The Witches Attack!

Raiding parties from Charybdis were of course nothing new to Desdemona, it was just that she was used to them trying to get through the Catacombs as quickly and quietly as possible. They rightly feared those that dwelled here, and anyway their real goal was the Harsh Realm. If it weren't for the fact that the Catacombs lay directly below the Harsh Realm, nobody would visit it at all. But as it was, in order for denizens of the lower levels to reach the higher, they had to pass through those that intervened. Not that Desdemona was unhappy about this, in fact it gave the Coven a decided advantage. It was so much easier to defeat your enemy when they came to you instead of you having to go and hunt down them.

The centaurs had still not seen the witches and Desdemona intended to take full advantage of the situation. She whispered her orders to her sisters and gave commands to her zombie slaves and then she lifted her hands high. Crackling energy erupted from her palms and shot out at the stalagmite. At the same time Toby and his zombie compeers shambled forward toward the main body of centaurs.

Half of the centaurs were buried under the falling blocks of the stalagmite before they even realized they were under attack. The sentries, shocked out of their lax vigilance, turned and rushed at the advancing zombies. They buried the bronze heads of their spears deep into the walking corpses. But the zombies could have cared less. In fact, they ignored all the lancers but one. Surrounding this hapless centaur, they concentrated their attack and used their untiring strength to pull him off his four legs and pummel him into the ground. Meanwhile, Farrah flew into the air and with a whispered word and a sprinkling of crushed spider she enveloped within a sticky net of webbing a group of centaur archers readying their bows. Gladys then threw her small leather packet at the equine half-men still left standing. And although witches are not known for their physical prowess, the packet sailed through the air straight and true for it was guided by more than just her throw or her aim. It exploded in their midst in a cloud of dark red smoke. They instantly fell to the ground, unable to breath, choking on their own tongues.

In less than a minute almost the entire force of centaurs had been defeated by the witch magic of the Coven sisters and only a few lone horse-men still stood. But they were unwilling to simply surrender and chose to fight to the death. The witches were unimpressed.

Of the lancers, three were dead but it had cost the witches one of their zombies. The remaining lancers realized that their only chance of surviving hung upon killing the witches. They abandoned their attack against the zombies and immediately made a charge at Desdemona and Gladys. Farrah, still floating in the air above their heads, was spent from her spellcasting but labored to bring another magical attack to bear. For her part, Gladys simply stepped back, behind Desdemona. Her faith and her life now lay in the elder witch's powers. She was not disappointed.

Desdemona raised her hands once again and shouted out an incantation. The stone floor before her rose up and pealed back like a wave. The cavern shook and the earth groaned in protest, but her command was obeyed. The onrushing centaurs reared up before the stone wall that suddenly towered over them. The witches were now beyond their reach. And so was the way out. They were trapped. And the zombies behind their backs were steadily advancing on them.

On the other side of the wall, Desdemona and her two sisters cackled with glee at the sounds of death coming from the centaurs. When only silence filled the cavernous room, Desdemona commanded the stone wall to return to its proper place and calmly surveyed the scene of destruction. Only Toby was left standing. His armor was dented and cracked, a spear shaft jutted from his leg and his left hand was missing two fingers. But he had faired much better than the other two zombies who lay partly dismembered amongst the bodies of the dead horse-men.

The witches then went about collecting the ergot mushroom and when they had gathered enough Desdemona addressed those centaurs who still lived but were trapped within the bonds of the magical spider web. "We shall return for you, fear not," she smiled at them. And then she turned and walked back to the stairs which led up to Gundra's Cliffs.

1. But in the shadows up above, something was waiting for the witches

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