Adrian: Baldur's Gate

Adrian was leading the party--tired and out of sorts--out onto the surface by way of a concealed tunnel. He stopped and stared.

A mage stood before him, wearing a rather odd outfit for a spellcaster. It had the typical hood, but it looked more like a monk's robe--that had been cut off at the arms. The legs were likewise revealed. Both arms and legs were rather musuclar. The face was set and grim, ice blue eyes staring at Adrian out of a hard, grim face, the jaw seeming to be chiseled from rock. Shoulder-length gray hair escaped the hood, blowing around a little in the light breeze.

"I am Emirikol," said the mage in a rough voice. "You are prey."

Adrian was going to open his mouth to say that sounded like a typical stupid assasin cry, but inwardly he felt there was something different about this one--tougher, more cunning.

In any event, before he could say anything, Emirikol hurled an abnormally fast lightning bolt at him. His own armor, of course, resisted such, and absorbed it, which seemed to give Emirkol a surprised pause.

Adrian was surprised too; he'd never seen any mage cast that fast. But he didn not muse on it. He hauled out his sword and closed the distance, lunging with the blade, meaning to gut the mage.

But Emirikol pivoted on his foot and turned both backwards and sideways at the same time, and Adrian's blade cut only empty air. Amazingly, the wizard reached down and grabbed the blade, and yanked it out of Adrian's hands!

Adrian was shocked, and the grinning madman took the opportunity to reverse the blade in his grip and make his own lunge, which sparked harmlessly off Adrian's armor.

Adrian Bhaalscreamed right in Emirikol's face, but a shout of power that would have killed most men simply hurled Emirikol back a few feet and knocked the blade from his hand. He rolled on the ground and came back up on his feet and stared at Adrian approvingly.

"*Worthy* prey," he said. Then he hurled a glowing chromatic orb at Adrian. His armor couldn't absorb this kind of power and Adrian was knocked backwards in his turn, feeling as though his ribs had been cracked.

But by this time Adrian's party had gained the surface and recovered from their own initial surprise. Edwin gave Emirikol a wave of magic missles, and Xzar trated him to a jet of flame.

But while these attacks hurt the wizard, they did not do as much damage as they ought to have done. Viconia tried Dispel Magic on him, thinking he had given himself enchanted strentgh by potion or some other art. And indeed it made the wizard wince and grit his teeth. But it also made him angry.

He was preparing a fireball and the wizards saw it coming, both dousing him with magic missiles again. Adrian called upon his armor and favored him with a lightning bolt. Kagain raised his axe and charged, screaming a Dwarven battle cry. Deder fired some arrows.

This time Emirikol was obviously in pain, but still somehow stood on his feet, umarked by the attacks in any noticeable way. Deder's arrow struck home but didn't penetrate him too deeply, and he yanked it out in irritation. When Kagain closed with him, he sidestepped the Dwarf's first swing, then reached in qucikly and gave Kagain a Shocking Grasp spell. Kagain's teeth buzzed in his mouth and he fell, rolling around in pain on the grass.

As both wizards exhausted their supply of magic missles, Adrian charged with nothing but his armored body. As expected, the wizard sidesteped, just as Adrian had wanted.

He pivoted at the last moment, and his gauntleted fist cracked against the wizard's chin. The wizard staggered. Adrian physically picked him up, lifted one knee, and smashed Emirikol down upon that knee. There was the grinding crunch of bones breaking. Emirikol gagged once, then went limp in Adrian's hands.

He let the wizards loot the body while still holding it, then carried it to the edge of the grassy bluff and threw it directly into the Sea of Swords. It splashed down.

"What in the Nine Hells was that?!?" Edwin gasped.

"No assasin, I'm sure," said Adrian. "Bhaalspawn maybe, not sure."

"A what?" asked Deder.

"Never mind," said Adrian.

"What sort of magic was that?" Xzar giggled. "Sorcery? Wild magic?"

"Whatever it was," groaned Kagain, getting up, "It was damned tough."

Viconia frowned thoughtfully, but said nothing.

"Well, after that display, I'm all for getting to Beregost and a warm bed as son as possible. I doubt the word's reached there yet."

"I'll go get Tethtoril to free Obe," said Deder, bowed to the party, and dashed off.

"Let's get out of here. You two find anything on the corpse?" Adrian asked the wizards.

"A few scrolls," said Edwin. "Not much. He must've used what he had."

Adrian nodded blearily, and the party marched off.

Some five minutes after the party was gone---and mere seconds after Tethtoril had gone back down the tunnel with Deder--a hand flailed up over the edge of the grass bluff and grabbed solid ground.

Emirikol hauled himself up and rolled over onto dry land. He was in a great deal of pain, and couldn't walk yet. But he was alive.

And he would find his prey and destroy them, when he was whole again.