The Harvest Moon Consortium

[Winterhawk99]

I'm going to post the prologue for people to enjoy and so they may anticipate the last book of the series.

I hope you all enjoy it. It may change somewhat in editing or during the writing of the book. we'll see.

And here it is:


Kioshi shouts over the explosions as Shaia, Fawn and Randyl cast. “When is it our turn!”. There is a small army of dead bodies in front of them that were caught within two Acid Clouds and a Mind fog spell. About ten of the enemy get through. They consist of several species including duergar, humans, troglodytes and other underdark species.

Fawn shouts back, “Go! Go! if you see a squid get back in my antipathy field!” Kioshi, Seryne, Miwa and Nangus all run forward. Nangus grabs his overcoat and disappears in plain sight. Kioshi goes after three of them. Seryne goes to the middle and Miwa to the left. The creatures, all being hurt by the acid clouds, are easily dispatched, none of them have to use their soul magic. The last takes an axe in the back of the head as Nangus reappears behind him.

As the acid clouds dissipate, they see a dozen more of the enemy wandering around aimlessly. The four continue on and take care of them. The immediate field is cleared and they come back. Randyl looks over to Shaia. How many thralls and how many mindflayers did you say?”

Shaia looks around. “The colony is supposed to be small. I divined the numbers to be around 300 Illithids and 900 thralls give or take.”

Everyone looks at Fawn. She looks at the field and says, “108 of the enemy. They know we are coming now. The brain will be trying to develop a strategy based on what the squids say with the thralls they are dominating.”

Kioshi asks, “What’s our counter to theirs?”

“We cannot say until the next wave we find. They know we have mages. But don’t know we are shielded with both mind blanks and Fawns antipathy field. They also know we are using at least 6th circle magic but do not know there are there Archmages in the group unless an individual would know of us.” Shaia explains.

Randyl thinks a moment and says, “If Mayumi is a thrall, then they will find out shortly what they are up against we need to move fast. We need to get to the enclave and destroy every mindflayer we can to complete the mission.”

Shaia looks to each one of the companions, “You should also know I divined this enclave runs a fighting pit it’s the main income of the enclave. These thralls are most likely the weakest. The closer we get the harder it will be to fight them off.”

“Even though we have mind blank on make sure you stay within my field. A mind blast from a squid can make you completely defenseless stay out of their range just in case the spell gives out.” Fawn flatly states.

Shaia takes out a bundle of scrolls and casts Protection from Spells on all of them just in case magic starts to fly on both sides. When that is finished, they start off to the outskirts of the illithid enclave. They find themselves coming upon a hastily constructed barrier with 2 dozen thralls and 5 Mindflayers. Randyl casts Meteor Storm, Shaia casts greater missile storm. Fawn waits. All but two of the thralls go down burnt to cinder. One of the Mindflayers goes down and two more seem hurt badly. Fawn goes into action. She casts gate and calls a Valkyrie to her aid. Seryne, Miwa and Kioshi overtake her. As Fawn’s antipathy field hits the Illithids two turn and run. The other two still alive resist the urge. The samurai are on them before Fawn can cast another spell. They are dispatched with ease before they can even raise a tentacle. The thralls try to run away too but Nangus throws a knife into one’s eye and guts the other with his sonic short sword.

Kioshi searches the bodies. Randyl asks, “Is she one of them?”

The kamara shakes his head. “No, Randyl she is not among the dead.”

Shaia looks at the enclave up ahead. “We have to make it to the buildings so we can control the battles. Let’s go quickly.”

The group starts to march but do not get to the first buildings. It looks like 100 thralls and 20 Mindflayers have had time to gather to make a small army. Randyl has just enough time to cast shapechange and transforms into a silver dragon. He, along with the family, and the Valkyrie rush into the army. Fawn throws Cloud kill in the center of the formation. Shaia casts an Ice Strom at the right flank. The fighters move out to meet whatever is still standing. Randyl uses his cold breath weapon annihilating much of the left flank then rushes in with fang and tooth to clean up anything left standing.

Seryne’s blade flashes here and there inside the red mist. Kioshi is going after a mindflayer. It throws a mind blast at him, knocking him senseless but as the illithid starts to bring its tentacles to bear to eat his brain a vibrating blade goes through its mid-section. Its body slides off of Nangus’s sword. The dwarf nods and disappears as Miwa defends her husband.

Another attacks Miwa but its head suddenly flies from its body. As the body falls, she finds Fawn’s Valkyrie behind it. Miwa bows and looks to guard Kioshi again as he wanders aimlessly around in circles.

Another mindflayer attacks Fawn but she touches it making the thing disappear as she casts Imprisonment upon it.

Once Kioshi comes to his senses they get to a building and go in: now the group has an advantage. “I can’t believe that thing affected me!?” Kioshi exclaims.

Fawn smirks, “Mind Blank doesn’t always protect you from the stun effect of their mind blasts, Kioshi.”

He grimaces, “Noted.”

They begin to move through the first building encountering sporadic numbers of thralls. The Valkyrie gets hit by a shield wall and dissipates. Shaia throws a Minor Missile Storm disrupting them and the fighters go to work. Nanus suddenly appears again in front of two and quickly takes them out. Kioshi takes out three. Miwa dispatches two. Randyl takes out three but gets a nasty hammer to his ribs breaking several. He slides down onto his butt. Fawn goes into her pack and hands him a Cure Critical Wounds potion. He drinks it and takes a moment to recover.

After 3 minutes Kioshi asks, “Ready?”

Randyl nods and they continue on. They clear that building downing near 30 thralls and 10 flayers. They move to the next, then the next. In the 5th building Nangus appears again. “There be’in two dozen of those squids in the next room. This is go’in to be a tough one.”

Randyl looks at Fawn and back to him. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it Nangus. You just open the door.”

They come to the door. Randyl and Fawn get in front of it and Nangus goes to the side. Fawn counts down, 3,2,1!” Nangus opens it. Randyl throws a Fireball to the back of the room. Fawn throws a Vitriolic Sphere to the middle. Nangus immediately closes the door back up. The group backs up. Nangus again disappears in plain sight.

Six Illithids barge through the door as they do, they are met by Fawn just standing there. The first tries to Mind Blast her to no effect. She stares at it and moves her hands slightly. The battle begins. As that is happening Nangus suddenly appears behind the enemy and puts an axe into the back of the last one. An arrow flies out from behind Fawn and hits another through the eye.

Just as it falls the head of the first suddenly explodes upon everyone at the scene. Pieces of brain and milky white blood gets splattered on everyone. The three last mindflayers alive panic, but it’s too late. Randyl and Kioshi rush them. Randyl puts his rapier through the throat of one. Kioshi takes the leg out on another.

Another arrow flies past Fawn and hits the last squid dead center in the chest. It dies before it even knows it’s dead. The company moves on through building after building. Both Mindflayers and their thralls start to abandon the area now that over a 1/3 of the colony lay dead or dying.

They get to the arena and go into the stalls below. Nangus suddenly stops and holds up his fist. “There be traps ‘ere!”

Nangus retrieves several tools from his bags. He gets to work on a number of traps going around the main corridor. The others check the various cages for Mayumi. Nangus motions them forward as he words then holds them back as he finds another. As they go around the perimeter, they see something in the distance it’s a Mindflayer with a small child and a woman in chains. The woman’s arms and legs look as if someone attached golem parts to her. They are all made of metal.

The Mindflayer screams directly into their heads. “Stop!”

Nangus holds his hand back to stop them. Then points to Kioshi and Shaia to come up with him. They walk up. Fawn follows just behind Shaia.

The illithid speaks in their heads again, “This is what you want, isn’t it. The woman and child. Look at their beauty. They are my best work. I have made them magnificent in their purpose. Let me go and I will give them to you.”

Kioshi takes a good look at the child. Something is wrong with it. As he studies, he sees that two more arms unfold below the first pair. There are spines dripping with some form of fluid on his elbows, shoulders, knees and forearms. He looks at Shaia. She says, “Mindflayers are known to experiment on their thralls. They mutate some turning them into abominations.”

Kioshi says, “I’ve heard enough. Randyl, Shaia, Miwa!”

Shaia casts Phantasmal killer. Randyl casts Burning Blood, and Fawn casts finger of death. Randyl and Shaia’s spells don’t seem to effect the mindflayer, but Fawn’s does. Legions form along its head and hands. It drops to its knees. Miwa puts an arrow in its forehead. The Child makes a chilling growl and attacks the group. Kioshi has it at hand though His katana nearly cleaves the abomination from the top of its skull to its neck. It drops before it can get to anyone else. The group walks up upon Mayumi chained to the wall. Her head is down.

They walk up to her. Kioshi softly says, “Mayumi? Are you there?”

Her lips move though nothing comes out at first. She slowly lifts her head sighing and speaking softly, “Kioshi it has been…” Her brows go up trying to think. “It has been so many years. I do not even know how many. I fought… fought for my master. Year after year. I am more golem now than elder fey’ri. Even my mind is clouded. She abandoned me, Kioshi. The lady abandoned me.”

“That thing that attacked us. The child?”

“Our son. It was our son… What of the people Kioshi. How do the nations fare?”

“Bel defeated the nations, Mayumi. A third that were left they when to Glasya’s paradise. 2/3rds went to the prime. We are fewer than a hundred thousand now.”

Mayumi tries to rise but falls back down on her knees. So, unused to a free mind she no longer knows even how to stand without her master commanding it. She puts her head down. “Our people are doomed then.”

Kioshi calmly says, “With every end comes a new beginning. I am sorry for your fate Mayumi… Wife…. But you have betrayed me and your family. I will make it quick.”

Mayumi sighs again, “I would do it again all the same, Kioshi. You are an abomination to our people even more so than our son. At least our son was still pure at heart before you ended him.”

Kioshi nods, “So, be it.” He makes the cut. Her head falls to the ground. He turns and starts to leave.

Seryne concerned asks, “Are you alright, Sire?”

Kioshi shakes his head, “No, madam. I am not.

Shaia looks around and suddenly asks, “Where is Fawn?”

Randyl says, “Oh shit! She’s going after the Brain!”

The group runs back through the corridor only to find Fawn walking back in the colosseum pens. She looks up as the group all runs too her. “It is gone. The Elder Brain must have planes shifted out seeking safety.”

Randyl shouts out, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU! No one can take on an elder brain alone! We are going to have a long talk when we get home!”

Shaia chuckles, “If there is anyone on Toril that could, it would be your wife, Randyl”

Randyl turns red faced and angry at the archmage, “Don’t encourage her, Shaia! Can you teleport us out of here?”

Shaia nods and says, “Gather around me, everyone.”

They leave only dead bodies and dust in the underdark complex. Nothing stirs in the enclave as all have abandoned it. Even its ruler, The elder brain.