The Woodcutter
#5 of Lusts of Faerun
The woodcutter swung his axe and split the log perfectly. He hefted the 3 foot diameter shards of wood and tossed them onto the pile, then sat on the chopping block and dropped his brow. He pulled out a rag from breast pocket and wiped his brow. He glanced at the cave and scowled.
The woodcutter had built his cabin near this cave for a reason. Several reasons, actually. Firstly there was an abundance of wookd nearby, mostly ironwood and darkwood, but also long burning pines and cypress. He kept a portion of the pine for himself and sold the others for a fair profit. Of course, a large portion of the pine went to his best customers; drow elves. Little to his knowledge a colony of drow had formed beneath his feet, dissenters from Meenzoberanzon led by a powerful (yet strangely orderly) Pit Fiend.
He sighed. There hadn't been a caravan to buy his wood in several months now, though. Normally they came through every week. In exchange for his wood not only had the woodcutter been able to save up a tidy sum, but he was guaranteed protection from mind-flayers, carrion crawlers and whatever other subterranean nasties might try to come up. He had already had to deal with a handful of dwargar and a basilisk. He shuddered. There was a beast he'd like to forget. Imagine if you will a huge, thick-bodied reptile. Six legs sprout from its body and a row of spines bristle upon its back. Its eyes glow with a green incandescence, but death awaits those who meet its petrifying stare. Many an adventurer has fallen to the gaze of a basilisk, a gaze that can turn flesh to stone in an instant. Only by putting out its eyes with a brand of fire and hacking off its head was he able to kill it, and even then it gashed his leg deeply. He absent-mindedly rubbed the old scar.
As he stood and began to head towards his house he heard a sound he had heard before, a sort of scratching sound like scuffling feet. He hefted his axe; if something had come for him, he was ready. He watched for a moment and the sound became louder. After a minute or two he swore he could hear the sound of a cart wheel, too. The surprised him so that he lowered his axe and began scratching his head. After a moment a bright green head with eight writhing tentacle growing from beneath clacking mandibles and a toothy maw appeared. He hefted his axe for combat as another appeared behind it. They glanced in his direction but, strangely enough, ignored him.
He knew something was up. He lowered his axe and watched as a harness appeared on the creature's backs. Behind them was a wooden wagon. Its driver was obviously feminine, and heavily wrapped in dark clothes. His heart skipped a beat; drow! The drow had come back, they had not forsaken him! He ran over to the slowly moving wagon.
"Begin' yer pard'n mad'm," he asked politely, "But be ye in need o' shelt'r?"
The driver tugged on the reigns and the carrion crawlers came to a stop. She looked his way and he could see a pair of blue-green orbs. She nodded and he grinned.
"I've a cabin o'er yonders a bit if'n yed like ta join meh."
He knew the answer before he asked; few drow were used to the changing weather and bright light of the surface. After all, the Underdark had neither sun nor atmosphere and stayed the same temperature year round. So of course she would welcome a respite from the heat and light of the summer sun. She moved over a bit and allowed him to take the reigns, and he guided the wagon to a fairly decent cabin not far from the cave. He hopped down and tied the reigns to a tree before turning to offer a helping hand. She waved his hand away and hopped down lightly. He led her inside.
It was a simple place. The walls were made of wood planks. The only furniture in the one room building was a small table with a chair, a simple bed with a comfortable looking matress, and a fair sized fireplace. In the heat of the day no fire had yet been lit, and there well may not be one that night as an open box to one side held a variety of candles like the one on the table. An oak chest sat at the foot of the bed. By the door were a few pegs, two of which were occupied by a waterproof cloak and a wide brimmed hat. He motioned her inside and she stepped in.
"Please," he said, "'Elp yer self to a seat. I'll go an' get yer things."
"No!"
He turned and looked at her. Drow usually wanted some one to bring in their things for them, lest a stray shaft of sunlight ruin them.
Tespal quickly regained hir composure.
"No," shi said slyly, "I'd rather you didn't. I've nothing perishable and nothing that is to be seen by the eyes of an inferior race."
He bowed slightly. He really didnt mind being called inferior; he had been called worse.
"O'course."
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The rest of the day passed more or less without incident. Tespal took a nap while the woodcutter, whose name was Erick ('What a simple, common name,' she thought), went out to cut more wood. He said he would be gone all day to harvest darkwood and ironwood for the next caravan, which was due soon, and to hunt a meal, but that he wood be back by evening to cook the food. So shi layed on his bed and slept. Hir legs clenched and shi smiled as shi dreampt a particularly naughty dream...
"Oh, yes! Oh, GODDESS, HARDER!!"
The creature eagerly complied and its thrust began to push hir forward ever-so-slightly. A pair of greatly over sized hands with inch-long razor sharp talons gripped hir arms, gently, and pulled hir back against him, driving his cock even deeper into hir. The Draegloth leaned over hir back and whispered into hir ear in Undercommon, telling hir what a tight pussy shi had and how good it felt to have his beastial cock sliding inside hir. He reached around with one of his shorter limbs and grasped hir cock. He began pumping it up and down and shi began to whimper in exstacy. He began to shutter as he came close to orgasm and in a few moments he came inside hir, filling hir up quickly with warm goo. Load after hot, sticky load burst into hir, acompanied by a pulse of his dick that stimulated hir even more. Shi was close too, but the feeling of being pumped full of half-fiend cum sent hir over the edge. As shi came shi opened hir mouth to scream in pleasure...
The door slammed shut, waking hir up. Shi sat up and stretched languidly. Glancing over shi saw that Erick had a brace of conies slung over his shoulder. They were fat, so there would be plenty of food. Shi looked out the window and found that the sun had long since set. He had yet to light a fire and stumbled blindly for a moment before producing a tindertwig and striking it. With the light given off by the small flame he made his way over to the fireplace and lit it. The flames quickly leapt up the pine and were soon popping merrily. He turned and smiled at hir before crouching down to open the chest.
" 'Ave a good sleep, mad'm?"
The sounds of fabric rustling and metal clanging could be heard, but the din soon ceased and Erick emerged with a large kettle. He explained that it ould be a few moments as he fetched water from a nearby stream and vegetables from his garden out back. Shi nodded hir understanding and he left, leaving the rabbits on the table. Shi waited a moment before getting up and grabbing one of them, heading outside.
The carrion crawlers were asleep, but they stirred at hir aproach. The wind shifted, carrying the rabbit smell towards them. The waved their tentacles in excitment, but shi hushed them with a stern "No." Tespal made hir way around to the back of the wagon and pulled the cloth covering aside. Shi climbed in.
"I smell something," Xizim said from the shadows, "What did you bring me?"
"Rabbit," shi answered as hir eyes adjusted to the infrared spectrum, "Hope you like it."
Xizim worked her way forward slightly, her head cocked in confusion.
"Rabet?"
"Rab-bit," shi explained, "A little fuzzy rodent with long ears and a bushy tail. Its good in stews or by its self."
Shi tossed Xisim the rabbit and she caught it out of the air. She held it up by its ears, poked it a few times, examined it from all angles, and sniffed at it a few times. She shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth. Then she opened it wider. And wider. Her jaws swiveled as they unhinged and she had her mouth open almost 180 degrees. She put the rabbit in her mouth and swallowed it whole. Tespal watched in amazement as a large bulge slid down her throat and down the length of her body into her stomach, causing her tummy to swell no small amount.
'I bet she could deepthroat with no problem...'
"So," shi said in an attempt to take hir mind off all the yummy possiblilties, "How is he?"
Xisim slithered back into the back of the wagon, where a simple cot had been erected. Tespal followed. Prathem laid with his head propped up, a drink at his elbow and a blanket wrapped around him. His chest rose slowly and rythmically and sweat coated his hide. Tespal walked over to him anctiously and sat down, placing a hand on his forehead. She jerked it away quickly; he was burning up. Xisim slithered over to him and sighed as she placed a damp cloth on his forehead.
"He's been like this since it happened," she said, "A high fever, no movement, shallow breath. He woke up once shivering, even though he was burning up, and asked for a blanket. I've never seen anything like this."
"Me either. It isnt withdrawal, the symptoms are wrong. Have you been able to feed him anything?"
"No, but I did get some of his potion down him."
Tespal nodded. He was getting the syrum at least. That was something. Xisim opened her moputh as if to speak, then looked away.
"What is it?"
"Well...you wont like it..."
"Tell me."
She sighed.
"We have to get him to a healer..."
"No. Absolutely not."
"Tessy..."
"No, damnit! We cant risk..."
"He'll die!"
Shi was silent.
"Tessy if we dont get him to a priest or a healer of some kind he'll die. Nothing I can do will bring the fever down, and you dont know any spells that would help either. I cant even get him to cool down with Ray of Frost, watch..."
She placed a hand over his face and muttered under her breath. A cloud of cool mist formed around her clawed hand before a tiny ray of blue energy reached down to touch his skin. Before it did it stopped as if it had hit a barrier. Tendrils of cold twisted and spiraled and writhed. The spell ended in a moment and Xisim sighed.
"See. Nothing happened. Its something magical, Tespal. Something actually blocking the spell. It's heat based I think, thats why it blocks cold spells, why it causes these cold rags to heat up so fast. Feel it."
Shi reached out and touched the damp cloth but it was hot to the touch.
"I've had to change them every fifteen minutes, Tes. At first, anyway. But it kept getting faster. Now Its ever two minutes or so. Its getting worse, Tessy."
Shi stood up and turned, running a hand through hir hair. Shi swallowed loudly, trying to control hir sobs.
"So what do we do?"
Shi could hear Xisim slithering over to hir, felt the Yuan-ti female put a hand on hir shoulder.
"...I dont know."
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Several minutes later Tespal returned to the cabin to find Eric stooped over the stew pot. He looked up and smiled to hir in greeting. Shi tried to reciprocate but couldnt bring hirself to, considering what had been happening. He seemed to take no notice and turned back to the pot as shi sat at the small table.
"Stews alm'st ready, mad'm. Potatas, carr'ts, cel'ry, tomatas, on'ins 'n cony, all in fresh spring wa'er. Ah..."
He brought the pot over to the table and sat it down, ladling out a portion for hir first then himself. He settled in to eat and for a few moments shi could hear nothing but the tink of the spoon against the side of the bowl. Then it stopped shi glanced up to find him staring at hir, his fingers knitted together in front of his face.
"Theres somthin' wrong," he said and shi picked up hir spoon and took a bite of the soup. It was hot, the flavors of the vegetables and meat blended together perfectly and wihtou overpowering each other. Shi could pick out the individual ingredients.
"No, its good."
"Not with the soup, mad'm."
Shi put on a mask of superior indifferance.
"I dont know what you mean."
Shi stood and headed to the door.
"I dont think I'll be staying here tonight after all. I'll be in the wagon."
Shi stormed out, slamming the door behind hir. Outside shi leaned against the door and sighed. 'Maybe he could have helped...' Shi shook all thoughts of that out of hir mind. There was no way he could help. He was just some human. And no one else could know about Prathem. Shi climbed into the wagon.
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Eric watched hir leave with indifference and sighed when shi was outside. There was something wrong, he could tell. He had spent some twenty years as a ranger before retiring as a woodcutter, he had a sense about such things. He just couldnt tell what it was. He wanted to help, but had no idea how. He sighed again. Nothing to do but get some sleep. He blew out the candle.
Next morning, Eric was up bright and early, out gathering wood from a place closer to the caves. He whistled as he worked, a working-song that was accentuated well by the thud of the axe. "Timber!" he cried as the darkwood fell with a creaking moan and a loud crash. He sank his axe into the stump, causing deep red sap to burst out of the wood. "Bloodsap" they called it. Darkwoods had a reputation as being animals, rather than trees, and it was said that the sap was really blood. He chuckled at the thought; if Darkwoods were animals they were little more than bugs, as they had never made the fact known to ranger nor druid. He turned around to retrieved the saw with which he would cut the fifty some odd foot tree into more manageable lengths and found himself staring down a creature he recognized despite its thick protective cloak, but wished he didnt. Even with its hood lowered he recognized the stench of illithid mucus. The creature stood gaping at him as a pair of guards, a minataur on the left and an ogre on the right, stood behind him, one wielding a wicked blade and the other a heavy warhammer.
"Can ah 'elp ye?"
The creature spoke with a gurgling voice.
"A drow woman with a wagon came this way. Which direction did it head?"
He scratched his chin.
"If it be a'right wi' ye, m'lord, I 'ave to get this 'arvest in quickly afore it lbleeds ou'."
The two guards stepped forward, sheathing their weapons and hefting the saw.
"My thralls will assist you."
He nodded; he knew quite well that it hadnt been a suggestion, but an order.
With such strong helpers the work was done in half the time, the tree cut into ten foot lengths and dragged to the hut, to be wrapped in hide and burried for curing. If darkwood lost all its sap it would become brittle, but if the sap was allowed to harden in the wood it could be carved and then fired in a kiln to harden. It was too flexible for a weapon haft, but made fine bows and lovely pieces of art.
The mindflayer eyed the wagon as they passed, and Eric took note.
"Would ye like ta come in..."
"No," it answered bruskly, "No, but I would like to check the contents of this wagon."
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Xixim heard the voices as soon as they were awake. She listened intently even as Tespal came up beside her.
"What is it," the drow whispered. She flicked her tongue out to taste the air and gagged.
"Illithid," she cursed, "And two thralls; an ogre and a minotaur."
"We can take them," Tespal whispered, drawing an incredulous look from the Yuan-ti.
"Right," shi ammended, "Make that a negative..."
"Sssss, no way we can deal with a Mind Flayer."
"We have to do something, that human is about to give us away..."
"No, wait...listen..."
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Eric shook his head.
"Tha' wagon belongs ta me guests, m'lord. 'M afraid ah can' let you do tha'."
The creature glowered at him and he sensed the other two coming up behind him, gripping their weapons. His hand strayed to the haft of his axe.
"I wasn't asking, thrall. I was giving an order; I will search this wagon."
"Tha' ye wont, m'lord."
"Enough of this! Take him!!"
The ogre reached out for him, but he spiraled around as he drew his axe and lopped its hand off. It screamed in pain and the minotaur swung its hammer. He deftly dodged away and swung his axe but the creature twisted its hammer and blocked, causing sparks to fly from the blade. The ogre bore down with its axe and missed, splitting the ground at his feet. His senses alerted him and he leaped out of the way as a louh thwump! issued from behind him and a blast of psychic energy tore up the ground where he had been standing. Thwump! came the mind blast and again he dodged.
"Kill the human, worthless thralls!!!"
The minotaur came forward with a bellow, swinging its hammer with an over hand chop. Eric heard the mind flayer casting a spell and stepped under the hammer, swinging his axe into its gut...only to have his weapon bounce off with a shower of sparks as the creature's hide turned to tough stone. It bellowed again.
"Damnit. Fraken!"
With a hum and a crackle of electricity a glowing blade of energy appeared on the head of his axe and he swung again, and this time the magical weapon tore through the creatures body and emerged from its back.
"What!? Where does a thrall..."
"Ge' a weapon lahk Drag'n Cleaver? Or ge' the nerve? Both old souven'rs from mah a'venture days."
The ogre charged him, swinging its axe blindly, and he spiraled away with a slash of his axe, cleaving the creature from shoulder to hip. Then came the thwump! and everything went black.
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"Tessy, we need to do something!"
The drow leaped out of the wagon and Xizim followed, slipping around the other side. The mind flayer approached the downed woodcutter with what might have passed for a smile.
"Baroush Emal!"
A shimmering multicolored wall of sparkling lights appeared between the illithid and the human. The mind flayer turned and recognition sparked in its eyes.
"You! Why...argh!"
Xizim had slipped up from behind and sank her fangs into the creatures shoulder, pumping verilent toxins into its blood stream. It threw her off in a show of strength.
"Serpent bitch! I'll enjoy eating your...ah..."
The venom set to work immediately, working its way into his brain and fogging its vission. Xizim gagged and scraped at her tongue while Tespal laughed triumphantly.
"Ha! Yuan-ti venom is a wonderful thing, isnt it?"
She was answered by by an evil glare. The creature gestured violently.
"Baush!"
A blast of telekenetic force blasted hir backwards, smashing hir into the wagon. The carrion crawlers panicked and broke away from the wagon, fleeing into the forest. The mindlfayer reached up to its shoulder and pressed its hand against the injury.
"Talren," it muttered, nuetralizing the poison. It worked its way towards Xizim, who was inching her way backwards. Thwump! came the stunning cone and she was out. The creature rubbed its hands together eagerly.
"I told you I would enjoy consuming your brain, snake-bitch."
There was a sound of schwing! and the creature paused. It gripped its throat as a thin red line appeared around its neck.
"Ah don' think so."
The tentacled head rolled off its shoulders and hit the ground with a wet splot. Erick stood over the body and spat on it violently before striding over to Xizim and staring down at her with one brow cocked. He nudged her with his foot. She cringed and whimpered and he nudged harder. One eye opened by a crack and he crouched down. He nodded; she would be fine as soon as the stunning effect of the cone wore off. He looked at her for a moment more and stood, dusting himself off.
"Fer a snake, yer kin'a pre'y. Fer a snake."
He stepped over her, deactivating Dragon Cleaver and slipping it into his belt. He picked his way into the wreckage of the wagon and checked Tespal's vitals; she was breathing and she had a pulse, but there were quite a few ugly purple bruises appearing on her skin and he could tell she had more than one broken bone. He stood and happened to glance around. He saw another body, burried by planks. He shifted the rubble and stepped back to see what he had found. He whistled.
"An' wha' 'ave we 'ere?"
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Xizim burrowed deeper into the softness beneath her, hissing lightly. She could here a fire crackling merrily and the material beneath her was soft and warm. Soft? Warm? Last she remembered she was facing down an illithid. Was she dead? She opened her eyes slightly.
She could see Tespal beside her, could feel hir warmth. She also felt something, or someone, else at her back. She rolled over to see Prathem.
"Whats he doing here...wait a second..." She sat up and looked around her. She flickered her tongue in and out rapidly and found that the entire room smelled like the human from before. Speaking of whom, he was beside the bed, ringing out a rag and puting it on Prathem's forhead. If he saw her he ignored her, changing the rag almost immediately.
"Wha'evers wrong wi'im, i's magic. Bu' ye guessed tha', didnt ye?"
She nodded and he stood, going to the other side of the bed where Tespal lay. She noticed Tespal was wrapped in bandages, one arm with a splint. There were bruises all over hir body. She dimly realized that all three of them were naked. He was changing bandages and applying poultices.
"She's go' a broke arm, four broke ribs, an' a lot of bruises. She's lucky shes go' no internals, wha' wi' 'er goin' through a wagon an' all. Ye come off lucky; no' a scratch. Bi' of a bump on yer 'ead from when ye 'it the groun', but nothin' big."
She nodded, still trying to work out what had heppened. This was the human from before, the woodcutter Erick. And this place was obviously his cabin. She pieced together the puzzle; after she fell unconcious he must have beaten the mind flayer. She hissed softly to herself.
"So 'ow 'bou' names, eh? Erick."
"Xizim, and these are Tespal," she indicated the drow, "And Prathem."
He nodded and got up. For a few moments everything was silent, until a teapot shrieked. He pulled the pot off the fire and set it on the table, pouring two cups.
"Come, the tea'll keep ye from gettin an 'eadache."
She slithered down the bed and over to the table, curling her tail beneath her as a stool. She took a sip and almost dropped the cup as she gagged and coughed. He chuckled.
"I's a bi' bi'er..."
"A bit? Gekh!"
He chuckled again.
"Ye know ye go' a pre'y voice. Matches yer looks."
She could feel herself blushing. He laughed again. Tespal moaned slightly and he jumped up and went over to hir. He checked hir up and down, noticably lingering on hir masculine length. He nodded as if satisfied and returned to the table.
"Seein' tha' tree limb was a bi' of a surprise. Do' see tha' of'en."
Her turn to laugh now. She felt oddly at ease with this human, as she still hadnt with Tespal and Prathem. She felt as if she had known him for a long time, as if he were an old friend that she hadnt seen in a while. He didnt seem nervous or afraid of her, either, but treated her as any other person.
"Tell me abou' 'im," he gestured to Prathem, whose hide was wet with sweat, "Ne'er seen nothin' like 'im afore."
She turned away.
"Its not my place..."
He snorted in irritation before raising his head and cocking it to one side as if he had heard something. He stood and she noticed a finely crafted mythril axe hanging from his belt. He was at the door in a few shrot strides.
"Stay 'here; 'm gonn' take a look 'round."
He stepped out the door, closing it softly behind him. She sat sipping her tea and ignoring the bitterness as she went over the events of the day. She took a deeper drought of the bitter liquid and poured another drink; she was getting a headache.
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Erick strode through the shadows of the night forest. Every step was calculated a split second before hand, leaving neither sign nor sound of his passing. He strode past a family of deer. Moments later they still slept silently.
He stopped outside a clearing, looking forward in the moonlight. Some hundred and fifty yards ahead the forest, HIS forest, was being cleared away. He had never been this deep before. He glanced up at the stars and found he was some distance east of the tunnels, the oppossite direction of his cabin. Numerous slaves were hacking trees with axes, sawing them down and loading them onto wagons and sleds, which were being dragged away. Their labor was being overseen by drow priestesses and illithids, many carrying crule snake-headed whips. He scanned the field for a moment, until he had to turn his head from a brilliant flash of light. He looked again and felt beads of sweat explode on his forhead. Standing in the field was a huge demon with a thick tail and bat-like wings. Venom oozed from the mandibles on either side of its maw.
Fighting his fears he slipped forwards, keeping to the shadows. He got close enough to listen to the coversation and stopped to hear.
"...ing well, Lord Kree."
"Exsselent. And what of Tespal and the others? I need them back in New Dis."
New Dis? What was New Dis? And why did a balor want Tespal, Xisim and the lion?
"Er...they have escaped us, my lord."
"Rmmmmm..."
The wet voice of an illithid spoke up.
"My lord, one of my collegues was sent to retrieve them. He was slain."
"By whom?"
"They have obtained a powerful ally, my lord, in the form of the wood cutter Erick. He wields a weapon he calls Dragon Cleaver."
"Dragon Cleaver...I know that weapon. It is a powerful blade; the source of its power is said to be a tooth wrenched from the maw of the powerful dragon Tyranax by a ranger...I thought I had killed him in a mountain range..."
"It is of no matter, my lord. Likely the woodcutter took it from the ranger's corpse."
"Hmm...perhaps...but I wonder...I wish to meet this woodcutter Erick."
Kree...Kree...Alruxus Kree! He knew he recognized that demon. It was Alruxus Kree, minor demon lord, an old foe of his. They had fought not long after he had gotten Dragon Cleaver. Both of them had been left with terrible injuries and Kree had withdrawn to the Lower Planes. Erick had been left to die, until an angel had lifted him to the Olympian Glades of Arboria. There he was greeted by the Dark Maiden Eilistraee. She had healed his wounds and tought him to dance and to sing and to love. At the time he thought he was in love with Her as he might love another, but soon he come to know the his love was the same that all Her children knew.
After a time he was returned to the Prime Material and gave up his life of adventuring for the peaceful life of a woodcutter, harvesting only as much as he would need and never from the same place. He had thought that Kree had died of his wounds, but now he realized that the demon lived. A burst of light brought him from his reverie. Kree was gone and the slaves had gone back to their labor. He frowned in grim determination; he would not let anyone defile his wood like this. Kree had crossed a line in this. In the Name of the Dark Maiden, he swore to put the balor's head on a spike. But first, to cleanse his forest.
He lept from his hiding place with a song of war and defiance on his lips. The first drow fell without a problem, the second managed to turn and let out a scream as the mithril blade cleaved through her spine. A mind flayer turned and let out a stunning cone,. missing broadly before the shining silvery blade bit into its side. A burst of flame roared past him and he turned and leaped to strike the offending caster with the butt of his axe, caving in the drow's skull.
There was a characteristic thwump! and he felt the impact in his mind, before turning and stopping his song for the moment.
"Fraken!"
The the brilliant energy aspect of the weapon surged to life the mind flayer fired another stunning burst, which he shrugged off. He approached the creature unerringly and ducked under the next blast, spiraling as he rose and splitting the creature from side to side, its organs spilling out of its torso. The next victim was a hapless thrall, but he pulled his attack and spun the other direction instead, lopping of several heads of a snake-headed whip. The priestess screamed in fury and began a spell, but it was too late; he brought the weapon to bear in a upwards slashand split her from groin to chin. Another drow, a male wielding a serrated scimitar, lunged att him with a twisting thrust and in an amazing feat of agility he parried the blade and spiraled around to lop off the dark elf's arms. The drow fell to his knees with a scream of agony. He looked up at Erick.
"Lolth will abandone the traitor, as she does all traitors. And Lord Kree will rend all of you and devour your flesh."
Erick scoffed.
"When Lolth does, Eilistraee'll take 'er in," the drow's eye's grew wide, "An' when ye meet Kree on th Lower Planes, tell 'im Erick Forestedge'll be waitin'."
He brought his weapon down on the creature's ead and split it in half do its belly. He gave a savage kick and looked around to see various slaves standing in awe, their work abandoned. He cleared his throat.
"Er...yer free...ye c'n go."
Not waiting to see or hear a reaction he withdrew to the cabin, deactivating his axe. He stepped inside and leaned it against the wall. Xisim gasped and he looked down to find himself covered in blood. He smiled.
"Oh gods, what happened!?"
"Trouble," came the barked response.