Chapter 16

A passage from Rutgers Journal


2.5 days in the pool

High priest to be consulted and meet at Bahamian temple in the capital in 3+ weeks

Awesome armour +2 as I leave the temple, hans lends me a horse and I head east to catch up with the rest of the party.

Pressing hard I catch up with the party in a day and a half.

They have a lead on where the spear is, and are heading there now.

We camp and around noon the next day we encounter a human woman dressed lavishly as an elf, dead at the roadside. She seems to have been shot in the back with several arrows whilst running away from someone.

Cenwyn ascertains that this is one of the costumes that are worn as part of the parade on the travel of the spear.

We bury the body and say some words.

A few hundred yards ahead the road curves and we come across the scene of a battle, corpses of civilians are mixed with soldiers. A circle of carts in the middle of the battlefield are at least 4 Harpies similar to those that attacked us before.

We leave the horses with Ravel (who is still doing funeral rites) and approach the battle on foot.

Cenwyn shoots one of the a harpies, clipping one in the wing and knocking it prone.

Iggy charges into the group screaming, jumping and slashing at a harpies throat with his dagger, hitting the harpy deep in its shoulder. As he turns a patch of shadow jumps from his hand and covers the harpy in a shade of darkness as if only she was in the shade of a wandering cloud.

One of the harpies leaps into the air and swoops down screaming at Rutger and Jakar - dazing Rutger with the bloodcurdling scream.

The harpy Cenwyn knocked prone gets up and attacks him, missing him still clipped from his attack.

The final harpy swoops past Iggy slashing as she passes, just hitting him with her claws knocking him back.

Jakar attacks the harpy that screamed at him, hitting it cleanly with his heavy long sword.

One of the harpies is different from the rest, bigger a different plumage - more starling than crow - starts singing. Iggy seems resistant to the song, Jakar and Rutger are drawn to the song and move closer to her. Immobilised by her song.

Rutger has been drawn beside the harpy that attacked Cenwyn and although immobilised by the song swings his axe into the harpy cutting her across the breast.

Cenwyn shifts back and draws is bow to attack the harpy and hits her in her wing slowing her down a little.

Iggy tumbles away from the fray with the harpy, Rutger, Cenwyn and Jakar stopping behind the singing harpy and stabs her in the back with his blade; and slashes low against her leg - blood spurts out and she winces in pain.

The harpy Rutger hit moves back and swoops past Jakar slashing wildly and missing him.

Another harpy swoops past Rutger and scrapes him lightly, but knocks him stumbling a bit to the right.

A harpy swoops by Cenwyn slashing at him with her claws and knocks him into Jakar and Rutger.

Jakar throws a javelin hitting the harpy square in the gut, he shouts an inspiring word which snaps Rutger out of the immobilisation.

The singing harpy moves and lets out a screech which seems to daze Jakar.

Rutger takes a couple of steps forward and swings his axe down into the singing harpy spitting acid from his mouth over her as his axe embeds itself between her shoulder and neck.

Cenwyn moves back and shoots an arrow at a harpy and hit with a glancing blow.

Iggy moves up and attacks the singing harpy with his first attack, sliding the blade into her ribs then he gathers his resolve and attacks again sadly missing the second time.

A curdling scream from a harpy dazes Rutger, but Iggy seems ok. A second scream from the other harpy blasts Iggy and Jakar but again they don't seem dazed. A swooping slash from the 3rd knocks Rugter around in front of the singing harpy.

Jakar throws another javelin at the singing harpy and hits her in the wing. His amulet glows and he shakes him out of his daze.

The signing harpy breaks into song again and Rutger, Iggy, Jakar and Cenwyn are all immobilised by her song.

Rutger slashes into the singing harpy missing, but manages to shake off the effects of her song and can move again.

Cenwyn hits at one of the harpies, knocking her prone.

Iggy - - killed the singing harpy.

The harpy knocked prone by Cenwyn gets up and attacks Iggy clawing at him but then bursts into flame and collapses to the ground with a particularly hideous cackle which disturbs Iggy and Jakar.

Rutger is attacked by a harpy who misses and flies off out of range. Iggy is attacked by the remaining harpy, knocked back by a deep gash and she flies out of range.

Jakar mutters something to himself and looks invigorated by whatever he said to himself and moves to attack one of the harpies slashing deep cuts into the beast.

Rutger gets an alchemists fire out of his pack and readies it for his next move.

Cenwyn, shoots at one of the harpies and misses, his arrow sailing over the harpy.

Iggy throws his dagger at one of the harpies hitting it squarely.

Rutger is attacked and knocked back, and Jakar is attacked but the harpy misses.

Jakar attacks the harpy with his longsword and Rutger is inspired to throw his fire at Jakars target. Rutger throws the alchemists fire behind the harpy and it explodes blasting her.

Cenwyn shoots a harpy between the eyes and she falls to the ground dead.

Iggy moves up to the remaining harpy and slides the dagger between the vertebrae of her neck. Killing her instantly.