In a strange way, Gim Gim's problem of getting safely away from an increasingly hysterical group of Chaotic monsters was solved as the boat ran up on the opposite shore of the Zola Fel. A large stone struck his head, and he fell headlong into the bottom of the boat. Looking up, dazedly, he saw other stones falling around him and onto other party members. From the shore he heard the roar of trolls. Earlier that evening he had thought that only Zorak Zorani would attack such a party -- and here they were!
An answering roar went up from the agitated broos. Gim Gim lay in the bottom of the boat, half unconscious, as the two metal-plated broos leapt out of the boat and charged the trolls. The other four were casting spells, two of them drawing weapons and the third raising his two shields in front of them. The fourth broo improved everyone's situation immensely by casting a lightwall a few meters away. By then, Gim Gim, shaking his head to clear it, was half-sitting up and peering over the edge of the boat.
A mass of trolls and great trolls was boiling around the copper-plated scorpion broo and the brass-horned broo. Nothing they were doing was hurting the first, but they seemed to be doing damage to the body, if not the mighty head of the second. From their shields, they seemed to be members of the Loricek clan.
At this point Fineman and Thobute, wielding their huge axes, jumped into the fray. They were followed by the "regenerator" broo, carrying a 2-handed spear. Thobute's mighty spray hit the face of what Gim Gim believed was a Death Lord who had the brass-horned broo down, and that troll uttered a horrid scream and fell to the ground clutching its blinded eyes. The large broo in the boat who was covering himself with shields from the trollkin stones that were still falling around them (and, not incidentally, providing some cover to Gim Gim) apparently had finished casting spells on the two metal-plated broos ahead of him, and cast a spell at the second largest troll, whose breastplate suddenly broke.
At that point a dark troll in the back of the enemy party cast a Rune spell of
some sort against the broo next to Gim Gim. The broo repelled it, with obvious
ease. Had Gim Gim not been wearing armor, he might have jumped in the water and
tried to get away, though a moment's thought told him that the trolls would have
"seen" him in any event, and he would have died under a hail of stones. "Well,"
he thought, I guess I am committed." Since he had no desire to join directly in
this fight of titans, especially against Zorak Zorani who might well have cast
Permanent Wound on their weapons, he decided that he would imitate the broo that
he was, perforce, next to. He hoped that his "shield brother" was not carrying
a fatal disease.
He took his own shield off his back and held it over his head, then tried to concentrate. He put up his countermagic, first. It proved to be a fortunate choice, because another Rune spell came at the boat, this one directed at him. It took down his countermagic, but did not affect Gim Gim himself. Time for the Rune Magic, if it ever was. He started with the Shatter spell, boosted from his crystal, and directed it at the troll who had tried to take him down. It worked, although he could not tell the exact effects, given the mass of bodies struggling in front of him.
Fineman was knocked over by the great troll facing him. He waved his hand, cast magic, and the troll's legs disappeared! The scorpion broo plunged its stinger into the chest of the troll whose armor had just broken. Gim Gim thought this was a good moment to try to inspire panic in the enemy -- at least the trollkin might run -- although on second thought -- if they did they would be eaten later. So he cast an amplified Fear at another dark troll. Once again, the spell worked.
Then another spell hit Gim Gim, and he lost interest in the fight. It was rather interesting watching the dancing creatures in front of him. They were very funny looking. Some of them had horns, and some had big teeth, and they were covered in different colors, mostly red, but some sparkly magic colors too. There was a nice furry creature next to him, waving around two big things in the air. He cuddled up to it.
Gim Gim knew he should be doing something, and he tried to remember what it was. He watched as one of the big black creatures with crosses that had been asleep got up and waved his hand at one of the horned things. A bolt of something hit that one and it fell down and didn't get up. The furry thing next to him said something and a funny color appeared on it. Then it pointed its finger at the big creature and several lights ran from its fingers to the big black creature, which fell down again. But it wasn't asleep -- it was yelling and holding on to its leg.
Just then a stone hit his head again. What was happening? He looked around --
little funny creatures were throwing stones at him. They must be the bad guys.
"I better protect myself," thought Gim Gim, a bit fuzzily, and he cast a spell
on himself, "and then I better get the bad guys." He pulled out his own axe and
jumped out of his boat to get the bad little guys.
Unfortunately, one of the big guys got in his way and tried to hit him with a big hammer thing. Gim Gim put up his shield, and managed to avoid having his head knocked off, but only at the cost of a numbing shock to his shield arm.
It was only then that he became aware of the fact that he had been befuddled, and had just run into hand-to-hand combat with a Zorak Zoran great troll. Luckily, the broo behind him in the boat (what WAS his name?) chose this moment to cast a spell at the troll facing Gim Gim, and the monster's shield broke. Gim Gim looked at the matrix on his axe, and activated it, praying desperately that he could get his shield in the way of the troll one more time.
The troll bellowed, dropped its shield, and swung its maul again, two-handed this time. Gim Gim parried once again, but this time the shock to his arm was so great that his arm ceased to function and fell limply to his side. At the same instant, his axe cut into the troll's leg, and the great creature fell to the ground. Unfortunately, that left Gim Gim open to the trollkin, and three more rocks hit him, knocking the breath out of him and knocking him down too. Good thing he had protection on him!
The insensate troll on the ground kept swinging its maul at him, but Gim Gim with two legs, could crawl faster than the troll with one. The trolls had finally dispelled the lightwall, so Gim Gim had trouble seeing what was going on. Just then the lighwall went on again. The regenerating broo had popped up again and recast the spell. The smells of animal-like sweat, blood, guts, and Thobute's acid urine were pervasive.
The brass-headed broo was down -- permanently, Gim Gim realized -- that must have been a Sever Spirit cast on him. The scorpion broo was down to two legs, and looked to be in trouble, although the trolls fighting him were stepping on the bodies of their own dead and dying. Fineman was enveloped by a shade -- no way of telling what was happening to him. Thobute was still pissing away -- although Gim Gim had no idea of how much urine his capacious bladder held. He could shoot it a long way, too, and had apparently eliminated most of the trollkin slingers at some point in the battle. The trolls obviously had no idea of what to do with Thobute, other than send another shade against him -- that shade was just forming.
The trolls were in pretty bad shape, too. Only a few were still standing. Gim Gim's thoughts raced at lightning speed. He had enough experience of battle to know that the next minute or so would decide. Usually one side or the other had enough "reserve" or will to win the fight. It was hard to tell, here. Both sides were at top morale -- the Chaos monsters were excited because of the fiend, and he should have realized before he set out that this was a Holy Day for the Zorak Zorani, Freeze Day of Death Week. He was getting careless.
He pulled the moon rock from his tunic, and activated the spell for the lune. Waiting for the lune to form, he tried to take control of the shade that was just forming -- there WERE advantages to multiple cult memberships. The few seconds of conflict that followed were inconclusive -- although he temporarily prevented the shade's master from instructing it -- then he dropped the effort and instructed the newly-arrived lune to attack the troll that was controlling the shade.
The results of the arrival of new elementals might have been called a draw -- Thobute ran as the new shade enveloped him, but the troll that was controlling the shade fell into catatonic Madness.
Then the tide turned. The shade enveloping Fineman disappeared, and Fineman stepped forth. His appearance was strangely altered, as his mouth was wide and a huge Tongue emerged from it. Butting, striking with his axe, and hitting with his Tongue, Fineman assaulted the remaining group of trolls around the scorpion broo. Gim Gim started casting amplified Dispel Magics on the trolls, while the broo in the boat continued to cast what must be Crack spells.
The remaining trollkin took to their heels, and, after a few more seconds, so did the few trolls still on their feet. Two of the Death Lords, who must have been unable to reach their God any more, were left alive, according to Gim Gim's second sight. Both had weak souls left, and only one was still conscious. Attempts to heal the scorpion broo proved useless -- it was obvious that some of the Zorak Zorani had used Permanent Wound on their weapons, but at least this broo could still walk with only two of his four legs functioning.
"Rabnai is dead, and Thobute ran away." said Fineman, gasping. "We have to
plunder these bodies and get away quickly," said Gim Gim. "There are ogres and
others about." It was a truism of life in the Rubble that, after a great battle,
carrion eaters and grave robbers of all sorts would appear.
Fineman nodded. "We have five minutes" he said to Gim Gim, and then, presumably, said the same thing to his broos. To let the remaining broo enjoy their victory, Fineman allowed them to spend some of the short time available in slowly killing the still conscious Death Lord . "I will reserve the unconscious one for 'conversion,' he told Gim Gim.
While the three other broo performed their "labor," Fineman and Gim Gim, using their detect spells, plundered the bodies of what valuables, mostly magic items, they possessed, as well as binding the sleeping Death Lord. One of Gim Gim's slave collars was big enough to fit the creature, and it was snapped over its neck. Gim Gim kept the smaller magic items, while leaving the heavier ones to Fineman's group. Fineman knew that in the end, Gim Gim would cheat him no more than was absolutely necessary.
Gim Gim had originally arranged for the Black Fangs to meet him back at the River near Dawn, but given these circumstances, he thought it best to leave the boat there -- if it was stolen, who cared? He scratched the motion symbol on the agreed upon rock -- indicating that he had chosen another method to get home.
The broo hoisted the still slumbering Death Lord on their shoulders, as well as a dead troll ("dinner," thought Gim Gim) and vanished into the Rubble, while Gim Gim, who wanted to run but could only stagger, made his way back through the tunnels to Pavis. It was lucky that he met no one there. In the cellar of the house, he divested himself of all his clothes, armor, and possessions new and old.
Going upstairs in total nudity, he put on the simplest clothes in the cupboard. Then, he went downstairs, and with the escort of the mute, went immediately to the temple of the Healers. Tired as he was, he had just been rubbing the fur of a broo.
"It's useful to have enough money and power to ensure immediate examination by
the Healers," thought Gim Gim somewhat vacantly. At least, he hoped that he
would not end up like Oakley Gauntest. This was the most brutal fight he had
engaged in since he had come to Pavis. Sometimes it was hard to tell a Hero from
a victim.
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