Day Five of the Odinsleep (An Ally in Need)

Day Five of the Odinsleep; (12:06 pm)

Ra'ziir glances to his left and, motioning with one hand, utters the words, “Viburnum Swam Snilloc.” Suddenly, an explosion of snow and ice erupts from a point just a few feet beyond his fingers and pelts four of the fiery hounds with snowballs.  The frozen spheres flash to steam as they hit the hellhounds' flaming skin.  The dogs yelp, more from surprise than actual injury.  The Elf-emental surges forward, trying to fight his way over to Malekith but the volume of canines between him and the svartaelf make this nigh impossible.  He settles for carving his way through the pack, beheading one of the dogs with his vorpal blade and striking another three times in rapid succession.  

The ranger's entire face feels like it has caved in on one side.  Bright lights dance before his eyes.  Niklas rolls onto his stomach and feigns unconsciousness while whispering “Leichte Wunden Heilen”.  The pain abates only slightly but the ringing in his left air mercifully stops.  

Drax creeps like a shadow across the ceiling.  He holds his position for just a moment as Malekith recoils from the wounds inflicted by Raven's cold iron sword.  He focuses on those injuries and the nerve clusters he knows are in those general areas and drops from above.  The assassin rolls over in midair like a cat as he pounces upon his prey.  While the Svartaelf's armor may be rent by the touch of cold iron, its enchantments hold.  Drax's strike, while precise, is mostly turned aside.  Only a thin scratch is drawn along Malekith's shoulder.  The poison coating the blade causes the dark elf's eyes to go wide and he lets out a hiss. Drax's twin blades continue to flash, striking again and again, forcing the King of the Svartaelves to parry with his spear or block with the backs of his gauntlets.  Drax falls back a half-step, whispering “الاختفاء يا سويفت” before vanishing from view again.

Cedron and Grotto both emerge from within the Witching Cloak to fly across the room.  The dwarf reaches Niklas first, landing beside the ranger, his shield moving to interpose itself between the scarred dwarf and the surrounding hellhounds.  Snapping jaws are turned aside by the shield as Grotto leans over the man, beseeching Hanseath to intercede and heal the warrior.  The dwarven god answers and Grotto's hands are enveloped with golden light.  The dwarf lays hands upon Niklas, mending his wounds.  The bruise fades, the wound from the impalement begins to close just as Cedron engulfs both of them in his cloak.  The trio vanishes from sight, slipping into an extra-dimensional space inside of its folds.  Cedron quips, “That was one hell of a bruise” as he watches it fade and casts the same spell of healing Grotto did.

Kysek, still levitating near the ceiling sees that Malekith is already pressed by Raven and Drax.  The gold elf turns, scans the room and lines up as many of the hellhounds as he can and shouts, “Конус холода!!”  A freezing cone of pure cold erupts from his hands, coating most of the hounds in ice.  The dogs, those that survive are blasted back, crying and whining as the spell freezes their very blood.

Malekith screams, “LOKI!  HELP ME, DAMN YOU!  YOU SAID NOTHING OF THEM CARRYING IRON!”  The Svartaelf thrusts with his spear at Raven, hitting the elf squarely in the sternum.  Raven's armor prevents the spear from punching through but the impact drives him back against the wall, cracking the plaster coating which rains down like dust upon the swordsman's head.  Raven manages to parry or dodge aside from the next two blows, both of which cause even further damage to the wall.

Shadow shouts at Malekith, trying to draw his attention, “HEY!  I am the token dark elf in this story and there can be only one!” The drow casts one of his most powerful spells, “ξίφος του Mordenkainen!“  A glowing blade appears in midair, shaped like a longsword and rapidly closes in on Malekith.  As Shadow mimes his attacks, the floating sword mimics his actions.  The blade dances, poking holes in Malekith's defenses, slipping past the whirling hailstones to strike and drawing blood twice.

Raven pushes off of the wall, sending more plaster raining down on his head and back.  He shifts Thorgrim to his right hand, using Nightwatcher to knock the Svartaelf's spear out-of-line and strikes with the cold iron blade. Up and down, left to right and back again the blade flashes.  Malekith burns every time the sword touches him, his armor boiling away with each blow.  Finally, a downward sweeping blow hits the Svartaelf in the collarbone and drives down and through his chest toward his hip spilling blood and entrails in a gory shower upon the floor.  With its creator slain, the portal collapses and the hounds dissolve into mist.

A figure steps through a pair of double doors at the north end of the hall.  A smooth, mellifluous voice purrs, “My dear Malekith, an ally who requires rescue is not an ally.  He is a liability.  Do say 'Hello' to my daughter for me when you reach the afterlife.”  The figure is a shade taller than six feet with shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes.  He is glad in green leathers and wears a helmet with curling golden horns that emerge from the forehead.  A flowing golden cape hangs from his shoulders.

= = = = = =
• Bubo: 100% health; Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining),
• Cedron: 65% health; Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining), True Seeing (11 minutes, 2 rounds remaining), Bear's Endurance (11 minutes, 5 rounds remaining)
• Drax: 100% health; Nondection (active until 7 pm), Undetectable Alignment (active until Day Six at 5am); Spider Climb (99 minutes, 5 rounds remaining); 
• Grotto: 50% health; Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining),  Protection from Evil (8 minutes, 1 rounds), Fly (8 minutes, 1 rounds remaining)
• Kysek: 100% health; Half of the Tome has been read, Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining)
• Niklas: 63% health; Barkskin (49 minutes, 6 rounds remaining)
• Raven: 80% health; Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining), Bull's Strength (14 minutes, 5 rounds remaining)
• Ra’ziir: 65% health; Find the Path (118 minutes, 5 rounds remaining), Greater Invisibility (8 rounds remaining), Fly (16 minutes, 1 rounds remaining), Stoneskin (120 hp/169 minutes, 5 rounds remaining); Mirror Image (6 images/16 minutes, 8 rounds remaining)
• Shadow: 97% health; Fly (14 min, 9 rounds remaining), Bless (12 minutes, 1 rounds remaining), Mordenkainen's Sword (16 rounds remaining)
• Spewer: 100% health; Bless (12 minutes, 2 rounds remaining), Mass Invisibility (16 minutes, 1 rounds remaining)