A scuffle at the market

Murtul 16th, Neverwinter

I took a little break from my research today.  Aaron insisted that I get some fresh air, and dragged me away from the tomes I was studying in the library at the Halls of Justice. Aaron and I went to the market and met up there with Thane, Vollum, and Erdan for a leisurely stroll through the market stalls and shops.  I didn't need anything, but as I had to leave my studies for a time, I was taking the opportunity to see if there was any townsfolk down on their luck who I could assist in some small way, with a little charity from Tempus.

In the meantime, Thane and Vollum had spotted a very animated merchant gesticulating wildly with his arms around a broken cart in the square. There was a little crowd gathering around him, but no one seemed to be helping, so Thane and Vollum both offered their assistance.  The merchant introduced himself as Clorde, and proceeded to explain his difficulty with a cracked wheel, offering to make it worth their while if they would help fix the broken cart.  Thane was an ex-soldier, and clearly had some experience of this, and readily agreed to help, but made it clear there was no need to pay.  Vollum's face soured a little when he heard Thane utter those words, but he didn't step back.  As they began examining the cart, they beckoned Aaron to join them.  He also had a military past, and they set to work seeing what they could do.  I have no skill with these sort of things so continued looking for people who I could assist.  It was very strange. There appeared to be no beggars, not even of the thieving kind, or other townsfolk down on their luck in the market square.  It was as if the whole market had been cleansed of the less desirable elements.  I pondered this conundrum for long enough that Aaron, Vollum, and Thane had managed to change the wheel on the cart for the merchant.  The merchant was extremely grateful, and despite Thane's protestations, handed him 10 gold for the assistance.

Once his cart had been fixed and the merchant had calmed, he became an amiable fellow. There were rumours he said of things creeping about down in the sewers below.  He told us to watch out and be careful, although I'm not sure why he might think we would go venturing in the sewers, other than Vollum perhaps.  It's not as if there are beautiful dwarven wrought masonry below the city to pique my interest.  
With nothing better to do, I went to a nearby sewer grate and peer through the gaps between the rusty bars.  As I bend over to get a better look, my senses were assailed by a disgusting stench of rotting flesh, much worse than was usual for this part of Neverwinter.  I felt uneasy as I stared into the dark, overcome by sickness and dizziness.  Although it lasted but a moment, the uneasiness I felt remained even once the nausea had passed. It was dark in the broad pipe that led down into the sewer, but after a few moments adjusting to the dark, my dark vision picked out something moving slowly up the sewer pipe to the grate.  

I took a step back, and reached for my Greataxe, as I yelled a warning for all close by to hear, that there was something rising up the sewer.  The sewer grates were weak and rusted from age.  There was no time to do anything else, as the sewer grate burst up into the air, followed by some humans with a maniacal glint in their eyes; their bodies were grotesque, all twisted and contorted, and I will never forget their tormented eyes, limned in blue flames.   From the corner of my eye, reptilian creatures began to crawl from the outlet pipe by the river.
Screaming and shouting erupted all around me.  Panicked townsfolk began running in all directions.  From the sounds behind me, it was apparent that this was not the only group of plagued maniacs that had emerged from the sewers.
I was confronted by four of these plagued humans as they emerged from the sewer pipe I had been looking down.  As soon as they had cleared the grate, and before I had had chance to react further, one slashed violently towards me.  I managed at the last possible moment to bring my Greataxe around and deflect the sword with it's head. Whilst defending from this attack, a second maniac managed a glancing blow to my chainmail.  The third ran at Aaron whose longsword had just cleared it's scabbard, too late to avoid the stab to his ribs. The final maniac attacked a defenceless townsman who had found himself too close.  He crumpled to the ground as the maniac withdrew the sword from his side.

I reached for my amulet of Tempus that dangled from my neck, held it up before my eyes, and beseeched Tempus for aid.  Wave after wave of deafening thunder rolled over the two maniacs close by. Both were thrown violently backwards by the thunderous shockwaves; bits of bone, diseased flesh, and who knows what, flying all around. Each landed in a tangled heap on the ground, but their swords were still gripped tightly in their decaying hands.

The din of battle was now all around the market square.  Behind me, I heard the thud of fists, and grunts as daggers were at work. I assumed Erdan and Vollum had my back, and concentrated on what was before me. As I looked up, Thane fell to the ground, surrounded by two of the reptiles and a maniac.

The maniacs I had knocked to the ground got back on their feet, and moved forward together to reengage me.  Although I had plenty of time, their first attack managed to evade my defences and struck me a blow to the side of the head.  Angered, I implored Tempus to punish my attacker, and once more thunder reverberated around the square.  The maniac dropped to the ground, just as I parried the ponderous attacks from the other.  My parry had forced the maniac to swing wide and, whilst he was still trying to recover his balance, I removed part of his head with an uppercut from my Greataxe.  I stepped calmly over their bodies, and moved to join Aaron, Thane, who was now back on his feet, and the merchant Clorde. To my surprise, the merchant had a dagger in his hand.  Another maniac fell to the ground, as Clorde stabbed, twisted, and removed his dagger from it's rib-cage.

There was a sound of galloping hooves striking hard stones drawing very close.  An elegant knight came to a stop by my side, purple cloak billowing behind as they leapt from their warhorse, wearing full platemail, and a mithril crown atop of their head.  He shouts, "For Neverwinter!", and engages the nearest Drake with an overhead swing of his shining Greatsword, making a solid blow across it's reptilian neck.

Merchants and shoppers continued to panic and scream and run from the battle.  Two more maniacs climbed out of the grate, and from the sound, more behind us, where Vollum and Erdan were fighting.  A Drake bit Aaron around his wrist, jaws clamped and head shaking violently from side to side, to cause maximum damage.  Aaron winced, clearly in pain, and was unable to avoid the whip of the Drakes tail which glanced off his chainmail.  Another Guard Drake bit at the newcomer, but was ineffectual, breaking some teeth against the platemail. A third Drake bit at me, and managed to find a gap in my chainmail, drawing forth a little blood.  Having seen how these creatures fight, I knew a tail swipe would follow quickly, and I blocked it easily with my Greataxe.

Aaron knocked one of the Drakes to the ground with his shield, followed it to the ground with his flashing longsword, and made a solid contact to the Drakes underside, but not enough to finish it.  Thane attacked the one before him with his Greatsword, and gore poured from the deep wound made by the passage of his blade.  The Drake had a strange expression on it's face, as though it wanted to flee, but was unable to do so.  My wounds at this point were quite severe, and I gripped my amulet and prayed to Tempus to close my wounds. 

The newcomer raised his sword in the air mid-battle, and yelled, "For Neverwinter!" once more, before smiting down the Drake before him.  Dark blue light twinkled along the blade of his Greatsword.  He stepped over the dead Drake, and swung his sword once more at another Drake.  Icicles formed where the Greatsword struck the Drake and began to melt.  Clorde is still in the midst of the battle, now with a short sword in hand, but his efforts seemed to have little impact. 

I felt movement of the air, and swayed to my side, as a sword narrowly missed shaving half my beard off.  A whispered a short prayer to Tempus in thanks for disturbing the air in warning.

Both of the Drakes that remained alive concentrated their attacks on the mysterious knight.  Their snapping jaws seemed ineffectual on the plates of his armour, just as the blows from their tail whips seemed to have no effect.  Aaron attacked a Drake with renewed vigour, and gave it a little nick; Thane swung his Greatsword, and made a much larger impact.  I reached out to the closest Drake, and channelled energy from Tempus through my fingers into it's body.  It shuddered and shook, clearly hurt by my Gods power.  The mysterious knight's sword flashed past a Drake, seemingly missed, but the Drake still took a step back as if it was hurt.  The knight's next strike didn't miss, and he drew a long cut down the Drakes' side.  Once again I felt as though it wanted to flee but was unable to do so.  Are they compelled to fight, as their actions no longer appeared natural? The maniac behind tried once more to stab me from behind, but I somehow dodged without looking, and a blow glanced harmlessly off my chain mail.  There were not many frenzied creatures left and between my companions, the merchant, and the mysterious knight we easily dispatched the remaining attackers.

The unknown knight and I tended to the wounded once the fight in the market square finished, although distant sounds of battle could still be heard from other parts of the city.  Someone in the square cried out, “It’s him, it’s the Lost Heir! The King has returned!”.  

The unknown knight did not acknowledge the shout. The crowd continued to build in the market square, more and more voices joined in with the chant, and soon the whole crowd in the square could be heard chanting, "The Lost Heir! The lost Heir! The lost Heir...". Finally, once all the wounded had been tended to, the unknown knight raised his crowned head, drew his sword, and raised it above his head, and the chanting began anew, "The Lost Heir! The lost Heir! The lost Heir...".