A story by Threaton

 

Garath was alone this day as the party needed to rest but a promise he made to a close friend had him scouting the woods near Hoppers Bog for any sign of Tanaka Hatamoto's brother who was kidnapped by the ophidian Queen. As fate or luck would have it Garath came upon a dieing warrior from the last of a scout party that had left Britain a few weeks before his team did. Garath had been trained recently by a healer by the name of Eldarhawk Callasan. It took most of the day to bring the warrior back to health but he did live and thanked Garath by giving him information about the ophidian temple and a secret way into it. Garath asked the warrior of his name (Hale Justice) a knight in the service of the knights of order and captain of the team he was in charge of. Unfortunately his team had all died in the first wave of snake people that had come out of the secret entrance. Garath could see in the man's eyes that he wanted revenge but that would also make him a risk if he was to sneak into the temple and locate Tanaka's brother. So Garath took him back to Hoppers Bog and hired a mage. To his dislike all that was available was Morgoth the mad mage.

The two of them left the town back into the dense woods to seek out this entrance and find the boy or any clues to his where abouts. When Morgoth and Garath reached the entrance there was a party engaged with the snake people and the door was open to the temple. Garath and the mage quickly healed as many as they could then ran for the door before the snakes had time to close it . The only blessing was night had fallen and now they could lurk in the shadows hidden from the snakes as they went about their business of feasting on human flesh and spider legs which almost made both Garath and Morgoth wretch at the site. As they hid in the shadows the Queen of the snakes showed her face. All garath wanted to do was jump at her but it would have meant certain death for both Morgoth and Garath.

When the Queen spoke up, Morgoth translated for Garath that she was bragging at the amount of prisoners they had captured and that there would be enough food for them for years. She also spoke of how her exploration parties had found some strange tunnels but none of her soldiers were brave enough to go through so she had to hire orcs to do her bidding. As time progressed and at very bad timing a party of warriors rushed the camber where the Queen was which cut her speech off that Garath so badly needed to hear. That's when the battle ensued the whole chamber.

Warrior and snake were dropping like flies on a fire. As a paladin Garath could stand by no more he leapt at the ophidian Avenger guarding the queen with his trusty Halberd in hand. the Queen had retreated behind a row of snake shamans. Morgoth was busy blasting the shamans to keep them off balance and slow their chance to regroup and attack the party in force. Garath ran straight through a fire wall to his amazement without even feeling the heat of the magic fire. The Avenger saw garath coming and prepared to do battle by standing his ground and waiting for Garath to close to him. But Garath had a BIG surprise for him that trusty halberd of his was magical with the power of the woods and was made by elven craftsman then enchanted by a mage to be lighter and faster than normal. The first blow went to the Avenger by halting Garaths charge in mid stride but the elven plate that he was wearing was magical as well and the blow glanced his chest. This enraged Garath that he hit the Avenger with ALL his might sending the snake running for cover to hide.

Garath gave chase only to be tricked by that snake and leading him into a new room with 2 enforcers to back him up. Garath never swayed he took what the 3 snake guards dished out and Morgoth came running in and healed Garath as he noticed the 3 snakes Morgoth let lose with the energy of the sky frying 1 of the enforces to a crisp,(which really smell bad). Garath was still battling the Avenger who had not been as injured bad as thought. Morgoth healed Garath again and went after the last enforcer who was trying to pin Garath into a corner. Both of them noticed this and Garath attacked the enforcer as did Morgoth slaying it in less than the wink of a eye. When Garath yelled this snake is mine he will die by my sword alone, and proceeded to hack at the snake almost like a mad man possessed. The snakes last dying words were a question of how could a mere man slay him. Garath stated I'M no MAN I'm a elf and these are MY peoples woods!!!! The snakes hissed his last breath and died.

Just then everybody started yelling RETREAT!!! Garath and Morgoth came out of the room only to see that a door hand swung open and snakes by the 10's were flowing into the room and the Queen was nowhere to be seen. Morgoth even as insane as he is knew we were doomed if we tried to run with the rest and we were certainly dead if we stayed. Just then a Magic Gate opened before us and a warrior stepped out yelling follow him. Well they did what anybody would do in a no win situation and anywhere had to be better than in this den of snake people . When Morgoth and Garath emerged from the gate they found themselves in Britain right in front of Lord British's castle. What luck they had that day as Lord British hailed them to come in for healing and food and rest.

Bewildered and confused by this turn of events they all went inside and told Lord British of what they had seen and heard. Garath told Lord British of the prisons the Queen has and how she is filling them. Lord British said that will have to wait we have BIGGER problems the Armageddon group is massing a strike against the villages in this lost land to try to take control and he needs those city's if we are to exists in this new land. ALL present swore to protect the cities from harm and will do their best to rid the new land of as much evil as possible. Garath's mind was still on the battle and what the Queen had said but that will have to wait he must get back to his team and return Morgoth to his home in Hoppers Bog as to much time with him tends to annoy everybody.

 Written by,
The Admirable Threaton Wolfmoon,
Elven Paladin, Loremaster of the exploration team,
and member of the Eldarin Corin