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Dawn came to the Flanaess, the valleys between the hills
and Draupnir's mountain steamed with mist burning off in the morning sun.
The eastern slope of the last western hill became green with light
filtering through the leaves, atop its crown the gnolls campsite lay
in ruin, a haze of smoke rose from the blackened coals of the
main campfire. No bodies could be seen, the spiders and their blue skinned
slaves had spent the night at work and now rested within the dark cool
of webs spun high up in the trees.
Darkweb clicked with glee, she'd spun herself dry stringing up the
gnolls, the lanky bodies dangled from every sturdy branch that the spiders
could find. There was a thick mass of webs shielding their temporary nest,
Darkweb felt at home, though the clearing could not compare to the
nest that had been destroyed.
"Sister, do not become too attached to this place." said
Poisonspite. "We have come for vengeance not to build another nest."
Darkweb lowered her bulky boded to rest upon the strands not
meeting her sisters eyes.
"Leave her be." Sevenlegs spoke. "We will have our vengeance, let
her have a moments peace."
Poisonspite turned on Sevenlegs, she let out a stream of anger,
a froth of viscous muck sprayed from her mouth. "No! There is no peace,
it burnt with our nest, with our children. Vengeance, we have sworn to
the Dark Queen."
"We have sworn." conceded Sevenlegs. "But there is life after
vengeance."
"I care not for life," said Poisonspite. "All I want is death,
I want to feel their bodies quiver as the poison fills their veins, I
will drown them in poison. And after them I will have a hundred human
children hanging from the feeding web for every one of mine they killed."
* * *
They pressed on through the night. Fulbert stumbled and complained
but Alaric lead him through the woods, the young warrior had his fathers
sense of woodcraft. In his earliest memories, now only pleasant dreams,
like fairy tales before the giants came, Alaric remembered playing in the
fields and woods at night. He slept in a loft above the center room and
each night climbed out a small window set below the eaves. He'd meet his
friends, one a young half-elven lad, and sneak back home after playing
beneath the stars. His tiredness during the day was little price to pay
for the fun he had.
"You'd trip as readily under the light of day." Alaric whispered
to Fulbert.
"At least I'd see what's tripping me." Fulbert answered back.
"If you could see it why..." Alaric began, but realized that
Fulbert would trip on his own feet on a paved and level road.
All night they walked up the hill and then somewhere after
the set of the moons they'd reached the mountain lands. Their destination
was less than a dozen miles ahead.
The keep was built on a plateau, a small army of dwarves had
carved it from a mountain peak. A deep valley was beneath its western
wall, a ravine below its north, a narrow drop between one mountain top
and another. To the south and east a long winding trail lead up to the
gateway, a crevice separated the road from the gate, a drawbridge was used
to span the gap. Ballista and catapults were set to rake the approach, the
walls were crenellated and archers could fire between the stones,
half-concealed by the wall. Any assault coming along the road or up the
mountains walls would be a costly one.
As dawn settled down on the mountain road the party had left the
woods behind. The track was overgrown with weeds, monsters heading back
toward the mountains did not come this way, they crossed over into wild
lands, up to northern mountains or down into the valley below the peak
where Pelor's Keep was set.
* * *
(To Be Continued)