Foxpaw swung his hoopak around him in a wide arc, hoping to connect
with his foe and learn where he was. The darkness of the room closed
over them as clouds rolled across the moons, damping their light.
Foxpaw called an insult to the creature, who hissed, and the kender
had marked the location and range of his attacker. The assassin lunged
but the speedy kender had jumped onto the edge of the windowsill and
back over his foe, knocking him in the head with the steel tip of his
hoopak. The attacking slig fell to the floor heavily and chips of wood
flew as it dug its claws in, scrambling to regain his feet. Enraged,
the assassin looked around for the kender, who threw a brass candle
holder down at him from the rafters above, laughing.

*********************************************************************

"It will not open," Malakhi reported, one hand on the doorknob and a
foot upon the door. "Perhaps the innkeeper..?" he suggested, wondering
if the man had a key.

"No need to involve him," Xan interjected. "Besides, there's something
not quite right about him." Stepping between Malakhi and the door, Xan
closed his eyes and concentrated. He held forth his index finger
towards the door handle, and when his eyes opened, the skin along his
forearm danced with tiny points of light, and his tattoos flowed down
his hand and over his finger, creating the shape of a key off the end
of his finger. Xan inserted it into the lock and turned, and the door
unlocked. The tattoos retreated back up his hand and returned to his
arm, and the man stood aside as Kalesh pushed his way past, glowing
sword drawn and at the ready.

*********************************************************************

Foxpaw was searching for more items in his pouch to throw down at his
attacker when Kalesh suddenly appeared in the room. Turning towards
the door, the kender could see all of his companions either standing
just outside the door or coming inside to help.

"Who are you..?" Kalesh demanded, speaking in common, steadily
approaching the other slig.

"Mattersss not," the creature replied in broken common, squaring off
against Kalesh. "Who isss you, Kalesh, more im... important," he added
with difficulty, forcing his tongue around the awkward syllables of
the language. "Trasskan dol sseneth," he continued in the slig's
language, and this made Kalesh bristle. Bending their backs as they
tensed, the creatures flung themselves at each other as Foxpaw dropped
a rather favored marble onto Kalesh's head.

"Oops," he giggled, then swung his hoopak down to rap upon the head of
the attacker again. This time the slig reached upwards and grabbed the
end of the hoopak while kicking outwards at Kalesh and pulled down,
bringing the kender down with it. With an uncerimonious flick of his
wrist, the slig sent both the hoopak and the kender soaring out the
window of the inn to land in the muck some ten feet below. Alyssa
gasped and ran downstairs to check on her friend and make sure he
hadn;t lost anything valuable like his feather collection, his
linty 'dust dragon', or his life.

Vorian appeared by Kalesh's side, his blade leveled and shining in the
moonlight. Malakhi leaped forward on his other side, blade over his
shoulder and at the ready as well. Behind him, Kalesh could sense the
presence of Quai Chan Xan.

Is this what it's like to have companions..? the slig queried
momentarily, but let the thought slip as the assassin closed ranks.

With a roar, Kalesh leaped forward, bringing his blade with him. The
attacking slig dropped to the floor and slithered forward, then
launched himself upwards just as Kalesh passed above him, sending the
slig crashing off to the side, slamming his head on the corner post of
the bed. A low growl assured the others that he was alright, if
momentarily dazed, and they joined the battle as well.

"Spare nothing," Kalesh called out raspily, struggling to rise, fresh
green blood pouring down the side of his neck. "He must be killed!"

<By all means, have fun!>
Raist