Into the mountains

Good evening to you mother mine,

  I hope that you are well and that your day was untroubled. Mine finds me leaning against some rocks in a high mountain pass in the mountains bordering Sparta, some of the other companions are about to start asking some questions of some wild-eyed zealots of some sort. I’ll get to them in time, rest assured.

With the last letter we had returned to the Persian vampire princess and her bodyguard. They were resigned and reluctant but revealed to Lady Alexandra that which she sought. My understanding of such things is limited, but apparently it was something built by Alexander’s trusted man Hephestian. It’s a vital secret as I’m given to understand and will need to be treated with due care. On out way out after Lady Alex had her review and examination of the large runic circle, Ouroboros took a moment and waded into the water of the pool in those caves. He submerged himself and drank a double handful of the water. If you could see his hands, you’d know what an extraordinary feat that is.  He later indicated his father directed him to as an abatement for the curse placed on him. It must have worked, based on what took place later. After we recovered and hid the cave entrance again, we returned the vessel and returned to ‘Sparta’ proper. Several of us picked up items for a journey into the mountains while Thalia had some discussions with the Spartan Kings.  A quiet night followed, and we set out the following morning.

Our purpose is two-fold: the goddess Artemis has tasked Silenos with seeing slain two giants recently released into the mountains near Sparta; Nicolos has been asked to find some metal born of the sky and fallen to earth which is also in the mountains. Our initial foray went quietly enough. Silenos spent the bulk of his time in advance of the companions, while I trailed the back keeping an eye on where we’d been. Mostly we’ve able to follow a footpath of sort that leads up the valley and into the foothills and then the mountains themselves. We did see an interesting sight; I wish I could share with you. There was a rock outcrop that resembled nothing more than a gigantic tooth lodged into the very soil. Nicolos shared a tale of a mighty battle where Zeus himself knocked the very tooth loose from the rending maw of an immense giant. That tooth eventually becoming the very rock we saw. True or not, it was an interesting story and one worth retelling.

Several hours later we came to the narrows of the pass itself in the opening the terrain became more barren rock than hill or grassland. A large lumpy pillar of stone stood centrally in the mouth of the pass. As we approached a great booming voice called on us to lay out belongings at the base of the pillar and begone lest we earn the wrath of the gods.  After the letters so far, I’m sure you can imagine how that went over.  Nicolos conjured a small pillar of flame at the base of the rock and his voice boomed over the narrows echoing and sounded quite frightening. He abjured the charlatan and asked who dared stand in the way of the Demi Thots. That’s the name the companions call themselves as a group.  THOT has some specific meaning which honestly, I’ve forgotten. At least its not something trite like the Black Company, the Radiant Host, or Glorious Bastards. At the rear I didn’t get much of a view forward, but a couple of the companions said they saw something fly off with orangish wings of some sort and was quite large. Just as well really.  A brief while later on near the throat of the pass we came onto a large spill of rocks that filled the pass. The spill rose up on either side close to 100 feet and it made a complete wall save a miraculous ten-foot oculus about fifty feet up that went neatly though the whole pile.

Silenos tried climbing up and setting handholds for the other companions to follow. I couldn’t see well what happened, but the immediate spill of rocks was all the warning needed to move out of the way as the rocks shifted, nearly burying several of the companions.  Just as we started to examine what to do now, a hoard of wild-eyed fanatics jumped up along the ridge. They bellowed incoherently charging and jumping down the slope with massive trunk sized clubs banded in bronze. From where I was standing, I couldn’t see what was going on with Silenos, but he sounded occupied. I know in moments the rest of us were to be sure.

The tribes’ men landed some blows and missed others, surrounding us in our surprise. This would turn out to be much to their detriment. Not far away I saw Lady Alexandra encase her left arm in a green and black arcane gauntlet that seemed to leech the very essence from one of her foes. Wherever it touched, rot and decay followed, while she appeared haler and invigorated.  Lady Thalia reached out with a gentle seeming touch to two of the other hillmen, and at the last moment I spied the black and green telltales of some spell, and you could see the strong arms of the hillmen wither visibly. I could hear frustrated grunts coming from far ahead, Silenos must have been posing some hardship for his attackers. Would that I could have seen it. Likely as not they found out he’s deadly with his bow.

Nicolos called forth his cyclopean forge spirits and they assaulted the bulk of the hillmen. None seemed prepared to contend with that and several stumbled in wracking pain.  I extricated myself from a point of entrapment at the rear of the companions and shrouded myself with shadow. Bad for the hillmen I could see just fine, but for them it was as pitch as a starless, moonless midnight. Perhaps the most impressive was our recently anointed Ourorboros who seized one of the surrounding thugs and quite literally used him as a club to bash his follows. The feat of athletics was astounding.  In moments the hillmen had gone from canny highwaymen to a group in a dire struggle for survival.

I could watch the panic rise in the nearest hillman as he fled past me, I gave him a good cut to speed his travels. The flock of spirits faded, and, in the distance, I could hear the rough grinding of rocks followed by a shriek of pain and the wet breaking sound of a limb breaking. I wasn’t sure what Nicolos had done until later when I saw Silenos being followed by a quintet of boulders acting like cats at feeding time. Lady Thalia must have moved, because she was no longer standing in the fray, but was on the nearby cliff looking into the floor of the pass. It was a few moments later when I saw just the very top of one of the thug’s heads come back into view as Ouroboros continued to flail his companions.  At some point I heard the wet meaty thud of someone coming to his end. I trailed after my prey and dispatched him. On my rise over the cliff’s edge, I caught sight of another who’d opted to quit the field, but it was far too late for such things, perched on a high boulder I stabbed him in the shoulder, ending his assault.

From there I had an excellent vantage as Ouroboros quite literally pitched his flailing man club at one of his fellow hillmen, sending them sprawling into a cascade of stunned tangled limbs. That seemed to suck the remaining fight out of the two tribesmen. I could see Thalia looking on down the pass where I caught the briefest motion of another hillman fleeing. Its hard to outpace a cat when it is intent on its prey. After I returned to see the others rounding up Ouroboros’ toys, it seemed like a good opportunity to write you, since they’ll likely be at the questioning a while.

As always, I remain your loving son,

Gyasi