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Text File | 1993-06-22 | 30.3 KB | 579 lines

Here is part 7. This is a long one; if it violates any rules or limits on postings, somebody please let me know. Enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PARTY: Alindyar, 2nd level drow elf mage (N) Belphanior, 1st/1st level high elf fighter/mage (CN) Ged, 2nd/1st level grey elf priest/mage (NG) Halbarad, 2nd level human ranger (NG) Mongo Thunderhead, 2nd level dwarf fighter (CG) Peldor, 3rd level human thief (N) Peyote, 1st/1st level half-elf fighter/druid (N) Rob, 2nd level human priest (LG) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. Perspectives The party has been buried alive by the traitorous Belgar. They light a lantern again and survey their prison: %%%%% __ %%%%%%%| | KEY: - _ | = wall %%%%% | | \ = door | |__| | %%%%% = rubble | __\ | | | |__| __| | %__ | N | | W+E | | S % % %%%%% %%% DM: Dust pervades the air around you, making it difficult to breathe. Alindyar: I do believe we have been betrayed. Mongo: I'll kill that motherfucker! I'll rip out his heart and feed it to a dog! Belphanior: That's not good enough. First skin him alive, then pour salt all over him... Peyote: Well, look at it this way. He wasn't doing much anyway, and now we don't have to give him a share of the treasure. Ged: Yep, that's one way to think about it. Peldor: Hah! That was classic! I couldn't have done a better job myself! Rest of Party: (glaring at Peldor) Peldor: Err...I wouldn't have done it to _you_ guys, of course. Belphanior: So, I wonder how long we will last here before we run out of air? Rob: (gasping) Mongo: I have no intention of staying down here for much longer. I examine the cave-in, using my mining proficiency to try and gauge its depth. DM: The fallen rubble is comprised of mostly large rocks...it's at least ten feet thick, if not more. Alindyar: What of the other side, to the south? As I recall, there was some space at the top of the collapsed section...maybe we could dig through it. Mongo: (checking it out) Yup. This is definitely less congested. We could get through this in a few hours. 'Course, that would put us deeper in the mine... Belphanior: So? Who cares about that? Let's start digging! Mongo: (fortunately, Mongo carries a great assortment of things in his backpack, among them a folding shovel and a pickaxe) Well, I've got a few tools here. I guess you all can just dig with your hands. Mongo and others dig for a while. After a few hours and much sweat, they have cleared a three-foot gap below the ceiling. Mongo peers into the darkness beyond, seeing nothing. He then lights a torch, as does Halbarad, and they climb through the hole first to check it out. Beyond the wall of rubble, the two warriors see the first thirty feet or so of a huge hall. Their lantern casts dark shadows upon old and dusty pillars, and at the edge of the light, a broad stairway is faintly visible, descending into the darkness. *** NOTE: EXPERIMENTAL NEW FORMAT FOR THESE STORIES STARTS HERE *** Mongo slid down the rocks, landing with a clunk on the floor of the newly discovered chamber. Right behind him came Halbarad, brandishing his lantern. Mongo thought it unfortunate that humans lacked the often useful ability of infravision, having to resort to artificial sources of light to see underground. Besides, the bright light ruined Mongo's own chances of seeing anything in the dark. Grumbling, the armored dwarf wandered around the chamber, examining the stonework. It was most definitely dwarven in make, and Mongo felt his heart stir with pride as he viewed the work of his race. Halbarad was cautiously approaching the stairs, axe drawn and ready. The stout ranger was never one to take chances, and he held his bright lantern high and peered into the huge chamber at the foot of the wide stairway. He heard faint scraping noises from the darkness; it almost sounded like something was slithering down there. The noises became louder, and Halbarad sensed that whatever was at the foot of the stairs was on its way up. "Mongo!", the ranger shouted, "We've got trouble!". Suddenly, a large, tubular form crashed out of the darkness, slamming into Halbarad. The lantern sailed off, shattering against the stony floor, but not before its light was extinguished. Halbarad managed to maintain his grip on his axe, even though he was knocked over by the impact. He got in a couple of swings with the weapon before his assailant backed away, and knew that one of them had struck a wounding blow. Mongo had turned when he heard his companion's warning, and it took him a few seconds to adjust to the darkness after the lantern went out. When he could see again, in the infrared spectrum, he witnessed a long, snakelike monster with many legs stalking Halbarad. The ranger could obviously see nothing, and was swinging wildly in front of him with his hand axe. The dwarf unslung his battle axe - a REAL axe - and charged the thing. Back at the mound of rocks, chaos reigned. Those who could see with infravision were trying to figure out what was going on in the room beyond, while the humans were stumbling about blindly. Belphanior was over the wall in a heartbeat, landing, rolling, and running for the monster with sword drawn. Peyote, not as swift, made his way over the wall. Alindyar and Ged had to wait for now, since only one person could get through the laboriously cleared opening at a time. The dark elf watched as Rob, the human priest, ran directly into a nearby wall. Peldor, robbed of his usual speed and cunning by the darkness, crouched in a corner, waiting for visibility to reoccur. Halbarad slashed at the beast again, opening another bloody gash in its side. Then the thing lunged at him, and a number of wet tentacles from its mouth slapped against his arms and torso. Every place they touched went immediately numb - poison of some sort, the ranger realized. His vision blurred, and though he tried to fight off the impending paralysis, it was no use. He collapsed on the floor, the axe slipping out of his suddenly weak grasp. Mongo closed the distance between himself and the tentacled thing with all the speed his stubby legs could muster. If the monster thought that Halbarad was its only opponent, it had not tasted the gleaming axe of Mongo Thunderhead! The dwarven warrior's first blow sliced a huge wound in the thing's bulbous hide, and slimy blood sprayed everywhere. The foul stuff did nothing to dampen Mongo's fury, and his axe again bit into the monster. He shrieked with rage, it shrieked with pain, and then Belphanior leaped upon the thing, hacking relentlessly at its head. His blood-crazed eyes shone with glee as he pressed his attack, heedless of any and all consequences. The monster managed to lash at Mongo with some of its tentacles, but they didn't affect him through the quarter- inch of steel plate that was his armor. Mongo's reply was more effective. He buried his axe in the monster's lumpy head, and shortly thereafter, it stopped thrashing about. Belphanior sat wearily atop the thing, awash in gore. The stench of blood and guts was everywhere. Someone lit a torch then, and as his eyes adjusted, Mongo looked around the room. Peyote and the two elven spell-casters were now in the chamber as well. Peldor climbed over the rocky wall to the north of the room, and surveyed the situation, deeming that his talents were not needed anymore. Soon after, Rob slid from the same wall to the ground, landing with a thump and looking somewhat confused. Ged immediately began checking the stricken ranger. The grey elf, skilled in the healing arts as well as those of wizardry, could see that Halbarad was suffering from a temporary paralysis, nothing more. He put some salves on the places where the monster's tentacles had made contact, and moved the ranger into an upright position, propping him up against a wall. "What in the nine hells was that thing?", Mongo was wondering aloud. "All of ten feet long and as mean as a wild boar!" Ged turned to look at the dead monster, adding, "And with tentacles akin to an octopus on its mouth, too." Mongo was wondering what an octopus was when Alindyar spoke up. "That was a Pguthoid, as we call them in the Underdark - a carrion crawler. Against less opponents", the drow glanced around the room, "or weaker ones, such a beast is highly feared. I see that this group had nothing to worry about, though." Belphanior replied to that, "Let's hope there's no more of them slinking around this cursed place. I have had enough slime for one day." The tall elf was trying to wipe the green blood off of his armor, a futile effort. Peldor chimed in then. "A hundred of them would not be enough to stop a group that named the mighty Peldor among its members! Let them come, we are ready!" Halbarad was slowly regaining the use of his limbs, so Mongo and Belphanior fueled and lit another lantern and explored the large room they were in. There were two exits to the far south; one went southeast, the other southwest. MASTER MAP OF DUNGEON (party has only seen northern room): % % %% %% KEY: _ | / \ = wall % % ! = door | | %%%%% = rubble / \ o = pillars | | | | broad stairs --> |- - -| N __| - - |__ W+E / o - o \ S | | | | | .`,| <-- carrion crawler lair | `~.| | | | | ______ | o__o___o__o | ______ | | / / \ \ | | | |__/ / ______ \ \__| | | _ | | | | _ | <-- piercer room | | | |__| | | | | | | | | !__! | | | |____ | | ____| | | | | | | ___ | | | | __ | | |______| | |_| || | | | | | | | | _ || | <<-- old forge rat | |_| | | | | | |___|| | lair--> | _ | | | __________ | | | | | | |__| | | / \ | | | | | |______| |/ \| |______| | |_________ _________| / \ / __ \ <-- throne room/wererat lair _________ / __________.--.__________ \ __ | | | | | | | | | | |% | |__| | | %%% | __! | <-- troll lair %%%%%%% <-- cave-in | | | | %%%%%%% | | | | |______| %%%% %%%%%% <-- cave-in %%%% The carrion crawler had a messy pile of things, all sorts of things, to one side, so naturally Peldor went to have a look. Mongo trundled along after him to keep him out of trouble. Meanwhile, Belphanior was searching the rest of the room for anything even remotely interesting, a wasted effort. The chamber, while roomy with a 20' ceiling, had virtually nothing of interest, except maybe to a dwarf obsessed with architecture. Mongo kicked at a moldy sack, and was rewarded with the clinking of coins. Golden disks cascaded around his boot, and the crusty dwarf's eyes lit up. Now THIS was treasure to be appreciated! Hundreds of pieces of gold! Peldor grabbed greedily at the coins, but checked himself when he realized that some of the others were keeping an eye on him. Especially that damned elf, Ged. Someday he would have to get rid of that one. Peldor sighed, and resigned himself, pocketing only the occasional coin as he scooped the pile into a stronger sack for the party. Mongo suddenly yelled with glee, and held aloft a shining golden ring that had been buried amidst the coins. Damn, thought Peldor to himself, I would have found that any second now! He started sifting the coins more carefully in the hopes of finding another such bauble. Alas, there were no more hidden treasures to be found, and within the space of ten minutes the party was ready to move again. They had a brief discussion and opted to try the southeastern passage first. As the tunnel was barely five feet wide, Mongo led the way, his sharp magical axe theoretically the best deterrent to any attackers. The group moved only a short distance before finding a barrier, made of spears set into the ground, aiming toward them. Peldor nimbly leaped over the spears, then set about moving them. It was no easy feat, for the weapons were deep in the ground and their tips were quite sharp. "'Twould seem that someone or something wants to keep the carrion crawler out of this area", theorized Alindyar aloud. Soon enough, though, the spears were cleared away, and the group next found an entrance to a good-sized room ahead and to the left. Mongo took a quick peek in, but saw nothing, so he led them into this new room. Old tapestries were hung across the walls, and not a one of them was in decent shape. Oh well, though Peldor, tapestries were too bulky to lug around anyway. Without any warning, there was a _whoosh_ of air from above, and something had fallen on top of Rob. Belphanior looked up (none of the party had thought to since entering this chamber, stupid STUPID) and his blood froze in his veins. The entire ceiling was covered with stalactites, both great and small points of jagged rock, and some of them were FALLING! Rob had a particularly long and narrow specimen imbedded in his right shoulder and was screaming senselessly. "Piercers!", yelled Alindyar. "Back, or we are doomed!" The different adventurers acted in different ways. Halbarad was urging Ged and Alindyar, the unarmored ones, back the way they had come, using his own body to protect them in case of further hits. Mongo had his shield raised above his head, and was trying to figure out a way to strike back at the falling rock-things. Peyote was alternately trying to drag Rob to safety and pull the spike from his arm. A gigantic piercer narrowly missed the half-elf just then, probably due to luck more than anything else. Belphanior also had his shield above his head, though his was still intact, unlike the dwarf's, which already had two piercers imbedded in it; Mongo's shield was practically ruined. Nearby, the thief Peldor, in one of his more reckless moves of late, was sprinting for the passage at the southeast corner of the room. A number of piercers of all sizes were detaching themselves and aiming for the thief, but his speed enabled him to dodge them. So far, anyway. Peldor saw the safety of the tunnel close ahead of him. As he made a final leap, sliding deep into the dark passage and out of the piercers' lair, he wondered how the monsters got themselves back up to the ceiling after they had fallen. Then he stood up, waving cheerfully to his companions and commending himself on his daring and skill, and set out to the south, after first lighting a large torch with flint and steel. The sputtering, oily wood cast flickering shadows on the cavern behind him as he left. "That IDIOT!", yelled Ged in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. The party was all clear now, with only Belphanior and Halbarad sustaining wounds (albeit only minor scratches) after the initial attack. Rob was bleeding profusely, however, and he was in bad shape. Belphanior had pulled the piercer out of his shoulder (and smashed it to bits with someone's mace), but the wound was horrible indeed. "Dude", Peyote was saying, "you must relax. Let us bind the wound first." He was using herbs to cleanse the jagged hole. "EEARGH!", screamed the priest as the leaves and spices touched his shoulder. Ged began moving his hands in arcane gestures, and they were momentarily limned in a blue glow. He touched the awful wound, and almost instantly, Rob went slack, the pain lessened to a great degree. The wound was still serious, but the edges were now sealed, and the natural healing process has been hastened. Peyote added his healing magic to that of Ged's, and the wound all but closed then. Rob felt much better, and the party moved on. Belphanior reasoned that the main passage, which continued south, would parallel the tunnel that Peldor had taken out of the piercer room. They followed this until a small room appeared on the left - an old forge. Inside were long-unused smithing tools and a number of half-finished weapons and pieces of armor. Mongo examined the room most happily and thoroughly, but could find nothing of use here that was portable. They moved on southward. Meanwhile, Peldor had followed his dark passage for perhaps eighty feet, when it turned sharply to the right. He rounded the turn, and saw light and figures ahead. And the noise! They were making all kinds of racket! As they saw him, Peldor saw them more clearly. It was of course the party. Did they always make this much noise in dungeons? No wonder they needed his services so badly! He walked toward them. "Greetings, comrades. I have checked the passage yonder", he said, pointing behind him, "and 'tis clear. Let us move on, now that I have rejoined you!" His torch light merged with that of the brighter lantern, held by Ged, and the shadows retreated somewhat. Ged swore beneath his breath. That foolish and reckless rogue was going to get them all killed someday. The elf wondered if Peldor had filched any treasure from the passage he had been through by himself. The party turned westward, and entered a huge room - a throneroom, by the looks of it. "Sssss! What have we here? Fresssh travelers, it seemsss..." The speaker stood nearby a large throne. He (it?) was a large rat, but with a sword grasped in one furry paw. As they watched, three others like it scampered out of the shadows to join their companion. All of the things hissed and snarled at the party. "Oh my", exclaimed Alindyar. "Wererats!" The drow's long-ago lessons in monster lore were proving to be time well-spent, not that he had had a choice in the matter. In drow society, an unwilling student often soon became an unwilling corpse. The wererats closed in on the party. "Such nice humansss! And elvesesss too!", hisses the one with the sword. Quite frankly, Mongo was offended. "So you don't like the taste of dwarf, eh! Let me show ya worthless rats why!" With that, the short warrior hefted his axe and charged the nearest wererat. Not one to be outdone, Belphanior ran after him, sword swinging in vicious arcs. The other fighters in the group also advanced, while the mages frantically sought the spells for the occasion. Peldor, eyes shifting craftily, snuck off in a random direction. Mongo met the first wererat axe first. The sharp weapon bit deeply into foul flesh, evincing a scream of terror from the monster. It had been so long since they lycanthropes had battled anyone who had enchanted steel, and they were not used to prey who could fight back. The wererat clawed at Mongo, but barely scratched his armor. Nearby, Belphanior was having a harder time of it. He had landed a solid blow, but the thing hadn't even seemed fazed. The realization came to him as his opponent bit his sword arm. "Aie! We need magic to hit these creatures!" Halbarad had already deduced this, however, and tossed his axe aside, drawing the enchanted dagger he had claimed as loot from their last adventure. As he dived in, a third wererat swiped at him, but missed due to the sheer speed of the ranger's attack. Halbarad sunk the gleaming blade to the hilt in the monster's neck and twisted. Peyote was stalked by the fourth wererat, who emitted a shrill squeal of suprise when its opponent suddenly vanished, right before its eyes! The thing clawed at the air uselessly, but the half-elf was nowhere to be found. It then turned its gaze on the human priest nearby. Rob tried to cast his spell faster as the monster neared him. Ged was looking out for his fellow priest's best interests, though. A fiery red bolt of magical energy launched from his palm and blasted the wererat, sizzling hair from its filthy hide. About the same time, a similar bolt, though blue in hue, issued from Alindyar's wand, striking the same wererat. The thing shrieked in pain at the attacks, but Ged was steadfast. "Foul spawn of murderers and rats! Boccob pronounces his holy judgement upon you!" Rob completed his spell, and conferred a blessing upon his party. Unfortunately, they had to listen to him chant all the while, but it was better than ending up as rat food. Mongo was relentless in his attack. He smelled dwarf sweat, and dwarf blood - for his opponent had scored several deep claw wounds - but again and yet again the enchanted axe sunk into corrupted flesh, and the wererat's grip weakened, then ceased altogether. Hefting the gory weapon high, Mongo turned and surveyed the situation. Belphanior, having nothing better to do, punched the wererat on his arm with all the strength his free hand could muster. That damned beast had locked onto him good! He couldn't seem to dislodge it. The punch had bloodied its nose, but that was all, and this sort of close combat would not go well for the elf. Suddenly, the monster shook. Out of nowhere, there was Peldor. He had stabbed the wererat right through the brain. The vile creature quivered for moments more, then was still. Peldor withdrew his sword and wiped it on the thing's fur. "I like this sword", said Peldor, admiring the edge on the weapon. "Yeah, me too", answered Belphanior, remembering that Peldor had also managed to secure a magical weapon for himself at the last dividing of loot, a fact that had possibly just saved his life. He decided that he owed the thief one. Halbarad's single strike, uncanny in its precision, had been good enough to fell his opponent. He gazed about, then hurled the well-balanced dagger at the wererat facing Ged and the others. The weapon bit deeply into its shoulder, as another blue bolt from the drow struck the creature, and it reeled to the ground, bloody and smoking. Belphanior, weak from loss of blood, also collapsed to the ground. Ged rushed over to him, immediately beginning a spell of healing. Belphanior was wondering in a remote corner of his mind what the chances were of him contracting the wererat's dreaded disease. Now, being a were-bear might be useful, but a RAT? The idea appalled the warrior/mage, and he made a note in his mind to seek out some temple when the group returned to civilized lands. That was, IF they ever got out of this damned place. What if he became a wererat right here in this dungeon? These and other ideas flashed through Belphanior's mind as he was healed by his companion. Peyote was similarly aiding Mongo, who had several wounds as well, though given the tough dwarf's stamina, it seemed quite unlikely that he stood any chance of succumbing to lycanthropy. Rob finally ceased his blessing (and chanting), much to the relief of the others. He was thoroughly convinced that his holy words had paved the way to victory. The party searched the wererats' lair, finding a number of gems, a sack of gold coins, and a scroll tube containing, of course, a scroll. The group next moved north, exploring the opposite side to the areas they had already searched. They first ignored a branch to the west, and went north, finding a room behind not one, but two doors, both of them trapped. Peldor managed to disarm the traps, with the help of some ideas from Mongo (for these were dwarven traps). Beyond was a barracks for a number of dwarves, long unused. Within they found eight small gems, of fine quality nonetheless, Peldor insisted, and two fine shields and a stone tablet with a single word engraved upon it. No one could decipher the word, so the party moved on, heading north and then east into a storage room. The musty chamber contained long-rotted food and burst kegs of ale, and a lot of small bugs. To the south was a room mostly empty, except for several giant rats. These savage dungeon denizens were quickly dispatched, at the cost of a number of minor wounds and several healing spells. Peyote assured those bitten that his treatments would prevent any chance of disease from the rats' teeth. Also, perhaps more importantly, in the rat's dirty nest the group found a sack containing platinum coins, and a sealed metal tube full of fine, fine arrows. The party then rested for a bit, and ate, in the wererat room. Much refreshed, they moved south, but found the way blocked by a cave-in. Mongo inspected it and thought it to be a useless digging venture, so the group decided to try the door they had passed, to the west. Peldor opened the door, very carefully... ...and was grabbed by a huge green troll! The savage beast, over nine feet in height, hurled the thief into a wall, where he hit with a sickening _crunch_, landing on the floor below. He did not get up. "Hey!", shouted Mongo. "He may be a thief, but he's OUR thief, and only we can do that!" The dwarf chopped at the monster, sinking his axe deep into its leg. The resulting scream of rage and pain seemed to shake the very walls of the mine. The troll backhanded Mongo, almost casually, sending him reeling off to one side. Belphanior poked at it with his longsword, but it seemed to laugh, and slashed him across the chest with a clawed hand. The elven warrior looked in shock at his ruined leather armor and the bloody gashes now cut into it, and fell to the cold stone floor. Halbarad moved in on the monster with a dizzying flurry of axe chops and dagger thrusts. He was using two weapons now because he thought this tactic might work to more effect on the troll. It did, to some extent, for the big monster actually gave some ground and backed up before the onslaught. Halbarad continued to press the attack, even after his opponent had bitten one arm with its foul fangs. Alindyar moved in dangerously close to the combatants, and launched a spray of blinding colors into the ugly face of the troll. It seemed dizzy for a moment, but then snarled with newfound rage. Ged cast a spell at it also, hoping perhaps to put it to sleep, but the monster ignored this magic also. Peyote moved in behind it, as did Rob at about the same time, though the priest lacked the protective invisibility that Peyote now had from his ring. Halbarad launched another series of slashes and parries at the troll. The great beast took a few cuts, but hit the ranger solidly with a claw, driving him back for the moment. Peyote chose this moment to strike, and he was very lucky, even with the invisibility, for he split open the troll's scaly head with his huge bastard sword. The thing fell to the floor, twitching. "Burn it! Get a fire going!", Halbarad managed to gasp from lungs surrounded by cracked ribs. Alindyar complied almost immediately, starting a small blaze. Then Ged moved closer. "Perhaps this will help", the elf stated, and poured an entire flask of oil onto the small fire. The flames raged high, as Ged doused the still-quivering troll with another oil bottle. The fire seemed to leap over onto the monster, and the stink of burning flesh pervaded the room. Soon, though, the foul monster was no more. Only a greasy black smear remained on the dungeon floor. Rob used his last spell, and one from his scroll, to heal Halbarad and Belphanior. Peldor was still alive, as it turned out, though he also asked for magical aid. After all, he HAD tried to listen at the door for the party. Halbarad used his potion to heal the noble and heroic thief. Mongo, with the constitution of a boulder, asked for no healing despite the beating he took from the troll. They searched the room soon after, and found a number of wondrous things: a large diamond, a small but heavy chest of gold coins, a flail of good quality, and a wand inside a bag. The party also found an exit from this room, and following it, soon smelled fresh air ahead. They had found a way out! The troll's lair led to the side of a grassy hill, and the exit was blocked by a patch of high grass (and most likely, the vicious nature of the troll). The group camped nearby for several days, regaining their strength. Nobody or nothing saw fit to bother them. At one point, Ged used a spell to detect magical energies on the items they had found, and shortly thereafter, they divided the spoils, both magical and monetary... THE LOOT (magical stuff only is listed): potion of healing -> Ged hammer -> Mongo longsword -> Peldor ring of protection -> Halbarad arrows (11) -> Belphanior shield -> Mongo scroll (mage) -> Ged flail -> Rob wand -> Peyote bag -> Alindyar Also, the stone with the rune carved into it was nonmagical, but the word was written in magic and so a read magic spell revealed it to Alindyar. He could make nothing of it, but when he read it aloud, Mongo recognized the word as the name of a legendary dwarven hero. Then the word faded from the stone. The party pondered their imminent return to Courwood and the possibility of retribution against Belgar. ***************************************************************** This episode is my try at writing these stories up in a different manner. Please let me know what you think of the old style, and/or this new style, via email. The bulk of this was written before I checked my email, so only as I am about to post it have I found out that about 11 out of 13 who replied to my request for preferences do indeed like the "old" format. Let's see what everyone thinks of this one. *****************************************************************