Lyssara's Kozakuran Adventure Pt. 04

The sky darkened as the approaching dust storm rose above the horizon. The shrill screams of the wind ripped through the caravan, kicking up more dust and occluding the defenders' vision. Merchants, servants, and pack animals huddled beneath wagons and carts as the beleaguered adventurers waited for the inevitable attack.

"I can't see anything, and the proper storm isn't even here yet!" Chun shouted into the wind, then immediately spit out dust and other particles.

"Now we know why it's called the Howling Gap" Matsu shouted from behind a wheel while suckling her half-oni child, Ignis, in an attempt to settle him.

"Eleia, can't you do anything about this wind?" Lyssara shouted.

"I can't even cast Control Wind, let alone counteract the effect of who knows how man djinn are out there" the copper skinned wood elf replied. Despite her sharp features, the willowy woman had the ethereal beauty common to her race, though at the moment it was muted by her tangled and knotted hair and dust-stained leather armor. She had become a fast friend of theirs when they met after signing up to protect the caravan in exchange for passage west.

They're almost here. I wonder what they're after? Are they simply trying to destroy everything passing through or do they have some other agenda?

"Somehow, I doubt it's going to be "breeding any female who wanders through the pass" Lyssara muttered to the sword.

Pity, but you're probably right.

"Get ready, they're almost here!" Lyssara warned the others as she squinted against the storm. Dark, vaguely humanoid shadows became apparent in the swirling dust. One of the other guards loosed an arrow, but the strong wind blew it uselessly aside. Maybe magic will be more effective.

Lyssara tapped her apprentice on the shoulder and pointed out one of the shapes on the left. A moment later the two wizards cast magic missile and sent the arcane darts flying through the air. All six slammed cut through the sand and slammed into the approaching jinn, making it stumble to the ground. She gave the young woman a thumb's up and then resumed looking for targets.

There were plenty to choose from, but Lyssara was wary of casting her best spells too early. Lyssara, Chun, and a few of the other casters sent a few more attacks into the wind, but the more plentiful arrows and bolts continued to be ineffective in the face of the howling winds. A wave of sand rolled over them, but thankfully calm followed in its wake as the storm abated.

The djinn were quick to attack though, giving the defenders no respite or opportunity to exploit the clear skies to attack at range. One of the pale blue outsiders leaped atop the cart Lyssara was standing behind brandishing a massive scimitar. The muscles of his bare chest rippled as he raised the blade above his head and prepared to attack.

Lyssara and Wagnard were ready for him, and the enchanted katana flashed out and sliced through the djinn's knee. As he cried in pain the adventuress swept out his other knee and sent him tumbling back. His spine cracked on the edge of the cart, but his pain quickly ended a moment later when Eleia thrust her spear through his throat.

Another djinn leapt at the druid, but Lyssara blasted him with a lightning bolt. The electricity stunned the attacker, and a burly fighter on the other side of the wood elf buried an axe in his chest. The fighter was soon hard pressed by another of the djinn, but before Lyssara or Eleia could assist they had their own outsiders to contend with.

The razor sharp edge of the djinn's scimitar sliced the tip off Lyssara's pigtail as she snapped her head out of the way. Her counterstrike drew blood, but only shallowly, drawing forth the barest line from the outsider's chest. Before she could reset for another attack her opponent chopped down with the sword, forcing her to duck to one side.

The djinn parried her slash, but grunted in pain as the spellsword brought her knee into his stomach. He launched his elbow at Lyssara, but she checked it with her arm. The outsider's eyes widened at the diminutive woman's surprising strength. She bashed down his arm, and then slashed with the katana again.

She scored another shallow hit, but due to their proximity to each other Lyssara couldn't find the leverage to cut deeper. I've got to create some distance she thought, a moment too late as the djinn slammed his shoulder into her. Although she had the magically enhanced strength to match the outsider, his greater mass proved decisive and as he followed through with the rest of his body weight it knocked Lyssara to the ground.

There isn't time to look up his loincloth, Lyssara! Focus!

"Shut up!" the spellsword snarled as she raised her arm to deflect the djinn's downward slash. Fiery pain engulfed her forearm and blood gushed out onto the sand, but luckily she was able to avoid a worse blow. Lyssara quickly thrust up with the sword, inflicting another light wound on the djinn, but when she slashed back a moment later the magical blade bit deep, rupturing the outsider's stomach and causing his intestines to spill out.

Lyssara quickly rolled away before the gore rained down on her. She pushed herself up with a wince as the weight on her injured forearm lanced her with pain. She quickly scanned the battlefield to see who was most in need of help. Chun was fighting defensively, holding off one djinn by using the cart to create distance while relying on her mage armor to prevent any lethal blows. Eleia was in more trouble, as the small statured wood elf was hard pressed, and now that the djinn was within her guard she couldn't effectively use the spear to inflict damage.

I guess that decides it. Lyssara moved towards the embattled elf, circling behind the djinn. The outside caught her in his peripheral and turned, backing away from Eleia to prevent Lyssara from flanking him. The wood elf capitalized on the opening, and thrust her spear, prodding the djinn to move towards Lyssara.

The adventuress attacked as well, not giving the outsider the space to move. Their blades clashed as Lyssara sent a flurry of blows at the djinn, keeping his scimitar occupied and his attention away from Eleia. Seeing an opening, the wood elf thrust forward again, sinking the tip of her spear deep into the blue skinned djinn's side. He howled in pain and backslashed at Eleia, but the spear gave her enough distance to avoid it.

Wagnard flashed as Lyssara darted in with the blade and cut the djinn from the collar bone down across his chest. Blood splattered in the dust and the outsider reeled. Eleia twisted the spear inside him so he couldn't escape and causing even more internal damage. The sword fell from his fingers, and a moment later Lyssara beheaded the outside with another slash of her sword.

"Thanks Lyssara" Eleia said with a smile as she caught her breath. The wood elf positioned herself beside Lyssara, so that neither could be taken unawares as she rested. "I thought I was in real trouble there and I didn't know how to get out of it."

She could have tried blowing him. Maybe that would have tempted him to breed her instead?

"I told you to shut up!" Lyssara muttered, before returning her attention to Eleia. "That's what I'm here for; we're a team and we look after each other" Lyssara assured the other woman before dizzily swaying. She reached out to clasp Eleia's arm to steady herself as her blood dripped onto the druid.

"Speaking of which" the wood elf replied and cast cure light wounds on the adventuress.

The cut on Lyssara's arm closed and she immediately felt better. "Thanks-oh no!" The spellsword cried out as a djinn snuck up behind Chun. As the outsider raised his scimitar to strike the unsuspecting mage from behind Lyssara lashed out with a new spell she learned from the necromancer's spellbook. Blight afflicted the djinn, withering his flesh and draining him of water and vitality. Lyssara watched in mute horror as the blue flesh became ashen gray and crumbled. The outsider didn't even have a chance to scream before he collapsed to the earth.

"Good job Lys!" Eleia called as she charged forward and speared the djinn that had been occupying Chun in the back. The blade point burst through his stomach, flicking blood across the young mage but she ignored the spray and thrust the tip of her rapier through the blue skinned outsider's throat, ending him.

"Thanks!" She called merrily and joined them, forming a circle as they surveyed the melee looking for the next place to intervene. A knot of attackers had broken through their lines and were making their way to the non-combatants. "Over there!" Chun called and cast another magic missile at the djinn.

Lyssara joined her, casting Melf's minute meteors and immediately sending two into their midst. They exploded, staggering the djinn and breaking up their formation. "Come on!" Lyssara called out and the three women charged at the outsiders. The closest was already looking bad from the effect of the meteor and magic missile, so Lyssara bypassed him and allowed Chun to engage.

Instead, Lyssara bowled through the crowd to take on the furthest djinn who was the last damaged. He was quick to raise his scimitar and parry her blow, but Lyssara kept up the pressure. As Chun killed her opponent, and Eleia attacked the remaining outsiders the spellsword was free to keep up the pressure. She slashed back and forth, tracing red lines over his body as she cut him again and again. Each wound sapped his strength, and as he lost blood his defense became weaker and weaker. "I've got you!" She cried out triumphantly as she finally landed a death blow.

Eleia killed her opponent, and then all three attacked the last one and finished him off. As they once again recovered, the wind kicked up again and howled. As the dust rose in the air the djinn began to melt into the storm, disappearing from the battlefield. Chun made to pursue, but Eleia and Lyssara held her back.

"Let them go" the wood elf proclaimed, "our job is to protect the convoy, and we've done that. Besides, you're not really in a condition to chase after them" she added, nodding towards the apprentice's swollen belly.

"She's right, we did what we came here for. Let's continue on to Iliphanar where we can get some rest and plan our next move." Lyssara agreed.

"When we get to the city let's head to Horl's Horn" Eleia suggested, "I've been there before and it's very welcoming to adventurers."

"That sounds like a plan" Lyssara replied, "Chun, check on Matsu and make sure she's ok. Eleia and I will check in with the caravan master." Lyssara waved at Chun, then turned to Eleia and smiled. "So, you're still thinking about staying with us on our journey west?"

"Yes, it's been fun, and I like your little family. There's nothing really tying me here, and it would be interesting to see Faerun" the wood elf replied.

"Well, there's never a dull moment with us."

That's certainly true. Think of all the fun she could have with the monsters you seem to attract.

"That you attract" she muttered, then gave Eleia an embarrassed look. "Sorry, um, we do leave interesting lives, though the Border Kingdoms where we're headed aren't anything to write home about. Oh, there's fighting enough to be had, but all the grand keeps, temples, ruins, kingdoms and all that are further north and west."

"Well, I can always continue on if I get bored." Eleia stopped as they reached the armored wagon that the caravan master hid in during the battle. "Alright, let's get this over with. The sooner we get moving again the sooner we'll get to Iliphanar!"

****

"Horl's Horn is known as the best tavern for adventurers in the city" Eleia explained as they walked through its doors. "The fighting over the city has left the people a little stand-offish, but all sorts are welcome here."

The patrons of the tavern gave truth to the wood elf's words. As Lyssara scanned the room she was a wide variety of adventurers gathered in their teams. Just to their left after they entered a part of dwarves cheered and drank from their mugs. A wood elf ranger sitting among humans eyed Eleia with interest, while a bald wizard in red robes eyed Matsu and her child speculatively.

"Who is that?" Chun whispered as she noticed the mage's attention on their group.

"One of the red wizards of Thay. They're a nasty bunch; slavers who experiment with dark magic. I traveled through their lands on my trip east." Lyssara shuddered at the memory.

"Why? If they are so terrible, why travel through their lands?"

Lyssara sighed out as she answered. "Because I was young and foolish. I figured there was bound to be interesting spells and items to be found on a mageocracy, and I didn't credit the tales about how bad they were as being true. Besides, I thought it would be a lark, that it would be fun to stay one step ahead of the slavers." The spellsword shook her head. "But they were as bad as I'd heard. Stay clear if you see one."

"Welcome to Horl's Horn!" A busty tavern maid greeted them as they approached the bar. "What can I get for you?"

"I'll have an ale" Lyssara responded quickly. Eleia ordered mead, while Matsu and Chun both ordered tea with a sigh.

"Are you wanting rooms as well?" The barmaid asked. When Lyssara nodded while quaffing the ale, the woman asked, "How many nights?"

"That depends on how long it takes to find a ship to Zindalankh. How is traffic across Brightstar Lake?" Lyssara inquired.

"Not bad in most places. No one is traveling to Zindalankh though, I'm afraid. It's completely overrun by pirates! You're much better off traveling to Port Ghast."

"That will add weeks to our journey, and I'm afraid my friend here" Lyssara gestured to Chun, "won't last through the overland journey. If we can scoot across the lake fast enough we should be able to reach Somraggah in time for her to settle in to give birth" the adventuress explained.

The barmaid eyed Chun's belly doubtfully. "If you say so. Still, there's no one willing to sail for Zindalankh except Captain Corvair, but he's not leaving the city at the moment." The busty wench leaned forward, causing her large tits to nearly spill from her low cut blouse. "His daughter was kidnapped by the Tuigan Horde, and he swore he's not leaving again until she's returned!"

Boring! Don't get involved, Lyssara. It's not even anything interesting, like orcs.

Why can't anything ever be easy? Lyssara took a deep breath as she tried to ignore the sword. "Where can we find this Captain? It might be we're willing to help."

The woman tittered. "You're not the first to try! But the Tuigan's who have her are too numerous to attack directly."

"What about stealth?" Chun asked, thinking of an invisibility spell.

"They ride dire horses. Big, powerful, brutish horses that outrun everything people in these parts have. They'll ride down anyone who tried to escape with the girl." The wench shook her head. "And that's if they could find the band. No, I'm afraid the poor girl is doomed to spend the rest of her life as a captive."

"We'll take a look all the same" Lyssara insisted. "So where can we find him?"

"He's sitting over there in the corner" she said, nodding to an older, disheveled looking man in the corner. "Once he's drunk enough he'll start shouting at the adventurers and telling them how stupid and cowardly they are."

"Hopefully we'll avoid that tonight" Eleia interjected and shared a knowing look with Lyssara. The group took their drinks and approached Corvair.

Heh heh heh. That ring doesn't stop me from knowing what you're thinking Lyssara. This adventure is looking more promising already!

"Quiet!" Good afternoon, Captain. I heard you're looking for adventurers to help save your daughter." Lyssara pulled out a chair from the table and sat down next to him.

"Mariane. My beautiful girl. It's hopeless, no one can save her." The dejected, half-drunk captain nodded towards a group of tough looking adventurers across the room. "They just laughed at me, said it couldn't be done. Cowardly scum!" He imbibed deeply from his drink.

"I'm not convinced it's as bad as all that. I actually have a few ideas on how to do it."

"Let me guess, you're going to need all my gold upfront, and even more when the job is done? I've heard that song before, lass." The captain replied bitterly.

Poor thing. "Nope, we're just looking for passage to Zindalankh. If we bring you Mariane, will you take us?" Lyssara asked.

"If you bring her to me you can sleep in my cabin! But how are you going to succeed where everyone else failed?" For the first time Corvair looked a little hopeful.

"We're a strong team of spellswords"

"And a druid" Eleia added with a smile.

"And a druid." Lyssara agreed. "I think our combination of skills will work in our favor. All we need from you is something of hers we can use to track her. A brush with her hair in it, a ring, or anything personal."

"Most of her things were lost when she was captured, but..." The captain hesitated as his cheeks flushed. "There is one thing." Corvair dug through a ratty pack a bit. "What do you need it for?"

"We'll use it for a divination spell to locate your daughter" Chun supplied.

Lyssara smiled approvingly. "Exactly. Chun has a strong background in divination and should be able to locate her without issue."

"Alright..." the captain said, almost regretfully as he pulled out a white, silken chemise. "She slept in this the night before she left of the journey where she was captured." Corvair's fingers stroked idly along the soft material, before finally handing it over to Chun."

"Right...well, we'll cast the divination spell which will locate her, then I'll go in under invisibility, rescue her, and bring her back." Lyssara explained.

"But how will you evade their horses?" The captain demanded.

"With something faster: we're going to summon a nightmare" Lyssara declared, to a gasp from Chun and an uncomfortable look from Eleia.

"You can do that?"

"Yes." Probably. "Leave it to us. We'll have Mariane back before you know it, depending on how far away she is." Lyssara rose from the table, as did the rest of her party and left to get things ready.

"Do you know how to summon a nightmare, Lyssara?" Chun asked.

"No, but I know who does" the adventuress replied.

"Who? Oh, no." Chun gulped.

Oh yes! This should be fun.

"What? Who is it?" Eleia asked.

****

"Are we sure this is the only way?" Eleia asked for the hundredth time. "Can you really trust this devil?"

"Gogoth and I have worked together for a long time. He's a little...rough around the edges, but he's always followed through on our deals. We know what's at stake, and I'm willing to take the risk." Lyssara replied as she unpacked her summoning materials. "Chun, why don't you set up the circle? Just like we've discussed."

Chun nodded apprehensively, but there was a flicker of excitement in her eyes as she arranged the five stones into a star shape and connected them with lines of salt into a pentagram. Then she drew individual pentagrams on each rock under Lyssara's careful observation. "How does it look?"

"Excellently done, so far" Lyssara said with a smile, "Don't forget the sulfur in each pentagram."

"I know imps are a fairly standard summon, Lyssara" Eleia murmured, "but it still feels wrong. What is he going to ask for in return? You never answered my question on that last night."

Lyssara's cheeks flushed as she remembered being showered in his cum after he had fucked Matsu. "It has varied over the years. Sometimes information, sometimes..."