eath f ero - Part 1

Cain rode ahead of the rest of the party, talking to animals and birds along the way to gain knowledge of the way ahead. On the third day of their journey he came back from a conversation with a small family of rabbits.
"They say that 'big humans' and wolves are coming this way. From the images that they conjured I assume that they mean giants. I suggest we put some sacks and straw around our horses hooves. That way we should move more quietly."
They tried this and over the next few days they espied a handful of giants in a valley below them. Thanks to Cain's warning and advice they managed to avoid them and continue their journey to Fort Lakeside without any other dangers.

Arriving at the town Grabthroat jumped from his pony and rubbed his seat.
"Just as I think I'm getting used to riding…" he began and groaned. "Next time we go by boat even if it does end up with us landing on Itheldown Island."
They took lodgings in The Bell where they cleaned up and eat a hot meal.
"Do we have another vote on how we get back to Akesoli?" asked Trimus.
"No." grinned Ako. "I'm with you for once Trimus. Nice cabins, hot meals and no more riding for me."
"I'll go book us passage." Said Darkhawk
"Good, while you're doing that I'll visit the records office and see if they have any information on the island, I might just want to take a flight there."
The others choked on their ale as they heard Trimus' suggestion.
"You are joking, Trimus." Said Grabthroat sternly.
"No. Just think of the riches that would be there."
"To say nothing of the dangers." Added Ako.
"Let us see if we can get the Phoenix to rise first." Cautioned Grabthroat, "Then we can decide on where we will take it."
They all agreed on that and finished the meal and agreed to meet again for supper.

Trimus spent a profitable few hours in the record office researching the mysterious Itheldown Island. This rugged spire of rock jutting out from the lake has been the bane of sailors for three centuries ever since the strange events one night when all the residents of the island, including the powerful but inward looking, Ithel family perished. No one knows what happened but screams were heard as far away as Bronsdale. Now if a ship comes close enough to see Itheldown Castle the superstitions say that the journey is doomed. He returned to the Bell where the others were waiting.
"I've just asked Cain whether he is going to stay with us." Stated Darkhawk.
"As I told you when we first met, I had a vision. More has become clear since then. An image of a castle in the clouds, a place called the city of Serrain, a place of gnomes. Mechanical devices, metal birds carrying people. The city moves. We will go there on a mission for … "
At that moment Cain stopped open mouthed as Ako fell forward into his meal. Darkhawk changes form and looks around before toppling backwards off his chair. Cain too fell forward followed by Trimus. Grabthroat stuck his fingers down his throat and vomited but it was too late and he too slumped to the floor just as a group of hooded figures entered.

The smell of horse, very strong, was the first thing that Trimus noticed as he came round. The next was the pain in his wrists and ankles. From what he could judge he was tied hand and foot, blindfolded, gagged and strapped to the back of a horse. His rings were gone and his head ached. He sniffed the air, trying to ignore the scent of the horse and could not smell the lake. The trail they were on seemed to be leading uphill and was rugged, as far as he could judge anyway. He tried to count the horses and listen for any sounds of his companions but gave up as his headache got worse and he blacked out again.

The next time he came round, he was being taken from the horse, his hands were freed and the gag removed. He tried to recall a spell, any spell, but his head seemed to be full of cotton wool.
"Feed them." A voice, probably human, ordered.
"Are we all here?" called Trimus earning a slap from his guard.
"Yes!" replied Cain before he too was silenced with a blow.
"Next one who talks gets to walk the rest of the way. Understand?" the voice ordered again.
Trimus half expected Grabthroat to call out, the dwarf would do anything to avoid a ride he thought but no more voices were heard. Trimus was forced to drink a bitter potion before the gag was replaced and darkness claimed him once more.

It was evening when he next he woke. Through the blindfold he could see the light of a campfire.
"Who are these people?" Trimus thought to himself, "Slavers? Turok's agents? Have we asked to many questions about something? Is that elf that wanted to by Lakeside House behind it? An enemy of Rintrah's trying to get at him through us"
His reverie was shattered as a cry went up, from Cain.
"Get that one away from the fire! Next time he tries to burn his bonds, throw him on the fire." Called the commander's voice.
"Nice try Cain." Thought Trimus. "Who else is here? Is it just the two of us? Did the others get away? Or are they dead?"
Trimus' captors drugged him again that night and when he regained his senses they were moving again. The ground was steeper, more rugged and the going was slower. Suddenly there was a commotion ahead. Trimus ducked his head and managed to move his blindfold off of his left eye by running it against his mounts neck. Ahead of him Cain had managed to free his hands and remove his gag. He bent down and whispered something to the steed that incensed it causing it to bolt into the rugged ground beside the road that wended its way through the mountains.
"Stop him Brothers." Called the commanding voice that Trimus recognised from the night before.
To his left Trimus saw Darkhawk remove his blindfold and spur his horse forward, while Grabthroat burst his bonds and urged his horse to follow. Their guards, nine in all each wearing red robes that looked familiar to Trimus' eyes, were disorganised, surprised but the resilience of their captives. One tried to grab the reins of Grabthroat's horse as it went past but the dwarf used his hands, still tied as a club and smashed his captor in the face breaking the cleric's nose. Suddenly Darkhawk, Cain and Grabthroat stiffen in their saddles. Darkhawk falls to the side of his mount, still attached by one ankle to a stirrup and is dragged along as the horse bolts. Cain tumbles of his and rolls down a rough, rocky slope like a rag doll. Grabthroat's horse is caught by the bleeding cleric and the dwarf is given a rough punch in the kidneys. He appears to be paralysed but the hurt shows in his eyes. Trimus looked around then a blow to the back of his head brought darkness down.

Trimus next became aware of his surroundings as they were cut free of the horses. From the sounds they appeared to be in a cave. Still blindfolded, gagged and with hands tied behind his back Trimus was forced to move forward with a rough shove in the back. Walking uneasily on numb feet the mage felt and sensed that they had moved from a smallish cave to one much larger.
"Get this lot inside!" echoed the commanding voice Trimus assumed was their captors' leader as they were led from the cave into a passage, through doorways and several flights of stairs.
"Get these five sorted and locked up." The voice came again from somewhere behind him as Trimus was roughly manhandled into a cell, a small one he guessed. He felt his hands being untied, his blindfold and gag removed, then his wrists and ankles were clasped by iron manacles.
"Why are we here?" snapped Trimus who received nothing but a slap and silence for his question. Left alone in the narrow dark cell Trimus could hear and see nothing. Again he searched his mind for any magic that could help him and his companions. He felt confident that he could cast a Magic Missile spell but all other spells were gone from his mind. He thought of calling Rintrah but without his amulet that would be futile. After a brief burst of struggling with is chains, despair, tiredness and the after effects of the drugs forced upon him, Trimus fell in a fitful and unrewarding sleep.

The next morning one of the clerics came in and fed him with a thin grey gruel and a mug of brackish water. After the guard left Trimus smiled as he heard Grabthroat's rich baritone voice singing a bawdy dwarven drinking song, soon joined by Darkhawk's pure tenor. They got barely a few stanzas into 'The Potato And The Onion' before the guards ordered them to shut up. He listened out for his other companions but heard nothing but the faint cries in a female voice.
Time passed. With no way of gauging how long Trimus was unsure whether it was day or night. The cell door opened and two clerics entered. The taller had his cowl up, throwing his face into shadow though glints of a silver face mask could be glimpsed within the sinister darkness.
"So fool, we have you at last. You will be punished at last for you desecration."
Trimus' mind whirled for a few moments. What was this madman talking about. Then it came to him. The monastery near Crowlerd and the Nine Of Blood. "I'm not sorry for what we did to you .." Trimus began but he was halted by a brutal slap across the face that made his eyes water and ears ring. "Very soon you will be sorry, very sorry. You will be sacrificed to the great Kharg."
"I'm sorry, I don't believe I've heard of him." Sneered Trimus for which the mage received another slap for his sharp tongue and he blacked out.

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