# An Adventure with Airicx Evanara



## Slaygrim (Jan 31, 2008)

Loosely based upon a previous adventure:

“Moradin’s beard!  He knows we’re here,” the stocky gray bearded dwarf whispered to his two companions, an elf warrior and an old human paladin.  “He’ll be upon us soon.”

“Only because you couldn’t move silently if your life depended on it Thorquain, which it does!” growled the paladin as he drew forth his holy sword, bathing the room in a soft golden light.  He hefted his silver shield and backed away from the oaken door.

“Bah!  Let him come!  Never thought I’d see you shying away from a fight Stalus!” Thorquain growled back, clanging his axe upon his round shield and joining the paladin on the far side of the room.

“Hezric Lukares is no minor Thayan wizard Thorq.  Stealth was to be our ally in defeating him.  Why else do you think Airicx arranged that diversion outside!  Why do you think he led is into this cursed tower in the dead of the night!”

“Quiet, both of you!” the elven warrior hissed as he stood away from them, placing his back against the wall adjacent the door.  Airicx wrapped his long silver hair into a ponytail and drew forth elven thinblades, one in each hand.  “I hear something.”

A loud roar blasted the ears of the companions followed by the heavy vibrations of a large form headed in their direction.  There was a loud crash and shattered pieces of oaken door pelted Stalus and Thorquain.  Something large barreled into the room swatting the dwarf, sending him air born to crash into a wall.  Another huge limb was flung towards the paladin who ducked beneath his shield for protection.  

The dust from the exploding door began to settle revealing the identity of their attacker.  The beast was as tall as a giant, his head brushing the ceiling of the room.  His horned head appeared dog-like.  The beast had four arms; the first pair ending in large clawed hands and the second pair in monstrous pinchers.

“A glabrezu!” Stalus yelled, backing up a few more steps. “Thorquain!  Help!”  The paladin spared a glance at the fallen dwarf, seeing the sturdy battlerager climbing to his feet mumbling.  The elf, Airicx, was nowhere to be seen.

A high-pitched maniacal laughter filtered into the room from whence the glabrezu came.  “There will be no help for you old fool, only death!”

Airicx used the commotion of the glabrezu’s explosive entrance to disappear unnoticed into the shadows.  The elf knew the demon’s conjurer would be nearby and that their only hope of survival would be to stop Hezric before he could lend his spells to the aid of his guardian.  Airicx trusted his skilled companions to handle the glabrezu without him. The real threat was the Thayan wizard.

The glabrezu slammed another clawed hand down upon Stalus’s silver shield, leaving a large dent in its surface.  Thorquain was back on his feet and charging the demon with his double headed axe held high.  The glabrezu roared in pain as the dwarf brought axe crashing down into it’s back in a mighty chop.

“Eat it beast!” snarled the battlerager as he yanked his weapon free, gore spraying him.  Thorquain’s taunt was cut short as a large pincher snapped forward and caught him in its crushing clasp.  Breath was blasted from the dwarf’s lungs as the demon squeezed him with all of its demonic might.  Masterwork mithril plate mail bought the dwarf a precious few moments of life, shielding him from the keen pincher edges.  Through tear filled eyes the dwarf saw a flash of gold and he fell free, collapsing to the floor.  Glancing up, Thorquain saw Stalus bring his Holy sword back around for another swing and a severed pincher lay at his feet.  Wincing in pain, Thorquain struggled to stand.

“Stay down!” roared the demon, slamming his heavy foot atop the rising dwarf, pinning him to the ground.  Thorquain struggled mightily, invoking the power of his girdle to give him the strength of a giant, but the glabrezu was stronger still.

“Release him fiend!”  Stalus demanded as he blocked another clawed attack with his shining shield.  Stalus riposted and came in low, his Holy sword flaring with a thirst for demon blood.  With surprising speed for it’s bulk, the glabrezu sidestepped the paladin’s jab responding with a downward swipe of its remaining pincher, slamming into Stalus’s helmed head.  Stalus’s vision went dark as blood ran from his wound and into his eyes.  He stumbled back, desperately trying to put some distance between himself and the demon.

***

Airicx heard Stalus’s painful groan and considered going back to his aid, but then he heard the chanting of a wizard ahead.  Staying to the shadows Airicx crept forward without a whisper of sound, and then he saw him.

Hezric Lukares, the terrorist of Secomber, stood before him.  The bald wizard was adorned in the red robes of his station and tattoo’s covered the breadth of his visible skin.  His bushy red brows were raised in maniacal delight as he observed the upper hand gained by his glabrezu.  “Tonight I dance in your blood,” promised Airicx.  The elf’s slender legs twitched as he prepared to blast forth from the cover of darkness, but as he began to move, a nagging feeling that not all was as it seemed rushed over Airicx, causing him to hold back and observe.

Airicx stood and watched as Hezric completed his spell, fearing that his hesitation had cost his companions their lives.  A great ball of flame burst from the wizards hands and shot into the chamber housing his friends.  A loud explosion rocked the tower and howls of pain could be heard coming from the room, mixed with the grating laughter of the glabrezu.  Airicx cursed silently at his hesitation, afraid for his friends, but continued to focus on the wizard pacing before him.  Something wasn’t right about this scene, but he couldn’t place it.

Then it hit him.  There was no sound coming from Hezric’s movements.  No soft clumps coming from his boots as he paces, no whishing of the robes as Hezric’s arms whirled in arcane gestures, and no sound came forth from his lips.  It was an illusion.

***

Stalus wiped the blood from his eyes as he backed up, uttering a prayer to Tyr.  A wave of healing passed through his body and the gaping wound upon his head sealed shut with the divine power of his Lord.

Healed, Stalus prepared to receive the charge of the hellish demon, but was greeted with a flying dwarf as Thorquain was kicked at him by the towering glabrezu.  Just then a large ball of fire thundered into the room striking the glabrezu in the back.  Waves of intense heat fell over the two friends, scalding their bodies and heating their armor.  The smell of burnt flesh accompanied their howls and the glabrezu cackled in glee, completely unharmed by the flames.  Summoning the power of Tyr, Stalus laid his hand upon Thorquain urging his Lord to heal the dwarf.  Tyr responded and several garish wounds closed.  

A shadow cast over the pair as the glabrezu stood over them.  Stalus shoved Thorquain aside and leapt to his feet in time to use his shield to parry a powerful strike from the glabrezu’s remaining pincher.  Stalus returned the favor with a powerful slash of his Holy blade.  The demon roared as the golden glow of the sword sank into its ribs.  

Wincing, the glabrezu ripped the silver shield from the paladin’s hand and sent a raking slash across his face.  Unable to block, Stalus absorbed the blow and stumbled backwards before falling to the ground.  The demon howled as he yanked the shocking sword from his body and tossed it aside.  Unarmed and unprotected Stalus watched as the glabrezu approached to finish him off.

***

Airicx concluded that the wizard is casting his spells through the apparition but the illusion was not the wizard himself.  Such a spell could not be controlled through great distances thus Hezric must be hiding nearby.  Sticking to the shadows Airicx moved further along the wall and away from his friends.  His only hope to save his companions would be to stop the Thayan before he could do any more damage.  

Creeping along the wall unnoticed, the elf knew he was closing in on Hezric.  The wizard could not be much further and continue to participate in the battle.  The Thayan must have sensed his vulnerability as he immediately fell into spell casting.  A shimmering prismatic wall burst into being and split the room in half.  Having studied arcane lore, Airicx knew this spell would prevent any creature from passing through unharmed.  Hezric thought himself safe behind his barrier, believing he would allow his projected image to battle for him on one side of the wall, while the true Hezric remained unreachable on the other side.  Little did he know that he was not alone.

***
Stalus uttered a final prayer to Tyr as the glabrezu stood over him.  He watched as the beast raised a massive clawed hand and brought it down with crushing force.  

Before the strike landed, Thorquain barreled in with his axe leading, crushing the kneecap of the demon, knocking it off balance, and causing it to miss the paladin.  The battlerager would not let up.  Thorquain sang of Moradin and sang of Clangeddin, swinging his axe with wild abandon.  The glabrezu slipped on the ground wet with blood and fell to its back.  Wasting no time, the wild dwarf leapt atop the demon, splitting its fanged maw with a devastating strike.  

The demon squealed in pain and rolled away, trying desperately to put some distance between him and the crazed dwarf.  Thorquain would not be denied.  The battlerager worked himself into a fury and pounded the fading demon with the strength of a giant.

Stalus struggled to his feet and picked up his blade, intent on sending the demon back to the Abyss.  Together the friends battered away at the glabrezu, sending demon flesh and gore flying into the air.

***

Airicx moved as quickly as possible, searching for the Thayan as he heard the wizard begin the chanting of another spell.  The elf reached the back of the room and found it empty.  

“Dark!  Where is that damned mage!” Airicx cursed to himself.  Hezric must be nearby, he could hear words of power spewing from the Thayan’s lips.  Airicx edged closer in the direction of the sound, but the chanting stopped as a gigantic hand appeared before the projected image of Hezric and sped towards the room containing his companions.

Unsure of what the hand would do, Airicx frantically tried to locate the wizard, realizing suddenly that Hezric was invisible.  Summoning the power within his adamantium thinblade, Airicx filled the room with a dense fog.  The power of his blade allowed himself to see through the dense fog, and thus he was able to locate a vacant spot of fog occupied by the body of the invisibile wizard.  

***

Thorquain drove his axe into the forehead of the prone demon as Stalus mustered the strength to drive his Holy blade into its heart.  There was a howl of rage that faded as the form of the glabrezu melted away into mist.  The slaying of the glabrezu dispelled the enchantment allowing it to remain on this plane.  Sighing in relief Stalus placed a hand upon the dwarf for support.  

“Nothing we couldn’t handle laddie!”  Thorquain laughed.  Stalus’s chuckle ended in a choke as a flash of pain went through his body.  Suddenly, something large grasped the paladin in its grip and its unbelievable strength began crushing the life from him.  Stalus tried to yell for Tyr to heal him, but he could not draw breath.  Bones broke and steel from his armor bent in upon itself.  Clinging to consciousness, Stalus tried to wiggle free but was held fast.

Thorquain rushed forward, slashing his double-headed axe at whatever was crushing his friend, but the grasp never loosened.  The crushing hand grew even tighter and Stalus could no longer draw breath.  He lost consciousness watching his old friend batter away at the hand.

***

Airicx summoned forth the wrath of Corellon Larethian, infusing the thinblade in his right hand to be imbued with the power of the God of the elves.  Airicx exploded from the shadows, striking the spot he suspected the true Hezric to lie.  The thinblade, thrumming with divine power, blasted through the unseen stoneskin enchantment protecting the Thayan, and dispelling his invisibility.  The elf did not relent.  Hezric stumbled back in surprise and agony, spitting forth blood from his mouth.  He cursed and scrambled as Airicx drove his infused blade into the wizards body a dozen times in the span of a few seconds.  And then Hezric lay dead; the wizards face still held a surprised and pained look.  In that instant, the prismatic wall and the crushing hand faded, just as life had faded from the evil archmages eyes.

“Airicx!” the elf heard Thorquain yell.  Airicx rushed back to the room holding his friends, finding the form of Stalus sprawled out barely able to draw breath,.  “Quick elf!  Help him!”

Airicx knelt by his fallen friend, placing his hands upon him and praying to Corellon Larethian.  There was a blue-white flash and many of Stalus’s more grievous wounds closed.  Moments later Stalus took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

“Welcome back.” Airicx said, looking down upon the paladin.

“Hezric?”  Stalus whispered.

Airicx shook his head and returned Stalus’s smile.  “Trasker Selarn will be pleased, as will Secomber.  The mad mage will trouble them no more.


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