Alter Aeon The Great Library

Welcome to the Alter Aeon Historical Archive!

Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  48344
Title: the Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 14

The Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 14

by Sparity Ket, Captain of the Order of the White Knights

Beyond the storage area was one final, unexplored room.  The chamber had
once served as a laboratory for research into strange and mysterious
matters.  Two large workbenches were covered with the remains of shattered
remnants of beakers, burners and other scientific apparatuses.  Most of the
pieces were solidly frozen the table's surface, and icicles dangled from
the equipment and along the edges of the counters.  A shimmering layer of
ice covered the floor, making it slippery at best.

A large throne rested atop a pedestal in one corner of the room.  Both the
throne and pedestal appear to have been carved from a single block of ice. 
The blade of a silvery halberd jutted out from the right arm of the throne,
its haft embedded therein.  A lanky humanoid figure with the fur and face
of a rat reclined on the throne.  He held a crude scepter fashioned from
several bones, and a crown of similar manufacture sat on his head.

The creature introduced himself as "Keshute" and began to parley with the
group, but they wasted no time attacking him instead.  Justice warned them
that he was probably a wererat and to avoid his bite while Keshute blew on
a silver whistle.  Four ratlings appeared behind the party.  There would be
no conversation, only bloodshed.

Jamarkas opened fire on Keshute, but the bullets bounced off of him.  Jeff
was displeased.  As a matter of fact, the wererat's magical defenses
against non-silvered weapons protected him from virtually all damage the
party could dish out.  Keshute waded into the midst of the party with
reckless abandon, striking anyone near him with his bone scepter.  Every
strike of the scepter made the party member dizzy, sometimes to the point
that they were dazed for a few seconds.

Jamarkas tired of this and tackled the wererat, and Keshute bit him as his
struggled to get free from his grip.  Jamarkas bit him back, engulfing the
entire upper body of the wererat in his maw, but it felt like he was trying
to bite through solid rock, so he let go for fear that his teeth would
shatter.  All the while Justice stabbed at Keshute with his halberd, hoping
to strike hard enough to break through his damage resistance.

Meanwhile, the others turned around to face the ratlings.  Silliriun used
orbs of sound and Zorat used his signature 'hail of stone' spells to cut
down the ratmen, while Kenwick summoned a crystal elemental whom he had
affectionately named "Rocky" to knock out any survivors.  More ratlings
poured into the room, but with great effort their foes were cut down by
their combined spell power as soon as they presented themselves.

Once the lackeys had been dealt with, the spellcasters turned their
attention toward Keshute.  Zorat conjured an earthen arm to help Jamarkas
hold him down, but despite their combined efforts the wererat wriggled free
and retreated behind the icy throne.  From his defensive position, the
wererat cast a spell that conjured a handful of icy knives which then
fanned out to strike everyone else in the room.  Without cover of their
own, each party member received grievous wounds from the spell.  Kenwick
readie d a wand of cure light wounds and raced to the others, healing them
as fast as he could while directing Rocky to head underground and strike
the wererat from below.

Jamarkas and Silliriun sidestepped to establish line-of-sight with the
wererat behind the throne while Justice attempted to flank.  Zorat tried
another 'hail of stone' spell on the wererat, but the stones harmlessly
bounced off of the enemy's armor.  The sorcerer was able to get off a
Kelgore's firebolt spell before Keshute cast another ice knife spell,
showering everyone with razor-sharp shards again.  Zorat and Kenwick were
barely able to stand after that barrage, and Silliriun was so badly hurt
that he  dropped to ground.  Before passing out from the pain, Silliriun
directed his lizard to attack, hoping that Zachary's poison could at least
slow the wererat down.

Rocky then burst out of the floor beneath Keshute, landing a mighty blow
that lobbed the wererat into the air and out from behind the throne. 
Jamarkas, Justice, Zachary, Rocky and another earthen arm conjured by Zorat
dog-piled the wererat while Kenwick got Silliriun back on his feet with
healing from his wand.  Unable to escape, the wererat shrieked in terror as
the sorcerer aimed his energy cannon directly as his head and fired. 
Keshute went limp, and a few minutes later his headless body reverted to 
human form.