The Four Treasures

You can do that, there can always be a third wave.

If you want to actually leave the inn though, I think this would be a good opportunity. Bigger fish to fry you know?

well yea but we got 3 drow to pick up and interrogate

i mean the other griffin could take the one in the bar, you could get the one ontop of the ice wall, and i could thaw the wizard witha fireball, then later we can interrogate them. seraph wanted to do somthing with the drow in the bar, and the one s in and on the wall are also important.

~Thaden Ma'lar~

The cart rolled into a line of Drow. It wouldn't matter if I was in the air or not, the Drow could bring me down with a bow. Elf and Gryphon wars had happened in the past, with devastating casualties on both sides.

These Drow would be going down hard though. Seraph and company were doing well, but they were outnumbered by incredible odds. The number of Drow was about fifty Drow. That was a lot for a small group to combat. I decided to even the odds a little. When the Drow saw me, they sent me ten warriors. They surrounded me quickly and drew swords. I spread my senses and waited. The first moved towards me from behind. Before he reached me, I was in motion.

I flicked my tail, catching him around the neck. I whipped him forward, breaking his neck. While he was being whipped forward, I jumped forward at the Drow. His extended sword caught the dead Drow. I got on top of the dead Drow and shoved my battle talons into his skull, crushing it instantly. I twisted my torso to bring my rear claws on another Drow who approached me from the side. Another face kill. The other seven moved in. I blasted the ground with wind, knocking up a dustdevil. The dust obscured their view and aim. I focused on one opponent and threw him into the air with a gust of wind. Four down, six to go. I turned to see six bows, pointed at me.

A sudden shriek rang out above me as Sira dove. The elves looked up just in time to get blinded by a bright orb that Sira conjured. She landed on three of them, pandemonium broke out as I grabbed a partially blind elf and smashed him into another. The blow knocked them out as Sira finished off the remain four with ease.

as i watched the two griffen dispatch those drow, i pumped my arm in the air only to have an arrow go through it. "you... will pay for that..... " i yelled at the drow throwing a giant fireball his way, it engulfed him and his companion in flames. They ran off burning and screaming into the woods, fortunatly i could cast and fight with one arm, unfortunatly it was bleeding, badly.
seeing a very large group of drow aiming their bows at the griffen and my companions "die you bastards, go and burn in hell" i said summonoing large black tentacles to burst forth from the ground, grabbing the screaming drow, and crushing the life out of them, even after they walked into the realm of death.
after sumoning the tentacles, i was hit on the head hard, stumbling to the ground, i faded from conciousness.

"...Any bright ideas, Valin?" I muttered as we slowly began to spin around each other, getting a feel for one another's movements.

"Kill them." The drow commander's words were simple, his tone unquestionable. No fewer than five drow sprung into action, all of them obviously seasoned veterans, and all of them firing off rapid fire orders in drow to each other. They were obviously a team.

Trusting Valin with my life, I heaved my dagger at the nearest, taking him in the leg and drpping him to the ground, then pulled the shield from my back and blocked an incoming crossbow bolt that had come from another onrushing drow wielding a hand crossbow and a longsword. The third drow rushing at me batted at my sword arm, trying to open up a hole in my defenses. He found none. He worked his battle axe and mace with great skill, but niether weapon was quick enough to work it's way around my solid defense.

Not daring to look behind me to see how Valin fared against his two opponents, I was suddenly put under extrme pressure, having to defend against three wepaons from two separate opponents.

"Ma'Lar! We could use some HELP!" I yelled to the griffin, wondering at the same time where Croak and Alexanta had wandered off to.

I had been slowly pushed against the wall by the red clothed drow with the dagger tale I been defending my best deflecting blow by blow. Suddenly the dagger tale struck my arm my sword fell with a clatter. I immediately waited till he was close to me kneed him where it hurt, the drow bend down with pain I grabbed his dagger tale wrapped round it neck until I heard a distinct crack. The Drow body fell still on the ground

Croak awoke with a start. He had been having a terrible nightmare, but now he could no longer remember it. All he could think of was that word he had heard--whether in his dreams or in the real world, he didn't know. "HELP!" That's what the word was.

Croak rose to his feet, still exhausted but driven by his need to do whatever he could to respond to the call. He crawled out of his hole, crouching in the room outside it to survey the situation. Apparently, there had been drow attack, and the one survivor was being kept prisoner. Croak snuck out of the tavern carefully, and finally he understood why he was needed. Grasping his cloak, he walked out among the drow, growing steadily larger. His back began to curve and bend forward, and soon he was on all fours, and still growing. His skin became smooth and fiery red, and his eyes became big black orbs. As he crawled up to the drow, he sucked in sharply.

A giant salamander exhaled deadly flame into the dark foes.

I felt a great jet of heat from my right, but ignored it; breaking my concentration meant certain death. Fortunately, the drow were not as disciplined as I. One of them actually looked over at Croak for a second and the other flinched in the middle opf his attack. I took advantage of both, Knocking away all three blades with a sweep of my sword, then bringing my shield up to clip the first drow in the chin and knock him back a step. Kicking the other in the jaw, I pivotted on my heel and drove my blade behind me, taking the first drow in the gut. Continuing my momentum, I let go of my sword and finished my spin, backhanding the dark elf in the jaw. He went sprawling, and I grabbed the hilt of my sword, twisting it savagely as I pulled it from him as he fell.

Given a momentary reprieve, I turned in time to see Alex walk out of the Stag's Antler, dragging a length of chain with blades attached to it--a Dragaon's Tale, I believe it was called. His arm hung limp at his side, blood trailing form a gash into his shoulder, and dripping onto the ground as he walked.

"ALEX! We need HELP!" I yelled over to him as my remaining opponent recoevered. The drow ranks were scattered by the appearance of Croak, but they were seasoned veterans--the chaos wouldn't last long.

As the drow moved to attack, still dazed my my shield bash, I knocked his blade out of his hand with a well placed chop, then took his head from his shoulders in a single sweep of ym sword.

The first drow I injured with my dagger was struggling to get to his feet, his back to me. Kicking the dark elf down to the ground, I stomped him into the dirt, then slit his throat without a second thought.

After the first gout of flame, Croak knew he had made a mistake. He felt his form melting away, becoming unsteady and liquid. He quickly reverted back into his usual form, fighting to stay stable and to not get lost in his adapted form.

"Help!" he cried, a shout cut short as everything went black.

(I'm at school so if this bad i'll fix this when i go home)

I stumbled over to the fight saw a Drow about to attack Seraph, I grabbed the Dagger Tale spun it round my head and struck the Drow in the back of the head.
I then grinned at Seraph and pulled the dagger tale out the Drow head. I then started to feel very ill I looked at myself in the puddle and my face was white. The bleeding in my arm had slowed down but not because it was healing I had lost loads of blood I fell down on the ground and muttered one last pray to Lathlander before I fell uncoinious.

Valin:
Seraph asked me if I had any great ideas.
"Not really," I said. "I didn't think there would be this many" I added, as I brought my long sword's blade down, slicing across one of the Drow's necks, gashing it open, causing blood to pour out. I continued to circle with Seraph trying to evade most of the Drow's Kukri attacks. I evaded one a little too slowly, and had a large gash in my left arm, but I fought on. I then took my short sword, and thrust it into the handle of the blade, locking it, and by extension, the Drow, within my grasp. From there, I parried his blow that he made with his other arm, and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to keel over. With him keeled over, I thrust my sword into his back, killing him. Then, finally allowing myself to get a larger picture of the battle, I noticed Seraph was being triple-teamed, and I heard him yell for help from Thaden and Croak.
I said to him "I have your back. Bend over at the waist"
He said to me "What?!?" as if I were crazy, which, in a way, I guess I was.
"You heard me," I said, continuing "Trust me, just do it"
"Okay..." Seraph said, bending his torso down.
In a split second, I ran up his bent over back, and jumped into the air, flipping over, and shoving a dagger into one of the Drow's faces. He fell on the ground, dying, and I shot him in the chest with an arrow just to be on the safe side.
As I came out of my flip, I landed on another Drow's shoulders, and said to him "Come on, lets dance" and as he tried to shake me off, I was fighting him, drawing his attention away from Seraph, so that Seraph had enough time and and open target to kill the Drow outright.

"See, I told you I knew what I was doing," I told Seraph. I heard Croak cry for help, and in a split second, I was running towards him, blades in hand, cutting down Drow where they stood while I ran to Croak's side.

(Sorry, Bobo, I saw an oppening and took it. You shoulda told me I was going contrary to ur character earlier. sorry. And Dono, sorry for godmodding your character in this little bit...)

OOC: No prob, except I finished off those three I was dealing with earlier...but there's always more lol.

I turned from Valin the drow body dropped along with him.

I stood face to face with the drow commander.

I let a lion's grin work its way onto my face.

"So...here we are." I bent down and pulled my dagger from the thigh of the drow I had just finished.

Suddenly the drow's swords were in his hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Valin begin to circle around the other side of the commander. I shook my head, my grin frozen in place.

"This one is mine. I think Croak could use some help though...put your bow to work, Valin."

I beckoned the drow forward with my longsword, and he obliged. I was suddenly hard pressed by no fewer than a dozen well placed attacks. I managed to pick off ten of them, but the last two got through. The eleventh skipped off my platemail, but the final attack drew a line of blood along my cheek. Had I not jerked my head away at the last second, it would have taken my eye out.

It dawned on me that perhaps I was outmatched. Retaliating with my own barrage, I utilized the quickness of my dagger to my advantage, darting in and out of his defenses while my longsword drew most of his attention. I failed to score a wound, for hs plate mail was simply too tough and well crafter for my dagger to find a crease in.

We traded blows back and forth, more often than not I found myself on my heels, backing up a step as I tried to deflect his lightning fast attacks. I had never, in my eighteen years, fought someone as fast as this drow. I began to look him over, trying to find the source of his supernartural speed. As we fought, more and more of his attacks got through, all of them luckily defelcted by my armor.

"What House do you hail from, Drow?" I asked him throgh gritted teeth.

"Baenre," he grunted, his face contorted in concentration. House Baenre was the single most powerful clan of Drow in Menzobberanzon, the drow capital of the underdark. My father once visited that place...he said it was as beautiful as it was deadly.

"Weaponmaster, then?" I asked him. He laughed a little as he threw a complicated series of maneuvers at me. I was getting a feel for his style, though, and managed to block them all.

"Hardly. Youngest son of Matron Baenre," he said with a large amount of distaste.

"Pity. Give your second brother my father's regards," I said with a grin. My father had challenged the second son of Matron Baenre to single combat as a bargaining chip for his freedom, when he was taken prisoner by the treacherous drow. The drow lost.

With a sudden, daring move, I dove at the drow, taking a blade in the side and a gash on my shoulder for my efforts. I engulfed the youngest son of Matron Baenre with my massive bulk, bearign him down beneath me. We landed with a grunt, his blade plunging deeper into my side.

"To the Nine Hells with you. Meet your goddess." I drove my dagger up and into his jaw, puncturing the roof of his mouth and into his brain. With a look of surprise on his face, he twitched and died.

~Thaden Ma'lar~

And suddenly, the Drow backed off. Seraph pulled his knife out of the leader of the Drow.
"Are they regrouping or retreating?" I asked.

Feeling a soft breeze and firerunner's wet tounge on my face, I came back to consiousness; trying to push myslef up I collapsed because of the pain in my arm, the arrow still sticking through it. After that i turned around and just sat down, looking at the carnage and the reatreating drow. "hmm... i wonder why they are..... oh; well that explains it" i said looking at the dead noble and seraph standing over him his dagger dripping black drow blood. "i guess there is still more to learn about my companions". After finally standing up i walked over to seraph,"well looks like you did it, good job" i said patting him on the back.

"They're just regrouping," I said, standing up from my kill.

"Drow don't need a leader to be deadly. Besides...they got what they wanted."

I pointed out a single drow fleeing along with the rest of them, but garbed diffeently. It was the assassin I had fought earlier.

As if sensing me, he stopped running a moment and turned to regard me.

With a slight nod, he turned and ran back with the others.

"Drow will not fight in sunlight. They'll be back." I turned to Ma'Lar. We need to get ouut of the tpown, if we are to save it." A light hand dropped onto my shoulder. I turned to See Driznarden standing behind me.

"To you as well, Driznarden. I have no doubt that you had nothing to do with this. Thank you for your assisstence. Forgive me, but I have sustained too many wounds recently and am not fully recouperated from...last time...but I cannot heal that wound of yours at the moment. The effort would likely kill me, because of your chaotic nature. IF I can revive our Paladin...perhaps he can heal you."