The Encounter

The night's silence was broken at last by a sudden snapping and cracking of tree roots, as a large Ankheg bursts from the ground slightly away from the trees. It rose itself out of the ground and snapped its mandibles at one of the warhorses, missing as the horse bolts against its ropes and kicks out at the Ankheg.

The insect lets out a scream that fills the darkness of night rearing back on four of its long segmented legs raising two of them as it sits upright focusing on the two women. Valawyn springs forward and her crystal blade slices thru the air, striking the Ankheg across its armor-like chitinous carapace. Kalissa's guides her swing better and strikes under the Ankheg's torso as it rears from the blow that Valawyn delivers. The Ankheg once again hisses and emits its insect chilling screech into the night air, green ichor oozing from the blade's bite.

The young paladin recover from her thrust and moves around the insect creature. "Valawyn, circle around it. Make it turn it's back to one of us!" Kalissa prepared to defend herself if the creature turned on her or strike if it chose Valawyn to attack... Valawyn began to circle away from Kalissa so that the insect should eventually have its back to one of them. While Valawyn keeps her sword at the ready in case the creature should continue to face Kalissa, she is alert and prepared to dive away from any other dangers the insect might present.

The Ankheg skittered around on its legs, green ichor oozing from the sting of Kalissa's blade. It quickly makes another desperate attempt at the warhorse and its mandible slices thru a limb on the tree, causing the limb to crack and drop on Valawyn as she strikes at the insect again. The warhorse shifts away from the Ankheg avoiding the slice that was intended for it. Kalissa swings again at the insect as it turns to face Valawyn, but her sword slides across the armored carapace as if she were trying to hit a stone wall.

Pushing the leaves and branch that had dropped around her, Valawyn moves to swing her sword again at the large insect. A sly grin forms on her lips as she cuts the insect once again but not as deeply as needed, the Ankheg rises up to strike at her, its size impressive and enough to unnerve the elven woman. The warhorse bolts and neighs nearby Valawyn as it kicks again at the insect, its right rear hoof striking the carapace. The carapace cracks and green ooze can be seen leaking from the crack as the Ankheg hisses and screeches again.

The mandible was quick but Valawyn managed to avoid its slice as the Ankheg screeches again, a horrible noise is heard from it as Kalissa swings her sword across the backside of its thorax and cutting thru one of its spiracles. The Ankheg lets out another screech as it spews forth an acidic spray from its mouth; the spray catches the warhorse, Valawyn, the tree and the tree limb.

The tree limb along with its leafy brush is instantly smoldered away, leaving only a remnant of the branches. The tree will forever have a scar from this battle as the acid burns away a few outer coats of its bark. The warhorse bucks and neighs as the acid burns into is skin and its once beautiful tail is now a tangled mess of melted hair. Valawyn screams as the spray hits her, coating her robes, clothing and body.

Kalissa watches in horror as Valawyn falls backwards dropping her sword, the Ankheg spins on insect reflexes much faster than a humanoid could ever match and is facing Kalissa. More of the green ichor oozes from various cracks and cuts in its carapace and its breathing has a rasping noise now.

Her momentarily indecision about whether to help her ally first or try to strike down or chase off the acid-beetle was quickly determined when the insect turned on the young paladin. Not wanting to be on the dinner menu, Kalissa once again struck out with her blade, hoping that it's wounds and rasping were a sign that it was near defeat.

However, the insect's carapace was still as strong and unyielding as it has been the whole battle and Kalissa's sword slides against it causing no additional damage. The warhorse kicks again and as one hoof slides against the carapace the other hoof makes contact and cracks the Ankheg's already damaged thorax and it makes a deafening hiss and screech and drops in place nearly knocking Kalissa off her feet. The warhorse kicks a few more times until it is satisfied by its rage that the insect is now dead, green ichor oozing from various cracks along its chitin covered body.

Recovering from the blow from the falling Ankheg, Kalissa steadied herself in case the creature rose again. Thankfully, the warhorse seemed to have dealt the final blow, leaving the area feeling suddenly silent. She sighed that the battle was finally over, yet the damage the creature had inflicted remained. She moved toward Valawyn as the another Ankheg rose from the ground between her and her companion, she could not believe their luck as the insect screeched and struck fast cutting into her thigh.

Kalissa let out a yelp and grimaced from the pain of the sharp mandible as it sliced into her, her white garment now ripped and darkened by the staunch of her own blood. Kalissa looked down as she examined the wound briefly pulling back somewhat, the gash deep and the blood already flowing, she would need to end this battle soon before she bled out.

Her rage took over as she finally had enough of this misfortune, she stepped back from the Ankheg as she quickly unlatched her armor letting it drop as she moved away from the insect. The creature saw the opportunity and move to strike at the opportunity it now perceived it had on the woman. The insect's mandible striking in as Kalissa gripped them, the insect's simple mind could not comprehend how its intended victim was holding its mandibles open but somewhere deep in the recesses of its alien insect mind it feared the thought and sought to pull back.

Kalissa's muscle's rippled with the new power she felt coursing through her veins, call it a gift - call it a family curse, whatever it was it would assist her once again. She had rarely used or relied on its capabilities but she had learned early to use it when absolutely necessary. She was slightly taller now her normal hair color was the color of the soft fur that surrounded her body, the white tattoos that encircled her human body now formed white fur that held the same sacred patterns to her god, she breathed his name softly, "Deb'fo!" The single word empowered her, brought her to life as she moved to act against this threat - it was not necessarily an evil creature but she could not allow her companion and ally to come to anymore harm.

Kalissa's family had a secret bloodline that coursed through their veins, not only was she of noble birth, her family's bloodline was imbued with the werebear lycanthropy blood. Natural bloodline for many generations it was their single family secret that they swore to protect and only use when absolutely necessary. Her father once told her that he believed as well as others of the family that they were specifically picked by Deb'fo to be honored by this gift. Her transformation was rapid and she had learned how to control it in her youth, it was not as painful as say one inflicted by the disease. Of course, she always packed extra clothing as she tended to shred hers in the process, the ursoid humanoid figure she became was larger and more powerful than her human form.

A slight smile formed on her face as she watched the insect realize the opponent it fought was no longer as easy as it had thought, its mandibles were no longer causing as much damage. It skittered backwards on its legs as Kalissa held its mandible, she twisted and using her great strength she suddenly snapped its neck. The insect jerked backwards as Kalissa released the mandible, it wobbled and dropped as green ichor leaked around its thorax, the carapace cracked and shattered by her twist.

Kalissa moved swiftly over to where Valawyn lied still, fragile skin steaming from the acid burns. "Deb'fo, grant me wisdom..." she muttered with a half-glance upwards as she knelt beside the injured woman and sheathed her blade. Fumbling with her thoughts, trying to figure out what to do, Kalissa reached for a waterskin to rinse off any remaining acid. She scanned for any bleeding and tore strips off the elven woman's clothing to dress any of her open wounds.

"Shock..." she reminded herself, "the priests said something about shock. How do I treat for that? I'm a warrior, not a healer!" She fetched the blankets to use as a pillow under the elf's head and to cover her and keep her warm, as well as her extra outfit . "What else can I do?" she asked aloud, feeling helpless. "Pray?" She transformed back to human form and quickly dressed. Valawyn's wounds do not seem to be very serious and will most likely heal in a few days. Kalissa wonders if the gods were truly watching tonight as she bound her traveling companion's wounds. Even after all she does, Valawyn still remains unconscious.

Kalissa quickly tends to Valawyn's warhorse realizing that the horse indeed saved all of them from the insect. The horse's once beautiful tail will have to regrow and its left rump will have to heal over time from the acid splatter, though a scar may always be present to remind them of this battle. Kalissa turns back to Valawyn tending to her wounds trying to see if any improvement will wake Valawyn.

Remembering somebody at temple once saying that moving an injured person could cause further injury, especially when so near a mortal wound, Kalissa decided they needed to stay where they were and let Valawyn heal and recover, even though that would likely mean a late arrival to Bet Seder. "She'll be okay," the paladin said hopefully to the elven woman's horse, praying that it would be true.

Pausing and feeling a little useless, her eyes fall on the remains of the Anhkegs. "The stink could attract predators..." she surmised after a moment and decided that she should move them away from camp. Hoping that they would not be too heavy, Kalissa set about dragging the dead creatures off.

When the sun began to come up, curiosity got the better of the young woman and she went to the hole where the first Anhkeg had come out of the ground and peered down, careful to have her sword in front of her in case there was another one down there. The period of rest was insufficient to change the elf's state and she appears to still be unconscious. Kalissa realizes it will take some more time to allow the elf to heal and awaken. She looks down at the burrow and sees what appears to be some sort of tunnel goes deeper into the ground.

Kalissa checked over her patient one more time to make sure everything was as it should be (no obvious signs of bleeding or shallow breathing), not that she was sure she could do anything about it. She stood and gazed out across the plain, scanning the horizon. They seemed pretty alone. Turning to the acid-burned horse, Kalissa smiled at the animal and ran her hand down its mane. "Maybe the sun will do her some good," she said. Glancing at the tunnel, she made a quick decision. "Stay here and guard her," she told the horse, "I won't be too long." With that, Kalissa approached the tunnel and looked for a way to climb down.

Kalissa approached the tunnel that the first Ankheg created as it burrowed from the earth. It was nearly 10 feet wide; it had roughly a 30 degree slope into the ground and after 30 feet was completely obstructed from the view of the sun. Even though there were numerous lichen growing lining the tunnels surface, Kalissa lit her torch she carried to allow her to see into the darkness of the tunnel. At about 50 feet into the tunnel, it leveled off. At about 100 feet into the tunnel it came to a branch splitting into two directions, one nearly a hard left turn and the other somewhat of a soft right split.

The paladin moved slowly and cautiously, shield and sword ready, as she was not eager to meet another one of those creatures if there should be one down in the tunnels. Her eyes were busy scanning and ears sharp as she approached the split in the tunnel. She approached the one to the left and peeked around it to make sure the way was clear before heading down it.

Kalissa steps quietly as she heads down the left branch, it winds about a hundred more feet or so and dead ends. Various branches form some sort of nest that the insect may have used to rest in. Around this small chamber of sorts, are various bones of animals and a set of horse bones can also be seen. A few human bones scattered about with various remains, tattered cloth of what was clothing at some point and a few old and broken pitch forks. Kalissa can see nothing of any use anywhere around her.

Kalissa searches through the various bones and remains around the nest and only recovers a worn flint and tinder box. She makes her way back down the tunnel and examines the next tunnel as she hears soft unusual noises down the tunnel.

The tunnel bends to the right and abruptly comes to a halt in another chamber; the smell of recent decaying is prevalent in the air. Kalissa immediately determines the cause of the noises as she looks upon a half-decayed carcass of a horse, maybe a day old at the least. She notices its half-eaten rider against the side of the chamber nearby the horse also.

The noise comes from three more Ankhegs ripping and tearing the carcass apart with their mandibles. All three of the Ankhegs appear to be hatchlings, not more then a week old at best. All are about 12-14 inches in length compared to the 8 foot monster she fought earlier.

The flickering of her torch light causes one of the young insects to raise its head from the carcass and stare in the direction of the light; it appears to not have noticed Kalissa and is only reacting to the light of the torch.

Momentarily torn between her loyalty to her wounded companion on the surface and the good that might come from riding the plains of more of these monstrous creatures - and possibly saving other travelers from falling victim to them, Kalissa backed off down the tunnel a few steps. After a moment, she knew what she had to do and looked for some place to put the torch.

Readying her sword and shield, Kalissa stepped out so that the Ankheg that noticed the light could see her. Then she backed off into the corridor, hoping that she could use the narrowness of the corridor to her fighting advantage.

Kalissa looks around at the earthly tunnels that the Ankhegs burrow through, the twisted roots of deep grasses and long ago dead forests. She shoves her torch into the side pushing it easily into the soft earth wall to allow her to still see but able to use her hands.

The small Ankheg looking at the light notices her movement as she steps back into the tunnel, the breadth of the tunnel large enough for adult Ankheg to travel within, would offer no considerable disadvantage to the youngling she now faces.

The young Ankheg emits a screech as it lunges forward toward her, the other two Ankhegs still feast upon the carcass of the dead horse, only slightly interested in what is happening. The Ankheg is remarkably fast even for this young age; Kalissa remembers how swiftly the adult moved on the surface. Kalissa notices that there is no acidic smell associated with the young like the adult she fought earlier, the same acid that has her companion fighting for her life.

The Ankheg reaches her just as she readies her weapon and shield. Her swing is true and cuts the young Ankheg in half just as it reaches her. It screeches shuttering for a second and then lays motionless.

Encouraged by having defeated one so easily and realizing that they likely could not be spraying acid - which she had been worried about - Kalissa decided to quickly deal with the other two. Sword feeling comfortable in her hand, Kalissa came out from the tunnel and charged the nearest bug, hoping to finish one before the other could react. She felt confident that she could win a one-on-one fight.

Kalissa enters the chamber again feeling confident about her combat training as she charges the nearest Ankheg young. It was quicker than she thought as moved to engage her, the insect even small was still a threat to her life if she allowed thoughts to make a mistake.

The Ankheg young slices through her calf muscle on her left leg and Kalissa calms herself from the pain as she drops her sword across the young insect. This one's carapace allows enough of her sword's blow to deflect but it still hisses from the wound she inflicted on it.

The other Ankheg young scurries past her as her attention are focused on the one she is engaged with. Again it's quicker but her shield offers protection as the insect's mandible scrapes the metal surface. She swings again and misses the insect as her sword strikes the tunnel wall.

Kalissa pulls the sword from the wall as she circles the insect. She drops to her right knee as pain and agony shoot through her right leg as the other young Ankheg slices her right thigh. She can feel it crawling up her leg as the first insect races toward her. She reacts quicker as her blade slices down cutting the insect in half.

Her plan had not gone as she had planned and after dropping one of her foes, she found herself in the awful and quite creepy position of having one of them crawling up her body. Hoping to crush the creature or at least encourage it drop off her, Kalissa rushed her back up against the nearest wall.

Kalissa gathers what strength she has remaining she lifts herself back onto her feet and heaves herself backwards against the tunnel's wall. The force of the blow crushes the remaining insect against her armor, there is a twitch and then the insect falls to the ground.

As she stands there recovering her breath, she sheathes her blade. Tending to her wounds she bandages up her legs as best she can. She turns to look back into the chamber.

The poor rider appears to be some knight, his chainmail armor now useless and appeared to offer him no defense from whatever attack took his life. His long sword still sheathed at his side, his backpack lies off to the side slightly torn as if rummaged through. The man also has what looks like two pouches and a scroll case on his belt.

The horse appears to be in worse shape and most of the riding gear is torn or ripped and the leather is now useless, two saddlebags lie to the side also.

The emblem on the chainmail is of one of the knight squadrons to the northern reaches of the kingdom. The only other visible item is a sapphire ring on his left hand, it is made of silver.

Kalissa examined the ring further, it was made from plain silver and had a single sapphire inset into it forming the top. The only engraving is found along the inside, "Beloved Husband" written in Kalamarian. She quickly gathers his remaining items and stores them. Perhaps when time permitted, she could return his possessions to his family.

After gathering the knights gear, she hefted the back and saddlebags over her shoulders and hauled them out to the surface. After a drink of water, she returned - nursing her injured legs. Taking the knight by the wrists, Kalissa attempted to drag the man back to the surface as well. A knight should have a proper burial.

Kalissa buries the knight after she tends to Valawyn, who is still sleeping peacefully.

The first pouch she examines contains 6 gold, 3 silver and 8 copper pieces, all Kalamarian coinage. The second pouch contains two glass vials of some bluish liquid. The scroll case contains a sealed parchment, bearing a Kalamarian stamp using a red wax. Kalissa from her knowledge of the order and what her father and sister have talked about realizes this is a special document that needs to be delivered to the guard at Bet Seder.

Kalissa rummages through the saddle bags finding 2 blankets, an empty water skin, pound of cheese, an empty sack, and an extra outfit for the traveler (pants, shirt and soft leather boots). The backpack contains a flint & steel, 2 days of traveler's rations, another half-full water skin, 3 sheets of parchment, flask of ink, a quill, and a simple ruby gemstone (uncut).

As Kalissa looks through the gear, Valawyn stirs and struggles to gain her feet. She appears ghastly white and Kalissa wonders who watched over her and spared her this day. She sips some water from one of her water skin as she approaches Kalissa.

Looking up at the Elf, Kalissa smiled - her dimples exaggerating as she did. "I am glad that you are doing well. Truth be told, I was not sure you were going to make it! The stories that Elves lack fortitude seems quite untrue." Motioning to the items in front of her, Kalissa explained, "I found a previous victim of the insect down in its lair."

She motioned towards the hole in the ground. "Apparently, he was a knight from the north. And he seems to have been carrying a sealed message, bound for Bet Seder. I should take it to the Guard when we get there."

"Do you feel well enough to travel? Staying out here another night could be most risky."

The water brings a little color back to Valawyn's pale skin. Valawyn responds while reaching into her satchel for some food, "I need to get some food in me but with a short rest I should be well enough riding on Amyr." With a slight nod toward her horse, "Thank you for tending the both of us. What all happened after I was knocked out?"

Kalissa shrugged and looked up from where the was examining the knight's sword. "I moved the carcass of the bug away from camp. I found a nest with three young bugs and a previous victim: apparently a knight from the north. He was carrying this sealed parchment," Kalissa revealed the document from where she had stored it. "It seems the knight was bound for Bet Seder, sent as a messenger, I would guess. I'm going to take this to the Guard when we get there."

"When you feel up to it, let's get underway. I'd like to get there before nightfall. We can stay at my mother's house, I'm sure, until our wounds have healed." She glanced down at the cuts on her leg and thigh.

Valawyn rises, beginning to collect her things. "I'm ready. I have eaten plenty for now and I'd much rather arrive while there's still some sunlight."

Looking at the knight's sword, "His sword is good one and you can probably get many gold pieces for it. Mine was passed down from my mother and her family." She pulls out her sword letting Kalissa see its crystalline blade again, this was her first time seeing a true elven crystal blade. It was remarkable. Kalissa looked at the elven woman, "The only money that this weapon may fetch will be given to any of his kin."

Valawyn alights onto her horse and says with a slight laugh, "Mine's a dependable sword; the only shortcoming is in my skill. I have just never had much time to master the art of swordsmanship."