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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: 7/17/571 C.Y. (Common Year) + + Time: late morning + + Place: the Underdark + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LXXXVI. Remnants The party has fled from an indestructable golem, and now stands ready to continue along the main passage of the cave/tunnel that they are in. Mongo: We'd better hope that big fucker doesn't find a way to get through the rubble... Peldor: Yeah. Who knows if he's not digging away the boulders this very minute? Rillen: I neither know nor care, myself. Ged: (irritably) Come on, let's get moving. They traveled for about a mile before anything was found. The adventurers came upon a number of corpses, all long since rotted. Their heads, or what was left of them, looked like they had been torn open, and many bloody stains decorated the floor. Ged: Boccob! Peldor: (points into the misty darkness ahead) Look! Something's coming! Indeed, it was. The monstrosity that ambled toward them was eight feet in height. It was humanoid, but covered in scales that glistened with a sickly green color. The thing's head had two large, round, yellow eyes - alien eyes - and a cluster of foot-long pink tentacles instead of a mouth. But for these features, it might have been a large lizard man. Alindyar: 'Tis a yig! An illithid slave! Lyra: (shivers) Mongo: What the fuck does it do? Alindyar: It devours brains from living victims... Ged: Never! (points his wand, which has had a lot of time to regenerate its arcane power, at the beast) Axui! yig: (suddenly sheathed in flames, screams an unearthly scream as it writhes in agony) Mongo: Brainsucker! Die! (throws his hammer at the burning monster, felling it) yig: (its corpse continues to burn) Mongo: (catches his hammer) What's an illithid, anyway? Alindyar: A mind flayer. _They_ eat brains, as well. 'Tis a good thing that you dispatched the yig from afar, priest. Ged: Why's that? Alindyar: Because at close ranges, it is capable of psionically holding victims still, as it devours their brains. Ged: Oh. Well, I'm glad I roasted it, too. (looks at his wand, which is sputtering again) Boccob damn it! The wand seems empty still. Belphanior: Maybe you need to let it recharge its power longer. Like for a whole day... Ged: Perhaps that is it. (puts the wand away) Boccob will help in the matter. Mongo: (he and Rillen lead the party forward) I don't see any monsters ahead. Belphanior: (using his sword) I detect souls, folks. Five of them! Ged: Evil fiends, no doubt. Suddenly, the adventurers were blasted by waves of intense mental energy from somewhere up ahead. Lyra and Arnold succumbed to the attack, falling to the floor, stunned, but the others were okay. Five mind flayers were faintly visible ahead, their tentacled mouths squirming in anticipation. They were standing spread out in a line, apparently to be able to cover the entire party with their mind- blasts. Mongo: Argh! My head's _killing_ me! (hurls his hammer at one of the illithids) illithid#1: (hit, reels) Ssssss! (a huge red bruise appears on its shoulder, which may be broken now) Mongo: Hah! You fucker! (catches his hammer) Rillen: (begins swinging his sling) Ged: (struck by a sudden idea, he digs in his pocket for his magical figurines) Alindyar: (begins spellcasting) It matters not anyhow. Illithids are all but _immune_ to all magic... Belphanior: (charges the flayers) Peldor: (invisible, moves toward the flayers) Ged: (speaks a command word, and two golden lions appear) Kill those creatures! (he points at the flayers) lions: (charge) Roar! Belphanior: (charging, watches the lions as they bound by him) Huh? Rillen: (fires a magical sling stone at the illithids, and it explodes in a green blast of acid, spraying three of the creatures) illithid#2: (moderately wounded) Sssssss! illithid#3: (critically wounded) Ssssaaaaa! illithid#4: (seriously wounded) Ssssssaaas! Rillen: (admiring the power of the sling stones that he has, though he only has a red one and a black one left) Good stones. lion#1: (leaps onto illithid#5, mauling it) Rowwwr! lion#2: (skirts some acid and attacks the dazed illithid#4, tearing away huge chunks of its slimy flesh) Roar! Snarl! illithid#4: (perishes) Alindyar: (casts Domination, to no avail - the flayers ignore his spell) Damn. (gets his staff of striking ready and walks in the illithids' direction) Mongo: (hurls his hammer at illithid#1 again, wounding it badly) Slimy scumbag! illithid#1: (hissing, and bleeding badly, it launches another blast of mental energy) Rillen: (stunned, drops his sling and falls) lion#2: (stunned, collapses) illithid#2: (fires its mental blast again, aiming at whatever adventurers happen to be within the arc in front of its face) Ssss! Ged: (stunned, falls) lion#1: (stunned, topples onto its side) Belphanior: (wildly slashes illithid#3, and slays it) Ahhhhh. (sits still and absorbs the power of the evil creature's life force) Mongo: (catches his hammer, and throws it again) Shit! They're knocking everybody out! illithid#1: (perishes, smashed into pulp) Peldor: (tries to backstab illithid#5, but misses; perhaps it knew that he was there) Thus, Alindyar, Belphanior, Mongo, and the now-visible Peldor faced two somewhat wounded mind flayers. The adventurers were spread out widely, following Alindyar's advice, to avoid having several of them get caught in the same mental blast. Mongo: What if they knock all of us out? Alindyar: Then...our brains will become their dinner. Belphanior: Ugh. Mongo: Fuck _that_! illithid#2: Ssssss! (fires a mental blast at some of the remaining adventurers) Alindyar: (saves, and advances, staff raised) You shall have to do better than that, foul fiend. Belphanior: (fails to save, stunned, falls) illithid#5: (fires another mental blast at the others) Hssssssss! Mongo: (fails, stunned) Damn it all! (falls to the floor) Peldor: (saves easily, and goes invisible once more) illithid#2: (flagellates in worry) Alindyar: (closes with the monster, and takes a swing at it) illithid#2: (hit solidly) SSSSS! Rillen: (watching while stunned on the floor, makes a mental note to teach the drow proper staff technique, if they get out of this alive) illithid#5: (looks around, trying to sense Peldor's location) Sssss? Peldor: (telekineses the creature's hood up over its head, as he stalks it invisibly) illithid#5: (panics, but manages to get the hood off fairly quickly) Ssss. Peldor: (makes his move, chopping the thing's head clean off, from behind) Hah! (turns visible) illithid#2: (determines Peldor to be the more serious threat, and turns to blast him next) Peldor: (fails his save, stunned, falls) Alindyar: (wallops the distracted illithid hard with the staff, expending three charges and braining it) So! illithid#2: (dies, surprised) Alindyar: Arrogant fool. (straightens his robes, and turns to regard the party, which is lying about, all stunned) Hmm. Eventually, the illithids' mental blasts wore off, and the adventurers were back on their feet again. There was a large, neatly cut niche in the side of the main passage, and it had five doors as well as two large cells (these were secured by portculli). The main passage itself was blocked ahead by a thick stone wall, into the middle of which were set a series of two portculli. These blocked further movement down the passage. As Alindyar had mentioned days ago (could it only have been days?), the illithids' lair had walls and ceilings that were radically different from the main passage. The black stonelike material was convoluted in twisting and swirling patterns, which gave one a bad headache just from looking at it for a while. The chaotic construction of these walls quite clearly bespoke insanity - or worse. The cells were checked first; one contained dozens of weak-looking goblins, who looked at the party with great hunger; the second cell held a few dozen miserable-looking kobolds. The five doors led to illithid quarters, and the adventurers searched these with gusto, all in all finding the following items (Ged's spell of magic detection revealed the magical ones, marked with a *) : dresser of strange wood six brains in brine old spinal cord potion * book * cowboy hat * (the fact that cowboys were unknown on Oerth is irrelevant) grey robes diamond pendant jar of eyeballs chime * ring green cloaks emerald coin small bowl * strange tooth blue hood eight sapphires ring potion in diamond bottle * half-eaten brain red robe trapped chest (Mongo, in his overeagerness, got a bit of a shock from this) five-inch wide ruby burnt book mummified elven hand silver harmonica * drow spellbook * heavy crossbow * battle axe * dwarven chain mail * The adventurers barely had time to wonder how an illithid could possibly have played a harmonica, for the fifth illithid living area also had an exit, which led to a room of smaller cells. The first of these held a pale, sick-looking (relatively) illithid, who screamed at the party in its strange language. The second held a dead, green, bloated, scaly, fishy-looking creature, which Alindyar and Lyra were able to identify as a kuo-toa, another of the native races of the Underdark. The third cell held a male drow, who was very ragged-looking and bloody. The fourth held a grumbling dwarf, who fumed and made faces when he saw the party. illithid: Auuuuuur! drow: (in drow language) Let me out of this place, my kin! You must set me free! dwarf: Who the hell are YOU people?!? Ged: (casts Detect Lie and Know Alignment) Alindyar: (ignoring the drow) illithid: Wauuuuurrrr! drow: (in drow still) I am Titus Noquar, of the Noquar family. You simply _must_ let me out of here. Lyra: (in drow) Calm down. Ged: (points to the drow in the cell) He is not lying - but he IS evil. Alindyar: Oh. illithid: Uuuuuuuuuaaaaarrr. (begins trying in vain to reach through the cell's bars and grab the dead kuo-toa's head with its facial tentacles) Sssssluuuuurp! Alindyar: That one appears to be hungry. Lyra: Obviously, its mental powers are lost to it, else it would have used them on us by now. Alindyar: Agreed. Belphanior: Yeah! Then we'd have to kill it. (wonders if eating an illithid brain would boost his intelligence) Ged: (addresses the dwarf in the cell) Who might you be? dwarf: I? I am Flint Firelips. I was here to spy on some tribe of goblins, when they ganged up on me, and captured me. But a day after that, _they_ got captured, by the flayers. Damned flayers! I'll kill them all when I get out of here! Ged: This one tells the truth. And he is of Good alignment. Mongo: (smashes the lock to the dwarf's cell and yanks the door open) You are free to go. Flint Firelips: Thanks! (leaps out of the cell and dances about in joy) illithid: Braaauuuuuuuug! Ged: (regards the mind flayer) That one is Evil for sure, but I can't tell if he is lying or not. Mainly because I don't have the slightest idea what it is he's saying... Alindyar: He looks insane to me. drow in cell: Oh, come now! You cannot just leave me here. With _him_. (points to the illithid, who is now licking the walls of its cell) I would soon be as insane as he is! illithid: Druuuuuuuuuuaug. Ged: Hey, he's not lying! The illithid _is_ insane! illithid: Raaaauuuuuuuurgha! drow in cell: (covers his ears) Argh! I can take it no longer! If you shall not free me then at least grant me a quick death! Belphanior: (moves to oblige) Okay. Ged: (stops the elf) We must discuss this. The party moved to another chamber and had a debate. After a bit, it was decided to first gather all the treasure, and be ready to move onward. At that time, the drow would be freed, as well as the illithid and the goblins and kobolds. All would be told to go the opposite way than that of the party. To make things fair, the drow would be given a headstart, so as not to be overtaken by the hordes of small humanoids. The illithid would be given less of a headstart. This seemed the best way to free the various creatures, yet give each a chance of survival; it took the adventurers a full fifteen minutes to come up with the plan. The treasure was gathered, though Flint the dwarf insisted that the chain mail, crossbow, and battle axe were his (Ged's spell verified this claim to be true). These items were then returned to the dwarf, who armored and armed himself before asking if anyone would loan him some food. Mongo and Flint began talking while they had a snack. Eventually, Flint Firelips asked for, and was granted, permission to come with the party, for his own safety. Peldor decided to reorganize his pack, and was astonished to find that several items from the backpack were missing. His magical pipes and medallion were gone. Belphanior claimed to know nothing (which Ged drily verified as the truth), and Peldor began to suspect the large metallic egg, which he had earlier stashed in his backpack. He cursed the thing, to no avail, for the egg didn't appear to be listening. When it was time to go, Peldor operated a pair of levers on the wall near the double portculli (those blocking further progress in the main tunnel), and both gates opened. Belphanior, being nimble as well as a warrior, volunteered to run back and open the cells. The party watched to ensure that the drow would not attack (Alindyar had explained the deal to him earlier). Shortly, the drow ran away, looking disdainfully back at the party, and vanished down the tunnel in the direction the adventurers had come. Mere moments later, the illithid stumbled out of its cell, ignoring Belphanior as it lurched and swayed about, moaning in its insanity. Belphanior: (near the goblin cells) Hmmmm. Stand back, you vermin. (begins picking the lock, and has it open in a second but doesn't tell them) Okay, when I say it's okay, you may open your cell and flee. If you try to attack me or my friends...well, we'll blast you into ashes. Or feed you to _him_! (points to the illithid, which is presently engaged in eating a rock) illithid: Graaaaaaaurg. goblins: (recoil, scared) Belphanior: (unlocks the kobolds' cell and gives them the same warning) nearby... Ged: what in Boccob's name is taking him so long?!? at the cells... Belphanior: (to both groups) The cells are now open. Flee, before I destroy you all! (his eyes glow bright red) Ha ha ha! The others first saw Belphanior sprinting toward them, though the drow and illithid had only been freed a minute ago. Then, all of the goblins and kobolds ran after the drow, sideskirting the confused illithid. Belphanior: Come on! (he dashes through the gates) Peldor: (uses his ring to pull the lever and lower the portculli) There. Ged: What happened to the delay on the mob of humanoids? Belphanior: I felt the need to promote chaos. What better way to do it? Besides, that drow needed to be challenged! Lyra: Hmph. The party chose this time to split the magical items that they had gained thus far. This time, Alindyar won first draw, while it was Mongo who picked last. THE MAGICAL ITEMS (in order of appearance) : medallion - Mongo melon - Lyra 4 blue vials - Ged, Arnold, Alindyar x2 tiny bell - Peldor tube of green paste - Rillen blanket - Lyra dice - Belphanior boots - Arnold wand - Belphanior potion from flayers - Lyra book - Ged cowboy hat - Peldor chime - Belphanior bowl - Mongo potion in diamond vial - Rillen harmonica - Ged drow spellbook - Alindyar The group walked through the tunnel and away from the illithid lair. After ten minutes, everyone sensed that something bad was about to happen, but the huge passage was empty for as far as the eye could see. Rillen: Why is the ground shaking like that? Mongo: Earthquake? Belphanior: (stares at a sizzling drop of red fluid that just fell on his shoulder) .... Everybody RUN! Run like hell! Without warning, molten lava fell from the ceiling in great globs, splattering all of the adventurers and igniting some of them. While some of the falling matter was no more than flaming liquid, other bits were heavy rocks. The party ran forward as fast as they could, some members helping others who had fallen or were trapped. They all made it through, but there was a high pile of bubbling lava behind them, effectively blocking any return in the direction they came from. Whether the lava was a trap, a spell, or a coincidence was not known - but the adventurers were in bad shape. All were wounded, some badly, and each had lost a few items (both normal as well as magical items) to the boiling lava and heavy rocks. In fact, it was nothing short of miraculous that they all survived the event... Extremely irritated, the group rested here for two days. Nothing came to bother them - there were no strange sounds during the night, or bad dreams. After two mornings, they were sufficiently rested and healed to travel onward. However, they did not have far to go; a mere ten minutes' walk led them to a large metal door. The huge main passage was blocked here, totally, except for the (comparitively) small doorway. Glistening black material, like that composing the curving walls of the tunnel, rose vertically around the door, neatly blocking off the tunnel. The portal was fifteen feet high and eight feet wide, and a strange rune was engraved on it. Analysis of the black rune via magic revealed a simple and direct meaning: danger. next time : the ka-ka really hits the fan ftp site : ccosun.caltech.edu, in pub/adnd/fluff/adventurers notes : ... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++