Sapphire:Sessions:20150926
Yasser declares he's not comfortable here. "Where's the alcohol?" Ned and Thelma assure him that there's a still back at their camp. Yasser's iron ring heats up; it apparently has an affinity for this world. The ring becomes uncomfortably hot, but even when it starts blistering and burning his finger, Yasser bears the pain stoically.
After a low-voiced but animated consultation with Rick, Angela announces that she and Ned will accompany the group in their pursuit of Tholadan. Angela will drive the car.
Uttering an exclamation of pain, Branamin goes down on his left knee. He stares off into the distance, appearing to concentrate deeply. Turning to tend to Branamin, Shawna hisses to Chalker, "Is Jax around here?" As Chalker is checking, Branamin snaps out of his daze. He gasps, "I think that was Tholadan... We fought... I'm now linked to the gate somehow." Branamin suffers physical pain if he moves away from the gate, and he cannot venture more than a half-mile from it without blacking out.
Shawna declares, "I'll stay with Branamin." Although Angela says her people will bring back supplies and volunteers to guard Branamin, and Chalker assures her that the young mage will be fine, Shawna is adamant.
Chalker again checks for mithril, and informs the rest that Tholadan is now twenty miles away. The group conjectures that Tholadan is traveling via Teleport spell, ten miles per jump, and must rest for an hour between attempts.
Angela points to a small building labeled 7-Eleven and explains there is gas stored there in underground tanks that is used to power the car. Ahn-Lee expresses puzzlement -- why is the substance called gas when it is obviously liquid?
Angela slides behind the steering wheel. Chalker sits on the other side of the front seat, with Thelma in between. In the rear seat, seated between Yasser and Ahn-Lee, Rick is obviously tense and nervous. Yasser eyes him and asks brusquely, "What?" Rick stares back wordlessly, and Yasser mutters, "Humans..." Ahn-Lee covets the shotgun Rick carries, but eventually decides he has no chance of taking it from the human.
Chalker chats up Thelma. "You don't believe we are who we say, do you?" "Angela's grandmother is Irish. She wants to believe." Chalker 'hooks' Thelma's gun and tells her, "Do me a favor -- tighten your grip." She does so, and Chalker pushes the gun upward. He asks her, "What do you believe is happening now? Don't you believe what you see?" Thelma admits, "Angela is more right than I thought." "Why do you have a problem believing in us when you're surrounded by walking dead?" "Point taken."
Angela stops the car in front of the survivors camp, which is bordered by a makeshift construction of wire mesh fencing, barbed wire, and the beginnings of a brick-and-mortar wall. A couple of guards pull the gate open in response to Angela's hand signals.
Chalker asks Rick for a spare gun pistol. Rick: "We have several guns that are community property, but we don't have much ammo." Chalker: "Getting rid of Tholadan is worth giving up one gun." Ahn-Lee: "You won't regret it when Tholadan is no more."
Yasser: "Where can I get something to drink?" Angela waves over a man named Andy and tells him to lead Yasser to the "good" moonshine. In the storehouse, Andy hands Yasser a clay jug. Yasser takes a long, thirsty swallow, and pronounces the booze "almost as strong as a Bajeeter Special."
Angela had sent a teenage girl, Bess, to fetch the rest of the Senior Council. Angela leads Chalker and Ahn-Lee inside a building and into a windowless conference room. A rumbling hum becomes audible from outside, and Angela flicks a small wall-mounted lever and overhead lights come on. As he habitually does, Chalker examines the room for peepholes; he finds none, but he asks Angela about certain devices (cameras) he sees attached to wires inside the walls. "We don't use power on those," Angela replies.
Rick enters the conference room, leading five other people who are introduced as Barry, Harold, Donna, Jean, and Fred. Angela gives a brief summary of the purpose for the meeting, concluding with "Rick and I disagree on this," then introducing "Mr Jackson."
"Call me Chalker. We're from another realm and we're chasing a necromancer named Tholadan. The necromancer has tied our mage to the gate so he can't go far. We need a few people to go back and make a shelter for our mage. Then we need Angela and Ned and that's it. We are requesting your aid and assistance. If you help us, we thank you; if not, we thank you."
Angela speaks. "We need to set up a camp of twenty around the gate to guard their mage. ... Even if these people are not what they say, it's worth it to us to help them."
Angela calls for a vote. Harold, Fred, and Rick vote against, so the vote carries, 4-3. Chalker: "Now Rick, no coup attempt while we're gone." Rick: "Those never end well."
Ahn-Lee begs repeatedly to be given a gun. Finally Angela agrees to lend him one, on condition that he return it before he goes back through the gate. With Chalker lending his advice, Angela brings out a .45 and shows Ahn-Lee how to load and fire it. Angela: "Never point it at anyone you don't want to kill." Ahn-Lee: "What if I'm behind them?" Angela: "You could stick the barrel in the small of their back and pull the trigger." At this, Ahn-Lee grins hugely.
Branamin casts a Teleport Shield around the gate, explaining to Shawna each step in the process. Shawna points out that since he controls the gate, he can close it. He puts it in a 'neutral' state. Shawna: "Prepare to sever Tholadan's link to the gate, but not right now."
Angela unfolds a map; Chalker requests a copy of it. She indicates the forest to the north that they'll need to traverse and notes that the pavement will be rough, but it will be much quicker to drive through the forest than to go around it. Shawna sends them off, reminding them "You have your journey books in case you need to communicate with us." Yasser hollers, "Next stop -- Tholadan!"
Angela steers the car along the winding road (Route 33) through the forest, covering 25 miles in 45 minutes. Chalker observes that during that time Tholadan has moved another ten miles further. Making small talk, Chalker asks, "Do you have Zales here? I have a necklace from Zales. It's about 1500 years old, though."
Angela turns off of Route 33 onto an east-west highway, Route 166, which allows for faster driving. After a time they come to the remains of a small town called New Cuyama. At first there are no signs of walking dead, but there are overturned cars, human bones, and desiccated corpses.
Meanwhile, Shawna has Branamin open the gate a bit in order to distract Tholadan. She can sense that the necromancer is irritated by the intrusion. He is in a large room with rows of seats and double doors at each end, with four or five dozen zombies milling about him. Tholadan tries a Mental Stun on Shawna to no effect; she playfully Stuns him back. This gives her an idea, and she starts scratching at Tholadan's mind, like nails on a slate.
Just as they're about to pass it, Chalker points to a building marked Cuyana Valley High School. "Tholadan's in there." Instead of slowing down and turning, Angela imprudently spins the car around; she hits a pothole and blows out a tire.
Walking dead emerge from the school. Chalker: "Can you run over them?" Angela: "Sure can, as long as I don't knock off the rim."
"Anyone got any fire?" asks Chalker. Yasser feels his ring turn painfully hot, and suddenly dual flamethrowers erupt from the front of the car, incinerating the zombies in their path. Chalker throws a jug of booze into the fire, and sheets of flame engulf even more of the walking dead.
The group piles out of the car and enters the gymnasium. At least a hundred zombies are shambling up and down the tiers of seats. In the center of a polished wooden floor kneels Tholadan, eyes closed, face contorted in a grimace. In his upraised left hand is a swirl of energy, while in his right he wields the gold and mithril dagger. In front of him glows the silver knife, its point driven into the floor. Chalker hooks the knife and jerks it free.
(Shawna screeches like a hunting hawk and rakes claws across Tholadan's mind. At her prompting, Branamin begins a cycle of opening and closing the gate in order to further distract Tholadan. They continue such actions throughout the fight.) Suddenly Tholadan is thrown fifteen feet and his hard landing cracks the wooden floor. The silver knife rises into the air and power surges toward Chalker; with difficulty Chalker releases the knife, but the wave of energy washes over him and he retches. As Tholadan turns over onto his side, Chalker whips out his magekiller dagger. Ahn-Lee says, "Chalker, help aim," fires his gun, and blows a zombie's head off. Yasser thinks at his iron ring, "Burn 'em up!" while swinging his axe wildly.
Ahn-Lee fires again, hitting the far wall. Yasser, thinking "Need some fire!" throws a hard punch at a zombie, knocking its jaw askew. Chalker hooks onto the silver knife. Tholadan, his nose bleeding and his features contorted with pain, gets slowly to his feet, facing Chalker.
Chalker activates the magekiller dagger and TKs it at Tholadan. Ahn-Lee fires, missing his target by a good five feet to the right. Yasser, with three zombies closing around him, punches one of them, his red-hot ring branding its flesh. With his right hand, Tholadan strikes the silver knife, which moves to intercept the magekiller; his left hand makes a ripping gesture (Tholadan almost blocks Shawna's mental attacks, but 'almost' isn't good enough).
Ahn-Lee overcorrects and his next shot misses to the left. Tholadan dives to the floor to avoid the magekiller (simultaneously throwing a mental attack at Shawna, which she deflects). Yasser calls out "Need some help" as he punches another zombie, tearing off a chunk of its face. Three zombies slap at Yasser, who dodges back away from them. Angela, her shotgun slung and her machete in hand, turns and slashes a zombie's neck.
"Oh, so you're awake!" Yasser says to the next zombie just before he hits it with a solid punch. Chalker turns the magekiller back toward Tholadan... who tries to Blink away and cannot. Lightning crackles from his eyes, ears, and mouth. Ahn-Lee fires and grazes Tholadan's left shoulder; the impact spins the necromancer halfway around and he goes down. (Shawna quickly throws up a Mind Block to protect herself and Branamin from Tholadan's dying mind as Branamin feeds her energy.) Ned fires his shotgun at a group of zombies shuffling toward Ahn-Lee. Ahn-Lee crows, "Got him! Time to go!"
(Shawna tells Branamin to close the gate. Tholadan is definitely dead, but she senses something about his essence...) Ahn-Lee fires his last bullet. Chalker runs toward the silver knife which is hanging in midair above Tholadan. Yasser avoids a zombie's bite and punches it hard. Angela kills one zombie and slashes another. Ned fires at another group of zombies.
(Shawna perceives that the gold and mithril dagger somehow links the two planes. She quickly prays to Delsa that she might get a message to Chalker.) Chalker grabs the silver knife's hilt. Yasser covers Angela and Ned's retreat. Ahn-Lee, holstering his gun, heads for the exit. The zombies pursue, though somewhat slowed.
Chalker snatches the gold and mithril dagger (Shawna tells him it must be destroyed). Ahn-Lee draws his two knives. Yasser, Angela, and Ned reach the door; taking a look outside, Angela exclames, "It's still flaming!"
Chalker sheathes the silver knife, pulls the magekiller into his hand, turns and runs for the door. Seeing the blazing fire, Yasser tells his ring "Good work!" Ahn-Lee to Yasser: "Let's race!"
Ahn-Lee reaches the car and turns back toward the school. Angela throws her machete into the trunk of the car, then slides behind the steering wheel. Yasser climbs into the back seat. Ned smacks against the doorframe.
At a dead run [ha], Chalker shoots the gap between two zombies. "Ned, get in!" Ahn-Lee calls. Yasser, staring intently at the school building, raises his ring hand, clenches his fist, and commands, "Burn it down!" Immediately the entire school bursts into flame. Eyes like saucers, Angela utters "Holy sh--" and shifts the car into gear, struggling to turn the steering wheel.
"Come on, Chalker!" Ahn-Lee exclaims as he jumps into the back seat. Chalker places the gold and mithril dagger on the ground under the rim of the flat tire and calls to Angela "Drive a couple feet over it." Yasser directs his ring to drive the fire into the gym. Chalker steps back as Angela rolls the car forward over the dagger, breaking it in two. (Shawna and Branamin sense the breaking of the dagger. Branamin staggers and Shawna urges him to transfer his control of the gate to her. He does so as she eases him to the ground, saying "Sleep now.")
Chalker picks up the two pieces, noting that a trace of mithril has fused onto the rim of the wheel. He climbs into the car. Angela guns the engine and (sort of) peels away. Despite the flat tire, the wheel is more stable than Angela feared it would be. She pulls onto Route 166 and turns east, putting a few hundred yards' distance between them and the slowly shuffling remaining zombies.
Angela stops the car, gets out, and opens the trunk, explaining that there should be a spare tire inside. As she asks Yasser to use his strength to raise the car's weight off of the flat, Ned gives her a funny look and suggests she check the trunk for a jack and tire iron.
Ahn-Lee: "Well, that was fun. I hit him!" Yasser: "I'm a fire mage now!"
Angela notes that the flamethrowers burned about one-fourth tank of gas, but they have plenty left to get back to camp. This time she will take the long way around the forest, since night is fast approaching. Chalker points out to Angela and Ned the efficacy of firebombs against the walking dead, "and don't you have some kind of war vehicles?"
Just at midnight they reach Shawna and Branamin's campsite. All twenty survivor guards maintain their tense alert posture, and Shawna suggests that Angela tell them to sleep in shifts. Shawna tells Chalker that Branamin needs to get back to the other side of the gate to recuperate properly. Chalker gives her the silver knife.
Angela asks, "Since we helped you, won't you stay here and help us against the walking dead?" Chalker explains that before long the gate back to their world will collapse completely. Shawna opens the gate for Chalker, Branamin, Yasser, and Ahn-Lee, telling them "Go on, I'll be right behind you."
Yasser is the first one through. Barak sits slumped on the floor with his back to one of the columns, bloody and exhausted. The corpses of W2 and W3 have been burnt to ashes. "Hi, Barak," Yasser greets the goblin. Barak raises his head wearily. "Back? But... you just left." Yasser: "We've been gone all day." Barak: "Are the others coming?" Yasser: "Yes." Barak nods wearily and promptly passes out.
Ahn-Lee is beside himself with glee because he got away before Angela could ask for the gun back. Chalker reminds him that his ammo is limited; "In the long run, your blades and crossbow are more effective." Branamin checks Barak over, then settles into a chair, glad to be back in normal mana. ***
Not long afterward Shawna emerges into the room. Her eyes shine like twin stars, her hair glistens like mithril, and a nimbus like silver moonlight surrounds her. She turns away, gestures, and the gate closes forever.
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