Editing Chronicle - Malek (section)

== Epic Battle ==

Githyanki started to pour in from all the doors, cutting off all our exits and carrying a wide variety of weapons. There was already a mental battle going on, and even those of us not normally sensitive could feel it. I was surrounded and hit, but held my ground to buy the others time. Fireballs exploded briefly and then were absorbed by [[Milai]].

[[Hintzu]] raised another wall of fire as a shield as [[Milai]] cut the first one down with Agan. [[Hintzu]] started loosing arrows, peppering two that dropped quickly. I shouted again for them to join me, whilst fighting to keep the advancing horde back. I hit one of them, dodged several blows and deflected an arrow just to hold the position. [[Lanzi]] summoned a stinking cloud in the large room behind us, causing some of the foe to start throwing up and reeling.

[[Hintzu]] was fighting hard, although he kept mumbling strange things and if we had had any time we would have been concerned for his wellbeing; it didn't stop him from killing another Gith with arrows, though. [[Morwath]], obviously still dazed by his ordeal, had been fighting without much effect, but now landed a blow that helped him focus. [[Milai]] cut down another.

[[Hintzu]] was hit by magic missiles, which increased his gibbering and seemed to enrage him. He killed several of the foe in quick succession with more arrows. [[Milai]] was hit, but killed her attacker in retaliation. [[Lanzi]] created a wall of stone across the room, creating a solid barrier between us and the majority of the enemy, although there was a gap above the wall. I, meanwhile, continued to fight hard to keep at least one flank clear for my friends, landing another blow.

[[Hintzu]] was affected more than we could have ever predicted; his rage increased and, screaming, he jumped over the wall that [[Lanzi]] had raised, ran through the ranks of the Gith beyond and headbutted the mage that had conjured the magic missles! The Gith collapsed, blood streaming from his nose. The rest of us were too busy fighting for our lives to do much about it, though! [[Milai]] raised a wall of force above the stone wall to block entry, but left a small gap so that we could still reach [[Hintzu]] - assuming he lived!

[[Lanzi]] helped me out by conjuring some grease on the floor in front of me; one of the Gith slipped and fell and the others quickly moved to the side of the room, restricting the number that could reach me at once. I was hit again, so uttered a holy word of [[Odin]], banishing most of the Gith around me, but also deafening most of the party for a short time! An arrow still struck me, but the wound was not serious.

[[Hintzu]], meanwhile, was going postal on the Gith around him; he internally roasted one and then summoned a whirlwind that sucked up five of the foe, flinging them at fatal speed into the walls around them. [[Milai]] killed another two, helping [[Morwath]] and creating some space.

I began to back up towards the rest of the party, but suddenly I got a heady, sweet smell in my nose. I felt fantastic, despite my wounds, and decided to take a wander back down the corridor towards my friends, who were all fighting fantastically. [[Lanzi]] just couldn't hold it in any longer, and called his mirror images into being to protect himself.

The Gith were still pouring into the rooms around us, and [[Hintzu]] was hit by a couple of arrows. His response was to add a fireball to the whirlwind's devastation, toasting half of the room. [[Lanzi]], now exposed by my wanderings, was saved from harm by his images and [[Morwath]] came to his aid, arcing a bolt of lightning down the corridor, catching several of the Gith in its blast. Eudora added to the effect by launching lightning of her own, and this time one of them fell dead.

[[Milai]] engaged the foe at [[Lanzi]]'s side. I tut slightly, as there were now too many people in the corridor for me to see what was at the other end, although it didn't bother me for long. [[Lanzi]] let off a storm of ice towards the stairs beyond, and [[Milai]] killed another that got too close. This was good news for me, as her movement allowed me to continue in the opposite direction towards [[Morwath]].

[[Hintzu]]'s whirlwind continued to wreak devastation in the other room, and he slowly turned to the group behind him and said "I warned to to fuck off, you haven't so have this", raised his bow and sent several shafts into the nearest, killing him instantly. However, the Gith were swarming him from two sides and he eventually fell to multiple blows.

Back with us, [[Lanzi]] was now hand-to-hand in melee with more Gith coming up the stairs beyond. [[Morwath]] let another lightning bolt off down the corridor to slow them down, then another to kill about half of them. I was still wandering blissfully down the corridor, my mind obviously affected by something. [[Lanzi]] was hit, despite his mirror images, but retaliated and killed one with his bare hands!

[[Milai]] killed another, then ran to my side as some of the Gith started to climb the wall - they had found the gap! I took a sudden interest in [[Morwath]]'s cloak, stopping to sniff it. The aroma was unusual but very pleasing. [[Morwath]], undeterred by my antics, raised a wall of thorns across the stairs. [[Lanzi]] turned invisible, obviously not too confident in his ability to fight off the hordes by hand.

[[Milai]] killed another Gith on the other side of us, and I brushed past her to see what was around the corner, which was quite a pleasant experience as well. [[Morwath]] was hit by a Gith forcing its way through the thorns - though it had slowed them down. [[Milai]] killed yet another, but then turned and flat bladed me in the head, knocking me unconscious; apparently she didn't like physical contact! On the return swing she gutted another Gith, so at least she did it with style.

[[Morwath]] poured more lightning into the wall of thorns, accompanied by a clap of thunder this time, and killed at least the nearest and probably more in the process. Meanwhile [[Lanzi]] had somehow been sneaking his way to [[Hintzu]]'s side whilst invisible, and emptied a whole jar of keotones onto him to revive him.

[[Milai]] cut down another two foes as they scaled the wall to reach us. The wall of fire dropped, which meant that we might have to deal with even more. [[Hintzu]], revived and realising the danger, created a stinking cloud in the room, again holding back at least some of the horde. [[Lanzi]] protected him with stoneskin as [[Milai]] killed another two that got too close, although she was wounded in the process.
[[Morwath]] tried to reach me, but was hit as he tried to back up and was forced to stop and fight again. [[Milai]] killed another two but, despite the bodies piled around her, was beginning to be surrounded. [[Lanzi]] added to the stinking cloud with his own dweomer, slowing those that were trying to reach [[Hintzu]] but revealing himself in the process. There was seemingly no end to the Gith!
[[Lanzi]], now visible, became the target of a massive psionic attack that killed him instantly, and [[Milai]] was hit twice more. Things were not going well! Magic missiles also flew at [[Milai]], but she was unaffected and killed another two foes with Agan.

[[Hintzu]] looked at [[Lanzi]]'s prone body and then back at the advancing Gith. With the cryptic warcry "Who did that? My Dad's better than yours!" he began loosing arrows at the nearest Gith, firing at an incredible rate and killing two. [[Morwath]], having suffered several hits, healed himself. [[Hintzu]] was hit, but this time the stoneskin protected him and he replied with a fireball, then turned to the mage he had laid out earlier and said "you wait there!"

A ray was fired at [[Milai]], but her shield reflected it safely. [[Morwath]], now feeling more secure, healed me and restored my mind. I quickly took in the situation and created a blade barrier across the corridor, killing four that were too slow to escape and effectively blocking one entrance. [[Milai]] killed the Gith mage, but was then killed by a psionic attack! Would everyone just stop dying?!

[[Hintzu]] filled the room with a burning, smokey cloud that added even more to the body count he was amassing, then cut another one down in melee. I was hit whilst praying to [[Odin]], and [[Morwath]] again assisted with a lightning bolt, killing several more.

[[Hintzu]] finally turned his attention to the mage that had originally caused him to flip, cutting him into two pieces with a massive overhead swing. Retribution finally taken, he vaulted the wall and sliced down the spine of one Gith facing [[Milai]], killing it instantly. Hardly pausing, he cut another down after landing, leaving only one now facing us.

[[Morwath]] defended me while I rushed to [[Milai]]'s side. [[Hintzu]], having arrived in a blur of violence, announced that [[Lanzi]] was down and jumped straight back over the wall again! He killed another two upon landing on the other side, apparently unstoppable. I called on [[Odin]] to raise [[Milai]] from the dead, as [[Morwath]] continued to fight behind me.

[[Hintzu]] shouted "there's one left to play with, then it's all clear; come out everybody!" He then quickly killed the last Gith without waiting for us to appear. [[Milai]] healed herself now she was conscious and, hearing the explosion of a fireball in [[Hintzu]]'s vicinity, jumped over the wall. I went to [[Morwath]]'s aid, smashing the last Gith on our side down from behind.

[[Hintzu]] ran over to [[Lanzi]], picking him up, and I used my ring of jumping to leap the wall to join him, followed more carefully by [[Morwath]]. I asked [[Hintzu]] to place [[Lanzi]] down so that I could aid him, and he dropped him unceremoniously on the ground. [[Milai]], now recovered, was jumping up by the wall, indicating for us to join her and proceed down the stairs.

[[Hintzu]] wandered into the corner and sat down, taking an interest in a nearby spider. He took it up in his hand and started talking quietly to it, calling it George. Meanwhile I used keotones to ease [[Lanzi]]'s wounds and resuscitate him.

[[Morwath]] shouted loudly that we should flee to [[Minas Emras]], but it was just misdirection for the enemy's benefit. The cloud of hot gas disappeared, leaving just a smoky haze, and [[Milai]] raised a wall of force to protect us from any renewed Gith interest. I urged [[Hintzu]] to leave with us, but he collapsed! I ran to his side, but he was still alive, just unconscious.

As we feared, the Gith had regrouped and now launched a new attack. Fortunately this was blunted by the impact of the front ranks on the invisible wall of force that [[Milai]] had created! I couldn't resist pulling a face at them as we backed through the door behind us, with [[Milai]] carrying [[Hintzu]]. We retraced our steps back to [[Blaven]]'s Pool, undisturbed, and I was able to fully heal [[Hintzu]], hopefully undoing whatever mental damage he might have suffered. Fortunately he seemed well, although I'm sure I heard him whispering to George from time to time.

[[Lanzi]]'s dweomer once again shielded us as we rested, recovering from what seemed like hours of battle. There were still hordes of Gith in the area, usually searching in teams of eight, and guards had been posted near to the flue entrance we had used to enter [[Malek]]. [[Milai]] used Agan to seek out the other swords, finding that Rakos was still at [[Sutur]] and Fastlor at [[Gos]], so [[Guerin]] had not returned despite the battle. We also discussed the meaning of the 'petty blooms', suspecting that they were a description of the younger siblings of important females, likely to be more easily influenced for ill. [[Guerin]] was using the gate at [[Sutur]], which probably meant that the link to [[Hel]]'s domain had shifted from [[Minas Tiris]] to my home town.