The Shattered City

Thrand stepped from the rough ground of the narrow valley onto crumbled paving stones. "Montor," he said to the others behind him. They were standing in what was once a gatehouse. The arches that supported the long ruined roof were all that remained of the entrance to the vast city in the mountains of Ilshenar. Above their heads was a vast darkness of rolling clouds tinged with red. Blowing into their faces was a hot wind that gave the air a stuffy, unpleasant feel.

The warrior sea-elf Celeb'Silma tightened the straps of her armor. "This is a foul place," she said as she squinted into the dry wind. Suddenly she dropped the point of her spear into a fighting stance. "Succubus?bad news," she said dryly and tightened the grip on her spear shaft as a tall woman walked towards them from the gloom.

The woman was nude and her skin was a ghostly white. Behind her shoulders stretched black, webbed membranes resembling bat wings. Her dark hair was floating in front of her face, driven by the never-ending currents of heated air stirred up by the fiery mountain that had shattered the city of Montor in the dim past. A smile spread across the creature's face revealing a mouthful of pointed teeth as she advanced on the small group of elves.

Dahakon quickly drew his blade and rode up beside Celeb to block the creature's path. Between their heads, Thrand sent a stream of arrows towards the demoness, but each one was knocked aside as if by a strong gust of wind. Celeb and Dahakon began stabbing at the woman, but their blades did no noticeable damage, the weapons being turned back by some magical protection. Morion Kuu's spells also had little effect, so he turned instead to giving magical protections of their own to Celeb and Dahakon as they struggled to hold the woman at bay. The music of Voron caused some confusion in her, making her hesitate and giving the warriors, now joined by Fergy, more openings to strike, but still they did not seem able to pierce her flesh. Each thrust left them in pain as the magic reflected the force of their blows up their own arms, yet they persisted in their attacks.

In the midst of this melee there was a chilling screech from the shadows of the ruined buildings. "Back," yelled Celeb as yet another of the demon women glided down on them to join the fight. The blades of the elven warriors sang out as they sliced through the stale air, biting again and again into the magical shields of the demon women. Arrow after arrow slipped through the twisting bodies to strike at the women and Morion's spells worked to deflect their claws from the warriors.

Soon, though, the magical shields protecting the demon women had absorbed too much punishment and collapsed. Now the blades and arrows of the elves began to bite deeply and the cries of the succubi changed from anger to fear. They tried to take flight, but their wings were shredded and they finally fell to the elves. Thrand and Morion peered into the gloom, covering the warriors who were examining the fallen. They were tired from the exertion, and yet they were barely inside the ruined city, still standing in what was once a white marble gatehouse that had welcomed travelers of old to this mountain city of cold beauty.

Fergy shook his head at the two bodies in amazement. Celeb just winked at him as she smoothed her robes. "Fun place, huh?"

They all spread out, moving deeper into the ruins. The noise of the fight had attracted some attention, but it wasn't a serious challenge to such a band of elven folk. Fire elementals and lava lizards fell quickly, and even a daemon that burst forth from a broken building nearby was not a difficult foe. They stayed in a tight group, slowly advancing through the old city. It was obvious it had once been a breathtakingly gorgeous place. The roads and buildings had been painstakingly carved into the mountains, making the city feel like some deep dwarven realm instead of a human dwelling. Many great bridges spanned what were once deep valleys and rifts, but were now rivers of melted rock. The heat from those chasms could be seen in shimmering patterns against the crumbled stone of the bridges.

Celeb stopped on one bridge and frowned into the waves of heat. "I think I see a pheonix." She looked up and down the edges of the chasm. "Don't see any way down to it, though."

"Good?let's go." Thrand stepped up and gently turned her, pushing her off the bridge. The rest smiled and gladly left the bird to its molten nest, remembering the night when one angry such bird had attacked the Silver Arrow tavern.

They came then to a high plateau with the scorched remains of a once thriving garden. Stopping for a moment in sadness for the loss of such beauty they were startled by the snarling of several large wolf-like animals. From withered briar patches all around them nearly a dozen red-furred hell hounds came slinking out to encircle the group. The elves quickly formed their own circle, facing the hounds and covering each other's backs. Then there was a crash as a long dead tree was knocked aside by a long reptilian tail. A red scaled head peered up from the brush and seemed to yawn. Apparently a drake was sharing this garden with the pack of hell hounds. They all bared their teeth and belched fire into the elves, then charged them, clawing and biting at the points of the elven weapons. Arrows and spells again flew out from behind the warriors to bring death to the hell hounds. The drake let out a roar and crashed into the elven line, but it too was held at bay by the long spear of the sea-elf as arrow after arrow found weak points in its scaly hide. It wasn't long before the garden was again at peace and the elves could continue their journey.

They went up and down grand stairs cut into the mountains, past crumbling stone buildings that had been homes and shops, over endless bridges past rivers of flame. Thrand stopped on the head of a stair and looked out over the smoking wreck that was Montor. "This is not a comforting place," he said, half to himself.

Voron passed him on the way down the stairs. "I think it's kind of homey," he said with a chuckle.

"Where do YOU live?" asked Fergy as he carefully avoided a broken step.

The rest just smiled to themselves, glad for any lightening of their hearts in such a place. They moved on into the city, stopping briefly to discuss what they should when they encountered the balron.

Celeb put forth a grand plan, declaring that she would stand on a bridge and tell it that it could not pass. With confidence in this course of action they moved ever onward through the maze of fallen buildings.

On one of the many bridges they met a guardian. "Do you see that dragon?" asked Fergy.

Thrand nodded. "I do, though he seems calm enough." They spoke briefly to the dragon and were happy to find it a reasonable beast.

Onward they moved and eventually came to a temple of some sort, built on rocky peak in what was now a lake of fire. Here they found a less friendly dragon, as well as more daemons. They battled here for awhile, but the noise of the fighting seemed to draw in more and more dragons. They had managed to kill four of the great beasts before deciding that this exposed point was not a good place to remain.

Down out of the temple they paused while Thrand bandaged Dahakon. "You'll be fine, Doc," he assured the young warrior as he cleaned the wound made by the claw of a dragon.

Dahakon just joked, "He didn't appreciate my whacking very much."

They moved on through the city, ever climbing or descending. In some places the former glory of the city was still evident. Sweeping arches, balconies and gardens, and broad avenues gave testament to the skill of the builders.

. Yet the fire of the mountain had swallowed much of the city. Crumbled walls and broken roads made obvious the force that had shattered the once magnificent Montor. All along their trip the minor beasts that had taken the city for their home assailed them. Fire elementals and efreet were the most common, both being drawn by the great heat of the molten rivers. None of them were powerful enough to be a serious threat.

Eventually, up in a high passage they came across the object of their search. They had finally found a balron, only much to their surprise the beast was slain already. They stood around the steaming corpse for a few moments wondering what had happened and then decided that it was high time to go home. The climb back out of the city was much quicker. They had thoroughly cleared the path behind them and few of the denizens of that place now wanted to take on these warriors of light. It wasn't long before they were back down out of the ruined city, breathing easier in the crisp cool highland air of Ilshenar. Resting around the fire of a gypsy camp nearby they told their tales to the wide-eyed gypsies. Those roving people were probably the descendants of the folk who had built the old city, but they had never in their lives been to see the place for fear of the creatures who had inherited the ruins.

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> Thrand stepped from the rough ground of the narrow valley onto crumbled paving stones. "Montor," he said to the others behind him. They were standing in what was once a gatehouse. The arches that supported the long ruined roof were all that remained of the entrance to the vast city in the mountains of Ilshenar. Above their heads was a vast darkness of rolling clouds tinged with red. Blowing into their faces was a hot wind that gave the air a stuffy, unpleasant feel. > The warrior sea-elf Celeb'Silma tightened the straps of her armor. "This is a foul place," she said as she squinted into the dry wind. Suddenly she dropped the point of her spear into a fighting stance. "Succubus?bad news," she said dryly and tightened the grip on her spear shaft as a tall woman walked towards them from the gloom. > The woman was nude and her skin was a ghostly white. Behind her shoulders stretched black, webbed membranes resembling bat wings. Her dark hair was floating in front of her face, driven by the never-ending currents of heated air stirred up by the fiery mountain that had shattered the city of Montor in the dim past. A smile spread across the creature's face revealing a mouthful of pointed teeth as she advanced on the small group of elves. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0001.jpg"></center> > Dahakon quickly drew his blade and rode up beside Celeb to block the creature's path. Between their heads, Thrand sent a stream of arrows towards the demoness, but each one was knocked aside as if by a strong gust of wind. Celeb and Dahakon began stabbing at the woman, but their blades did no noticeable damage, the weapons being turned back by some magical protection. Morion Kuu's spells also had little effect, so he turned instead to giving magical protections of their own to Celeb and Dahakon as they struggled to hold the woman at bay. The music of Voron caused some confusion in her, making her hesitate and giving the warriors, now joined by Fergy, more openings to strike, but still they did not seem able to pierce her flesh. Each thrust left them in pain as the magic reflected the force of their blows up their own arms, yet they persisted in their attacks. > In the midst of this melee there was a chilling screech from the shadows of the ruined buildings. "Back," yelled Celeb as yet another of the demon women glided down on them to join the fight. The blades of the elven warriors sang out as they sliced through the stale air, biting again and again into the magical shields of the demon women. Arrow after arrow slipped through the twisting bodies to strike at the women and Morion's spells worked to deflect their claws from the warriors. > Soon, though, the magical shields protecting the demon women had absorbed too much punishment and collapsed. Now the blades and arrows of the elves began to bite deeply and the cries of the succubi changed from anger to fear. They tried to take flight, but their wings were shredded and they finally fell to the elves. Thrand and Morion peered into the gloom, covering the warriors who were examining the fallen. They were tired from the exertion, and yet they were barely inside the ruined city, still standing in what was once a white marble gatehouse that had welcomed travelers of old to this mountain city of cold beauty. > Fergy shook his head at the two bodies in amazement. Celeb just winked at him as she smoothed her robes. "Fun place, huh?" > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0002.jpg"></center> > They all spread out, moving deeper into the ruins. The noise of the fight had attracted some attention, but it wasn't a serious challenge to such a band of elven folk. Fire elementals and lava lizards fell quickly, and even a daemon that burst forth from a broken building nearby was not a difficult foe. They stayed in a tight group, slowly advancing through the old city. It was obvious it had once been a breathtakingly gorgeous place. The roads and buildings had been painstakingly carved into the mountains, making the city feel like some deep dwarven realm instead of a human dwelling. Many great bridges spanned what were once deep valleys and rifts, but were now rivers of melted rock. The heat from those chasms could be seen in shimmering patterns against the crumbled stone of the bridges. > Celeb stopped on one bridge and frowned into the waves of heat. "I think I see a pheonix." She looked up and down the edges of the chasm. "Don't see any way down to it, though." > "Good?let's go." Thrand stepped up and gently turned her, pushing her off the bridge. The rest smiled and gladly left the bird to its molten nest, remembering the night when one angry such bird had attacked the Silver Arrow tavern. > They came then to a high plateau with the scorched remains of a once thriving garden. Stopping for a moment in sadness for the loss of such beauty they were startled by the snarling of several large wolf-like animals. From withered briar patches all around them nearly a dozen red-furred hell hounds came slinking out to encircle the group. The elves quickly formed their own circle, facing the hounds and covering each other's backs. Then there was a crash as a long dead tree was knocked aside by a long reptilian tail. A red scaled head peered up from the brush and seemed to yawn. Apparently a drake was sharing this garden with the pack of hell hounds. They all bared their teeth and belched fire into the elves, then charged them, clawing and biting at the points of the elven weapons. Arrows and spells again flew out from behind the warriors to bring death to the hell hounds. The drake let out a roar and crashed into the elven line, but it too was held at bay by the long spear of the sea-elf as arrow after arrow found weak points in its scaly hide. It wasn't long before the garden was again at peace and the elves could continue their journey. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0003.jpg"></center> > They went up and down grand stairs cut into the mountains, past crumbling stone buildings that had been homes and shops, over endless bridges past rivers of flame. Thrand stopped on the head of a stair and looked out over the smoking wreck that was Montor. "This is not a comforting place," he said, half to himself. > Voron passed him on the way down the stairs. "I think it's kind of homey," he said with a chuckle. > "Where do YOU live?" asked Fergy as he carefully avoided a broken step. > The rest just smiled to themselves, glad for any lightening of their hearts in such a place. They moved on into the city, stopping briefly to discuss what they should when they encountered the balron. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0004.jpg"></center> > Celeb put forth a grand plan, declaring that she would stand on a bridge and tell it that it could not pass. With confidence in this course of action they moved ever onward through the maze of fallen buildings. > On one of the many bridges they met a guardian. "Do you see that dragon?" asked Fergy. > Thrand nodded. "I do, though he seems calm enough." They spoke briefly to the dragon and were happy to find it a reasonable beast. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0005.jpg"></center> > Onward they moved and eventually came to a temple of some sort, built on rocky peak in what was now a lake of fire. Here they found a less friendly dragon, as well as more daemons. They battled here for awhile, but the noise of the fighting seemed to draw in more and more dragons. They had managed to kill four of the great beasts before deciding that this exposed point was not a good place to remain. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0006.jpg"></center> > Down out of the temple they paused while Thrand bandaged Dahakon. "You'll be fine, Doc," he assured the young warrior as he cleaned the wound made by the claw of a dragon. > Dahakon just joked, "He didn't appreciate my whacking very much." > They moved on through the city, ever climbing or descending. In some places the former glory of the city was still evident. Sweeping arches, balconies and gardens, and broad avenues gave testament to the skill of the builders. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0007.jpg"></center> > . Yet the fire of the mountain had swallowed much of the city. Crumbled walls and broken roads made obvious the force that had shattered the once magnificent Montor. All along their trip the minor beasts that had taken the city for their home assailed them. Fire elementals and efreet were the most common, both being drawn by the great heat of the molten rivers. None of them were powerful enough to be a serious threat. > Eventually, up in a high passage they came across the object of their search. They had finally found a balron, only much to their surprise the beast was slain already. They stood around the steaming corpse for a few moments wondering what had happened and then decided that it was high time to go home. The climb back out of the city was much quicker. They had thoroughly cleared the path behind them and few of the denizens of that place now wanted to take on these warriors of light. It wasn't long before they were back down out of the ruined city, breathing easier in the crisp cool highland air of Ilshenar. Resting around the fire of a gypsy camp nearby they told their tales to the wide-eyed gypsies. Those roving people were probably the descendants of the folk who had built the old city, but they had never in their lives been to see the place for fear of the creatures who had inherited the ruins. > <center><img src="https://grey-company.evernorth.net/ULImages/Montor_110602.0008.jpg"></center>
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