We should have brought a priest

The wood elves actually helped us in one other regard. We found out this morning just before we left. They left us a large bag of healing potions.

There it was, sitting on top of a rotting stump, a large leather pack easily slung over the shoulder. They must have snuck in last night while one of us was on guard (they keep glaring at me). Each bottle is wrapped in leathery like leaves (I'm not sure what kind) for its protection.

Thoughtful, to say the least. Unfortunately, we used a lot of them today, and we haven't even entered the temple proper.

I think it was me who got the brainstorm that perhaps entering the temple through the front door would be a bad idea. The lone tower in the wall that surrounded the temple was pretty tall. No doubt they could spot us approaching (and they likely had something magical that would spot us at night). So, we decided to infiltrate the tower.

Sheesh. Those guys were tough.

We left before dawn, approaching the tower from outside the wall. Anna believed there was a likely exit on that side.

"Doesn't make sense to me," Saul said. "The last thing in the world you want is an exit outside a defensive wall. An exit to them is an entrance for anyone else."

"Uh, well, let me clarify that," Anna said. "There is probably a way in that I can get into."

"There are many places you can get into that we can not," Audry said. "That hasn't always been an advantage on your part, I should add."

"Pay no mind to the less nimble," Anna said. "Look, if I can find a way in, maybe I can sneak around and gather some information. What did you call it John?"

"Intel," I said.

"No the other word. The bigger one."

"reconnaissance," Marc said. "Now, let me summarize. An small elf girl will wander around a guard tower full of human men in armor, and yet avoid detection."

She snapped her fingers and winked. "You got it." She pulled her cloak over her head. "Be right back."

Anna disappeared into the brush. The cloak blended into the surrounding area. She looked like a blur darting between dead trees and brush. She made her quickly across the hundred feet or so of terrain to the base of the tower.

"What do we do?" I asked.

Everyone shrugged. This wasn't the first time she'd pulled something like this. To plus side to it was that she was actually very good at sneaking around. We should have her sneak through the whole damn temple and save us some effort.

At some point we lost sight over her. The sun was still an hour away or so. I struggled to see a shimmer in the air anywhere around the base of the tower, but my vision was never that good. I looked at Saul. He sensed my question and shook his head. I didn't know if Anna's cloak shielded her from elven heat-sensing sight or if she were simply too far away for that sort of thing.

Finally, she appeared. She undid her cloak and waved at us. She wasn't at the base of the tower like I thought. She was on the side of the tower. Evidently, there were plenty of handholds. She stood some fifty feet up the side of the tower just to the side of a large opening (what passes for a window in castles--a big hole in the wall).

"Let's be quick about it," Audry said. She moved quickly down the hillside. We followed her, stepping over dead briar and other shrubs. It was tough going. It was like the ground conspired to keep us from getting to close.

We finally reached the base of the tower. Anna had climbed down and waited for us.

"What'd you see?" I asked.

She shrugged. "A bunch of guys sleeping. Boy, they sleep soundly."

"Yeah, well maybe we should keep quiet anyway," Saul said. He gestured toward the tower. "How do you propose we get up there?"

"Look at this," Marc said. "The tower. This bottom level is old, but the upper level is pretty new."

"They've been busy," Audry said. "But where did the funding come from."

"And how much of that funding do they have left?" Anna asked. "Let's go in and find out."

"Exactly how do we do that?" I asked.

That's when the shape passed overhead. The pre-dawn light disappeared for a split second, and then returned. It was as if someone had brushed a blanket over our heads. When we could see again, Audry's face bled.

"Gods, what--" She didn't get to finish her sentence. Several more shapes flew passed. It was a seen out of a Godzilla movie. Large flying shapes circled us. I stood with my long sword (gave up the short sword a while ago) just as another dived for us.

We stood with our backs to each other. Anna took shots at them with her bow, occasionally hitting one, and the rest of us took a swipe at them when we they were close enough. Marc cast a few spells, and he even brought a few down as well. And the whole time they squawked loud enough to wake the dead.

I don't know how long it took. I thought about pulling out my bow and stringing it (which I should have done earlier), but I didn't want to let my guard down. I had no choice but to keep cutting and swinging at the creatures, hoping for the best.

Their claw marks ran deep into my skin. One actually tried to grab me, to pick me up. These things were big, but not that big. I rammed my sword into its gullet. Its lightweight bones collapsed easily. As it fell, I sliced at another that passed overhead. I cut off one of its claws. That seemed to do the trick, finally.

As suddenly as it started, it ended. The remaining creatures disappeared to the east into the rising sun. They looked like ravens, if ravens had ten foot wingspans. Whatever they were, eight or nine of them littered the ground.

"I think," Saul said, trying to catch his breath, "we should get to cover."

Audry nodded, resting with her hands on her knees. "No doubt someone heard--"

An quarrel buried itself in the ground not six inches from her foot.

"Stupid kid," a voice said from the window. "Try again."

I heard another twang of a crossbow and dove to the side. A quarrel landed in a nearby tree stump.

"Move!" Anna yelled. All of us did, all except Marc. He stood with his hands raised as he spoke an incantation.

I was closest, so I took responsibility. I stood in front of him. I didn't have a shield, but I hoped I could deflect the worst of the attacks (I managed to do it once while training with the Verbobonc militia). A quarrel whizzed overhead, and then Marc finished his spell.

He sure did love that spell. So did I, for that matter.

The fireball sailed into the open window. In the morning light, it looked more like an unfinished wall. No matter, it would do the job. Cries of surprise erupted as the interior of the tower lit up brighter than the noon day sun. Flames burst forth from opening. Two men burst forth with it. They screamed as their burning bodies fell to the ground. They landed on the largest rock in the area. I heard their spines crack with the impact.

"This way," I said. Marc and I ran with the others along the east wall, away from the tower. The wall itself also looked new, as well as incomplete. About a fifty feet down the wall ended in a pile of debris that constituted the remains of the original wall built centuries ago. Between the old and new wall was a gap.

Saul took point. He looked quickly, and then gestured for us to follow him. We proceeded along the inside of the wall. The sun rose on the other side. It would provide some cover.

From within the tower I heard screams of pain and alarm--pretty common event after one of Marc's fireballs. We managed to approach the tower unmolested, at least until we reached the door itself. A lone sentry stood there. He saw us as soon as we were within twenty feet. He reached for the tower door.

"Hey! We got--"

An arrow from Anna's bow buried itself in the sentries head. He froze in place for a moment, and then toppled over. His crossbow fired as it hit the ground, sending the quarrel upward. It skipped off the tower wall and vanished into the dawn light.

"Think they'll surrender if we ask?" I said.

Saul thought as we gathered around the door. "One way to find out." He reached for the door. It pulled open easily. From where I stood next to him I could see ten or so men coming down the stairs. Saul shouted at them.

"You blokes want to surrender now or not?"

Saul shut the door just in time. A flurry of arrows and quarrels buried themselves in the door. A few actually came part way through the heavy wooden door.

"Guess not," I said. "Marc? You got one more for the road?"

He probably didn't get the idiom, but he understood my meaning. Saul jumped to the back of the door as Marc cast his spell. This was something they had done before. Just as the fireball appeared in Marc's hand, Saul yanked the door open. A group of men stood their with axes and spears in hand. The fireball flew directly at them.

Saul slammed the door as the fireball entered. The detonation rocked the door on its hinges. Flames jetted from underneath it. As soon as the rumbling ceased, Saul opened the door once more.

Bodies littered the area just in front of the door. They burned in earnest along with much of the furniture. The nearby walls were black with soot. There really isn't much left after a fireball detonates.

"Wow," I said. "Great spell."

"The last one for the day," Marc said.

My turn now. I took point and entered the room with my long sword at the ready. The fireball kept much of the room lit. There were still five of them left.

"Okay," I said. "Which one is the boss?"

Two of them approached with out waiting. They poked their spears at me like an old lady with a broom handle trying to get a cat out of the tree. I dispatched them easily.

Two more approached, while one ran too a nearby pillar. I heard the jingling of chain as he fumbled with something.

The two remaining guards ignored me and stared at the third man. "You bastard."

"Get back!" I shouted at everyone else. Only Saul and Audry had entered thus far, and they exited just as quickly. I dove and rolled to the side just as the third man pulled a heavy chain hanging from the top of the pillar. A squeak in the ceiling proceeded a roar of God knew what.

I kept moving to the side. Dust kicked up as dozens of rocks fell around the tower entrance. The remaining guards screamed as the rocks crushed them. They died in seconds. A thick dust remained in the air. I gagged as I moved around a table that stood between me and the third man--the final man left alive in the tower, as far as I knew.

He looked at me and shrugged. For a moment, he started to give up, but I had seen that before. I was more than ready.

He lunged at me, feinted, and lunged again. I parried each attack easily. I could almost see in my mind what he was about to do. A strange thing about sword training. You get to a point where you know the techniques well enough you can see others using them, and you can almost--almost--predict what they'll do next.

Of course, it doesn't always work that way.

The others came into the room and circled around him. The last guard pulled a dagger out of his boot and threw it in one motion. It landed in Anna's left hand. She cried out as she dropped the bow. The man spun and planted a kick in my gut. I fell, wheezing. Saul and Audry both stepped in for me.

The guard handled them both with some strain. They rained blows on him and it was all he could do to keep them at bay. I stood, ready to move in and help them end it, when Marc cast his spell.

I hadn't seen this one before. A light enveloped the man briefly and then faded. The man staggered backward, holding his hand to his head.

"Leave him be," Marc shouted.

We backed off, watching the guard. He swayed, shaking his head back and forth. Marc approached him slowly but deliberately. The guard looked up at Marc, never taking his eyes off him. Marc was wide open, and I readied myself to charge the guard. But what happened next I didn't expect at all.

"Oh Gods," the guard said. He dropped his swords and placed his hands on Marc's shoulders. He looked deep into his eyes. "My friend...what have I done?"