Set for doing, I mean, not set to walk into one.
Hit a waystation early on the day after the shadow attack. Made up for it with long day the next day. Passed shortcut coming from west uneventfully. Rokanoi couple running waystation we finally stopped at mentioned some Correll troops had come through - army maybe taking advantage of unrest to come down on Rokanoi. Stupid humans, this is no time to fight amongst selves.
That night attacked by "time killers" - lopsided sand-blowing apes with a runt extra arm sort of sticking out of their left elbow. Grettir started things off well sticking his sword straight through a nose into a brain - its times like that I see the virtues of weapons - but maybe too well since they fell back and blocked off our other exit so Dizyk and Parna couldn't circle around on them. We all spent a while trying to figure out what was going on. It seems they just left, probably to report as Korin said they were sent. Great.
 [Click on image for larger version. It's worth it.] |
Next day passed a caravan coming double time up from the south, and had been warned of war down that way. Were getting close to shortcut joining in from east - from Dur Merkul - when came across Rokanoi guy with glow-sword hurrying up from there. Was being chased by one of the demon-types and something else nasty. I got a pretty clear picture of where we were and we went off trying to get around the junction through side passages - came a little too close though and something started howling. Joining back to the main tunnel tried putting up a wall to give us some cover coming out, maybe slow down pursuit, but turned out there was an "alarm" ahead in the form of a couple of sprung coils of wire braced open by sticks. Got close and the sticks crunched through and tortured human guys formed in the wire, screaming as you would figure and hacking about with axes. Were not too hard to kill but made a great big hello to the group at the junction.
So ran ahead for a bit until we hit a good spot with cross-passages and arranged ourselves for an attack, hope to pick off a couple of whatever they are with arrows before they close. There can be no survivors - no one must escape to report back. Dizyk and the wolf our top runners (and maybe Kesiana if his honor is okay with attacking fleeing foes), will have to break from main combat if need be to pursue, or druid may be able to throw magic after any who try to flee? Despite gravity of situation must admit am keen to finally see one of the demon-types in combat, learn how they may best be fought.