Nomen Infernale IX: A Fragrant Offering

After the relentlessness of battle with ikhoni, a corrupted she-bear and the pestilent zulcham, and the death of their beloved camel Mercy, La Compagnia was weary. The barbarians rendered the deceased camel, now released of her burdens and they retreated into the now-cleared entry to the mine and rested while Theo tended to the injured between bouts of fitful sleep. Alex collected scrap wood from broken crates and barrels and started a small fire while Zahur and Theo prepared a meal blessed by the priest so that it would help revivify them. Alex produced a makeshift rack on which to dry strips of camel flesh that it might be a more portable snack.

Theo continued to bless and heal the party with a mix of his barber-surgeon skills and the blessings of Lamos, though he failed improve the condition of Teleptyon's kidney, he managed to return the group to a state of health.

As Alex finished with the camel meat, he felt warmth where he had tied the white jade talisman to absorb the miasmatic taint emintating from the Eye of Nekhtebu. He found the stone blackened, and as he inspected it, it became dust that blew away on a wind he did not feel. He cursed the loss of a valuable item and its protection, but in the midst of his anger he was overcome with a vision of beings of immense power wearing reality the way he wore his fine black cloak. They feasted on stars across the aeons and invited him to join them at their table. For a moment he reached for the flame of a star, but feared it would burn his hand and shrank back to find he was standing very near the cook fire with a hand out. He shook off the vision as Abet tossed him a mattock and invited him to be useful as they intended to bury any possessions they could not carry with only one camel. He groused about the physical labor but was secretly glad of the distraction.

Theo healed Kegho, Lamos showing exorbitant favor to a warrior whose own gods only brought destruction. They began discussing what needed to be buried and what carried and realized that they could manage all of their possessions without leaving even the cultists' coins behind. Alex looked at his hands and gave Abet venomous side-eye, but he was looking thoughtfully into the fire and did not notice.

They agreed on the need to resupply and thought to round out their skill sets by hiring help as they were flush with cultists gold. Alex looked forward to meeting with Elissa bas Sisa who he believed would only be a day or two away from Akbyset at that point.

At their first rest, Teleptyon traced runes around their camp to alert them of intruders. The night passed quietly with Abet insisting on sitting first watch with Riven and attempting to make small talk with her and Asbjørn working on thorny lyrical issues in the ballad to his own greatness he was working on. The runes Teleptyon had drawn grew faint and flickered out during Asbjørn's watch and he was somewhat pleased to see the sorcery gone.

Kegho took the last watch. In the distance he heard the howling of dogs and thought briefly that Ükhilflin was calling. The howls had a more sinister edge to them though and he became alert and concerned. A large Tjezem Hound, its skin covered--not with hair, but the low flame of burning oil spread thin on a stone, stepped into the firelight. He discerned more flickering ghostly just outside of the light.

The barbarian and the pack leader glared at each other for a moment but one of the hounds grew bold and chased after Kegho nipping as he backed out of the way and toward the main camp. A second charged into the camp and howled near Teleptyon, which ensured that all were awake. Theo, still struggling to free himself from the grasp of Esperus, instinctively called upon Bira to intercede with the beasts. "Why!?" He yelled out to the hound closest to him. It was startled briefly that these apes could speak intelligently, and it growled back "We will eat your marrow!" as the pack closed in.

Riven fired an arrow at the most menacing hound as Alex slipped into the shadows on the edge of camp and readied his sling. Riven's arrow struck the hound's shoulder. It yelped and the arrow burned away. Alex loosed a stone from his sling over a great distance and it did some minor damage. A hound nipped at Kegho, it was close enough that he felt the heat and smelled the sulfur of its breath but it failed to break his skin. One lunged at Teleptyon and wounded his leg. Kegho loosed a crossbow bolt into the belly of the one closest to him and readied his axe.

In the flickering firelight, any who may have been watching saw the muscles and veins in Asbjørn's face and neck bulge as spittle flecked his mouth and his eyes became bloodshot. He charged and dealt a mighty blow to one of the hounds but did not kill it which enraged him even more.

One of the hounds charged into the shadows and up the small embankment to where Alex thought he was hidden. He turned in horror to see the flash of fangs and feel the heat of the flames of Abuthos as the beast, visibly stronger than the others, attempted to close its jaw around Alex's throat, but managed only to mangle him.

Teleptyon struck out with his staff and sent a bolt of pure Ar at the hound that had bit him. Startled by the blast it turned tail and ran. Teleptyon swung at it with his staff, but his noodly wizard arms were unable to put any force behind it.

Asbjørn struck with his scimitar and Teleptyon continued drawing up pure Ar and releasing it from the tip of his staff. Alex backed away from the hound who had bit him, sword raised and ready to strike when it dove at him, but the hound did not lunge; instead, it belched what seemed to be Eknoi Fire at him. He dropped to the ground and was safe in the space between the embankment and the flat ground for a moment, although the hair on his nape was singed.

Kegho missed, Theo walloped one with a mace and heard the metal sizzle as it came in contact with the flaming skin of the beast, and Kegho struck again, this time gravely injuring one. One attempted to flee and both Kegho and Asbjørn took parting shots. It evaded Kegho's axe, but was driven right into Asbjørns fine scimitar and he skewered it badly before it astonishingly wriggled off the sword and ran away. Bituminous ichor dripped from its wounds, smouldering on the ground, as it fled.

Alex, now panicked by throat wounds and fire-breathing hellhounds fled deeper into the camp and realized his mistake as he stumbled into Riven, the camel and Abet. The hound lost interest in the wounded Oameni and turned on the unprepared ranger. Abet barely had time to react before he was coated with the hound's incendiary mixture and a fraction of a second later a whoosh as the air around him burned and Riven and Alex were blasted by the heat of the flames. He let out a brief tortured scream before his charred corpse toppled to the ground.

Gathered around the campfire and the still-burning corpse of Abet, La Compagnia put all its might behind defeating the lead bitch of the hell hounds. Teleptyon launched a magic bolt, Theo swung but missed. Riven fired another arrow and caught its shoulder; another fine arrow flamed out of existence having done its job. Keg struck. Alex missed and was grateful to have hit a stone by the fire instead of Kegho or Theo. Theo struck again with his mace and connected. Teleptyon fired another magic Missile. It lunged at Kegho but missed. Asbjorn continued slashing at it, ever angrier that it would not die. Kegho finally split its skull with his axe.

All of the hounds had died or fled, but Asbjørn still thrummed with the song of his blood-thirsty mother goddess - the Wulfwōd!

Riven moved away from the barbarian, but Kegho squared up and attempted to tackle him and hold him down until the cleric could do something about it.