammates had used on their way in to the room. The corridors would peter out a few ells past the entrance, closed off by the Keep, but at the moment Daria was in no position to capitalize on their miscalculation. Besides, she was far more interested in what could have caused the invaders such fear. The answer came in the form of a gray raccoon dressed in a heavily tarnished white fur overcoat, the front of which was covered with dried blood. In fact, the only thing really clean about him was the sword he was wielding; it was a blade of medium weight and thickness, but longer than usual and of a slightly peculiar design.. Daria recognized him immediately as the same warrior she and Merai had seen hunting gremlins on Daedra'kema; Rickkter was his name, or so Daria was told, and he had developed a rather astonishing reputation among the members of his unit. Right now, Daria was just glad to see a friendly face. "Rickkter!" she shouted. He threw her a look and nodded, taking in the situation in the space of an instant. Stretching out his hand, he threw two more blasts at the soldiers that stood between Daria's passage and David and Weyden, giving them an opening to fall back. He then turned his attentions to the crowd of soldiers around Brennar and Morel, laying into the invaders with blinding speed. In the space of a few seconds all six lay dead, and the surviving enemy soldiers scattered before the battlemage "Thanks," Daria called to him, stooping to retrieve her dagger. "We needed that." "Welcome," the raccoon said shortly, looking back over his shoulder. "I assume you're from the Temple, right? Do you have a way out of here?" Daria frowned. "Yes, why?" Rickkter was still looking over his shoulder. "Because we're going to need it in a few minutes. I took care of another pocket of these guys on my way here, and I think some of them managed to get away and find reinforcements." "More?" Brennar said plaintively. "Are you sure?" "Never argue with a mage." The raccoon walked over to Daria. "You in charge here?" "Aye, sir." "Thought so. Let's go." "Right. Come on, people." "Jacob, Julian, Hector, Elliot, Goldmark, let's move!" Rickkter shouted back over his shoulder. A few moments later a group of four rats, and what Daria could only assume was a black fox, hesitantly emerged from the same doorway Rickkter had. They quickly surveyed the carnage before hurrying through it to where the rest of the Keepers were. They headed into the passageway, Daria in the lead. It was only about five feet wide, and went back roughly two yards before turning to the right and proceeding another ten yards or so to end in a stone wall. "Nice," Rickkter said wryly. "This the way you came in?" "Aye, with this," Daria said, holding up the Key. "We closed the passage behind us so no one could find the way back to the Temple if we were killed. Give me a moment, and I'll open it up again." Daria clasped the Key in her hands and focused on the wall in front of her, visualizing the passage she wanted to form. Obediently, the stone began to give way-- And then stopped. The woman frowned, feeling the sudden resistance in the stones as she willed the passage to open. The stones seemed to give for a moment before melding back into their original flat shape. "What's wrong?" the coon called out, noticing her expression. Rickkter had moved to the back of the group, looking out for unwanted company. "It ... is fighting me," she said at last, scarcely believing it herself. "That's never happened before." In the distance, she could hear the growing sounds of enemy soldiers, accompanied by the screams and war cries of lutins. Brennar crept back to the entrance of the passage, out beyond Rickkter, peeking out into the room they had left. A few seconds later Morel was at his side, gripping his sword in one weary hand. "We haven't much time," Rickkter growled quietly. "If this is not going to work..." "It will work!" Daria insisted, her brow creasing as she put more effort into it. Slowly, the passage began to open once more -- but the shape was unstable, the path warped. And it was taking all of her concentration to get it to go even that far. The gibbering outside abruptly grew louder, as a horde of lutins came streaming into the room. "Get back! Get back!" Morel hissed, pulling Brennar away from the entrance -- probably hoping they wouldn't be spotted. His hopes were in vain, however, as the lutins made a beeline for the frightened tomcat. Morel positioned himself in front of the entrance, his sword at the ready as the little green-skinned brutes swarmed towards him. Daria gave one final mental push, attempting to force the passage the rest of the way. For a moment it worked, but only a moment before the magical stone of Metamor closed once more upon itself. Daria swore loudly, shaking the key at the resisting wall. Her frustration drew Rickkter's attention for a split second and he looked back to see what was the problem. That almost cost him a sword through the gut, but his sword whipped up faster and took off the arm of the attacker, swiftly followed by the lutin's head. Another half dozen perished in the spell the mage cast a moment later, as five yards of corridor burst into a wall of flame. "That should hold them a while," Rickkter explained as he jogged up to Daria. "What seems to be the problem? The short version, please." Daria was quick to explain the function of the key and what had happened when she had tried to use it. Rickkter's expression grew less and less pleased the more she talked. "Can you show me what is supposed to happen?" he asked, glowering back at the bend in the corridor. Fortunately he'd cast the fire spell near the entrance, and thanks to that bend they were now well out of the enemy's line of fire if they thought to bring any archers with them. Clearing her mind, Daria turned back to the wall and pictured the passageway leading up to the inside of the temple. She could feel the passage forming, and then the unknown force that blocked her efforts. A voice came to her from inside her head. {Here, let me help.} Before Daria could protest she felt a pair of paws clasp her head at the temples and ten tiny claws dig into her head. A surge of power went through her, so fast and strong that it almost took her breath away. {Concentrate, damn it!} Rick's voice scolded her in her mind. {Focus on the passage and let me do the rest!} Much to Daria's surprise, it seemed to be working. Their combined power was counteracting whatever was preventing her from opening the passage in the first place. Within about a minute they had a long staircase before them, leading up and northward in the direction of the temple. She quickly recognized that the passage was about as stable as it was going to get. "Let's go!" she shouted, still rooted in place from the power Rickkter was channeling through her. She watched as Starling, the four rats, the black -- or was he blue? -- fox, Brad, and Garulf ran past and up the narrow flight of steps. The only two left were Brenner and Morel, both watching the slowly dying flames. "Rick, I think we had best be moving," she stuttered, trying not to let their weakening defense break her concentration from the corridor. {Okay, but go slowly. It's taking all my concentration to keep this thing open.} Daria could clearly hear that strain in his projected thoughts. When she heard Rick tell her to move, she did so, however slowly it was. "Brenner, Morel, fall back!" she cried as she and Rick reached the first steps. She noted with some horror that the flames weren't even a foot high by this point. The corridor they had opened seemed smaller when they were in it, Daria and Rickkter almost having no room to turn around in their awkward, attached state. They were about a quarter of the way up the flight when the first of the lutins appeared. Fortunately the narrow passage worked to their advantage here and Morel and Brenner were able to hold the attackers back. But the further they went up, the narrower the passage seemed to become, and the more tightly Rickkter gripped her head. She could hear his panting behind her and could only guess at the effort this was taking the mage. They hadn't moved more than half a dozen steps when first the grating sound occurred. Rickkter growled along with it, digging his claws further into the skin on Daria's head. She was horrified when she saw that the sound was made by the corridor warping behind them, closing in on itself, flowing almost like liquid. {Can't... hold on much longer!} Rick told her. "You two, get behind us!" Daria cried, sensing through the key what was about to happen. "Hurry up!" "Funny, I thought we were!" Morel gasped, stabbing at another of the advancing lutins. The staircase had slowed them down a little, but they were making up the distance. Brennar was quick to see the situation and felled one more attacker before dropping to all fours and scrabbling up and around Daria and the mage. Morel had apparently become winded from the fighting and so was slower than the cat. Daria cried out when she saw the contorting stairs of the passage heave beneath the man, tripping him. "Morel!" she shouted, trying to break free and pull him up. She was stopped by Rickkter's iron grip on her. {Forget about him!} Rickkter shouted, his expression harsh. {He's gone!} "The hells he is!" Daria retorted angrily. She could see that the old soldier had scrambled back to his knees, but already he was being set upon by lutins. "I don't leave my men behind!" {There's no time!} the raccoon snapped, practically dragging her up the stairs by her head. {Move! Now!} Morel screamed in pain and fury as he bravely tore into the lutins with his meat cleaver, doing his best to buy time for the others -- and in an instant, Daria realized that Rickkter was right. With a bitter taste in her throat, she turned and continued her frantic climb up the passage, not daring to look back again. They made it another thirty seconds or so before Morel's screams ended. Forcing back the tears she wanted to shed, Daria heeded the instructions Rickkter was screaming inside her head and concentrated on the passage once more. The passage was now hardly big enough for the two of them to stand in and was shifting and moving about almost like a liquid. Redoubling her efforts, Daria channeled all her rage and frustrations into keeping the way open. Looking up, she could see the others on a wide landing, their expressions nervous as they saw the horde of lutins closing in behind. Brad nocked an arrow and took aim, then apparently thought better of it and lowered his bow -- the passage was too narrow for him to get a shot off. Even with both Rickkter and Daria channeling all their efforts into the Key, and the others at the top of the passage yelling encouragement, it was tough going. As they neared the top the passage was brushing their shoulders and undulating beneath their feet like an ocean. The lutins screamed and gibbered madly below them, as the stones shifted and disappeared under their feet and they fell cursing onto the swarm of green-skinned brutes behind them. "Al--most ... there..." Daria gritted. Suddenly the floor churned beneath them, and the steps they were climbing dropped limply away from the landing. Months of training kicked in as Daria jumped up, Rickkter copying her motion in sync, and grabbed onto what had suddenly become a ledge six feet high. The raccoon held on to her with an iron grip, dragging her down with his extra weight. "PULL US UP!" Rickkter shouted, though Daria couldn't tell whether he was speaking out loud or only in her mind. Whether he heard the battlemage's order or not, Garulf quickly knelt and seized hold of Daria's arms, pulling her upwards. Bones and muscles screamed at her as Daria felt her arms pull out of their sockets. In that instant her concentration on the key wavered -- and the walls slammed shut beneath their feet like a battering ram, straight into the lutins that were fast on their heels. The crunching sound alone was sickening. The blood that squirted through the closing gap was worse. But it was the single outstretched arm reaching up from the floor below, fingers clutching for something they could not reach, that probably did the most to send Brennar and Weyden retching in the corner.  Daria was in too much agony from her dislocated arms to pay much attention. There was a door at the top of the landing, which someone opened a few seconds later. Some part of Daria's brain took note of the Lightbringer Archives on the far side of the doorway, and Merai rushing to her side. "Oh, bother," Merai winced, quickly seeing the problem. "What have you done to yourself this time?" Taking hold of her left arm and its shoulder, the priestess did something extremely painful and the limb popped back into place. She then did the same to the other arm, completely ignoring Daria's screams and curses. Then she placed her hands on both shoulders, and Daria finally felt the pain dwindle away. The feline girl smiled a little. "Feel better?" Daria glared up at her. "I suppose you think you're clever." Merai grinned broadly and rose to her feet, reaching out a hand to help the warrior-woman up. "What would folk like you do without folk like me?" "Bleed a great deal more, I imagine." By now Rickkter had recovered from his exhaustion, and Garulf helped him to his feet. "Thank Akkala you two are all right," the bear-morph rumbled. "We didn't think you two were going to make it up here." Rickkter shook himself off, his tail bushing out behind him. "Almost didn't. Got lucky there. But what I want to know is what the hell is happening around here to cause the keep to do that." "You'll have to talk to Mistress Raven about that, she might know something," Daria said, leaning on Merai's shoulder as they stepped out into the first floor of the Archives. A crowd was waiting in a loose semicircle around the entrance, and they looked greatly relieved as the warriors finally entered the room. "Rickkter?" said a soft voice from beyond the wall of people. A few acolytes parted the way to allow a female skunk to pass by. "Oh, Kayla," Rick gasped, holding out his arms when he saw her. The skunk almost rushed him, falling into his arms. Rickkter held her tightly against his chest as she clung to him and shook. "I thought you had been killed out there," she said, her voice muffled against his coat. Gently stroking the fur at the back of her neck, Rickkter shushed her. "I know, love. I know. I'm just glad nothing happened to you." Daria looked at the couple, standing there almost in awe at the mage's sudden change of attitude. Turning to Merai, she saw a similar look on the cat-woman's face at the sight of Kayla and her love together. "That was pretty close," the cleric murmured as they headed for the staircase leading up to the temple hall. The room was serving as a makeshift infirmary, and Raven and a number of acolytes and healers would be waiting there to treat the warriors' remaining wounds. "Aye. A little too close," Daria agreed quietly. She looked up and noticed that Rick and Kayla had managed to separate. Beside her, Brennar and Weyden walked unsteadily into the room, both of them somehow looking pale even through feathers and fur. "Well, I don't know about anyone else," said Rickkter, "But I'm starving. Who's ready for dinner?" There was a sound like a choked whimper, and two pairs of feet scrabbled back through the door again. Rickkter grinned mischievously and walked off toward a quiet corner of the Archives, arm in arm with his beloved. ***   End part 52</HTML>