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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + THE ADVENTURERS + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + The various characters contained in these writings are + + copyright 1993 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 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) + + Rillen 9th level human warrior (N) + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Date: 7/16/571 C.Y. (Common Year) + + Time: early evening + + Place: the Underdark + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LXXXIV. A Trio of Beasts Most Foul The party has just eliminated the threat of a roomful of small, evil vermin. The adventurers are now walking through a tunnel to the creatures' lair. Mongo: I see it! I see it ahead! Belphanior: What? Looks like a big, empty room to me. (snorts) Stinks, too. Alindyar: As well it should - Ged roasted those small vermin. Ged: Ah, the mighty power of Boccob's wand... Peldor: Enough about Boccob, okay? (the party enters the chamber) They were in a large, roughly rounded cavern now. The place was blackened and covered with soot, and the walls were still hot to the touch. Tiny burnt bones lay strewn everywhere, and it was Belphanior who found the puddle of gold and other treasure - all melted now, of course. Peldor: (pointing accusingly at Ged) And you said that _I_ was bad because I wasted _one_ magic item?!?!? Ged: Well...err...umm... Mongo: Enough. There's always more where these came from. Rillen: Very well. (eyeing the single exit passage) Belphanior: (leads the party through the passage) The passage was narrow and very curvy. Near its end, there were numerous bits of broken glass on the floor, and these had to be carefully stepped over to avoid nasty cuts. Alindyar: Beware the glass. Belphanior: Glass? Who gives a shit about _glass_? The next chamber was a large, though oddly shaped, cavern. Two strange creatures were within, and they ceased their squawking conversation to regard the adventurers. The larger one stood fully six feet in height, and had two round heads on long necks. The creature had no arms at all, but its beaks were quite large, and its tail was comprised of a number of very brightly colored feathers. The smaller avian stood only a mere two feet in height, but sneered at the party with a more ferocious look than its companion. Abruptly, both of the birds advanced on the party. Alindyar: Beware! That small one appears to be a cockatrice! Ged: Boccob! Then its touch turns one to stone! Alindyar: Yes. Belphanior: (regards the larger bird, which is bobbing its two heads to and fro as it approaches) I'll just attack _this_ one, instead. It looks like a wimp. (he advances on the large bird) large bird: (regards the elf, then steps forward and pecks at him with both heads) Squawk! Belphanior: (ducks one bite, but gets clipped by the other, and instantly turns into glass along with all of his items) Mongo: FUCK! (the party scatters most rapidly) small bird: squeak. (stalks random party members) Ged: Boccob! (begins spellcasting) large bird: (advances on Mongo, both heads bobbing about mindlessly) Squawk. Squaaaaaaaaaaawk. Mongo: Stay back, you peckerhead! Rillen: (prepares to combat the small bird) Lyra: (spellcasting) We must concentrate on the larger of the two. Alindyar: Aye. (begins a spell) Arnold: (mortally afraid of being turned into a glass statue, looks around fearfully) Aaaaaa. Ged: (casts Slow upon the larger bird, but the spell fizzles, and the thing is not affected) Boccob! Magic resistance! Alindyar: (casts a Web upon both birds, but the web unravels totally as soon as it touches the larger bird) Mayhaps it is totally immune to spells. Lyra: Don't say that. (blasts the large bird with Magic Missiles, but they dissolve upon hitting it) Damn Lolth's eyes! Perhaps you are right! Peldor: (nonchalantly telekineses the smaller bird into the larger one) When Little Bird met Big Bird... small bird: squ- (turns into glass) Peldor: (grins and takes a bow) Mongo: All right, Peldor! Ged: Arnold! Get Belphanior - err, his glass statue - and move it out of harm's way. It won't do to have him get shattered in this battle. Arnold: Ridht. (hefts the statue, which is a fairly light load for him) Ged: And be careful with that. Arnold: Ridht. (carries the statue to a far corner of the chamber) large bird: (snaps at Mongo, but ineffectually) Squawk! Mongo: (reluctant to hit the creature with his hammer, for fear that the weapon might turn into glass) Argh! (backs up) I need a club! Rillen: (draws his bow) Sorry, no clubs here. How about a few arrows, though? Mongo: Fine, go for it! (continues to back up) Ged: (casts Flame Strike upon the bird) large bird: (watches the spell fizzle around itself) Squawk? Peldor: (on a whim, telekineses his seemingly indestructable meteorite out of his pack and into the bird) Peldor strikes again! (in all actuality, the thief just wants to find out how indestructable the rock really is) large bird: (reels from this mighty impact - and the meteorite is not turned into glass) Squa! Rillen: (astutely observes the above) That is what I was waiting to hear. (fires a magical arrow, hitting the bird in the head) large bird: Screeeee! (flagellates about) Mongo: Yahr! (hurls his hammer, hitting the bird in one head, causing the head to bounce about) Take that, birdbrain! Lyra: (doesn't want to risk wasting another spell) I wonder if any spells will affect it? Alindyar: (casts a Blindness spell, which, somewhat predictably, fails against the big bird) ... Lyra: Hmm, guess not. Rillen: (hits the bird with another arrow) Mongo: (catches his hammer, and immediately hurls it again) Yah! large bird: (hit, falls, dead) Ged: Boccob's luck guides us today! Mongo: (catches his hammer) That one was for Belphanior. Alindyar: Speaking of whom... The party made their way to the far end of the room, where Arnold had reverently set the glass statue of Belphanior down. Peldor used his ring to move the two bird corpses into an alcove, far away from the party. Ged tried a spell of healing, to no avail - the glass elf remained so. Mongo touched Belphanior with his healing wand, that with the snakes wound around it, but this had no effect either. The adventurers rested and brainstormed at the same time, but were stumped for answers. No spell or item that they had seemed able to reverse Belphanior's transformation. They all knew that the elf had a sword containing at least one more wish - but that sword was now glass along with the rest of Belphanior. They even tried speaking the wish aloud, anyhow, just in case, but the attempt was unfruitful. It was Rillen who came forth with the final solution. He began rubbing his ring, the one supposedly of djinni summoning, and wondered if a djinni could bring the glass elf back to life. The consensus seemed to be that it was worth a try, so the warrior said the proper command word, half-expecting that nothing would happen. But not so! The stream of gas that billowed from nowhere quickly formed itself into a vaguely humanoid shape, as the party, never having seen a djinni before, gaped in awe. Well, not _all_ of them - Alindyar just gaped. djinni: (in a ridiculous accent) Greetings, my master! What can I do for you? Rillen: Uh...(points to the glass statue that is Belphanior) This elf must be made human once more. Can you help? djinni: (wondering if this is part of his contract) Hmmmmmmm. Not directly, master. Mongo: Shit. Rillen: (drumming his fingers on a wall) djinni: However... Rillen: What? What?!? djinni: I am empowered to grant you three of your wishes. Therefore, you may _waste_ one of them on this elf... Rillen: Waste? djinni: Well, he _was_ after all stupid enough to get himself into this predicament... Rillen: Bah. I do not recall asking what you thought of the matter. He is my companion, and that is all that matters. Thus I wish that Belphanior the elf was flesh and blood again, alive and well as if he had never met that glassing-bird. djinni: (sighing) Very well. (snaps his fingers and vanishes into the ring, as Belphanior is transformed into live flesh once more) Only two mooooooooooore......... Belphanior: (leaps up into the air, sword above his head, then lands, looking confused) Huh?!? Rillen: Let us just say that you owe me one. Belphanior: (considers this) The adventurers searched the chamber while explaining to Belphanior what had happened. The two birds had no treasure, so the party decided to venture into the next chamber. Peldor, now invisible, stayed behind, and carefully cut all ten of the brightly plumed feathers from the deceased larger bird's tail. Somehow, only the thief, whose wisdom was underestimated with good reason by most of the others, sensed the great magic that was contained within the feathers. He stuffed them carefully into a pouch, and then put the pouch at his belt, and joined the others. The next chamber was larger than the birds' lair. So was its inhabitant - a very strange creature indeed. It had a body like a dragon, and wings to match, but hands like those of a man, though with oversized fingers. The thing's snaggletoothed head had several horns jutting out here and there. Alindyar began muttering something about a "jabberwock", while Mongo charged forth bravely to do battle. Mongo: Chaaaaaarge! (runs into the room) jabberwock: (turns and breathes frost all over the dwarf and most of the others) Mongo: Argh! (falls, chilled severely) Belphanior: (likewise) Fuck! Rillen: (likewise) Brr. Arnold: (likewise) Aaaaaaa. Ged: (takes minor damage, as he was standing to the side) Boccob! Another foul beast! Alindyar: (begins preparing a spell) Lyra: Jabberwock? (also begins a spell) Peldor: (invisible, moves around the room) Ged: (begins casting a spell upon himself) Mongo: (the first to recover, he sends his hammer flying in a deadly arc, smashing the thing in the chest) Yeah! jabberwock: Blargh! Mongo: Says you, ugly. (catches his hammer) Alindyar: (casts a Fear spell, but it does not affect the monster in the least) Lyra: You know...(casts Charm Monster, also to no effect) Legends have it that the jabberwock is _immune_ to spells... Belphanior: What do you mean, THE jabberwock? Ged: (completes his spell, and begins to change in form, growing larger) Alindyar: We must beat it by force alone! Ged: (still mutating) I'm working on it... Rillen: (leaps forth and bashes the thing in the leg with his staff) You are one ugly- Arnold: (runs up from the opposite direction and heaves a mighty blow, sending purple blood everywhere) Ah-nold strikes! jabberwock: (disdainfully grabs each of the warriors in one clawed hand, and electric shocks course through their bodies) Blah. (tosses both victims aside casually) Rillen: (lands nearby, unconscious) Arnold: (ditto) Mongo: Did it _kill_ them?!? (hurls his hammer again, denting the monster's head) 'Cause if it did, well, then, I'll kill IT!!! Ged: (now in the polymorphed form of a huge frost giant, steps up and punches the weird monster with a large, beefy fist) Hah! I feel GREAT! jabberwock: Uhr? (reels) Ged: (beats his chest) Boccob! I love it! Peldor: What's gotten into him? (invisible, backstabs the creature, wounding it quite terribly) For Peldor! (becomes visible) jabberwock: (turns and breathes all over Peldor and Belphanior, a blast of flame this time) Blargh! Peldor: (knocked unconscious by the damage) Belphanior: (very, very close to death now) Lyra: (turns) All the monsters react like that when Peldor announces his name...hmm... jabberwock: (whips Ged with its tail, scoring a line of blood across his frost giant chest and causing great pain) Bleeeeer! Ged: (fails to save against the pain, and is feeling almost dizzy) Aaaaaaaagh! Belphanior: (staggers up and delivers a weak slash - which is just enough to penetrate the monster's heart and slay it) ...? jabberwock: (falls, dead) Belphanior: (as the thing was not intelligent, he gains no power from its demise, and slumps, feeling tired) Whew. The party knew that it was time to rest for the night. Most were hurt or tired, and all but a few of the party's spells were spent. Mongo used his wand to heal those most direly wounded (Rillen, Arnold, Peldor, and Belphanior) but then had to stop - even the mighty wand had its limits, it seemed. Mongo was unable to heal Ged or himself, but fortunately Ged had exactly two healing spells left. The jabberwock had a pile of items to one side. A ridiculous number of golden coins, minted in no stamp that any of the party recognized (save the drow), composed the bulk of the treasure. Within this pile were a number of small boulders of iron, a silk pouch containing dice, some old boots, a badly rusted helm, and a wand. When Alindyar cast his spell of magical detection, the dice, the boots, and the wand registered. The party set a watch, and rested here for the night. No further exits were evident - this chamber was the end of the side passage. next time : a truly unbeatable foe (no kidding) ftp site : ccosun.caltech.edu, in pub/adnd/fluff/adventurers notes : Ten VERY magical jub-jub bird tail feathers - and now a single person has them all... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++