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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + THE ADVENTURERS + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + The various characters contained in these writings are + + copyright 1992 by Thomas Miller. Any resemblance to any + + persons or characters either real or fictional is utterly + + coincidental. Copying and/or distribution of these tales + + is permissible only under the sole condition that no part + + of them will be used or sold for profit. In that case, I + + hope you enjoy them... + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + THE PARTY: + + + + Alindyar 10th level drow elf mage (N) + + Lyra 6th level female drow elf mage (N) + + Belphanior 7th/8th/8th level high elf w/m/t (CN) + + Ged 9th/8th level grey elf priest/mage (NG) + + Arnold 6th level human warrior (NG) + + Mongo 8th level dwarf warrior (CG) + + Peldor 11th level human thief (N) + + Bosco 6th level soulless halfling thief (CN) + + Rillen 8th level human warrior (N) + + Rob 9th level human priest (LG) + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Date: 6/8/571 C.Y. (Common Year) + + Time: afternoon + + Place: a fortress high within the Yatil Mountains + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LXXV. Hadeus The party was circumventing a vast underground lake when a number of tentacles rose from the dark waters and attacked them. The slimy appendages were over two feet thick, even at the point where they emerged from the water, and were each covered on one side with large suckers. Mongo: HOLY FUCKIN' SHIT! Alindyar: (back far enough to avoid being grabbed) Gods! Lyra: (likewise) Aie! Belphanior: (dodges the tentacle groping for him) Whoa. I don't think my stoneskin's going to stop that thing... Ged: (out of the reach of any tentacles) Boccob! What in the Nine Hells _is_ this beast? Mongo: (snatched by a tentacle) Agh! It's got me! Peldor: (snatched by a tentacle) What?!? Who dares to lay a finger, umm, tentacle on the great Peldor? Bosco: (an easy target, in his state; fortunately, he is far from the water's edge, and unwittingly avoids being groped by any tentacles) Rillen: (slips free of a tentacle that looked like it had him for sure) I have never seen so many suckers. Rob: (snatched by a tentacle) Yie! The massive tentacles immediately began to pull their victims toward the black waters... Peldor: (hacking at his tentacle) Shit! They're pulling us in. They're pulling us in! Helllllp! Rillen: (uses his staff's bladed end to slash and stab the tentacle holding the thief) Let him go! Rob: Yagh! (being crushed and pulled into the water, is now in up to his knees) Ged: I must use the wand! I'll try a new command word, and Boccob grant me power! (points his wand at Rob's antagonist and chants, as the runes upon it glow red) Fbizi! Rob: (watches in amazement as the tentacle bubbles and boils) Wha-? Where's the fire? There's no fire! But it's _melting_! Ged: (looks at the wand gratefully, as Rob's tentacle melts away at its end, freeing the priest) Wow. Alindyar: Fascinating. Mongo: (wrestling with the tentacle holding him, has avoided being pulled more than a few feet) I'll beat you, you big fucking tentacle! (uses his belt of the giant's strength to fight the thing's constriction, and begins pulling its suckers off of him) Ow! Ow! Shit, that hurts! Belphanior: (chops the tentacle holding Peldor, drawing dark ichor) We've got to get the fuck out of here! Ged: What?!?! You never run from a good fight! Mongo: _Good_ fight?!? This is a _bad_ fight! Belphanior: Yeah, and this thing might pull someone in and then flee! We can't afford to keep fighting it! (his sword detects a very powerful soul, somewhere in the lake) Who knows how big it may be, anyway? As if to punctuate the elf's statement, four more of the huge tentacles appeared from the water and began groping for adventurers. Alindyar: By the gods...(casts Magic Missile, bombarding Mongo's tentacle with the magical bolts) Most of my spells are of an illusionary nature - and are of no use against this monster. Lyra: (casts a Lightning Bolt out into the lake, taking a guess as to the common source of the tentacles) Maybe this will help... There was a tremendous CRACK as the bolt hit the water a hundred feet out, and ozone filled the air. The tentacles writhed wildly, and the water farther out churned madly. Mongo: (zapped slightly by the current as it reaches his tentacle) Ow! Ged: Now you've done it, woman! Lyra: What? Mongo: You've _really_ pissed it off now! Lyra: Well, excuse me! (fumes) Alindyar: (grabs her) Come along. Rob: (dodges the attack of another tentacle) Arnold: Oh shiiiit! (hacks Peldor's tentacle, severing it and freeing the thief) Dehr you go. Peldor: Thanks! (grabs Bosco over his shoulder and begins running for the tunnel ahead, about a hundred feet away) Belphanior: Hey! Where are you going?!? (also runs that way) Come on, people! Let's split! We can't fight this thing! Ged: Yea! Move! Move! Alindyar: (he and Lyra begin running after Belphanior) Arnold: (hacks a large chunk out of another tentacle and then runs after the two drow) Aaaaaaaaaa...heah we go! Rillen: (uses his staff to help Mongo pry his tentacle loose) Come, it is time to go! (sprints for the tunnel, quickly passing Peldor and Belphanior due to his boots) Mongo: Okay, okay! (runs after Rillen, but much more slowly) Belphanior: Hey! (stops and begins spellcasting) Peldor: What in the hell are you doing? Belphanior: Mongo's too slow, he needs cover! I'm going to give it to him! Ged: (stops next to the elf) I'll help you out. (he raises his wand and ushers the others past the two of them) Alindyar: (hand clasped with Lyra's, they pass the two elves) Huff, puff... Rob: (barrels after the drow, his gut bouncing) Wheeze, wheeze! Mongo: Hey, wait for me! (still hasn't reached Ged and Belphanior yet) Belphanior: (sees numerous tentacles menacing Mongo, and casts his Melf's Minute Meteors, hitting six of the eight tentacles he was aiming at and burning small chunks out of each of them) Yea! Ged: Bah. (points his wand in the general direction of the tentacles) Axui! (one of the tentacles ignites in a burst of flame) Hah! Belphanior: I need a wand like that...(they back up a bit, now only fifty feet or so from the tunnel where the others have fled to) Mongo: Gangway! (charges past the two elves, running as fast as his stubby legs will carry him) Ged: Look! (points to the water, where the mass of tentacles is coming toward them, following the line of the shore) It's chasing us! Belphanior: Shit! (they both take off after Mongo) Rillen: (in the safety of the tunnel) Come on, run! It is safe here - the tunnel leads away! (fires a couple of arrows at random tentacles, hitting them but doing little relative damage) Belphanior: What do you think we're doing?!? (he and Ged and Mongo barrel into the tunnel, and they all back up about twenty feet or so from its entry point, as several tentacles blindly grope for them) Rob: They can't reach us in here... Mongo: Grr...(hurls his hammer at one tentacle, smashing it with a "squish" sound) I'll kill that damn thing! Alindyar: (peers into the tunnel ahead) I wonder where that leads...? Ged: We're going to have to find out, I'm afraid... Mongo: (catches his hammer) Peldor: (looks around) Let's hope that we don't have to come back by here to get out. Rillen: Hmm. That would be...bad. Arnold: Baaaaad. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad! About twenty feet further, down the passage, the group found a stone stairway, spiralling downward, and took it. Belphanior: (goes first) I'll check for traps. Mongo: I'll go next. To check for monsters... (pats his hammer) Someone's gonna pay for putting that tentacle-thing there! Rob: What do you think it was, some kind of gigantic octopus? Or squid? Belphanior: Hey, I've never eaten squid before...(he looks back the way they came) Alindyar: I suppose the thing was an evil variant. Some legends speak of such monsters, which lurk in the seas and oceans and are capable of bringing down a large ship. Ged: I, too, have heard of such things, though I never saw one, until just now...(it occurs to him that the forced of Good who sacked this place years ago may well have not made it past the creature in the lake) Interlude The six evil priests watched the image in the air above them. Their leader spoke then. "Hmm. They have survived the kraken." Another of the robed ones piped up. "Yes. They are powerful as well as lucky. We should prepare for them, should they make their way here." The leader, Delgath, looked around, and smiled. "So be it. If we must engage these fools in order to escape, then they shall fall." He pointed at one of the lesser priests. "Prepare the ritual!" The sub-priest bowed in fear, babbling. "Oh, yes, master! It shall be done!" Delgath spoke again, to another of his servant priests. "Find Dakar and Brom, and tell them to go to the guardroom and prepare to repel or delay the invaders while we make ready here!" The priest obeyed, dashing away to find the named ones and tell them where to go. Delgath turned his eyes back to the image in the air. "They must yet face Beezel. I see that he is wasting no time in bringing the battle to them. Excellent." He turned and strode to the exit. "Time is short. I shall gather what is needed, and then return. Prepare yourselves for the battle!" (end of interlude) The party emerged from the stairway, into a complex maze of carven stone walls - an insidious maze! Belphanior: I'm lost. (leads the party through the maze passages) Ged: That's obvious. Rob: Just follow the right wall, or the left. We'll get out eventually. Mongo: (thinking about busting heads) Grmph. Belphanior: (his sword warns him of a soul nearby) Hey, someone or something is near us... Suddenly, there was a blast of frigid cold, as the party watched an icy cone head right for them! Belphanior: Holy shit! (ducks, and avoids serious damage) Mongo: (his armor and luck shield him from the brunt of the blast) Fuck. Fuck! Someone's shooting at us! It's a friggin' ambush! Rillen: (knocked down by the force of the attack) Argh. Ged: (covered with frost, but most of the brunt of the attack was absorbed by Rillen) Brr. (shakily points his wand ahead) Arnold: (in his near-naked state of dress, he gets very cold very fast, and falls, shivering) Aaa. Rob: (somehow dodges to one side, avoiding the worst of the blast) Hey, who did that? Alindyar: (he and Lyra duck, and are covered with a layer of snow) Who or what attacks us now? Peldor: (manages to avoid the main blast of wind and ice) I can't see a thing back here! Fight back! Ah, Peldor should be in the front, with the warriors, to guide them and lead them and- Ged: Shut up. Bosco: (unwittingly avoids the cone of cold's tail end as his eyes focus on nothing in particular) tall, gaunt being: (appears around a corner ahead) Belphanior: Hey, look! (points at the thing) Mongo: Fuck! (hurls his hammer, knocking out a big chunk of wall next to the thing's head, as it runs down a nearby passage) Belphanior: Hold! (uses his sword) The soul, err, monster, is this way! (runs after it) Ged: (runs after Belphanior) Wait for me! Mongo: Hey, I'm not missing any of this action! (charges after Ged) nearby... Beezel (the attacker): (shakes his devilish head in some amazement) Damn! I have fled into a dead end! How in all nine of the Hells could I have done THAT?!? Now I must face these idiots directly... Belphanior: (runs around the corner) Aha! I heard that! (charges, leaping, sword raised) Die! Beezel: Bah. (waves his hand, telekinesing the elf into the ceiling, hard) Belphanior: (stuck to the ceiling fifteen feet above) Argh. Hey! Let me down, or I'll kill you! On second thought, I'll kill you anyway! Save yourself some time and let me down! Beezel: (propels the elf into Mongo, knocking both down) As you wish, fool. Mongo: Umph. (surprised, falls) Ged: (having ducked aside as Belphanior flew by) Whoa! (sees the tall devil) You! Beezel: Me? Ged: You! (points his wand at the thing) Roast, unholy one! Cspan! Beezel: (watches as an arc of flame sails toward him) Ha ha! My resistance will stop this puny spell! Eh..? (feels some heat) What? What?!? (hit by the flames) No! AAAARRRGH! (his torso is now engulfed by the arc of fire) AAARRRGHH! Ged: Hah! My magic proves mightier! Mongo: (back on his feet) Hey, don't forget me! (hurls his hammer, beaning the blazing devil in the head) Oh yeah! Direct hit! Belphanior: I shall finish him. (charges, and slashes the devil with his sword) Die! Your soul is mine! Beezel: AAAARRRRGGGHHHH! (parts of him are melting now, as he _is_ a cold-using ice devil variant) AAAARGH! Ged: Soul? Mongo: Hey, Bosco needs a soul. (catches his hammer) Rillen: (dashes around the corner, and to the attack, pounding the flaming, badly wounded devil with his staff) Hah. I will help you put this fire out! Belphanior: Noooooooooo! (stabs the devil again, and slays it) Yesssssssss! (raises his sword in the air in exultation) Aaaaaaaaah. Rillen: What in the world are you doing? Belphanior: Recharging... The others arrived shortly, and the party continued to search the maze, after Ged healed Arnold and Rillen of their icy wounds. In one area they found a ten-foot wide pool of black water. Ged: (casts Detect Evil) Aaa! The pool is tinged with evil! Belphanior: Really? I detect no...souls in it. Mongo: (looks into the pool) What?!?!? (sees his reflection, but with horns and a forked tail, and fangs) Yaaa! (backs up and grabs his face) Rillen: What? Mongo: Huh? (feels no horns or fangs) Whew! That was strange! Alindyar: (peers into the pool, and sees reflected a dark elf archmage of great power, with long, white hair and a cruel face) Hmm. Is this what _could_ be, or what _will_ be? Belphanior: (looks into the pool, also, and sees a face not much different from his own) Hmmmmmmmmm. Rob: Let's get out of here. That pool makes me feel sick. Ged: Ditto that. (they all leave) Within ten minutes, they had found an exit from the maze, and it led shortly to a door of steel. Belphanior: (listening) I hear nothing. But...there are two sou- uh, people behind this door. Ged: No doubt another ambush. Mongo: (draws back his hammer arm) I'm ready. Just open the door and I'll let 'em have it! Belphanior: Not so fast. We should do something... explosive. You know, blow down the door, kill or wound whoever's behind it, then run in and attack. Something like that. Ged: Sounds good to me. Let's back up a bit, and I'll try my mighty wand again. Mongo: Okay. (they all back up quite a bit) Belphanior: (casts another Stoneskin on himself) Ged: (points his wand at the door) What rune shall I try this time? Ah, how about...Knec! A small drop of white flame zipped from the wand's tip, and sailed toward the door, growing in size. As it reached the door, it exploded... Ged: Holy Boccob's shit! Fireball! Rillen: Fire in the hole! (leaps back as part of the explosion rebounds at the party) Mongo: (drops to the ground and covers his head) Ged: (darts back around a corner, where most of the others already were) Yipes! Sorry about that, guys. The flames roared past the party, but they were relatively unharmed, just a bit singed - and very hot. Mongo's ring and magical armor had protected him as he lay on the floor... Mongo: (cursing) Damn it! Fuck! (feels his beard) My beard is singed! Ged: Sorry. I've got to test the wand out sometime. Mongo: Well, how about somewhere else. Somewhere with a lot of room and open space. Maybe an orc colony or something. Just watch it with that thing, okay? Ged: Okay. (making mental notes in his head) Let's see..."knec" means "fireball"...that's four I've tried now...still five more to go... Peldor: Oh, great. You're worse than Peyote and his damned wand of wonder. Alindyar: (points to the end of the passage) Have a look at yonder door, though... The door was gone, and much of the doorway as well. Black, melted stone now made up the end of the passage where the doorway had been. A smoking room could be seen beyond. The party cautiously advanced down the corridor and into the room. Two piles of bubbling metal and blackened bone were here, as well as two steaming metal doors. These were half-melted and looked about ready to be kicked in, so Mongo chose one and did so. Beyond was a cave-in of melted rock and fallen beams - an obvious result of the fireball. Mongo: Well, folks, we're not going to get through _here_ anytime soon. Not without that shovel I gave to the giant... Belphanior: (turns to the other door) Ged: Cave-in, eh? Rob: Looks more like a "melt-in" to me. Ha ha. Alindyar: (to Ged) Bah. 'Tis just a wand. Ged: _Just_ a _wand_?!?! It's a great artifact, that should be obvious even to _you_ by now. Lyra: (to Alindyar) He is right, you know. Alindyar: Bah. I still have more spells. Ged: I bet you don't, I bet you don't! Peldor: I bet he does! I bet he does! Nyah, nyah! Ged: Why, you...I ought to blast you... Mongo: (grabs Ged by the collar) Quit goofing off. We have another door to check! Belphanior: (listening at the door) There are... six behind this portal. Six powerful ones. Ged: Well, then, I'll just use the wand again! Mongo: Do you really think that's a good idea? Ged: Why not? The party backed up again, farther this time, and the grey elf prepared to use his wand. However, when he pointed it and said, "Knec", nothing happened! Ged: What?!?! (looks at the wand) Peldor: Hah! So ends the puny power of Boccob's minion. Ged: (shaking the wand, which merely sputters out a tiny glob of flame) I don't understand it! What could be wrong? Alindyar: Perhaps the item is drained. Or, it may require time to recharge. Ged: Damn. Belphanior: (listening at the door) Hey! Someone's chanting... Without further warning, the party was blown backwards as the already half-melted door ahead blew outward in a blast of fire and heat. A huge, blazing form strode through the doorway and toward the party - an elemental of fire! Ged: Holy Boccob! (backs up as his wand begins pulsing) What's this? (looks at his wand) Hey, that rune is glowing... Belphanior: (covers his eyes from the heat) Wow. An elemental. Rillen: Who is this hothead? Mongo: Bah! My ring will protect me as I pound this damn thing into a puddle! (being close to the summoned fire elemental, he charges it, and strikes its blazing body with his hammer, dealing it a mighty blow) Alindyar: Beware whatever lies beyond that door! (begins spellcasting) I shall try to dispel it from here. Ged: (strides forth and points his wand at the elemental) Boccob, I hope this works...Psaft! fire elemental: (shrivels and vanishes, as the wand glows very brightly now) Belphanior: Damn! Mongo: Neat trick. Where'd he go? Ged: Who knows? Lyra: It appeared as if the elemental's flame was drained right out of its body... Belphanior: (turns to the door) Charge! (runs through the doorway) Arnold: (mimicing the elf) Chaaaage! (follows Belphanior) Ged: No! No! Don't follow that fool! Ah, it's too late. Rillen: (dashes through the door and into the room) Mongo: (goes through the doorway too) Hey, don't leave me back here with the mages! The large chamber beyond the doorway was about a hundred feet long, and sixty wide, with a very high ceiling. Many columns of stone supported its ceiling. In the center of the room was a wide, round raised dais, atop which rested a statue about as tall as the giant had been (twenty-five feet!). It depicted a powerfully muscled, fur-covered being, with a forked tail, taloned hands, and wicked horns. Its slavering mouth was filled with sharp teeth. The big statue was in a pose facing slightly upward, arms extended to either side, as if to welcome visitors. Six black-robed priest-types were ringed around the statue, chanting and posturing as they cast spells. TACTICAL MAP: ____________ | | KEY __| |__ M = Mongo | | B = Belphanior | 1 6 | R = Rillen | 2 S 5 | A = Arnold | 3 4 | * = rest of party | | # = evil priests |__ A B __| S = statue | M | |_____R _____| * priest#6: (casts Blade Barrier upon Rillen, with intent to slice him to ribbons and then block the doorway) Rillen: (watches in alarm as a million small whirling blades appear all around him) Sharp. (musters all of his skill to quickly leap out of the area of the spell's effect, and is successful, in the process managing to catch a few of the blades with his magical gloves) Bah. (tosses the razors aside and begins twirling his staff) priest#1: Impossible! (by the way, he is Delgath, the leader of these evil priests) priest#2: (casts a Flame Strike on Mongo) Burn, you fool! (a pillar of flame descends upon the dwarf) Mongo: (fortunately, his ring helps him avoid the worst of the conflagration as he rolls out of it) Argh! You'll pay for that, shithead! priest#3: (casts Poison and moves forth to touch Arnold) Come, my son. Arnold: Whad are you taaalking about? (lops the evil priest's arm off with a single blow) Gedd away from me, liddle man! priest#3: Aaaaargh! (in desperation, swipes at Arnold, and touches him, poisoning him) Hah. Arnold: (fails to save) Aaaaaaaa. (hacks at the priest again, wounding him further, then falls) priest#3: Ha ha! You shall be dead in minutes, warrior! (collapses from loss of blood) Agh. priest#4: (casts Sticks to Snakes on a bunch of wooden sticks between him and Belphanior, and ten small snakes appear and slither toward the elf) Belphanior: Ah, I see that you brought your whole family along! (dodges some snakes) priest#5: (casts Curse on the party, reducing their chances to hit) Hah! priest#6: (runs over to try and help priest#3) Belphanior: (realizes that he has Stoneskins left) meanwhile, outside... Ged: A Blade Barrier! Alindyar: We must dispel it! (casts the spell, which he had ready anyway, and luckily succeeds, cancelling the blade barrier) Yes! Rob: Neat. (watches as a few of the razor blades land nearby) Lyra: To the others! (she, Alindyar, Ged, Rob, and Peldor move into the room carefully but yet quickly) Bosco: (remains behind, and walks into a wall) As the second half of the group entered the big room, they beheld several amazing sights. Mongo was standing near a huge column of flame, cursing at a ring of four priests. Belphanior was dancing through a mass of snakes, trying to reach the four opponents. Rillen was trying to cut around to the rear of the four. Arnold was lying on the floor, writhing, next to a one-armed priest, who was also writhing. A sixth priest was headed for the one- armed priest. Ged: Looks like we got here just in time. Peldor: Yep. (goes invisible and scurries away) Rob: What happened to Arnold? Rillen: (yells) He is poisoned! Ged: Quick, Rob, go help him, while I distract the priests! (moves to his left) Rob: ...Okay! (runs toward Arnold) priest#6: (running toward his companion, but forgot about Rillen nearby) What-? Rillen: (bashes him across the face with his staff) Not so fast. priest#6: (falls, screaming, his nose shattered) Aaaaugh! Rillen: And stay down. Mongo: (throws his hammer at priest#5, since there is no one in the way of that one) Hah! priest#5: (hit in the chest by the hammer) Argh! Belphanior: (wades through the snakes, taking three bites, and slashes priest#4) Die, you! (his Stoneskin spell repels the snake bites) priest#4: Agh! (backs up) You shall die for that! (his spell is interrupted, so he hefts a mace) Belphanior: We'll see about that. Mongo: (catches his hammer) Rob: (having reached Arnold, he is casting a spell to neutralize poison) Hang on there, friend. Arnold: Aaaaaa. priest#2: (notices them near him as he is about to cast a spell) Alindyar: (casts a Hold Person at priest#2) priest#2: (saves, easily) Hah! (casts a wall of fire around Lyra and Alindyar) Fools! Ged: (now facing priest#2) So you want to play with fire, eh? (uses his wand) Inzus! This proved to be a useless, even potentially bad, move - for the pillar of fire near Mongo was suddenly amplified, growing twofold and reaching the ceiling. The wall of fire around the two drow grew as well, rebounding off of the ceiling and raining fire throughout the chamber. Ged: Ooooops. priest#2: HAH HAH HAH! Rillen: (hits priest#6 again with his staff, and snaps his neck) I told you not to get up. Mongo: (hurls his hammer at priest#5 again, but misses) Damn! priest#5: Ha ha! (casts Hold Person on Mongo) Mongo: Bah. (saves and ignores the spell) priest#4: (clumsily swings his mace at Belphanior, but misses) Belphanior: Never come to a swordfight armed with a mace. (stabs the priest, wounding him badly) Peldor: (backstabs priest#2) Hah! Only Peldor the great could strike thus! priest#2: (wounded badly) Argh! You'll not have another chance to attack me, thief! Peldor: Oh, that's good to know. priest#3: (writhes in agony on the floor, bleeding profusely) inside the wall of flame... Alindyar: Argh. This is quite hot. Lyra: (sweating profusely - in fact, they are both already suffering from minor burns) If we don't get out of this right now, we will fry! (begins spellcasting) Alindyar: Yes... Lyra: (gets as lucky as Alindyar was with the blade barrier, and dispels the wall) Yes! (as the fiery wall vanishes, she collapses from wounds and exhaustion) Alindyar: No! (pulls her back, out of the way of battle) priest#1/Delgath: Ah, the fools. (casts his spell, summoning an earth elemental forth to do battle) Kill. earth elemental: (plods for the nearest of the adventurers, Rillen and Rob) Belphanior: (slashes priest#4 again, and slays him) Ahhhhhhh! earth elemental: (charging Rillen) Rillen: Uh-oh. That is one big fellow, there. Rob: Delay it! I shall cast a spell! (begins doing so) Rillen: Uh...okay. (bashes the thing a few times, with little effect) Arnold: (stirs on the floor, recovering) Peldor: (watching priest#2 begin spellcasting) Not so fast, you. (uses his ring to lift the man and send him flying across the room - and right into the blazing column of fire left from the earlier Flame Strike) priest#2: (ignites and vanishes into the fire) Aaaaaaaagh! Rob: (casts Dispel Evil, and runs up to the huge elemental) Hey. Hey, you! earth elemental: (turns to face the priest, its large fists raised) Rob: (taps the creature) Begone! I command it in the name of Trithereon! earth elemental: (frowns, and is dispelled back to the Elemental Plane of Earth) Rillen: All right! You got rid of him! Rob: Yes. Fortunately, I predicted that we'd be battling Evil here today, and was forearmed. Rillen: (steps on the badly wounded priest#3's neck, snapping it) That is a step in the right direction. priest#1/Delgath: (to priest#5, the only one left besides himself) Shu-lir-than! Doop theis chau prok n'gai! priest#5: Swurg-as! (begins spellcasting) Mongo: What the hell kind of language is that?!? (hurls his hammer at priest#5 again, and misses again) Argh! Damn! priest#5: (completes his spell, and casts it upon priest#1, apparently, sheathing him in darkness) priest#1: (cloaked by the spell, he begins casting his most powerful spell) Hadeus... priest#5: (his purpose served, dies as Belphanior backstabs him) Urgh. Belphanior: AAAAAAH! I am vastly more powerful, now! (he has slain a number of souls today...) Truly mighty...Hmm. (looks around, and begins chopping up the snakes) Ged: (heals Lyra, at Alindyar's behest) The party paused, as they realized that only the high priest remained, sheathed in darkness in the room's center. Ged: Okay, everyone back up. I'm going to blast that evil one, hard! (they heed his warning, as loud chanting is heard from the darkness) Belphanior: What is he up to, I wonder? Alindyar: Who knows? Ged: (points his wand at the darkness, and speaks) Fbizi! The priest within the darkness ignited, and then started screaming as he ran out toward the party, melting. Delgath: AAArrrrgh! Fools! (his lips bubble and fall off) Ith ish tooo blate! Tooooo blaaa... (he becomes a puddle) Ged: Hah! That got him! Alindyar: Look at the darkness. (points) Belphanior: Ulp. The darkness zone was dissolving, and the stone statue within moved. Except, it was no longer made of stone. Fleshy arms and legs flexed, and the maw full of teeth grinned at the adventurers. thing: AH! YOU HAVE SLAIN ALL OF MY PRIESTS! NO WONDER THEY SAW FIT TO SUMMON ME... Mongo: Who the hell are _you_?!?!? thing: HELL IS EXACTLY RIGHT. CALL ME HADEUS, FOR THAT IS BUT ONE OF MY MANY NAMES. I AM DIABOLISM INCARNATE, A DUKE OF THE HELLS. I SHALL LEAVE THIS PLANE SHORTLY - BUT NOT UNTIL I FEAST ON YOUR BODIES AND SOULS! Alindyar: By the gods! He has possessed the stone statue and come to life on our plane! Ged: Boccob! Hadeus: YOUR PUNY GODS CANNOT HELP YOU NOW, WORMS! (strides toward the party, shaking the ground as his 25' form moves) HA HA HA HA HA! Rillen: This is not a very nice guy... Ged: (uses his wand again) Axui! Hadeus: (laughs as the flames cover him) FOOLS! I AM _IMMUNE_ TO FIRE! HA HA HA HA! Ged: Argh! (slaps his own head) Damn! Peldor: (becomes invisible) Alindyar: (casting a spell) Lyra: (unrolls her scroll of protection from devils and begins to read it aloud) Ged: Yea! Good thinking! Alindyar: (casts Feeblemind upon the devil lord) Hadeus: BAH. (shrugs away the spell) Alindyar: His - its - form on this plane is very powerful indeed. Belphanior: (uses his sword to Haste himself, and stalks the creature) Hadeus: (stares at the elf, locking gazes with him) Belphanior: Yie! (instantly goes insane) Rob: What did he do to Belphanior? Ged: Who knows? Hey, Arnold! Don't look at it! Arnold: (shielding his eyes, approaches the devil) How am I sudposed to fidht it if I cand look ad it? Rillen: (likewise) Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Bosco: (in the other room, wanders away mindlessly) Belphanior: (looks around, then casts Ventriloquism upon Rob's helm) Cackle, cackle... Arnold: (slashes mightily at the devil, but his weapon has no effect) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Hadeus: HA HA! PUNY MORTAL! (swats Arnold twice, knocking him out) Ged: Holy shit! He floored Arnold! Rillen: (bashes at the devil, but misses) How? Mongo: (raises his hammer) I will not waver from this challenge! Do you hear me, devil?!? Hadeus: BAH. Mongo: (hurls his hammer as hard as he can, at the thing) Fall! Hadeus: (hit by the weapon) ARGH! HOW DARE YOU STRIKE ME?!? Mongo: I dare anything, shithead! Ged: First blood to Mongo! Yea! Rob's helm: Hey, Rob! Rob: What?!?!? Rob's helm: (begins singing pirate drinking songs loudly) Rob: Agh! (can't concentrate, walks around in a circle) Rillen: (strikes the devil, inflicting minor damage) Mongo: (catches his hammer, throws it again, but misses the huge monster) Hadeus: HA! Peldor: (invisible somewhere) Rob: (hurls his helm away angrily) Shut up! Rob's helm: Aw, Rob, you can't get rid of me that easily! (begins singing again, more loudly than before) Mongo: (catches his hammer) Someone smash that fucking helmet! Lyra: (finishes her incantation) It is done! I am protected! Alindyar: (moves closer to her so that he, too, can share in the protection) And I as well. Belphanior: (in his insanity, casts Taunt upon Hadeus) Nyah, nyah! your mother was a demon! your father was an angel! you mate with pixies! Hadeus: (ignores the spell) BAH. Rillen: (smashes the devil in the knee with his staff) Hadeus: ARGH! Mongo: Now, Ged! Blast the fucker! Ged: Yea! (casts a Lightning Bolt at the devil) Yes! A direct hit! Eat that, cur of the hells! Hadeus: WHAT?!? (knocked to his knees as his magic resistance fails to protect him) AAARGH! Ged: Ha! Boccob is with us this day! Rillen: Yes! (hits the staggered creature again) Hadeus: ARGH! (stands up) ENOUGH! (pummels the nearby Rillen with both of his massive fists) Rillen: (knocked out, goes comatose) Mongo: Hey! He decked Rillen! (hurls his hammer at the devil) Hadeus: BAH! (uses his innate Telekinesis power to stop the hammer in midair) Mongo: HEY!!! You can't _do_ that!! Hadeus: WHY NOT? HA HA HA! Alindyar: (casts Confusion upon the monster) Perhaps this will work. Hadeus: (doesn't even notice the spell) Rob: (grasps one of his prayer beads) Karma! (casts Pyrotechnics over the devil's head) Hadeus: EH? (watches the spell dissolve) HAH! IS THAT THE EXTENT OF YOUR PUNY POWER, PRIEST? Rob: Damn. I hope not... Mongo: (unsheaths his magical longsword) Won't give me back my hammer, eh? (charges the devil) Then taste longsword, bastard! Hadeus: (uses the telekinesis to lift the dwarf into the air) I THINK NOT. Mongo: Argh! Damn it! Let me down from here! (his hammer floats nearby, just out of reach) Gaaaaah! (grabs for the hammer, barely missing) Come back here! Lyra: (casts a Ray of Enfeeblement at Hadeus) Hadeus: EYAGH! (he watches as his right arm begins to shrivel and wither) BAH! (the arm is then whole again) PUNY DROW! YOUR SPELLS ARE USELESS! Lyra: (as she had hoped, this distraction was enough to let Mongo grab his hammer) Mongo: (quietly grabs his hammer) Peldor: (also makes use of the distraction, and backstabs the devil, badly mangling its right knee) Ha! Peldor strikes! Hadeus: AAARGH! Peldor: Tell them of Peldor when you return to hell, fiend! Hadeus: (clutches his wounded knee) ARGH! Belphanior: (insane, prepares his next spell) Mongo: (in the air, tries to throw his hammer but can't, since both he and it are held by the devil) Damn it! Hadeus: I AM THROUGH TOYING WITH YOU FOOLS! (lets the TK go, dropping Mongo onto the floor) NOW DIE! DIE! (breathes fire upon Mongo) BLEAAARGH! Mongo: (even with his ring and armor, he is wounded) Aaaarrrgh! (rolls around in agony) Argh! Hadeus: HA HA HA! (turns toward the spell casters) Ged: (casts Slow upon the monster) Hadeus: BAH. (shrugs off the spell) Belphanior: (casts Grease on himself and begins to slide around the floor, screaming) Aaaaaaaaaaa!!! Ged: What in the hell's gotten into _him_?!? Alindyar: He is useless to us now, insane. (casts Blindness on Hadeus) Lights out. Hadeus: NO. (nothing happens, and he breathes fire again, this time at Alindyar and Lyra) BLEAAARGH! Alindyar: (since he and Lyra are inside the effect of Lyra's scroll, the flames roll off of an invisible hemisphere which surrounds them) Whew. Close call. Lyra: (casts Magic Missiles at Hadeus) Yes... Hadeus: ARGH! (his resistance fails to keep the bolts away, and he is wounded slightly) AGH! ARR! A ZONE OF PROTECTION, EH, DROW? HEH HEH. Rob: (drags Rillen and Arnold back a bit and hastily binds their wounds and casts healing magic) Peldor: (slashes at Hadeus from the side, but misses) Damn! How could Peldor miss? Mongo: (stands up, steaming, both literally and figuratively) FUCK! (hurls his hammer at the devil as hard as he can, striking a mighty blow) Hadeus: AARGH! (reels) SINCE WHEN DO MORTALS HAVE THE STRENGTH OF GIANTS? Mongo: Since Mongo, shithead! You're going down! (catches his hammer) Belphanior: (slides into a wall, tries to stand up, and slips, falling on his head) Ow, ow, ow. Hadeus: (grabs Peldor, crushing him somewhat, and tosses his bruised body aside) ARGH! Ged: (casts a Web upon the devil, successfully) Ha! Hadeus: BAH. (only slightly hindered by the thing, due to his size, points at Alindyar and Lyra) I MAY BE UNABLE TO HARM YOU DIRECTLY, BUT... Alindyar: (the ground under them, outside their protective 10' sphere, turns into mud, and they sink) What?!? Lyra: Oops. He found a way to get us...(they sink into the mud) Rob: (casts a Bless spell) Oh, bless us, great Trithereon. We need it. (moves to try and help the two sinking drow) Belphanior: (whizzes by the devil, and slashes at it, scoring a wound) Wheeeee....! (careens into the prone forms of Arnold and Rillen, and sails off into a wall again) Oof! Mongo: (throws his hammer, but misses the devil) Peldor: (somewhere to one side, gets up painfully) Arg. Rob: (casts a Dispel Magic on the mud pit, causing Alindyar and Lyra to be encased up to their necks in solid rock) Oops. Alindyar: Worry not, priest. 'Tis better than the alternative would have been... Lyra: (to Alindyar) Look on the bright side. We may be trapped here, unable to move, but at least the sphere of protection against the devil is still intact... Alindyar: This is true. Hadeus: (grabs Mongo and pummels him severely, then tosses the body aside) SO MUCH FOR THE DWARF. Mongo: (unconscious, hits the floor) Belphanior: (menaces Ged, babbling insanely) Time to make a necklace of ears. Starting with yours! Ged: Stay back! (prepares a spell hastily) Back! Peldor: (invisible, stalks Hadeus slowly) Hadeus: (looking at Rob) YOU! PRIEST! Rob: Huh? Hadeus: (gestures at Rob, and he is paralyzed) HA! FOOLS! YOU WERE ALL FOOLS TO ATTACK ME! Rob: (falls to the ground, unable to move) ... Peldor: (slashes Hadeus from behind) Fall, foul fiend! Hadeus: ALLITERATION WILL GET YOU NOWHERE, ROGUE. (turns to face Peldor) Peldor: (looks around at the carnage) No one but Peldor is left to face the challenge. So be it! The legends will speak of Peldor's bravery and his great deeds. The latest of which will be - slaying the devil, Hadeus! nearby... Ged: (casts a priestly Dispel Magic upon Belphanior) It's times like this that I'm glad I'm multi-classed. Belphanior: (no longer insane) What's going on? Ged: That thing is killing us all! Belphanior: Oh, really? (casts Invisibility on himself) Prepare to cover me. I'm going in. Ged: Check. Peldor: (facing Hadeus, slashes at him, scoring a minor wound) Aha! Peldor strikes! Hadeus: PELDOR, PELDOR, PELDOR! I TIRE OF HEARING THAT NAME. (grabs Peldor with both hands) Peldor: Aaaaaaaargh!! Hadeus: AH! (forcefully rips the thief in half, disdainfully throwing the two pieces to either side) SO MUCH FOR...PELDOR. Peldor: (his two halves sail in opposite directions before landing with squishing sounds, entrails dragging behind them messily) Ged: Holy Boccob's eyes! He eviscerated Peldor! (casts Evard's Black Tentacles upon Hadeus, and a number of the ebon tendrils wrap themselves around the devil) Hadeus: ARGH! (begins smashing the tentacles on him) YOU ARE NEXT, PRIEST OF BOCCOB! Belphanior: (backstabs Hadeus with a mighty and well-placed slash) DIE!!!!!!!!! Hadeus: (his back is split open) AAAARGH! (he reels, and stomps around, as vapor spews from his wound, his mouth, and his ears) AAARGGHH! Belphanior: Holy shit! He's deflating! (backs up a bit, fascinated) Ged: Get the hell away from there! Belphanior: (his sword is pulling him to the dying devil lord) No. No! NO! (screams) Aaaaaa! Hadeus: (screams the same scream, but louder) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! (melts into bubbling green and black slop, and then even this evaporates quickly) Ged: So that's how a duke of hell dies... Belphanior: (grasping his sword numbly, trembling and sweating, every vein on his body standing out) Aaaaaahhhh... Alindyar: (buried to his neck in the ground, of course) That was fascinating, but...would you mind getting us out of here? Ged: Oh. Oh, yea. Belphanior: (stumbles around, quivering) Blblbl. Yes, things were a mess. Peldor was clearly dead, his two halves leaking blood in large puddles around them. Arnold and Rillen were out, but would live thanks to Rob's earlier attentions. Mongo was also on the floor, unconscious, but his ring was helping him recover. Rob, Alindyar, and Lyra were basically immobilized for now. Only Ged and Belphanior were in decent shape, and Belphanior was stumbling around babbling. Meanwhile, the forgotten Bosco had wandered back into the last room. Guided by a force that his soulless body could not possibly comprehend, he had opened a secret, undetected hatchway and moved through a long, eerily glowing tunnel. Since he had no concept of pain anymore, his body had ignored the various harmful effects of the tunnel as he had moved through it. The electrical shock, the foul weakness, the blast of heat, the nausea, even the burst of icy cold - none of these had deterred the soullessly intrepid halfling. The section of the tunnel without oxygen had not slowed his shell in the least. The poison gas had not stopped him either, and the loss of a life energy level never fazed him. All of these traps, which would likely have kept a conscious, thinking party away, didn't stop Bosco, though his body suffered greatly from the traps. He had walked through the illusionary wall (which he couldn't see as an illusion), and had entered the greenish-tinted chamber. There it had rested, atop a pedestal - the malevolent force which had tugged at his mindless body. A bright green sphere, it had beckoned his shell, and thus he had grasped the thing with both hands. The room had glowed brightly... Back in the shrine room, Ged and Belphanior were doing what they could to help stabilize things. Peldor's pieces (the two large halves as well as the numerous smaller bits) were collected, and Ged tried to fuse them together with healing spells - but clearly, a greater spell was needed here, a spell that would have to be prayed for overnight. Thus, the party rested, locking themselves in the chamber. The next morning, Rob cast the spell to raise the dead, while Ged stood by with other spells ready. Peldor was fused back together; as the others watched in a kind of sick fascination, his various and sundry pieces knit themselves into a cohesive whole. The terrible wound in the thief's lower torso glowed, and then...... Peldor began snoring. Mongo: Yeah! Rob: Of course, I couldn't do a perfect job. Ged: Yea, that's one hell of a scar... Belphanior: I don't think he'll mind though. Arnold: Don'd tink he'll mind ad all. Belphanior located a secret treasure room, and disarmed the traps on two chests. Much monetary treasure was taken and put in Mongo's portable hole, including a number of large gemstones. As for the magic...well, the evil priests had hidden quite a stash here, over the years... THE MAGIC ITEMS: horn - Alindyar human-sized plate mail - Ged (Arnold) pipes - Peldor goofy rod with snakes - Mongo pearl - Ged rod in metal case - Belphanior ring - Rillen periapt - Belphanior medallion - Peldor phylactery - Rob engraved metal cube - Mongo potion of feather falling - Peldor potion of poly. self (bat) - Rob potion of stone giant str. - Rillen potion of water breathing - Ged (Arnold) potion of plant control - Ged potion of skeleton control - Belphanior potion of healing - Alindyar (Lyra) scroll (Mage 6/3/2/1/1) - Ged scroll (Mage 3/2/1) - Alindyar (Lyra) scroll (Mage 2/2/1/1) - Alindyar scroll (Priest 4/3/2/1) - Rob It took an entire day to collect all of the loot, and the wounded ones rested. It was decided that the group would leave on the morrow. Bosco seemed to have wandered away, but was quickly found in the next room. No one noticed the slight greenish hue that his eyes now had...and of course they couldn't have known that his various wounds were now healed. The party decided that it would not be in their best interests to go back by the thing on the lake. However, no other exits from the fortress presented themselves - the creature had to be passed. They came up with a plan - they would all sprint around the lake, using the path, and Ged and Alindyar's magic would be used as cover. Mongo was to go first, since he was the slowest. The plan worked, though - Ged only had to use his wand once, when the monster under the lake appeared right as the party was almost across. Alindyar provided his own distraction, a fireball, and the creature was quickly aflame. It submerged, but when it rose again, the adventurers were gone - escaped! It was with no small relief that they emerged into the middle of a sunny day. They met their friend the giant, and told him tales as they collected their horses. He pointed them in the direction of a mountain fort, some two days' journey away. They bade him fond farewells, and were soon on their way. After two days, they found the fort. It was actually a small town, complete with everything the party could have needed to train - including a small mages' guild and a wizened sage (who, like so many other sages before him, grew extremely rich from the party's coming). The group trained and rested for one month, and everyone was in a pleasant mood during this time. Alindyar studied hard, copying his scroll spells into his spellbook. He grew more powerful in the arts of magic; significant new spells included the magic jar spell, to take over someone else's body. The sage told him that his horn could produce prodigous amounts of fog, but the drow had already suspected as much. Lyra also studied hard, with Alindyar's help, and learned the wall of ice spell, among others. Belphanior trained hard in both the arts of combat and those of thiefdom. It took him a while for the effect of his sword stealing Hadeus' soul to wear off, though - he had to run around and burn up all that energy. A few nights spent in the whorehouse helped immensely...later, the sage told him that his magical rod was an item that could nullify another magical item! Also, his periapt would guard him against poisoning - a useful item indeed, for one such as he. Ged pored over his libram, gained previously, and grew in magical power. Like Alindyar and Lyra, he incorporated his scroll into his spellbook. His more significant new spells were the wizard eye, the teleportation spell, and the dimensional doorway. As for his items, the plate mail for Arnold was highly magical - but no one else could wear it (or wanted to, anyway - it was heavy metal). The pearl would allow the priest to recall a spell already cast, once per day - a great boon indeed! Mongo finally was able to advance in his warrior profession, and had a ball sparring with the experienced warriors in the fort. There was only one problem - the sage could identify neither of the dwarf's items. He only said that one was good, and the other evil - and both of them were very, very powerful. Oh, that was the rod that was Good, and the cube that was Evil... Peldor at first refused to believe that he had been torn in two. Even the monstrous scar which now completely circled his stomach refused to convince him. He decided that the others were playing an elaborate joke on him because they were jealous of him. The thief did train a lot, though. His green torch, found before the last rooms of the fortress, refused to go out, but it also made light without giving off heat or flame. His pipes would play a haunting melody, except that he didn't know how to play pipes. His medallion was powerful, though - it would allow him to read the thoughts of others! Peldor resolved to try and figure out what the others were up to. He also blamed Bosco's greenish eyes on them. Rillen sparred extensively, perfecting what he called his "technique". The sage told him that his ring would protect him from falling, making him float downward like a feather. Rillen was confused, and immediately tested the ring by leaping from a rooftop to the ground - but it did work. Rob gained much priestly power, and learned that his potion would allow him to transform his body into that of a bat. His phylactery was an item which would help him maintain his total faithfulness to Trithereon. And so, it was a more powerful party who stood ready to depart the mountain town/fort over four weeks after they arrived. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + THE PARTY: + + + + Alindyar 11th level drow elf mage (N) + + Lyra 7th level female drow elf mage (N) + + Belphanior 8th/8th/9th level high elf w/m/t (CN) + + Ged 9th/9th level grey elf priest/mage (NG) + + Arnold 7th level human warrior (NG) + + Mongo 9th level dwarf warrior (CG) + + Peldor 12th level human thief (N) + + Bosco 6th level soulless(?) halfling thief(CN) + + Rillen 9th level human warrior (N) + + Rob 10th level human priest (LG) + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Date: 7/13/571 C.Y. (Common Year) + + Time: morning + + Place: the fort-town of Lud, high in the Yatil Mountains + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ next time : surprise... ftp site : ccosun.caltech.edu, in pub/adnd/fluff/adventurers notes : Here's part of a conversation from that last big battle: "I take HOW much damage?!?!?!" "Well, Marc, I'll put it this way. Remember the scene in _Aliens_, when the android gets ripped in half by the alien queen?" "What scene? What queen? I don't know what you're talking about! Aaaaaargh!" Welcome to the jumbo 75th episode. I worked hard to make this one action-packed. It should be posted before the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays. You won't hear from me again until afterwards. You should have seen Marc (Peldor) last night. In a room filled with dozens of people, he managed to be the one who won the pie-eating contest and got the stripper's attention (he beat out a variety of others for this dubious honor). It helped him immensely that he was drunk as a skunk at the time. The whole crowd, all fifty-plus, males and females, were chanting: "PELDOR! PELDOR! PELDOR!" Such is his fame as an undergraduate... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++