You have been up since before daybreak preparing for the day's activities. Over the past few weeks you have been very busy preparing the temple's defenses for a possible attack. While there are many priests and even a few of the knights more "powerful" than you, you are still looked to as one of the leaders in the temple. This is in part due to your exalted position as a Holy Warrior, and in part due to the practical experience you have as an adventurer.

You are attending a morning service when you hear a rattling sound. Those around you turn and look at you. Pyreen is at your side as usual. She has to stifle a giggle. "The floor isn't that cold!" she whispers to you.

You frown at her. She never does take these services all that seriously. Then again, to tell the truth sometimes you have a hard time kneeling through them as well.

You quickly feel around, trying to figure out what is making the sound. Before you find the source another sound fills the temple - the tolling of the town's alarm bell.

"We're under attack!" somebody cries from the back of the room. Everybody rises as the priestess up front hurriedly closes the meeting. It is at about this moment that you finally find the pouch vibrating against your armor - the pouch containing the coin that Tessalynne gave you.

People start running around this way and that, everybody yelling things. You shake your head and stand. "Stop!" you thunder. The chapel grows instantly quiet. "The town locals are probably acting more organized than you people" you say to all those in the room. "You are Soldiers of Athena! Behave as such! You all know the drill. Everybody return to your rooms, gather your gear, and then meet back in the chapel so that the High Priestess can bless us before we go to do battle. Now MOVE!"

Everybody scatters again, although this time with more purpose. "I'll go get your gear!" Pyreen shouts as she sprints towards one of the doors. "Lindara would want you here anyway to keep things under control until she gets her."

You grumble as the thin girl disappears through the doorway. She wouldn't be quite so aggravating if she wasn't right all the time. You move towards the front of the chapel and begin inspecting warriors and clerics as they start filing back into the chapel. A few minutes later Pyreen returns, struggling under the heavy load of your helm, sword, shield... and her weapons and armor as well. Like a good squire she helps you check all of your straps and buckles, ensuring that your protective shell is complete. Then as you return to your inspections she quickly dons her gear.

Less than five minutes pass from the initial warning before the chapel is almost full. Your heart swells within you to see so many noble warriors and holy clerics ready to do battle in Athena's name. To one side you see the squad you have lead for the past several weeks forming up. To your surprise they all have deep blue tassels hanging from their helms. Although you no longer go by "Sigurd the Blue", most of your gear is still that color. They have apparently adopted it.

Lindara comes floating in on her carpet. As she does so all in the chapel kneel. She spreads her arms and prays, blessing those about to do battle with the protection of the Goddess. After the prayer the combatants move out into the courtyard in front of the temple where they begin to form up into their fighting formations.

You trudge through the still frozen mud, passing the Lady's Spear and entering City Hall through the back door. As you enter you see Matar speaking with Tessalynne, who is in the process of buckling up the last of her armor. Pyreen hurries over to help her. You over hear the female paladin tell Matar "That would be great. Go supervise the forming of the companies. We need to send people out as soon as we can to take advantage of the surprise we have. So don't wait for the individual companies to form. As soon as you have enough complete squads to form a company send them out."

Matar nods and runs out the door, heading for the parade field where the militia is forming up. Tessalynne looks up and sees you. "Sigurd, I take it by your presence the temple is ready to march?"

Tessalynne then outlines the situation to you. The city received warning that the humanoids were marching towards the city from Castinar. The ranger's warning is giving the town the luxury of setting up its defenses before the humanoids are on the doorstep. One company was out on the parade field drilling when the message came in. They were immediately dispatched to stop the humanoids outside of town. However, Tessalynne is worried that if she doesn't get reinforcements to that company in time they might be wiped out.

"I'll want two of your teams to stay here in town to act as a reserve force. Other than that I'm sending everybody from the temple east at best speed to support the company out there. I want you to take command of all of the cavalry - both of our squads - and to move that way at a full run. I'll follow leading the infantry. When you get to the battle report to Cobul if you can find him. He'll be the on-site commander until I arrive. (OOC: Cobul is Tessalynne's second in command at the City Watch. He took the first company out.) Questions?"

You have no questions, so you hurry back to the temple where you find Athena's Defenders waiting. You select the two teams to stay behind as a reserve, and then instruct the rest of the infantry to report to the parade field, where Tessalynne will give them their orders. You then gather the cavalry around you. Standing in your stirrups you draw your sword and raise it above your head. "For Athena, and for Jurgenville!" you shout at the top of your lungs. The sound of dozens of blades leaving their sheaths rings through the courtyard of the temple as the rest of the knights raise their blades in salute as well, echoing your battle cry. Without sheathing your blade you spin your faithful steed around and charge off to the west, all of the knights galloping at your heels.

As you thunder past the parade field the militiamen gathering there cheer. You are saluted as you pound across the bridge and through the demi-human settlement on the other side of the river. About half a mile outside of town you pass the Sheriffs and their supporting troops as they rush to intercept the approaching menace.

Several minutes later you faintly hear the sounds of battle ahead. You crest a small rise and find yourself looking down into a valley. In the center of the valley you see a company of Jurgenville militia arrayed in a rough V. What looks like a river of humanoids from up here is pressing against the V, slowly driving it backwards. Even from this distance you can see that the fighting is brutal, and that the snow is stained crimson with the blood of both friend and foe.

After passing on your instructions to the main group of knights Pyreen rides over to the reserve squad and sends one of the younger knights back. He doesn't look happy with the assignment but rides away.

(I do not know the exact composition of troops - If I had enough cavalry to sustain a charge and fade attack will order it and move infantry to support the main body of Cobul’s troops that can be spotted.)

You have a total of 30 mounted troops, all knights. Six of them are also paladins. You can divide them up however you want. A simple way is five squads, each of 6 knights, including a paladin which is in charge. Your squad and one more stay back. That puts four squads, or 24 knights, riding to the attack.

If situation falls apart before further orders come in I will order reserves (if any) to advance and order a fighting retreat while sending out scouts to find a better position to hold the humanoids back until reinforcements arrive.

You put your senior knight (he is a better soldier than you but as the Holy Warrior you are in charge) in command of the attacking forces. He has them circle around the edges of the V and swing inward and then down into the neck and through the militia lines, where they will reform and reassess the situation.

As the knights make their way to the edges of the valley your first scout, a centaur, comes riding back carrying somebody. It turns out to be Cobul.

"I didn't think you were going to make it in time" the old warrior says as he ties a bandage around his arm. The two of you have a quick strategy meeting. You find that Cobul has fought in wars before, so you defer to his judgement as he sets both your and his forces in place. He decides on a plan to trade land for time, slowly pulling back. This should reduce the casualty count on your side, but still delay the advance long enough for definitive reinforcements to arrive.

"I see you kept a few of your forces in reserve. Good thinking. I need of your squads to ride forward right now. The left flank is being held by that drow cleric of yours, Ariessus. I'll need her back here so that she can tend to the wounded as we pull back. Can you do that?"

You nod your head, worried about Ariessus. Even from back here you can see that some of the heaviest fighting is on the left flank.

You mount back up and rally your half-dozen knights and Pyreen around you. You tell them that you are going to go relieve the left flank so that the healers there can pull back and tend for the wounded. With another battle cry to Athena you charge forward.

Ariessus is obviously surprised and relieved to see you. She is covered with dozens of shallow cuts, but a score or more of humanoids lay at her feet. She is also wearing a strange set of dark spectacles over her eyes. Standing at her side is a badly hurt paladin from Laila's retreat and a large farmboy who has one arm tied up against his body. As you ride up a large cat trots up to Ari and sits beside her. You do a double take, realizing suddenly that it is K'harn. You tell Ari that Cobul wants her to the rear to care for the wounded. She nods wearily and pulls back along with the paladin and farm boy. You and your men take her place, securing the left flank.

While your fight is mostly stationary, the other knights continue to ride up and down the militia lines, scattering the humanoids before them. Soon you hear a trumpet blare, calling for the organized retreat. Just then a large wall of fire burst into existence about 10 yards in front of the militia lines. This gives the exhausted footmen time to grab a wounded comrade and pull back.

The retreat is progressing smoothly when a small group of ogres (about half a dozen) bursts through the fire and starts charging towards the retreating militia men.

"Damn! Pyreen, signal Cobul that we have to break ranks! We’ve got to stop those ogres before they hit the main line!"

You faintly hear Pyreen grumble something about having only flags in her hand, not a far-speaking magic item, but she starts waving away as you turn your steed towards the center of the line.

"Knights of Athena, follow me!" you cry as you spur your horse forward. The knights surge behind you as you thunder towards the ogres. The stupid beasts are so intent on the wounded and retreating humans before them that they don’t notice your charge until the last minute. You wish you had lances to use – one blow from a mounted knight with a lance could bring down an ogre – but even with only swords you slice through the knot of monsters with ease. Wheeling around you turn and charge again, but this time they are prepared. Two of your knights are dismounted by the tall ogres. You drive in to rescue them, but are only able to get to one of them in time.

The ogres break off, having lost half of their number in a few brief seconds. You consider pursuing them, but the strategy pounded into your head by Tessalynne over the past few weeks reminds you that you need to stay with the retreat, not go chasing the enemy – especially when they would lead you right back into the enemy lines.

Even though the wall of fire dies down a few moments later the humanoids don’t come through right away. This gives the battered company time to pull up the hill and set up a new, shorter defensive line. As you are in the process of dressing the line you are relieved to see Tessalynne come over the ridge behind you leading over two hundred fresh troops. Under the leadership of the red-headed paladin the fresh troops quickly move into positions so that the battered veterans can pull back and rest for a bit.

Tessalynne calls you and the rest of her captains to her. As you ride towards the rear, Pyreen behind you, you spot Ariessus tending to the wounded. You wave at her but she doesn’t seem to notice. Once Tessalynne has her leadership together she congratulates you on your efforts so far and then outlines her strategy for the rest of the battle. Your job will be to support the right flank. This time you’ll have magical and clerical support as well. You’ll have command of your own troop along with a second squad of cavalry. Nodding your understanding you lead your knights to your new position.

A strange calm falls over the battlefield. Both sides make preparations for the main event. At first you look at the thin line of militiamen and compare them to the massive black horde of the enemy which fills the entire back half of the valley. You wonder how the humans and their allies will ever withstand the assault that is sure to come. But then you notice that among the line of militiamen are several mages and quite a few clerics. Knowing how much of a difference Ari, Sane, and the other spellcasters can make during a fight you smile grimly. The humanoids are in for a surprise.

Your heart begins to swell within you as you survey the forces of Jurgenville. You feel pride in their bravery and courage. Athena has promised to defend this town if they worshiped her, and for the most part they have done this. Surely the forces of good will prevail this day.

As you dwell on these thoughts something strange starts to happen to you. You start to feel detached somehow, as if all of this is a dream. Concerned, you try to fight off the growing feeling, but it is already too strong. Then a feeling of calm washes over you. At first you try to fight this as well, but it feels too… safe, and too good.

You only vaguely remember what happens next, almost as if it was a dream. When you think back on it you remember watching yourself ride forward, breaking ranks. Your knights move to follow you, but you wave them back. They are concerned, but they obey. You slowly ride forward to the center of the defenders’ line, all eyes upon you, wondering what you are doing. Reaching the center you turn to face the militia. You stand in your stirrups and draw you blade, raising it above you into the air. You vaguely remember saying something about how Athena will honor her oath to protect the defenders and support them, but you never remember the exact words you say. You do remember a bright light from somewhere above you, a light that washes over all of those standing in the defensive line. You remember most of them falling to their knees, or at least bowing their head as the light reaches them. From behind you vaguely recall hearing the humanoids cry out in fear and pain. Somehow understanding that you have finished what you had to do you turn and ride back to your position.

When you were a young boy you used to love spending time at a pool near your home. The pool was fed by a waterfall and there was a small cave behind the cascade. You remember how you used to love walking through the waterfall, moving from the hot, dry air into the cool humid cave. You feel much the same sensation when you finally make it back to your position. It’s like you stepped through some kind of curtain and are back to yourself again. At the time you wonder why people are looking at you strange, why the paladins seem to have a new respect for you in their eyes. But you have no time to dwell on this as the humanoids cry out in rage and charge up the valley.

Forming your knights into a wedge you prepare to meet the first charge. As you do this you notice something strange about your sword. It is all… white. The blade, the pommel, even the leather around the grip have all turned white. You shake your head in puzzlement. Then for the first time you start remembering a little bit about what you just did. Shrugging, you get a firm grip on the blade and prepare to meet the first wave of attackers.

Thus begins the longest hour of your life. You have fought before, but it was always on a limited scale – mostly with the Truth Seekers. But what you experience over the next hour is full out warfare on a large scale. Oh, surely not as massive as the battles with the Turgian Horde that your father told you about, but it is by far and away the largest battle you have ever been in. Soon the orderly lines of defense fall prey to the chaos of melee. You lead your knights back and forth across the battlefield, plugging up holes, counterattacking when possible. Goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, ogres, gnolls, and even a hill giant feel the bite of your blade as you ride.

"Sigurd. S I G U R D!"

It takes you a moment to re-focus, to disentangle yourself from the gnoll you just ran through and look around for who is calling you. You spot Pyreen about 25 feet away. She is bleeding from several small wounds, but has done will for a squire. "Sigurd!" she shouts out again, "Tessalynne wants you to the rear!"

You leave your detachment under the command of another paladin and ride back to where Tessalynne has set up her command center. Seeing you dismount she looks relieved.

"Sigurd, I just got word from Matar. He’s in command back in town and he has spotted several new attacks. None as large as this one, but any of which could be dangerous if they get into the streets. The most dangerous seems to be a column of monsters coming down one of the side-valleys of Dragonspeak, to our west. They are going to end up inside the demi-human village in less than an hour. We need to intercept them. Matar is sending the last two companies of militia to intercept them, but they will need support. One of us has to take most of the cavalry and ride to support them. Would you prefer staying here or leading another relief effort?"

So, here’s your next (and probably last) choice. Do you want to take some of the cavalry and go try to help defend the demi-human settlement or do you stay at this battle? If you stay at this battle do you want to take command or do you leave that to the wounded (but still able) Cobul and return to the battle. Or do you want to try something else, or perhaps one of the above with additions or modifications? Let me know.

"Sir, we’re ready to go."

You nod in acknowledgement of Pyreen’s report. Looking over your "relief force" you can’t help but smile. Nine riders. Well, not even that. More like six riders and three good fighters plopped onto mounts which had lost their original riders. Fortunately two of the three know how to ride, even if they are not trained in mounted combat. The third, well, regardless of how much he or his mount fidget, you want him with you just judging by the size of his arms. The guy is built like an ogre.

"Form them up" you tell Pyreen. The squire nods and calls for the riders to form up. The six move quickly into position, followed by the other two. The large fighter eventually gives up and simply stands in his stirrups to see what’s going on.

"Let me explain the situation to you men" you begin as a preamble. You hear Pyreen sniff at the ‘men’ comment, but ignore it for the moment. "While this is the main battle, leaders back in town have spotted several other attacks moving in from other directions. One of those thrusts is already dangerously close to the demi-human settlement on the north side of the river. We are riding to intercept that column. We’ll be joined by two more companies of militia on the way there. We have to stop the invaders. There will be nothing else between them and the settlement if they get past us. Any questions?"

There are none, so you pull on your mount’s reigns, spinning him around in place. "Then let’s ride!"

You set a rapid pace, just under a canter. While you are worried about exhausting your mounts before you get to the battle if you don’t get there in time it will all be a moot point anyway. It’s a quick fifteen minute ride back into town. There you turn north-west and begin to climb the mountain. After a short time you ride up on the two companies sent by Matar, the two companies now under your command.

You call the leaders of the two companies together and have a quick strategy session. It doesn’t go well. Everybody seems to have a different idea on what to do. The demi-humans want to move quickly up the mountainside and intercept the monsters as far away from their town as possible. Several elves in the group recommend moving into the woods and attacking from there. But it is Pyreen who comes up with a compromise that everybody finally agrees on. You send several of the fleetest elves forward to find the enemy. Accompanying them is a druid who will send word back to you via a furry friend. In the meantime the infantry will continue moving forward, with the horses getting a rest while walking at the rear. When you find out how close you are to the enemy you’ll make a final decision on the disposition of your forces.

The elves take off and you continue moving up the mountain. After your ride into town the slow pace of the infantry seems like a snail’s crawl. All too soon a bluejay flies up and gives you a note. Looking at it you see somewhat to your relief that the enemy forces aren’t nearly as close as you had feared. You have time to set up a surprise.

As you look around for possible ambush sites it is once again Pyreen who suggests that you ask the locals for their thoughts on the matter. The gnomes tell you of a small box canyon just off the main path. They even volunteer to lure the humanoid column into the trap, telling you of a series of shallow tunnels under the canyon where they can hide. You worry that the monsters might ignore the bait and continue on to town, but the gnomes sound so confident that they can lure the humanoids in that you end up agreeing to their plan.

You double-time your army up the path and into the box canyon. After taking in the lay of the land you send the less-capable fighters up into the rocks above the canyon with instructions to drop stones onto the humanoids once the trap is sprung. Closer to the mouth of the canyon but still up along the walls you position your missile weapons. These defenders will have the dicey job of hitting the monsters who are still close to your ground troops. You keep the more competent looking fighters as well as your cavalry outside of the canyon. They will have the hard job – they’ll be the door that will try to slam shut on the enemy, trapping them under the rocks, arrows, and bolts raining down from below.

You are just making your final preparations when one of the elves appears at your side. "They are only five arrow flights away, sir!" he reports breathlessly. Nodding your thanks you position him along with most of his elven brethren along the mouth of the canyon and signal for the gnomes to move out onto the road. As you watch the gnomes quickly form up and then start marching towards the road, singing as they go. You and Pyreen follow them at a distance, staying in the trees. Once the gnomes reach the road they turn up it and begin moving up the mountain, singing loudly and off-key as they do so.

Within only a few heartbeats you see the humanoid column round the corner. Your heart sinks a little when you see that it is made up of mostly gnolls with a few orcs scattered among them. You had hoped for a less competent foe. The tall dog-men will make dangerous opponents for the militiamen.

As you watch the lead elements of the gnolls sight the gnomes and start running forward. The gnomes scatter into the underbrush. You wonder why they are doing that when you attention is drawn back to the gnolls by loud barking. Those gnolls which were rushing forward stop and return to their positions. Again you fear the plan will not work. Obviously the gnolls are under tight control of someone, or something.

Then the gnomes appear once again, all of them running out onto the road carrying branches. You watch in amazement as they start to build something out of the wood. Next to you Pyreen laughs.

"What are they doing?" you ask.

"You don’t know gnomes very well, do you?" she asks in return. You shake your head. "Well, they love to build things. I don’t know, maybe they are building something in truth, but I suspect they are just trying to spook the gnolls into believing that they are building some kind of deadly weapon."

"And you think the gnolls will buy it?"

Pyreen shrugs. "I don’t know. I sure hope so!"

You both turn your attention back to the scene and discover that the gnolls are moving quickly towards the gnomes. The little men scurry all around their contraption, occasionally looking up at the gnolls, jumping in fright (you think they are over doing it) and then hurrying back to their work. Finally the gnolls pull up and several loose a barrage of arrows at the gnomes. The gnomes quickly dart under their contraption, but two are still hit by the volley.

"Retreat! Retreat!" you hear one of the gnomes call. The whole group then bolts from cover and begins running back down the road. The one which was hit in the leg is carried by two of his comrades. Several of the gnolls howl with pleasure and begin to chase, but once again they are called back. This time you see the figure which seems to be in command. It looks like a particularly large gnoll. You wonder if it is a flind.

Your hope increases a little when the large gnoll has the entire column start jogging after the gnomes. You and Pyreen shadow them, staying well within the woodline. Within less than a minute you come to the turn-off to the box canyon. Here one of the gnomes makes a theatrical performance of convincing his fellows to follow him. The small group darts off the road and heads towards the canyon.

The gnolls quickly close on the spot and turn off the road. You smile. It seems as if the plan will work. But then a hooded figure walks up to the leader and begins talking to it, gesturing in the direction that the gnomes have run. The leader nods and begins to move his troops back onto the road. The plan has failed! But just as you give up hope one of the gnomes pops up from behind a bush not too far from the gnolls. He casts a quick spell, the somatic component of which seems to be placing one’s thumbs in one’s ears and then waving one’s hands back and forth, and the verbal component being a rather wet raspberry. As unorthodox as the casting may be, it has a dramatic effect on the gnoll leader. He begins barking like crazy and starts running after the gnome. Seeing this the rest of the pack howls and chases after their leader. With the casting of just one spell the disciplined gnoll ranks instantly disintegrate into a chaotic pack.

The gnomes continue playing bait, but now they are having a hard time staying ahead of the long-legged gnolls. As you and Pyreen get ready to ride back to the canyon you see the hooded figure still standing in the road, shaking its head. It looks around and as it does so you catch a quick glimpse of its features. To your surprise it appears to be a human. With a gesture of disgust the human turns and begins to jog back up the mountainside. You consider pursuing, but right now you have bigger fish to catch.

The two of you ride hard back to the canyon, sweeping around the gnomes and gnolls. You arrive just in time to see the gnomes running past, most of them breathing and sweating heavily. But a few have the strength left to look up towards your hidden position and smile. Only a few seconds later the gnoll pack comes barking in on their heels. You make a rough count of them as they pass – almost a hundred gnolls and two score orcs. As soon as the main pack is through you spring your trap. Pyreen sounds her hunting horn, signaling the waiting defenders to attack.

You lead your small band of cavalry down the hillside, sealing the entrance. At the same time the gnomes begin darting into well-hidden holes in the side of the cavern. Some orcs are stupid enough to follow them in. Once the gnomes are all out of sight your stoners and archers rise up and begin to dump a murderous rain of stone and steel down into the packed ranks of the gnolls. The gnolls quickly realize what has happened and almost as one they turn to exit the canyon, only to be greeted by the cream of the militia companies backed up by your cavalry and the few spellcasters you have at your disposal.

Finally free of the spell which made him follow the taunting gnome, the gnoll leader assesses the situation. He apparently comes to the conclusion that he is going to need more help. He drops to his knee and pulls a large pack from off his back. He barks out something and the gnolls move away from him. He takes several arrows, but ignores them. He grasps onto a lanyard attached to the backpack and then throws the pack away from him, keeping a hold of the lanyard. When the lanyard is fully extended it pops off the top of the backpack, which begins to quickly expand. With a loud ripping sound the pack disintegrates, but whatever it was holding continues to grow. It takes less than two heartbeats before you find yourself facing something out of a nightmare. It looks like some kind of huge lizard, a dragon perhaps, but instead of one head it has ten! A hydra! But this one doesn’t look like what you had heard hydras look like. This one has a strange, purplish-blue coloration.

Before you can act one of the hydra’s heads darts forward towards your troops and breathes out a blast of frigid air. Two of your fighters are frozen in their tracks. Several others stumble away, clasping frostbitten hands and arms to their chests.

You don’t even think about your next action. You instinctively know that the militia men are no match for a hydra – let alone one that breathes out cones of cold. Unsheathing your white blade you spur your horse forward. Several of the heads turn towards you and exhale, but you manage to jerk your mount aside at the last minute, avoiding most of the cold air. Still, your horse stumbles. You pull up hard and dismount, pulling your shield off as you do so. Looks like you’re going to have to take care of this overgrown lizard the hard way.

Thus begins one of the most difficult battles of your life. You end up taking several blasts of cold air full on, but thankfully it appears that each head can only breath once. After getting through the icy barrage you wade in, your blade fairly singing in your hands. Still, it is like battling half a dozen foes at once. While you manage to sever a head with almost every blow, at the same time three or more heads dart in, biting at your legs and arms. You are reminded of the desperate fight the party had with the deepspawn.

Tag pops in and helps where he can, but the hydra’s body seems unaffected by the fire lizard’s fiery breath. Your heart almost stops when Tag gets too close and one of the hydra’s mouths snaps shut around him. You wade in and manage to quickly sever the head, but take several bites. The head falls to the ground and you are vastly relieved to see your familiar struggle free.

You end up being bitten a good dozen times before you finally manage to decapitate the last head. What’s worse, the gnoll archers have been trying to help, hitting you with several arrows. But you are victorious.

As the hydra finally collapses you look around and discover much to your discomfort that the battle with the hydra has taken you deeper into the canyon. You are badly wounded, badly outnumbered, and badly isolated. With a terrible roar the gnolls turn on you.

You take several great sweeps with your blade, trying to keep the pack away. But the gnolls are beyond thought, lost in the blood-rage of the moment, heedlessly throwing themselves at you. With a cry you go under the mass of bodies, buried alive in a biting, clawing mountain of fur. Your last thought is that you, like Beleg, have failed in your quest.

Pyreen watched as Sigurd battled the hydra, all the while becoming more and more concerned. Why didn’t the Holy Warrior stay back near the protection of the defender’s lines? Couldn’t he see that he was being lured deeper into the canyon? Unsure of what to do Pyreen gathered the six other cavalry riders around her. She had a feeling a rescue attempt was going to be needed.

Sure enough, Sigurd killed the hydra, only to find himself jumped by the remaining thirty or so gnolls. As Sigurd disappeared under the wave of dog-men Pyreen shook her head. It was rescue time.

Brandishing her own sword (a magical one given to her by Sigurd – one she was very proud of) Pyreen called out a battle prayer to Athena and then lead the cavalry right into the canyon. To her surprise the fighters behind her followed, and within moments others were climbing down the walls of the canyon as quickly as they could. Pyreen rode straight into the mass of gnolls, her well-trained mount lashing out with its hooves while she slashed all around her with her wide blade. Slowly, all too slowly for her taste, the mound began to thin. She even managed to kill the gnoll leader with a well-placed slice to the throat.

Finally they got to the bottom of the pile, only to find a lifeless Sigurd. Calling for clerics Pyreen vaulted out of her saddle and went to check on the Holy Warrior. To her great relief she found that he still breathed. "Where are the damned clerics!" she shouted out.

Soon enough one of the senior clerics from the temple arrived. He laid his hands on Sigurd and prayed. Sigurd’s eyelids fluttered, and then opened.

You are somewhat surprised to find that you are not dead. Instead you find yourself on your back in the middle of the canyon. Your head is pillowed in Pyreen’s lap and there is an old but familiar looking cleric bowed over you. The cleric looks up and says to Pyreen "He will survive, child, but there are many more to look after. If you don’t mind… ?"

Pyreen nods and the cleric departs. She then looks down at you and frowns. "What in the Nine Hells did you expect to accomplish with that? Huh? Going down in a blaze of glory or some such paladinish horse dung? Don’t you EVER go and do that to me again, understand?"

You open your mouth several times, trying to get a word in edgewise, but she keeps pressing on.

"I must admit, I’ve seen some stupid things in my day, but that jester move takes the cake! Hum, I think I’ll go fight this incredibly deadly opponent right in the middle of a pack of gnolls who are just dying to take a bite out of me. I’ll bet you they taught you that tactic in that magic school of yours, no? Well I’ll bet…"

<Tag, can you flame her?>

<Sorry, Master, but I’m fresh out of fuel. Besides, she’s right. That was stupid.>

You let your head fall back, convinced that you are not going to win this one. Besides, you are very tired and you hurt all over. You shift positions and groan in pain. This finally stops Pyreen’s tirade.

"We’ve got to get you more help. One stupid little spell isn’t going to do it. Can you ride?"

You nod and try to stand, but find that your legs don’t want to cooperate. Pyreen helps you up and then half carries you over to your mount. It looks almost as badly injured as you, but unlike you it can stand on it’s own. However, when Pyreen tries to push you into the saddle the horse almost collapses.

"Well, this isn’t going to do, now will it" the hot-headed little cavalier says, looking around. She ends up taking one of the other horses and, with the help of several brawny men, gets you mounted up. "You guys finish up here" she tells them, "I’ve got to get him down to the temple."

You don’t remember much of the ride down the hill. Truth be told you black out on several occasions but somehow manage to remain in the saddle. You vaguely remember Pyreen telling your tale to several people in town (although strangely enough this time your actions are brave and heroic, not stupid and foolish). Then she takes you to the temple.

Lindara greets you on the steps. Checking your condition she nods. "Jaric stabilized him, but he is still very weak. He’s going to need something more powerful than a cure serious wounds."

With that the high priestess lays her hands on your chest and begins to pray. After her prayer you feel the leaden blanket of exhaustion lifted off you, but your wounds do not close. Seeing this Lindara raises one eyebrow. "He was closer to death that I had thought" the priestess tells Pyreen. She then uncorks a potion and has you drink it. You down two of the refreshing draughts before Lindara pronounces you fit to stand on your own again. "You are still not fully recovered, Holy Warrior" she tells you, "but this should at least get you to where you can fight again, if need be."

"How goes the battle?" you ask.

"It is almost over. Tessalynne and the others have driven off the main attack, while Midnight’s Turmish and the Sembians have driven off a second attack at the east end of town. A dragon showed up, but Angus, your friend Diana, and a few others drove it off. Some other monsters made it into town from the west, but from what I understand Matar is leading an effort to mop them up. I believe the war is over. We have won."