Nomen Infernale XLXXV: They Are Routed Before Us
General Summary
La Compagnia continued to follow the edges of the great rift in the floor of the desert. They had found a path that was more well trod than they cared for and a spot where the lush foliage of the valley below touched the edge. Alexandru and Riven believed they could descend easily, but it would be necessary to leave the camels behind. Furthermore, they had serious doubts about the climbing abilities of Elissa, Teleptyon, and Brother Theophilus. As they came near the southwestern tip of the valley, Riven stopped to check the pull of the scepter of the Rusatian pharaoh; its pull became more insistent to the southwest than ever, and they could see the faint outlines of mountains in the distance almost obscured by the hazy desert air. As they stood there, air rushed toward the valley and the sound of water could be heard below. Asbjørn mournfully stated that Nuruhotep se Ka had loved karst landscapes as Riven crept to the edge of a large sinkhole and tried to figure out how much further past her lantern's light the hole descended. She unvieled the enscorcelled scarab brooch on her cloak and its light shone much further into the darkness. It, too, would be a difficult climb, requiring at least 100 feet of rope.
Looking out at the horizon to admire the sunrise, Theo passed a wineskin around before Kegho noticed an approximately 25-camel train in the distance, traveling from west to east, into the rising sun. He could not determine from the distance if was comprised of merchants or warriors, so they elected to sit quietly and wait for the caravan to travel further out of sight before continuing to survey the outer rim of the valley. After the caravan disappeared over the horizon, they moved around to the eastern side of the valley; spires peeked out from the foliage, near the lake central to the oasis. Looking to the north and the east, they also noted another settlement.
While they traveled they came upon a party of 21 Yafwadi as both groups crested a hill. The leader raised his sword and began screaming. Yahi blanched and leaned in to whisper in Elissa's ear "he is shouting most foul insults and curses." Riven placidly raised her bow and pointed it at his face, which he interpreted as a provocation and battle commenced.
Several party members, unsuare of their skill in mounted battle slip from their mounts. Elissa hands her reigns to Yahi and seeing the group to the north of them moving to flank tells him to gather the camels and move southwest. He nods his assent but is stunned by the suddenness of the attack and fails to act.
Kegho drew first blood with an arrow in the ribs of a Yafwadi Brute, a second arrow from Riven's bow finished the brute off. Asbørn delighted in the novelty of fighting on a horse and even though his skill was easily eclipsed by that of the steppelander, he managed to split a brute from shoulder to sternum in his first attack. Alex is delighted to try out the sling staff crafted by Riven from Teleptyon's old staff, but finds the weight different and manages to snap the sling thong. Elissa moves to defend him while he attaches another thong. Theo held up his holy symbol and a ghostly form of Ator's hammer flew from it clubbing the leader who had cursed at Riven. Kegho then shot at him bringing him close to death, but he turned and fled the field of battle. One of the brutes swung around to flank Asbjørn but was unable to find an opening. Teleptyon loosed two bolts of Ar into the rapidly closing throngs of warriors. Someone moves uncomfortably close to Riven and she slashes at him with the short sword made of the same bronze-ish material as Wraithcleaver, which they had taken off of Ebbo the Thief during their battle for the Ayadin hermitage. It sliced into the enemy. The northern group continued to move around to flank La Compagnia's formation. With Asbjørn, Kegho and two brutes exchanging blows. Theo and Alex missed their attacks. Elissa charged the closest threat and spears him as he rides toward her. She used his forward momentum to throw him from the horse and smash him into the ground and turned to the next closest. He slashed at her, but only scratched her. Kegho targeted the second leader and shoots him in the torso. Teleptyon gets slahed badly by the flanking brutes. One swung at Alex but his small stature and the tangle of camels made it difficult for the brute to make contact. Two more began attacking the camels, but their rearing and dodging saved them. Asbjørn cuts down another enemy and finds that the bone hilted sword of Ngozi helps guide his hand. Riven and Elissa were both hit, Teleptyon retaliated with a massive blast of Ar at two enemies. The magical blasts and their fallen comrades are enough to break the spirit of the riders and they begin to fall back. Kegho and Alex sliced at but were unable to kill their fleeing enemies. Elissa impaled two more including the one who had wounded her. Riven took out one more as they fled.
The party took a moment to catch their breaths, relieved that none of the camels had been harmed. Theo quickly moved to heal Teleptyon.
