Kos Heb - The Frozen Wastelands

From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki

Kos Heb - The frozen Wastelands

by Garrett Granth

After a long day of sailing, I found the temperatures dropping, and a cold, hard breeze blowing off the sea north of Minoc. My tillerman expertly navigated the narrow channel, bringing us to the mouth of a cave. From the darknes beyond came a cold breeze that tore through my ringmail like an icy scythe. I wrapped my old healer's robe around me, and trudged onward, to the intrepid adventurers near the mouth of the cave.

I was met with hails and scarce words. Mages, warriors and archers all huddled around the available campfire. Evil sounds howled within the cave. "The cave of Ice, passageway to the lost lands of Kos Heb.." I thought to myself, having seen the spot on many a sea chart detailing the Minoc area. Once, I had sailed into Kos Heb from the sea, but I never set foot onto the frozen tundra. "Aye." Said the horseback mage, who appeared to be the leader of the improvised party.

"But inside lurketh fearsome ice and snow elementals, and I can nae summon po'erful beings against them fer the efforts o' the ratmen mages in thar." he sat with a puzzled look, and the archer spoke up. "Yes, and we can barely scratch these ice elementals with all those beasts wailing away at us w' powerful magic.. we already lost a few warriors, and plan not to lose more. " At that, the large barbarian, halberd in hand, stood up. "She is right." He rumbled. "We lost three. My friend Koros, his brother Wealog the Cleric, and one of the warlocks." "Aye." The archer consented.

I looked around. "We came so that we might have the fortune that can be found by slaying the creatures inside, some of which are known to carry the rare glacial staffs." I frowned, for two reasons. First of all, I had never needed such an expensive item in all my years as a ranger. Secondly, the staffs were very rare, a skilled adventurer could spend days in the cave without producing a staff. But these people were poor, and were entralled by the possibility of instant wealth. "Will you help us?" the mage said. "We need all the help we can get." "Certainly." I replied, not thinking better of it.

I would later wish I had, but who's to say it wouldn't have happened as it did without me? "Wonderful." Said the mage. "There are three ice elementals and a number of ratmen mages crowding the entrance. We'll take the ice elies first, because they are killing our warriors." "No. " I said. "We'll take the ratmages first so that you might summon us some powerful elemental beings to fight on our behalf." "A good idea." The mage said. "Charge!" I grabbed his sleeve. "Wait, wait.." I began. "You're a sitting duck to those ice elementals.

We shall go in first, the barbarian and I, followed closely by the healer to keep us alive, then the girl will lay down some cover fire as you come in and cast a few powerful magic spells on the ratmen, ending the fight. Then we retreat back to here to meditate and heal. Understood." "Aye.." Said the girl. "Aye." Said the barbarian. "Indeed." said the healer. "Oh very well then!" The mage laughed. "You pitiful warriors plan all you want. My magic will end those rat's lives before long." I went in, the darkness engulfing me. Before I could adjust my eyes, an arm of solid ice smashed into my shield. The halberd was swung just over my head, and crashed into the ice, sending a spray of slush around. The incredible cold was painful, but nothing compared to the awesomly hard fists of the beast. Yet, we stood strong, pushing the beast back into the rats, which began casting powerful spells on us.

Amid the flames and explosions, th healer would gently touch us, sealing the wounds, soothing the burns. We yelled for the archer, and soon a deadly rain of arrows distracted the rats, which turned to thier new prey. A fist arose, and I was knocked to the snow. I looked around at the array of frozen corpses. Men, rats, elementals, and all manner of beast were perfectly preserved in the walls and even the ceilings. I stopped my morbid fascination just in time to dodge a crushing foot sent down upon me. Two pilliars of flame arose, and the ratmen dropped dead, burning and filled with arrows. "Fall back!" I yelled, as the barbarian and I had already suffered enough.

But the mage was already summoning a deamon from the pit. "Let him finish this spell, ranger." The barbarian belted, smashing that dreadful halberd into the face of the ice being. I fixed my feet into the ground. "He's going to get us killed..." I said. "He's going to get us rich." The barbarian replied. Suddenly the ground sprung open, and a deamon arose, as a mental battle raged on between him and the mage. Soon, though, the mage had forced the deamon to do his bidding, and the massive broadsword rending the ice elementals signaled our retreat. But the mage and the girl were already headed deeper into the cave. We ran after them, away from the deamonic howls.

Suddenly, the mage vanished, and the girl fled past us. I found a black potion in my bag and drank it. As the light came to my eyes I saw a horrific arctic ogre lord bearing down on me, enraged! I let loose a volley of arrows, retreating as I fired.. Then, a horrible noise, of metal grinding, arose behind the beast. A pilliar of blades arose from the ground, and began to tear into the fiend. The mage laughed evily as the fiend turned to face the new threat. I sent arrows into the beast, for he had nearly crushed the blade spirit. The mage, also seeing this, summoned up another, but this one turned on him. As we watched, his body was reduced to a bloody pulp that quickly froze on the ice.

We bolted, past the battle, outside into the Lost Lands. As we gathered our senses, a pile of snow arose, and a pilliar of flame engulfed the archer girl. She tried to run, but the wounds were too much, and her running kept her away from the healer's touch. I knew the danger as she died, and the others paniced. "We're getting out of here." I said. "Back in the cave." "NO! " the barbarian burst out. "THAT THING is still in there..." he never finished his sentence, as a horrible frost troll drove a giant axe between the man's shoulder blades. The next swing of the axe sliced my shield in half, but the healer had stuck the beast to the ground.

-the journal ends here, blood staining it-