The group, mounted upon their war crodlu made good time as they caught the slower moving caravan train of Ulruun and his guards. As they approached a bend in the track as it rounded a large, rocky outcrop, Gretchan's eagle eye spotted 3 archers lurking across the dunes, their weapons drawn. Ulruun's caravan headed around the corner as Beren approached the rock formations and was able to identify the creatures as gnolls.
The Mul decided direct action was required and charged off across the sand towards the gnolls and found himself at the bottom of a 30ft deep pit with his crodlu scrambling to get out. The others came to his aid, Kuroar! in particularly getting right in among the gnolls. As they did so a group of men, dressed as caravan guards appeared from behind the large rocky outcropping and began to assail Gretchan and Kulo, the latter found this terribly annoying and spurred his crodlu amid the guards and laid into them with his chain, bringing them down.
Throughout the pitched battle a desperate cry had entered the minds of all who neared the large outcropping, though it was largely ignored. It stopped suddenly and from the sandy ground emerged a grotesque montrous creature, identified as a Gaj Mindhunter, whose feathery modus operandi caused much consternation among the companions. It clamped its jaws around Garidias, but the eladrin escaped via fey means of transport, which gave it little option but to use its mind prode against the mostly granite brain of Beren. However, the companions rallied despite the threat of being swamped by a rogue sand dune and the final beast was felled. There was barely time to gather themselves and their crodlu to round the rocky outcropping and face Ulruun, whose caravan had pulled off the track some way further down the hill.
As they rounded the rock, they could see Ulruun's guards and slaves arrayed before them with the dwarf himself at the centre near the caravans, flanked by two huge guards, a Mul and a Goliath. Kulo's rage could be held back no more as he charged in among the guards, drawing Ulruun to him. The slaves had strange blue glow to their eyes and attacked using their minds and after a while the group realised a mental link existed between the slaves and the guards.
Kuroar came barrelling in after his father with the eladrin Garidias close behind guiding their actions and exhorting the two to heights of skill while directing their war crodlu. Beren took on some guards and slaves alone as Gretchan provided long range support from the back.
The concentrated force of both goliaths and Garidias made relatively quick work of Ulruun, but his cronies fought on. The Mul and Goliath guards absorbing tremendous punishment while dishing out tremendous blows of their own. It was as the battle was coming to a close that a familiar figure emerged from the caravans. It was Mavar, the templar from Tyr who had released the group from their bonds of slavery!
He launched into a few attacks on the group, mainly hindering them as they attempted to close, before he took to the air in an attempt to escape them, but the crodlu proved swift and soon caught up to the templar fleeing across the sands. Surrounded and knowing he was outmatched, Mavar screamed in frustration, "You fools! You don't know what you are getting involved in. Let me go and your life will be far better than it will if you capture or kill me. That is a promise!". He stands defiantly as the battle-weary group move in on their crodlu mounts, his eyes moving from one to the next wondering which will respond.
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