The green-gold plains rolled on forever, a vast body of life and energy that nurtured and protected a bit more often than it savaged and destroyed. For the Horselords, this was one of their eternal truths, a thing known so deeply it was not often commented upon or even noticed -- it simply was, much like the Sealords felt about Menelon's endless oceans, or the Riverrunners the arterial pulse of the hundreds of rivers that carried the water of life throughout this land.

When any Bak'Tiar came up hard upon a thing that caused them to face the inherent limitations of these inborn truths, it tended to make them a little... well... uneasy. Each member of the group looked upon the mountains looming up closer and closer on the left a bit differently, but it was difficult to escape the overall sense of dread those peaks portended.

In looming shadows of those mountains, other truths were spoken more and more often. Kelendor Pass was still about two weeks' riding away. The horses were holding up well, obviously better than those of their quarry. They were gaining on the Hunter, having found two campsites in one day. The Jackalbane women were still resisting as they could -- not stupidly, with force, for they were outnumbered and out-armed. Rather, they resisted as women throughout time, the world over, had resisted -- subtly. Cautiously. Taking great care not to be noticed doing so. It was most difficult for Mari, she who cast her sight backward in time to watch events she could not change or influence. But it seemed to her that the captives were taking a little longer to get in the saddle each day, asking to stop a little sooner each evening. Even after the escape attempt, they still found ways to resist, to slow their captors.

Even though the Spine of the World more or less demarked the easternmost limits of the truths the plains and riverfolk had known, there were other truths still clung to, and hope was a potent catalyzer even when fatigue sapped mind and body. That hope surged on the sixth day after the storm when the campsite they found showed that the Hunter. his minions, and their captives had been encamped for an entire day -- yet another day gained!

Mari's growing abilities allowed her to pick her times, to flip through that day and watch scenes from it. The group agreed it would be good to spare her an hour to find what she could, while Khevar and Rhenn walked about the remains of the site, examining it for clues once more. Jardanth walked the horses to cool them down, and compassionately asked for Duras' assistance -- to give him something to focus on while the others discovered what they could.

It had been cloudy all day, something of a relief from the heat of the unrelenting sun though the humidity had risen almost unchecked. Kassus turned to watch the lower clouds sailing in on the western winds -- no electrical storm in this one, but possibly more rain. He said as much to Cady and Rael, who walked their horses beside him, and then saw something flickering through the clouds that was... too large... much too large... to have been a bird, though his mind tried to tell him that's what it was.

He dropped the reins and stepped clear of his bright-eyed mount, closing his eyes momentarily to still the flittering edges of urgency, to touch the center of his power. As the two Fernwall natives watched, as the mage began to mutter, weaving an intricate series of hand motions in the air before him. Power began to shimmer about him, answering his call and bending to his will, sparkling and even ringing a little as he wove the arcane energy into a spell... but nothing seemed to happen. It was a little anticlimactic to the two onlookers -- at least it was until they saw his face. Kassus' hazel eyes had doubled, maybe tripled in size, the irises huge around the tiny, tiny pinpricks of black that were his pupils as they focused on the clouds in the sky, some distance away, high, high above.

"Hm," he finally said, relaxing a little. "It's a wyvern. No... it's two of them. They're not usually much trouble to our clan fleets, but..."

"Ho, Khevar! Rhenn! Two wyverns airborne, in the clouds just up there," he said, shouting and pointing. "Are they ever much of a problem for the plains clans?"

Rael instinctively stepped in front of Cady and shifted his left hand to nudge her behind him. As soon as he did he realized the error.

"I am sorry," he said to her as he stepped back to her side. "Old habits often take the longest to perish."

Cady was looking into the skies, a combination of awe and wonderment lighting in her eyes. Her voice was alive with excitement as she looked at Rael. "No worries...I just might need a little help with these if they decide to attack. Wyverns! Can you believe it? Wow." With that she hurried up to join Khevar and Rhenn, as she made a quick check of her armor and weapons.

At the mention of the word, 'Wyvern', Rhenns eyes flew immediately to the skies. "Wyverns?! TO ARMS! ... To Arms!" He yelled. His voice was near on panic, as close as it ever got, really. He immediately scanned the surrounding countryside, looking for overhead cover, a stand of trees, a cave, anything, as he pulled out oth his spare spears, and began to tie a rope to the base of one.

"They eat horses, and we are leading a feast across their hunting grounds... if we look strong, they may bypass us, but I doubt it.... we are no full clan on the move. Watch out for their swooping attacks, they will try to snatch a horse, or two, at least, if they dont try to eliminate us, to have their pick of the mounts. They are smart."

Most of Cady's excitement fell away at the thought of the Wyverns eating Diago as a snack. The thought occured to her briefly that sacrificing a couple of horses might satiate the attacking beasts, but from what she knew of the Horselords, she held her tongue. They would be just as likely to sacrifice her as their mounts.

They'd been headed for a series of low hills and a darker green that looked to have been a stand of trees or perhaps brush -- Rhenn and Khevar had both tagged it mentally as another water source -- but it was still several hours' ride away.

Rael looked around. He believed Rhenn and his assesment, but was unfamiliar with these creature's tactics. He, too, was scanning the countryside for cover. Any kind of cover.

"Master Rhenn," the Sun Yani shouted. "Do they have a weakness?"

Khevar had already pulled and strung his bow. An arrow was knocked and another close at hand. "Fire for the bellies, or the chests. Try to hit below the flight muscles." His voice was calm and relaxed as his eyes watched the creatures. "If you have bows, stand ready. If not, try to find shelter or cover. Even some rocks or a depression in the ground might help." After a moment he looked to the wizard. "Kassus, can you use your magic to hide the horses? Or shield them somehow? It would be better to avoid a fight than to lose time and horses winning a fight."

"Can my daggers penetrate their hide?" She looked at both Khevar and Rhenn expectantly.

Rhenn spared a glance at Cady, as he shrugged. His gesture said. 'I dont know' but his hazel eyes tonld her 'no'.

The shout, “TO ARMS” broke Mari’s concentration, the vision stopped abruptly and she looked to the sky, but was unable to see anything. She remembered the story that Elena had told her at school about wyverns. The best way to attack them was to spread out and shoot them from underneath and next to them. The adults were a lot tougher to kill than the younger, but even they didn’t sound that easy. If these were two adults they were in a lot of trouble! Mari shouted to Kassus, “Can you tell if they are adults?”

Duras had been walking several of the horses when the twin calls of wyverns came from Kassus and Rhenn. His mind flashed back to his days amongst the Prairierunners, hearing Old Tomolok Prairierunner tell a tale of wyverns stealing children around a campfire.

Aye, and they're fierce things, swooping down faster than a bolt of lightning and with more ire than a woman spurned, the old plainsman's voice creaked in Duras' memory. Pray you never come across one, young rivermaster, for if you do, your precious daggers'll do little against its hide.

Duras turned to Jardanth, "What say you, friend - have you any skill at speaking to or guiding wyverns?"

Kassus whirled to look around the group. "Jardanth! If you can get all the horses together in a group, make sure they stay calm and in place, I can call up a fog to cover them, definitely thick enough to shield them from physical sight, at least. Let us hope that's enough." He pointed to an area just to the side of the main group, close enough to be a quick move but far enough away that the humans would be outside the fog-cloud's radius. He then began the initial cast motions, readying the words in his mind, trusting the horselords to get the horses to where they needed to be.

The healer nodded sharply, but spoke to Duras. "There's more than one. That means they're not very old and not very smart. That may be to our favor but age brings a wisdom these beasts lack. Wound them, then they might be ready to talk."

Stepping over to a horse brother he patted his neck and began to speak, letting his seemingly wordless intonations seep into them like a salve, calming even in the frenzy of excitement. A horse sister came over and he patted her too, and kissed her on the nose. Then another joined him and another. He greeted each one, not by the name their riders had given them, but by some other appellation used by the herd amongst itself. They nickered and snorted nervously, but also thankfully and, in short order, he had gathered all the animals to himself.

"Or a mated pair of adults, that are smart, and out to feed their young." Rhenn added, he didn't want to seem pessimistic, but he wanted his friends to know what the possibilities were.

The horses came together and moved under Jardanth's direction, centering themselves within the thickening cloud of fog that arose from the ground at Kassus' command. The fog cloud was easily twenty meters across and over a meter high, and the young mage had situated it in the only depression nearby -- a "depression" more by inference than actual noticeable shelter or cover. Jardanth and the last of the horses disappeared within it as Mari and Cady simultaneously sighted the wyverns dropping out of the cloud cover. One first, the second a few seconds after that, beginning the wide, turning arcs that signalled their imminent swooping dive.

Mari wasn’t too sure what she could do. She had no ranged weapons, and she could only distract the creatures while they were within earshot of her voice. She did have a good range, but these flying creatures would move through it rather quickly. As she looked up at them she prepared to sing. It was all she could contribute.

Moving to Rhenn, Duras quickly glanced around at the high grass. "Rhenn, I'm likely the fastest one here, and my blades likely no good in a fight with these things. What can you tell me about how they strike?? I was thinking if I distracted them, it would free everyone else to strike at them..."

"Duras, I don't know if they will take your bait. It may be better for us to cluster around the fog bank, and make them come to us." Rhenn appreciated the bravery of the plan, but if they didn't take after Duras, then the rest of the group would be out of position, and spread out.

After seeing the look of discouragement in Rhenn's eyes, Cady spent a few moments glowering at him, as she tried to think of another way to make herself useful. She turned to look at Duras, her green eyes alive with cunning and her voice full of urgency. "Duras! Help me make a trap." She turned towards the fog bank, "Jardanth! I need some d'nem tarps. Quick. And a few coils of the rope from the horses. Rael?" By this time her mouth had caught up to her idea...and she fell silent before giving him a specific task. She pulled out her knife and bared it between her teeth, as she waited to see if anyone was receptive to her idea.

Jardanth looked at her, an eyebrow arched as he continued to calm the nervous horses. Slowly, still trying to keep them calm, he moved to release the tarps from packs, but it wasn't easy. As he focused his attention on one animal the others grew restless and he had to stop and calm them once more before he could return to loosing the tarps.

Rael fired into action at Cady's request. He immediately began to gather the ropes from the horses and bring them to her and lay them next to each other for easy access.

Duras moved quickly at Cady's call. He started gathering ropes and d'nem, following her lead.

Khevar glanced over at Cady. "Whatever you've got, make it fast," he called. He waited on foot for the wyverns, bow ready. Khevar knew he had the best chance of anyone here to hurt them, and he didn't want to waste his chance."

Rhenn grabbed as many ropes as he could lay his hands on in a hurry. He began tying the ropes to the grommets in the corners of the tarps, hoping for everyone with a free hand to lend it.

Duras did all that he could to assist Rhenn.

Once he had delivered the ropes, Rael began to assist Rhenn and Duras in threading the rope through the grommets.

When the ropes had been attached, Mari started threading them through as well, keeping an eye on the sky to make sure she could start singing as soon as the wyverns were in range of her voice.

They all worked as quickly as they could -- Duras' fingers literally blurred, they moved so quickly -- but there was so much of it... could they possibly be done in time?

Once the others started fixing the ropes to the tarps, Rhenn grabbed his second normal spear and attached a rope to it as well. "What's your plan, Cady?" He asked as his fingers fatened the rope up under the head of the spear.

The emissary shot Rhenn a quick look, her brow furrowed in thought. "A drag...a sail of sorts, something that will open behind them and throw off their forward momentum. We need to tie a loop at the end of each of the ropes." She looked around furtively. "...and we need to anchor it somehow deep into the underside of the beast. An arrow? I'm not sure the best way to anchor it."

Rhenn looked down at his two "throwaway" spears, with the barbed heads... "This will anchor them, Cady, good thinking! We will ground them, and tear them to pieces!" He couldn't throw one very far at all with four ropes attached, but by Chdar, he could with one. "Well tie the four ropes, to my retrieval ropes, and use the spears as anchors!"

"Now that is a brilliant idea, Mi'lady," Rael said as he handed more rope to Rhenn. "Kassus," he shouted to the mage. "How soon before they are upon us?"

"I don't know!" He called back. "I've been holding the spell in place. Khevar??"

One of Cady's devil be damned smiles slid slowly onto her face as she regarded first Rael, and then Rhenn as he put such a nice finishing touch onto her plan. Her vivid green eyes devoured his every move as he worked to put things into motion, already looking forward to giving him his after battle reward.

His eyes fastened on the sky, Khevar had watched the first wyvern circling, and felt it in his bones when it broke off to begin its plummeting descent. "It's now!" he yelled, bowstring drawn back until the entire weapon quivered.

From high out of the southwest the first huge beast dove toward the fog cloud, trumpeting a brassy challenge that made the horses scream and stir violently. Jardanth understood it clearly -- he was trying to panic them, trying to make them run out of the fog! It was an unnervingly shrill scream, sliding like flint against raw nerves, turning guts into water. The second wyvern dropped lower in its circling but did not yet dive -- these two had obviously hunted together before. One would stampede the herd while the other followed to pick off strays at its leisure.

With an eye on the wyverns, Duras did his best to help complete construction on the trap. Should he become a target of a wyvern, he was ready to move at a moment's notice. As the beast barreled in, it was hard to stay with the task, hard to keep his hands moving, hard to focus in spite of the gut-clenching terror. But stay with it he did, clenching his teeth, muttering curses, forcing those blurring hands through another twist, another knot, another loop through a grommet, doing more to get that trap constructed than any other single party member who worked on it. As the wyvern swept overhead, dragging tendrils of fog with it, the backdraft nearly knocked Duras over, and the horses milling in terror nearly knocked him over... but it was nearly done.. nearly done...!

Cady waited for the Wyvern to close with the group, before letting loose of one of her daggers. She realized that the others weren't hopeful that it would do any good, but she was Urilia's Vessel, and through her she had to try. Her aim was true even at the mind-boggling speeds at which the brute moved -- and she clearly saw the blade bounce off the softer hide of its underbelly without notice. Once the dagger was out of her hands, Cady immediately resumed her efforts on the tarp.

Her mouth opened, and as loudly as she could, Mari began to sing. The image she projected to the wyvern was of the horses scattering, fleeing in every direction, none of the horses were staying within the fog cloud. She made sure to have one medium sized horse with a bit of a limp running away from the group, at a slower pace, to the northeast. This horse she positioned so that Rhenn was standing between it and the real group of horses. In the illusion the people around the horses had no control, and no weapons. They simply tried to chase the horses down on foot.

It happened so fast... so very fast. It was difficult for Mari to know whether her choice worked, for the beast simply skimmed the top of the fog cloud, screaming savage terror. It was difficult to keep her song from turning into a shriek of panic as those great black talons swept over the horses not a meter from them. In the aftermath she realized that she felt her mind connect, felt the power flow... but what effect the vision had...? Perhaps it wasn't an effective one, given the tactics...?

Rhenn heard that blood curdling scream, and his hazel eyes narrowed in hatred. He reached out to Senaia, through their shared link, their minds becoming as one. Senaiasister, move out of the fog, in front of me and hold position, be strong my love. He could tell she was terrified -- she flat refused, at first, but under his coaxing and with Jardanth's steadying voice in the background she followed his wishes, and trotted to the indicated spot, raising her head high and defiant against the Terrors from the Blue.

Rhenn snatched The Spear of the Silverplains out of earth where he had grounded the tip, and began to sprint towards her. He leapt, as he got within a stride of her, his right foot finding her stirrup, propelling him up, his left foot finding her saddle, giving him purchase to leap into the air at the Wyvern, his weapon held high over his head, as he shouted.

"You'll not have them, lest you are The One! Worm!"

Whether it was the dampness from the heavy fog Kassus had summoned or some odd quirk of fate, Rhenn's boot slipped off the top of the slippery leather, landing him actually in the saddle, just narrowly avoiding squishing a couple of somethings that would have taken him completely out of the fight (likely from rolling on the group puking his guts up). Spear still in hand he tried to lunge at the unimaginably fast hide as it flew by, but the Silverplains spear bounced off one hard, leathery thigh harmlessly.

Jardath redoubled his efforts with the horses. For weeks he had fought a running battle with one of the stallions. Now he had to force the issue. He had to command him. He, Jardanth had to become the band stallion or the others in this little band of horses would never submit under this kind of pressure, and therefore they would never survive. Almost instinctively he scooped a rock from the ground and smacked his would be rival behind the ear with it. It was the equivalent of another stallion's bite. When the young stallion shied and tried to strike back Jardanth forced his head into a bow, denying him the leverage he needed to strike back. All the while he spoke. Now not gently, but urgently, forcefully, like the band stallion would.

The senior mare complained bitterly at his suddenly change of tactics. He scolded her viciously for the rebuke, demanding that she not only obey, but keep her band sisters in check as well. The mare backed away, subdued, but it was plain that without Senaia's steadying influence Jardanth was going to have his hands full keeping the horses from bolting when the next wyvern dived.

Kassus looked up as the wyverns swooped closer, obviously about to make a pass at the humans on the ground. The fog spell was settled, draining on his power slightly but not requiring any extra attention from him, so instead, he readied another spell, one he hadn't had reason to use for quite some time; he felt a heat run through his veins, gathering around his fingers as he made the intricate gesture and spoke the incantation at a whisper, closing his eyes to a slit at the last second to protect them from the flare as flame burst into being, flying from his hands towards the swooping reptilian forms above. The fire, fiercely hot and crackling like thunder, leapt from his hands. But, as others were noting with some dismay, the damned beast was moving so fast it made "leading" on him extremely difficult. The sizzling bolt of fire flew high and wide of the mark. It was possible the brute flinched away from it, but so difficult to tell....

As the wyverns dove, Khevar sighted in. He decided to send one arrow at each wyvern, hoping to force them to shy away from their dive. Trusting in his skill, he waited until his instincts said the time was right, then released his arrows, his hands moving in a blur as he drew and fired again.

It was diving FAST, unbelievably so! Khevar had never seen anything move that fast in his life, not even the lioness that had mauled him that day, so long ago. Still, with nerves forged out pure steel Khevar held his shots until the thing exposed its underbelly two him, his own hands blurring like Duras' had to fire off two shots so quickly they almost seemed to be one. Both flew true to the mark from the scream of pain and fury the beast let loose and it veered off suddenly, pulling its head upward, beating its wings furiously to get some altitude.

Rael unsheathed the katan and shifted his position to keep the approaching wyvern within his field of view. He prepared to meet the beast upon it's approach. In his mind he planned out his attack. He watched the creature descend to snatch at one of the horses. He saw himself as he rushed to meet it and roll underneath as he thrust Cumlach's blade up to slice it's belly with the Driving Wind maneuver.

Rael saw too late that the wyvern was skimming the top of the fog cloud, trumpeting a challenge to stampede the horses, at the last second uttering a ululation of pain as Khevar's arrows struck. He leapt high into the air and felt the kattan struck something... the blow didn't feel as if it penetrated, but the sheer force of it, caused yet another pealing scream of anguish to erupt from its throat before it went... eerily... completely... silent... and plummeted into the ground some 10 meters from where Jardanth stood, sweat beading on his brow, dominating the horses into obedience by the force of his will alone.

The sound of it hitting the earth at such speeds was a thing none of the group would forget for the rest of their lives. It was something beyond mere sound, a force that penetrated heart and gut and bone and soul before the ears even registered it, before the eyes saw the kilograms of sod flying into the air, the huge cratering trench left in the ground behind it. And then silence once more, eerie, fey -- broken only by the sound of the other wyvern's shrill scream as it too descended, from the south rather than the west, this time ready for blood.

Now that the tarp was assembled, it was time to get it to Rhenn. With a nod to Cady, Duras started assisting her in carrying it, trying to make sure the ropes didn't get tangled. It was all he could do to keep his mind on everything - his heart pounded in his mind, his ears. Second to the tarp, his attention was on the wyvern in the air, on its screaming approach -- and even secondary attention was enough to alert him to the beast's suddenly spread wings, it's upthrust neck and head as it tried to brake its descent toward the fate which met its predecessor.

Cady gave Duras a big grin as she carried the spear to Rhenn. She was amazed at how he had completed two of the corners in the time it took her to finish her one. "Rhenn!" She whooped his name as she extended the spear up towards Senaia.

Mari repeated the same vision as before for this wyvern, or at least, she tried to. Whether it was the beast's abrupt change in tactics or some deep unconscious doubt surfacing in the space between thoughts, she somehow missed making the proper contact with the wyvern's mind and felt her ability to project illusions into it dissipate away.

Rael landed softly and immediately spun around to view the lifeless body of the wyvern. He then spun back around to watch the other creature and prepare to meet it during it's descent as well. He saw its abruptly spread wings, talons outstretched as it tried to brake its descent, the effort carrying it up and out of the possible reach of the leaping attack he'd just used.

Rhenn snatched the anchor spear, with a single definitive nod. He wheeled Senaia around to the south, and after a few cantering strides towards the descending wyrm, he drew the spear back over his shoulder, and let it fly.

Momentum was a double-edged weapon, as anyone who had ever used it in a fight would attest. Even with every scale spread to catch air in an attempt to slow down, and/or gain altitude, the wyvern's mass and speed carried it right over Rhenn and Senaia, that pale grey underbelly a good ten meters (five hexes) away.

Rhenn let fly with all his strength and Senaia's cooperation. It was heavy, awkward, and off balance from the guide rope, felt like trying to throw one of those long constrictor snakes in the jungles to the south.

The barbed spearhead sunk in just behind its front left shoulder. The wyvern's answering scream gave three of the packhorses all the reason they needed to bolt out from Jardanth's control.

Ropes unfurled, a few tarps opened. Most of them didn't open all the way, some of the ropes got snarled. The next downbeat of its leathery wings caused the right one to get entangled in the twisting ropes and tarps, along with its right leg. It sailed over the fog cloud dragging its wind anchor, sinking to the ground some 8 meters (four hexes) from the northernmost edge of the fog. It lifted its cruel maw to scream rage and defiance at the clouds above, before turning to face the prey that had turned into predators.

Click here for Phase 4 map.

Rhenn watched the Wyrm cartwheel into the ground like a giant pheasant with an arrow in its chest, and turned, smiling broadly, hazel eyes gleaming, to look at Duras, and Cady. He pointed at them both in recognition of both the idea, and the swift work that enabled it before he pumped a fist in exultation.

Cady looked a bit smug as she gave him a knowing wink. It seemed as though she had absolutely no doubt that the trap would be done in time, that Rhenn would hit his mark, and that it would bring the wyvern down.

There was no smugness, confidence or celebration in Duras. His hands shook, now that they could, now that there was no pressure on them to remain as calm as possible.

And now that the immediate danger was over, his mind moved to Mari - and his eyes sought her out, hoping to find her untouched and well. When he saw that she was fine, he allowed himself a small smile.

Rael immediately moved to close some of the distance between him and the fallen wyvern, skirting the edges of Kassus' fog bank and running all-out to reach the creature quickly. He didn't know how long it would take before the beast was up and ready to attack. He wanted to be there before then. When the ropes that ensnarled the thing jumped up of their own accord and began further entangling the beast, Rael startled back at the last moment, tracing the line of spell energy back to Kassus' capable hands.

Kassus ducked as the beast roared overhead, flailing tail and wings as the rope fouled its limbs and caused it to come crashing to the earth. He swung around to try to see where it had landed, but was too well caught within his own spell to determine this immediately. Taking steps to back out of the fog, he then saw the creature down and snarled in some kind of rope trap the others had hastily assembled.

It gave him the flash of an idea; he once again flung out his hands and gestured, weaving complicated sigils in the air as he muttered furiously, concentrating on the ropes twined about the creature and pooling on the ground underneath it. Obedient to his will the rope leapt up off the ground, looping and twisting around the creatures legs, tail, and right wing, and neck -- missing entangling the head and maw by mere centimeters.

Khevar showed no remorse for the wyvern. It was a predator that threatened him and his friends. He hoped the first wyvern was down for good, but didn't have time to check for sure. The awake and angry one had to come first. He was the only one easily able to fell it without getting near its mouth. Backing away from it, he drew and fired two arrows into the beast. With its belly on the ground, he didn't have a vulnerable spot to fire on, so he just fired away.

One hit its chest, the other hit the leg. Both bounced off without effect.

A look of confusion crossed Mari’s face. Maybe the wyverns just weren’t that susceptible to illusions. Good to know. She quickly assessed the situation and where everyone was. Knowing her rapier would do very little damage to the wyvern, even if she got close enough to do any harm to it, Mari decided on a different course of action.

Jardanth cursed furiously as the younger horses bolted despite his best efforts. Not only were they putting themselves in danger by leaving the protection of the fog, they needed those mounts. In hindsight, he thought, he should have put blinds on them. That would would have made them more attentive to him.

In the distance he heard the wyvern warning the others not to approach, its language laced with threats of death and violence. But the fog bank worked both ways -- just as the wyvern couldn't see what was was within the bank of fog, he couldn't see out. He hoped the others would let him try to talk to the wounded beast rather than just killing it. After all, it was only guilty of doing what they themselves did regularly: Killing to get a meal.

With a sigh he turned his attention to the two most mature horses that remained. "Protect them," he instructed, knowing full well he was risking two more horses. "And get them back to the safety of the band." But these two were wise older horses, and would not act rashly or foolishly in a time of danger. "Go."

Heads tossing, the two broke off and disappeared in the fog within a heartbeat, instinctively moving away from the noise of the wyvern to obey Jardanth's wishes.

Click here for the map for Phases 5 & 6.

The wyvern was clearly struggling to break free of Kassus' magically strengthened ropes, but even its great strength could not weaken the bonds that held it fast, and nearly immobile. It's great head still writhed about on that sinuous, long neck, obviously still a danger to whomever approached.

Duras' eyes flashed, searching for something he could use as a weapon - his daggers won't do any good, he knew. But Rhenn... Rhenn had an extra spear. He dashed over to Rhenn, "A spear, friend!" he yelled, as moved to take it off Senaia.

Once taken, Duras moved towards the downed wyvern. His mind flashed back to his days amongst the Prairierunner clan, practicing late at night, working on moving quietly. Stalking a horse, learning to move with the creature's breath. Letting his heart beat in time with the rhythm of the creature, imagining his heart beating in time with his prey. Moving with each step of the natural music of the world, getting closer... He moved slow and sure, letting Rael and Rhenn move in first, hoping the wyvern's attention stays focused on them instead of him.

Cady stooped and grabbed a length of excess rope that had been cut from the trap they had made. She snatched her knife back up and then began to cut a sizable swatch of d'nem out of a tarp, eyes trying to peer through the fogbank to see the downed and unmoving wyvern on the other side.

Rael approached the wyvern with the blade of the kattan drawn and ready. He shifted and changed direction to keep the wyvern focused on him yet unable to get an easy attack. He darted in towards the creature's neck and spun to give his slash the momentum to deliver a killing blow.

Cumlach, he prayed as he approached. You gave your life in honor of Urilia and to protect the people of the plains. If this be my day to join you, then let your blade sink deep before our spirits meet.

The wyvern's gigantic yellow eyes focused on Rael as the first of the two potential threats. Rael's magnificent spinning blow landed on it's right shoulder, the blow largely turned aside by the thick, matte-grey scales. It left him standing there within range of the beast's fangs, which were unhindered by the ropes. Before he could have another thought about that, he heard the thundering of hooves behind him and sensed what was coming next.

Rhenn snatched his long spear out of its holder and levelled it at the still moving Wyvern. Holding Senaias reins in his left hand, and the spear in his right, he sent her the command through the link they shared. Charge!

Screaming in challenge, Senaia reared up then bolted forward, her hooves finding turf in that implacable rhythm that could only end in blood. The two drove in toward that space between wing and foreleg, looking for the paler scales that marked its vulnerable aread, but the wyvern instinctively flinched just barely enough so that the spear head found only thicker, darker ones instead. Even so the Spear of the Silverplains bit sharply, tasting black wyvern blood as it twisted underneath overlapping scales and tore them away completely.

Noting which way the horses were running, Mari ran into the fog bank. She found Para and mounted him, ready to urge him into a full gallop after the horses that bolted.

Click here for map of phases 8 and 9.

The wyvern screamed again, hatred, rage, savage ferocity, its long neck swinging down to its ride side, long, bright-white fangs bared for the bite! All Rhenn had time to see was a gigantic maw of razor sharp teeth closing on him and Senaia with yet more of that speed which made the big beast so dangerous. With instincts born of the luck of the plains, the big Horselord twisted in Senaia's saddle at the last possible instant. The teeth closed on leather and air, merely grazing skin, but the force of the blow to the chest knocked the wind from him, leaving him stunned and reeling on Senaia's back. Losing Rhenn's voice in her mind, Senaia let loose a bellow of rage and fear that rippled through the other horses like a plague, doing her best to back away from the winged beast while not losing her rider.

Kassus grinned when he saw his spell take hold, and so successfully; the creature's sinuous neck and and head were still a danger, but its range of motion was severely diminished, a definite advantage on a creature as large as this one. He could feel the toll it was taking on him, though, his energy waning rapidly. His legs felt weak, and he stumbled to one knee, shouting as loudly as he could to the others, warning them that his spell might not hold for much longer.

And then he lost his grin when that free neck and mouth attacked Rhenn, and Senaia screamed.

"You do know wyverns are scared to death of dragons, right?" Jardanth asked as Mari came to get her horse from him. "Since I've already sent two horses to collect the others, why don't you conjure one up?"

“Oh, let’s do that then. Can you ask Para to take me out of the fog where I can see the moving wyvern?”

Jardanth nodded and whispered something in Para's ear as he patted his cheek. The mare whickered softly and Jardanth smiled. "He'll take you."

Khevar cursed as the hide of the wyvern proved too thick for his arrows. He moved between the two wyvern, praying that the fallen one at his back stayed down, while looking for an opening. Fortunately his target was large and easy to hit, so his concern for hitting his friends was minimal. Looking for the area previously damaged by Rhenn, he drew and fired.

As hard as he tried, he simply couldn't locate that exact spot -- even mostly restrained, the wyvern's attacking head obscured everything when it turned to bite at Rhenn. However, he thought (hoped) that maybe that turning head had exposed some more vulnerable parts on the underside, and let fly! The first arrow bounced off a shoulder again, but the second wedged its lethal head in the soft spot between the wyvern's foreleg and chest. It screamed again and instinctively reared up to launch itself into the air, straining against Kassus' rope bonds without success.

Jardanth could hear it all. Something had happened to Rhenn. And the beast was now afraid for its life.

Though he moved closer, quietly, Duras held his attack, waiting for that perfect spot - he waited until the wyvern opened up a sweet spot, some fleshy area. He knew Rael and Rhenn were the muscle, he was just there as back up. When the opportunity arose as the wyvern itself did, or tried to, he raced foward, striking with the spear, silent as he attacked.

His spear and Cumlach's kattan landed in a one-two staccato rhythm, one driving into softer areas of the underchest while the other sliced.

Rael heard the approach of Rhenn and saw the wyvern turn its head. He did not have time to hear Duras' running approach. there was only time to see the end result. The Sun Yani placed his blow in a softer spot upon the creature while it's attention was directed at the plainsman, and the spear Duras carried joined it, both driving into the pale grey underbelly, spilling sudden volumes of black blood. It's spine-curling scream of defiance split the air and echoed from the heavens..

...followed by a moment of silence so profound it could easily be described as sublime as the fatally wounded wyvern toppled to the ground, bleeding copiously from the wounds dealt it. The one yellow eye Duras and Rael could see flickered and dimmed as the life force left it.

Cady still worked on the D'nem, cutting a long swatch down it's length that was approximately two and a half foot wide. Once she was finished she tucked it under her arm with the segment of cut rope, and as an afterthought grabbed a full coil of rope before turning toward the first fallen wyvern when she saw the the second fall.

Once Para had moved into the open air again Mari began to project her voice towards the wyvern, but found it dying on the ground as she emerged from the fog bank.

It all seemed too good to be true. Both tremendous beasts were down on the ground. One was obviously dying. The other still looked to be out from the force of hitting the ground at high speed. Or was it?

Click here for Phase 12 map.

Duras pulled the spear out of the wyvern and staggered back, away from it. He shuddered with revulsion, with adrenaline. He glanced around, as he quickly assessed whether there were any other dangers - was the other wyvern moving, were there other wyverns in the air, soon to attack? The skies remained clear of everything except the clouds that had helped obscure the initial attack -- but if anything that had been sharing the skies with two wyverns was long, long gone by this time.

Once the danger had passed, he allowed himself to sink to his knees and fight the retching of his stomach. Tears burned his eyes as bile burned his guts. Once Rael also assured himself the other beast wasn't moving, he carefully cleaned the black blood from the kattan blade, then knelt beside Duras, one sympathetic hand placed on his shoulder. "It is always difficult to master the aftereffects, the first few times," the monk murmured quietly. "Just breathe, friend. Close your eyes, and breathe. You did a brave thing here, today."

Duras glanced at Rael, the riverman's eyes burning with tears, a map of broken blood vessels across his face, the aftereffects of throwing up. He panted hard, and tried to relax, listening to the warrior-monk's words. His eyes closed and he focused on breathing; it took several long moments, but he finally regained his control over his body, his composure.

"Ch'dar's testes... I never... its scream..." he just shook his head, still trying to process what just happened.

Rael looked at Duras. "It died honorably," he said. "Do not mourn it's loss or it's deathcry. And you saved many lived today. Many more than you can know. We will be able to press on closer to your sister today because of your noble actions. I am honored to have stood beside you this very day in combat, Master Duras. And you have brought great honor to Clan Swiftwater."

Nodding at Rael's words, Duras' breathing gradually slowed to a natural rhythm. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his palms and exhaled a long, slow breath. Looking up at Rael, he nodded, "Thank you," and reached to Rael for a hand up. Once to his feet, he glanced around, looking to see where Mari was. Seeing that she was well, he returned his attention to Rael, "You do me honour with your words - I am lucky in battle... you are an artist, I've never seen anyone fight so gracefully."

"Many unlucky artists lie rotting in unmarked graves, my friend.," Rael said with a sudden wink. The same one that had disarmed Cady and Rhenn before. "May I find that form of luck when I need it. And if not, may you ever be near me with yours."

The Sun Yani then dashed off to the other beast to ensure that it to either was dead or soon would be.

With the rope and tarp in hand, Cady ran towards where the first Wyvern had fallen to the ground. Skirting the fog cloud instead of trying to fight her way through it -- and then the fog dropped and around the horses she got a clear sense of the scene and some of the devastation. She was still at least 20 meters away from the first fallen beast. Rhenn was rousing in his saddle, Mari and Para at his side, Senaia dancing nervously. Kassus was nearest her, down on one knee, breathing deeply but otherwise all right. Khevar, steadfast to the end, turned to train another arrow on the first wyvern, waiting for the best time to fire.

Cady's mind whirred for a moment when she saw that Rhenn was injured, but she quickly shook it off as she saw him regain his impressive posture. Turning back to her task, she grinned as the fog bank dissipated. Obviously Urilia was helping her by removing the blinding fog. She altered her course a bit and ran in a direct path towards the Wyvern, already marveling at how it's skin would feel under her as she scaled the monstrous beast.

As Mari watched, she saw the giant beast bite Rhenn. She saw him slump in the saddle as Senaia screamed and raced away from the wyvern. Mari’s concern for her friend drove everything else from her mind as she spurred Para towards him. Doing everything in her power to keep him in his saddle. Rhenn shook the cobwebs out of his head, and with a nod, indicated to Mari he was ok. Wheeling Senaia around, he levelled his spear once more, and began the thundering charge at the unmoving Wyrm.

Jardanth winced as he heard the creature's final, dying scream. While he knew that death was a part of life -- every Bak'Tiar did -- he'd hoped to be able to prevent this. Maybe he could stop them from killing the other one -- if it was still alive. "Wait!" He called out into the fog. "Let me talk to it! Get rid of this fog so I can see."

The fog dropped as if at his command. Jardanth pushed past milling horses and ran forward, right into Senaia's initial charge! The horse reared in startlement, her bond with Rhenn and his superior horsemanship preventing a tragedy before it could happen.

"Ch'Dar's balls!" Jardanth swore furiously, struggling to keep his footing and avoid Senaia's. But the words were barely out of his mouth before he was almost instinctively talking to the horse, calming her from the fright, assuring he was alright. "Rhenn, take me to the wyvern that crashed. Quickly, before it wakes back up."

Rhenn pulled back on Senaia's reigns, hard, struggling to keep from riding Jardanth into the prairie, or ending up on top of it himself. "What for?" He asked, more than a little annoyed.

"So I can calm it if it wakes up," He said hurriedly. "It's going to be hurting, maybe injured, and angry."

Rhenn's face twisted into an incredulous look as he danced Senaia sideways around the healer. "It's going to wake up dead." He said simply, before he resumed his charge.

The healer's face fell. So for doing no more than you yourself have done thousands of times -- kill to eat -- you sentence that creature to death. Wordlessly the healer watched them go.

Kassus heard Jardanth's shout from within the shrouding fog, and glanced at each of the downed Wyverns in turn; one dead, the other incapacitated, at least for the moment. He pressed his lips to a thin white line, brow furrowing in thought, then, with one swift move of a hand and a single short word, he ended the fog spell, trusting Jardanth's judgement on the matter. If he could get through to the wyvern, all the better than risking lives trying to kill it. Still, as he settled himself for a brief respite, he held his hands ready to recall the Fog spell and hide the horses once more. Trust was not foolishness, and it was possible the beast would be too enraged or confused to be reasoned with.

Khevar turned, watching the two fallen wyvern. He hoped they were both dead, but wasn't willing to take any chances. Hearing Jardanth's cry, he shrugged. He was pretty sure the healer was too late. He wasn't going to kill them on the ground, but he was ready. So long as they stayed down, he was willing to wait. If they started to attack again, he was taking them down.

As Rhenn rode away from her, Mari sighed in relief. She watched as Duras heaved and Rael comforted him, wishing she could take the latter’s place. Time seemed to stop and she looked around at the mayhem. One dead wyvern in front of her, another quite possibly in the same state, lay unmoving as her companions converged on it, 5 horsefriends ran into the plains behind her, and she felt completely useless. Her mentor’s words came back into her head as Para pranced under her. There will be times when you don’t know what to do, and the answers will not come. Just hold, inspiration will strike. The Bard’s heart is true. Sometimes the brain needs a moment to catch up to it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and exhailed slowly, centering her mind.

Slowly, almost inevitably it seemed, the other wyvern stirred...

GM OOG: Opening a new file for the second combat turn.