Struggle for Paruhapta VIII: Sheepcotes By The Way

Folks hacked, slashed and shot at the writhing masses of leech flesh but in the chaos could not find purchase with their weapons. Two more bearmen entered the room to either side of their bloodless former companion and began to hack at the leech that had killed him, his blood released from the creature did spray about giving them a most savage look. The leech, wounded grieviously fled back into the fetid water to regenerate or die of its wounds, none would ever know which. The leech attached to Teleptyon's nethers continued to drain him ever closer to death with its most unfortunate form of fellatio. Teleptyon joked wanly about his enormous turgid member as he beat at the creature with the Rusatian staff, injuring it, but not enough to free him. Elissa and Herk both landed mighty blows on the leeches before them. Khufu cried out to Kham to repair the body of Teleptyon and he did deign to replenish some of the blood that was lost, the color returning to the natural philosopher's cheeks as it did so, and quickly moved on to spike shut the door to the east. Theo noted with mixed emotions that Khufu's gods healed just as well as Lamos. Elissa speared through the leech and Teleptyon's blood and viscous haemocoelomic fluid. Elissa decided not to think too hard about where the blood had come from and turned to assist Kegho with his fight.

Kegho brought Wraithcleaver down with ecstatic abandon upon the bearman groveling before him under the influence of Kham's word and did nearly cleave his arm from his body in the process. It brought the poor beast from his stupor and he did turn to flee, but Elissa and Theo smote him as he ran. Antonious pulled his long bow and loosed an arrow at one of the two new bearmen in the doorway to the north just as Teleptyon loosed a bolt of flame from his staff, his humors now somewhat recovered. The bearmen in the doorway each were injured and thought better of the encounter fleeing back whence they came. Kegho's senses heightened by battle ecstasy, he loosed one more arrow down the darkened hallway, rejoycing at the sound of arrow sinking into flesh before Elissa shut the door and the world became still again.

Alex peeked through the doorway to the room to the north and saw the telltale signs of a break-room, a brazier with chunks of meat skewered on what looked to be short swords, a gong and a few upturned barrels and stools. Two doors, both shut to the north and west. He looked more closely at the meat but even with his keen eye for butchery he could not identify its provenance and shuddered. He moved to listen at the door to the west which he knew to be a small bedroom but the rest of the party tromped in and he heard nothing of note. They decided to clear the small room first and he was enlisted to unlock the door and moved to the back where he might not be trampled in whatever fracas might come next.

Elissa and Antonious girded themselves at the door before Elissa pushed it open. Three bearmen were in the room, two wounded and one near death. Each seemed uncertain and Khufu pushed his way in and again spake with a voice resonant with the gifts of Kham that they might hold their violence for a time. One still seemed wary but not quite becalmed. Antonious touched the one nearest and calmest and relieved him of some of his injury. Theo did step forward to the one nearest death's door and likewise granted him some clemency, but the mood in the room only narrowly became less hostile. Theo invoked his gods' ability to understand foreign tongues, and held aloft one of the bronze talismans of Kharoun and tried to negotiate with them, but they recognized it as of their clan and keened at the loss of their kinsmen it represented. Finally Elissa yelled in Khemian "Enough, today you might die or we might die, but there is no need. Stay here and stay quiet and perhaps we will fight it out hale and as equals." The bugbear near death looked at his flesh partially knit by Theo's benediction and replied with an exasperated "Just go!" and they did back out of the room and close the door.

As The jiam and Riven attemped to listen at the door to the north, Riven looked up to scold the party for stepping so loudly behind her when she realized that they were all stock still in the room. Someone comes from the south, you did spike the door after you closed it, right?"